Val blinked his eyes several times as his vision adjusted to the in-game colors. He glanced down at his armored body and swung his arms back and forth, testing the precision of the motion sensor gloves. Satisfied with the upper body, he used his right foot to press down the front of the pad he was standing on. Accordingly, his in-game character raised a steel covered boot and stepped forwards.

“Yo, yo! What’s good, dudes!” a voice called out from behind Val.

Val turned around on top of the movement pad, making his in-game avatar mimic the movement. Standing behind him were his four teammates, small underneath the looming trees of the forest.

“Let’s get it!” said the same voice.

Val traced the voice to an armored black bear standing on its hind legs. Benny the Bear was one of the most beginner friendly characters, possessing the ability Rampage, where the bear received increased health, health regeneration, attack, and defense. Benny was useless in higher tiers, as his base stats were not the greatest and he couldn’t equip any good weapons due to his lack of hands.

“The support isn’t moving,” said a reedy voice. This was coming from a player named BillBillBillBill, who was playing Ezekiel the Mad Scientist. Ezekiel was one of the more difficult mages in the game, as his play style was largely reflective of the potion ingredients the player bought in the equipment phase before the game started.

“Zeke,” said Val. “Why the frick do you have Brass Knuckles?”

“I’m not soft,” said BillBillBillBill. “Melee only, baby.”

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Val’s blood began to boil.

“Let’s get going,” said Val. “I’ll carry you noobs.”

“Oh this guy thinks he’s a hotshot ‘cuz he has a rare character!” said Surferdude9. “Well guess what – you’re E tier with the rest of us!”

Val whirled around, stomping up to the giant black bear. “Oh word? I was B tier on my main!”

“And how much did you pay for that account?” Surferdude9 sneered.

“Guys, let’s play the game,” said TaylorSwiftIsBae, the fourth player on the team who was playing Artemis the Lightning, one of the top scout characters in the game. Artemis was great as a scout because of her top-notch speed statistic, coming in at 92, as well as her ability, which gave her periods of stealth.

“Can’t do much if our support isn’t connected,” said BillBillBillBill, gesturing at the unmoving character of the fifth player.

“I’ll try to get us some information,” said TaylorSwiftIsBae. “You guys sit tight and -”

A doorbell sounded from one of the players’ microphones.

“Oh shoot,” said Surferdude9. “Pizza just arrived. I’ll be AFK for a bit.”

There was a click and Benny the Bear went motionless.

“Well,” said BillBillBillBill. “Guess that’s game.”

A rustle in the trees around them interrupted the conversation. Val glanced up at the canopy of the forest, just in time to see a cloud of arrows raining down on top of them. He snapped the fingers of his left hand

Timelapse!

Time paused for just half a second, but half a second was enough for Val. As time accelerated, Val leaped out of the cloud of arrows, only suffering a few blows to his armor. However, his team wasn’t so lucky. Val could only watch as BillBIllBill, Surferdude9, TaylorSwiftIsBae, and the disconnected support were pulverized by the arrows.

Panting, Val clambered to his feet. Around him, all five enemy players stepped out of the forest, forming a circle around him. Val glanced around, trying to find an opening in their attack pattern. Nothing.

Without any other options, Val twirled his Dragonbone Longsword in his hands. The burden of his deadbeat team eliminated, Val felt his mouth curl up into a smile.

“Let’s do this.”