Chapter 77 A Better Player

Sei smiled as if he was being challenged by a kid and he immediately dashed towards the fleshy blob without sparing aa second thought. As for him, he knew that no matter how strong the teenager was, there was no way he would outshine him because he's one of the flashiest, if not the most popular superhero there is. Besides, he received a buff from none other than Red Velvet, one of the best support type superheroes to ever exist. There's no way he'd be beaten by a kid after receiving such a buff.

Furthermore, not only did he get buffs from Red Velvet, he also received multiple of them. Feeling confident in himself, he decided to continue whittling away relentlessly at the fleshy blob. "What are you going to do now, huh?" He clicked his tongue and licked his lips in satisfaction while firing off twenty lasers from his hands at once.

These lasers then spiraled towards the fleshy blob and they had more force than before, much faster compared to his previous attacks. Sei's movements also became more intense and snappy, as if he was a different person. It was obvious how much of a power up he got after receiving the buffs and there was something different about him that made him outshine Satoshi even more. Feeling pleased with himself, he continued moving at a much faster pace, making Satoshi wonder why he was competing against him when they both have a common enemy. Ignoring his outward challenge, Satoshi continued firing off nails towards the fleshy blob, increasing the amount of conductors in its body before he fired off a second charge of electricity from his Pikachu, or rather, his White Lion.

Somehow, Sei may be flashy but his attacks weren't working. Instead, it only ever irritated the fleshy blob and angered it even more. As for Satoshi, his moves were still less flashy compared to Sei but it was very effective. It didn't take long before the reporters who were focusing on Sei started zooming in on Satoshi since he was more useful than him. Unfortunately for Sei, he may have increased his firepower but it still didn't do much against the blob which repelled most of his attacks and even regenerated faster than it. v

For the second time in Sei's life, he felt disappointed in himself after a mere teenager who's not even a professional was outshining him in the battle of being a show-off. Well, not like Satoshi was trying to be a show-off— that was probably what gave him an edge against Sei, unbeknownst to him. In the end, Sei toned down his attacks and only assisted Satoshi while he continued his assault against the blob. That was the right move by Sei though since it made the reporters focus on the both of them instead of who was the flashiest or the most useful.

...

Thinking back on the past, Sei remembered the time when a game based on his superpower was released. It was the proudest moment in his life because it had been his lifelong dream to create a game that everyone would enjoy. Although he wasn't the one who created it, at least someone was inspired with his superpower which led to the birth of the aforementioned game. This game was his pride and joy. Every time he boots up the game in his VR, his name would always pop up before everything else, and a sense of accomplishment will overcome him, feeding his vanity even more... every single time.

And because the game was based off of his superpower, he easily became the top player of the game and no one could even come close to his record. At most, he could control twenty of those lasers independently and his accuracy was always one hundred percent. As mentioned before, a superpower is like another appendage. Once you discover it, you'll be able to completely master using it in no time. To Sei, playing the game Laser Fingers is just like stretching his arms and legs in an early morning.

However... notwithstanding that fact, he came to his limit and he couldn't move past that. When there were already twenty one lasers, coming out of his fingers in the game, he wouldn't be able to control one of them. In the end, he could only reach the maximum score with twenty lasers whereas there aren't any records on twenty one lasers. The game was stage-based after all and once you reach a certain score, you will move on to the next level. If you don't reach the threshold score though, there will be no points recorded. Once again, he felt like no one would be able to reach that score because the highest anyone has ever gotten was ten lasers and that's about it.

But just like any other reign, it always comes to an end every single time. And when that fateful day came, it hit Sei like a truck.

Just a few days ago, he booted up his VR once again and tried playing the Laser Fingers to see if someone ever came close to his record. Then his jaw dropped as soon as he saw it. The highest record at the moment was not twenty one lasers, but twenty three lasers!

'Why am I here, just to suffer?' he said to himself as a stray tear fell from his eyes. It's as if his own life betrayed him right in front of his eyes. How could someone control twenty three lasers when he could barely control twenty one?

With a bit of envy and rage inside him, Sei decided to watch the replay of the gameplay to see whether it was authentic or not. His other hand was already on the report button, only one click away just in case he saw something amiss the footage.

The footage didn't show the person playing it, just like usual, but the gameplay was (as much as he hated to admit it) as real as the sun that rises in the east. His fingers were moving just like how he used to and when there were already two lasers coming out of each fingers, the player flawlessly maneuvered them by clicking his fingers to one side then to another. His accuracy was at ninety eight percent which was nothing short of impressive. His fingers didn't have any aimbots on them as well.

Then the stage with twenty one lasers came and the player's accuracy dropped down to ninety three percent but he could still control three lasers on one finger while controlling two on the each of the rest of his fingers. He managed to keep that up until twenty three lasers to which someone's voice was caught by the feed. "Satoshi, dinner time!" The voice said, and the player immediately stopped playing after saying "Yes, dad."

Another blow to his pride— the player didn't finish the level not because he couldn't do it, but because he couldn't miss dinner time. It was the lamest excuse he could ever think of but then again, the player behind that high score was the real deal. He was much better than him when it comes to using his superpower.

"If he had my superpower, he would've been one of the top-ranking superheroes by now. Those skills are no joke." He said to himself upon removing the VR Headgear from his head. He sighed, wishing that he'd be able to meet that player so he could ask some advice from him. He could tell that if he were to swallow his pride and approach that player as meekly as possible, he'd be able to improve his skills. Not only would he not need buffs from support type superheroes, but he'd be even more reliable and flashier than before.

"Satoshi, I have to meet you no matter what."

.....

Back to the Present.

With a groan, the fleshy blob moved much slower than before, probably because of the amount of metal it has in its body. The electricity was working quite effectively as well since it weakened the blob to no more than a useless heap of flesh. It couldn't even shoot off parts of his body anymore. A broad smile formed on Sei's face after seeing that Satoshi was gaining an advantage at such a formidable foe. "Not bad, kid!" He screamed from afar, continuously cutting off the fleshy blob's path with his laser fingers.

Just then, Satoshi heard a click in his mind and he glanced back at the swimming pool right behind him. His 'Droplet' familiar had already affected the entire swimming pool and he could finally use it just like before. With a slight nod, the entirety of water in the swimming pool flew in the air and landed on the fleshy blob, trapping it so mercilessly inside.

Then, the 'Droplet' turned to ice and temporarily trapped the fleshy blob in its icy prison.

And with that, the fleshy blob was defeated. Satoshi retrieved his 'Droplet' Familiar and put the fleshy blob in his Orb Oboros. 'Now I should turn him over to the authorities or something. Phew, that was harder than expected.' Satoshi thought to himself just as everyone in his class rushed towards him.

"Satoshi, you cannot just dash off like that, do you know I'm responsible for y—" Kirisaki Sana, aka Red Velvet, slightly reprimanded him, half-screaming.

Sei interrupted her before she finished her sentence. "Wait... Satoshi?! You're Satoshi?!" He exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise.