Chapter 546: Give Me a Buff, and I'll Definitely Win
After the forms, both of them successfully registered. Upon arriving in the preparatory area, they found quite a few people already waiting.
As he looked around, a particular girl caught his attention.
She had golden hair and wore a red hoodie, black cotton stockings, and a baseball cap.
Additionally, she wore a mask covering the upper half of her face, clearly not wanting to be recognized by acquaintances.
Hachiman glanced at her briefly but wasn't particularly interested in her identity.
Soon, the registration closed, and the competition officially began.
Due to the large number of participants, a single-elimination format was adopted, meaning each contestant could only choose one character, and defeat meant disqualification.
The large screen began to display the names of the opponents in each match. Hachiman was placed in the fifth group.
The first match began, and unfortunately, it concluded in less than two minutes, highlighting the clear disparity in skill levels.
The unusual-looking girl took the stage in the second group, and to Hachiman's surprise, she was incredibly strong, defeating her opponent in just over a minute.
At that moment, a buzz of conversation arose among the audience. "She's amazing! Wait, UMR! Isn't that her?!"
"That's right, she's the legendary person who topped the leaderboard in every game at this arcade."
"Yeah, it's my first time seeing her in person. I didn't expect her to be a girl..."
Hearing these discussions, Hachiman recalled that when he was setting a new high score on the Whack-a-Mole machine, the previous top score was by someone named [UMR]. He hadn't expected to encounter her here.
However, Hachiman didn't dwell on it because he believed himself to be the strongest.
The fighting game matches progressed rapidly, especially under the single-elimination rule. Before long, it was Hachiman's turn to compete.
Seeing him about to take the stage, Mafuyu gave him some encouragement. "Good luck, Hachiman."
"No worries, I promised to win the championship for you," Hachiman replied with a confident smile as he headed to the competition area.
A minute later, Hachiman returned with the same confident smile. It took him just one minute to defeat his opponent.
The opponent, named Sato, wasn't weak. In fact, he was quite skilled, having made it to the top eight and even the final four in the arcade's fighting game tournament for two consecutive years.
This year, Sato had aimed for the championship, but unfortunately, he encountered an exceptional challenger like Hachiman in the very first round and was eliminated.
When Sato chose his best character, he was confident of winning, but Hachiman used the protagonist Ryu with a series of elegant combos that took out most of Sato's health.
This made Sato nervous, and in his haste to attack, he left an opening that Hachiman exploited, finishing him off with another combo.
Seeing Hachiman's victory, Mafuyu was overjoyed. "Hachiman-kun, you're amazing!"
"It's nothing. I've got more amazing things up my sleeve," Hachiman replied, feeling relaxed after the win, and speaking a little boastfully.
But Mafuyu looked puzzled. "Oh? What more amazing things?"
Hachiman was momentarily at a loss for words. He had forgotten that Mafuyu is still quite innocent in some ways.
"Ah, well, that's something you'll experience someday," Hachiman said, trying to brush off Mafuyu's curious gaze with an excuse.
The pace of the fighting game was incredibly fast, and before long, the rounds of matches were completed, and the competition moved into the semifinals.
In the second round, Hachiman was placed in the first group. As expected, he easily emerged victorious; his opponent was not even as strong as Sato from the previous round.
The matches progressed smoothly, and more and more strong competitors stood out, including UMR.
Round three, round four, and so on… The matches continued at a rapid pace.
Soon, it was time for the final showdown. Hachiman, having advanced without losing a single match, found himself pitted against UMR in the championship round.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the exciting final match is about to begin! First, let me thank XXX brand for their generous support of our competition!"
The host kicked off the event with a captivating advertisement.
After the promotion, the host began commentary on the match. "All right, without further ado, let's meet the two finalists."
"First up is our arcade's celebrity, undefeated and holding the highest record in all games, U—M—R!"
As the host announced her name, a spotlight illuminated UMR, highlighting her presence.
After introducing the first contestant, the host moved on to Hachiman. "The other contestant can truly be described as a dark horse, breaking through the competition and defeating several outstanding challengers: Hachi-Gatsu!"
That's right; Hachiman's registered name was Hachi-Gatsu. It held significant meaning as his birthday was August.
"Now, let's look forward to the fierce battle these two fighters will bring us."
"Without further ado, I declare the finals of this arcade fighting tournament officially begin!"
As the host's voice fell, the thrilling final was set in motion.
Just as Hachiman was about to step onto the stage, Mafuyu encouraged him again. "Hachiman, you can do it! I know you can win!"
Hachiman, initially ready to nod confidently as he had before, suddenly had an idea and let a mischievous smile creep onto his face. "What if I'm not confident about winning? After all, my opponent is really strong."
"Eh?"
Mafuyu was surprised at his words, quickly trying to come up with some comforting remarks. But before she could speak, Hachiman's voice chimed in again.
"If you could give me a buff, maybe I'd have a shot at winning," Hachiman suggested with a mischievous grin.
"Buff… what is that?" Mafuyu asked, puzzled and unable to grasp the jargon.
"A buff is…"
Hachiman pointed to the side of his face with a smirk, "Mafuyu, if you give me a kiss, I'll carry your blessing into the match. Just think, if we combine our strengths, we're bound to win!"
"Eh, eh, eh?"
Mafuyu's eyes widened, and she stammered. "This… this…"
"Is that not allowed?"
Seeing her flustered reaction, Hachiman pretended to sigh with disappointment and stood up as if ready to enter the stage. "It's okay; even without the buff, I'll still do my best."
"Wait… wait a second!"
Just as Hachiman was about to take a step, he heard Mafuyu's voice, followed by a fleeting touch of moisture on his cheek.
Turning to look, he saw Mafuyu blushing, fumbling for her words. "I've already given you the buff, so Hachiman, you have to win!"
"No problem! Wait for the news of my victory!" Hachiman's confidence returned as he set off with large strides toward the stage.
Both contestants entered the ring, nodding at each other before taking their respective positions.
After selecting their characters, the final match officially began.
As expected from the legendary player UMR, her skill was on a completely different level compared to Hachiman's previous opponents. Every feint he made was expertly countered, revealing no openings for him to exploit.
However, Hachiman didn't rush; he found this match entertaining.
After an exchange of attacks, he decided to switch to defense.
UMR seized the initiative, aggressively launching her attacks, while Hachiman continued to counter effectively. The battle reached a stalemate.
Then, Hachiman seemed to recall something—a smile crept onto his face.
He purposefully opened up a gap in his defense, allowing UMR to capitalize on it.
The first hit, the second hit, the third hit…
UMR unleashed a series of consecutive strikes, and the host, along with the other players, felt that Hachiman was doomed. After all, in a duel of masters, a tiny mistake could lead to disaster.
They all understood UMR's prowess; once an opportunity was found, it was tough to recover.
But Hachiman didn't give up. He smiled, biding his time for the right moment.
Soon, the moment arrived. Hachiman watched as UMR's character entered a lengthy state of immobility after executing her fifth consecutive hit.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
For someone familiar with all the characters in Street Fighter, he knew that the character UMR selected had a significant recovery time after the fifth hit in their combo.
As the saying goes—against skilled opponents, even the slightest detail can lead to a huge difference...
Hachiman seized the opportunity to turn the tide and quickly launched his combo.
The character he chose was a rapid combo type. While this character had slightly lower individual damage compared to others, Street Fighter was known for its excellent balance, meaning faster attack speed and smaller gaps would compensate for lower power.
Harnessing this advantage, Hachiman initiated his counterattack with swift precision.
First strike, second strike, third strike...
No matter how UMR maneuvered, she couldn't find an opening to counterattack.
With each successive hit, the health bar of UMR's character steadily diminished.
Before long, the victory sound echoed through the arena, and two large red letters appeared on the screen:
K.O.!
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