READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 5 - Exposed
【Labyrinthos VR Outbound】
[Community Discussion] Low-level Smurfing Character “Glory of the Duke’s Family” Exposed
(Video of gameplay)
(Results screen)
(Match history)
The author is the Barbarian in the screenshot.
The opposing player played as a Dark Knight. However, as you can see, they removed all of their armor and made their footsteps audible on purpose.
Their level is only 15, yet they dodged every attack. If you look at the match history, they’ve won all 50 matches and have already reached Gold rank.
It’s impossible for a newbie who created an account less than a day ago to play like this. It’s certain that they have a main account.
If you watch the battle scene, they cut off my arms and legs and toyed with me before finishing me off.
They kept queuing for duels without any breaks, so be careful if you’re playing duels during this time.
[Comments]
– What’s with those movements? Not something a Gold rank would do.
– Isn’t creating a smurf account against the terms?
ㄴ (Author) Yes, since you register with biometric authentication, creating a smurf account is generally not allowed.
– Logging in with the biometric info registered to the VR device… That’s really complicated, but they still managed to do it.
– Why would anyone go through the trouble of creating a smurf account just to do that?
– They totally played with you and then killed you, lol.
– I got wrecked by them too and filed a report.
—
【Labyrinthos VR Gallery】
[General] Isn’t that the guy from the Ducal Family?
(Screenshot 1)
(Screenshot 2)
(Screenshot 3)
There’s someone who hit rank 1 in Abyss and Clock, then moved on to Heroes and ranked 1st there too.
The username always starts with DucalFamily’sXXX, and after hitting rank 1, they move on to another game.
I thought they only played PC games, but now they’ve moved on to Labyrinthos VR.
[Comments]
– This guy’s a total prodigy, but I heard they reject all pro offers.
– If it’s the same person, they must be crazy talented.
– Why would someone who hit 1st rank in PC games start playing Labyrinthos VR?
– Isn’t it an impersonator? How could a PC gamer come to a VR game just to stomp noobs?
ㄴ (Author) Does it make sense that someone who was 1st in AOS switched to FPS and became 1st there too?
—
【Virtual VTuber Gallery】
[General] “Kjaemi” is getting torn apart
(Broadcast clip)
It seems like Kjaemi won’t be streaming Labyrinthos VR anymore.
[Comments]
– They’re getting ripped apart, lol.
– Wow, what is this? The Dark Knight is crazy good.
– Dismemberment slam, woah.
– What’s Labyrinthos VR?
ㄴ It’s the name of the game, Labyrinthos VR, so Labyrinthos = Labyrinth, and VR = “Bural” (a slang).
– But didn’t Kjaemi start playing Labyrinthos VR just recently? How did they get matched with such an experienced player?
ㄴ (Author) The opponent also started Labyrinthos VR just a day ago.
ㄴ ?? Their movement isn’t that of a newbie though?
ㄴ Must’ve been a smurf account stomping noobs, lol.
– Kjaemi’s rage report, lol.
—
I lightly touched the door leading to the boss room.
The enormous door, tightly closed, showed no signs of having been opened. This meant that I had arrived before the opposing player, once again.
Or perhaps not. The one thing I knew for certain was that to survive on the battlefield, one must always consider multiple possibilities.
Blind faith was the quickest path to death, and imagination was the best tool for survival.
Thus, I left the door to the boss room untouched and continued moving.
After walking a bit further, I spotted something in the distance: neutral mobs wandering around, not yet defeated.
This meant one of two things. Either the opponent was too preoccupied farming neutral mobs, or they had skipped all of them and were hiding somewhere nearby.
And naturally, the latter was far more threatening.
“──.”
-Kaang!
My backward strike clanged against metal.
A throwing dagger rolled across the ground.
Judging by the purple liquid coating it, the weapon was poisoned.
As soon as I realized this, I stepped back, spotting a small figure darting into my peripheral vision.
“An assassin, huh.”
With a hood pulled over their head, their face and even their eyes were obscured.
But I knew they were a female character; I’d encountered them a few times before.
The assassin lunged at me with their dagger, aiming precisely for my heart.
Before the dagger could reach my chest, I grabbed their wrist.
-Taat!
The assassin yanked their arm away, retreating.
In a contest of strength between a Dark Knight and an Assassin, the Dark Knight would obviously win. Knowing this, the Assassin had likely decided to stop attacking for now.
We stood about 10 meters apart, eyeing each other.
‘Assassins are a bit troublesome.’
After running hundreds of duels, I’d gotten a good sense of the different characters.
As expected, depending on the content, some characters were strong, while others were weak. In duel mode, Assassins were considered strong.
They had fast movement speed and the ability to stealth.
They also had an excellent kill potential.
In other words, they were a character specialized in “hunting down and killing the opposing player.” Given their name, Assassin, it was only natural.
They were slow at hunting, so they typically skipped monster farming entirely, focusing solely on finding and killing the opposing player.
Among the duel characters, they were probably the most popular. Since they skipped all the hunting, Assassins could finish each round relatively quickly.
Whether you win or lose, finishing a game quickly was an advantage. It was much more efficient for climbing ranks.
As a result, I had faced a ton of Assassins in my recent matches.
“──.”
The Assassin took a deep breath and disappeared. It was their skill,
From experience, the Assassin’s plans usually fell into two categories.
The first plan was to hide and then ambush for an assassination, which they had already attempted and failed.
So, they moved on to their second plan.
To put it simply, it was a hit-and-run tactic.
Using their superior mobility and stealth, they would hit and retreat repeatedly, wearing down the opponent.
It was an annoying strategy, but the counter was surprisingly simple.
I just had to narrow the Assassin’s range of movement.
“
I uttered the skill name.
Kukukung!
A wall made of bones rose beside me.
The Dark Knight was a character who won by weakening the opponent.
It was a character that dragged fights into a grueling slugfest.
In other words, it was a character designed to “make the opponent angrier than winning the game.”
By limiting the Assassin’s entry routes with
Now, the only thing left to anticipate was when the Assassin would make their move.
And that was easy to read.
While they may have hidden their form, they hadn’t silenced their footsteps.
“
Chwarr!
As I extended my left hand, chains shot out, striking the Assassin as they charged at me.
I seized the opportunity and dashed forward, swinging my sword.
The Assassin hastily swung their dagger to parry my strike, but I had anticipated this and subtly adjusted my sword’s trajectory.
Slash!
The Assassin’s left arm flew off.
“Ugh…!”
A short groan.
The Assassin tried to retreat in a panic.
But this time, they couldn’t escape far.
My chain had ensnared the Assassin’s right arm.
I grabbed the chain with my left hand and yanked it, dragging the Assassin closer.
The panicked Assassin struggled to free themselves, but it was futile. The Assassin had little resistance to crowd control effects.
Abandoning their futile attempts to free themselves, the Assassin instead lunged at me, mixing a charge attack with a flying kick.
I dodged to the side at the right moment, grabbed the Assassin, and slammed them into the ground.
Crash!
The Assassin rolled across the ground, letting out a grunt.
I reversed my grip on my sword and drove it into the fallen Assassin.
—
【You have reached Level 25.】
“Hmm… How many hours have I been playing?”
When I checked my playtime, it showed 10 hours.
This wasn’t particularly surprising. Aside from sleeping, I spent most of my time playing games.
Still, playing for 10 hours straight without a break was unusual, even for me. It just showed how engrossed I had become in this game.
And rightly so.
To put it simply, VR games were far more potent in triggering dopamine than PC games.
People feel vicarious satisfaction when they see the protagonist in a webtoon or web novel.
Then wouldn’t direct experience provide even greater enjoyment than vicarious satisfaction?
Even victories in PC games were ultimately something that happened beyond the monitor.
The blade that nearly touched my neck, dodging all the enemy’s skills with my movement, and the overwhelming power with which I beheaded them—all of it happened within the monitor.
In PC games, not everything could be said to be entirely yours.
But the events that occurred in VR games were all mine.
The nerve-wracking battles, the hair-raising moments, and the godlike dodging skills—I experienced them all with my own body.
The euphoria of feeling like a hero couldn’t be compared to PC games.
Especially since the virtual reality space in Labyrinthos was so realistic, making it even more intense.
“No wonder this is such a popular game.”
I should have started earlier.
I felt a bit regretful for having avoided VR games out of unnecessary worry. It felt like I’d lost half of my life.
With a slight smile, I stretched.
Suddenly, a warning window appeared.
【Your VR session has exceeded the recommended duration.】
【You are advised to eat and hydrate.】
【For your health, you will be forcibly logged out in 30 minutes.】
“Hmm…?”
I tilted my head, staring at the warning window.
I didn’t feel particularly hungry. Oh, is it referring to my real body?
“Guess you don’t feel hunger while continuously connected to VR.”
Honestly, I wanted to queue up for more matches, but since it was going to log me out forcibly, I had no choice.
I should log out and grab something to eat.
I’ll drink some water, visit the bathroom, and then queue up again.
—
“Insufficient funds.”
The convenience store clerk spoke apologetically.