Everyone settled into the armchairs that looked like they had come straight out of a state-of-the-art sci-fi set. I adjusted myself in mine, putting on the virtual reality glasses as I leaned back casually. The glasses obscured my vision, and an enigmatic blue glow emanated, scanning my eyes. A message floated in front of me, in virtual letters: "Welcome, Dean Carleone. Preparing to start the game: Battle Royale, realistic mode. Your powers and abilities will be imported. Good luck."
My vision plunged into total darkness, and for a brief moment, my consciousness seemed to float in the void. It was a strangely peaceful sensation, like being adrift in a sea of tranquility before the storm.
Then, as abruptly as it disappeared, the light came back into existence, bringing me back with a blink of an eye. As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by an exotic and desolate landscape. A ruined city stretched out in front of me, each collapsed building telling the story of a forgotten past. The vegetation, indifferent and relentless, was slowly reclaiming the concrete and steel, turning the urban scenery into a green maze. It was as if I had been transported to one of those apocalyptic zombie games, where every corner could hide secrets or dangers.
"Finally awake?" Chloe's voice echoed with a touch of amusement at my side. She stood imposingly, holding a spear with an elegance that bordered on the supernatural.
"Yes, yes, I just woke up," I replied, getting up with an unpretentious grace, while dusting off my pants with an exaggerated gesture. "I was just evaluating the comfort of this fascinating floor," I added.
Chloe, with a keen look, watched me carefully. "Interesting, you are the leader," she commented, the surprise in her voice mixing with a calculating curiosity.
Looking down, I noticed a katana skillfully attached to my waist and, on my left wrist, a vibrant yellow crown as if it were a living tattoo. "This complicates things," I muttered to myself, recognizing the weight and responsibility that symbol of leadership brought in the context of the game.
Chloe analyzed my expression as I got up. "This is an interesting role for you."
I frowned, looking at the crown on my wrist. "Interesting and dangerous," I retorted. "Being the number one target in a combat simulation is not exactly what I would call a privileged position."
Chloe laughed lightly, spinning her spear skillfully. "Don't worry, I'm here. And I know how to handle myself very well in combat." Her tone was confident, but there was a calculating glint in her purple eyes.
Observing the panorama of the city below us, from the top of an imposing building, I realized the strategic advantage we had. "Look at that, it seems that luck smiled on us today," I said with a hint of satisfaction, a mischievous smile on my lips. The city stretched out like a chessboard, every move could be decisive.
Chloe, with her sharp look, analyzed the scenario in front of us. "A high point is a defensive advantage. Hard for anyone to surprise us here," she pondered, demonstrating her usual sagacity.
"Ah, Chloe, you and I are on the same wavelength," I agreed, stretching with an air of nonchalance. "We stay here, watch the chaos unfold down there and then, like eagles, we descend to capture our prey." My voice had a tone of amusement, as if I were narrating a theatrical play, a spectacle under my control.
Chloe sketched a smile that combined perspicacity and a touch of complacency. "Then we agree," she said, accepting the strategy with a mix of calculation and confidence.
I was about to return Chloe's smile when, suddenly, a rain of arrows burst into the sky, flying in our direction. With the calmness of a conductor before a discordant orchestra, I cast a cold and somewhat bored look at the impending attack and called out with a softly ironic tone: "Chloe, darling, it seems we have company."
Chloe passed by me like a whirlwind of elegance, jumping with the grace of an armed ballerina. Her spear spun in the air, drawing a lethal ballet that deflected each arrow with surgical precision. The sound of metal against metal echoed, creating a symphony of steel that reverberated in the air. Each arrow, defeated by her dance, fell powerlessly to the ground.
After dealing with the aerial attack, Chloe landed gracefully at my side, like a cat on a wall. "It seems we have already drawn attention," she observed, with a mix of concern and a glint of enthusiasm in her eyes.
Before we could contemplate our sudden popularity, two boys appeared, jumping to the roof behind us, eager for the confrontation. Turning to them, I unsheathed my katana with a theatrical flourish, making it look more like a magic trick than a preparation for battle. "Chloe, would you mind taking care of the archer?" I asked.
With Chloe moving strategically to the edge of the building, there was an air of chess master in her gestures. "And what about these two?" She asked me, the glint in her purple eyes indicating a subtle taunt.
I replied with a playful smile, infused with my characteristic charm. "Ah, the old equation of information and power. Do you want me to make a cost-benefit analysis for that information?" My speech, filled with pleasure in teasing Chloe.
Chloe just smiled in response, accepting my answer with a nod, before launching herself out of the building, her silhouette blending with the urban scenery in free fall.
"Look what we found. The group leader alone. Did the famous Chloe run away from us in fear?" taunted one of the boys, with a smug smile.
Raising my katana, I assumed a combat stance, keeping my cynical smile. "You are a trio, aren't you? You two don't have the leader tattoo. That means the shooter who fired the arrows is the leader. She just went there to beat him up and, consequently, finish you two off," I explained, each word tinged with contempt.
One of the boys smiled maliciously, and a red aura began to emanate from him. "So it's going to be a race to see who defeats the leader first?" He was clearly excited, but underestimated what was to come. "It's just a matter of killing him first, right?"
The boy in front of me was one of those classmates whose name escaped me - one of those anonymous faces that blend in with the crowd of everyday school life. But, by all indications, he excelled in hand-to-hand combat. His weapons? His own fists. Looking at his physique, which seemed to have an intimate relationship with steroids, I wondered jokingly if he really was only 16 years old. With short black hair, he advanced against me, radiating a red aura of pure aggressiveness.
"You seem quite enthusiastic, don't you?" I commented, smiling with a touch of sarcasm. "Then come on, show me what you're capable of!"
He, leaving his companion behind, rushed at me with a wild momentum, delivering a powerful punch. With the katana in hand - a weapon that I admit I'm not exactly an expert with - I tried a quick cut at his fist.
Our blows met, generating an impact that resembled a tug of war. Unfortunately, the victory of that small battle was not mine. I was thrown back, but quickly regained my balance and resumed my combat pose. "What's with this guy? His skin seems to be made of steel!" I thought, surprised to see that my attack had barely left a scratch on his fist.
With a triumphant smile for having gotten the better of that first exchange of blows, the boy advanced again, clearly determined not to give me time to recover.
As the colossus of muscles advanced in my direction, a whirlwind of strategies crossed my mind. "Defeating him with this sword seems like a futile effort. Resorting to the 'Dismantle' skill would be a spectacle, but I'm almost certain that Lizy, with her eagle eyes, is watching us." My cynical smile hid the quick calculation. "So, what's the smartest trick to get out of this?"
The next instant, Zack was already in front of me, a hurricane of fury and muscles. He threw a right hook, shouting: "A mere Class G dares to challenge a Class F+?" His voice was a roar of disdain and arrogance.
With a fluid movement and a bit of charm, I dodged his blow, almost dancing around him. I replied with a quick horizontal cut aiming at his neck, a move more to test his reactions than to hurt. The katana, however, only met Zack's left arm, which he used to block the attack with ease. "I am Zack Valash! Who do you think you are to face me?" His voice was a mix of anger and wounded pride.
Zack retaliated with a powerful kick, a move that I barely managed to block with my katana. The force of the impact was immense, throwing me back with surprising violence. I flew through the air, catapulted out of the building. "Damn!" I thought, as gravity took over, pulling me into a free fall.
Zack and his companion, like two eager predators, jumped from the building, diving in free fall in my direction. As I fell, a sarcastic thought crossed my mind: "Will my elegant writer's body, lover of a good nap, survive this dramatic fall?"
However, my digression was interrupted by a sudden purple glow to my left. Turning my head, my blue eyes caught a purple light, a fast approaching threat. "Oh, what a beautiful development," I thought, channeling my mana in a desperate, but elegant, attempt to protect myself. The impact of the attack hit me full on, throwing me with brutal force against another building. Landing with a bang, a cloud of dust and debris rose around me, marking my spectacular, albeit unwanted, landing.
"I hit the bullseye," declared a girl with short brown hair and lively eyes, hidden in the shadows of the building where I had fallen. Her voice sounded triumphant, revealing her satisfaction with the surprise attack.
Meanwhile, Zack and his companion realized that there was another player in the mix. They interrupted their free fall, clinging to the walls of the buildings with feline agility. "Damn! Another participant got the better of us," Zack growled, frustration and fury evident in his voice. The hunt had become more complex, and now, they found themselves in the midst of an even more dangerous game.
Suddenly, both Zack and the brown-haired girl widened their eyes, taken by an unusual and disturbing premonition. They felt something change in the air, a sensation that made their hearts beat faster in anticipation.
Meanwhile, I, still covered by the curtain of dust, released my mana, allowing the cloud around me to start to dissipate. I got up, immersed in an aura of determination and a mischievous smile on my lips. Preparing to counterattack, I brandished my katana in a fluid and elegant movement, delivering a horizontal cut towards the opposite building. At that exact moment, I conjured my skill 'Dismantle', skillfully disguising it under the cloak of the attack gesture.
Without warning, an invisible cut tore through the building where Zack and the girl were positioned. The cut, precise and lethal, split the structure in half. By a hair's breadth, Zack and the girl avoided being hit, but they were not so lucky with the building, which began to collapse under their feet. "What the hell was that?" Zack exclaimed, his voice mixed with surprise and a touch of fear, as they both began to fall along with the rubble of the doomed building.
The girl, who was inside the building, was caught off guard by my sudden action. Without time to react, she was dragged down along with the structure that collapsed. Zack and his companion, who were outside, reacted quickly, jumping away from the doomed building and clinging to another nearby building, like cats on a wall.
"What the hell was that, Zack? He's not a Class G? How did he manage to split the building in half?" Zack's companion asked, his voice mixed with surprise and disbelief.
"I have no idea, damn it! It must have been something related to his skill," Zack replied, thoughtful. As we exchanged glances, my cold and calculating eyes met his. "It must be because of the sword. His skill probably depends on a sharp weapon," Zack deduced, a plan beginning to form in his mind. With a strategy in mind, he and the boy advanced in my direction.
Raising my katana with a mischievous smile and a challenging look, I asked: "Ready for the second round?" My voice was loaded with sarcasm and confidence, and my combat posture was that of someone who watched a lot of anime and Japanese fighting movies.
Zack and his companion quickly closed the distance between us, and Zack's ally manifested his skill with a shrill scream. From his mouth, an overwhelming sound wave shot out, reaching me in an instant. The speed of the attack caught me off guard, and I was hit full on. In an instinctive reflex, I dropped my katana and covered my ears with my hands, trying to soften the impact of the sound. "Sound attacks… always so annoying," I thought, as my ears buzzed painfully.
Zack, seeing his chance, advanced with a rough movement, joining his hands for a powerful hook in my direction. Struggling against the buzzing in my ears, I managed to lower my hands in time to block his attack. "You defended?" he exclaimed, incredulous.
His companion interrupted his sound attack to avoid hitting Zack and landed right behind him, watching the scene.
With a sarcastic smile, I taunted: "Are you shocked that a mere Class G can withstand your blows?"
Zack's irritation was visible, a vein pulsing on his forehead as his red aura intensified. "Maximum release!" he shouted. His special skill consisted of strengthening his body to an almost unbreakable level, making him resistant as concrete.
As Zack reached the peak of his skill, he threw a straight punch aiming at my face. With an agile movement, I easily dodged the blow and reacted with a precise crossed to his ribs.
My counterattack was a combination of speed and brute force, surprising Zack completely. The power of my blow made him jump to the side, a look of perplexity on his face. "How is this possible?" he wondered, his eyes meeting mine - cold and blue, like the ice that does not let itself break.
Taking advantage of his moment of hesitation, I advanced quickly, a sarcastic smile outlining my lips. "Oh, what's that face? Are you scared of being worse off against a 'mere Class G'," I mocked, firing another crossed at his other rib. The impact of my blow was so strong that he almost collapsed, the pain clearly visible on his expression.
Zack, struggling to keep his composure, retaliated with a crossed aiming at my head. With an agile dodge, I ducked, avoiding his blow by a hair's breadth. Taking advantage of the opening, I counterattacked with a precise punch to the stomach, a blow that lifted him slightly off the ground. The expression on his face was a mix of pain and disbelief, as he processed the fact that he was being overcome.
Zack's companion, trapped in a crossroads of strategies, just watched the unfolding of the fight, powerless. His sound ability, although powerful, was also a double-edged sword - a false move and Zack could be a victim of his own ally.
After Zack suffered the blow to the stomach, instinct led him to protect himself, placing both hands over the affected area. This left his face completely vulnerable. With a smile of someone who had just unraveled a puzzle, I prepared my next move. Throwing a powerful hook, my hand met Zack's chin with devastating force. The impact made his head react violently, a sudden movement upward that made the power of the blow evident. Zack's skin wrinkled under the force of the impact, his eyes spinning in confusion and pain. "How can I be losing in hand-to-hand combat?", he must have thought, disbelief dulling his trained mind.
Taking advantage of Zack's moment of imbalance, I jumped, reaching him in the air. With both hands, I grabbed his head, and, in a fluid and ruthless movement, I delivered a brutal knee to his nose. The force of the blow threw his head back, breaking his nose with a deafening snap, blood gushing as his eyes lost focus. Zack collapsed on the ground, unconscious, the dull sound of his body hitting the ground reverberating through the environment.
Turning calmly to Zack's companion, who was visibly stunned by the unfolding of the events, I said with an icy coldness: "Next." My icy blue eyes and cold smile were a clear provocation, a challenge for him to try his luck against me.
Zack's companion, witness to the unexpected defeat of his ally, was about to scream. But, at the exact moment he opened his mouth, he began to dematerialize, wrapped in an enigmatic blue glow. His eyes, widened by shock and fear, reflected his disbelief. A cold and impersonal voice echoed in his mind, sealing his fate: "Your leader has been defeated. You failed the test. Amount of points accumulated: 0."
Watching the scene, I saw Zack's companion fade away along with him, who lay unconscious on the ground. Both were swallowed by the blue glow and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared, as if they had never been there.
"A Class G beat a Class F+… how intriguing," commented a female voice behind me. Without needing to turn around to know who it was, I replied as I walked towards my fallen katana. "Pure luck, Chloe."
Chloe, with her usual elegance, was positioned above the rubble, watching me closely. "Luck, is it?" she said, descending to join me. "I saw the whole fight. Dealing with the archer was easy, so I kept him as a hostage while I watched. You split a building in half. It's a remarkable feat for a Class G. I wonder what would have happened to some student, if he had been hit by your cut."
"You must be seeing things," I retorted casually, crouching down to pick up my katana. My voice carried a playful tone, but my eyes revealed a glint of satisfaction for my strength.
Chloe, with a smile that barely disguised her game of intrigue, changed the focus of the conversation. "That girl who launched the attack against you was from another team," she observed, her gaze wandering astutely to the horizon. "How about we go after them?"
"I'm not a fan of unpleasant surprises," I replied, sharing Chloe's gaze at the distance. "I've already dispatched one, now there are two left." My tone was light, but there was a flash of challenge in my eyes. "How about we split the work? One for each?"
She proposed a bet, her eyes shining with a mix of challenge and mischief. "And how about we bet on who defeats their opponent first?" she asked, with a smile that suggested more than simple competition. "If I win, you owe me a date. Simple as that."
"Interesting," I said, joining the game and returning her smile with an equally intriguing one. "And if I win, Chloe?"
"Oh, if you win…" she answered, pretending to ponder the question. "Well, I'll be in debt to you. A favor."
A favor? Chloe owing me a favor? Those words echoed in my mind. She, who always was in control, offering a favor? The last time I knew of her doing something like that was for Sam. Chloe hated being in debt; it was always the other way around, people owed her favors. The game was getting more and more interesting.
She smiled again, an expression that revealed both confidence and a hint of curiosity. "So, do we have a deal?"
"Sure," I replied, my voice loaded with a playful tone, but my eyes revealed a genuine interest in the bet.
Suddenly, Chloe took a graceful step towards me, reducing the distance between us with the elegance of a dancer. Her purple eyes, deep and enigmatic, fixed on mine, creating a moment of intense connection. There was a light in them that shone with confidence and a touch of provocation. "I'm a woman of refined tastes," she began, her voice a mix of challenge and charm. "When you take me on a date, remember, I expect to be impressed… and in style." She leaned subtly closer, almost in a whisper, adding: "And remember, it must be expensive."
Her proximity was mesmerizing, the subtle perfume that emanated from her enveloping. I laughed, a sound that reflected both the challenge and the admiration. "Are you so sure of your victory, Chloe? I think that confidence might cost you dearly."
She moved away, but the game of glances continued. "I'm a woman of faith and optimism," she replied, her posture impeccable and her expression a seductive invitation. "Shall we begin then?"