Chapter 11: CPU Trial — Who's It Going To Be?
POV: Zai
I was by myself in my room, the air was quiet, my heart drummed like a drum line waiting for the first kick.
The system was quiet, too quiet, and then—
[BATTLE LOADING…)
Stage: Battlefield
Opponent: ??? (Randomized Lv. 3 CPU)
I trailed my hands over my sweatpants, pacing a slow circle. My muscles were tense—not the same tension of fighting Deshawn for survival. This was different.
This was me entering something I had no clue about, something designed specifically to test me.
Some random Smash Bros character? That could be anyone.
Mario? I could probably manage on that.
Kirby? Sorta intimidating, but cute—maybe I could outsmart him.
Fox? Sonic? Nope, bro. That'd be a death sentence.
And then my mind did go there.
What if it's Ganondorf?
Or Bowser?
Or—God have mercy on me—Bayonetta?
"Chill, chill," I scolded myself. "You got skills now. You tested them. You're not the same dude from last week."
But the fact is, I was scared.
Not because I was gonna die or anything. The system hadn't spit out anything life-threatening. But because I knew what losing was—failure, delay, a missed opportunity to make it to Level 5.
Subordinate Creation was in a win. My first move toward the construction of something bigger than me.
The world around me started to blur.
The floor vanished into a blackness. My ceiling came crashing down into stars.
Wind rushed past me as the air distorted, redefining the space around me.
[WELCOME TO THE BATTLEFIELD]
Floating islands shone into place over a central arena suspended in the void. All like the original Smash Bros stage—untainted, unadulterated, made for war.
A glowing blue circle formed underfoot.
I breathed deeply.
"Okay. Bring it on."
[RANDOM CPU SELECTED.]
CHARACTER: Donkey Kong (Lv. 3)
"Wait. WHAT?!"
Donkey Kong leapt from a spinning red portal on the opposite side of the battlefield.
Massive. Behemoth. A literal wall of muscle.
He clenched his fists, slammed his chest, and let out a coarse roar that rang off into space.
"Of course it'd be a heavy."
DK stormed forward with unexpected speed for his size, bloodshot red eyes blazing with system outrage.
This was not the 'toon DK of the GameCube. This one had weight. He existed. And he was dangerous.
[TIP: CPU opponents use real skill behavior and are adjusted to your skill level.]
[Remember: Utilize the setting. Use your system. Adapt.]
I fell into place, my body instinctively redistributing weight.
My fingers jerked.
Let's play.