Chapter 47 : A Habit : part 2

They paid the bill and left the bar. Julien’s apartment was a few metro stops away.

“I should warn you,” Julien said.

“I’m listening.”

“Understanding a strategy won’t be enough.”

“Why?”

“Because you need to know the controls.”

“You’ll explain them to me.”

“Yeah, but that still won’t be enough.”

“Why?”

“Because you need reflexes.”

“I have good reflexes.”

“Not that kind.”

“There are different categories of reflexes?”

“Your thumbs need to know what to do.”

“My thumbs are connected to the rest of my nervous system.”

Emma burst out laughing, and Julien sighed.

“You’ll see.”

“Your explanation lacks precision.”

When they reached the building, Julien opened the door and led them up to his apartment. Chloé entered first and looked around.

“It’s been a while.”

“Nothing has changed.”

“You cleaned up.”

“I clean regularly.”

Sarah walked in behind her.

“You cleaned because we were coming.”

“Both statements can be true simultaneously.”

Aldric entered with Emma and looked around the living room. The room was clean, several consoles sat beneath the television, and two controllers were already waiting on the coffee table.

Maxime noticed them.

“Definitely not prepared.”

Julien took off his jacket.

“I like being organized.”

“Since when?” Chloé asked.

“Always.”

Sarah pointed at the two controllers.

“You probably put those there before you left.”

Julien didn’t answer.

“How long did you spend preparing for tonight?” Emma asked.

“A few minutes.”

Maxime raised his eyebrows.

“A few minutes?”

“Maybe thirty.”

Julien walked past the others and closed the door to his office.

“The living room is over there.”

“We can see it,” Maxime said.

“I’m just pointing it out.”

Aldric placed his jacket over the back of a chair, and his gaze shifted toward the hallway.

“There’s nothing interesting over there. My office is a mess.”

“You cleaned the entire apartment except your office?” Maxime asked.

“Yes.”

Sarah smiled.

“Believable.”

Julien turned toward Aldric.

“Do you want to see my office?”

“No.”

“Perfect…”

Aldric frowned at how quickly he had answered.

“Why do you seem relieved?”

Julien froze for a fraction of a second before vaguely gesturing toward the hallway.

“Because it really is a mess.”

“I understand.”

Aldric went over to the couch. Julien remained standing for a few more seconds as he realized that he had just drawn attention to the one room he absolutely did not want anyone to enter. His main computer was in there, and even though he had made sure to close all his documents before leaving, it would only take a few clicks to access the ALDRIC DE VALDOR folder. He was going to have to act much more naturally if he didn’t want to end up raising suspicions by trying to avoid them.

Emma sat down on the couch with Aldric while Sarah and Chloé took seats nearby. Maxime chose the armchair, and Julien handed out drinks before picking up the two controllers.

“All right.”

He turned on the console, and Aldric watched the screen as the game library appeared.

“How many games do you own?”

“A lot. I don’t know exactly.”

“You own enough games that you no longer know how many you have? And you consider my library excessive.”

“It’s not comparable…”

“Why?”

“Because it suits me.”

“Honest argument.”

Julien scrolled through his library before selecting Mortal Kombat. The moment the title appeared on the screen, Maxime turned toward him.

“Seriously?”

“What?”

“Mortal Kombat?”

“It’s a fighting game.”

“I know what it is. I’m talking about the four hundred hours you have in it.”

“Did you have to mention that?…”

“Four hundred hours?” Aldric asked.

“Spread over several years.”

“And I have never played it.”

“Exactly.”

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Maxime shook his head.

“You really planned this.”

“I call it choosing favorable terrain.”

“So you are deliberately choosing terrain where you have several hundred hours of experience against an opponent who doesn’t even know the rules.”

“See? You already understand the principle.”

“In my world, we would have called this an ambush.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“That’s exactly what it is.”

“Thanks for the support,” Julien replied.

The character selection screen appeared, and Aldric leaned forward to examine the different fighters. His gaze first stopped on Johnny Cage, whose outfit clearly seemed to bother him.

“Why does he fight wearing sunglasses?”

“Don’t start…”

“They could fall off with the first impact.”

“Aldric.”

“And they reduce his peripheral vision.”

Emma started laughing while Julien scrolled through the characters.

“This isn’t a military simulation.”

“He is participating in a fight. His equipment should therefore be suited for combat.”

Maxime smiled.

“I knew this was going to happen.”

Aldric moved on to Kitana and examined her fans.

“Those are her weapons?”

“Yes.”

“Fans?”

“Fans with blades.”

“Why not simply use two short swords?”

“Because that would be less cool.”

“That criterion seems to influence many decisions in video games.”

“You’re starting to understand.”

Aldric continued his inspection and stopped on Baraka.

“His weapons come out of his arms.”

“Yes.”

“Naturally?”

“Yes…”

“Interesting advantage. He cannot easily be disarmed.”

Julien turned his head toward Maxime.

“You gave him a fighting game,” Maxime replied. “What did you expect?”

Aldric then moved over to Scorpion and stopped.

“Him.”

“He has a sword. It at least appears usable.”

“So that’s your criterion?”

“Among others.”

“All right. Scorpion.”

Julien then chose Sub-Zero.

“You’re picking your best character? Against someone who literally just discovered the game?”

Julien shrugged.

“He picked Scorpion. I’m respecting tradition…”

Julien rested his controller on his thigh and moved closer to Aldric.

“Before we start, I’ll at least explain the controls.”

“So you are allowing me some preparation.”

“I’m not a complete monster.”

Maxime coughed.

“No comment.”

Julien pointed to the different buttons on the controller.

“You move with this. Left, right, you crouch by pressing down, and you jump by pressing up.”

Aldric reproduced the movements with his thumb.

“All right.”

“The four buttons here correspond to your main attacks. Front punch, back punch, front kick, back kick.”

“Why are they separated that way?”

“Because different combinations use different attacks.”

“Sequences.”

“Exactly. And this is block.”

Aldric placed his finger on the indicated trigger.

“Priority.”

“What?”

“Blocking.”

“Yeah, well, if you spend the whole match blocking, I’m still going to open you up eventually.”

“Open me up?”

“Figure of speech…”

Emma smiled.

“I think it’s better to clarify those kinds of things with Aldric.”

“I just realized that.”

Julien continued his explanation, showing him the other controls.

“You can also grab your opponent, use your Kameo, and perform special attacks with certain combinations of directions and buttons. But for the first match, just focus on moving, blocking, and attacking.”

“Why not teach me the special attacks?”

“Because I’d like to start before tomorrow morning.”

Julien then showed him two combos with Scorpion. Aldric watched his fingers, then reproduced the inputs for the first time.

“Like this?”

“Yes.”

He did it again.

“And this always triggers the same attack?”

“If you input exactly the same combination, yes.”

“So the movements are perfectly predictable based on the inputs.”

“Technically.”

Maxime smiled.

“You may have just given him too much information.”

“He doesn’t even know how to play yet.”

Julien picked up his controller.

“One last thing: Scorpion has an attack with his chain. You do this, then this.”

Aldric reproduced the combination.

“What range?”

“A few meters in the game.”

“It allows you to pull the opponent toward you?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

Julien narrowed his eyes.

“You’re already thinking of a tactical application.”

“Yes.”

“Of course…”

Emma started laughing.

Julien finally started the match. Scorpion and Sub-Zero appeared facing each other while Aldric repositioned his fingers on the controller.

“Ready?” Julien asked.

“Yes.”

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not going to let you win.”

“I understood that when you chose your best fighter.”

Maxime smiled.

“He didn’t forget.”

“Nobody asked you.”

The signal appeared on the screen.

FIGHT.

Sub-Zero charged forward. Scorpion tried to retreat, but Aldric tilted the joystick in the wrong direction, sending his warrior leaping straight toward his opponent.

“Why is he moving forward?”

“You jumped!”

“I was trying to retreat.”

The mistake was punished. Sub-Zero pivoted beneath Scorpion’s jump, driving his fist into his abdomen. Before the yellow-clad warrior could regain his balance, a second blow struck his ribs and a third hit his face.

Scorpion was knocked backward, but Sub-Zero gave him no respite. Ice spread over his forearm and formed into a translucent blade, which he brought down on his opponent. Scorpion tried to defend himself too late, and the impact sent him flying several meters away.

“First rule of Mortal Kombat,” Julien said. “Don’t look at your controller.”

“That rule would have been useful before the fight began.”

“I can’t teach you everything.”

“You had four hundred hours to prepare your teaching.”

Maxime burst out laughing.

Sub-Zero charged again. This time, Scorpion managed to raise his guard and blocked two attacks without taking damage, but the third broke through his defense. Julien launched another combo, and Sub-Zero struck Scorpion in the stomach before lifting him into the air with an uppercut.

The yellow warrior left the ground. Sub-Zero was already waiting when he came back down. An icy blow struck him squarely in the chest and slammed him into the ground.

Aldric pressed several buttons.

“I no longer have control.”

“That’s normal. It’s a combo.”

“I dislike this principle.”

“Mostly because you’re the one on the receiving end.”

The last portion of Scorpion’s health bar disappeared, and the warrior staggered.

FINISH HIM.

Aldric studied the words.

“Is the fight over?”

“Almost…”

Sub-Zero approached Scorpion, who could barely remain standing.

“He can no longer fight. Why are you continuing?”

Julien entered a combination.

“Because I can.”

Sub-Zero raised his hands. A wave of cold enveloped Scorpion, and frost spread across his body until he was completely imprisoned in ice. Sub-Zero struck the frozen statue, shattering it in an explosion of fragments.

FATALITY.

Julien raised his arms.

“There!”

Aldric looked at the pieces of Scorpion scattered across the ground.

“You had already defeated him. He was incapable of defending himself. And you decided to kill him anyway.”

“When you put it like that, the game sounds slightly more disturbing.”

Emma was already laughing.

“Slightly?”

Aldric looked back at Julien.

“Was that action necessary for your victory?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“For style.”

“So?”

“Your choice was indeed strategic.”

“Thank you.”

“Dishonorable, but strategic.”

Julien’s smile disappeared, making Maxime and Emma laugh.

“Stop questioning my honor because of a video game.”

“You deliberately chose an inexperienced opponent, selected your best fighter, and limited my preparation… Then you executed my character when he had already been defeated.”

Julien raised a finger.

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s Mortal Kombat.”

“That explanation does not answer the question.”

“Rematch.”

Aldric repositioned his fingers on the controller.

“I accept.”