Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

"Thud!"

As Snowy Owl fell into a split on the ground, Mountaineer raised one hand, followed by a series of "clanging" sounds.

One after another, rock anchors were driven into the ground around Snowy Owl, and one nylon rope after another bound her limbs, trapping her in place.

"I have to admit you've got a point. I really am lacking in powerful attack methods, only having a few 'consumables' as a safety net... I hate meaningless fighting."

Mountaineer paused as she spoke, then continued: "But precisely because I don't keep many weapon-type [items], I've developed new uses for these [rock anchors] and [safety ropes]."

"Most of the time, they're just climbing gear for me, but... since they're sturdy enough, I can also use them against enemies like this."

Snowy Owl's limbs were all tightly wrapped by these safety ropes anchored to the rock anchors. Hearing Mountaineer's words, she immediately turned her [Wound-Soul Knife] to try cutting through the ropes.

But... these [safety ropes] clearly had no "soul," and their toughness and hardness were extraordinary.

Seeing Snowy Owl's actions, Mountaineer warned her.

"Don't waste your effort. These ropes are very hard to cut through—after all, they're the ropes that carry my life."

Snowy Owl heeded the advice.

She stood back up—although these ropes were hard to cut, Snowy Owl had noticed that they were, after all, [safety ropes].

Though her range of movement was restricted, if she pulled hard enough, she could still drag the safety ropes back and forth through the holes in the rock anchors.

In other words...

Although Snowy Owl was currently fixed to this stone tile beneath her feet, she could still move around to a certain extent.

"Huff... being tangled up in these ropes is certainly uncomfortable, but even in this state, if you get close, I'm confident I can still hit you."

Snowy Owl stared intently at Mountaineer, speaking in a low voice.

Mountaineer nodded: "I have no doubt about that, which is why I don't plan to get close... I don't even plan to attack you."

"Normally, I'd use a 'forbidden curse scroll' or a 'high-grade talisman'... but I'm a thrifty person, so I'll use this venue to take you out instead."

As she spoke, Mountaineer picked up her climbing pole and tapped it on the ground, then pulled a stopwatch from her pocket and glanced at it.

"The timing... is about right."

Her words fell, and then the stone path beneath their feet began to shake.

It wasn't because of anything Mountaineer had done...

Rather, in this "Falling" themed venue, these stone tiles were naturally prone to shifting.

New stone tiles rose up to form new narrow paths.

While the old ones...

Sank down with a "rumbling" sound into the depths below.

Mountaineer nimbly leaped into the air, then landed on a newly risen stone tile.

This was exactly what Mountaineer had been waiting for—the reason she had driven in the rock anchors at this precise moment wasn't entirely to show off her skills to Snowy Owl, but more because she had calculated the "timing."

As long as Snowy Owl didn't surrender, she would drive in the rock anchors and throw out the safety ropes at this exact moment—a timing when the other party absolutely couldn't break free "before the stone path changed."

Locked onto that stone tile, Snowy Owl's face drastically changed as she struggled desperately.

But it was useless.

Soon, the stone tile beneath Snowy Owl's feet slowly sank into the mist below.

And in that critical moment...

"Slash—!"

A faint sound came from within the mist.

Hearing this sound, Mountaineer, who had already relaxed, sharply looked downward.

Sure enough, the next moment...

Snowy Owl's figure burst out from the ominous mist below, once again appearing before her.

Looking at the girl whose face was twisted like a demon's, covered in blood, Mountaineer revealed an excited smile for the first time.

"Interesting—I always knew this trick of mine could be solved this way, but you're the first person to actually do it!"

The [safety ropes] were extremely tough, the [rock anchors] incredibly sturdy, and these two [items] also had a certain degree of anti-magic effect... Most forms of energy-based techniques and spells in the Ten Realms would be restricted.

Mountaineer had experimented within the 'Free Alliance.' Whether it was Old Zhou, who excelled in physical strength, or Li Nian and Phantom, whose methods were tricky, none of them could break free from this restraint in a short time.

Although it had the shortcoming that "the enemy could still move to a certain extent," once caught, this move was rated within the 'Free Alliance' as one of the hardest control skills to "escape" from.

Whenever Mountaineer got into a serious conflict and started fighting, her most common tactic was to use [rock anchors] and [safety ropes] to restrain the opponent, then tear open some [consumable item] to unleash a powerful area attack and blast them to death.

However, it was precisely during those internal experiments within the 'Free Alliance' that Mountaineer discovered a limitation of this move—it was first pointed out by 'Fisherman.'

"This move is good, but if the opponent cuts off their own limbs, it seems they can escape."

Then, Xiaoyun proposed a more optimized plan.

"No need to cut off limbs... Judging by the rope tightening speed, if the opponent can scrape off their own flesh and is fast enough, they can also escape."

Snowy Owl was, of course, known for her speed.

At this moment, standing before Mountaineer, her hands and feet were drenched in blood, revealing large patches of white bone, yellow fascia, and layers of fat.

Her blade was indeed fast enough, and she was fast enough—so fast that when she stood before Mountaineer, she still had a potion bottle clenched between her teeth.

One she had stuffed into her mouth while in midair.

"Ptooey!"

Spitting out the potion bottle's casing, the bloody wounds on Snowy Owl's hands and feet slowed their bleeding, the flesh began to writhe, and a thin film covered the wound surfaces.

It was clearly some kind of fast-acting recovery potion.

Facing this condition of stripped flesh, this kind of conventional recovery [item] was obviously insufficient, only serving as a temporary patch.

But Snowy Owl didn't care at all.

"Your move seems to have a pretty big flaw too. Next time, don't skimp on [consumable items]."

Mountaineer looked at Snowy Owl and blinked: "I will... but this match still won't require them."

"At this rate of blood loss, you'll pass out on your own soon enough."

"And every time you move, it'll worsen your injuries—before that happens, I don't think you can break through my defenses."

Snowy Owl stared at her, slowly raising the Blackwood Sword.

"No, I think I've already figured out the principle behind why you're 'immune to physical attacks.'"

"I don't know if it's your [exclusive item] or some extremely special [item] combined with a unique skill, but its effect probably puts your body into a state of 'extremely high plasticity' and 'extremely high toughness.'"

"I wasn't 'cutting through' or 'slicing into' your body at all—I was just 'smashing you out of shape' with my blade!"

"It's like... clay or play dough."