Chapter 23
"I can't believe this guy would meet me in a place like this..."
After a ten-minute ride, I arrived. One of Fuyuki's port hangars, plunged into total darkness. I check the GPS on my phone one last time, confirming the location.
"Why a hangar? This place isn't open to the public..." Approaching the gate, I turn on the light on my phone and I see a piece of paper taped to the bar.
'Don't be afraid, come in!' He wrote... she wrote? A heart is drawn with a cat's head sticking out its tongue.
"She leaves me no choice huh..."
I climb the gate with ease and jump out the other side, lighting up my surroundings.
"I have a very bad feeling..."
Shipwrecks here, small buildings there, barrels of I don't know what... This place in the dark is really chilling.
"Where is this person? I'm not going to search the whole place, am I?"
Deciding to go to the most obvious place, I head for the large hangar. Unsurprisingly, the door is open with another piece of paper saying: 'This way!' with an arrow pointing inside, again that cat and a musical note.
"Uh-oh! Can you hear me?! Please come out!" Remaining wary, I prefer to call out to her first.
No answer. A few seconds pass and then a message on my phone.
"Come in, if you want me to help you. If not, there's nothing to stop you from leaving!"
A person whose gender I don't even know is literally asking me to trust him and walk right in.
For the time being, there are no battle announcements on my personal page. Last time, there was a countdown before the duel began.
"I'm coming in! I don't intend to fight! Don't attack me, okay?!" Anyway, I don't see what she would gain by attacking me outside the game.
The further I go inside, the bigger the hangar becomes. I reach the center when I hear something and then,
"You can stop right there!" I hear a girl's voice.
(With the echo, I can't work out where her voice is coming from... But it does confirm that it's a woman).
"Here I am, so it's your turn to show off!"
At my words, strange creaks echo through the hangar. Then I see a silouhette descending and landing on a storey.
She has red eyes and long blonde hair that she has tied into two long braids. She's wearing a dark red dress.
(Where did she come from? A power, I suppose, but I didn't expect that, she looks rather young...) I inspect her, somewhat disconcerted by the person above me.
"You're pulling one of these faces! What's the matter?" She asks.
"Nothing at all, it doesn't matter." (Now that I look at it, she's kind of cute... What am I thinking?) "So, who are you? Are you really going to teach me how this game works?"
"My name is Shuka! And of course! That is, if I can see that you're trustworthy. But since you've taken the trouble to come here, I'm offering you free info! What do you want to know?"
(A free question, eh?)
"For starters, tell me how we get out of this damn game! I signed up for it unintentionally and I have no desire to play it!"
"You're doing it again? I already answered you in the chat..." She said, as if disappointed by my question. "It's impossible to leave Darwin's game!"
"It's completely absurd, a game like this shouldn't exist." I mumble, but she hears me anyway.
"What do you want me to do about it? If you want to stop so badly, you can always die!" She said with a big smile.
(So it'll go on as long as I'm alive...)
"Okay, fine. If I'm stuck in this game, how can I win without killing? Even if I don't do anything, other players will try to whack me and I don't really want to croak because of some stupid game." My remark seems to displease her, seeing her frown tighten.
"You can't, you have no choice but to win the fights, slaughter your opponents, and you survive, it's not complicated!" She talks about it like it's the most beautiful thing in the world.
"This is fucking ridiculous." I spit, casting my gaze toward her, as if to denounce her. "Is there even a way to stop others from attacking me?"
"Ha ha ha ha! Of course there's a way!"
"Really? How?"
"Have you forgotten what I told you? I need to be sure you're not a threat first!"
"And how can I prove it to you? Is 'I promise not to attack you' enough?"
"Hmmm, to begin with, reveal your power to me, then you can demonstrate it! Until I know what you're capable of, I'll continue to distrust you!" She leans forward, staring at me.
(Seriously, did she think I am her clown or something?)
"Sorry, but I have no reason to show you anything."
"Hmmm, most people have a power, so probably you do too, but the snake isn't just for registering. It gives a power to someone who doesn't have one, a kind of evolution."
"An evolution? How is this possible through a phone..."
"So, you can play tough all you want, you who managed to kill Banda-boy, you represent a threat to me and many others. So get it off your chest, or I won't be able to trust you..." Her gaze changes completely, the gaze of a killer.
"You can try to be intimidating, I've seen more impressive ones than you, little girl. But I can assure you I didn't come here to fight, I swear."
"Tsss, at least give me a hint and I'll let you go."
"Well, a double-edged power...?" Describing my abilities is more difficult than I would have imagined.
"Okay, that's it, I'm going to kill you!" Having lost patience, she took out her phone and tapped on it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I prepare my magic circuits.
Suddenly, both our phones make the same sound: "Fight in progress!"
"If you sound so confident, show it to me!" She grabs a chain and prepares to do something with it.
But I don't give her time to act, I concentrate a mass of energy in my left hand and throw it at Shuka's foot, creating an explosion and dazzling her, blinding her, if only for a moment.
"AAAH!" She crouches down and covers her eyes.
(Okay, it worked! Sorry about the eyes, but you left me no choice - you're out of the game for a while! This is the perfect opportunity to set sail!)
"Farewell!" I run towards the exit.
"Not so fast! Come back here, if you're a man!" she shouts.
(You can't fool me with a two-bit provocation. I've almost reached the exit! Once I'm on my bicycle, I'll be able to get rid of that madwoman).
Suddenly, the door begins to close, rather quickly.
(No! The door is closing! Hell, running sick as I am is already a huge effort, do I really need to strengthen my legs? No, I'll be fine, I'll pass. Wait, there's a problem, I've got a bad feeling... Why do I have a bad feeling? What's wrong? I've got time to get out and she's still blinded. I don't know if that chain thing she was holding is a weapon, but she's not going to touch what she can't see. So now's not the time to hesitate! I've got to go for it, or the only way out will close in front of me... The only way out?!)
A hiss, something approaching at high speed.
(That means she knows exactly where I'm going!)
I narrowly dodge the chain in question, throwing myself to the side. I turn my head towards her, seeing her swinging through the air, clinging to the infrastructure with that long chain.
(A power of telekinesis?)
"Did I miss it?! No, he dodged!" She lands a few feet away from me, still blinded.
I turn one last time to the door, closing for good.
(Incredible, she drilled through a metal door.)
"You're doing great! But as soon as I get my sight back, I won't miss you!" She said, picking up her chain.
(Fighting fair in my condition is suicide, so...)
I head deeper into the hangar, preparing my counterattack.
After a few seconds, all the lights came on, forcing me to cover my eyes.
(She even controls electricity, so there's no hiding there... No need to rot here, she'll find me right away!)
I run through the hangar, looking for another place to surprise her.
"Ah there you are!" She's already found me. "I'm warning you, all the doors are locked! It's no use running away..."
I ignore her and head for the door in front of me anyway. I try to force it open, but as it's also made of iron, my knocks have no effect.
"What did I tell you?! Defend yourself if you value your life! Yaah!"
She throws her chain straight at me, and now I notice that the end of the chain is a spike, terrifying. I dodge quickly, facing her.
"Nice dodge, you've got good reflexes! I may have to put up a serious fight..."
"I warned you, I've seen tougher ones than you."
"Hmpf! so what if I'm ridiculous compared to others that you don't need to fight?!" She's getting angry... no she's jealous?
I'm getting ready to use my magic circuits, when without paying any attention, her chain pierces him, killing him instantly.
"What's all? You were such a smartass, and now you're dying from lack of attention... Wait what?" The body disappears, leaving a trail of smoke.
"A clone!" She panics.
I jumped from my hiding place, a machine high above and conjured up a sword, ready to strike it, but her chain made illogical movements and struck him, disappearing in mid-air.
"Clones, huh? I must admit I'm a little disappointed... Come on, really fight! Or was all that swagger earlier just a show?"
(Her chain moves like it's alive... Okay, I know what to do.)
I emerge from the shadow of a container, My magic circuits on. She turns in surprise to see me surrounded by blue light, creating a dozen swords above my head.
"What the?!" She throws her chain at me, but I'm faster.
I send three swords flying at full speed towards her. She dodges, jumping up and hooking her chain to an iron beam. I continue to fire my weapons one by one, until she retreats further into the hangar, behind some installations. I do the same, changing position.
"Well, look at that, clones and weapons! That's quite an arsenal! You used to pretend to be scared when you faced Banda-boy, didn't you?"
(You talk too much, for someone who's at a disadvantage...)
"No answer huh... Well I'll show you that your little tricks won't be enough against me!"
(I feel the weight of fatigue all over my body, it's not really the time for this! On the other hand, I can't see myself having to kill a girl younger than myself. I had no problem with the teacher, but now... what a shitty game! It's not even a game anymore !)
Suddenly, the metal chain passes right in front of me. I turn to see where it's coming from, but I can't see anything. Then the chain returns to where it came from, scratching my arm.
(No way! She knows where I am?! I've got to get out of here, next time she'll get me).
I run as fast as I can, looking for somewhere to hide.
(Well, I can't keep pushing my magic circuits, not while being sick, so I'm really out of options, I'll have to disarm her somehow).
I can hear her chains unleashing on the equipment. I turn to see beams and other metal objects flying across the hangar.
(Damn, this chain's power is unbelievable!)
I hide behind a large disused machine, still hearing the din she causes in the distance. I concentrate and suck in energy to stop the bleeding. I suddenly spasm and blood comes out of my nose, but my wound has stopped bleeding.
(It's really not good, I'm starting to feel dizzy...)
The din is getting closer and closer. I poke my head through to see that she's smashing every place I can hide. Brutal but effective, she spares no corner.
(She'll be here any minute... I've got to go ahead and put my plan into action and it's the perfect place to act...)
I run and make as much noise as I can, impatient as she is, she should fall for it...
"There you are, finally done playing hide and seek!?" Here she is.
She throws her chain, I dodge and draw a sword in my turn, which she deflects with no problem but still makes her lose time. I then run into a cul de sac.
I can hear her coming. She brings her chain down inside, shattering the floor. Then she approached cautiously, surprised to see no one there.
"What the... am I dreaming or did I see him coming to trap himself here... Huh, what's that sword doing on the wall?"
Before she can retrieve it, I revert to my human form, surprising her. I kick her, slamming her against the opposite wall, then create a sword and cut a huge cable in half, sending us back into the dark. But she takes the opportunity to annihilate the clone, which disappears, pierced by the chain.
"I can't believe it! A transformation spell?!" I hear her panic.
[BOOST] a burst of red and green light from my left forearm. I emerge from my hiding place, facing her. Thanks to the fact that I'm a devil, I can see in the dark as well as in broad daylight.
She looks in my direction, but doesn't see me. She wraps her chain around herself, preparing to defend herself. Taking a deep breath, I strengthen my legs, making my body light up.
"Ah! Are you the one this time?!" She spins her chain all around her.
"Prepare yourself!" [BOOST] That's the signal, I'm going for it, no matter what.
Seeing her undulate her chain bringing it down on me, I create a sword and shoot, forcing her to protect herself. But the other end of the chain swings at me. I throw myself forward, slipping on the ground, still having received a blow to the head but I continue. I stand up, concentrate my magic circuits in my legs and jump.
[BOOST] I create another sword and bring it down on her, who protects herself with her chain. The spark from the contact lights up our faces slightly, and even though it only lasted a fraction of a second, I can see the surprise on her face.
"It's over!"
I grab her chain and with all my strength, I pull on it and throw it away as I tackle Shuka to the ground, pointing the tip of my blade at her throat.
"Ghaah! How could you break my contact with my chain...?" She couldn't believe it, wide-eyed.
"I've won. I don't intend to kill you, but I don't intend to die either. So cancel the game, you don't want to get disintegrated, I guess."
""Disintegrate"? Are you talking about zero-point elimination?"
"Elimination what? I don't know anything about the game, let me remind you."
"There are no cancellations possible in Darwin's game, the only way to stop a game in progress is to forfeit." she explains, taking out her phone. "I surrender! You win, I'll cooperate!"
"The game is over! Player Shuka has surrendered!"
"Is it over?" I ask.
"You must have received some of my points, you can check on your profile!"
"So none of us are going to die? So much the..." I collapse, losing consciousness.
"Huh?! Hey! Senji! What's the matter with you?!"
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
I regain consciousness in a comfortable bed. I touch where she hurt my head, feeling a bandage instead. I get up and look around. This room is far too modern and large to be my bedroom. I look down to see Shuka... completely naked, lying between my legs.
"Huh? But, what's this... this..."
"Hmm... Seven? Is it seven? Don't wake me until ten..." Then she goes back to sleep.
(What the hell? Why did I sleep with her? And where are we? It's coming back to me, I won and she withdrew, but after that nothing... She spared me, so...)
I feel a sharp pain in my head, the bandage is too tight.
(If she's the one who's been dressing my wounds, she's done a terrible job, but hey... Maybe she's not such a horrible person after all. Anyway, where's my stuff?)
I get out of bed, careful not to wake her, then look around until I see a chair with my clothes and phone on it. I collect everything and get dressed, not really comfortable with the idea of walking around shirtless with a naked girl next to me.
(It's a huge room, is this Suka's? Her parents must be really rich).
I look at my phone to see if anyone has noticed I'm missing. Apparently not, no message, so much the better, explaining the situation would have been a bit complicated. I walk towards her, still sleeping peacefully.
(Why does she sleep around naked? Is that a rich girl thing? Anyway, I'll have to ask her some questions, that's why I came to see her...)
"Shuka! Sorry to wake you but..."
I get cut off by a ringing on my phone, I look to see a special message coming from Darwin's game, I open it to see a poster, saying "special Treasure Hunt event Don't miss the chance to fill up on points!" With a big chest with the same snake coming out of it as last time.
"A treasure hunt? What is this again? Hey! Shuka! Wake up!" I shake her gently.
"Hmmm, I don't get up until ten at the weekend..."
"It's past midday and there's a weird announcement on my Darwin's game page."
"What do you mean?" She asks, rising to her feet, leaving her defenceless body in front of my eyes.
"Just come and see and please get dressed!" I look away, embarrassed and red as a tomato.
"What do you want to know? I'll be happy to explain it all to you!" Finally dressed in a nightgown, she seems to be listening to my requests.
But there's something that doesn't quite add up: her cheeks are slightly flushed, she's wearing the smile of a child her age, nothing like what she showed me last night.
"Er... Thank you... you finally admit that I'm not your enemy?" It's not at all the same as yesterday...
"Of course! Normal, after what you told me last night!" She laughs softly, as if embarrassed.
"Really?" Well, what exactly did I tell her? I don't remember that... "Right to start with, tell me about this treasure hunt advert, it just popped up on my screen all of a sudden."
"Oh yes, there you go! On mine too!" She said, turning on her phone. "Sorry, but this is the first time I've seen this!"
She doesn't know anything either, and given the style of Darwin's game, I'm not expecting an innocent treasure hunt, and the fact that there's no date is all the more stressful.
"The other question I wanted to ask you is how to protect yourself in this game."
"I could go into detail right now, but your problem is that you don't know the basics. I suppose you haven't read the tutorial!"
"Ahhh... of course there's a tutorial..." I sigh exasperated by my own stupidity.
"Of course! That's the least you can hope for!"
"I guess so... Why didn't I think of it sooner... force of habit I suppose."
"What you need to remember is that in this game, it's all about points! If you use them to buy a shelter, your name will be removed from the list of duelists for a week. As long as you've got points left over, even after you've lost a fight, you avoid game over!"
I pick up my phone and look to see what the shelter in question is about.
"A shelter... that sells for ten points each in the shop? That's really expensive! As a beginner I don't have anything, do I?"
"Oh yes you do now that you've beaten an A4 player!"
"That's right, I'm at 639."
"In other words, you took 600 from me, plus the 39 from Banda-boy. That's the whole point of the game, to steal points from other players!"
"Okay, so if I buy as many shelters as I can, I won't have to worry about attacks for a while?"
"I wouldn't recommend it!"
"Why? It'll save me a fight, won't it?"
"Not quite! There are two types of combat, duels and ambushes. For the former, you select an opponent from the list of available duelists, one of the players is then teleported to the vicinity of the other and the game begins!"
"Does this game allow you to teleport? What the fuck..."
"As for ambushes, they can be triggered when players meet in real life, the shelter protects you from duels, but not from ambushes! You have to be careful with your spending, or you'll be eliminated! Avoid buying items en masse or converting too many points into money."
"Because we can earn real money?"
"Yes, a point is worth 100,000 yen!"
"Uh... That much? So, 639 points gets me 63,900,000 yen!?" My head spins just thinking about all that money. "Oh fuck! If I convert just ten, it should be fine, right?"
"Personally I've never tried it, but as long as you stay reasonable, why not? Good, now that you have the basic knowledge, we can get to the heart of the matter!"
"Okay, other than shelters, are there any other ways to keep yourself safe?"
"Well, there's one aspect of the game as crucial as the use of points..." She seems reluctant to talk about it.
"I'm listening!"
She says nothing, avoiding my gaze, as if drawn by a thought.
"Senji... how would you like to start a family?"
"What?"
"Take a look!"
She shows me a feature of Darwin's game, the clans.
"Ah, now I understand, 'clans are a kind of family or tribe'. Basically like guilds in mmorpg."
"Yes, you could say that!"
"Very good! Since I can't leave this game... I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive!"
"Perfect! Then hurry up and reach level B2, it's the minimum required to found a clan!"
"Why don't you take care of it? You're A4!"
"No way!"
"But..."
"No means no! It's up to the boy to make the first move!" She really sounds like a kid. "'Well! I sent you a friend request! You accept it, okay?! That way, you can call me on it for five points!" She's really cute embarrassed as she is.
"Uh okay..." I don't get it, she wants to be friends first? She's the one who brought up this clan thing.
Then she takes me towards the exit, seeing the clock ticking, I'd better get back quickly, or they're really going to worry.
"Do we have a deal? From now on, we help each other as much as we can?"
"You can count on me, Senji!"
"Okay, on that note I'll go. Don't hesitate to call me if you have any problems."
"Will you fly to my rescue?"
"Of course"
I push open the door, take the elevator to the ground floor and get out. I look behind me to see the size of the building.
"Hello luxury residence, you need the means to live there. No wonder she's not interested in converting her points into cash. But in that case, why is she playing Darwin's game? She doesn't seem to have been drawn into it against her will... Anyway, it's none of my business. "Well, we're clearly in Fuyuki's wealthy district, which means we're a long way from the hangar... and I don't even have enough money for a bus ticket."
So I head for a bank and get in front of an atm.
(How much is left in my account again? I must have 50,000 yen if Fuji-nee didn't take any on the sly.)
I opened my account to see a number I'd never seen on my account before: 1,052,920 yen. I have to rub my eyes and look twice to make sure I'm not hallucinating.
'If I convert just ten, it should be fine, right?'
'As long as you stay reasonable, why not?'
(I can't believe they just transferred a million to me, just like that! What could I buy with that amount of money? The bike of my dreams, the new graphics card coming soon... Whatever I want !)
I hesitate to take it all, seeing that money is starting to drive me crazy already.
(Damn it, I don't want to end up like Fuji-nee, no way!)
I settle for 50,000 yen and take a cab to the port.
On the way, I send a message to Fuji-nee, not understanding why she's not worried about my absence.
"Hi Senji! Don't worry about school, with a fever like this, you need to stay in bed, we'll see about tomorrow when I'm back, be patient, get some rest and see you later!"
(Oh okay, she thinks I'm still in bed... )
The first thing I see when I arrive is the bustle of people working at the port. Shuka caused a lot of damage to the hangar, and the poor guys didn't expect to see the place trashed overnight. I discreetly hurry off to pick up my bike, which is still there.
(Phew, thank goodness I thought of the anti-theft device).
Feeling guilty, I quickly get on my bike and start pedaling at full speed.
(Well, now what? This encounter with Shuka has made me progress, but I still don't know how to get out of the game. Even if I can avoid being attacked at any time thanks to the shelters, but when it's an ambush... I'll have to fight again unnecessarily. It'll never end... By the way, does this game have an ending?)
On my way home, I see a parked car in the corner.
"Strange to see a car here..."
"Yeah, a cop car, they must be watching me."
I ignore them and enter my house, but before I open the front door, I remember that I'm supposed to be in bed and Chiyo is there. I discreetly go around, put my bike away and go through the right wing to pretend I'm getting up.
"Oh, hello Senji, how are you feeling?"
"Hello Chiyo, I'm feeling better, I'm really hungry though, have you eaten yet?"
Good evening, thank you for reading this chapter, which was a lot of fun to write. I'm hoping I'll be able to write more strategic battles, which will quickly become complicated, given Senji's powers, but we'll see. See you next week!
