The white VR hub dissolved around Zeph as his eighth placement match loaded. His elderly DirtyGrandpa avatar materialized on one side of a pristine dueling arena—flat stone floor, clear boundaries, zero environmental advantages for either competitor.
Perfect neutrality. Perfect fairness.
Which meant this was going to be a perfect beatdown.
His opponent appeared on the opposite side, and Zeph felt his enthusiasm die a quiet death.
The nameplate read: SilverPhoenix - Level 56 - Platinum II
'Level 56. That's twenty-one levels higher than me.'
'Platinum II means he's been grinding ranked for months. Probably has tournament experience.'
The avatar itself told the rest of the story: pristine equipment that screamed "family money," movements that were too smooth and practiced to be self-taught, and an aura of casual confidence that only came from people who'd never had to struggle for anything in their lives.
