The moment I log back into the Net, I’m greeted by the familiar sight of my twisted Chuck E. Cheese knockoff along with a notification. No explosion of light this time, thankfully, just a smooth click of a button in the System’s app.
✦ . ⁺──────────·☽◯☾·──────────⁺ . ✦
You have gained 3 credits due to Absorption.
Credits: 5.00/10.00
✦ . ⁺──────────·☽◯☾·──────────⁺ . ✦
At exactly 10 a.m., Jessica bursts through the doors of my haunted pizza joint, her heavy combat boots clanking like they’ve got something to prove. She’s got her creepy entourage of around a dozen animatronics with her—these twisted metal monstrosities with exposed wiring and sparking joints, each gripping a baton like they’re about to start a riot in a toy factory. Making me glad that she is on my side. It’s a sight that would send most kids running for the hills—so, perfect for a pizza place, right?
“Morning,” she mutters, barely glancing at me, her eyes and fingers focused on fiddling with the wires of the robot in front of her.
“Morning to you too, sunshine,” I say, taking a risk. I am half expecting her to blow up again. Like she did last night, but she doesn’t and instead sits down in an empty chair, and I sit across from her.
The door slams open again, and in he strolls—Ethan, looking way too smug for someone whose job, apparently, is to guide us through this mess. He’s carrying multiple pieces of leather armor in his arms, a freaking war hammer and shield slung over his shoulder, and a crossbow strapped to his back. Jessica and I exchange a look, and I know we’re both thinking the same thing: what the hell? We were planning to bully this guy into coughing up credits, and here he is, already geared up like some medieval action hero.
“What, surprised?” Ethan grins, taking one look at our faces and chuckling like he just told the best joke of his life. “Yeah, I know what you two were plottin’, but I ain’t as clueless as you think. You expected me to just hand-hold you through this? Nah, not how this works. Certain things you gotta figure out on your own. I ain’t here to coddle you. I’ll push you, you’ll struggle, and you might even kick the bucket a few times. But trust me, that’s gonna happen whether I’m nice to you or not.”
Jessica crosses her arms, glaring at him. “You could’ve at least given us a heads-up, you jerk.”
“I coulda,” Ethan says with a shrug. “But that wouldn’t teach you squat. You ain’t kids. Information in the Net? That’s power, and you gotta work for it. Now, come on. There’s plenty to do, and time? It ain’t exactly on your side.”
Before either of us can respond, the door swings open for the third time, and a sharply dressed man steps in. The contrast is almost funny—tailored suit, perfectly slicked hair, walking into a pizza joint full of animatronics and medieval weapons.
“Gregory, I assume?” His voice is smooth, but there’s an edge to it that instantly sets me on alert. “Afton Stark. I own another establishment in the area. We’ve got a bit of a... conflict of interest.”
I blink, processing his words. “Conflict? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about competition.” He flashes a predatory smile. “The City’s not big enough for both of us.”
Jessica leans forward, scowling. “What, you own another creepy pizza place?”
Afton shrugs, still smiling. “Something like that. I’m here to challenge you, Gregory. We’ll settle this the old-fashioned way—combat. Winner takes all.”
Before I can respond, he pulls out a small token from his pocket and flicks it into the air. It vanishes with a soft glow, and suddenly my screen lights up with a system notification.
✦ . ⁺──────────·☽◯☾·──────────⁺ . ✦
Challenge Token received.
[Click to see rules.]
The duel will take place after the mentorship period ends. Your allies and mentor can see this challenge.
Stakes:
1. The loser will lose access to base, with credits recovered from the base being split between System and winner.
2. Loser will have a 1000-credit debt to the Justice AI, to be paid over 26 days.
3. Additional Condition: The loser cannot be helped by anyone for a 10-day period.
✦ . ⁺──────────·☽◯☾·──────────⁺ . ✦
Ethan’s eyes narrow as he steps forward, clearly pissed. “How the hell did you get a Challenge Token, Stark? Those cost hundreds of credits. A Tier 0 like you? No freakin’ way you can afford that.”
Afton’s grin widens. “Let’s just say I’ve got friends in the right places. Someone decided to help me out—someone who didn’t ditch me after 10 days like you did. Funny how that works, huh?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Ethan’s jaw tightens, but instead of biting back, he just turns to us. “Ignore him. Let’s go.”
As we follow Ethan out of the pizzeria, the tension hangs heavy between us. Jessica’s the first to break the silence. “So, what happens if Greg just... doesn’t show up when the duel starts? Like, he doesn’t log in?”
Ethan grunts. “Justice AI. You’ve heard of it, right? The AI’s gonna teleport him straight into the Net. Can’t just skip out on a challenge like this. System won’t let ya.”
So I’m stuck in this death match, whether I like it or not. Just perfect.
Jessica scowls. “Why’s Stark coming at us like this anyway? Greg hasn’t even had a single customer yet!”
“He’s just a pawn,” Ethan says. “That token? Way too expensive for him to snag by himself. He’s got some bigshot backers, probably the Mallard Machinists. They’re into advanced robotics. Their whole plan? Reset Gregory, leave him dead broke, and then they got a clear shot at removing you. Simple as that.”
“And if Greg loses,” Jessica mutters, “I’m left alone.”
Ethan nods, his face grim. “Yeah. And without an ally, you won’t last long.”
Jessica’s fists tighten, but she doesn’t say anything more. For once.
Ethan tosses us the gear—leather armor, a hammer and shield for me, and a crossbow for Jessica. She catches the bow, glaring. “Why do I get the bow? I want the hammer.”
Ethan rolls his eyes. “That’s ‘cause you’ll be too busy messin’ with your robots to fight hand-to-hand. Plus, you ain’t got a single point in Body. You’d get stomped in melee.”
Jessica looks like she’s about to argue, but she clamps her mouth shut, her face burning with embarrassment. Guess she didn’t think that one through.
I take the opportunity to ask, “Why not just give us guns? Wouldn’t that make more sense?”
Ethan shakes his head. “Unless you got an ability that boosts gun damage? Forget it. Useless against anyone with a Body stat of five or six. They’ll just shrug off bullets. But don’t worry, the System’s gonna give you basic mastery in the first weapon you hold. In fact, that mastery should be downloadin’ into you any second now.”
As soon as Ethan finishes tossing us our gear, a sharp, searing pain shoots through my skull like someone’s trying to download a year’s worth of combat training straight into my brain. I stumble, gripping my head, and the world around me flickers as the System force-feeds me information on how to use a war hammer along with a shield. Images and sensations flash in my mind—how to grip the handle, how to swing the weapon with enough force to crush armor, how to stand with my weight balanced so I don’t topple over like an idiot. It’s like cramming for a test but in the most painful, jarring way possible.
“Holy—” I manage to gasp, gritting my teeth as the pain fades. The knowledge settles in my mind, leaving me feeling... capable. It’s strange, but I know how to wield the damn thing now.
Jessica, meanwhile, is scowling and rubbing her temples, though I can tell she’s trying to act like it didn’t hurt. “What the hell was that?” she snaps.
I snort, gripping the hammer a little tighter now that I know what I’m doing. “Well, at least we can swing these things without looking like total morons.”
“Barely,” she mutters, eyeing the crossbow in her hands like it’s more of an inconvenience than a weapon. “I swear if this thing jams on me, I’m going full Hulk on the next guy that walks by.”
Before I can make some smartass comment, Ethan steps up, arms crossed and looking way too pleased with himself. “You two good? Ready to stop whining and focus?”
I scowl at him; I’m still a little lightheaded from the whole download experience, but I begin clipping my shield onto my back. “Yeah, yeah. Just get to the part where you tell us what we’re up against.”
Ethan’s expression turns serious, his smugness fading for a moment. “Alright, listen up. The City’s always under attack from other Tier 5s. There’s a rival AI out there, one that’s been lurkin’ for centuries, tryin’ to take over sectors. It’s all about biorobotics, and its creations? They’re a real pain in the ass. You’re gonna be fightin’ some of its minions—the Type A.”
He pulls up a holographic screen, showing us a grotesque creature that’s part scorpion, part lizard. “This thing’s got two tails—one sharp and wicked, perfect for piercin’ armor, and the other blunt, built to crush anything in its way. Its body’s covered in armored plates, but there’s a spot between its eyes that’s vulnerable. Hit that, and we’ll drop it.”
“For you, Greg,” Ethan says, “you’ll want to aim that war hammer right between its eyes. One solid hit, and it’s done for. As for you, Jessica, your animatronics gotta get in close. Stick the batons between its plates and discharge electricity. That’ll fry its circuits. You get 0.5 credits for every Type A you take down, which ain’t much, but you’re still climbin’ the ranks.”
Eventually, we arrive at the gate. The wall towers over us, stretching endlessly in both directions and upwards. The gate itself is enormous, carved with intricate designs that pulse faintly with energy, making me feel like a speck of dust standing at its base. It’s one of those moments where you’re forced to realize just how small and insignificant you are compared to the System and everything else in this world.
There’s a giant standing guard next to an AI sentinel; both of them tower over the passerbys, their armor made of the same material as that of the wall. They nod at Ethan as we pass, clearly recognizing him, and let us through without a word.
“Nice to see you’ve got friends,” I mutter, trying to keep the sarcasm from getting too thick. “But what are they?”
“The giant? That’s a Jomerite. Pretty damn smart for their size and got a real sense of honor,”
He leads us outside the wall, the air growing noticeably colder and darker. Beyond the gate, the land stretches out in all directions—empty, lifeless, and unsettling. The ground is jagged and uneven, as if it’s been torn apart and stitched back together, leaving sharp ridges and crevices that make it hard to find stable footing. There are no trees, no plants, no signs of life. Just a bleak, cracked expanse that seems to go on forever, with mountains looming in the distance to the left, their peaks obscured by a low, oppressive fog.
“Stay close,” Ethan warns. “We’re teleporting straight into the fight.”
I barely have time to process that before the world shifts around us, and suddenly, we’re surrounded by a pack of Type As and other nastier-looking robots. But before Jessica or I can even react, Ethan’s already moving—faster than my eyes can track. He becomes a blur, clearing out a ring of the nastier, more powerful-looking bots with a flurry of strikes that leaves nothing but twisted metal in his wake.
By the time he’s standing next to us again, the ring is clear, and I’m left staring like an idiot. Jessica, too, is frozen, her animatronics standing by waiting for a command.
Ethan looks between the two of us and smirks. “What’s the matter? You gonna stand there gaping, or are you actually gonna fight?”