Game 3: The Secret Trump Card

That morning, Takeshi and Rita discussed strategy over breakfast.

“I know we don't have much time, but you do remember everything I told you, right?” Rita asked Takeshi.

“Of course!” Takeshi responded. “The arrows work by way of verbal magic. You just say what kind of arrow you want them to be, and that's what they turn into.”

“But…?”

“But… there's only so many things the arrows can turn into: Fire, Ice, Acid, Steel, Blossom, and…”

“Shock Arrows.”

“Shock Arrows. Right. Right.”

“I'm sure there's more but I just haven't learned the techniques yet,” Rita admitted. “Now, Acid Arrows will chip away at Slicer's defenses, and Steel Arrows have a 10% chance of dealing double damage.”

“So with a little bit of luck, I could defeat him quickly.”

“But more likely, you'll need to out-maneuver him and strike from where he can't get you. But yes, you may need a bit of luck in order to win. And if not, well, it was nice knowing this place.”

“Not exactly inspiring confidence, are you, Rita?”

“I'm just saying. Slicer is Slicer. He's the top player for a reason. You'll need to pray or whatever it is you do that a little bit of luck will be in your favor.”

“Understood.”

Before leaving, Takeshi checked on the ragbunny in his pocket to make sure it was still there.

“The little guy is sleeping. Sure wish I was him right now.”

•

As promised, the Slicer came back to Innsbruck ready to pummel Takeshi Ishida into the ground.

He looked around for his opponent, but could not see him. “I knew he would chicken out,” he scoffed. “Let this be a lesson to all of you: You do NOT mess with the Slicer!”

“Your eyesight must be getting a little dim, Slicer,” Takeshi called out. He had donned every wayward piece of armor, every random trinket, and every weapon the townsfolk (and Rita) gave him.

“I'm a bit surprised, kid,” Slicer told Takeshi. “I didn't think you'd actually show up. I hope you've said your goodbyes, because I'm about to give you a one-way ticket straight back to whatever miserable hole you crawled out of!”

Takeshi said nothing. He simply went into the ready stance Rita told him about.

Slicer pointed at the local chapel. “You see that tower? When the bell inside rings, we fight. And the fight keeps going until one of us runs out of Lives. Got it?”

Takeshi remained silent.

They both waited for the church bell to ring.

“I'll give you one last chance to run away, kid!” Slicer offered. “These kinds of fights can get real ugly real quick.”

But it was too late.

DING!

Slicer began the fight by charging directly at his opponent. Takeshi had no idea what he was doing, but somehow, at exactly the moment he needed to, he blocked the Slicer's charge with his blade. The first phase of the fight was a furious whirlwind of clashing blades, sword vs. arm blade. Slicer would go on the offensive, Takeshi would parry, then follow up with an attempt to deal damage to Slicer's three Lives, Slicer would block with his arm blades, then try to find any weak spot in Takeshi's armor.

“Power Stomp!” Slicer was looking to end the fight quickly with his signature move. The townsfolk could only look on in shock and awe at the display. Takeshi was fighting as if he had been playing The Game for years, but it was clear Slicer had the advantage.

Slicer took one giant leap into the air, hoping to land squarely on Takeshi.

But he missed!

“What the…?! How could I miss that?! My Power Stomp never misses!”

When he stood back up, he saw that Takeshi had taken a giant leap of his own, right into a tree! The townsfolk couldn't believe what they were seeing! Rita only looked on curiously.

“I wonder…” was all she could say.

“Hey! Get down from there!” Slicer shouted at his opponent.

“Yeah… I don't think so,” Takeshi answered with a huge grin on his face. “This tree here looks really comfy.”

“Get down here and fight me like a man!”

Takeshi only climbed further into the tree. “Why don't you come up here and fight me like a man?” Takeshi retorted.

This response angered Slicer. “Power Stomp!” He tried to jump as high into the air as he could, hoping to grab a hold of the branch Takeshi was sitting on. Unfortunately for him, he came up just short, but he was able to jam his arm blades into the branch. The combined weight of the fighters was just too much for that tree branch to bear, however, and the branch began to break.

“Uh… how about we just call this whole thing off, what do you say?” Slicer offered.

“Is this what you always do?” Takeshi asked him in response. “You're not winning, and you decide to run away?”

Before Slicer could answer, the branch broke off from the rest of the tree. As he was heavier, he fell faster than the tree branch and landed on the ground first. The branch then landed on him with incredible force, forcing Slicer down to two Lives.

But where was Takeshi? He had managed to hang onto another branch with just one hand. Whatever he or Rita or the townsfolk did, Takeshi had now managed to bring Slicer down to two Lives, and was clearly in charge of this fight.

“I'll give you one last chance to run away, Slicer!” Takeshi shouted at his downed opponent. He was learning very quickly how to speak with Slicer's brand of bravado. “These kinds of fights can get real ugly real quick.”

Slicer was not going to budge. He was now on the losing end of a fight he had expected to win, but also, he was furious. This kid was beating him and even insulting him. He was getting out-Slicer'd! But he noticed something Takeshi had not. In the time Takeshi took to get into the tree, he had dropped Rita's quiver of arrows.

By the time Takeshi noticed, he could only muster an “Oh no…” before Slicer stood up, arrows in hand.

“Now, you die!” Slicer screamed as he started chucking arrows at his opponent. Takeshi tried his best to dodge or deflect each arrow thrown at him, but one managed to jab him in the leg. For the first time in The Game, Takeshi had taken damage. The pain from the arrow making its mark forced Takeshi to let go of the branch and fall back down to the ground. Unlike the Slicer, who landed on his back, Takeshi very nearly landed on his feet.

“Is that how you were never dealt damage before?” Takeshi asked his opponent. “Do you just pick the easy fights?”

“Do you ever shut up?” Slicer asked in response. He approached Takeshi, ready to pound him into the ground.

Takeshi managed to find an arrow on the ground nearby. He quietly said “Acid Arrow,” which gave the arrowhead an acidic tip. As Slicer went in for the heavy hit, Takeshi jammed the arrow into Slicer's left arm.

The Slicer was now down to one Life.

It was at this point that Slicer knew he was not going to win this fight. “Who needs this stupid town anyways?! You haven't seen the last of me!”

And with that, the Slicer fled Innsbruck, but not without accidentally leaving behind a little surprise.

As the townsfolk celebrate their freedom from the Slicer's tyranny, Rita pulled Takeshi aside.

“Do not tell anyone about what just happened,” Rita warned him.

“What do you mean?” Takeshi asked. “I'm still not even sure WHAT I did!”

“I have an idea,” Rita continued, “but if I'm right, and word of this gets out, it could break The Game.”

“Break The Game, how?”

“As in The Game becomes impossible to win, and we're all stuck in this God-forsaken place forever!”

“I mean… these people seem happy,” Takeshi countered, pointing to the townsfolk.

“They've settled into their little video game archetypes,” Rita added. “They've given up on finding a way out of here. So they cope by resigning themselves to basically being part of the story.”

“So what's this game-breaking exploit you think I've found?”

“Open your pocket.”

Takeshi did as he was told, revealing the ragbunny with the red-tipped ears, still asleep. He then realized the ragbunny must have helped him out, though he wasn't sure how.

“A single ragbunny's foot costs you thirty libras at the market,” Rita explained further. “It grants you good luck and a slight boost to your agility. Nobody has ever stuffed an entire ragbunny into their inventory. Who knows how that could have affected your performance against the Slicer.”

“Are you suggesting that I cheated?”

“No, not at all. You just discovered a new strategy. The folks who run The Game might not like that very much.”

Takeshi then caught the object the Slicer dropped out of the corner of his eye. “Hey, Rita. Do you see this?”

Rita turned around to see what Takeshi was talking about. “It looks like a map cube.”

“A map cube? Do you think it could lead to where the Slicer has been storing the townsfolk's items?”

“Only one way to find out.”