Twenty minutes later.
Vix’s tightly clenched fists trembled as he watched the screen before him. He had been expecting this outcome. He understood that this was inevitable. Yet, simply knowing the outcome could not quell the boiling feelings inside his heart.
[Victory Team Coldplay.]
Aether, who had his eyes closed since the appearance of that message, released a heavy breath. “This one’s going to be… difficult.”
Calming his raging emotions, Vix slowly released hold of his sweaty palms. Restoring the calm, cold look on his face, he said, “We expected this.”
“I know. But still,” Aether continued. “Seeing it first-hand really drives it home how difficult this round is going to be.”
Vix did not comment. He turned his head to look at another screen. This screen replayed the scene of Coldplay’s Brawler decimating his team’s Modder and PeaceKeeper.
“What do you think about the opponent’s Brawler?” asked Vix.
“Immensely talented.” Aether did not hold back on his compliments. “She’s definitely the best Brawler that I’ve seen so far.”
“Will our original plan still hold?” Vix asked expectantly.
Heaving a sigh, Aether turned to face Vix. He looked at his friend/vice-captain with a bitter smile and said, “You know what our team’s weakness is, vice-captain.”
While his reply was cryptic, Vix understood its meaning. Again, this was something that he knew. Yet, knowing was different from experiencing it.
Vix returned a bitter smile and sighed.
Just then, the duo heard the sound of the VR pods open. They turned their heads in unison, just in time to catch the sight of Fox cursing.
“F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! F*CK!!” Fox growled. “I almost had them! I was this close to winning that game!! F*CK!!”
Sighing once again, Vix headed toward her. “Fox.”
“Vix!” Fox’s head jerked in the direction of the vice-captain. With eyes that spewed fire, she screamed, “You saw that, right!? RIGHT!?!”
Landing his hand on her head, Vix began to gently pat her head. “Yes, yes. Calm down now. It’s unsightly to have our team’s captain act like this.”
While he continued to placate Fox, Vix gazed at the two other members who had played in the second game and asked them. “What do you guys think?”
Cypher did not reply. His eyes seemed dull and unfocused. He seemed to be lost within his thoughts.
Midas, on the other hand, breathed in sharply and said, “That lady is scary, man.”
“Scary how?” asked Vix.
Pausing a few seconds to find the right words, Midas described, “It’s like she can read my thoughts. I try to do something and BAAM! She’s already seen through it and counters me!” He then faced Vix and said, “It almost felt like I was facing Aether.”
Aether, who was standing some distance away, seemed to have heard this and asked, ‘Why me?’
However, this question wasn’t registered by either Vix or Midas as they continued their conversation. “Why Aether?” asked Vix, confused.
“Well,” Midas scratched the side of his masked cheek. “When I spar with Aether, right? I sometimes feel powerless. Like I can’t do anything against this man while I’m facing him. Especially when he starts one of his insane ‘combos’.”
“So you’re telling me that you felt this same feeling of powerlessness?” Vix asked, his brows furrowing.
“I wouldn’t say I was completely helpless. I mean, I could at least move and get a few shots in,” Midas defended himself. “But yeah, she’s a monster like Aether, man! I can’t beat her.”
“I see,” Vix heavily nodded his head. He then stared at Midas and instructed, “You will still be playing in the third game.”
“Ack! Again?” Midas jumped in surprise. However, a competitive blaze quickly appeared within his eyes as he rapidly nodded his head. “Alright!”
Vix then turned his attention to Cypher and asked, “Cypher? Are you alright?”
“...I’m fine, vice-captain,” Cypher quietly replied. He then slowly turned toward Vix and asked, “You want me to play again, right?”
Vix nodded his head. He then looked at Cypher with worry and asked, “You will be able to, right?”
Cypher replied with a short, mirthless laugh. “I can’t promise you that I will be able to win, but… playing should be fine.”
“Bullsh*t!!” Fox exploded with a curse. Raising her clenched fist, she yelled, “Of course, we’re going to win this match! I haven’t even revealed my final form!”
Chuckling helpless, Vix said, “Well then, you better show us your final form. You three will be playing the third round.” His gaze sharpened as he suddenly said, “Win, alright?”
The three of them nodded their heads with renewed passion before sinking into the pods once again. After confirming that the pods had closed and that the three of them had successfully entered the game, Vix headed back to Aether.
“So.” Noticing Vix return next to him, Aether said, “The Dancing Gunslinger will be joining this match.”
Vix looked at the opposite end and noticed the enemy’s team Modder standing outside, in place of Oma. Sighing deeply, Vix began speaking, “Let’s start going over our plan for the fourth match.”
The duo engaged in a discussion.
[...with the scores evened up once again, the Round of 32 enters its third match! Who will reign victorious this time? Will it be the Pink Fox, the vibrant newcomer to the tournament? Or will it be the Dancing Gunslinger, holder of the No. 1 spot in the ‘Greatest Gunners of All Time’ ranking?]
[Let us find out in the third match of the Round of 32 of the Ascenders Cup!]
---
[Game: 3v3. Team Duel.]
[Game Length: 30 mins.]
[Stage: Lonely Bridge. (Ideal Field for Gunners and Cursemasters. Unideal for PeaceKeepers.]
[Participating Characters: Team Fox and Friends- Gunner, Modder, PeaceKeeper. Team Coldplay- Gunner, Brawler, Virtual.]
“Aww~ man!”
“Sh*t!”
The instant they spawned into the map, Midas and Cypher simultaneously cursed in anger. Fox, who had spawned together with the duo, kept her eyes on the holographic screen before waving it away.
Inhaling a deep breath, she said, “This map isn’t too bad.”
“Not too bad?” Cypher repeated, incensed. “Hello? Captain? The last time I checked, I was the only PeaceKeeper around here!!”
“Cypher!” Fox barked and glared at him.
Realising his mistake, Cypher’s rage quelled as he stepped back. Hanging his head with shame, he apologised, “I’m sorry, captain. I shouldn’t have yelled. I let my emotions get a hold of me.”
“It’s fine. I’m sorry for yelling at you too,” Fox sighed and apologised. She then looked at her misty surroundings and said, “Lonely Bridge. Not the best map considering our line-up, but not too bad either.”
“While not as harsh as the PeaceKeeper, this map restricts Brawlers and Virtuals too. At least, our opponent cannot be as aggressive as they were in the previous game.”
“All in all,” she finished with a look of confidence, “the advantage lies on our end.”
The Lonely Bridge was quite literally a solitary bridge. It was a special map which consisted of two misty mountains separated from each other. A cloudy grave existed beneath the two mountains and players spawned in teams on either of the mountains.
At the peaks of the respective mountains was a long, hanging bridge which connects the two mountains. It was also the only way for players to cross into the other mountain and meet their opponents.
In short, it was a map which favoured light-footed characters like Gunners and Cursemaster while punishing heavy, slow characters like PeaceKeeper. The other characters were more or less neutral.
“You guys remember the main objective of this map, right?” Fox asked her teammates.
Midas and Cypher nodded their heads with the latter answering her question. “We must capture the bridge.”
Nodding her head, Fox continued, “At the very least, we must not let the enemy team control the bridge.”
The team which reaches the peak first and assumes control over the solitary pathway would gain an overwhelming advantage in the engagement that follows. Not only will they be able to attack and retreat as they pleased, but they would also maintain a hold over their opponents.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
In short, reaching the peak first was imperative for Team Fox and Friends if they wanted to claim victory in this match.
Knowing that, Fox wasted no time and ordered, “Let’s kit up while heading towards the peak.”
The others nodded their heads and the team proceeded without any issue.
-
“Whoa! That’s a long way down!” I<3Lona, Oma, stood near the edge of the mountain pathway and stared at the cloudy abyss underneath. Feeling the realistic sensation of cool wind chafing against his skin, he remarked, “I can never really get over how realistic everything in this game is. Look at my arms! They’ve got goosebumps on them!”
He extended his naked arms and showed them to his teammates. The Virtual, C0lderpl4y, sighed tiredly at his captain’s antics while their Brawler, Lona, outright ignored him.
Running up to his self-proclaimed wife, Oma complained, “Wifey! Stop ignoring me!”
Lona ignored him and continued to search for equipment to equip her character.
“Hey, Lona!”
He was ignored.
“LONA!!”
Ignored once again.
“My precious wifey whose face is as cold as the water cooling an active nuclear core. Whose body is as hot as the…” Oma began to sing.
“ARGH!” Unable to hold it in any longer, Lona exploded. “What do you want, you despicable bastard!!” She stabbed him in the chest with her finger.
“Stop ignoring me,” Oma righteously proposed.
Lona glared at him without replying.
“...body as hot as the fires that melt…” Oma continued the song that he was singing previously.
“Urrrgghh!~” Lona’s entire body quaked in unrivalled wrath. She stared at Oma with bloodshot eyes and slowly said, “...fine. I. Will. Stop. Ignoring. You.”
Oma smiled brilliantly as he widened his arms to envelope his lover in a hug. Lona, seemingly having expected him to react like this, instantly stepped back and escaped his hug. Staring at his disappointed visage, she continued, “But… I have a condition.”
“Anything for my dear wifey!” Oma straightforwardly announced.
“Change your character’s name.” Lona put forth her condition.
“Anything but that,” Oma shamelessly went back on his promise. He then adopted the ponderous expression of a monk and solemnly said, “It is my sacred duty in this life to proclaim to the whole wide world, my love for Lona.”
Pausing to take a deep breath, he sang. “Lona~ O’ Lona!~ My love for you extends deeper than the abyss~ Is wider than the…”
“Alright, that’s it. I’m beating you up.” Cracking her knuckles, Lona then proceeded to beat up the singing idiot.
Meanwhile, C0lderpla4y, who watched his madness unfold, crouched at a corner and thought to himself. ‘Maybe I should also change my name to ‘1m4lsoSurroundedBy1d1ot5.’
While bickering and fighting amongst themselves, Team Coldplay, somehow(?) began climbing up their mountain.
-
Hiding behind a rocky cover, Fox intensely stared into the focus of her gunsight. Her vision stared into the mist-ridden air and vaguely made out the bridge hidden within. Keeping her eyes trained on this scene, she whispered into her communicator. “Any sign of them yet?”
[None at all.] Cypher replied.
“How far up are you, currently?” she asked.
[I’m almost halfway through the bridge. Oh, wait! I just crossed the halfway point.]
“Understood. Keep your senses sharp,” she reminded.
[Got it, captain] He answered before growing quiet.
“Captain.” A voice suddenly called for her from beside her. Midas appeared next to her and offered her something in his palm. “Here’s the thing that you asked for.”
“Thank you.” she received the item, a gun sight, from him and quickly equipped it on her gun. After some adjustments, she peered through the new sight at the mist-ridden air once again.
Shockingly enough, her vision was now unobscured by the mist. Currently, the world in her eyes was made up of countless black and white lines forming numerous shapes. She saw the rocky mountains, the lonely bridge, and the silhouette of Cypher making his way through the bridge. All these images were formed out of black and white lines.
“I can see you now, Cypher. Keep walking ahead,” Fox informed her teammate. Her tone revealed the lightness she now felt in her heart.
[Aye, aye, captain.] The PeaceKeeper chuckled.
“Midas.” She called her other teammate.
“Yeah, captain?”
“You can start building your barriers and setting up traps now. Make sure that they are better hidden this time. That Brawler zipped through them unscathed in the previous round.”
“Got it, captain.” Giving her a salute, Midas returned to his duty.
And just like that, Team Fox and Friends became busy with their respective tasks.
-
Walking ahead one step at a time, a single thought filled Cypher’s head. ‘Don’t look down. Don’t you dare look down!’
Unknown to his teammates, Cypher had a fear of heights. It stemmed from a traumatic episode in his life where he was almost pushed to death by a jealous co-worker in one of his workplaces. Since then, Cypher learned to keep his distance from envious gazes and unsafe heights.
And now he found himself walking through a narrow, shaky bridge hanging at an inestimable height.
“Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look–” Cypher kept repeating those words almost like a mantra. He hoped that with repeated, single-minded repetition he would somehow hypnotise himself into becoming not afraid of heights. “If you die in-game, you don’t die for real.”
Of course, knowing he was in a game helped him overcome his fear just a tiny bit. Still, the ultra-realism of the game didn’t help his case very much.
Finding his mantra losing effect as he forged deeper into the pathway, Cypher distracted himself by thinking about other things. “Think about what Aether would do if he was the one on this bridge, Cypher. He would…”
Taking a moment to consider, Cypher managed to come up with an answer, “...start jumping on this bridge to test just how much it would shake before snapping.”
It was a surprisingly accurate answer.
“Okay. Let’s not do that,” Cypher told himself. Pausing to inhale a deep breath, he said, “Let’s just continue walking without looking down and win this match!”
His eyes flashing with reinvigorated spirit, Cypher raised his tower shield and continued to walk. Just as he took a few steps forward, he suddenly noticed something flash in the corner of his eyes. Squinting hard, he focused in the direction of the flash.
“What was that…” Just as he was wondering about the answer to his question, the sudden flashing returned, followed shortly by a loud crack.
BANG! Cypher raised the shield within his hands out of pure reflex. A sudden impact struck against his shield causing him to stumble. He retreated more than a dozen steps before finally managing to regain his balance.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the dizziness, Cypher quickly stared at his HUD. His health had fallen by more than 30%!
Turning his attention to the mist-covered front, Cypher caught sight of more flashes. It was in the dozens.
“ENEMY AMBUSH!!” He screamed into his communicator before hiding behind his tower shield. Like heavy rain battering an empty pavement, a storm of bullets battered against his tower shield. Each shot was frequent and unbelievably precise.
Still, Cypher did not lose his calm. After recognising the enemy ambush, his instincts as a veteran player kicked in. He raised his shields and hunkered down, waiting patiently for an opportunity to turn the table on his opponents.
‘The first shot which claimed 35% of my health bar was the Gunner’s Special Ability [Buck Shot]. Fortunately, I managed to block it with my shield. I now have a minute before the opponent can use that skill again.’ Cypher rationally evaluated his situation.
‘He’s been shooting uninterrupted for nearly ten seconds now. He should be almost out of bullets on his current clip. Moreover, the frequency and intensity of the shots raining against my shield have been slowly increasing.’ Cypher’s eyes flashed with profound light. ‘The Gunner is getting closer!’
For a Gunner to engage a PeaceKeeper in close combat was typically suicide. However, their opponent, the Dancing Gunslinger, was an atypical player. He loved engaging his opponents in close-range combat!
A second or two passed and just as Cypher had predicted, the hail of bullets had stopped. Just as he lifted his heavy tower shield, intending to charge forward, Cypher was suddenly stunned.
“Ayo!” A smiling Gunner carrying two unpinned grenades stood before him. “This is for you.” He suddenly threw the two grenades at Cypher before quickly spinning back.
Instantly making the best decision in this scenario, Cypher used his shield to knock away the grenade flying at him from his left while using his sword to cut at the other flying toward him from the right. The two grenades exploded into a cloud of fire and smoke, and Cypher lost 5% of his health.
Just as he finished waving his hands to clear the smoke obscuring his vision, Cypher met with a gloved fist flying toward him.
It was a Brawler’s jab.
“F*ck!” The PeaceKeeper cursed and slashed his sword at the encroaching attack. However, just as his sword was inches away from meeting with that gloved fist, the latter suddenly retreated. It was a feint.
Realising that he had been tricked, Cypher quickly moved to attack again. Unfortunately, he was too late. Another fist and a kick came after him.
The Brawler’s Ultimate Ability [Full House Derby] descended upon him.
-
[Player Str0nk was beaten to a pulp.]
“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!!” Fox cursed loudly.
Again. It happened again.
A teammate of hers had died after being ambushed by her opponents. And she was unable to save him.
Bang! As if channelling the resentment in her heart into her gun, Fox wrathfully squeezed the trigger of her gun. Bullets flew out of the barrel after flashes of light and headed towards her hateful opponents. And just as they were about to make contact with her opponents’ skulls, her bullets suddenly paused and fell from the air.
It was like magic. Only, it wasn’t magic.
It was the transcendental skill of the Dancing Gunslinger.
When her bullets entered the 10m radius around the enemy Gunner, the Dancing Gunslinger suddenly shot out with his dual pistols and intercepted each and every bullet shot out by Fox. It was simply surreal… and infuriating for Fox.
What was even more infuriating was that after every successful interception, her opponent would blow lightly at his smoking barrel and mouth something toward his partner. She couldn’t tell what he was mouthing to his partner, however, judging by the smirk on his face, it wasn’t anything nice.
Not only did he outclass her in terms of skill, he even seemed to hold her in contempt!
Fox was beyond livid. She continued to wildly shoot at the opponents crossing the bridge while cursing at the top of her lungs. Her shots grew more and more unfocused as her anger continued to climb.
Fox not only felt anger but she also felt defeated. For someone who considered herself at the top of her game, facing such an opponent, especially the Dancing Gunslinger, she felt like she was facing an insurmountable wall. Fox felt insignificant.
‘WHY!? Why can’t I shoot him!?’ She found herself on the verge of tears. A state that Fox loathed with all her heart. ‘Am I not good enough?’ Self-doubt started creeping into her heart.
Amongst all the members of her team, it was Fox who spent the most time training and practising her game. She loved this game. She truly did.
Unlike others who were motivated by their needs and wants. Unlike the others who participated in this tournament for the prize money or for the chance to enter Eden. Unlike the others who were motivated by material and immaterial gain… Fox played it simply because she liked playing it.
She was in love with the game. It excited and fascinated her!
She wanted to win the championship title in this tournament, not for the 500,000 credit cash reward or for the entrance ticket to Eden, but because she wanted to complete her idol’s dream.
Fox wanted to carry the legend, the one started by her hero, Phoenix, and make it to the end. She wanted to achieve what her hero couldn’t achieve.
Fox wanted to be the first female Captain to lead a team to victory. It was a feat never achieved before through all iterations of the Ascenders Cup.
And yet, against all her effort, all her practice, all her will… it seemed out of her reach.
“Sorry, kiddo,” Oma arrived near Fox and spoke. “But I don’t want to lose either.”
BANG! He pulled his trigger.
[Victory, Team Coldplay]
The score was now 2 - 1 with Coldplay on the cusp of overall victory.