1.15 – Vermillion Offer

Nathan watched the screen, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. This damned boss fight, near the end of the game… So annoying! He probably failed it for maybe the tenth time already.

How was this enemy so damn strong? It just didn’t feel fair. Flight was one thing. Super Strength was another. He expected the game to have fake Superman after all, but this was just… too much. How did one beat this?

It didn’t help that Nathan had to get used to the ability evolution of the main character each time. All of them played differently, much to his surprise, and yet all of them failed against this wall just the same. This run was probably the closest he got to defeating Vermillion Strike.

The camera shifted as the main character fell to the ground. Vermillion Strike hovered to the ground, her high heels and black bodysuit in full display. She had a mask that covered her face, made from some kind of cool cyberpunk tech wear, but it disappeared as she clicked something on the side of her head.

Damn, that’s really goddamn cool. I kinda get why people have the hots for her, Nathan thought, surprised at the thought. This wasn’t even the first time he’d seen the cutscene.

“Well, it appears that Red Lily will not be stopped by a university student after all. Who could have thought?” She prolonged the last parts of the sentence, drinking in the frustration that Nathan really felt.

“Unbalanced piece of shit.” He already itched to make a Reddit post about this. Did these developers seriously have no inkling of balance?

He expected the cutscene to end just like it did the last time, but then she stumbled.

Was this a new part? Maybe it showed because he got her under 20% HP. That was really cool. Seriously, there was always something new to discover in this game.

Vermilion Strike went to one knee, glaring into the camera, which shifted to the first-person perspective. It sometimes did that in the cutscenes.

“I must admit, though, you really got a punch. Perhaps I should talk to Balance to get you to join us. What do you say, kiddo?” Her lips turned up into a smirk as a line of blood dripped down from her mouth.

“Fuck no,” Nathan muttered and clicked the option to refuse.

Accepting seemed like an easy game over. And all of the heroines were on the good side as well. No, he would win this fight the next time, but he would not do something like joining them. It wasn’t only the fact that it felt like cheating.

It just wasn’t his style.

Vermilion Strike hovered towards the ground, and Nathan had to fight with himself not to budge from the place. Her costume and overall look were different from the video game, yes. Apparently, she was an actual hero, and just today he saw her jump into a classroom full of blood, trying to save any lives that she could get her hands on.

It was clear that this wasn’t the Vermilion Strike he was used to, and yet he couldn’t suppress the knowledge that he accumulated over hundreds of hours of gameplay.

Turrets from the roof were pointed in her direction, already rotating, but Alicia mumbled something into the watch that she had on her wrist, and suddenly they stopped. Nathan even forgot that they were there.

“Hey there, students!” Her cordial voice traveled from above. She hit the ground with a soft thud, and her eyes swept from Nathan to Alicia, who stood mouth agape, only a few feet away.

“Miss Strike, I am… happy… to see you?” Nathan mumbled.

“Was that a question? I certainly hope not, cause I am happy to see you too.” She accentuated the last part slowly, pointing her finger between Nathan and Alicia.

“To what pleasure do we owe your visit?”

“Oh, simple matter. Came to tell you two that the one student you found in Class 2-A is alive and stable.” She smiled, and though Nathan wasn’t the best at social things, he saw the relief flood in Alicia’s face. Hell, he felt relieved too, though he did his best to not think of the student in the last few hours. He hated to admit it to himself, but… he kind of thought that she was dead for certain.

“That’s amazing news, Miss Strike!” Alicia scratched her head, stepping closer.

“How did you know where to find us?” Nathan asked, his mind running with possibilities. Was she with Red Lily after all? Did she come to find them because they were one of the people who ruined their plans, at least somewhat? But then Vermillion Strike was one of the teachers who removed the bombs from the other classes. It didn’t add up.

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“I dropped you off yesterday, if you don’t remember.” She smiled, tapping his shoulder. “Anyway, just wanted to check on you two and see if you are doing okay. It was a lot to take today.” She actually sounded sad as she said that. Nathan had to once again move his perception of her, as hard as it was.

“I… I think we’ll manage; we’ll have to if we are meant to be heroes.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot more like death to see, although I hope it won’t happen often,” Alicia added.

“Good. You two could make great heroes yet,” Strike smiled.

“We are F-class, Miss Strike; let’s not kid ourselves.”

“I looked into your files. You know, it’s not every day that first-year students come running towards a scene of super villain crime. Alicia Banava’s ability to create small explosive dolls, quite useless on paper, yes, but it’s got many uses depending on how you use that ability.”

She stopped, and Alicia actually blushed a little. She didn’t hurl insults like she would have at Nathan.

Hey, where does that difference come from? Treat me like that too! He moaned in his mind.

“And Nathan Brody. An interesting ability, that one. It can unlock small-scale abilities as he grows older and more powerful. It’s actually quite undetailed, especially when it comes to the principal’s papers, but having more powers than one. Maybe you are F-class now, but you will grow with time. Both of you, I am looking towards your progress.”