In Real Life...
[???]
[Who's next?]
As soon as that character spoke, the screen went dark and then displayed something incredibly familiar—something she always saw whenever she watched her brother play on the computer.
"Are you kidding me?! It's actually a fighting game!!"
The image of a village appeared on the screen, followed by a brown-haired guy walking in with two men in black suits trailing behind him.
Text from the game appeared in the middle of the screen:
Death is inevitable, but what matters is how they meet it.
The two men immediately removed the brown-haired guy's coat.
Flames erupted on his forehead, and his hair spiked up like a Super Saiyan. He assumed a fighting stance and said something:
"Don't worry, I won't go easy on you."
The screen then cut to a bandit. His outfit was ragged, his face cruel, and he carried a machete.
"Ah! A rich kid! I'll make sure you cough up every penny for us!"
A white "Ready" appeared on the screen accompanied by a deep voice, followed by another word:
FIGHT!
She was stunned, her eyes fixed on the health bars, energy bars, and the timer.
Suddenly, an interface popped up asking if she was a new player. Of course, she selected "Yes"—after all, she had only watched her brother play and had never tried it herself.
"But... wasn't this supposed to be an otome game? What were the developers thinking, turning an otome game into a fighting game?"
As soon as she selected "Yes" a tutorial screen appeared. It was extremely detailed, although there were quite a few buttons to press, which seemed a bit overwhelming.
"Oh, so this button is for basic attacks?"
The moment she pressed the attack button, the brown-haired guy threw a jab at the bandit, reducing his health slightly.
The tutorial exclaimed Nice! before guiding her on how to perform combos.
She followed the instructions. The brown-haired guy launched a right jab, followed by a left punch, a kick, an elbow strike, and finally an uppercut to the enemy's chin.
Nice combo!
"Wow, that was pretty simple," she muttered, scratching her head as she continued playing.
But the further she progressed, the more frustrated she became.
"Ugh, so many combos?! How am I supposed to remember all of this?!"
Yes, the pain every fighting game player experiences—because fighting games were never beginner-friendly.
The tutorial then explained how to use special moves.
According to the instructions, the game featured five energy bars. Every character had three special moves: the weakest required one bar, the second required two, and the ultimate required three.
Players could fill up the energy bars by attacking the opponent or taking damage themselves. Alternatively, certain moves could restore a small amount of energy (apologies if this is inaccurate. I've never played a fighting game before).
"Alright, I get it," she nodded, then followed the instructions to activate the first special move.
The camera zoomed in on the brown-haired guy. Flames engulfed his right hand as he threw a powerful punch, sending a fiery blast at the enemy.
"The graphics are so polished! They're even better than most current games!" she exclaimed.
"But why a fighting game? Are the developers trying to revive the dying genre?"
Oh well, she decided to stop questioning it and just enjoy the game.
When she activated the second special move, flames on both of the guy's hands intensified.
He dashed forward, launching a flurry of attacks, finishing with a powerful uppercut that left the enemy scorched and sent flying.
"That was awesome..."
Finally, she tried the ultimate move. As soon as she activated it, the brown-haired guy closed his eyes.
"My will won't fade, even if what I treasure most is taken from me!"
He opened his now glowing orange eyes, and the flames on his forehead burst out furiously.
He charged at the enemy, enveloped in flames, delivering a punch to the enemy's stomach, two punches to the face, and a final uppercut.
As the enemy was launched into the air, he looked up and brought his hands together.
"Doomfire Blast!"
The name of his move... a bit edgy, wasn't it?
As he shouted, a massive fireball appeared in his hands, unleashing a powerful blast that struck the enemy.
56-hit combo!
The enemy exploded before falling to the ground, lying there briefly before slowly standing up again.
"...Wow."
She was in disbelief—cutscenes for all three special moves? This game was seriously impressive.
The tutorial praised her and gave her the final task: defeat the enemy and win the fight!
"Alright! I know how to fight now. Easy!"
The moment she pressed "OK" the countdown began.
3...
2...
1...
Start!
The bandit immediately rushed in, launching an unbelievable combo at the brown-haired guy.
"WHAT?! WAIT!!"
After sending him flying, the bandit activated his special move.
He leapt into the air, spinning his blade in a deadly arc.
The brown-haired guy's health bar dropped by 40%!
As soon as the brown-haired guy fell, the Bandit kept attacking, causing him to be juggled in the air without touching the ground.
"What kind of ridiculous difficulty is this??" She broke into a sweat, then hit the Pause button.
She immediately glanced at the Settings menu and clicked on it.
And what could be more shocking?
[Difficulty: Easy]
"...this stupid game."
That Bandit was absurdly strong, and yet the difficulty was set to Easy. Was this some kind of joke?
"I need help!"
She dashed out of her room and went straight to her brother's room.
Banging loudly and persistently on the door, it eventually opened to reveal his irritated face.
"What is it, you little demon?"
Without saying a word, she grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him to her room.
As soon as he was pulled into her room, she shoved him into her gaming chair.
"...What do you want now, my little idiot?"
"Stop talking! Just play this game for me!" She pointed at the screen. He looked over and was surprised.
"A... fighting game? There's actually a fighting game released this year?"
"Yeah! And it's harder than you'd think!" she said with a determined expression.
He stared at her like a dummy, then turned his gaze to the game.
Honestly, while AI opponents in fighting games can be challenging for newbies, they're a joke for experienced players—especially someone like him, a tournament player (albeit in small-scale competitions).
"Alright, watch and learn. You're hopeless." He restarted the match.
Ready?
Fight!
The Bandit charged forward, slashing at his character.
He parried the attack and countered.
But unexpectedly, the Bandit parried his counterattack.
"?!" He was shocked but continued to press on.
Since this was his first time controlling this brown-haired character, he wasn't familiar with the combos and had to figure them out as he played.
However, as soon as he launched an attack, the Bandit backflipped out of range, evading his strike.
"..." He narrowed his eyes, no longer relaxed, and shifted to a gamer mode.
The Bandit attacked again, but he backflipped to dodge and countered using a button combination.
The Bandit was hit and knocked into the air with an uppercut.
He jumped after it, following up with more attacks.
A spinning kick slammed the Bandit to the ground. He landed and waited for it to stand.
As soon as it did, he grabbed it, tossing it into the air again.
At that moment, he used a special move. Flames erupted from his character's hands as he dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches before finishing with another uppercut.
But just as the Bandit was launched upward, it broke free from the juggle and counterattacked.
"This bot... it's as tough as a skilled human player," he muttered, continuing to play.
The Bandit kept pressuring his character, landing a powerful move that drained most of his health.
In response, he grabbed the Bandit again, throwing it upward and executing a relentless combo.
He found himself appreciating the character he was using—a Rushdown type, designed to overwhelm opponents with aggressive, unrelenting attacks.
Typically, fighting games would introduce a Shoto-style character first, as they're beginner-friendly.
But Mortal Kumbat gave players a Hybrid character, combining Rushdown and Zoning (like Scarpian).
Cornering the Bandit, he kept attacking. Even when it tried to block, a low kick broke its defense, allowing him to continue the onslaught.
Finally, with one last hit, the Bandit's health was depleted, and it collapsed to the ground.
A tutorial screen popped up, praising the player and awarding 1,000 coins.
Then, the victory screen showed the brown-haired character removing his gloves, extinguishing the flames on his hands and forehead. His hair returned to normal as he looked into the camera.
"Don't bother me again next time."
The word Winner appeared on the screen, followed by the player's performance ranking.
"Phew! This game's no joke; it's tough," her brother said, wiping his sweat as he stood up.
"Oh, by the way, that was just on Easy mode," she reminded him, causing him to freeze.
"...Can I ask the name of this game?"
"Why? I thought you said you'd quit fighting games," she teased with a raised eyebrow.
He looked at the game in front of him.
The graphics were unbelievably stunning, the combos were fluid and flawless, and the characters were in 2.5D instead of full 3D, giving it a uniquely appealing look.
Seriously, what kind of developer would dare invest in a fighting game—a genre almost forgotten compared to its golden days?
Maybe... just maybe... there's hope after all...
In game (or other world)
"Weak as a slime," I muttered as I landed a punch straight into the Bandit's stomach.
The Bandit clutched his belly, nearly throwing up everything, before collapsing to the ground.
The battle was over. I turned to the farm girl nearby.
Her eyes were lifeless, as if... she'd completely shut down.
'Is she a player? I guess so,' I thought to myself.
Without lingering, I glanced toward the village and decided to run ahead to help Éclair.
*****
I don't know much about fighting game, if I write something wrong, pls don't kill me for that