Chapter 89: What? I've Never Seen a Cheating Player Before.
Kenko finally caught on. His pixelated eyes narrowed as the game's logic clicked in his villainous brain: killing Ishiyama right now was entirely pointless. The heroic Yokozuna would just respawn at the last checkpoint anyway.
"Then I'll just take him with me!" Kenko sneered, his voice echoing through the digital chamber. "If you brats want to rescue him, come find me at the Thirteenth Pass!"
With a dramatic swirl of dark energy, Kenko vanished from the spot, dragging the helpless Ishiyama along with him.
Sitting outside the screen, Klein stared flatly at the empty digital space left behind. He leaned back in his chair, his expression a mask of pure, unadulterated apathy. "Well, this is a first," he deadpanned. "I've never played a game where the hero gets kidnapped by the Demon King. Usually, isn't it the princess who gets stuffed in a castle?"
He paused, tapping a finger against the console. "Also, what makes this guy think we're actually going to bother rescuing Ishiyama?"
Klein scoffed, thoroughly unimpressed by Kenko's cliché villain tactics.
"Uh... Cousin, isn't that a bit harsh?" Gwen asked, glancing over at him. She still felt that Ishiyama was a pretty righteous guy, even if he was just a bunch of code.
Ben nodded vigorously, his mouth opening to launch into a passionate defense of his favorite Sumo Slammer. But before a single word could leave the Dweeb's mouth, Klein held up a hand, cutting him off instantly. He knew exactly what was coming—a massive, rambling monologue about honor, sumo, and Ishiyama's greatness.
The words themselves weren't the issue. The sheer, mind-numbing quantity of them was.
Klein simply didn't have the patience to listen.
"Fine, fine, we'll go rescue him," Klein sighed, waving his hand dismissively. Then, a thought crossed his mind. He narrowed his eyes at the screen. "But wait... why didn't Ishiyama even try to fight back just now?"
...
Back in the physical world.
Klein reached over and grabbed the thick, glossy strategy guide resting on the table. He flipped through the pages, his eyes scanning the dense text. "Kenko, Kenko, Kenko... Ah. Here we go. Let's see what we're dealing with."
He read the boss entry. A second later, his jaw locked. He stared at the page, utterly speechless.
Who the hell designed such a toxic, garbage-tier boss?!
Kenko boasted top-tier stats paired with absolutely infuriating mechanics. How was any normal player supposed to beat this without losing their sanity?
Reading further, Klein finally understood why Ishiyama hadn't put up a fight. The boss had an automatic 'Silence' aura. Ishiyama had been completely locked out of his skill tree, unable to cast a single move, while Kenko's base attributes completely dwarfed his own.
To make matters worse, the guide cheerfully explained that defeating Kenko required a specific set of essential items—items that required hours of tedious, mind-numbing grinding to collect.
Klein stared at the guide. He looked at the screen. He thought about grinding for three hours.
'Yeah, no,' he decided instantly.
It would be infinitely faster to just nerf the boss into the ground.
...
In the real world.
Without a second thought, Klein rummaged through his bag and pulled out a sleek, unauthorized game plugin cartridge. He jammed it ruthlessly into the console's expansion slot. Instantly, a hidden developer control interface popped up on his side of the screen, completely bypassing the game's intended code.
His fingers flew across the controls, locating Kenko's core data files. With a few casual keystrokes, he began rewriting the villain's existence.
...
Inside the game world, on the Thirteenth Floor.
Kenko stood tall, puffing out his chest as he gloated at Ishiyama, who was currently slumped inside a reinforced digital cage.
But before Kenko could finish his triumphant monologue, a sudden, horrifying sensation washed over him. His knees buckled. His vision swam. It felt as though his entire body had been violently hollowed out, leaving him with the physical constitution of a man who had partaken in strenuous bedroom activities eighty times in a single night.
He collapsed to the floor, panting heavily, his limbs trembling like jelly.
Inside the cage, Ishiyama blinked, utterly bewildered by the villain's sudden, dramatic physical collapse.
...
Back at Katami Palace.
"Let's go," Klein announced, his avatar suddenly springing back to life. He called out to Ben and Gwen, then turned his character and marched straight toward a seemingly empty corner of the palace courtyard.
He stopped in front of a completely ordinary-looking floor tile. Without a word of warning, he drew his long blade and brought it crashing down. The tile shattered into digital polygons, revealing a hidden mechanical lever underneath.
Klein reached down and pulled it.
A loud rumbling echoed through the courtyard. The giant raccoon dog statue in the center of Katami Palace suddenly cracked, crumbling into dust as a massive, glowing yellow circular platform slowly rose from the ground.
"Whoa! There's a secret elevator here?!" Ben stared at the yellow platform, his eyes wide with amazement. He turned to look at the lever, then back at Klein. "Cousin, was that in the guide too?"
"Let's just go," Klein replied smoothly, completely ignoring the question as he walked his avatar onto the glowing platform.
How was he supposed to answer that? Was he supposed to tell the Dweeb that he had literally just coded this elevator into the game five seconds ago?
The lever and the platform were just a little shortcut Klein had casually programmed in while he was busy crippling Kenko's stats.
Ben and Gwen's avatars stepped onto the platform alongside him. With a soft hum, the yellow disk began to ascend, carrying them higher into the digital sky.
When the platform finally ground to a halt, the trio stepped off, their eyes sweeping over their new surroundings. They had arrived at a traditional Japanese dojo, the wooden floorboards gleaming under the artificial moonlight.
Before they could take another step, a deep, familiar voice boomed from the shadows ahead.
"You're finally here! I've been waiting for you for quite some time."
A massive figure stepped into the light. It was Ishiyama. He crossed his thick arms, offering them a reassuring smile. "Evil Bandit Kenko has already been defeated by my hands. Everything is over. The realm is safe."
"Ishiyama! How did you... Wait, is that true?!" Ben's avatar practically vibrated with excitement. He sprinted forward, completely starstruck. "I knew it! I knew the great Ishiyama would never lose to a creep like Kenko!"
Seeing the kid approach, 'Ishiyama' opened his mouth to speak again, a warm, heroic smile plastered on his face.
"Ben, attack!" Klein's voice snapped through the comms, sharp and absolute. "That is not Ishiyama!"
The command hit like a thunderclap. Both 'Ishiyama' and Ben froze in their tracks. Even Gwen, standing right next to Klein's avatar, shot him a look of pure shock.
But despite her surprise, Gwen didn't hesitate. She trusted Klein's judgment implicitly. In a fluid motion, she drew her digital divine bow, nocked a glowing arrow, and aimed it dead at the Yokozuna's broad chest.
A flash of genuine panic broke through 'Ishiyama's' heroic facade. He took a step back, looking desperately at Ben. "Ben! As a fellow warrior of great strength, you know my spirit! You believe me, right?!"
Ben stopped. He stared at his idol, his pixelated fists clenching and unclenching. The silence stretched for a tense, agonizing second.
Then, Ben slowly exhaled.
"Sorry, Ishiyama," Ben said, his voice dropping an octave. "I really want to believe you're the real deal. But... I trust my Cousin's judgment way more than I trust you!"
With a fierce battle cry, Ben pivoted on his heel, swinging his massive blade in a deadly arc. 'You're just a fake idol! I, Ben, will cut you down with one strike!'The moment the blade descended,'Ishiyama's' massive body began to warp and bubble. The heroic sumo wrestler melted away, shifting rapidly into the lithe, dragon-like form of Kenko the Shapeshifter. He twisted violently to the side, trying to evade the attack.
But Ben's strike was too fast, fueled by the sheer betrayal of a disappointed fanboy. The blade bit deep into Kenko's side, leaving a glowing red gash across his stomach before he could fully leap away.
Kenko hissed in pain, clutching his side. He truly hadn't expected the kid to actually swing! From everything he had observed, this brat's worship of Ishiyama bordered on fanatical.
"You little brat!" Kenko snarled, his reptilian eyes snapping toward Klein's avatar. "How did you figure it out?!"
"..."
Klein stared blankly at the screen, choosing to remain completely silent. It was way too much effort to explain, and honestly, he was just too lazy to try.
He had literally rewritten Kenko's source code five minutes ago. How could he not know every single ability the shapeshifter possessed?
"Kenko!" Ben roared, snapping out of his shock. His avatar glared at the villain, absolute fury radiating from his digital frame. "Where is the real Ishiyama?! You actually tried to use my feelings against me!"
"Hehehe... Hahahahaha!" Kenko threw his head back, letting out a grating, maniacal laugh. "What do you think I did, kid?! Did you honestly believe I'd just let Ishiyama live after I was done using him as bait? I'll tell you the truth—he's long gone! Deleted! Dead!"
Kenko's laughter was unhinged, perfectly playing the role of the ruthless, decisive villain.
It was a great performance, really. Completely useless, of course, considering Ishiyama was a video game NPC with three extra lives who would just respawn at the nearest save point.
But Ben didn't realize that.
"What?!" Ben gasped, his eyes widening in absolute horror. The grief hit him like a truck. In his blind, fanboy rage, he completely forgot the basic mechanics of video games.
A brilliant flash of green light erupted from Ben's wrist. The digital avatar vanished, replaced by the towering, crimson bulk of Four Arms.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Four Arms bellowed, launching himself across the dojo straight at Kenko.
"Foolish brat! Did you think you were the only one who could transform?!" Kenko sneered.
His dragon-like form shifted again, reverting briefly to his humanoid shape before his entire body began to violently expand. Muscles bulged, pixels stretched, and within seconds, Kenko had grown into a colossal, twenty-to-thirty-meter-tall titan, his head scraping the digital sky.
Four Arms slammed into Kenko's massive ankle, wrapping all four of his thick arms around the villain's leg. He strained, his muscles bulging as he tried to forcefully suplex the giant to the ground.
Kenko didn't even budge.
With a casual, dismissive flick of his foot, Kenko punted Four Arms across the courtyard.
The Tetramand went flying, skipping across the wooden floorboards like a skipped stone before crashing through a paper wall. He rolled several times, groaning as he slowly pushed himself up out of the debris. "Ugh... okay, I definitely haven't leveled up enough for this."
Towering over the dojo, the giant Kenko turned his massive, glowing eyes toward Klein and Gwen.
"Now it's your turn," Kenko's voice boomed, shaking the digital environment. "Tell me exactly how to cross over into the real world. Do it now, or you will all die!"
Klein didn't even blink. He leaned closer to his microphone, his voice dripping with dry amusement. "Oh, come on. I'm literally sitting in a chair behind a screen right now. What are you going to do? Jump out of the monitor and punch me?"
Kenko froze. The sheer, absolute logic of the statement short-circuited his villainous monologue. He realized how stupid his threat was, his giant face twisting into a mask of pure, humiliated rage as he glared down at Klein's tiny avatar.
Klein ignored the giant's temper tantrum. Instead, back in the real world, he reached into his bag and pulled out a sleek, metallic mechanical glove. He slipped it onto his right hand, flexing his fingers, before pressing a glowing button on the wrist with his left thumb.
"I will sortie in Gundam form!" Klein declared, a rare smirk tugging at his lips.
Inside the game, a blinding pillar of light erupted around Klein's avatar. A massive, translucent phantom of a mechanical suit materialized in the air, rapidly solidifying into gleaming white and blue armor plating.
A colossal, thirty-meter-tall Gundam mecha touched down in the courtyard, the ground quaking beneath its metallic boots. Its V-fin gleamed in the digital moonlight.
Kenko's jaw dropped. He stared up at the towering war machine, his brain completely failing to process what he was looking at.
"What?" Klein's voice echoed from the Gundam's external speakers, laced with heavy sarcasm. "Never seen a player use cheats before?"
This boss was clearly way too young to understand the true power of a dirty hacker.
The Gundam reached over its shoulder. Its massive right hand gripped the hilt of a beam saber. With a deafening snap-hiss, a blade of pure, incandescent pink plasma ignited.
Before Kenko could even snap out of his stupor, the Gundam swung.
A brilliant arc of pink light cleaved through the air.
It was a single, flawless stroke. Kenko was instantly cut perfectly in half. His giant body froze, flickered violently, and then shattered into a billion dissipating pixels.
He was just gone. Erased. The only proof that the boss had ever existed was the absurd, screen-breaking astronomical score that suddenly popped up above the Gundam's head.
Down on the ground, Ben and Gwen, who had both transformed back into their base avatars, stood frozen. They stared dumbfounded at the giant mecha, and then at the ridiculous string of nines floating in the sky.
...
Back in the real world.
Klein let out a satisfied sigh, pulling his gaming headphones off and tossing them onto the table. He rolled his shoulders, then raised his left wrist, tapping the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix.
A ghostly blue light washed over the interior of the Rustbucket.
When the light faded, Klein was gone, replaced by the sleek, biomechanical form of Upgrade.
"Time to wrap this up," Upgrade's synthesized, metallic voice echoed. His body instantly lost its solid form, melting into a puddle of viscous, black-and-green liquid circuitry. He slithered across the table and dove straight into the game console's screen, merging flawlessly with the hardware.
...
Inside the game world.
The digital environment rippled, and Upgrade suddenly materialized right beside Ben and Gwen's avatars.
"It's time for us to get out of here," Upgrade stated, his glowing blue eye locking onto them.
After getting a quick nod of consent from the still-stunned Dweeb and Dork, Upgrade's body expanded. He surged forward, wrapping his liquid metal form entirely around the two of them. He formed a protective, black-and-green digital sphere, which then began to rapidly shrink, compressing down until it vanished completely from the game's code.
...
Back in the real world.
The screen of the game console rippled like water. A tiny black-and-green sphere shot out from the glass, hovering in the air before rapidly expanding in the center of the RV.
With a soft pop, the sphere cracked open. Ben and Gwen tumbled out onto the floor, completely unharmed and back in their physical bodies. The sphere immediately shifted, reforming back into the tall, imposing shape of Upgrade.
Another flash of ghostly blue light illuminated the room, and Upgrade dissolved, leaving Klein standing there, looking as bored and relaxed as ever.
Gwen let out a long, exhausted breath. She pushed herself off the floor, walked over to the RV's side door, and pushed it open. Stepping out of the Rustbucket, she was greeted by the crisp, cool air of a clear sky, the recent rain having finally stopped.
She stretched her arms high above her head, popping her stiff shoulders, and took a deep, refreshing breath of the real world.
"You know," Gwen muttered, glancing back at the glowing game console inside the RV. "I think I'm good. I really don't want to play any video games for a very, very long time after this."
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