The arcade was a assault on the senses. Lights flashed in seizure-inducing patterns. Sounds of magical explosions and synthetic chimes layered over the chatter of a hundred students.
Vane stood in front of a machine called Reflex Arc: Void Defense.
It was a simple game. Holographic orbs appeared in the air around the player. You had to tap them before they turned red and "detonated." It measured reaction speed and peripheral vision.
Vane cracked his knuckles.
"Watch and learn," Vane said.
He stepped onto the platform. The game started.
Vane moved with surgical precision. He didn't flail. He didn't waste energy. His hands moved in tight efficient arcs tapping the orbs the millisecond they spawned. He entered a flow state treating the pixels with the same seriousness he treated a knife fight in Oakhaven.
The machine beeped rapidly. The score counter climbed.
8,000... 9,000... 9,850.
The game ended. A digital fanfare played.
NEW HIGH SCORE: VANE (RANK 3)
