BINDER — TAB: VICKY — PAGE 1 (LAMINATED)
Blake let the System see the page this week. He held it up on Monday, before anything happened, the way a student shows a teacher the homework before it’s due.
OPPONENT: Vicky.
LAST WEEK: 176.5 (first win).
PASSIVE: Only fires vs. Matt or Mike. NOT ACTIVE.
ITEMS: The Good Tupperware (+2). Probably not using it. She’ll want it back.
STRATEGY: Score more than her.
The System would like to point out that the last line is not a strategy. The System would also like to point out that it worked.
199.2 to 105.5.
Ninety-three point seven. The largest margin of the week. The second-highest score in the Dungeon, behind only Jake, who was busy beating me. Blake set his full lineup by Thursday, took the Floor 2 bonus, and then his roster went out and did everything the graph had been promising for a month, all at once, to Vicky.
System Notice ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: THE GRAPH WAS RIGHT. FIRST WIN OF SEASON 3. MARGIN: 93.7. THE LINE WENT UP. THE BINDER WAS VINDICATED.
He did not celebrate. He took out a fresh sheet, wrote a single large W in the center, ran it through the laminator twice, and filed it at the very front of the binder, ahead of the table of contents.
System Notice LOOT DROP: A FRESHLY LAMINATED PAGE TITLED “W”. TIER: COMMON. EFFECT: +2 PTS IN ONE WEEK OF HIS CHOOSING, DECLARED BY WEDNESDAY NOON.
The System did not generate this item. The System checked. It appeared in his inventory at the exact moment the laminator finished. The System has decided to allow it.
The Vial of Concentrated Winning is still corked. Week 4 was the perfect week not to need it, and he didn’t use it. The System is starting to believe there really is a plan.
Last week the number at the top of his page was 15.8, the margin between Blake and the Pit. This week he crossed it out. He is 1-3, eighth, and a full win clear of last place. Underneath the crossed-out number he wrote: 1 W.
Week 5: Dani. In the Pit. A slot locked, and −3 from Floor 3 before a single puck drops.
He has started a new tab. It is labeled DANI. It is the the shortest tab in the binder.