Chapter 12_Surrogate of Hero

Chapter 12

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I didn't think a defeat could be so infuriating. No, it's not going to work that way, I'm too uptight. I need to relax. I put the headset on, pressed it tighter, and turned up the volume of the game music. It was as if I was in the mood for the blues to accompany the animation of the game menu.

How did the Runner manage to make such a shot?

Just an accident?

As much as I'd like to think so, that's not entirely true. No doubt he noticed the grenade launcher shots. That is, he had a rough idea of my location. Because I wasn't firing from the window, he couldn't figure out exactly where my character was. Kronos! If I had stayed where I was and not changed positions after I fired, I would not have lost. I have to hand it to Deckart, he studied this map... There is only one way out of the attic of the farmhouse. So he didn't just shoot into the house, Rick was aiming for the stairwell area. He calculated my retreat. Yes, undoubtedly, it was a lucky shot; he had no more than a one-in-five chance of hitting it. Still, I was the one who gave him that chance.

Stop.

No.

Don't belittle yourself; I didn't give him anything. This hit is a sign of the Runner's skill, the combination of his playing skills, his knowledge of the map, and his tactical thinking.

He is good! He is really good.

What was the chance of luck in my gun-shooting adventure in that Diamond fight? It was a little higher than this shot. Rick Deckart managed to measure me with my own measure, in full.

Such an opponent!

Such a player.

The anger and rage are gone. They are replaced by an acute desire to play on the same team as him. I wish I had a teammate like that when my high school team fought at sectionals...

Uh!

Lex Alipov is right, Runner is potentially one of the best players in the world.

But how did he achieve such results in such a short time?

The answer seems to be simple. The Goons are very negative toward "civilians," those who have not passed the Arch. I don't think this could happen in a collective in which people have been on the Pilgrimage once and, having received the Face, have stopped there. It is more likely that they are frequent visitors to the Temple.

After Rick had hit me blindly like that, I had a thought that his Face was one of the seers. Not Face of Cassandra, of course - he's still a guy, but in ancient times she wasn't the only one with the gift of divination; there were others with a similar talent.

Now, realizing that the shot, though not entirely for luck, was still due to a logical prerequisite, I gave up the idea. And I don't think visionary talents work in our world. Because, if I remember the lessons of theology correctly, after the Ascension of the Three-Face, all other deities, including Moira and the like, who wove the threads of destiny, were overthrown. And man received the divine Gift of Freedom of Choice. In our time, unlike in ancient times, man's destiny is not determined, no one weaves the tapestry of predestination. We are the masters of our lives, our actions, and our choices. And the essence of oracles, seers, and other soothsayers was their ability to see the threads of fate, divine predestination, which does not exist today. And if he had had such a gift in a "working" state, so to speak, he would not have needed to learn to play at all. And for the five hundred games he'd played, Rick would then have been a sure and unquestionable top-ranked player in the world.

Nevertheless, the Face of Deckart is clearly not that simple. Runner stands out too much.

Many have passed the Arch, according to unofficial statistics, one in five men and about three percent of women have been on the Pilgrimage. Yes, the vast majority ninety-nine point nine percent have been to the divine cross-section of existence only once. And yet the lion's share of people are blessed with the faces of simple heroes, of whom there have been many in the history of the world. In me, there is a growing conviction that Deckart is not one of them. If one were to take my bet, I would wager a hundred against the franc that the Face of the Runner is no less legendary!

The Face of the Runner...

The Face of the Runner to boot...

Oh, ThreeFaced!

I know!

Is that so?!

Am I really capable of playing on an equal footing against such a person?!

I'm cool! I'm really awesome!

Even if I lose right now, it means almost nothing. It doesn't mean anything at all. Because I've never been through the Arch, and I can fight someone who is blessed by the Legendary Face on equal footing. Yes, he's untrained, he doesn't know much about the game, and yet his Face outweighs all these nuances.

What is my potential?! Where is my true limit? Is it there, beyond the threshold of the Temple? This thought simultaneously frightens me to shiver and makes my heart beat much faster...

This time, the Abandoned Depot.

This message brings me back from daydreaming to mundane reality.

There's no shame in losing to such an opponent, but losing is not in my plans. I will win, and I will do it fast and nicely.

If I'm lucky, of course.

Fifty-fifty.

And that's a very good chance, especially when you consider who I'm up against. And that chance includes beating the Runner with his own weapon, which would be the cherry on the cake, unless, of course, my luck ran out.

After setting up the map and doing the usual manipulation of adding spectators, I chose the Stormtrooper class for this battle.

Yes, that's right, a stormtrooper with a Jetpack and a Tyra! Let the cat have his tears! Let him feel what it's like to be beaten by his own class and defeated by a shot from his favorite weapon.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The Depot is the oldest map in the game. It has long been removed from the ranked arenas. This is not only because it, like Autumn Woods, is small in size. The main reason is that it does not account for the game's current realities. Over the years, Battle Arena of Avalon has not stood still, classes have been refined, the physics model has changed, and numerous patches have made numerous changes. For example, the balance of the map does not take into account the player's ability to take the jetpack at all.

Fight!