Exactly As Planned

Sakuya, Ashlan and Cassie were training together on a barebones training map—a large open area with only two levels of verticality and three jump pads. They were mostly helping Ashlan test out weapons that were shortened and modded to work in one hand. They’d spawned a bunch of bots in, just above noob level, to make it a little easier for Ashlan. A full-on free for all would’ve been too difficult on him, because neither Sakuya nor Cassie knew how to go light on newbies.
I’m just too much of a pub stomp god. Sorry not sorry.

The bots they spawned were purposefully made to look as stupid as possible: rollerskating robots with cat ear and tail accessories, exploding into confetti instead of organic or robot gibs. Custom matches were truly a playground.

Ashlan’s aim was getting slightly better, but it’d be a while before he could return to his previous skill level, if ever at all. Despite Cassie’s upgrades, most of the weapons were still heavy. They kicked differently with unfamiliar record patterns. His rank was relatively safe after winning noob matches, but these bots were still making him struggle. Cassie and Sakuya, on the other hand, were bored to the point of nearly falling asleep, one-shotting the bots without even looking.

“This feels like wiping dust off config files…” Cassie groaned.

Sakuya groaned louder. “More like updating custom maps…”

“Though… I feel bad for Ash, you know? Maybe I could’ve made his mods better, but I was just so swamped with requests that—”

Sakuya interrupted her. “Nope. Don’t start that again. You did the best you could. He’s not going to be a pro at using them instantly. Just give him time.”
I didn’t become number one in a day either!

“I guess you’re right. But you know how crafters feel. Nothing’s ever perfect.” Cassie replied with a sheepish sigh.

“Don’t have to be perfect. Just have to be close enough.” Sakuya put his fist up to his chest, looking back at Ashlan.

Ashlan was dodging well. His legs were probably working better than before he’d gotten his arm glitched, now that he couldn’t focus much on aim. Not to say his aim wasn’t improving, it was, but at a slower rate than his movement. He was doing some pretty cool tricks, in Sakuya’s eyes: kicking off the bots, juking them into walls and rolling or sliding out of their line of fire. At points, he’d even have bullets phase through him. It didn’t look easy for him, but he was improving.

He was mostly favoring his right side, even dodging to the right whenever possible. He was trying out an auto-reloading machine gun, struggling to hold it in one arm. It was easy to tell when he was exerting himself. Even if he was great at looking stoic and not openly grimacing, the glitch on his face would occasionally flare up, digital particles taking up more of his face and hair. His red hair fell over his eyes, which were haunted with focus.

Cassie’s arms were crossed as she watched Ashlan fight the bots, occasionally blasting one away herself. Sakuya did the same, kicking the bots away like stray rocks on the street.

I’m bored.

“I’m bored…” Cassie sloped her shoulders before perking up with a mischievous grin. “Bump up the bots?”

Sakuya thought for a few moments, tapping a finger on his helmet and even projecting a thinking emoji above his head, then a devilish smile. “You know what? I think we should.”
Sorry, Ashlan. But boredom kills me.

Rezrektion Arena had fifteen difficulty levels for bots, ranging from “You will win without playing” to “You will not win, even with godmode.” Cassie tapped level 11 on her tablet: “You might win if you edit the source code.” She locked herself in, baring her usual two oversized machine guns, bullet belts wrapped around her short, black overalls.

When the bots came running, Ashlan immediately sprinted away, making both Cassie and Sakuya laugh.
“You two are real idiots, you know that!?”

Sakuya shot a rocket at the horde, but the splash damage ended up hurling Ashlan into a wall.
Oops.

“Now you’ve done it!” Ashlan groaned at Sakuya, accepting this as a challenge and tossing a sticky grenade his way. Sakuya dodged, the grenade latching onto Cassie instead.

“Oh? Throwing me under the bus now?” In a split-second, Cassie sprayed both her machine guns at Sakuya, disintegrating him into a fine dust. When the grenade’s timer reached zero, she exploded not into usual gibs, but into a pile of colorful digital glitter (the group had set a custom mutator). Within seconds, the whole training map was a glitter-splattered free for all with level 11 bots and nobody even trying to play fair. It was chaos, and somehow, even Ashlan couldn’t stop laughing.

Stepping out of the match portal, the three sat together at a table in PN&P afterwards, refilling their buff supply and discussing the lawless game they’d just partaken in.

Cassie grinned, drinking a speed buff soda in preparation for even more upgrade requests.

“If I have to see bots with cat ears again, I think I’m going to ban that mutator from the entire Arena.”

“At least you weren’t the one being chased by them…” Ashlan groaned, sipping armor-buffing bubble tea.

Sakuya laughed. “Yeah, they must’ve liked you a lot. Making friends, huh?” He tapped on Ashlan’s back.

Ashlan made a “tch” sound, but couldn’t hide his smile. Then, he looked at something behind Sakuya, and immediately lowered his voice, his expression turning serious alongside it. “Don’t make it obvious, but that guy’s giving me the creeps.”

Sakuya and Cassie both turned around. Cassie stared for a bit before turning back first. “That metalhead? Yeah, I get what you mean. He’s been AFK’ing there randomly the past few days. Never ordered anything. Must be special, though. Has a weapon pass, by the looks of it.”

That’s all you have to say about… THAT?
Sakuya’s stare lingered a while more. Being noticed by the figure was the last thing he wanted, but at the same time, he couldn’t turn away. The man was a brute, made of shriveled grayish skin and mismatched metal plates, rivets, spiked shoulder armor and chains. It all looked rusted, bloodstained and inhuman, fastened directly into his flesh. Even the way the bar’s colorful holoscreens and neon reflected against him looked… wrong.

His face was hidden by a steel mask, one that looked like he had crudely bolted it on himself, possibly with the huge rivet gun by his side. He didn’t breathe normally. His chest twitched instead of rising like it would with most people. It made sounds, too, with the odd metallic click being audible even to the trio at the table.

The freak slowly turned his head towards Sakuya, who immediately flung his gaze back towards the table, hoping he didn't get caught staring. He's been to enough bars to know who not to stare at. It was almost funny to see the large suit of armor be the scared one. The Arena’s games were brutal, sure, but that guy was just painful to look at. Sakuya was reminded of a Japanese urban legend—the slit-mouthed woman, who’d carve her victims’ cheeks so that they’d look just like her. Sakuya felt like the walking scrapyard masquerading as a human would be that same kind of monster.

“I told you two not to make it obvious!” Ashlan whispered, anger evident in his tone. When Sakuya pulled up a terrified emoji on his tablet, he tried to calm him down, at least a bit. “Don’t worry, he turned away. Doesn’t look aggro yet.”

Cassie unconsciously shifted slightly closer to Sakuya. “I wouldn’t really be scared, but… after what happened to you, Ash, I keep remembering even the lobby isn’t safe.” She looked between the two of them. “We should stick together. Can’t be too sure anymore.”

Both Sakuya and Ashlan nodded. The three bantered a little longer, nervously glancing at the freak every now and again until he disappeared. Left, they all hoped.

Ashlan rested his chin against his fist, slurping up the last of his bubble tea. “Between the bots and that metalhead, I think I’ve seen enough weird outfits for today.”
Speak for yourself, JRPG protagonist.

Cassie finished her soda bottle, leaning back. “I wish I could go back to grinding bots, but…” She scrolled her tablet, scowling at the screen. “Bleh… way, way, WAY too many requests. Gotta head back to the shop before my DMs get flooded.”

Someone sauntered up to their table. Face hidden by a hood, dark hair covering one eye, a tattered black robe exposing lanky, purple-veined arms: it was Kinzorn, the sorcerer from Sakuya’s first match.

“Long time no see, my metalhead pal. Remember me? From your first match?” Kinzorn spoke with a strange, rehearsed swagger, like it was his first time actually saying any slang.

From this close up, he looked sickly. He was underweight, his skin was pale, and his eyes were sunken. The off-colored veins didn't help any impressions either. He was the walking definition of “magical sickness.” His lore stated that he'd corrupted his soul with forbidden magic, and that was readily apparent. His existence looked painful, but not as much as the aluminum patchjob.

“Uh… yeah. You were annoying to fight.” A hint of resentment slipped through Sakuya’s nod. The weight of being used to first place and having it robbed from him by such a cheesy character was the definition of wrong. Like he'd failed himself.

Kinzorn tilted his head. “So were you, but I saw how hard you were trying, so I’m giving you a chance to get payback. No mutators. No customs. 1v1, right here. PN&P’s portals.” He flipped his hair. “Unless you’re scared to lose again.”

Cassie interjected. “I don’t know who you are, buddy, but we’re kind of—”

“You’re on.” Sakuya interrupted her, accepting the request. He hated being looked down on. A competitive spirit never dies, and for Sakuya, a bit over a week of actually being in the world of Rezrektion Arena only made that fire within him grow brighter.“Ten minutes, though.” He continued, adding only one change to the default 1v1 settings. For some reason, Rezrektion had a default five minute time limit for two player FFA matches. Deliberate design or glitch, you decide.

Cassie wanted to say something else, but her tablet kept reminding her she had a lot of requests to finish up. “Ah, crap. I have to go!”
She ran into the shop, presumably to finish an urgent request.

“Go on. We’ll be watching from the shop’s holoscreen.” Ashlan cheered Sakuya on, following Cassie.

“Try not to break anything while I’m gone.” Sakuya flashed a winking emoji above his head. He turned back to Kinzorn, who was already heading towards one of the portals. He stopped in front.
“I’m in the 2,000s. I’ll give you five extra seconds to prepare. Call it a fair chance.”

Sakuya didn’t think anything of it, but the moment he’d stepped in and the bar began to flicker out, he saw Kinzorn wave his hand. The same metallic freak from earlier reemerged from the crowd, dragging his rivet gun across the floor towards the door right next to the portals.
The door to Cassie’s shop.

I’ve been set up.

Sakuya clenched his fists, staring at the loading screen.
"Loading map: Hellcliff_v3"

He didn't have time to worry. All he could do was harden his nerves and focus on his anger.
You're done, Kinzorn.