Chapter 75: Twelve rounds
Hearing Korr surrender, Lucen stopped using Acting Adept.
’I was able to control myself a bit. I was using another persona, but I was still me. Still, that was f*cking hard. I can’t use a persona with that kind of personality too much.’
Every time he used Acting Adept that deeply, it was like he was watching himself move through a screen, but he had a controller at hand. It should have been able to control the character at play, but the deeper he went, the more he lost control, and the character would do things he wouldn’t.
Even now, he could feel the echo of the persona tugging at the edge of his mind, like a shadow behind his thoughts. It hadn’t fully left him. That intensity, aggressive like a beast, utterly ruthless, even though it was useful, but also dangerous.
’If I lose myself in the role, what’s left of me after the curtain falls?’ He shook his head slightly, clearing away the lingering fog.
’In the game, you need to win ten times to fight the champion. I don’t know how many times I need to fight in reality. Still, now that I have the audience going, I don’t need to make too much of a spectacle in the next few fights.’
The announcer’s voice boomed across the arena.
"So! Will Lucen Thornehart continue, or end his battles here?"
The crowd once again responded before Lucen could.
"Come on, Lucen Thornehart! Show us the might of the North!"
"That was incredible! I want to see more!"
"The second round was a completely different style, what’ll he do next?"