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

"What a clever one—she actually figured out the principle behind Mountaineer's [Hyper-Adaptive Malleable Body] this quickly."

The Comedian watched Snowy Owl, unable to hold back his praise.

[Hyper-Adaptive Malleable Body] was a rare [Fusion-type Item]. When used, this [Item] would merge completely with its user, becoming one.

Just as its name suggested...

The effect of this [Item] was to grant Mountaineer's body an entirely new property.

That property was "malleability" beyond the limits of a human body.

Her body was like pliable clay—no matter how much it was chopped, kneaded, struck, or beaten, no matter how its shape changed, it never affected Mountaineer's ability to "use" her body normally.

For someone obsessed with mountaineering and exploring all kinds of extreme environments, this was arguably the most useful [Item] imaginable.

When applied to combat...

In practice, it gave Mountaineer defenses that could only be described as "exaggerated."

Because of that, her margin for error was maxed out.

Ever since acquiring this [Item], Mountaineer had hardly ever been injured.

Of course...

There were also extremely few people who could push Mountaineer into a situation where she needed to rely on it to "escape danger."

And someone like Snowy Owl, who understood its principle in the middle of a fight, was absolutely the first.

So, Mountaineer looked at Snowy Owl and spoke with a hint of curiosity.

"How did you know?"

"Observation and analysis," Snowy Owl replied, staring at Mountaineer's wounds. "Those golden lights were intimidating, sure, but fundamentally, it was the outer layer of your skin at the 'deformed impact points' glowing, not golden light leaking out from inside your body through the cuts."

"You didn't let the two spots I hit return to normal. So either you can't, or you don't want to—right?"

Mountaineer nodded.

"You got me."

As she spoke, she touched her neck and her chest. The two wounds slowly began to "bounce back," the glow gradually fading, turning into normal-looking skin.

"But... that wasn't the decisive evidence, was it?"

Mountaineer asked again.

Snowy Owl nodded. "You're right. What truly gave me the 'decisive evidence' for that conclusion was the feel of my blade hitting you."

Snowy Owl looked at the Blackwood Sword in her hand.

"I'm not very familiar with this sword, so when I first cut into you, the feel was rough, and I didn't notice anything wrong."

"But afterward, after I used it to cut your safety rope and then to slice into my own flesh, I understood... the feel at that moment didn't correspond to cutting into a wall at all. Instead, I hadn't cut you open—I had just smashed you into a different shape with the sword!"

Mountaineer looked at Snowy Owl with admiration. "Impressive... is this the so-called 'unity of man and sword'? Just from the feel of the blade, you understood the secret of my body."

"But even if you understand the principle, do you have a way to counter it?"

"Of course," Snowy Owl nodded, holding the sword horizontally in front of her. "I can even think of two ways. One is to use an attack powerful enough—surpassing your body's toughness and upper limit—to cut you clean through or completely flatten you."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that in my current state without [Mountain-forge weapon]."

"The other method, though, is worth a try..."

As her words fell, Snowy Owl suddenly struck out with her sword.

This slash didn't aim for a vital point—it aimed for Mountaineer's finger.

"Smack!"

Her index finger's middle section deformed slightly, erupting in a golden glow.

"Tch, still too much!"

Snowy Owl said, then struck again.

This time... she aimed for Mountaineer's fingertip pad.

No, it could no longer be called a chop.

It was a precise, thin, and light cut—a slice.

"Swish!"

The next moment, a bead of blood appeared on Mountaineer's fingertip.

A strip of flesh from her finger pad was sliced off.

Staring at the blood on her fingertip, Mountaineer paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Genius—an absolute genius!"

"As long as the cut is small enough, you can make your 'attack' locally exceed my body's toughness... It's hard to believe this is our first fight, our first meeting!"

And in the stands, seeing Mountaineer wounded, both sides' audiences erupted.

Though it was just a scraped-finger kind of injury, it marked... Mountaineer's "ability" had been truly cracked!

Seagull sighed. "Damn, mincing her into little pieces really was the right call. It wasn't just messing around after all. 'Her Excellency' the Grandmaster is still impressive."

"Of course she is. Did you need to say that, Her Excellency is impressive?"

Bi Fang kicked Seagull's ass.

Hearing their exchange, the Grandmaster just smiled.

"I just guessed based on intuition... Snowy Owl out there is the truly impressive one. She analyzed her opponent's ability using only limited information and found the correct way to break the situation."

"It's like a math problem. I just guessed the right answer, but she properly solved it."

The Grandmaster said modestly.

After the Grandmaster finished, Li Hua pushed up his glasses and spoke. "Indeed, Snowy Owl found a way to break through using her own ability and intelligence. That's remarkable, but... the situation is still not optimistic."

"Even if she found the method... she's still at a disadvantage."

Li Hua's demeanor sobered up the members of [Order] and the [Night Watchmen], who had been energized by the injury.

It was true—Snowy Owl had successfully broken through Mountaineer's defenses.

But it was just a small, scratch-like wound.

And to create that wound, Snowy Owl's hands and feet were bloodied and mangled, her blood splattered all over the ground!

The situation was still far from optimistic!

However, on the other side of the arena...

The [Free Alliance] wasn't feeling any more relaxed either.

"What terrifying combat intelligence," Xiaoyun said, her face flushed, her breathing quick. "She's mastered her own ability to the extreme... A person like this, a person like this—if she's treated as just an ordinary corpse, it would be a crime against nature."

"Old Zhou, Phantom, Yuyang... I have to get my hands on her! She's now my third-most-wanted corpse to collect!"

The usually calm Xiaoyun looked like she was drunk.

However, the three she had called out seemed used to it and paid her no attention.

"That Snowy Owl is indeed interesting," Phantom said, stroking his chin. "She actually managed to break through Mountaineer's defenses..."

The Chef God nodded. "Being able to break through means she has a chance to win... of course, just a chance."

"Indeed, Mountaineer still has the absolute advantage," Old Zhou said, then, as if something occurred to him, he added, "As long as she doesn't go berserk."

The moment Old Zhou finished speaking, the usually calm [Free Alliance] members suddenly all sat up straight.

"Oh damn," the Comedian stood up, staring at Mountaineer on the field. After a long moment, he let out a breath and said, "I think... the situation doesn't look good!"

And on the field, Mountaineer slowly brought her index finger to her lips and slipped it into her mouth.

The rusty taste of blood exploded on her tongue, making her feel like she was running out of strength, her stamina failing.

She looked at Snowy Owl and smiled as she spoke.

"Come on, put your method to the test—let's see which of us falls first!"