The opponent stood before him, clad in a sleek cyberpunk outfit that glowed faintly under the arena lights. His expression was a little cocky, his stance relaxed.
"A level one?" he scoffed, grinning. "Guess I'll get an easy streak today."
Suddenly the ground rumbled beneath Quinn's feet as the player rushed forward, he used the earth beneath Quin to tremble. The sudden quake threw Quinn off balance, and he stumbled, nearly falling. The opponent chuckled, as he came closer to Quin.
"Nice"
But Quinn hadn't given up. Using the stumble as cover, he forced the ground beneath them to soften, turning it muddy. The cocky player slipped, and in that instant getting up fast Quinn lunged forward, driving his fist hard into his opponent's face.
Critical hit! –15 HP.
The game notification flashed as the player's head snapped back. He hit the mud with a splash, he was more stunned by the force behind the attack.
This was because Quin currently had the beast gear on, and it increased his strength, while at the same time he cunningly used the earth to form a thin rim around the gauntlet further increasing the strength behind.
"You little—" His grin faltered, replaced with irritation. He had underestimated Quinn, and now his ego stung worse than the punch.
Quinn pressed the advantage and threw several sharp earth projectiles to pin him down. But this time, the opponent was ready. A thick wall of stone surged up, blocking the attack. The spikes shattered harmlessly against it, and the fractures healed almost instantly as the player's control refined the wall.
He smirked. "Not bad… but let me show you how it's really done."
With a flick of his hand, double the amount of sharp earth projectiles appeared — faster, sharper, deadlier than Quinn's. Quinn scrambled, summoning his own wall in defense. It formed too slowly, and several spikes pierced through, grazing his side. His HP bar dropped.
"Tch—damn it," Quinn hissed, bracing as the barrage continued. The wall shuddered under the relentless assault, cracks spreading across its surface.
The opponent laughed. "This is what happens when a rookie plays with the grown-ups!" He poured more force into the barrage, determined to crush Quinn completely.
Finally, Quinn's wall collapsed, shards of stone flying apart. Alarms blared in his interface as spike after spike tore into him, draining his health bar.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" The game alerts rang with every hit.
Then, silence. The barrage ceased.
The cyberpunk player strolled forward, twirling a jagged earth spear in his hand. His grin returned, cruel and confident. "End of the line, rookie. I'll make this quick."
He raised the spear, aiming for Quinn's chest. But before he could thrust, Quinn's fingers clawed at the ground in desperation, trying to summon a sharp projectile spike.
The game indicated — MC depleted. His ability should've failed.
And yet… something else happened.
A red glow sparked at Quinn's fingertips, and suddenly five crimson lines shot forward like blades. They whipped across the air in a single motion, slicing clean through the opponent's neck.
The cocky player froze, eyes wide in disbelief, before his avatar disintegrated into pixels.
Winner of the Match: ThePunisher.
The words burned bright across Quinn's vision. He was left panting in the empty arena, staring at his glowing fingertips.
"…What the hell was that?"
----
After returning to the white space, Quinn couldn't stop replaying the final seconds of the fight.
He had seen it clearly — that red glow slipping from his fingertips, slicing through his opponent like it was nothing. The system had registered it as a finishing blow, but his MC was already depleted.
"That doesn't make sense… unless…" His thoughts drifted to the mysterious book he had put in the extra gear section of the capsule. "It has to be that. Nothing else fits."
To confirm, Quinn re-entered the practice arena and focused, trying to summon the strange red attack again. He held his hands out, concentrated until his vision blurred — but nothing happened. Not even a spark.
"Strange…" he muttered.
Another idea struck him. This time, instead of a practice run, he queued into quick match — but carefully switched to the custom level option, selecting a level one opponent.
His match began against a player who wielded water abilities. Quinn ignored offense at first, deliberately burning through his MC. He raised thick walls of stone, launched heavier spikes, stretched his powers to their limits until the system flashed: MC depleted.
Now came the test.
He formed the same stance as before; fingers spread and forced the motion.
At once, crimson lines erupted from his fingertips, tearing forward and slashing through his opponent. The player dropped instantly, the match ending in Quinn's victory.
Quinn's suspicions deepened. "So, it is the book."
To be sure, he ran few more matches, experimenting each time. With his gauntlets on. Without them. Testing angles. Range. Every single time, once his MC ran dry, the red lines answered his call.
The only drawback, he noticed, was the cost. Unlike MC, this strange ability consumed his stamina, draining him fast. Still, its destructive power was undeniable.
What Quinn didn't realize was that his matches weren't going unnoticed. Other players had begun spectating, their curiosity drawn by the newcomer with the ID ThePunisher. From their perspective, it looked like he was switching between two entirely different abilities mid-fight — something the game system shouldn't even allow.
Whispers started spreading. Impossible.He's cheating.This guy's a hacker.
Some recorded the battles and uploaded the footage onto the PowerFighters forums. Others went further, reporting his account directly.
Unaware of the storm brewing outside, Quinn simply logged out, still wondering what exactly the book had awakened inside him in the game.