Ch.4: Points (0), Actions (0), Lifeline ("...")

Finally, the cursed system granted me the ability to move again, but only after saddling me with a weapon and a power that were both utterly commonplace.

It was not funny at all.

I sprinted (or scooted, as I was still just a disembodied consciousness) to the location I remembered from the game, because I was now place in an empty open field. This was damn familiar.

I could feel the excitement and tension in the air, and it was thrilling to be a part of this moment.

A loud, booming voice echoed across the open space, filling the air with a chilling warning.

"Who dares to enter my domain?!" the ogre growled, the threatening swing of his axe leaving me momentarily frozen in my tracks for a split second.

I'd played in this location so many times, facing off against the ogre and his swinging axe, that it had become a routine.

Both teams would dash around like crazy, trying to grab three gems from the ogre's field, while also avoiding being turned into ogre fodder by the swinging axe of doom. If you got hit, well, better luck next time.

I considered shouting, "Hey!" to startle the ogre and break the tension, but of course, the game had other plans. Instead of my voice, the game made me utter Shiksa's signature battle cry, "Ah-ha!"

I was Shiksa now, in all my worthless glory, apparently. Thanks a lot, game creators.

The ogre decided to take a swing at me (well, Shiksa, technically). Like an idiot, I tried to jump high like an eagle, soaring over the axe and up into the sky.

My plan was to grab those precious diamonds while I was up there, far from the ogre's reach. I didn't even make it to the top before the axe came crashing down on me, and I heard that satisfying "Gbaaaam!" sound that told me I'd been eliminated.

The ogre laughed like a maniac. It was programmed to enjoy the pain and humiliation of others. "Ha-ha-ha!" it bellowed, seemingly pleased with itself for destroying me.

Meanwhile, I, as the pathetic Shiksa, screamed like a damsel in distress, "Aarghh!!!" as I went down.

What fuckery is this? Why couldn't I soar at that point?

[Points: 0

Actions: Nil

Lifeline: 3 out of 4]

A blue light yet again displayed before my very eyes and the cruel system displayed heavy information leaving me to comprehend it all with my knowledge and smartness.

"Great, just great," I thought to myself.

Beside the frustrating stats of my current state, there was a Ticking Clock displaying:

[00.58.17]

The clock was definitely mocking me, yeah, because it was indirectly saying, "Better hurry up and do something before time runs out, or else you're toast."

Whatever!

"What's this timer for?" I wondered, unable to speak out my question.

Well, it seemed like while I was no longer being controlled by the system, I was still subject to the limitations of the Shiksa avatar - unable to speak outside her character.

Taking my confusion seriously, the system proceeded to explain all the information displayed on the screen, including the ticking clock. While I appreciated the sudden sense of helpfulness, the stupid system didn't deserve the appreciation. "Wow, way to do your job! Thanks for nothing." Such a Boose!

[You have earned no points and have taken no actions towards winning this round of the game.]

[You have lost one life to the ogre's attack. You now have 3 lives remaining. Use them wisely!]

"Just shut your stupid, smart mouth up!" I thought. "If you're going to be robotic, at least be straightforward. No one needs your snide remarks."

Well, I loved to express myself internally more than externally too.

[The timer shows you the amount of time you have left to play and win this game.]

"Ha!" I scoffed to myself. "One minute to play a round of TITAN? Yeah right! Even the best players need more than three minutes. This game is not for the faint of heart, or the impatient." I could only grumble internally to myself because the system was damn hard to penetrate. Oh yeah, it had no emotions, I forgot.

I really wanted the system to give me more information about the timer, but it remained stubbornly silent. "Well, screw you too!" I mentally spat.

As the clock continued to tick down, I knew that I had to shift my attention to the game. I needed to figure out how to control Shiksa's movements, how to use her actions to my advantage when I hadn't even practiced or played with her before.

It was like being thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim. I had to learn on or die trying.

Suddenly, my previous idiocy was illuminated like a spotlight on a stage. Shiksa couldn't soar like an eagle because she didn't have the power to! Only the more senior avatars could, unless…

Unless she could be trained? I shook that thought away. No time for that now.

My earlier excitement had dissipated, leaving me with a grim determination. This wasn't a game anymore. The fantasy I had had while indulging in this had turned into a battle for survival, and my mental expression hardened.

This was no longer fun. This was war.

[WARNING: When all lives are lost, the host dies alongside the avatar in this world.]

"What the f**k?!"

I hadn't been informed earlier that this was a literal do-or-die mission! I demand an insurance!

F**k, I just dumped into this deathtrap with barely any knowledge or experience.

[Would the host like to make a request?]

"Stupid, unemotional system!" I hissed in my mind.

Once again, the ogre's booming voice cut through the air, accompanied by the swishing of his axe, like some kind of twisted lullaby. "Who dares step their feet on my field?!"

It was almost humorous how he'd repeat that same line every thirty seconds, filling the game with its irritatingly noisy soundtrack. Well, he was programmed to be irritating, pfft!

But wait, had I really only been here for half a minute? The timer contradicted that as it displayed three minutes past! Was the game glitching, or was there something sinister underneath?

I needed to act quickly, but how could I act when I had no idea what Shiksa could actually do?

Being thrust into a game as a useless avatar with no preparation was like trying to perform brain surgery with chopsticks. I needed help, and my only ally was the smug system itself. Damn!

"TITAN System," I began, doing my best to keep my mental tone level low and polite, "could you please project all of Shiksa's abilities and her details as a Titan? If possible, of course."

Just like that, I was in full-blown survival mode. Who cared about Freaky Freddy's intelligence when my own life was on the line? I took a deep, steadying mental breath as I waited for the system to display Shiksa's information.

I mean, sure, my obsession with TITAN had gotten me into this mess, but I never thought it would lead to my actual demise! What a way to go, right? The irony was not lost on me.

[Request taken.]

[Information displayed.]

Quick as a flash, the information I'd requested appeared before my eyes. "That was quick," I thought, and my heart started to pound.

Unless… unless there was nothing there. Unless the avatar I was stuck with was as useless as a screen door on a submarine, or a chocolate teapot. God-damn it!

I gulped, well, I still had to look.

[Actions: Jump, Slide, Dive, Run, Kneel.

Abilities: Fly, Shoot the gun.

Bonus(es): Invisibility.

Weakness(es): None.

Title: Worthless!]

A big part of me wanted to scream, "Really, KNEEL?! Why the f**k would a Titan ever need to kneel in a battle?" But I pushed that frustration aside, knowing I needed to stay calm and focused.

This game might be slow-paced, but I wasn't sure how long that would last. And that ogre and his axe were getting awfully close to freaking me.

"Think, dammit, think," I told myself as I scanned the list of actions and abilities, looking for anything that could help me get the upper hand.

"But hold up. If Shiksa could fly, why didn't she when I thought about soaring?" I was puzzled. But then I shook my head.

"That can't be it. Soaring is different from flying," I reasoned. "The game creators gave them different names, so they must do different things. But then why didn't Shiksa fly?"

It was like trying to solve a riddle in the middle of a battlefield.

Come to think of it, I'd spent countless hours playing TITAN, and my favorite avatar was MK, a warrior of epic proportions. But as much as I loved soaring through the skies as MK, I didn't have the faintest idea what it was like to fly at all.

Heck, I'd played around 17 different avatars, mastering only five of them, and Shiksa just wasn't one of them. In fact, no one I knew ever played Shiksa, so… Boose!

Even Vector X, they said, was the best of them all. I knew every one of his moves and bonuses, and he was pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. But my heart still belonged to MK, even with his weird weaknesses in which one of them was a woman's ki...

Gbam! I was hit again! By the axe, a-fucking-gain!!!!!

[Points: 0

Actions: 0

Lifeline: 2/4]