Black Out

The match grew intense.

Daiki played it safe, using only abilities to stay in high-ground positions and maintain a distance whenever Haruki got too close. His skill in memorizing strategic spots on the map kept him in the lead, with the score ticking in his favor as each minute passed.

But Haruki was relentless, constantly pressuring Daiki. His aggressive playstyle forced Daiki to reposition and retreat frequently. With the help of the Striker's Smoke Launcher, Haruki could play guerrilla tactics, ambushing and then vanishing into the smoke.

"Stop running away like a coward, come down here, damn it!" Haruki shouted.

"Shut up, kid!" Daiki snapped back. "And quit hiding! Fight like a man!"

Both of them were making high-stakes bets. Daiki had his pride and reputation as a pro player on the line. It'd be humiliating if a tournament veteran like him lost to a kid stuck in silver rank for eight years. If he lost this match, he had no idea how he'd face Akira.

Haruki, too, had something at stake. For some reason, this kid was stubborn about joining Quantum Esport, even after Akira had rejected him before.

"They're loud," Akira muttered.

Despite their annoying attitudes, Akira found the match quite interesting.

Sure, they were yelling and even cursing at each other, but Akira didn't see them making unnecessary mistakes. It wasn't surprising that Daiki was so disciplined throughout the match, but Haruki had caught his attention.

The boy knew when to push forward and play aggressively, yet he didn't let his ego drive him to overextend. He could read the situation well, knowing when to pull back and not push his luck.

Above all, he had another skill that really intrigued Akira.

"Damn, how's a silver-ranked player pulling off moves like that? Why didn't he show this from the start?"

Daiki fired shots and launched rockets at Haruki as his character wall-ran along the steep edge of a floating moon piece. But none of his attacks landed. Haruki's character jumped from one moon piece to another, dodging everything.

As the distance between them closed, Haruki fired his rockets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Out of the three rockets launched, only one hit Daiki's character, draining half of his shield.

"Yo, kid! You've been watching too much YouTube tutorials! Get over here, damn it!" Daiki barked.

Aside from his frightening aim and reflexes, Haruki had above-average movement skills. He could pull off moves typically seen only in high-rank players, like tap-strafing, boost sliding, double wall-jumping, and BHOP (bunny hopping).

These moves were like parkour in the game. Not only did they speed up his character's momentum, but they also made it hard for others to hit him. This was why Daiki had such a hard time dealing with Haruki.

Plus, the Striker's passive ability, Emergency Run, which increased movement speed when under fire, made Haruki an incredibly difficult target to hit.

"Daiki, seems like that kid's giving you a tough time, huh?"

Glancing at the scoreboard, Akira checked how much longer the match would last.

[lowfie6666 (Haruki) VS Ganbate-ne (Daiki)]

[70 - 90]

Ten minutes had passed, and Daiki was still in the lead. Akira had set the time limit to unlimited, so the match would end with a rally point. Whoever hit 100 first would win.

Given the score gap, anyone could tell Daiki was the likely winner. But Haruki refused to give up.

"Nooo!"

Crack!

The computer screen showed Daiki's character dying. Just as the skinny man was about to kill Haruki, he ended up getting a headshot, causing critical damage to his character.

[lowfie6666 (Haruki) VS Ganbate-ne (Daiki)]

[80 - 90]

After securing the kill, Haruki didn't celebrate as usual. His face was serious, eyes glued to the screen. He used the respawn delay time to retreat, finding a safe spot to recover his depleted Shield and HP.

Akira nodded, impressed by Haruki's decision. He admired how Haruki stayed calm even when trailing by 20 points. Most players would have made blunders in a situation like Haruki's.

"Are you getting tilted, Daiki? You just made a stupid mistake," Akira teased.

"I know right!"

"If you keep this up, you're gonna lose. Look at that kid. He's stopped talking and is fully focused on the game. You should do the same."

Scrolling his eyes to the computer beside him, Daiki saw Haruki playing with a calm demeanor. No noise, no insults. The kid's sudden change was like a warning alarm for Daiki. He took a deep breath and exhaled, leaning closer to the screen.

"You get it now," Akira muttered.

He had warned his teammate to take the match seriously. Daiki might have had a bigger chance than Haruki, but if the skinny guy kept playing recklessly, the kid might have won.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After that, the room fell silent, save for the clicking of keyboards and mouse. Haruki and Daiki were both intensely focused, their eyes glued to the screen.

BRRRR! BRRRR! BRRRR!

Haruki tried to close the distance, bunny-hopping in a zig-zag pattern to make himself harder to hit. However, the closer he got, the more damage he took. He thought debris was hitting him, so he kept pushing forward.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Suddenly, sound effects echoed in Haruki's ears as his character's shield drained completely. It dawned on him that it wasn't debris but Daiki dealing the damage. For some reason, Daiki's shots were hitting, no matter how fast he moved.

"As expected. Nice tactic, Daiki."

Akira noticed Daiki had changed his shooting method. The skinny guy, who had been spraying before, was now tapping, causing his character to shoot in bursts.

Spraying was more effective for hitting linear-moving enemies, but the bullet spread widened, lowering accuracy. Haruki's fast and sudden movement momentum made it hard to track him.

By tapping, Daiki only fired when Haruki changed his movement momentum, making his shots far more accurate, though it reduced the TTK (Time to Kill).

"Ugh!"

Haruki began gritting his teeth as his character got cornered. He had to hide more often because Daiki's shots were now dead on target.

"Come on, Haruki. What are you gonna do?" Akira muttered. "If you don't have a plan, just keep running ha ha ha."

The tide of the battle began to shift. Haruki started keeping his distance while Daiki hunted him down. This situation favored Daiki. The skinny guy always took high-ground positions, allowing him to poke Haruki by launching rockets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Damn it!"

Haruki cried out after two minutes of silence. All of Daiki's rockets hit his character, leaving him with just a quarter of his HP. One more rocket and his character would be dead.

Gritting his teeth, Haruki desperately tried to get his character as far away from Daiki's as possible. He needed to exit combat to recover his HP and Shield. But Daiki had other plans.

"Sorry, kid. Looks like you've failed your test," Daiki taunted.

The skinny guy pressed "Z" on his keyboard, triggering the ultimate ability—Air Strike. The MP indicator showed 50% depletion.

"It's over," Akira murmured.

Dozens of cruise missiles appeared from the sky above, with orange sparks trailing behind them. In a matter of milliseconds, they rained down on the area where Haruki's character was hiding. The missiles didn't explode immediately; instead, their tails lit up brightly, as if issuing a final warning.

"Nooooo!"

Bam!

Haruki screamed, slamming his fist on the table. He knew there was no way out of this situation. His dream of joining Quantum Esports was shattered. It had been right within his reach.

Just as everyone thought it was over, suddenly, the power went out.