I don't know why, but from the beginning up to now, things were going well until a message came from the author. I knew I must have made some mistake for him to send a message.

[Do you want me to open the message, Host?]

"Yes, open it! Like hell do I even have a choice?"

[Your Dear Author,
I hope you're doing well so far, but the thing is, it's feeling boring for me, and I want you to play the villain part now, not the side character. The last thing is, you've learned to narrate the story almost perfectly, but you still have a long way to go. I think you made a mistake somewhere. Maybe it's because of that there aren't many reviews or readers for my story, and that's why I'm giving you this mission to play the role of the villain.]

I knew it. I fucking knew it. The readers, huh? I don't know if the author has brains or not. It's only been less than nine chapters, and he expects readers to pour in like rain. Who in their right mind thinks like that? Isn't 1.9k views and 9 power stones enough? Fuck, the author is such an asshole.

[Ding! The author sent another message. Do you want me to open it?]

Ah, fuck. He probably heard what I said. "Open it."

[You're an asshole in your own asshole. Fuck you, bitch. Who are you calling an asshole? I'm giving you a penalty mission, and that is to accept the duel and make a bet that if you win, she has to be your girlfriend. Defeat her and say the line, 'You're pathetic.' If you fail, your skill 'Shapeshifter' will be removed. You see, I like torturing people. And if you ever call me an asshole or anything again, you will live a hellish life.]

Now, this is going to be a pain in the ass. I just want to live peacefully and become strong, but this fu—no, I shouldn't curse him; otherwise, I'll get another penalty. Okay, calm down. I calmed myself and saw Lyra looking at me with a serious expression on her face. My parents and her parents were looking worriedly. I don't know why, so don't ask me about it.
"I'll accept your duel. But I don't like pointless duels, so let's gamble."

I slowly leaned toward her ear and whispered, "If you win, I'll do anything you want. But if you lose, you'll have to be my girlfriend."

She showed a shocked expression on her face, then quickly changed to a serious one. "Fine, I'll do it because I'm going to win."

She looked at her parents, and I glanced at mine. Together, they took us to the arena. Well, in every novel I've read, there's always an arena at some party where kids compete, and the MC gets face-slapped, only to defeat their opponent later, and everyone reacts like, "Oh my God, did the genius just get defeated?" But that's not happening here. Here, we have private duel rooms.

"You both can duel, but be careful not to hurt each other, okay?" both sets of parents said at the same time, like they were in the Matrix.

Our parents agreed to a private duel, and we went to a private room. This room had four metal walls, with a glass window on one side where both of our parents stood watching.

She walked over to the weapons, picked up a wooden sword, and stood in front of me with a serious expression. 

"Are you not going to use a weapon?" she asked.

"I don't need a weapon for weak people."

"Hmph, you'll regret that later. When I win, you'll kneel to me ten times for proposing that bet and be my slave for five years because of your arrogance." 

Wait, where have I heard this dialogue before? I know I've heard it somewhere. Ah, I've read it, too. Yeah, this is that famous meme line: 'You arrogant youngster who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.' Haha! I'm laughing so much! To think I'm hearing this from the main character and not some white-haired old man.

"Okay, we'll see who wins or loses." As I spoke, I shifted into my new form. Lightning surrounded my entire body as my hair turned from black to blue, rising like that alien from an anime, except my hair was blue. The lighting was also different—blue with a fog-like mist swirling around the sparks.

This is a technique I developed, which I call Fusion. It lets me combine my affinities, except for space, because space is different. This element fusion gave birth to this new form, which I call Super Chaos Form - 1. It's called Super Chaos Form - 1 because, at this level, I can only use three elements. As my mana core rank increases, this form will become much stronger. Okay, back to the real world.

I stared at her face—it was the same emotionless doll-like face, but a bit more serious. I'm going to stop talking to you guys now until the fight is over. Sorry about that, but we're about to gain an ally for the organization I'm going to create. Bye.

After I finished my chitchat with the readers, I opened my eyes, which were glowing brightly in purple, and made a stance: standing straight with my left hand behind my back and my right hand raised, signaling her to come. This is a famous stance from one of my favorite animes. You can guess where it's from if you want, but I won't mention it to avoid the copyright god.

And then I said my line:

"Come."