“Come on. Just a minute left!” I looked at the monster barring my way to the crystal portal. It was huge, 20 feet of rotted flesh piled into the shape of a humanoid, in the sloppy way children make clay figurines. I could hear the muffling cheering and I knew everyone was at the edge of their seats, waiting to see if I could do it.

     The problem was, I wasn’t sure I could. Despite the assertions of my wife and children. I could barely hear her through my headset, calling my name. “You can do it, baby! I believe in you!”

     The monster before me regenerated from damage almost at the same rate I dealt it. And though I’d slashed and bashed multiple points on its body, I hadn’t yet found a weak spot that could be exploited. My heart raced, every hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and a cold sweat formed on my brow. There had to be another way! How the hell had any of the others done it?

     “40 SECONDS LEFT FOR FIRST PLACE. RYAN HANSON, A RIPE 40 YEARS OLD, HAILING FROM MERRILL, WISCONSIN. GAMERTAG THORACK; FIND HIM ON TWITCH AND YOUTUBE.”

     I grimaced. Supposedly I was this strong, handsome, and intelligent guy who just could not fail. Yet here I was just 30 seconds away from losing the gaming tournament.

     Screw it. All for nothing. I ducked under a meandering blow and charged forward. There was no point in fighting this monolith. Between his legs I saw the azure glow of the crystal portal, the swirling vortex within, and I realized this had been the solution all along. I flipped on my Stamina Blast, letting the pale-yellow waves regenerate my run power even as I Triple Hasted my boots, giving me the special kick in the pants I’d needed to make it on time. 

     In the upper righthand corner of my screen, the digits of the counter turned an emergency red. 

     Ten, Nine, Eight . . .

     Past his legs, but not past danger, I swerved right in the nick of time, out of the way of a slap so intense it left a crater in its wake.

     Seven, Six, Five . . .

     A chunk of meat sailed overhead and slapped down right in front of me. I hot-keyed Bunny Hop, leapt over it, and feinted left.

     Four, Three, Two . . . 

     The second meat attack slopped through the air, narrowly missing my shoulder as I ducked under it. It exploded in all directions, but my stride had carried me well past its messy range, taking me right to the edge of the crystal gate. Through my earphones came the muffled screams of the audience, their unbelieving candor.

     One . . .

     And I was through. A black screen flashed in my visor, golden-edged words rocking into view.

     CONGRATULATIONS. KUDOS TO THE WINNER

     Years of gaming, years of over and over again grinding, practicing, studying. And now a million dollars in the bank. I opened my mouth and screamed, letting all of it out, listening to the cries and yells of the audience. I’d just taken gold at the LoC Games—Lords of Chaos, the most popular Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game to ever exist to date. 

     It hadn’t been easy, even with all the effort I’d put in. Winning my way through the tiers wasn’t too difficult, but when I faced up with four other gaming legends, guys I’d studied online and copied in my own run-throughs of the game, I thought that was that.

     This last run had been through a never-before-seen expansion, debuting at this very tournament. The Dungeons of Crayn. Hacking and blasting my way through the game, the pressure had been intense.

     So when those golden ribbons exploded out of the ceiling to flutter down around my console, I drew off my goggles and spun just in time to catch my beautiful wife, my daughter, and my son. It was a glorious moment, and one I will almost certainly treasure forever.

     Especially since I might never see them again.