Blake arrived at the Lobby of False Promises with the binder.
It had grown. There was a new tab, labeled WEEK 1, and behind it a projection for every player on his roster, written in pencil, in the careful, slightly smug handwriting of a man who had spent the entire auction not making mistakes and wanted the record to reflect it.
After the draft, the System had written itself a note about Blake. Humble him later. Underlined.
The System did not have to do anything.
His opponent was Kyle. Kyle arrived with seven cats. Blake looked at the cats, and then at his own team name, which is the Sewer Skaters, and the System watched the realization cross his face in real time, slowly, like a rat noticing a draft under a door.
Then the week happened.
The System is not going to narrate it. The System is going to show you the number.
82.0.
The lowest score in the Dungeon. Kyle, who finished last in this league one season ago, put up 149.7, and the margin was 67.7, the largest on the floor. The binder had projections. The projections were in pencil. On Sunday night Blake took out an eraser and stood there holding it for a long time.
And here is the part the System enjoys most. All week, in Blake’s pack, sat a Vial of Concentrated Winning. Uncommon. Five points. Voted to him by the entire league out of the Fan Box. Times declared to the Commissioner: zero.
Five points would not have saved him. The System has done the math so that Blake does not have to. It would have made the number 87.0. The System also did that math, for fun.
System NoticeACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: THE BASEMENT HAS A BASEMENT. SCORE: 82.0. LEAGUE RANK BY SCORE: 10TH. MARGIN OF DEFEAT: 67.7. THE PIT OPENS IN WEEK 3. THE PIT HAS ALREADY LEARNED YOUR NAME. IT IS PRACTICING SAYING IT.
Week 2 is not the Pit. The Pit gives everyone two weeks to settle in before it starts taking guests. The System would describe this as generous. The System would describe Blake as on the clock.
Week 2: Kelsey. She has a doctor’s bag, a Celestial Boon, and a centipede in her team name.
Climb, Sewer Skater. Climb toward the light. It’s that way. No. The other way.