I Killed The Game's Protagonist

Deep within the forest, a group of three trudged along a narrow dirt path, dry leaves crunching underfoot. The adrenaline from their earlier clash had worn off, replaced by a mix of frustration and disbelief.

Varek Drenor swung one arm lazily as he walked, the cracked gauntlet on his hand proof of how rough things had gone.

"I still can’t believe we lost," he muttered.

Nora, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, scoffed. "They just got lucky. That’s all. We underestimated them."

Trailing just behind, Tirien Vale pushed up his glasses and exhaled.

"Or maybe their team synergy and ability distribution were simply superior. The way that Cordelia used elemental layering in combination with spatial positioning was actually kind of genius. If this were a strategy sim, they’d be running a triple-core front comp with adaptive scaling..."

Both Nora and Varek turned to stare at him.

"What?" Tirien blinked."I’m just saying, it’s basically optimal."

Varek groaned. "Bro, this is real life. Not one of your games."

Just as Nora opened her mouth to say something else—

"You’re not wrong though," a calm voice said casually, as if part of the group all along.