Chapter 16: Chapter 16 : Clash of Geniuses

Eyes were gouged, necks were stabbed, skulls were hacked, heads were lopped off, limbs were severed...to secure victory, no method was shied away from.

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Like a pendulum, the two went back and forth, never allowing the gap to grow by much.

Ralf and Rei entered a trance of pure battle. All thoughts unrelated to battle were pushed aside as their minds focused solely on defeating the other.

Their battles changed over time. To improve their battle sense, they decided to go through the entire roster of weapons. They also set fights where one had a certain type of weapon and the other had another. A spear versus a knife, nun-chucks versus a whip, a sickle versus a scythe, etc.

These battles weren’t the most high quality but they made for interesting bouts. A hundred matches in, Ralf proposed that they record these matches to study them later. Rei was on board and made it happen. Since then, no less than fifty cameras had been active, recording the action from every conceivable angle.

Over time, the weapons went from cold to hot.

Ratatatattatatata!

Rei’s machine gun sprayed. Swinging rightward, it chased after Ralf’s dashing figure. Even after he entered the saloon, Rei continued squeezing the trigger. The wooden structure did little to stop the bullet's trajectory. Puncturing the walls, they rushed towards Ralf’s fleeing form.

Click!

The two reacted differently to the sound. Rei raised his pistol and took aim. Ralf was zigzagging through the tables, rushing to the other side. Focusing on his hearing, Rei tracked his erratic movements with precision.

But the same could be said of Ralf. The shifting of Rei’s barrel, the sound of the half click… all tipped him off to the bullet’s future path. With desperate speed, he shifted from side to side, avoiding Rei’s string of shots.

*Shatter*

Rei relented as he heard the window being broken through. After lowering his posture, he broke into a sprint. Like cat and mouse, Rei trailed Ralf in hot pursuit.

Just as weapons changed, so did domes. The two were currently doing battle in the cowboy town.

Ralf was having a tough time. It was not his skills letting him down but his luck, it was abysmal.

On the other end of the luck spectrum…

‘Oh, another one, I’m really lucky this round.’

Rei’s eyes lit up at the sight of the glowing box ahead. Not slowing down, he tapped the box with his machine in passing before continuing his dogged pursuit. The empty clip now full, he continued spraying.

The town made full use of the randomizer. Chests containing weapons, ammo, health and stamina packs were randomly scattered around the town and would spawn erratically. Importantly, these boxes could only be used once before dematerializing. Also, every time one was used, they would let off a sound that would indicate what type it was.

Ralf was having an unlucky run. His failure to find any items was what put him in his current predicament. Meanwhile, Rei couldn’t run ten meters without catching sight of a glowing box. Ralf was terrorized by this cheat-like luck.

The town’s makeup didn’t help either. With it being mostly wood, bullets easily punctured through, making Ralf’s life much harder.

*Splat*

‘Oh, I hit something.’

Hearing the fleshy spurt from the other side of the street, Rei sped up. Turning the corner, he captured the end of Ralf’s coat flap around the next corner.

Bang! Bang! Bang!…

Moving and shooting lowered his accuracy quite a bit, even so, he managed to leave a few more fleshy wounds on Ralf. Expecting to end Ralf’s life in the passing seconds, he was met with surprise when he heard a loud thonk.

Arriving at the corner, he understood.

At the last moment, Ralf had thrown himself behind a concrete wall, saving himself from being riddled.

Rei squinted. ‘That place is…’ A thought struck him as he remembered this section of the street from his earlier passing. An object that eluded his sight caught his mind's eye. He glanced at his machine gun, then at the sky. ‘The air resistance will slow it down quite a bit…oh well, let's give it a go.’

On Ralf’s end…

‘Ah, just in time,’ he thought in relief as he watched his HP value return to double digits.

Upon landing, Ralf rushed to inject the syringe into his thigh, saving him from his imminent demise. Ralf kept it moving. Thuds from the wall at his back motivated him. Tossing away the syringe, he unholstered the revolver and whipped out the barrel. From his pocket, he retrieved a bullet and jammed it in, before closing it as silently as possible.

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While down on his luck, Ralf's chances weren't zero. He had taken out this single bullet and made a show of being out of ammo. When Rei carelessly approached, he would end the battle in an instant. Now was the right time.

‘Even if he knows, it’ll still work.’

Not pausing, Ralf took off his torn coat and balled it up in his left hand. He went with a standard tactic. Toss the balled-up coat up, and as soon as Rei focused fire on it, peek and land the match-winning shot.

Ralf sharpened his mind to execute this tactic precisely. But, his concentration was obliterated as he captured an oddity. He could hear Rei’s machine gun firing, however, the wall was free from collisions. Finding it strange, he froze. Then, a second later understanding dawned on him as he caught sight of objects moving in his peripheral. Dozens of bullets were raining down from above.

Ralf didn’t recklessly dodge. Leaving the barricade would put him in Rei’s sights after all.

In the seconds he was allotted, Ralf’s mind showed its excellence. Taking a quick step back, he entered a gap in the metal curtain. Bullets brushed past him without even a 1 HP loss.

Relief surged in Ralf’s heart…but this was a short-lived feeling as he caught the object to his rear.

‘Ah-’

*Boom*

The fifth bullet did the trick. Pierced, the barrel's contents ignited in a fiery explosion.

Ralf leapt to the side, crunching his body into a fetal position. But he was far too slow. The flames engulfed him and dozens of wood shards stabbed into his body.

Crashing to the floor, a familiar voice rang out.

((Match Complete: Rei’s victory.))

‘Ah, he was aiming for the barrel from the start. I really should have noticed it. Tsk.’

His face was sullied by a wicked pout. He too didn’t take defeat well.

*Step*

“I didn’t think that would work so well, you were really unlucky this time around.”

Ralf's figure was suddenly shadowed by a smirking Rei. He frowned. “Why are you smirking, you know oil barrels don’t explode like that in real life.”

“I know. That’s not an oil barrel though.”

“Oh, then what is it?”

“It's a highly explosive black liquid that explodes when it comes in contact with a speeding bullet.”

Ralf looked at his other self with an incredulous look. Having occupied Rei’s body, Ralf knew that he didn’t possess knowledge of such a compound.

Rei saw this and rolled his shoulders. “There’s also no magic boxes in real life. This setting wasn’t made to be realistic. Still, realistic or not, it falls on you to read all the code of the virtual space. You should have known that the barrels are explosive and planned accordingly.”

Ralf sighed at the words. Rei was right. Having no foot to stand on, he let himself be drenched in defeat’s dirty water.

“This place doesn’t seem to like you. Should we change locations? You had better luck in the city.”

Ralf narrowed his eyes. His heart flared up, ready to correct the record. But in the end, he shook his head.

“No, let's call it here,” Ralf said.

‘This is the best place to stop,’ he thought as he looked up at the numbers above.

He and Rei were tied at 2022 victories each.

“Mm, okay,” Rei replied, a little disappointed. He was looking forward to continuing his hot streak.

Ralf shook his head with a wry smile. They had been battling nonstop for two weeks already.

Altered Time was deactivated.

Getting up, he tapped Rei’s shoulder. “The fun is just beginning, partner. When I return, let's go to the gambling hall and play some games. There’s chess here right?”

“Of course. You’re going out?”

Ralf nodded. “I have to prepare something, also…waste.”

“Oh,” Rei’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Take care of it then.”

“Will do.”

Placing two fingers on his forehead, Ralf left to do his duties.

Left alone, Rei's face collapsed into a huge grin.

‘That was pretty fun.’

He clenched his fists as he bubbled with excitement. The last two weeks had been a blast for Rei. Giving it his all against an equal scratched an itch in him that he didn't know he had. It was not just incredibly fun but incredibly fulfilling as well.

The feelings of companionship Ralf gave him filled his heart with unparalleled joy and satisfaction. He couldn't be happier. He had never felt like he belonged anyway...until now that is. Being here with Ralf, Rei felt like he was exactly where he should be.

‘I’m glad I was brought here. Thank you, Ralf.’

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