"Neo! Put it in!"
"Not yet!"
"Put it in!"
"I'm not quite there yet!"
"Come on! I need you to put it in!"
"My deck isn't good enough!"
"Boy, just put the damn thing in!"
"Fine! But if we lose, it's on you!"
Ding! Ding!
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying Horny Elephants]
[Horny Elephants Fail to Seduce Enemy Troops]
[Horny Elephants Go Away in Search of Hornier Warriors]
"What the fuck?! An F-tier deck? Again?"
"I told you my deck wasn't good enough yet!"
"You call this not good enough? This is straight-up horrible!"
"Stop talking and go defend our rations!"
Ding! Ding!
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying Cursed Berserkers]
"Neo, we're dead! Their second S-tier deck!"
"Use your own S-tier deck then!"
"But I was saving that to be our finisher!"
"Well, if you don't finish these cursed berserkers, we'll be finished!"
"Fine! But they won't make it in time!"
"Where the fuck are you?"
"Saving the rations, remember?"
"Shit! I got this. I'm gonna spin my last token!"
{Spinning...}
Ding!
{You Have Received the Deck 'Amputated Goblins'}
"Mary! We're doomed! Use the damn card!"
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying Arcanic Bombers]
[No Fleet to Intercept]
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Lost Their First Base]
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Lost Their Second Base]
"Mary, use it!"
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying The White Phoenix]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying The Black Phoenix]
[White Phoenix Intercepted]
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Mary! Leave the fifth base, now!"
"Why?"
"They want to penetrate from there! You won't survive it!"
"How do you know that?!"
"It's the timing!"
"Fine! I'm leaving! Oh shit!"
"What?"
"I just spun an X-tier card!!"
"F*ck yeah!! Use it!"
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying Hurricane]
[No Shaman to Intercept]
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Lost Their Fifth Base]
"You were right! But it's time to win this!"
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Cavalry Has Been Defeated]
[Team 'Relic Religion' Cavalry Infiltrating]
"Neo, is that you?"
"Of course! Since my spins are shit, I'm leading the raids manually!"
"I'll support from behind!"
[Team 'Relic Religion' Has Made a Move]
[Deploying Astral Nightmare]
[Enemy Forces Cowering]
[No Force Willing to Intercept]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Lost Their Second Base]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Lost Their Fifth Base]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Lost Their Third Base]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Lost Their Fourth Base]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Is Making Their Last Stand]
[Deploying All Forces]
[Astral Nightmare Intercepted]
"How the hell are they able to intercept my X-tier deck?!"
"They have six S-tier decks!!"
[Team 'Relic Religion' Cavalry Has Reached the First Base]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Formation Disrupted]
[Astral Nightmare Furious]
[Astral Nightmare Uses Legendary Skill]
[Team 'All Good Usernames Are Taken' Has Lost Their First Base]
Ding! Ding!
[Match Over! Team 'Relic Religion' Wins!!]
Kacha!
Neo stepped out of the VR pod with a deep scowl on his face. He felt as if he had just eaten a bug.
Although they had won that match in the end, Neo was still feeling depressed at how bad his luck had become.
Out of ten spins, he had gotten ten F-tier decks!
Every single one of his spins had been rubbish!
He had no idea his luck had been cursed to this extent.
It was traumatic!
"Haa! That was intense! But also very fun!"
Mary took off her VR headset and stretched her dazzling figure lazily.
She noticed Neo standing silently with a frown on his face and tried to cheer him up.
"Today may just not be your day? Besides, it made the game more fun!"
Truthfully, Mary had never seen a set of spins as bad as Neo's today.
It was rubbish! But she wouldn't let that dampen his mood.
If only she knew this was a forever thing...
Upon seeing Mary's attempts to cheer him up, Neo decided he wasn't going to waste his time crying over spilt milk.
He wiped the scowl off his face and smiled instead.
"Let's go! It's getting late."
As they stepped out of the Deck Battleground Arena, people couldn't help but glance at this couple in wonder.
The man was handsome enough to make hearts flutter with his gaze, while the woman was beautiful enough to make men forget how to breathe...
They were truly the perfect couple.
The duo moved in silence for some minutes as they walked, taking in the cool evening breeze and enjoying each other's company.
Neo stared at Mary as she walked and was stunned at how beautiful she was... It wasn't like he didn't already know this; her beauty was just so shocking that it could stun one over and over again.
Feeling a bit courageous, Neo gently intertwined his hand with hers as they walked. He was too embarrassed to look at her and kept his face looking straight, but when he realised she didn't pull away, he felt his heart beat faster in joy.
'What the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I acting like a nervous, immature novel main character?' he thought.
Neo realised not all tropes were lies. Some of them actually happened, no matter how badly the author wanted them not to...
"So... what do you want to tell me?"
Mary had originally called Neo to schedule their meeting in the café because she wanted to tell him something important.
Neo watched with a puzzled look as her face slowly became sullen after he asked the question.
What was going on?
"I'll be leaving soon."
Neo stopped abruptly.
"You what?!"
"I got offered a spot at the Ambassadors Academy special exam. So I will be leaving Teras City soon."
They started walking once again.
"Yeah, but that's temporary, isn't it? You'll be back, right?"
"I'm never coming back."
Neo tripped. He fell down and dragged Mary down with him. The news was so shocking he lost his footing for a bit.
"Ow!!" Neo was the one to scream. Mary had accidentally kneed him in the balls...
"Sorry!!" She hurriedly scrambled up, her neck as red as a tomato.
Neo rose up with a bittersweet smile on his face. Yes, he had been kneed in the balls just now, but he had also 'accidentally' grabbed her soft, fat arse...
Neo could swear that it was not intentional!
It was truly arse-idental...
Back to the matter at hand, Neo was still finding it hard to believe.
The news that she was leaving was disappointing and saddening. Disappointing because Neo had already seen this coming for months...
Mary was a genius born with a Tier 6 Soul, after all.
Yes, she was a Hope of Humanity...
She was not just beautiful but extremely talented. She couldn't be caged up in such a small city like Teras.
Neo was just sad because it happened too soon. And he wasn't good enough to go with her.
"So... when are you leaving?"
"Today."
Neo tripped again and almost hit his head on a streetlight. He stared at her in shock.
You tell me that kind of stuff today? Neo was sure the special exam wasn't happening for some weeks.
"I tried to ask for more time, but they wouldn't let me."
"They? Who's they?"
They stopped after reaching the Speed Network. Mary had to take the train going to her place from here.
"The family that wants to adopt me."
Neo couldn't believe his ears. Mary was getting adopted? But she had lovely biological parents, why would she need to do that?
And why was he only finding out now?
[Attention! All passengers going to Area 56 should board in one minute!]
"I couldn't tell you before now because I signed a contract that prevented me from disclosing it. And I am leaving this early because my adopted family wants to do a Soul Flushing for me."
Her voice was a bit rushed as she spoke. She stepped closer to Neo and held his hands.
"You must come to the Ambassadors Academy. I need you to promise me that you will come and find me."
Neo stared at her silently before nodding firmly.
"I promise, I will."
After saying those words, there was a brief silence between the two as they just stared at each other.
Neo was still reeling from the shock that he wouldn't be seeing her for a long time.
He felt like he was about to lose something very dear to him...
"Umm, do you have anything you want to say to me?" she asked, blushing a little.
Neo's back was drenched in sweat.
They both knew what she was talking about.
Whether they chose to say it or not, they both knew that they had feelings for each other.
How she managed to fall for a pupil-less freak was beyond even herself, all she knew was that she wanted to take it further with him.
"Umm, no. Goodbye, and stay safe," Neo mumbled, his voice betraying a lack of conviction.
Mary's face fell, and Neo felt a pang in his heart. He didn't understand why he couldn't bring himself to say what he really felt. He wanted her. He knew that much. But deep down, he knew he wasn't ready. He couldn't have her. Not yet.
[Five!]
"Alright, goodbye, Neo," Mary said, giving him a tight hug before turning around and boarding the train.
Neo watched her go with a sad smile. As the train pulled away, he waved one last time, then turned around to leave.
'I will definitely make myself worthy!' he thought, determination hardening his resolve.
Neo was going to become someone worthy of being her man, whether the world wanted it or not. He had made up his mind, and he wouldn't rest until he achieved that goal