The fight had begun.
Yet, Gigarose didn’t move.
She stood there, arms at her sides, her massive chest rising and falling ever so slightly as if she were completely relaxed. The two blades on her back didn’t even budge.
’Tch. She’s either cocky or baiting me,’ Noah—now Shadow Oracle—thought.
He knew there were only two ways to handle this without exposing himself.
Option one: Throw the fight, get absolutely wrecked, and keep his secret safe. Not happening. The system promised him a reward for this match, and he was too curious to pass it up.
Option two: End this match fast.
Noah chose the latter.
In an instant, he activated Void Blink.
His avatar flickered, vanishing from his starting position and reappearing behind Gigarose in a flash of purple-black energy.
His fingers curled, a purple energy pulsing around his arm as he primed his finisher—Null Strike.
One clean hit and this was over.
But then—
Something strange happened.
Noah’s Null Strike slammed forward—only to hit nothing.
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Or rather, something that felt solid for a split second before shattering into nothingness.
A blur. An afterimage.
[Echo Shift.]
The system notification rang in his ears as the afterimage collapsed into a wisp of pink light.
’Tch… that was weirdly solid,’ Noah thought, stepping back.
Gigarose had shifted herself at the last second, leaving behind an afterimage that took the damage for her.
It was an impressive ability, but Noah had just fought someone with something similar. He wasn’t about to get psyched out.
Across from him, Gigarose smirked, resting a hand on her hip. "Come on, Shadow Oracle~" she cooed, her voice playful. "Is that all? You were supposed to be the big bad hacker or is it vet everyone’s scared of."
Noah exhaled through his nose, already recalculating. Stay connected via freewebnovel
’So, she can react to fast attacks, huh? That’s going to be a problem.’
Blitzing her wasn’t an option. If he tried to speed past her defenses, she’d just use Echo Shift again.
That meant two things:
One, He couldn’t surprise her.
Two, He couldn’t overwhelm her in a single strike.
But…
’What if I don’t just hit her once?’
A simple plan came to mind. If one attack wasn’t enough…
He’d just be too much for her to handle.
---
[Elder Genes Global Chat - Live]
[VenomousTactician]: Bro, why is she just standing there?
[MechaMerc]: She’s playing with him. Typical top player baiting.
[2Fast4U]: Nah, she’s testing him. This is gonna be fun.
[ArcadeGuru]: Pfft. Hacker’s gonna get smoked.
[VoidKingFan12]: SHADOW ORACLE, TEACH HER A LESSON!!
[GigaRoseSimp]: STOMP HIM, QUEEN!!!
---
Noah cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face.
"Alright then…" he muttered under his breath.
Time to overload her.
Noah didn’t hesitate.
Void Blink.
The moment the cooldown reset, he disappeared—blinking forward in a blur of black and violet energy.
A flicker. A warp. A ghost of motion.
He reappeared mid-strike, fist rocketing forward toward Gigarose’s smug, helmet-covered face—only to hit nothing.
A shimmer. A flicker of pink.
Noah’s knuckles crashed through an afterimage that dissolved into neon particles before his eyes.
’Damn it!’
He spun on his heel, pivoting instantly. A roundhouse kick lashed toward her side—only for Gigarose to shift again, a trail of pink light forming where she had just been.
A giggle.
"Oooo, close one~"
Noah grit his teeth. She was right behind him now.
He reacted instantly.
Void Blink. Again.
This time, he warped above her, body twisting in midair as he rained down a rapid series of spinning axe kicks—blindingly fast, each one carrying enough force to shatter steel.
She didn’t dodge.
She danced.
Gigarose twisted her body just out of range, letting his kicks slice through empty air, her movements smooth as silk.
Another giggle.
"You really want to hit me, don’t you?"
Noah’s foot barely hit the ground before he was already surging forward—purple energy glowing around him.
He wasn’t stopping.
A jab. A cross. A hook. A low kick. He blurred through a perfect boxer’s rush, his fists weaving with insane speed.
Gigarose dodged with effortless precision, her pink-clad body moving like she was five steps ahead of him.
The chat was exploding.
[Elder Genes Global Chat - Live]
[MechaMerc]: She’s styling on him!
[VoidKingFan12]: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???
[2Fast4U]: He can’t touch her. She’s so damn slippery!
[GigaRoseSimp]: THAT’S OUR QUEEN. LOOK AT HER MOVE!!!
[ShadowOracleStan]: Nah, bro’s getting clowned…
---
Noah Void Blinks again.
This time, he appeared directly above Gigarose, twisting in midair as he went for a heel drop straight onto her head.
At the last second—
Another flicker.
She was gone.
Noah slammed into the ground hard enough to shatter the digital terrain, a crater forming beneath him. Dust and neon particles rose around him.
Then he heard her voice.
"Oops~"
She was leaning against the air a few meters away, hands behind her back, her massive chest bouncing slightly as she giggled.
"Try again?"
Noah burst forward, refusing to give her an inch. His hands moved in a blur as he switched tactics—throwing out a grappling attempt.
He lunged for her wrist—only for her to twist at the last second, her body bending just out of reach.
Another grab. Miss.
A sweep kick. Nothing.
’What the hell?!’
Noah snarled under his breath, Void Blinking behind her for one last attempt—this time, his fingers glowing with Entropy Touch.
A single tap would be enough.
Just a single touch to rot away her armor, to hit her with a debuff.
He reached—
And hit air.
Her afterimage lingered for half a second, flickering like static before dissolving.
Noah whipped his head around, panting slightly.
Gigarose stood several meters away, her head tilting slightly as if she were analyzing him now.
She smirked. "Tired yet?"
Noah didn’t answer.
He narrowed his eyes, hands clenching into fists.
He was frustrated.
And that wasn’t a good thing.
Frustration led to mistakes.
But he was beginning to realize something.
This wasn’t just about speed.
This wasn’t just about afterimages.
There was something deeper at play.
’She’s not dodging.’
Noah exhaled slowly, mind racing.
’She’s moving just before I attack.’
His heartbeat steadied.
He wasn’t dealing with just another speedster.
No…
This was something else.
And he needed to figure it out—before he lost.
He stood still, processing.
His mind raced back over the last thirty seconds.
Everything he had done. Every attack, every Void Blink, every attempt to catch her.
She had never dodged at the last second.
She had always moved just before he struck.
And those afterimages—the game system had labeled them as Echo Shift. That much made sense. A predictive displacement move, a kind of advanced feint that replaced her body with an afterimage before the attack landed.
But that still didn’t explain everything.
How was she predicting him?
Noah’s fingers twitched. His instincts told him not to stand still for too long, but he needed to think.
Was it input reading? No, that wouldn’t explain how she always moved the right way before he even committed.
Was it some kind of passive precognition? Doubtful. If she had that, she would’ve punished him more aggressively already.
It had to be something else.
Then—