Chapter 33: Gaming Session
...
Von smiled wryly at the accusation but walked over anyway, taking the controller Trent had left behind.
"Can you play?" Aura asked him as she reselected her character.
"I’m an expert," Von said confidently. He sat down, testing the analog sticks. "But looking at this setup... let’s 1v1 instead. It’s basically a 2v1 with Sophie just watching anyway."
Sophie didn’t take his words kindly. She gasped and clutched her chest theatrically. "How could you! I’m actually good, I just didn’t think I had to help because Aura had it handled!"
Von did not believe the claim for a second, but she reinstated her position with a pout. "Alright, I’ll play well this ti. As long as you’re as good as you claim."
"Fair enough," Von muttered.
He scrolled through the roster. He ignored the ta-characters, instead, he stopped on a joke character: Panda-Monium.
It was a fat panda wearing a torn karate gi.
"A panda?" Max’s voice interrupted Von with a dragged, exaggerated sigh. "We’re dood, man. Why would you pick the mascot?"
Von just smiled. Even though he had to admit Aura was good, he still felt confident of winning easily. Back in his forr life, during the years he was bedridden, he was among the only thousand Grandmaster Players in his region. He even had the chance to win money through a live tournant, but his health didn’t permit him to travel.
This was his ho turf.
"Ready?"
"Always."
The countdown began.
3... 2... 1....
ROUND 1. FIGHT!
Aura didn’t underestimate Von. She went on the attack instantly. She launched a flurry of low-kicks into an overhead slash; a classic mix-up that would have decimated anyone else. She rolled towards Von, looking for the opener.
But Von didn’t panic. He blocked low, blocked high, parried the third hit, and then unleashed a Counter-Hit.
The Panda slapped the ani swordswoman across the face.
"Oh!" The crowd gasped.
But Aura had anticipated the follow-up. She utilized a fra-perfect backstep, causing his grapple attempt to miss her completely.
anwhile, Max had decided to go after Sophie’s character first.
"Co here you little brat!" Max yelled.
But the pink-haired loli kept running in circles, dodging the slow energy blasts Max threw at her instead of attacking.
Her gaplay was beginning to annoy Max, but he continued his chase like a dog after a squirrel.
Von’s duel was becoming more intense. Thirty seconds into the fight, he had already found himself on the defensive.
Maybe it was because it had been years since he handled a physical controller, or perhaps Aura was simply better than he gave her credit for.
But he couldn’t make excuses as he kept punching the buttons with as much dexterity as he could muster.
The tide changed completely when Von attempted a skill move; the Belly Gong, but mistid the input by a fraction of a second.
Aura capitalized imdiately. She punished his recovery fras with a Lightning Thrust, stunning his character and locking him into a 15-hit combo that drained his health bar to zero.
VON. ELIMINATED.
"Dammit," Von cursed under his breath.
With Von gone, only Max was left. Von had to count on the unserious guy to sohow do the impossible against an almost full-health Aura.
anwhile on the screen, Max’s robot kept on aimlessly chasing the loli like an idiot, and he couldn’t shoot her from range because all his shots kept missing.
"Max! Fuck! At your back!" Von shouted.
Before Max could reply to Von’s warning, Aura had sneaked in on him. Her rapier blurred, decimating his robot from behind with a flurry of attacks.
K.O.
ROUND 1 WINNER: PLAYERS 1 (AURA/SOPHIE)
Von could only bite his lip in embarrassnt as he began the next round. He leaned over to Max. "Ignore Sophie. She’s bait. Let’s double-team Aura."
"Got it."
ROUND 2. FIGHT!
This ti, the strategy worked. Von used the Panda’s bulk to body-block Aura, while Max fired missiles from a distance. They were succeeding in flanking Aura’s character, chipping away at her health bar until it was in the red.
"We got her!" Max yelled.
But unexpectedly, Sophie’s character stopped running.
As Max moved in for the kill on Aura, the pink loli pulled out a massive, comical bazooka three tis her size.
BOOM.
She delivered a sneak attack that vaporized Max’s robot in one strike.
MAX. ELIMINATED.
"WHAT?!" Max scread. "She had a bazooka the whole ti?!"
"I told you I was good!" Sophie chirped.
With only Von left, he was overwheld. Aura and Sophie coordinated perfectly, juggling the poor Panda in the air until he crashed down in defeat.
ROUND 2 WINNER: PLAYERS 1.
"Okay," Von said, sitting up straighter. "One more. I’m ward up now."
Aura raised an eyebrow but hit for the next one.
ROUND 3.
This ti, Von entered the zone. His fingers danced across the controller, the rust falling away. He anticipated Aura’s dash and parried Sophie’s bazooka.
He executed a Bamboo Forest" tactical combo; trapping Aura in a corner and juggling her with precise kicks.
"Whoa, look at his fingers!" soone whispered.
Von finished off Aura with a perfectly tid Ultimate attack; throwing flaming punches, like he was dancing.
AURA. ELIMINATED.
Sophie panicked. Without her protector, the loli character was helpless. Von made easy work of her, body-slamming her into the ground.
ROUND 3 WINNER: PLAYERS 2 (VON/MAX).
With the first victory over Aura in the Gaming Center, excitent rose among everyone. The crowd roared. Max high-fived Von so hard his hand stung. They all cheered Von to stage a coback.
"Okay," Aura said as her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. "No more playing around."
ROUND 4.
Von believed he had adapted to the controller and could go all the way. He moved in to pressure her.
But his hopes ca crashing down when Aura pulled off a special technique she hadn’t done before. She initiated a Fra-Cancel Glitch, a move only pro players knew existed. Her character beca invincible for two seconds, passing through Von’s attack.
She appeared behind him.
"Omae wa mou shindeiru," Max whispered in horror.
She destroyed him only twenty seconds within the round. Max was once again fodder as Aura and Sophie secured the final victory.
FINAL WINNER: PLAYERS 1 (AURA/SOPHIE).
Von set down the controller and exhaled. He looked at Aura with genuine respect.
"Good ga," Von congratulated her despite the defeat. "You were amazing. You’re really pro-level."
While he didn’t lose often, he never had the privilege to play with others in a long ti, so this was a good experience for him.
Aura looked at him and offered a small nod. "You’re better than I expected. I don’t think I’ve faced soone better."
"Let’s play another ga," Aura suggested suddenly. "You’ve heard of Where Winds et?"
Von recognized the ga imdiately. It was a Wuxia-style open-world RPG focused on swordplay and movent. For now, the world was limited. But he rembered the ga becoming very popular when it got improved from his tiline.
A grin ford on his face as he accepted the request. That was his favorite ga after all. He was having a lot more fun than he expected.
"You’re on," Von said, cracking his knuckles. "But just so you know... I don’t lose in that one."
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