Judging by how the fight currently in progress is going... Oh! They just finished.
The announcer’s voice echoed through the area. “And it’s oveeeeer! A crushing defeat, with the victor hale and hearty at half HP! Now, with your four-win streak, you’re close to getting a Special Warp Stone!”
That sounded like a young lady. What, no little old guy here? They also sounded oddly familiar. The thought prompted me to take a quick gander at her. Oh, it’s Ms. Nakada! She’s even announcing here?!
“Now, who dares take up the challenge next?! If you win once in this PvP arena, you’ll get a Warp Stone! Earn a five-win streak, and the Special Warp Stone is yours! If you get ten wins in a row, then bam, it’s a Super Special Warp Stone! This is the only game to get your SSWS! That lovely lady over here is currently on a nine-win streak!”
The winner indicated was a woman in her early twenties, about the same age as Ms. Nakada. With her shoulder-length black hair, I would’ve described her as an archetypally Japanese beauty. Her face radiated youth, but her aura was much more mature. As a result, she looked to be older.
Considering her age, she was likely not an academy student but rather someone logging in to Summertide from overseas. Maybe she was a gamer who just wanted to check out the VRMMO?
This place was full to bursting with hardcore gamers, so it was incredible that she could pull off nine wins. Though, as this game used something like the Mobile Trace System, I felt like it wouldn’t really test fighting-game skills, but real-life fighting skills instead.
Either way, nobody stepped up to the challenge despite Ms. Nakada’s provocations. One win would get you a Warp Stone, so it was natural that they wanted to wait for an enemy they thought they could beat. The woman on her nine-win streak could’ve trounced any of us, so it was best to just hang back until someone weaker came along.
But among us, there was one who was glad to raise her hand! Someone right next to me, in fact!
“Ooh, ooh! Pick me! I wanna do it!”
“What? Hey, you know she’s really strong, right?! You sure about this, Akira?”
“Heheheh. If I had to express my feelings with one cool line... ‘I’ll find a better challenge!’ No, wait! Maybe... ‘Ally to good! Nightmare to you!’”
“That was two lines! Which one is it?!”
That’s Akira, though. She’s really good at fighting games, so I can see why she’s so confident.
Just then, Ms. Nakada noticed Akira wiggling around with her hand up. “Oh, if it isn’t Aoyagi! Hmm, what to do? I could turn her down by my own discretion.”
She then turned to the reigning champ, whose character name was Shizuku. Ms. Nakada wrung her hands together obsequiously as she spoke to her.
This lady must have been a big deal. Was she like a sponsor of the school, or some sort of VIP? As Summertide was open to a larger audience, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if someone like that came to play.
“I don’t see why not,” said Shizuku. “Let us give her a fight. Come, young girl, up to the stage!”
The way she spoke was intimidating and somewhat masculine, which clashed with her pretty, youthful countenance. Still, this was a game, after all, so the latter had probably been assembled during character creation. There was no need to stay true to your real-life appearance when you could look however you wanted.
For example, Akabane’s brother was using the gaming world to indulge in his fetish 120%. Frankly, going that far tended to make people cringe, but partaking in such abnormalities could be fun in its own way. It was kinda like role-playing. Kataoka’s follower schtick fell under that category too—even if that was cringey enough in itself.
“Okay! Here I come.” Akira happily ran up to the stage.
Shizuku let out a deep chuckle as she approached. “You’re clearly enjoying yourself. Fond of the academy and its game world, are you?”
“Well, yeah!” Akira responded with a big smile.
“Hmm, good. But do not expect me to hold back against you.”
“Of course! But I’m gonna win, y’know!”
“Ready, you two?” Ms. Nakada asked. “Prepare for battle!”
The two combatants stood on their platforms and assumed fighting stances. I didn’t know if it was just my imagination, but their movements looked oddly alike.
“Three, two, one... and begin!”
Reacting to Ms. Nakada’s call, the two controlled robots began punching at each other. From there, an intense back-and-forth battle began. Shizuku was strong, but Akira held on just fine.
As far as I could see, Shizuku was winning in terms of skill, variety, and raw talent. But Akira’s reaction time was better, along with her defensive tactics. Put simply, Shizuku won in offense, while Akira won in defense.
The match proceeded with their HP falling at about equal rates. Everyone watching was growing more and more hyped up. Our surroundings were ruled by fervor like you’d see at a real martial arts match.
But then, the end came into sight.
“Haaaah!”
Finally, the whirling fists of Shizuku’s robot broke through Akira’s guard, knocking off the last of her HP. Shizuku’s HP was left at about 10%, so it really had been a close match.
“The battle is over! Shizuku’s ten-win streak has earned her a Super Special Warp Stone!”
The crowd went wild.
Akira trudged back to us, looking dejected. “Aww, man. Sorry, everyone.”
“Dang, that was close. Good fight, though!”
“Yes! It was very satisfying to see you fight.”
“It’s cool, Akki! Don’t worry about it.”
“You can get us that Super Special Warp Stone next time! I’m gonna get one for us, myself.”
“Okay. Ugh, I really wanted to win, though.”
Meanwhile, Shizuku was walking toward us. “Don’t be so frustrated, now. I’ll gladly fight you anytime. You may have this, if you promise to get a hold of yourself.”
With that, she handed the Super Special Warp Stone right over to Akira.
“Whaaaat?! I-I can’t take something this valuable from you!”
“Hmm, but I don’t know what to do with it. I assumed you might be able to make some use of the thing.”
“B-But...” Akira looked unsure of what to do.
An idea was bubbling up in my brain, so I cleared my throat and said, “Excuse me. How would you like to form a party with us to see just how fun and useful it can be?”
If she didn’t want to use it, we should all share it!