The automatic doors of the arcade slid open with an electronic chime. Multicolored lights illuminated the entire hall as the music from countless machines blended together. Racing engines, gunfire, bells, and victory jingles all competed for attention.
Eduardo was the first one inside. "Racing games!" Without waiting for anyone else, he sprinted toward the driving simulators in the back.
Oriol shook his head. "One day I'll figure out how someone can get so excited about driving endless laps around a virtual track."
Daniel laughed. "Leave him alone. That's how he blows off steam... or would you rather he go back to forcing us to train martial arts?"
"That's an excellent idea! Next week at my uncle's dojo!" Eduardo shouted from the other side of the arcade.
Daniel immediately turned pale. "I take it back... I shouldn't have said that."
Ren placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "I actually liked going. Come on, it's not that bad."
Christina looked around with a smile. "It's been years since I came to an arcade. Ren, do you know martial arts?"
Oriol answered before Ren could. "We know the basics. Eduardo's the one who's actually good, so we never bothered learning. He protects us anyway."
Luz pointed toward a row of machines along the wall. "They've got everything... racing, fighting games, dancing... even fishing simulators."
Ren looked around curiously. Hannah gently tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. "Stuffed animals..."
Ren smiled. "Sure. Let's head over there."
Before long, everyone had naturally split up. Eduardo disappeared toward the racing simulators before anyone could stop him. Luz practically dragged Daniel toward the rhythm game section, insisting they start with a round of Pump It Up.
Oriol watched the group scatter for a few seconds before shrugging and following Ren, Christina, and Hannah toward the claw machines.
They quickly gathered around one of them. Hannah stared intensely at a small stuffed panda as she swiped the arcade card they had purchased.
On her first try, the claw slowly descended, grabbed the plush... and dropped it halfway to the prize chute. "That was close..." She kept trying, but the panda stubbornly refused to leave the machine.
Christina crossed her arms, laughing. "I think that claw has more willpower than you do."
Hannah puffed out her cheeks as the panda fell yet again. "It's rigged."
Oriol glanced sideways at her. "Completely rigged. Let me try." The panda fell again.
Ren stepped up next. He studied the claw for a few seconds before pressing the button. The claw descended and accidentally caught the panda by its tag. The plush rose into the air, swaying dangerously as the claw moved across the machine. Everyone held their breath until, at the very last second, the panda dropped perfectly into the prize chute.
Silence filled the group for an instant before Hannah finally broke it with a tiny squeal. "Yaaay!! Pandaaaa!!"
Oriol looked at Ren. "...That was pure luck."
Trying not to laugh, Ren nodded. "I have absolutely no doubt it was."
Christina walked over, grabbed Ren by the arm, and pointed at a cactus-shaped cat plush. "I want that one."
Ren looked at the stuffed cat. It was in a terrible position, but he shrugged anyway as he walked to the machine. "Hey, if I don't get it, don't be mad."
Ren swiped the card and activated the claw. The machine chimed as he carefully lined it up with the plush. After letting go of the joystick, he stepped to the side to check the angle before pressing the button. The claw snagged another stuffed toy above it, swinging wildly before bumping into the cactus cat and, once again, catching perfectly on its tag.
Oriol's eyes widened. "You lucky bastard!" He immediately grabbed Ren by the shoulders from behind and started shaking him. "Man, you're incredible! Hahaha! You're one lucky bastard!"
Eduardo returned just in time to see Christina and Hannah hugging their new plushie. "What did I miss?"
Oriol pointed dramatically at Ren. "Ren is the king of claw machi..." He suddenly stopped midsentence, walked over to Ren, grabbed him by the arm, and, imitating Christina's voice, batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly while pointing at a shark plush. "I want that one."
Ren shoved him away. "Get lost, you idiot. Fine... let me try."
Eduardo burst out laughing while Christina glared daggers at Oriol.
Ren finally won the shark on his third attempt before handing it to Oriol. "Here. Take your stupid shark."
Without a hint of shame, Oriol hugged both the plush and Ren. "Bro, I love you! Hahaha! Your next piano lesson is free."
Christina raised an eyebrow. "You're ridiculously easy to buy."
Oriol hugged Ren even tighter. "For a stuffed shark? Absolutely."
Ren pushed him away. "Weren't they free from the beginning?"
Oriol casually started walking toward another section of the arcade. "And now I'll give you another free lesson. You're welcome."
Hannah proudly raised her little panda into the air. "We should bring Ren here more often."
The laughter continued as the group explored the rest of the arcade.
The laughter continued as they wandered through the arcade. Eduardo eventually challenged Daniel and Oriol to a race, while Christina barely managed to beat Luz in a motorcycle simulator.
Ren, on the other hand, simply kept walking. He wandered aimlessly until a deep, clean, perfectly steady rhythm rose above all the surrounding noise.
Don. Don. Ka. Don. Ka.
He turned his head. Two enormous drums sat in the center of a machine decorated with traditional Japanese motifs. On the screen, small red and blue notes flowed toward a target in perfect rhythm with the music.
"What's that?" he asked.
Oriol answered between bites of magically acquired fried fries. "A Taiko game."
Daniel picked up one of the drumsticks. "You have to follow the rhythm. Hitting the center and hitting the rim count as different notes."
Ren watched the screen for a few seconds. "Sounds simple."
Five minutes later, he realized he had been completely wrong.
Christina shouted from his right. "Faster!"
Hannah pointed at the screen. "No! That one was blue!"
Ren struggled to keep up as the notes sped up more and more. His hands reacted almost instinctively, but reading the screen while coordinating both arms at the same time was far harder than it looked.
When the song ended, a giant FAILED appeared across the screen.
Eduardo burst into laughter.
Oriol patted him on the back. "Well... you had to be bad at something, Twit Tempo."
Christina tried, and failed to hold back her laughter. "I honestly thought you'd get a perfect score."
Ren sighed. "So did I. Wait... wasn't it Twerp instead of Twit?"
Oriol raised both hands and began counting on his fingers. "Tofubrain, Turnip, Tater, Troll, Thickhead, Trash, Tyrant... I've got an endless supply."
Ren stared at him for a moment before simply ignoring him and picking up the drumsticks once again. "One more time."
The second attempt was different. Instead of hitting harder, he started listening to the pattern before moving his hands.
Don. Don. Ka. Don. Don. Ka.
The accuracy gauge slowly climbed upward.
"Wow..." Daniel muttered.
Luz watched closely, following Ren's hands as he seemed to improve at an incredible pace.
By the end of the third attempt, the machine displayed a rank far higher than before.
Ren smiled with satisfaction. "Now that was fun."
At that exact moment, a small blue window appeared before his eyes.
══════════════════════
New Instrument Detected.
🥁 DrumsLevel 1 → Level 2
Passive Skill Unlocked:Instinctive Percussion(Drums +2)
══════════════════════
Ren blinked a couple of times. Without saying another word, he placed the drumsticks back where they belonged and looked at the machine one last time.
"Let's keep going. Let's see what else they've got."
He had barely taken two steps when someone gently tugged on the sleeve of his shirt.
"Ren."
Luz looked at him with a smile while pointing toward another machine a few meters away. "You and me."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Her smile grew even wider. "One game of Guitar Hero."
-------------
Author's Note
Leave me a comment! Are you enjoying the story?