A part of him hesitated. Unlike [Blade] and [Trip], [Lightning Bolt] was a consumable, so there was no second try waiting in his pocket.

It really was all or nothing.

Deon stared at the blue Card between his fingers, feeling the faint static crawling across his skin even before he activated it.

I need to make it stop moving somehow, or make it move somewhere that restricts its movement.

But that was when his eyes caught the perfect spot: Mihan Station.

It really was the perfect place. It was just big enough to make it look like the Crawler could get in, but just small enough to trap it.

"Vivian!"

Vivian ducked beneath another sweeping claw, both her and her clone splitting away just before the Brute Crawler’s arm smashed into the ground between them.

"What now?!" she shouted, sliding across the grass.

"Station!"

Vivian glanced toward the broken entrance, then back toward him. In that brief second, Deon saw her eyes dart back and forth, calculating on the spot and trying to deduce what he meant.

That’s when her eyes lit up. "Got it!"

"Let’s swap aggro, like the game we used to play!"

Deon jumped off the tree and landed just by the monster. It snapped toward the sound, already ready to chase him. He jumped back, forcing himself not to swing.

That was the hardest part.

His fingers tightened around [Blade] by instinct, every part of his body screaming for him to strike, parry, do something. But he couldn’t.

No damage, Deon. Not even a scratch.

"Over here, ugly!"

The Brute Crawler roared and lunged after him.

Its massive front legs tore through the park as Deon cut sharply between the scorched trees, using every broken bench and collapsed stone lantern as cover.

A claw came down where he had been a second ago, absolutely crushing the stone lantern into pieces before shredding the ground right under it.

Way too freaking close.

[ChairGoblin_22: do NOT accidentally attack or parry lmao]

[AuraMonster: Sometimes running away is a good choice...]

"Don’t backseat me now!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Deon made it to what looked like a public playground, vaulting over one of the railings before ducking under the jungle gym. The Brute Crawler crashed down on top of it, its weight flattening the entire structure and nearly Deon with it.

"Vivian!"

"I know!"

Vivian’s clone rushed from the side, dragging both daggers along the invisible barrier. The Brute Crawler flinched, turning its head toward the clone.

Deon immediately cut left, giving up the aggro before the monster could commit to him fully. Once he was out of striking distance, he spun back, waving his sword mockingly.

"Over here, fat ass!"

But as the monster charged at him, its spike started flashing orange, the telltale sign that Deon’s provocation was definitely working.

Zrrrrak!

A smaller beam swept the entire playground, slicing almost all the structures in half. Deon just barely ducked under it.

"Why so sensitive?!"

Vivian grouped up with him, breathing a little harder than before. "This thing really doesn’t like being played with."

Deon nodded, pointing toward the station. "Final aggro goes to you. Run straight down the entrance."

"Straight?"

"Straight."

"If it fires?"

"Don’t get hit."

"Thank you, Shorlock."

Vivian dashed, cutting across the Crawler’s front, close enough that its jaws snapped only inches behind her coat. Then she ran straight toward Mihan Station.

The ground shook under each step as the Brute Crawler barreled after her, tearing across the ruined park. Deon chased from behind, keeping low and quiet, staying out of its line of sight.

The old sign above it swayed from the force of the approaching monster just as Vivian slid down the stairs.

MIHAN STATION

The Brute Crawler followed without hesitation, plunging its body into the entrance. For a horrifying second, Deon thought it might fit.

Then—

CRRRAAASH!

The Brute Crawler’s shoulders slammed into the concrete wall. The station entrance exploded as it tried to force its way in. Its body wedged, front legs clawing at the stairwell while its back legs tried to push from the outside.

"Deon!" Vivian’s voice came from the inside. "Any time now!"

The spike on its back lit up. If it couldn’t fit through the entrance, then it would just blow the whole thing apart. Heat gathered in its mouth as energy condensed into a beam sure to destroy the entire station in one go.

But that was when Deon appeared in the air, right hand holding out the blue Card as light spilled between his fingers, brighter and brighter until it gathered into a single point.

From above, the path was clear...a singular line that would decide their fate for this game. Bargain’s message appeared at the edge of his vision.

[LovesAGoodBargain: Well?]

A smile crept across his face as both targets lined up, ready to fire. The only thing left was to say the iconic catchphrase—

"Clip this."

Szzzt...BOOOOM!

The Card shattered as a bolt of blue lightning tore from his hand and crossed the distance in an instant. It struck the crystal first, punching straight through the outer bone shell.

Then the bolt drove right through it and into the Brute Crawler’s skull. The entire station entrance lit up as its body seized, every limb locking at once as light burst from the cracks in its armor.

...

...

...

CRASH!

Its entire body collapsed, skin turning gray and decrepit before it started breaking apart into dust and fading with the wind.

The force threw Deon backward. He hit the ground hard, rolling once through the grass before landing on his back.

For a moment, he only stared at the ruined sky above Mihan Park before the adrenaline ended, and a single blue panel filled his vision.

[Game 1 – Musical Chairs Has Come To An End.]

[Stage Boss: Brute Crawler defeated.]

[Single Attack Kill Confirmed.]

[Condition fulfilled.]

Deon stared at the words. Then, very slowly, the corner of his mouth lifted as he turned over to look at his chat.

A laugh came out weak, but it conveyed everything. "Ha...pay up."

[LovesAGoodBargain: As promised. However, there seems to be system interference as I was planning to match your combined total.]

[ClownWithWifi: Does it matter? He’s the richest contestant in the first Game, ever!]

Deon rolled onto his back, now with the adrenaline gone, pain was finally catching up. It didn’t help as his ears were constantly hearing the Ding! noise over and over again.

When it was all said and done, Deon checked his Panel again.

[Current Points: 34]

[Boss Defeat Reward: +110 Points]

[Flag Bearer Bonus Applied: +55 Points]

[Viewer Contract Fulfilled.]

[Eligible Match Categories:]

[Stage Combat Earnings: +62 Points]

[Boss Defeat Reward: +110 Points]

[Viewer Match Total: +172 Points]

[Point Balance: 371]

"Holy shit."

***

On the other side of District 4, the last Ruined Infantry burned.

It thrashed wildly in the ruined mall, claws scraping against stone as blue fire crawled over its armored body. For a monster that shrugged off steel, arrows, and blunt force, it almost looked...pathetic.

[You have defeated a Ruined Infantry.]

[+10 Points Awarded.]

Levi lowered his hand, and the flame curling between his fingers folded neatly back into the green-bordered Card.

A few steps behind him, Jason dropped onto the ground with his shield resting across his knees. His breathing came out heavy, each inhale rougher than the last.

"Please tell me that was the last one," Jason muttered.

"It was," Levi said.

"Thank God."

Celine lowered her bow before walking toward Levi, her expression unreadable despite the dirt and blood staining her sleeve.

Then—

Szzzt...BOOOOM!

A sharp crackle tore through the distance. Jason flinched, standing up immediately with his shield in place.

"What the hell was that?"

Levi turned toward the source, putting a finger on his chin. Lightning from the direction of Mihan Park?

For a moment, he simply stared before opening up the Leaderboard with a single tap.

[Leaderboard]

[1. Deon Day — 371 Points]

[2. Levi Knox — 284 Points]

[3. Mira Solenne — 238 Points]

Levi looked at the name in first place. Then, despite himself, he grinned from ear to ear. "So you actually did it."

"Young Master."

Celine’s voice came quietly from beside him.

Levi’s smile faded slightly. "You should be resting."

"Is it okay?" she asked, eyes fixed on the same panel. "For Deon Day to be in the top spot? Won’t it be bad if he wins the first game?"

Celine’s fingers tightened around her bow, continuing on. "With such a strong contestant this time, won’t it become harder to reach our goal? Aren’t we supposed to initiate the Desire this time around?"

Jason was still too far away to hear clearly, but Celine glanced back anyway. "If Deon Day keeps growing at this pace, he’ll become a variable we can’t control. It would be best to eliminate him before he complicates—"

But Levi simply raised a hand, cutting her off. "Eliminate him? No."

"No?"

"That would be the lazy option."

Levi tapped Deon’s name once, making the panel ripple.

"A cockroach," he said.

Celine blinked. "Young Master?"

"That’s what I called him before." Levi’s smile returned before he covered it with his hand. "But I was wrong."

"He’s a smart cockroach."

"Then...what’s the plan? Do we proceed as usual?" Celine asked, looking at the sky that was now starting to turn gray.

"I’ll test him once more," Levi simply turned, collecting the glowing blue-bordered Card that was on the floor from his previous kill.

"If that cockroach manages to survive again..."

He turned, glancing at Celine with an amused look on his face. Then, with a flick of his finger, the blue-bordered Card in his hand caught on fire before turning into ash at his feet.

Celine’s eyes widened as the Rare Card burned away. Levi put on his perfectly good coat before heading off.

"Then it’d be interesting, wouldn’t it?"