Page 143 of Played By Design

Fifty guarantees a sponsor payout, even if I don’t win.

But I don’t like to lose.

My calves scream, my quads burn, and every landing sends a jolt up through my knees.

Behind the mask, I grit my teeth, breathe, and reset.

The final pattern hits the grid with a three-beat warning flash, and the screen above freezes my current stats before wiping them clean for the final sequence.

Full-platform traversal. The grid lights up from edge to edge, and my stomach drops because I know what’s coming.

Slide entry. Two extended holds. Four-panel chain cutting from one corner of the grid to the other.

The hardest pattern in the current tournament set.

I plant my left foot on the center panel and push.

The slide carries me across three panels, hips dropped, right leg extended, left foot dragging the sensor for the full duration. Green flash. Perfect.

First hold at the bottom right corner. I plant my right foot and lock my knee, counting with the beat. One. Two. Three. Four.

Transition. Two quick steps to the top row, left then center, and into the second hold at the top center panel. Left foot planted. Balance centered. Counting.

The final chain lights up with a diagonal slash from top left to bottom right. Four panels in sequence, each one lighting as the previous one registers.

I launch.

Top left. Strike.

Center. Strike.

Center right. Strike.

Bottom right. Strike.

The grid flashes white, blue, then erupts in a strobe pattern that floods the stage. The screen above locks my final score with a thunderclap of sound from the speakers.

Accuracy: 98.7%

Combo: 60

Score: 712,406

The crowd noise peaks, a wall of sound slamming into me. Cheers. Screams. Someone’s air horn cuts through the bass.

As I step off the platform, my legs nearly buckle. My feet feel like wet concrete, too heavy to lift.

The announcer’s voice booms through the venue, rattling the stage floor under my sneakers, but I don’t catch a single word.

The leaderboard refreshes.

NeonVex drops to second. ZeroError to third.

BunnyGlitch… 712,406

First place.

For half a second, I just stare.