Ch.13: Opposing Team: Shiksa

With a swift attack, he hit Shiksa hard, sending her crashing down.

My screen flashed a disheartening message: "You have been eliminated."

"Freddy!" Lackney shouted. "What happened to you, man?"

My teammates turned their attention to Shiksa's digital corpse.

Hell-hound was the only one still focused on the gem. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't hold off the enemy alone. They snatched the third gem and high-tailed it out of there.

The round ended, and the results flashed on the screen. We had LOST. Our team had only one gem, and the opposing team had taken the other two.

Thanks to me!

"Why did I have to choose that b*tch I didn't even know!" I thought feeling like pulling my hairs off.

Disappointment hung in the air as my teammates began to lash out. "What the hell, Freddy?" The guy who played Gregg yelled. "We needed you down there!"

"All you did was run and hide!" The guy who played Skyro added. "Didn't you see we couldn't win with you playing like that."

I threw my head to look down at the ground, feeling the weight of their frustration.

Lackney tried to defend me, but it was clear everyone was upset. "Come on, guys, it's just a game," he said, but his words did little to ease the tension.

Feeling utterly defeated, I took off my headset and grabbed my bag and skateboard.

"I'm sorry, guys," I mumbled, heading for the door. "I'll see you later, Lackney."

As I walked out, I couldn't shake the feeling of letting everyone down. But maybe, just maybe, I could turn things around next time. Would there even be next time with them?

Damn! How had I done this?!

My account and name on the game as a master player would f**king fall! Jesus Christ!

I trudged towards the door, every step heavy with regret. I couldn't help but curse my decision to use Shiksa as my avatar. It felt like I had brought a spork to a sword fight.

Leaving Lackney, my best friend and the only one who had defended me, behind was the worst part. Well, aside the part of not getting my money!

How had Mr. Utah's face even been when he saw that we lost?!

Boose! I don't want to think about it!

Just as I reached for the door handle, a sudden force yanked me around.

Before I could react, a fist collided with my face, stars exploding in my vision. It was Jackal, the guy who played Hell-hound, and he looked absolutely furious.

"How dare you?" he roared, his voice echoing through the room. "You made us lose this game! Do you know how much we all hoped for this moment? I bet this game with my mama's life, okay? I was supposed to pay for her bill!"

I tried to mumble an apology, but my jaw felt like it was made of jelly.

Jackal drew back his fist for another punch, and I braced myself for impact, but everything started to go dark.

My vision tunneled, and the last thing I heard, just before slipping into unconsciousness, was a familiar, robotic voice saying, "Welcome to Round 2."

With that, the world went black, and I was left floating in a void, somewhere between the digital battlefield and the reality of my bruised face.

I woke up with a start, my head pounding from the blow I'd received.

As my vision cleared, I realized I was back in the ogre's field, but this time, the ogre was dead. Dead ogre—never thought I'd see the day after that horrible game.

"Ah-ha!" came Shiksa's familiar one-liner, followed by her signature bounce.

I groaned inwardly.

I was back in the Titan system, stuck in the body of the avatar I dreaded the most. Boose!

Annoyance bubbled up inside me. I didn't want to play as Shiksa again. I was sick of this stupid game and its stupid avatars.

All I wanted was to get back to reality, to make things right with my friends, and to never touch Titan again.

But then, the system's robotic voice chimed in, reminding me that the round two had begun.

[Quest: find the three gems. Please, do not lose your lives. You have four lifelines in your bar.]

I groaned again, feeling the weight of my past failures pressing down on me. The memory of Jackal's punch and the disappointment of my team lingered like a dark cloud over my head. I knew I had to redeem myself, not just for them, but for myself.

"Okay, Freddy," I thought, steeling myself for what lay ahead. "Time to turn things around."

I couldn't speak out loud—I was stuck in Shiksa's body, after all—but my mind was racing with determination and strategy.

"Alright, Shiksa," I thought, mustering every ounce of resolve I had left. "We're going to find those gems, and we're not going to get killed doing it."

This time, I was going to play smart. No more running around aimlessly or hiding. I was going to use Shiksa's agility and speed to their fullest potential.

As I surveyed the battlefield, I noted the potential hiding spots for the gems.

"Think, Freddy, think," I urged myself. "We need to be strategic."

"Alright, Shiksa, let's go," I thought, directing her towards the first objective. "No more messing around. We're winning this."

With renewed determination, I moved through the battlefield, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. This time, I wasn't going to let anyone down. This time, I was going to be the hero.

I began running and as I ran around the field for what felt like the fifth time, I couldn't help but marvel at how many points I was racking up just from sheer cardio. Who knew running in circles could be so rewarding?

Well, I did previously haha!

But just as I was about to break into my victory dance, I took off into the sky with a burst of speed, feeling like I was about to take flight.

Still up, I was greeted with a shock. There were more than two Shiksas on the landscape—there were five of them, scattered around like confetti at a party.

I blinked in disbelief, hoping none of them had spotted me.

Before I could process what was happening, the Titan system flashed a notification on my screen: [Opposing team: Shiksa.]

My jaw dropped. I was going up against my own avatar? This was too bizarre, even for Titan.

But then, a realization hit me. Shiksa was worthless, at least in my eyes. Fighting against my fellow worthless avatars? It was like using a spoon to fight against other spoons—baffling and absurdly amusing.

As I prepared to face off against my Shiksa clones, the system chimed in with a warning tone.

[These Shiksas you're facing are the best of themselves.]

Wait, what?

Shiksa had a best?

I couldn't help but burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all. Shiksa, the epitome of worthlessness, having a "best"? It was like finding out the best flavor of cardboard.

But hey, if these were the best of the best, then I was ready to show them what a truly worthless avatar could do.

With a smirk, I accepted the challenge, eager to see just how useless this battle would turn out to be. After all, if there was one thing I excelled at, it was being utterly unremarkable.