Yet another 1 year, 4 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days later
He looked in the mirror and smirked. Finally, his hair looked perfect. Almost as perfect as him. And he needed everything to be perfect today for the honor of his cousin twice removed was resting squarely on his shoulders.
Most normal people would likely crack under the pressure but not him, never him. For not only did he stand strong on top of the pillar of perfection but he had the support of his family and friends also.
He grabbed the small brown pouch that might as well contain his soul and headed towards the door that will lead to his destiny “Mom! I am heading out for a few hours!”
“Okay dear, be sure to be back by dinner.” his mom called back as he left through the door.
He began to make his way through the street towards his destination. People stepped away and gave him looks as he walked forward with confidence. It was only natural that people would take notice of his perfection.
Soon he turned down the alley at the end of his street and cut his way through till he stepped out into the park where the rest of his kind would be meeting. To make sure he wasn’t late, he quickly picked up the pace till he eventually got to the group of people all bunched around in the circle.
People naturally stepped aside when they realized he had arrived, whispers of awe as he moved to the center where he saw his arch nemesis standing in the center with a huge smirk on his face.
“So you finally came, and here I thought you would have realized how trife and pointless it would be to go against me and save yourself the embarrassment by just not coming”
“Hmph. I would never back down from a challenge. Especially not from someone who would disrespect my friends so shamelessly.”
His arch nemesis scoffed “Please, words are cheap here. I think it is time we settle this”
“I couldn’t agree more!”
“Let’s play!” They both declared as they stood across from each other from the circle. The bunch of marbles in the center were already set and the referee stood to the side who would be monitoring their match and make calls if there were any problems.
“Since I am that of a higher, nobler breed I shall take the honors of going first” His arch Nemesis declares and takes out his signature Taw marble and aims it towards the marbles. Firing it and scattering the marbles around the circle. Knocking one out of the circle already with his Taw staying inside.
“Ha! Looks like I get to go again! But what can you expect from a pro like me.”
“Tck, stop your bragging and make your next shot. I don’t want to be standing here all day” He countered and his arch nemesis scoffed again in return. Taking up his Taw and firing it at the next marble that was already close to the border. Knocking out of the ring. But thankfully his Taw rolled out of the ring as well allowing him to make his own turn.
Stepping up to the circle he knew he could not let down his cousin twice removed, his friends or his adoring fans. Taking out his own Taw marble and taking aim towards the marbles, firing it towards what was an easy shot.
He gasped in surprise when what should have been an easy point that would have kept his Taw inside the circle somehow skitted a little off to the side and passed the marble he was aiming for. Not only that it went past the circle too, making him lose his turn.
“My my!” His arch nemesis smirked smugly. “It seems like you might be off your game. Or perhaps you aren’t as talented as you claimed. I suppose if you spend all your time beating losers in the lower classes, you might develop an ego.”
“Argh!” He glared at the man who dared mock him. What happened! He knows his shot was perfect. It was one he could do in his sleep even! How could he have failed such an easy and simple shot!
“I guess it is my turn then” His arch nemesis declared and decided to take the shot of the marble he had missed.
With practical ease he fired his Taw and knocked the marble out of the circle with his Taw staying in. He then managed to knock another marble out of bounds with his Taw finally going out of bounds. Putting his count now to 4.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel nervous over the sudden lead that was placed. All his Arch nemesis would need would be 2 more marbles and he would win. It was time to take this seriously.
“It is my turn now!” He aimed his Taw towards one of the marbles. He still remembered that he missed his first shot, something he knew wasn’t his fault. Taking care he aimed for an easy shot and fired his marble.
It was going perfectly fine, and that was when he saw it. His Taw started to tilt and turn and this time he saw why. Reaching into his bag he took out a spare marble and flicked it towards his arch nemesis smacking it into his knee.
“Ow!” he yelped and the earth within the circle shifted as a slight mound bumped up knocking his marble further off course and out of the circle.
“I knew it! Earth magic! You’ve been cheating!” The crowd gasped as they saw everything play out and the referee frowned
He then turned towards the crowd “It is no secret that his father is a well known mage that specializes in earth magic. It is not far-fetched that his son might know some earth magic also.”
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He pointed down to the circle “And if that is not enough to convince you, look! When I hit him in the knee causing him to lose concentration and accidentally make the earth move more than he meant too. Furthermore! If you look closely you can see the slightly disturbed earth of when he changed the trajectory of my marble the first time!”
Loud gasps could be heard all around as the referee moved in and looked closely at the battle ground before leaning back up “He is right! The ring was tampered with by earth magic!”
“Argh!” His arch nemesis was sweating bullets as the referee turned to face him.
“You know the rules for cheating. That means you are disqua-”
“No!” More gasps erupted as he stepped forward
“Now that we know he was cheating he won’t do it again and if he does then he will be disqualified but otherwise I still wish to continue to this game”
“Wh-What??” His arch nemesis glared at him angrily “Are you underestimating me???”
He simply smirked at him “I am not underestimating you. You just simply aren’t a threat. Having to resort to petty tricks to try and win.”
He gave a shrug as his smile grew wider “I will still win this”
“You!! Fine! We will see who is laughing last! Since your marble rolled out of the circle it is now my turn!” He then took out his Taw and aimed towards one of the marbles in the circle and fired it. He could already tell that the shot wasn’t as good without the help of the earth magic. However it was good enough to hit the marble he was aiming for and knock it out of the circle. Thankfully though his Taw marble also went out as well.
He heard his arch nemesis growl at seeing this.
“Well then. it would appear to be my turn now.” He took his Taw Marble and launched it to the first marble. Easily knocking it out of bounds and keeping his Taw inside the circle.
He then fired his next two shots with a similar outcome but sadly for his fourth shot, while he knocked out the marble his Taw also rolled out. He realized that none of the shots were good and now the final two marbles were right on the edge almost guaranteeing that any shot for them was bound to also go out of bounds. But what was worse…
“hehehehehehehe….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA” His Arch nemesis began to howl with laughter as he jabbed his finger towards him
“You fool! You should have taken the win when you had the chance. Now I win! All I need to do is knock a single marble out and it is over! And I think I have the perfect way to do it.”
A sick grin spread across his face and took out a different Taw from his bag.
“N-No! That’s!”
“Yes! This is the Taw marble I took from your cousin twice removed when I crushed them in marbles! You should have seen it! How they begged and cried for me not to take their special marble. It was pathetic, perfect for a pathetic player like them!”
“Argh! How dare you mock them! That marble was special to them, given to them by their father before they passed!”
“Hehehehe. That makes them all the more pathetic. But don’t you worry, you will soon know what defeat tastes like when I beat you with your Cousin twice removed marble! It is time for your perfect streak to end here!!”
And with that declaration he fired his Cousin twice removed Taw marble towards one of the marbles that were on the edge. He watched as it got closer and closer but then he realized. The aim was off. It was just barely by a hair but he saw the Taw miss the marble and roll outside of the circle.
“What???? How???? You somehow cheated didn’t you!!” His arch nemesis declared and that elicited a grunt of annoyance from him.
“You fool! You thought to defeat me with my cousin twice removed Taw marble but you failed to take into account! My cousin's twice removed soul is in that marble! They would never betray family and therefore would never betray me! Your own sadistic nature was your undoing!”
“Grrrrr! You bastard. I think you are failing to realize one thing! The two marbles on the ground are on opposite ends of the circle and both are too close to the edge for your Taw to stay in the circle! So go ahead! Fire your last shot and then when you knock one of the marbles out I will fire mine and secure the victory and finally crush the Champion of games!”
A slow confident smile began to spread across his lips. “If what you say is true, then why do you seem so nervous while I have all the confidence in the world that I will win.”
He then put the taw he had been playing with away and brought out a different one. One that was pure black. So black in fact that light seemed to almost be absorbed into it and tons of gasps and murmurs could be heard all around him.
“It can’t be! The legendary marble of the greatest marble player to ever exist. I thought it was lost to time itself” One of the members in the crowd murmured
His arch nemesis snarled “So what if you got some legendary marble. There is still no way you can make an impossible shot!”
“Hehe. That is where you are wrong! I have already won!!” With that he launched the Taw high up in the air eliciting gasps from everyone and watched as it fell right on one of the marbles, knocking it right out of the circle.
“Ha! Even that move won’t work as it will bounce out of the circle!” His arch nemesis exclaimed!
“Are you sure about that?” He retaliated.
“What??” He then took a closer look at the Tow still being in the circle and soon everyone realized it as well.
“I-Impossible! You made it do a reverse spin! Wait! That means!”
“Exactly! A reverse spin so it can hit the marble that is directly across from where it now stands!!”
“N-no! No No No No No!” His eyes watched in horror as his Taw spun and shot across the circle, slamming into the final marble knocking it out of the circle.
“And that makes my score 6, the winning number for this game which makes me the winner and you!” He took a step forward and pointed an accusatory finger towards him “The loser!”
“NOOOOOOOOO!” His arch nemesis clutched his head as he fell to the ground on his knees. Broken and defeated. The crowd erupted in applause at his win once again.
Feeling smug after that match he picked up his Cousins twice removed Taw along with the rest of his marbles and began to make his way out of the crowd as he heard the crowd speak.
“He really is the Champion of all games! No matter what he plays, no matter what opponent he goes against! He will always win!”
He held his head up even higher. Indeed, he was the Champion of all games! For he had the perfect win streak without a single blemish. And he will continue to do so for his whole life. No one can defeat him!
“Hold on a second there Champion” He turned and saw a man in a nice outfit who had been watching there game from afar
“I happen to have been watching the various games you have played and have taken an interest. Tell me, what do you know about the secret society of Gamers.”
His eyes widened and the mysterious man chuckled “Ah, so you are aware of it. Good, good. Then you should know only the best of the best are allowed to be a part of it. And one can only enter through invitation by an already existing member. You have sparked my interest. So consider this a potential invitation. Meet me back here tonight and we will decide if you are truly worthy of joining.”
Without leaving him any room to ask a question he turned around and walked away leaving him feeling extremely excited over the potential prospect of actually joining such a seclusive society of elites.
He made his way back home in high spirits and entered his home “Mom, I’m back!”
“Welcome back dear. Did you have fun with your friends?” she called from the kitchen
“I successfully defended our family's honor!” He announced proudly
“That's nice dear. Now go wash up, we are having some chicken soup for dinner”
“Okay” He quickly rushed up the stairs to wash up. Stopping briefly to check his reflection and make sure his hair was still in perfect condition. And it was. Because everything about him was perfect!