The arena was absolutely packed. The remaining seats had been sold out last night, as apparently the event itself gained popularity from all the forum posts and news floating around regarding my debut match against Henrift. I had already developed a reputation as a noob stomper, but this was essentially my debut match against a real respected opponent.

  Was I just a flashy noob stomper, or was I actually a potential top player?

  I didn’t really care about status or whatever either way. Assassinating people in-game would get harder if I was famous. Really, I just wanted my Worlds ticket and my ten thousand dollars of prize money.

  Before Henrift, I had to beat ZombieGirl in the quarterfinals, and Zaphiel in the semis, both best of fives. Both players were certainly better than the rest, having made it up here. ZombieGirl had an interesting whirlwind skill that nearly caught me off guard, but I’d saved [Shadow Dash] for any surprises, making me avoid death. Zaphiel was decent enough at wielding a sword that I had to take the fight somewhat seriously, but he wasn’t nearly as fast as the level 370 swordsmen I’d fought.

  Henrift, of course, defeated his two opponents just as easily. His duel against Rafisto in his side of the semis lasted for much longer, since Henrift showed off and fought without his ultimate, but he was forced to at least use [Ground Slam] to get through Rafisto’s stance. He won three to zero.

  I took my eyes off of the television and took a deep breath. A music video played on the jumbotron, a loud rock song echoing to the warm-up room, where I waited for my time to show up. I checked my phone.

  Veyra: “Good luck. Like we talked, Shadow Dash is your only resource. I better not see you showing off with that lol”

  Veyra: “And I better not see you wearing that goddamned charm…”

  I smiled, sending her a heart emoji and closed my phone. She really wanted me to win. That made me happy, but also nervous. If I lost, this would be the most embarrassing screw-up of my life.

  Why do I actually feel pressure… I thought with a sigh.

  I sat there for the longest five minutes so far. The music video finished, and the arena fell silent, the lights dark.

  Finally, the organizers walked up to me and said, “It’s starting. Are you warmed up?”

  “Yep, ready,” I said. “I have one question first. How can I change equipment before the match? I don’t think I saw a button when logging in.”

  The organizer paused, as if I’d just asked a really stupid question. His stare became uncomfortable, until he asked, “Did you read the tournament terms and rules?”

  “Uh,” I said, suddenly with a bad feeling about this. “I skimmed them?”

  “It’s a single gearset tournament,” he said sympathetically.

  “And… What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Equipment can’t be changed for individual matches,” he said. “The gearset a player enters the bracket stage with is what they will use for the remainder of the tournament. That’s to encourage players to plan a build for a full tournament run and to give players with less money for equipment a fair chance.”

  “Oh.”

  Shit.

  “Players are allowed to keep one item in their inventory as a swap,” the organizer said. “Maybe the item you need is there?”

  “No, I was hoping to swap my charm,” I said. “My current one gives me monster avoidance only. I have zero resistances.”

  That clearly wasn’t a good enough excuse. He looked at me like I was a lost puppy. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid we can’t make an exception.”

  Shit. Not good. I tried to think of something, while we both stood awkwardly for a moment. Did I really have to run in with Charm Of Shadowfang?

  “Are you ready?” the organizer asked again.

  “Yes…” I said. “I suppose I am…”

  “Henrift will walk the stage first,” he said. “You will both get a two to three minute interview. Feel free to watch how he does it if you’re nervous.”

  I must have looked rather haunted. I wasn’t nervous about an interview. More so, I was terrified about the next time I saw Veyra again.

  She would fucking kill me.

  Even worse… I had a very real chance of losing now. I had no resistances against Henrift’s undodgeable aura. Was it even physically possible for me to kill him in 0.72 seconds?

  I nervously pondered that, while Henrift’s walk-in started. The lights came on, shining a small spotlight on his grinning figure. Cheers erupted as he walked to the game pods in the middle.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The interview awaited him in the middle, as a woman in an excessive red dress received him. Her voice echoed through a microphone. “Welcome, everyone, to the New York Wonderwind one versus one, 2026 finals!”

  I’m fucked, was all I could think. And the more I thought about it, the more apparent that fact became. Most of the strategies I’d discussed with Veyra wouldn't work, considering I’d die literally in 0.72 seconds to unavoidable damage.

  The interviewer quickly introduced herself as “Royal Rebecca,” a long time fan and now host of New York’s Wonderwind scene. Henrift’s questions began, starting with, “How does it feel to be back in New York, where it all started for you, after traveling all around the world, into Korea, into China, to fight against the best guilds in the world?”

  “Eh, I’ve just been playing the game, really,” Henrift answered calmly, which made the crowd laugh. A few generic questions followed, at the end of which he thanked all of his OG New York supporters, his guild, his family, and everyone who supported him.

  Rebecca’s final question was, “Do you have anything to say about your unexpected opponent today, Assassin A.”

  “He’s skilled,” Henrift said. “But he’s lacking equipment, levels, and experience. It will be a reality check for him.”

  The crowd cheered at that. Henrift was thanked one last time, and he went into the pod. The woman then talked with the crowd for a bit, until the lights went momentarily dark again.

  “Your turn,” the organizer said.

  I’m fucked. I’m completely fucked.

  I stood, however, and outwardly appeared calm. Still wearing my new hoodie and frog shirt, the spotlight revealed me, and the crowd blew up.

  The cheers almost seemed louder than what Henrift had received, but I couldn’t tell for sure. I was closer now without any curtains in the way, so everything felt louder. I walked at a leisure pace straight up to the woman, who faced me with a grin.

  “Assassin A,” she said boldly and loudly, as if emphasizing every letter. She eyed me for a bit, then said, “First of all, congratulations! Congratulations for reaching this far on your very first competition, surprising everyone and proving the haters wrong!”

  “Thanks,” I said, hoping I didn’t look too panicked.

  The crowd cheered at that.

  “I have to say, I’m surprised,” Rebecca said. “A week ago, nobody knew who you were, only for you to set the record for the fastest knockout ever set in an official competition.” She gave me a sheepish look. “Am I allowed to ask, what’s your secret?”

  What do I tell Veyra? I thought in a panic.

  To the microhpone, I said, “Practice and more practice,” and I stopped there, genuinely feeling like I was about to stumble on my words. I hadn’t felt nervous at all earlier, but now that I was forced to fight with shitty quest items, showing off and making claims of victory suddenly didn’t feel so easy.

  “Well, as the saying goes,” Rebecca said, “it takes ten years of hard work to become an overnight success. Would you agree with that?” She pointed the microphone at me.

  “Uh, ten years and one Veyra.”

  She chuckled, blushing a little, and the crowd really cheered at that, as if I’d quoted some great wisdom.

  I reddened slightly as well. She’s watching this! Gods, what do I tell her?

  “It must feel good to finally show up here, on the big stage, after all of those years of hard work. This might just become the most exciting match New York has seen in a long time.”

  The crowd cheered, while the number 0.72 kept making its way to my head.

  “As my last question to you, Assassin A,” Rebecca said. “Is there anything you would like to say to those who have supported you?”

  She turned the microphone to me. I thought about my answer, knowing full well that Veyra was watching. I had to tell her something, didn’t I? Otherwise, I’d really die the next time we met.

  “I’m amazed by the popularity. I want to thank my sister and my family for supporting me.” I gave them a smile, and Anna held up her banner high, grinning. “And to my coach…” I suddenly found myself growing red. “To her, I want to say, uh, that this competition is apparently a single gearset tournament.”

  I pressed my hands together, as if to pray and faced the camera. “I’m sorry, Veyra. I’ll try my best.”

  With that, I stood and walked to my game pod, logging into the game.

  ***

  Veyra faced the television with her mouth open. Her breathing paused, while her heart twisted painfully. She blinked, unable to form thoughts.

  You idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Veyra repeated in her head. Her face felt red hot, and she pressed her hand on her face, looking at the screen between her fingers.

  “Single gearset tournament?” Aree asked. “Why is he apologizing? What does that mean?”

  “It means we lost!” Veyra bawled out, the words coming out painfully. “That’s so stupid! Why is it a single gearset? Why, why, why?”

  Aree blinked, not understanding what’s going on.

  “That idiot didn’t check the rules!” Veyra said through her tight throat. “He’s forced to fight with Shadowfang.”

  The livestream chat certainly wasn’t helping. Messages along the lines of “Veyra and Assassin dating??” popped up like crazy. Or hate comments along the lines of, “Why is he thanking SevenStrife??” “Is he a cheater after all?”

  The arena was loading now. Veyra grabbed a pillow and pressed it against her face. She couldn’t watch this anymore.

  Aree’s phone buzzed with a notification. She read it, and she suddenly became focused.

  “Oh my god,” Aree said, growing more and more focused as she kept reading the long message. “No way.”

  “What is it?” Veyra asked, placing the pillow down.

  “They responded!” Aree said. She jumped from the couch. “Wind Virtual responded directly! It’s from Song Ji-soo from the surveillance team!”

  Veyra knew that name. Ji-soo and her team were in charge of the game’s item balance, and things like that. She blundered sometimes with bad patches, but Ji-soo had often been seen in the forums, asking people for their thoughts. Overall, she was very open about the development process, often hosting Q&As. She seemed like a genuinely passionate developer.

  “What did she say?” Veyra asked, suddenly even more nervous.

  Aree checked the text and hopped in place a little. “Oh my god, yes!”

  “What is it?” Veyra blurted out.

  “She said we have Wind Virtual’s full support!” Aree said with a beaming grin. “They’ve booked an accessible hotel near the arena for two. They’ve changed your flight to a wheelchair seat, and they’ve given me a flight ticket as your assistant!”

  Veyra’s mouth hung open, emotions frozen, too many things hitting her head at once.

  “Not only that, they hired a doctor for the flight as well to make sure everything goes smoothly!” Aree said, reading the message. “Ji-soo congratulated you for obtaining the ticket, and she hopes to see you achieve your goals in Sweden this year.”

  Veyra felt like she was about to cry. She sniffled, wiping her eyes. This is too much!

  She turned back to the television, eyes blurry. “But he’ll lose. We’re going alone.”

  Aree sat back down, a determined look on her face. “He’ll win. He needs to.”

  He’s an idiot, Veyra thought, and couldn’t stop her heart from racing as she watched that very idiot face off against the raid boss that was Henrift.

  Zero point seven-two seconds.

  20 chapters ahead on !