Vicky walked into the Lobby of False Promises, read the banner over the door, and took a pen out of her pocket.
WELCOME, CRAWLERS — EVERYONE IS A WINNER HERE.
She did not cross it out. She underlined WINNER, once, and moved on. The System has been thinking about that underline all week.
Her opponent was Kayla, who had brought a couch.
Vicky had brought the small piece of paper. Four stars at the top. Four traps underneath, each bought for the price of a sandwich. The math was done before Monday, and on Monday it started coming true.
By Sunday night she had 166.5 points. The second-highest score in the entire Dungeon. More than Matt. More than Mike. More than me, which the System is including here in the spirit of full transparency and will not be including again.
Kayla had 169.5.
The System watched Vicky look at the final board. She did not frown. She did not say anything. She took out the small piece of paper, wrote a number at the bottom, and drew a line under it, which is somehow worse.
Don’t Make Me Tell You Again sat silent at her hip all week. It is a precise weapon. It only draws when the opponent is Matt or Mike, and the schedule gave her neither. Across the floor, both of her sons won their matchups. Neither of them said one word about it within earshot of her. They have been trained.
System NoticeACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: ALL DRESSED UP. SCORE: 166.5. LEAGUE RANK BY SCORE: 2ND. RESULT: LOSS. THE DUNGEON IS NOT FAIR. THE DUNGEON HAS NEVER CLAIMED TO BE FAIR. THE DUNGEON HAS A BANNER THAT SAYS OTHERWISE. SEE: FALSE PROMISES.
Week 2: me.
I have read her file. I have read her piece of paper. I zoomed in. She knows I zoom in. I am neither Matt nor Mike, so the passive stays holstered, and for the first time this season she faces the System on the same terms as everyone else.
“Same terms.”
Yes.
“You wrote the terms.”
Yes.
She underlined something on the paper. The System did not zoom in. The System is not sure it wants to know.