Tahir was alone, focusing on the VR upgrade as promised.
"Hey, what are you doing with that?" Kris interrupted.
"I'm upgrading this. John gave it to me, but it needs some work to function perfectly," Tahir replied, his concentration fixed on the melting iron.
"Wait, you can do that? I thought only the company could handle upgrades," Kris said, surprised.
"I've actually designed one before; I just didn't want to use it because it's somewhat of a hack, with all characters at full power."
"Wow, there's a lot about you we don't know. Anyway, I'm going out to get some snacks. I would have loved to grab you some, but I remembered you aren't like us anymore," Kris said, maintaining eye contact with Tahir.
"Yeah, just bring me some booze; that should keep me going until whatever happened in the cave tries to happen again," Tahir muttered.
After finishing the last part of the VR upgrade, he decided to test his work.
Tahir typed in his usual username: "Devil."
He proceeded to customize his character to resemble himself closely, adding a mask to its face.
After what seemed like five seconds, Tahir was matched with a player named "Noob."
Getting into a fighting stance, Tahir awaited his opponent's attack. As Noob rushed in, Tahir delivered a powerful kick that sent him staggering backward. Wasting no time, Tahir followed up with a knee to Noob's face, scoring a critical hit. The blow was significant enough for Noob to be disqualified.
After his first win, Tahir felt exhilarated and played more matches, quickly attracting attention. He was a player who hadn't lost a single match since starting the game.
He began receiving numerous requests to fight, and he consistently emerged victorious. Sensing that the requests wouldn't stop, Tahir decided to quit the game as he noticed the booze on the table. Looking out the window, he realized it was getting dark.
****
"Is he going up against the world champion?" Lucius, one of the world leaders, asked his assistant.
"Yes, they just submitted the paperwork and are eager to start the match as soon as possible," the assistant replied.
"Yes, I have my eye on that kid. There's something about him—his aura, his strength. He's been through a lot of pain, and I want to see how strong that has made him. Prepare our transport; we must attend the competition," Lucius said before walking off.
****
"Sir, someone has been dominating the game since he started. I'm afraid he's close to beating your record. If we don't act now, he might claim your spot," a dark, slender man said, keeping his distance from his boss.
"Get me my VR," the boss commanded.
Once he donned the VR, he was greeted by the usual message.
As he entered, he began monitoring the Devil's matches.
"He fights well but holds back a lot. I think it's time I show him why I'm still the champion," the unknown man thought to himself.
"Beep."
"Not another stupid request," Tahir groaned.
After reviewing the profile, Tahir decided to accept it, as it looked promising.
"Hey, you know you've been causing quite a stir, right?" Bloody Saint said.
"Stir? Oh, you mean winning matches? I thought I could learn a few things from this game, but it seems you all are quite weak," Tahir replied.
"Weak? You're comparing me to these weaklings? You haven't even faced the real competition yet."
"You mean there are stronger players? Are you implying you're one of them?" Tahir felt a thrill of excitement.
"Make it to level 1000 and above, and we can have a match. For now, your level is too low for the system to allow it."
"You mean I can fight you? Sweet! I want to challenge you two weeks from now."
"I have conditions: you must not lose more than five matches. If you do, I'll consider you not worth my time."
"I see; it's an agreement then," Tahir said before logging off.
"Post it online: Bloody Saint vs. the Devil, two weeks from now. That is, if the Devil is worth it," Bloody Saint ordered his assistant as he dismissed him.
The news spread like wildfire: the Devil would fight the world champion of the military division. Confusion arose—people wondered if the Devil who fought Arcane was the same as the one challenging a VR champion.
Tahir was on his way to give John an update on the VR as promised when he overheard students murmuring about the Devil challenging a VR champion.
"What did you do?" Zahra asked, pushing Tahir playfully.
"Chill! I just took John's advice and tried the VR. Someone got provoked and challenged me to a fight," Tahir defended himself.
"And you didn't think to decline?" Esha asked from the side.
"I think you both are forgetting how much Tahir enjoys fighting, especially against strong opponents," Jude chimed in as he joined the group.
"Are you all ganging up on me?" Tahir asked, laughter erupting among them.
"Hi, John. I upgraded the VR as promised and tried it out. And guess what?" Tahir inquired eagerly.
"And you challenged a VR champion? It's all over the news, lad. Everyone knows already. The VR team published it and are selling tickets."
"I can't wait to participate! So, what's the update on our champion?"
"Him? He accepted. We should prepare to move a day from tomorrow. Get ready; he might be stronger than Arcane."
"I can't wait to see how strong he is," Tahir said, his lips curling into a familiar smirk.