"Did you hear about Henry IV's defeat in the fourth round?" Rumors spread around the Hub that had updated with multiple screens showing footage of the event. Gathered around a particular area of the Hub; shown on a bigger screen – the follow of Henry who had fought skillfully. Fast shots and crazier reactions; Bullet time was more of a burden to snipers.
'Did something happen?' walked to the crowd, [Player One 2 – 0 Henry IV]. 'That's my match,' he stumbled as it was a first to see himself on a big screen. Not to mention the people debating over how the match concluded.
"I never thought that the Player One would just rush in there, its as if they were tired of waiting."
"Yeah, I know; it's a shame but one versus ones are often subject to a lot of luck. Spawn, hardware speed, so more."
"You still have to give praise, beating a prodigy doesn't come that easily."
"Right, I suppose so," such was the chatter.
[Countdown: 00.01.00]
Pinged across the HIF, [Invitation from Jenifer: Lobby 0023] [Yes or No].
"Sayer," gentle hands grabbed on his shoulder, "-you made it into the top 16."
"Miss Cherry," turned with face focused on the invitation of which she was ignored.
"Don't be rude," she leaned so as to be seen through the semi-transparent interface.
"I'm sorry," snapped out of the dream, "-I got an invitation to the double-digits lobbies."
"Double digits you say," taking a step back, "-is it that lady friend from earlier?" frowned, she wanted answers.
[Notification: Message].
"Yes," he said reluctantly. The mind stood confused on what to focus, [Notification: Message].
"Aren't those lobbies supposed to be faster and given to few people, pros and rich alike?" asked through the distraction of messages attacking Sayer's HIF, her composure grew thin.
[Notification: Message].
"FUCKING HELL," slapping the HIF into nothingness, "-take me with you."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Take me with you. I don't want another vixen to lay her hands on you," raising an eyebrow, her face changed to one scary.
"Vixen you say," paused, "-isn't that an old word?"
"Old," pinching his cheeks, "-accept the invitation else I'll show you old methods of torture."
[Accept Invite from Jenifer?]…
[Yes].
Blocks of data reconstructed around, different from the prior lobby. A clear sky opposed to one of night. Greenery and vintage styled looking houses; one close to Fantasy type of town. "Where are we?" he asked teleported inside what seemed to be a private lobby.
"Isn't this skin Rep of Mula?" knowingly, Cherry took a single look then voiced a smile.
"Rep of Mula?"
"A limited item dropped from an action RPG long-time ago. It holds the power to change a lobby into any matching domain of that game. I'd figure a guess of around 899,000 VB if it's to be sold now."
"That much?" coughed, a sudden feeling of nervousness whelmed.
"Sayer," came a voice behind. They had spawned on a little hill atop which rested a big, beautiful tree.
"H-hey," he turned with half a smile, "-why did you invite me?"
"I can explain that," next to her walked a figure with blond hair, prettier than the few glimpse he had caught earlier.
'Henry IV,' he mumbled in shock of he who was very famous.
"Welcome to my lobby," he said with a boastful wave, "-Jenifer has recounted many o' tale of thee, Player One."
"Why is he speaking that way?" nudged Cherry under her breath.
'Don't ask me?' no words, Sayer's face sufficed.
Paused, "-I see that my manner of speech has you confused," sighed, "-whatever," a change in tone to one normal. "I'll skip the pointless speeches. I asked Jenifer to invite you."
"Let me guess," face to face, "-are you going to say that we need to settle the scores?" heart practically beating out of his chest, '-I need to make a good impression.'
"You're smart," he let a smile slip, "-actually, that's the whole reason. I hate defeat atop everything else. That's why," angered, he gave an insulting gaze, "-that's why I'll show you the difference in our skill level."
"If I may interject," spoke Cherry who cut the boastful speech, "-is it normal for a pro to be such a sore loser. Do you not have the slightest idea of sportsmanship?"
"Who are you to speak on his behalf," yelled Jenifer, "-I don't see Sayer asking for your help," she took a step forward. Higher with the tree overshadowing Henry and Jenifer, they seemed more intimidating than Sayer who hunched with Cherry fighting.
"Let me ask you this," stepped against Jenifer, Cherry had enough, "-who are you to Sayer?"
"I-I-I'm," stuttered, "-I'm a f-friend."
"How lovely," giving a lusty wink, "-as for your answer," she grabbed onto Sayer's shirt to then pull him down, "-I'm his owner," without hesitation, they locked lips.
"Enough," pushed back, "-I'm sorry," he bowed, "-this is all my fault. I should not have come here in the first place. I don't see the point in strangers fighting without knowing one another. It's sad, very sad, to get upset on behalf of another person." His words and action took the rest by surprise, '-getting involved here will bring ruin. I can sense it; we need to get out of here.'
"Ladies," spoke Henry, "-I'll second whatever he said, excluding the bow of course."
Fierce gaze had the ladies in a strong mental battle. Humph, rolling eyes in disgust, each stood with arms locked with their partner.
"Henry IV, can you please let us go?"
"Spineless aren't you," he laughed obnoxiously, "-I said I'd second everything about the ladies fighting for it's unbecoming. Not you though, I've yet to show the extent of my skill."
"Fighting without something on the line isn't worth the trouble," sighed Cherry.
"How about this," catching on her idea, Henry smirked, "-what if I challenge you with the Rep of Mula on the line."
"Rep of Mula," interest peaked, "-I don't have anything of value to offer."
"Yes, you do," he laughed, "-throw your match at the event. That should be sufficient, it's not like you have a chance at survival."
"Deal," nodded Cherry.
"What do you mean deal?" turned in confusion, "-I can't just."
"Listen," interjected without mercy, "-do as I say."
"Deal," hesitant, he accepted. 'Why,' instant regret, '-I don't care about the Mula thing. I wanted to have a chance at winning the event. If only I didn't bring you here,' turned to Cherry, she glared mercilessly.
Soon, Henry sent an invitation to a private room in Manticore. "We'll play Hallway," faced before a portal, "-no bullet-time, we'll play like the pro-league. Instant, I hope you have good reactions; another thing, the entrance will have a few obstacles to use as cover. Best out of 16 rounds, instant respawn, are those terms acceptable?"
"Yes," saddened, they walked inside. [Match loading 50%].
"What did you mean by his owner?" stood with an overview of the map, Cherry and Jenifer had their HIF separated into multiple points of views.
"It's as I meant it," turned Cherry coldly, "-Player one is nothing more than my slave. In the virtual world, I own his avatar; a full-pledge contract."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"No, even if it was, I've my method," said slowly, the terror seeped thoroughly.
'Full-pledge contract, why did you sign,' wondered Jenifer, '-why did you give up your life. Is it because…' it wasn't long till she put one and one together.
[Players Ready?]
'Ready, is this a joke. I don't know if I'm ready, my heart is racing, I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. My fingers won't stop shaking; I'm losing my calm. Suddenly, the pressure of going against a prodigy has me on the losing side before the match.'
"Screw it," clapping hard, '-let's do it.'
[Begin!]
Scurried over to one of three boxes facing the Hallway, carefully peeking out to have a visual, the moving squares exposed his angle, *BANG.* [Henry IV 1 – 0 Player One].
'That was fast,' respawned instantly, he slid behind the cover. 'Good, the squares are blocking his line of sight. The last shot came from the right, I saw the barrel briefly. Which means that he'll change sides.' Posited and aimed at the left side, *BANG.* [Henry IV 2 – 0 Player One].
'He didn't change position,' now close to the wall, '-if I lean out here, I'll be out of his firing range,' turning the corner, *BANG,* [Henry IV 3 – 0 Player One].
"HOLY SHIT," screamed Jenifer, "-did you see that flick?" she laughed.
"Yeah," smiled Cherry, "-he's very strong."
Panting, the mind grew foggy, '-that was fast. Bullet time is out of the picture, it's instant travel. Skill takes precedence over luck. He's using the 7X3T. Instant travel means that if we were to fight and shoot at the same time, I'd win because of my gun's power. Now that it's instant, the DLS-40 is at a massive disadvantage. Forgotten as the age went by, not many people use this beautiful gun.'
"Did he give up?" asked Jenifer after he stopped moving.
"Maybe."
[Surrender] flashed across the interface, '-don't patronize me,' a shake of the head later, the heart rate calmed. 'If it's a matter of skill, I don't think I can win. Reaction wise, I can't win either; this match is beyond me. I've only returned to Manticore recently, I play in D-games; there's no way in hell I can find the ego to rightfully challenge a legit pro. I can't…' hovered over the [Yes] option, *-fight already. A once in a lifetime to go all out against a pro, you'll probably die in the underground. Be selfish, think of what you want, Player One. The gun awaits you.*
'Forgive me,' hands tight around the handle, '-let's fight,' jumped atop one of the crates, *BANG,* [Henry IV 4 – 0 Player One].
"What is he doing?" asked Jenifer with a displeased look, "-is he just going to die stupidly?" one by one, the death counter stacked, [Henry IV 13 – 0 Player One].
'Heh,' he smirked, backed against the wall, a running start followed by a slide, '-I got you,' *BANG,* [Henry IV 13 – 1 Player One]. 'You don't know where I'm coming from, do you,' doing the same on the next wall, he ran and slid, *BANG,* another kill.
"What's happening?" asked Henry who felt heavy, '-that guy is insane. Who the hell even thinks of sliding with a gun?' peeking out of lower right cover, *BANG,* [Henry IV 13 – 3 Player One].
Sayer scored yet another kill. Caught off guard by his opponent standing atop the crates, Henry's face changed.
'Don't insult me,' *BANG,* fired Sayer, the bullet missed.
[Skill: Shadow Peek] *BANG,* a headshot, [Henry IV 14 – 3 Player One].
'What was that?' petrified, Sayer caught a glimpse of how fearful a pro was, '-I swear I shot his head. How did I miss?' turning the corner, *BANG,* [Henry IV 15 – 3 Player One].
'Again, I want to kill him, one last time, I don't want this match to end, one more kill, please, let me have one more kill,' [Warning SCHD Overheating] (Player Eject in 2 minutes). 'Who cares anymore,' stepped into the line of fire, posited, '-so slow,' the obstacles came close to a full stop, the world around grew murky and foggy, '-die.' *BANG,* *BANG.* [Henry IV 15 – 4 Player One].
[Notification: Player One left the server]
[Henry IV: Victorious!]
"THERE IT IS," laughed Cherry who had the other clueless.
"What happened?" asked Jenifer intrigued by the laughter.
"Did you not see the last shot?" turned Cherry with a sparkled gaze.
"Looks normal to me," she sighed.
"No," spoke Henry, "-replay that last kill."
"There's nothing of it, you both shot and he killed you."
"Let me spell it out for you." *Server Prompt,* several complicated lines of codes went across Cherry's interface. "Henry felt it too," she smiled. [Reaction: 0.126]
"Isn't that your personal best, Henry?" asked Jenifer with a proud smile.
"Yes, that's why it worries me, I shot at my best condition and still died, do you understand the implications?"
[Reaction: 0.125], "-that's Sayer's time."
"Isn't that luck?"
"No, far from it," stared the pro with a burst of maniacal laughter, "-is he using the GCHD perchance?" A device without delay that meant players could utilize their fastest reaction during matches.
"Are you insane?" laughed Cherry, "-Sayer can barely keep himself fed. He has the first-generation SCHD, one that puts a lot of stress onto the nervous system. The delay on that is about 0.002 ms."
"Fuck off… 0.123? IMPOSSIBLE!"