The next morning, August woke up early.
Since he had fun with Hilda at noon yesterday, he didn't disturb her in the evening.
Today was Sunday in Japan. August decided to go out and explore the surroundings. Since he was already here, might as well take a look around.
So, early in the morning, August set out.
After spending some time exploring the vicinity, not far from the Kuoh Academy, August discovered an arcade.
This made August eager to play. Back in elementary school, he used to be a regular at the arcade. However, at that time, there were no high-end gaming machines, mostly just fighting games or small games. Now, it was a different story, with a variety of options.
He entered the arcade, and by now, it was close to nine in the morning, with a fair number of people inside.
August exchanged a hundred coins and began strolling around the arcade.
Finally, he chose a fighting game, similar to King of Fighters but with different characters and abilities.
After playing a few times, he became familiar with the characters.
Initially, he played against the machine, but soon, a few people approached, asking if he wanted to play. August gladly agreed, after all, he came to play games for enjoyment.
Like this, one person, two people, three people, soon, one after another, gaming experts fell to August.
In a small bucket nearby, there was already a collection of game coins, at least a few hundred or even a thousand.
These were all the stakes. Even though August didn't ask for them, people insisted on giving them to him.
"Life is lonely at the top, indeed. Invincibility is a lonely path."
With an extremely pretentious and smug statement, seven or eight people around him gnashed their teeth in frustration.
These were the challengers who had just lost, and all their game coins ended up in August's hands.
Although August didn't care for it, if you challenged him, you had to offer some stakes. With this back-and-forth, August's game coins multiplied, attracting even more challengers.
This was the source of this little bucket of game coins.
"Are any of you still up for it?"
August looked at a guy nearby with green hair, a fashionable and trendy look.
Although the green-haired guy wanted to challenge, he ultimately held back.
It's not that he was timid, he genuinely couldn't beat August, whether in the game or in a real fight.
As for how he knew, it was because of the two palm prints on his face, telling him that this guy was a weirdo.
"Anyone buying game coins? Selling at an 80% discount."
Seeing no one coming forward, August directly shouted in the arcade.
People around looked over, and upon seeing August's almost overflowing bucket of game coins, they couldn't help but envy.
However, even at an 80% discount, many couldn't afford it with so many game coins.
"I'll play against you."
At this moment, a soft voice spoke up.
August instinctively looked around, but found no target.
"Are you looking for lose?"
The voice appeared again, and August lowered his head to find a displeased-looking Koneko.
Now it was awkward. August didn't do it on purpose, he genuinely didn't notice.
"I'll play with you. If I win, all these game coins are mine."
"Sure, but what if you lose?"
"What do you want?"
"If you lose, let me pat your head. How about that?"
"Pervert."
Koneko looked at August with intense disdain, as if he was extremely dirty.
"Are you in or not?"
"I'm in."
Seeing that overflowing bucket of game coins, Koneko couldn't resist. It was enough to keep her entertained for a long time.
She directly started a game, and August and Koneko began selecting characters.
Surrounding people gathered as they began to fight. Koneko, despite being a girl, had an impressive gaming skill, gaining some fame.
August, being a newcomer, came here to challenge and ended up defeating many people.
Now, the two faced off, naturally attracting a lot of onlookers.
Looking at the bucket of game coins on the table, everyone was envious. It was no small amount.
"Best of three or best of five?"
August looked at Koneko.
"Best of three. Best of five takes too much time."
"Alright, best of three it is."
August selected his characters, similar to King of Fighters 97 but with different characters.
Koneko chose a muscular man, a shrine maiden, and a man in a suit.
August didn't pick the same characters as Koneko. Instead, he chose a martial artist, an old man, and a vampire.
The battle started. In the first round, Koneko's muscular man faced off against August's martial artist.
August didn't waste any words, directly launching a combo. After pushing him back, he executed a special move, followed by a crouching leg sweep.
Although Koneko defended, she was restricted and had no other options.
Seizing the opportunity, August broke her defense and grabbed Koneko's muscular man. Then, he performed a special move, instantly bringing him to low health. With a final punch, the match ended.
August looked at Koneko with a smirk.
"Don't get too proud. It's just one character. The game has just begun."
August didn't bother explaining. The second round began, with Koneko's shrine maiden entering the arena.
Similar to the first round, August didn't exert much effort. Losing only one-third of his health, he defeated Koneko's second character.
This time, the people around were surprised. Koneko actually got 2-0?
"This guy is amazing."
"Yeah, he even 2-0ed Koneko. If it were a 3-0, that would be awesome."
"No way. Koneko can't be that miserable, can she?"
"Who knows."
As people chatted in twos and threes, the third round between August and Koneko also reached its conclusion.
In this third round, Koneko initiated a burst, bringing August's martial artist to low health. Just when she was about to finish him off, August completed a reversal, ending the match with a 3-0 victory.
"I seem to have won."
"Best of three, two more rounds."
"Sure, bring it on."
Another round started. Koneko and August's character selection remained unchanged.
After a few minutes, the battle ended, and Koneko looked unbelieving.
"How about best of five?"
"I can afford to lose. Go ahead."
Saying so with a heroic sacrifice expression, August made Koneko cringe.
August directly pat Koneko's head and threw the entire bucket of game coins at her, then turned and left.
Koneko watched August's departing figure with confusion.
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