Chapter 250: You agreed to the terms
Clara’s eyes widened.
"Excuse me? Who’s complaining? You haven’t even won yet!"
She immediately typed her response.
MoonlitRose: Keep talking. You’ll be eating those words soon enough.
VANTA: We’ll see about that.
The moment the game began, Clara’s fingers flew across the keyboard. She knew VANTA’s playing style well enough to predict his opening moves. After all, she had been the one who taught him most of his tricks back when they used to spend hours playing together.
Or so she had believed.
Within minutes, Clara’s confident smile began to fade.
"What the..."
Her character had barely managed to escape one ambush when VANTA cornered her from the other side. Before she could recover, he blocked her escape route and forced her into another confrontation.
Clara hurriedly tried to counter his attack, only to find him anticipating her every move.
It was almost as if he could read her mind.
"No way!" she exclaimed, leaning closer to the screen. "Since when did this guy get so good?"
She quickly changed her strategy, using a feint she had once taught him to lure opponents into exposing their weaknesses.
For a moment, it worked.
Her character slipped past his defence, and Clara’s lips curved into a triumphant smile.
"Got you!"
But before she could celebrate, VANTA turned the tables on her.
He used the very same counterattack she had taught him years ago, trapping her character before she could retreat.
Clara stared at the screen in disbelief.
VANTA: Is that all you’ve got?
Her mouth fell open. "That little—!" She stopped herself before finishing the sentence and began typing furiously.
MoonlitRose: Don’t get too cocky. I’m just warming up.
VANTA: Of course. Take your time.
Clara could practically hear the smugness in his words.
Determined to wipe that imaginary smirk off his face, she threw herself back into the match. She switched between strategies, set traps, and even attempted a risky flank that had worked countless times in the past.
Nothing worked.
VANTA dismantled every move with frightening precision. Worse, he was using her own techniques against her.
The boy who had once struggled to keep up with her had become so skilled that she could barely land a clean hit.
As the match progressed, Clara’s health bar continued to shrink. She glanced at the scoreboard and felt her stomach drop. One more successful attack from VANTA, and it would all be over.
"Come on, Clara. Think!" she muttered, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.
She had only a sliver of health left, while VANTA still had enough to withstand another direct confrontation.
A moment later, his character appeared at the end of the corridor, blocking her only apparent escape.
VANTA: Ready to admit defeat?
Clara gritted her teeth. "In your dreams!"
She made her character retreat, deliberately leaving an opening that seemed almost too obvious to ignore.
VANTA took the bait. His character surged forward, executing a finishing move that should have ended the match. But at the last possible second, Clara’s character slipped sideways.
Her eyes lit up. "That’s it!"
Instead of escaping, she had used the narrow corridor to trigger a hidden environmental mechanism. A section of the floor collapsed beneath VANTA’s character, disrupting his attack and forcing him into a brief recovery animation.
It was an old trick, one she had discovered by accident and never bothered to use again because it required almost perfect timing.
Almost no one knew about it. Except the person who had taught her to experiment with the game’s environment in the first place.
VANTA.
And now, ironically, she was using a variation of that lesson against him.
Clara seized the opportunity. She launched a rapid combination, blocked his attempted counter, and drove his character towards the edge of the arena.
VANTA tried to recover, but his earlier aggression had left him with no room to maneuver.
One final strike landed.
DEFEAT.
Clara stared at the screen for two full seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, my God! I actually won!"
She practically bounced in her chair, grinning from ear to ear. Then she noticed that VANTA hadn’t sent a single message.
Her smile turned mischievous.
MoonlitRose: Well? Who was it that was going to eat their words?
A few seconds passed. Then another notification appeared.
VANTA: Where did you learn that counter?
Clara chuckled.
MoonlitRose: From a very handsome, incredibly talented, and occasionally annoying guy.
VANTA: You’re avoiding the question.
MoonlitRose: Am I?
She leaned back, thoroughly enjoying herself.
MoonlitRose: So, VANTA, does this mean you finally believe I’m MoonlitRose?
For the first time since the match began, VANTA took longer than usual to respond.
On the other side of the screen, Dominic stared at the final replay, his expression unreadable.
That counterattack. That ridiculous habit of leaving an opening just to lure an opponent into a trap. And the way she had followed up without hesitation.
He remembered teaching those techniques to her, who used to tease him mercilessly whenever he lost.
Dominic stared at the screen for a moment before the corner of his lips curled into a proud smile.
"This girl... She really hasn’t changed at all," he murmured, shaking his head in amusement. "She’s still as stubborn as ever."
He had deliberately teased Clara during the match, knowing perfectly well that she wouldn’t give up until she had proved herself. And just as he had expected, she had managed to turn the tables at the last possible moment.
Dominic couldn’t help feeling proud of her.
After all, she had always been capable of surprising him.
His fingers moved across the keyboard.
VANTA: Fine. I accept that you’re MoonlitRose.
Meanwhile, Clara was practically beaming at her computer screen.
"Finally! Was that so difficult?" she muttered triumphantly.
Without wasting another second, she began typing her response.
MoonlitRose: Good. Now, as promised, you have to answer my questions.
On the other side, Dominic’s smile slowly faded as he read her message.
He had forgotten about that part. His expression turned grim as he leaned back in his chair, wondering whether agreeing to the match had been such a good idea after all.
Before he could decide how to respond, another message popped up.
MoonlitRose: Don’t even think about running away. You agreed to the terms!
Dominic’s eyes darkened.
"This girl..."
He ran a hand through his hair, caught between amusement and helplessness. He could already imagine Clara sitting in front of her computer, wearing that smug expression she always had whenever she thought she had won.
And, unfortunately, she wasn’t entirely wrong. He had lost the game, and he had given her his word.
But answering her questions was an entirely different matter.
Dominic stared at the screen, trying to think of a suitable response. However, before he could type anything, his laptop suddenly flashed a low-battery warning.
His brows furrowed. "Seriously? Now?"
He hurriedly reached for the charger, only to realize that it was nowhere near his desk.
The screen flickered once. Then everything went black.
Meanwhile, Clara waited patiently for VANTA’s response.
A minute passed. Then another.
Nothing.
She frowned and refreshed the chat, hoping his message would appear.
Still nothing.
"Tsk! What’s taking him so long?" She refreshed the page again, but the conversation remained unchanged.
Clara’s eyes narrowed. "This little rat! Did he seriously run away after losing the match?"
She crossed her arms, glaring at the screen as though VANTA were sitting right in front of her.
"Just wait until I catch you online again!"
Little did Clara know that VANTA hadn’t deliberately abandoned her.
Dominic, the man behind the screen, was sitting in the dark with a completely drained laptop, blissfully unaware that he had just left MoonlitRose fuming on the other side of the world.