"Duel, start!"
With Lucas's command, the dueling field instantly rose around them.
"You… want to duel me?" Shenhe frowned slightly as she glanced around at the activated battlefield. "You do realize that even though this is a virtual space, people outside… can still see what's happening inside, right?"
Indeed, while the two of them were currently in an isolated duel space, spectators outside could still view the match.
This area wasn't particularly crowded, but if they were caught "rewarding" each other in the middle of the street, it was highly likely that the Millelith officers would charge them for "public indecency''.
Not to mention, due to the sheer entertainment value of duels, they naturally attracted onlookers. In no time at all, a crowd would undoubtedly gather.
"That's simple," Lucas drew a card and declared, "Activating the Field Effect Card [Magic Mirror Field]!"
The effect of [Magic Mirror Field] was to erect a massive one-way mirror within the battlefield, preventing both duelists from seeing each other's field setup.
However, rather than placing the mirror in the center of the battlefield, Lucas had it rise along the perimeter. Before long, four enormous one-way mirrors encased both him and Shenhe inside.
A one-way mirror, as the name implied, was a mirror on one side and transparent glass on the other.
From inside the battlefield, everything outside was perfectly visible. However, from the outside, all the spectators could see was a giant reflective surface.
Sure enough, the sudden appearance of these four large mirrors quickly attracted curious passersby. Many stepped forward, intrigued, some even reaching out to touch the surface—only to find their hands passing through a virtual projection.
"Relax," Lucas reassured Shenhe, who, lacking common knowledge in such matters, appeared skeptical. "These mirrors allow us to see outside, but from the outside, they only look like regular mirrors."
"How… how can such mirrors exist?" As expected, Shenhe, who had lived in the remote mountains for most of her life, was still doubtful. She frowned and asked, "Are you lying to me?"
"Why don't you test it yourself?" Lucas smirked as he pulled out another card. "Activating Effect Card [Equipment Removal]!"
As the name suggested, this card's effect was to remove all equipment cards from the target.
However, since Shenhe wasn't currently equipped with any gear cards, the system seemingly defaulted to treating her clothing as "equipment."
With a crisp swish, Shenhe's garments instantly "disassembled."
That's right—it wasn't torn apart, but neatly separated from her body in an almost mechanical fashion, far more efficiently than if she had undressed herself.
"Ah!"
Even the usually cold and aloof Shenhe instinctively covered her body's vital areas. However, none of the surrounding spectators reacted in the slightest. In their view, all they saw was the giant mirror reflecting the environment back at them.
"Well? Told you I wasn't lying," Lucas boasted smugly.
"You're dead!"
Before he could even finish speaking, Shenhe lunged at him, tackling Lucas to the ground.
With the restraints of her clothing gone, her figure moved even more freely. The sheer weight pressing against Lucas's chest nearly suffocated him.
[-100]
[-10]
[-10]
[-10]
As Lucas's HP loss indicators popped up over his head, Shenhe finally sat up, frowning in confusion. "Why is your HP dropping?"
"100 points must be impact damage," Lucas wiped the blood trickling from his nose and sighed. "And the 10-point losses are probably from suffocation or blood loss. This system's calculations are way too detailed."
Whether it was direct collisions between players or certain negative effects, the duel system was highly comprehensive in how it deducted HP. It was hard to say if this was a sign of intelligence… or just ridiculous over-engineering.
"In that case, I should've just smothered you completely!" Shenhe huffed, her cheeks burning with both embarrassment and anger. "Then I could've taken all your Mora Tokens!"
"Too bad," Lucas chuckled mischievously. "You can't take my Mora Tokens. But… if it's something else, you can have as much as you want."
Shenhe instantly picked up on the underlying implication in his words.
"I… I refuse." To Lucas's surprise, Shenhe actually looked flustered for once. "Master taught me that a promise must be kept. Since I agreed, I will absolutely follow through. But… can't we at least wait until we get back tonight?"
Lucas smirked, despite being pinned underneath her. "Don't tell me… you're embarrassed because there are people outside?"
"W-Who's embarrassed?!" Shenhe predictably fell for the provocation but still attempted to make excuses. "I… I just think this place has no bed."
"A bed? That's easy." Lucas, already expecting her excuse, pulled out another card and declared, "Summoning [Hydro Slime]!"
The moment he spoke, a smooth, translucent blue Slime materialized behind Shenhe. Before she could react, Lucas suddenly pushed her backward—causing her entire body to sink into the Slime's gelatinous form.
"What are you doing—mmph!?" Shenhe tried to speak, but as she was swallowed into the Hydro Slime, she accidentally gulped down a mouthful of water.
"Activating Effect Card [Sticky Goo]!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Lucas immediately activated another card, transforming the Hydro Slime into a viscous, adhesive state.
Just like what had happened to Bi Yan before, Shenhe's body was now tightly trapped within the gooey Slime. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
[-10]
[-10]
Just like earlier, due to the suffocating effect, Shenhe's HP began decreasing steadily.
Lucas quickly reached into the Slime and grabbed hold of Shenhe's head, yanking her out as if uprooting a radish.
"You… Are you trying to die?!" Shenhe gasped for air, her anger flaring. "You bastard, let me go!"
Her normally pristine silver hair had become messy and damp from the Slime's sticky residue. But instead of diminishing her beauty, it gave her an unexpectedly alluring charm.