Challenging the impossible was a daily ritual for Mina. Her little fingers bashed the game controller in lightning speed.

【36 HITS! UNSTOPPABLE!】

"C’mon! C’mon!"

Rotate, Square, Zig zag, X, Dash Cancel, Forward, Triangle, Down, Circle, Jump Cancel, X+Triangle+Circle

【72 HITS! INHUMAN!】

"C’mon, you shit!"

She yelled at her own character as she wrecked the controller. The endless combo kept going on and on, with Mina inputting inhumanly fast commands without a moment's rest.

【99 HITS! SPECTACULOUS!!!】

"Ah-! N-no! Fuuuuuu!!!"

The combo came to an abrupt end. This was the inevitable limit of the girl known as the "99 Magnum".

"Bah! That freakin’ frame rate recovery!! Why couldn't they make it a split second faster!? Or at least make Sonic Overdrive a cancelable move!!! BAH!!!"

Mina flung the controller in rage... out of the window.

BAM CRASH SHATTER

"O-oops!"

She gasped when a car's alarm resounded from the parking lot. She quickly crawled toward the room's window and peeked outside.

The controller was innocently lying inside someone's car... after busting through half of the car's front window.

"People are so dumb sometimes, buying cars with only half the glass like that."

Mina made an innocent face and used her lightning speed hands to tightly shut her window.

“Okay! This is enough practice for today.”

She picked one of her sixteen spare controllers and turned off the game console. She dashed toward her bed and picked up a white headgear.

“Today I’mma reach that dumb magic city for sure!”

She lied on top of the bed and wore the white helmet. After flipping a switch, her consciousness became hazy and reality vanished.

【God Vessel Online】

【Please wait for your awakening...】

Her eyes were shut, but the loading screen of a video game appeared in front of her. It was projected directly into her hazy mind.

After finishing the authorization process, Mina logged into a virtual reality. She assumed a new body and materialized in a fantasy world. She was now in the center of a small and rundown village.

Before heading out, Mina confirmed her weapons.

Right hand: big axe.

Left hand: another big axe.

On her back: two spare axes.

In her inventory: ten extra axes.

Okay! Off to the next city!

Mina confidently strode through the village with her fanatic collection of identical axes.

A hooded man sat the outskirt of the village, eying the travelers.

“Hey girlie, are you alone?”

“What do you care, old man?”

Mina tightened the grip on her axes and glared at the suspicious man. He was just an NPC, but she knew better than to blindly trust these.

“Are you, perchance, heading to Death’s Rift?”

“I dunno, is that how ya call that dumb area with the skeletons? That’s where I’m going.”

“I see... I wouldn’t go alone if I were you.”

“Huuuh?”

“The Grim Reaper appeared again. They are organizing a party against him right now.”

The hooded man pointed toward a gathering of players. They were chatting and exchanging items with each other.

“Oh! Is he a freakin’ strong boss or something?!”

Mina’s eyes lit in excitement.

“A boss, you ask? He’s in a league of his own, that abomination.”

The man shook his head with a serious expression.

“He appears in Deah’s Rift about once a week. To whoever crosses his path... there’s only death. Even seasoned warriors fall before him.”

The man sharply eyed Mina, trying to deliver the gravity of the topic. However, Mina responded with a shrug and grinned in confidence.

“No biggie, I can handle stuff myself.”

“Really now...”

The man examined Mina’s avatar in surprise.

She was a small girl with red hair, roughly 12 years old. She wielded very big axes for her petite frame and her right arm was safely covered with a metal gauntlet. However, her equipment was otherwise light and hardly offered any protection.

“Anyways, old man! Do ya have any dumb quests for me? Like hunting down that reaper dude or whatever.”

“Hunt the Grim Reaper, huh... no, I’m just here to warn you.”

“Then seeya! If I come across that reaper dude - I’ll make sure to kick his dumb ass!”

“... you’ll die, girlie.”

“No sweat! I can always respawn and try again!”

“It might not go as smoothly as you think...”

The man mumbled, but Mina already disappeared.

Shortly after leaving the village, Mina entered a big swamp area.

Okay, first this stinky dumb swamp.

Mina didn’t have any hunting quests for the mobs in the swamp. Therefore, she tried to blitz through without clashing with the swamp dwellers.

However, that proved difficult.

“Shaaa!!!”

“Fuck!”

A huge anaconda lunged at Mina from within the swamp.

Flash Step!

Mina’s right leg emitted a yellow glow for an instant.

“Shaa!?”

The anaconda’s poisonous fangs were confirmed to dig into Mina’s flesh... but they hit nothing.

“Take that, fucker!”

Two axes rained upon the snake’s defenseless back, delivering fatal damage and felling it in one blow.

“Bah, annoying bastards.”

She kicked the corpse of the dead snake and continued to traverse through the muddy swamp.

“Shaaa!!!”

“Come, bitch!”

“Shaaa- GEHHH!”

Another snake met its end under the weight of Mina’s giant axes.

“I know your damn patterns! just give up!”

When Mina fought her foes, she imagined herself as a character from a fighting game. For a fighter junkie like her, the “input commands” against the anacondas were very simple.

Dang, finally!

After felling five more snakes, Mina reached the next area: Death’s Rift. She licked her lips in excitement and dashed toward the dark area.

Befitting its name, Death’s Rift was an ominous place decorated by scattered bones and rotting trees. The enemies were skeleton warriors equipped with swords, axes and shields.

“Come, ugly faces!”

The skeletons were notorious enemies who attacked players on sight. As the only player in the area - Mina became the target of dozens.

Her strategy was simple: she sprinted like a madman and haphazardly swung her big axes. Her barbaric attacks cleaved random enemies and kept her pursuers at a distance.

But, one brave skeleton repelled her axe and made her halt.

“Fuck! Eat shit!”

She swung her other axe and blasted the enemy’s skull away. Alas, the beheaded enemy continued to blindly attack.

“Bah, I don’t have time for this!”

Mina circled around the skeleton and continued her risky dash. Over 16 skeletons were on her trail. If she were to take a break - she’d be rammed by a vicious rabble of bones.

“Bah! Gotta get serious.”

Overdrive!

Mina’s right arm emitted a red glow from under her silver gauntlet. The exposed parts of her skin were covered by red magical sigils.

“Get rekt!”

She swung her enchanted arm and busted through skeleton’s ribcase, smashing the azure core hiding inside. The skeleton collapsed into a pile of motionless bones.

“Die, you... you dead fuckers!”

Using her powerful right arm, Mina made quick work of the foolish chasters who came into striking range. One swing of her axe - one skeleton blasted off the map.

Her smooth progress was interrupted by a swift arrow.

“D-damn!”

Flash Step!!!

She instantously sidestepped and the accurate arrow missed its target.

“Hah! I’ve been waiting for ya, dumbass!”

Mina grinned at the skeleton archer. She channeled strength into her right arm and swung the axe.

Hadoken!

She released the axe, firing it like a missile into the unsuspecting archer. The archer was blasted off the cliff and vanished into the darkness.

“Pwahaha! Take that, fucker!!”

Mina quickly drew out a spare axe from her back. She continously smashed warriors and sniped archers as she blitzed through the deadly area. She had more than enough axes to spare.

By a stroke of luck, she learned that running along the cliff’s edge was a great tactic. Many of her pursuers had rotten brains and clumsy fell off of the edge.

“Haa... phew... this shit is intense...”

Mina lowered axes and leaned forward to catch a breather. Her legs were heavy from the endless sprinting and her right arm almost turned numb from overusing magic.

This dumb area sure is quiet... can it be a safe zone?

There was no immediate danger in sight, but MIna wasn’t sure it’d remain so for long. Instead of taking a proper break, she quickly strode toward her destination.

The tall walls of Trilz City were already visible in the distance. She was almost at her destination.

“Bah!?”

It appeared out of nowhere.

A dark fog engulfed the area. A giant cloaked figure emerged out of thin air. Its ghastly arms brandished an eerie scythe and its gleaming red eyes locked onto Mina.

“Oh, right! Heh, that old geezer wasn’t joking about a freakin’ reaper dude!!”

Mina grinned in thrill and readied her axes.

“Hey there, dude! I don’t suppose ya’ll just let me pass?”

The shadowy figure responded by raising its big scythe for a deadly swing.

“Figured... heh, let’s roll then!”

Overdrive!

“Ugh...!”

Her right arm was breaking down due to magical pressure. Mina gritted her teeth and readied her aim.

Hadoken!

Mina was confident she could win.

Even if not this time, she could always retry next time. And next next time.

But she soon came to learn: facing the Grim Reaper alone - was a fatal mistake.