VRMMO - Breach

Chapter XI

This was hell.

No, what in the name of God was this? Desmond never felt so intimidated by someone else, not even his teachers, who were about to give him the worst grade possible. This guy was a prophet who could predict where he would go, and crazily enough, he was also quick enough to deduce that and arrive at a place.

‘Who is this guy…’ Desmond asked himself.

This was something new to him, and God, he was unaccustomed to it. Just like him, Simon was playing in a similar manner to him. Actually, scratch that. Simon was way better than Desmond at throwing grenades.

This kind of accuracy with them, also the physique and tall build he had in real life. Definitely a pro basketballer! Or so Desmon thought. He was very far from knowing the truth, and that was only better for him.

The score was five to zero, an awful predicament for the young student. His mind was literally turned upside down. He felt this rush of adrenaline in him. This was an exciting match. Even though he was losing.

{ Blue : 5 - 0 : Red }

“Holy moly…” Pyro, with eyes wide like a pan, stared at this particular window. Even him?! Simon was absolutely wrecking Desmond.

*Bang!*

His weapon of choice was absolutely incredible for this kind of match and map. In addition to being smaller, faster, and having a higher caliber than a submachine gun, it was also compact.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

But mainly, it made a noise. The kind of voice that sounds like a hissing snake, an eerie feeling coming from it never ceased. Pyro smiled. Simon was not a normal person by far. There was something about him.

“Incredible right?” Pyro clanged at his side. He observed Alice gazing at the conflict with obvious awe.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect him to be that good.”

Alice shared his experience, “Same.” Their first battle royal match was no different. She was also amazed by how Simon played. It was unbelievable that a fresh Breach player could pull these tricks off.

“Maybe, he is accustomed to this game because he is an airsoft player.”

Pyro beamed up, “Oh, so that’s why he knew so much from the beginning. I played with him just when he joined, and he was an amazingly good player for just a newbie." Slowly, the boy's suspicion disappeared.

“I can’t believe he is better than all of us.” Alice was sort of sad, that she wasn’t even comparable to Simon...

“I wouldn’t go that far yet. If Desmond kills him once, he can spawn-kill him back.”

"Spawn kill?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow. She couldn’t see Simon spawn-killing anyone; he was letting Desmond get out of his spawn point and only later shoot. In her eyes, it was just Desmon’s inability.

Pyro proceeded to explain, “Technically, it’s not a spawn-kill, but look at his position. He isn’t exactly at the center of the map, but closer to Desmon’s spawn. His vision can catch both paths leading to the center.”

The Colosseum map wasn’t made for one versus one matches, it was designed for duo versus duo. But they had to use this one to watch each other’s matches. That’s why the game felt... so focused on pure PVP. Alice didn’t understand all those concepts, so that meant Simon wasn’t better than them.

“It’s not that he isn’t a good player... It’s just that now you can replicate this same trick. When Desmond was trying to pull that off in the beginning, he was just too late.”

A tick mark appeared on Alice’s forehead, and she clenched her fist, “Sneaky kid. So that’s what he was doing to me.”

“I fear Alice. If he had a more accurate weapon, he’d demolish you.”

“In your dreams!”

*Bang!*

There was another explosion in the Colosseum. The little metal projectiles were explosively repelled from one point and were thrown into the nearby walls. Like bullets, they pierced concrete walls and were engraved in it. Desmond just in time moved away from, or his avatar would be dead by now.

This was a moment he had to use. The explosion raised a cloud of dust in this narrow pathway. This opportunity depended on luck, but it was worth it. Desmond aimlessly brought forward his heavy weapon and shot.

The holes were left in the cloud of dust, and bullets moved forward at an invisible speed. It was a lucky shot, but it hit the target. A bullet landed on Simon's shoulder, taking quite the percentage of his health points.

'How lucky…' The operative thought. Things might have turned out differently if only he had this kind of luck.

Anyway, his shoulder was disabled. He couldn't lift one of his hands. The pain was insignificant in the game, but it could be somehow felt. The brain understood that something was wrong with the avatar.

That's where his weapon of choice came to shine. Its build was such that its weight center was way at the back. Simon could casually press the stock on his shoulder and, with the remaining hand, control the aim and shoot. Reloading was the only problem.

He acted hastily by shooting at the youngster. Simon still couldn't hit his enemy. Give him a break. Shooting with one hand is one hell of a job.

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*Bang!*

He exposed himself and got what was expected. Simon appeared back at his spawn point, and he lost a very good position to an enemy. Now he had to think of another way around.

Simon wasted no time. With both his hands back in action, he quickly grabbed the smoke grenade and ran. He had to regain the position.

Before running out of his spawn point, he threw a smoke grenade over the walls. If the operative's calculations hit right in the spot, then the item must land right on Desmond.

No, he wasn't a basketballer. Simon just hoped this would temporarily blind his opponent. It was a matter of quickness that he relied on.

It did though, 'Oh come on! Give me a break.' Desmond's frustration had reached its peak. Yeah, he was blinded by the smoke, and it so happened that it landed right in front of him.

With two options on his hand, either staying in a safer position or getting out for better sight, he chose to get a better view. What did he choose? Pyro and Alice called for it. Then, Desmond threw a grenade in Simon's direction.

Desmond waited for a noise or something of sorts to give him an indication... At first, it didn't come, but three seconds later, it was clear to him that he was in danger. The grenade he threw was flying back at it.

His eyes expanded as he simultaneously dived. 'What are we playing, baseball?!' The student screamed in his mind. Thankfully, the barrier nearby protected him.

*Boom!*

The barriers were heavily damaged by the explosives. Desmond raised his head over the barrier to see the aftermath. Instead, he had to back down in the same second. He saw a flash of light somewhere else. The bullet whizzes over his body.

Simon was moving, with steady steps. Not rushing anywhere else. He was close to the walls, barriers, and small buildings in case he needed to use them as a cover. His posture was straight and he held the gun professionally. Never once had he pointed it somewhere else other than that Desmond’s area.

"Poor Desmond." Even Alice pitied the boy despite the things that happened in her own match.

If none of them were trying to make risky moves and stayed cautious like this. Then, it was obvious Simon held an upper hand while Desmond was stuck there with no way to escape. If just his legs stuck out of the cover, the operative would shoot.

But at the moment everyone except for Desmond forgot, this was a game, not a real life. He wasn't bound by the feeling of reality in this virtual world... Even though it seems very real, the avatar's life can be sacrificed here.

Dreadnought tossed in the direction of the enemy, and simultaneously, he kicked the barrier with his legs and slid onto the ground. *Bang!* The bullet flew out of his muzzle as his avatar came into view of Simon. Recoil made itself known; Desmond couldn’t hit the operator.

The result, however, was exactly what he wished for. It couldn’t get any better as the grenade exploded right next to the operator. *Boom!*

{“Dreadnought”, has killed the player “Deadropper”.}

Desmond kicked himself back on two legs again, “Heck yeah!” He exclaimed in happiness. This one action made things so much easier for the student without him realizing it. Killing Simon twice in a row had a psychological effect.

With his confidence boosted, Desmond began to put up a tougher resistance to Simon. Partly, all of this was happening because Simon was unaware of the tricks players could pull off in the game. No one would seriously believe that the highly trained SSSA operator would let anyone else, let alone an enemy, use any tricks against him.

The fact remained the same, this was just the second day of playing Breach for Simon and he was very good at it. While others believe that it’s just talent... Maybe it is, but Simon himself knew what played a big role. It was similar to real life, where he was actually doing what these players do in the game.

‘This is quite annoying.’ Simon clicked his tongue as he spawned back.

These players were doing things a no-sane person would ever do back in the real world. This was new to him... but whatever. Simon shook his head, not that this was happening in the real world. This is just the game. His mind calmed down.

This was also pretty interesting.

Playing with so many different people, hundreds of thousands of unique players, with no fear of losing their lives while shooting with the guns... this sounds crazy. But that’s what the digital world could offer these people, escape from reality.

He should also try…

With a satisfied smile, Simon continued playing this one-versus-one game. *Boom!* The fierce battle between the experienced student and the newbie operator was a sight to behold.

{“Deadropper”, has killed the player “Dreadnought”.}

The game detected another kill by Simon and sent the message to everyone. Unsurprisingly, there was another such message... Desmond still had trouble with Simon; this tactic just didn’t work.

When the student tried to throw a grenade, the grenade just exploded, and the enemy was already gone from that place. In the next second, he would run out of a different cover.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

The rifle was still shooting, and the heavy bullets hit Simon quite often, even through the concrete walls. That, of course, if they were already crumbling. The operative then would respond in the same manner, and it was much deadlier.

*Crack.*

The bullet hit Desmond in the head, yes, and there was this kind of terrifying sound effect accompanying it. Despite dying by Simon’s bullets who knows how many times, Desmond still charged in.

Definitely, it wasn’t just luck. It was skill. This person had plenty of it. More than Pyro, Alice, and him combined. Desmond had no idea how he had appeared as such.

*Bang!*

{“Deadropper”, has killed the player “Dreadnought”.}

In the last second of the match, Simon cracked another headshot on Desmond. With this, the duel was concluded and the two players teleported. Even though this match was less action filled in this amount of time, the statistic board said otherwise. More accurate shots and more kills were detected.

Oh well, Simon was dominating those teenagers for sure.

{ Blue : 24 - 11 : Red }

“Oh hell nah, I’m not playing this with this guy again.” Desmond slumped on his back as if he was feeling tired, nope, he wasn’t.

Pyro smirked, “So, whatcha say now?” His sly grin was so punchable at the moment, that Desmond would happily do it. Alice wasn’t against doing it by herself either.

“What am I supposed to say? Look at the scores!”

Simon chuckled, “Now I have to worry about if this is considered child abuse.” After his words, Alice and Pyro burst into laughter. They didn’t expect this kind of humor from someone like Simon.

“What now?”

Pyro stopped his laughter and turned to Simon, “Well, depends if you still want to figure out the attribute window.”