Headphone Actor by JIN Read Free Book Online Page B

moment, the top of the screen was filled with them. The time limit for battle mode was two minutes. In that time, the one that takes down the most enemies is the winner.
    There were only two differences from single mode: even if you get hit by an enemy, you won’t be get game over, and instead become unable to move for a certain period of time; and if you’re able to destroy the bonus items, you can obstruct your opponents view with blood splatters
    Other than that, there was nothing else different; it was a simple game where you simply take down the monsters that appear, but that’s exactly what allowed a player’s true ability to show itself.
    Yes, there was nothing “shitty” about this game at all.
    I had to completely wipe out this man who had looked down on this game, no matter what.
    It had been one minute and thirty seconds since the game began. The point difference between me and my challenger was already so wide that he had no chance of recovering no matter how hard he struggled.
    With my eyes focused on the screen, I couldn’t confirm his expression, but with his bluffs gone to this extent, he was in this miserable state. It was a rough guess.
    Very calmly, I faced the enemies that appeared before me, and without destroying a single item to obstruct my opponent, I simply continued to shoot at the enemies.
    The game buzzer sounded at the end of the game, and the screen showing the results pulled up.
    However, perhaps because he already knew that he had lost, the sullen man stared dumbfounded at his controller. The man behind him, too, merely stood with his mouth agape.
    It was obvious. To be able to continue shooting at that number of enemies without faltering didn’t have to do with the specifications of the game or whatever, but simply, the ability of the player.
    After all, I had even dared to let go of the controller once and let the enemies attack me, so there was no room to make any complaints after that kind of performance.
    “And that’s a match. Thank you so much for playing. As the rules don’t allow consecutive plays,
    please come back after thirty minutes if you’d like to attempt another challenge.”
    Even as I told him this with a smile, the sullen man was still mumbling the all-too-expected loser speech of, “This can’t be …. How could I have ….”
    “Um … the exit is ….”
    Just as I was trying to coax him into leaving, he stood up and faced me, raising his voice to a shout.
    “J-just who are you!? I’ve never seen such an amazing player before! Just who …!!”
    Listening to him say such overrated things had, honestly, become an annoyance.
    I tried to pull him along as quickly as I could while telling a fitting lie, “I just practiced a lot ….”
    However, the screen showing the results was too bright, and after he looked at my illuminated face and moved back, I realized that I had made a big mistake.
    Earlier, the gaudy man had talked about the semifinals for the “DEAD BULLET-1989-” tournament.
    With it being a nationwide event, it had been a pretty big turnout, and there was no mistake that it’d been rather packed with players.
    From watching me play, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that I was fairly skilled. But, right now, I wanted that to be a lie.
    “C-could be you …. LightningDancerEne-san!?”
    —Things had taken a turn for the worst. If he was a contestant from the semifinals, and furthermore, from this district, there was no doubt that we had crossed paths at the tournament hall.
    And what’s more, I had lost the mask I’d prepared for that day, and played with my face completely exposed.
    In the semifinals, I had pulled off such a strong performance that it’d been called the “Dancer Legend” afterwards, gotten first place by a wide margin, and stood out to the point of being abnormal.
    I was relieved that there hadn’t been a relay broadcast of those painful semifinals on television, but to think that I’d come across this kind of situation