Cycle 30-8: A Dog Eat Dog World (Patreon)

Kaitlyn had spent a long time being bad at classes. Even after she'd finally overcome them, the amount of time it had taken to master the subjects made it clear: her success was due to sheer determination rather than any kind of talent or smarts of her own. To make things worse, she'd followed it up by jumping straight into new courses that felt just as intimidating. All in all, she didn't have any grand illusions about her intelligence.

Which is why it felt so strange to be teaching someone else for a change.

Kaitlyn frowned at the exam in front of her. "So… it's the reaction pathways that are giving you trouble?"

"Yeah." One of her suitemates shook her head with a defeated sigh. "If not for those, I would've done so much better. I just always seem to forget one or two things, and they're always the ones I need! It's too much!"

Kaitlyn nodded. "It really is. There's a lot of memorizing, but I've got a few tricks that might help…"

Ever since midterm grades had come out, Heather had been convinced that Kaitlyn was some sort of super genius. She'd even gone so far as to brag about her results to their suitemates – which inevitably resulted in a lot of people asking for help.

At first, she'd adamantly refused. Not because she didn't want to, but she was certain she couldn't. How in the world was she supposed to tutor someone? She was no Philip. That guy was a real genius. Trying to do the same would just inflict her with a whole other level of imposter syndrome and her suitemates with the most frustrating lessons they'd ever sat through. But her protests went unheeded, and eventually she caved to their impassioned pleas. And so here she was.

Heather's never been like this before. She was always happy when I got good scores, but this… I guess it would be pretty weird to waltz into class for the first time and ace its exams.

To be fair, Kaitlyn had made an effort to hide her class skipping in other loops. So maybe that was a large cause of this sudden change.

She pulled out a notebook and started sketching out a reference sheet for the girl across the table. Still, I don't mind. I like helping. It gives me something to do with all this knowledge I've built up.

Of course, she would have much preferred to send people Philip's way, and she did in some cases. The arrangement was better for both them and him. But Philip didn't teach everything, and a lot of her suitemates seemed to have trouble with Chemistry in particular.

Heather's head popped out of the nearby hallway, golden waves of hair fastened into a loose bun. "Hey, Kate! Hey Emily! Whatcha doin'?"

"Kate's trying to cram more Chemistry knowledge into my head," Emily nodded toward the notebook. "Let's hope it works…"

"I think you can pull it off." Kaitlyn offered the girl a reassuring smile. "You got most of this just fine. It really is just the mechanisms stuff that threw you off. Specifically the bromination ones. I can see that in your multiple choice, too."

"I swear I've studied those!" The girl wailed. "But how am I even supposed to know when to use them?!"

Kaitlyn gave her an apologetic smile. "Practice, mostly. A lot of it. I swear it helps."

"Oh!" Heather snapped her fingers. "I meant to ask! Do you guys wanna go to a concert next week? Maze of Ills is gonna be performing here, on campus!"

Kaitlyn paused in the middle of drawing an example reaction. Right. The concert.

It made sense that Heather would invite her again. Despite the relatively short time they'd known each other this loop, Heather was exactly the kind of extrovert that wouldn't care. Kaitlyn was her roommate, and so she'd drag her along to whatever social gatherings she could.

I've already been to Elliot's concert more times than I'd care to count. And I'm not looking for any ending stuff. But… is there any real reason for me not to go?

Emily perked up. "I'm down!"

The two looked at Kaitlyn expectantly. Belatedly, she realized that the silence was dragging on a bit. "I… I'm not sure. I should be free, but…"

Her words came out slowly and carefully, but Heather didn't blink. "Oh, c'mon Kate! We haven't done nearly enough roommate stuff together! And Maze of Ills throws the best concerts! I'm like, sooo excited!"

…Maybe I should hang out with Heather a bit more. I've been too busy to spend much time with her lately. Maybe this is a good chance to just let her take the wheel and go along for the ride. Even if I end up getting tired of it, it's only for half a semester. Right?

This was her loop to relax and enjoy, after all. A time to just take in the fun parts of being a college student. Even if she'd lived through most of this plenty of times before, she hadn't fully explored everything. Especially not the social opportunities her roommate tended to engage in. Maybe she would enjoy them, too.

With a smile, Kaitlyn looked up at the blonde. "Sure. I'd like that."

"Omigosh, awesome!" Heather beamed. "It's gonna be, like, soooo much fun, just you wait! We'll have to binge their new album, like, the whole day before…"

***

The all-too-familiar sounds of a dozen Bash Bros setups washed over Kaitlyn in a wave as she stepped out of the hallway and into the classroom. Today's tournament featured the usual crowd, their numbers scattered in small groups around the space.

She stepped up to the main table with the confidence of someone who'd done this a hundred times. "Hey, John."

"Hey!" The tall, freckled student glanced up from where he sat, then did a double take. "Er, sorry. You're…?"

"Kaitlyn." She nodded with a smile. Her ID was already extended toward him. "I'm here to grab a controller and sign up."

"Kaitlyn! Cool. Uh… have you been around before?"

"Kind of." She shrugged. "You might not remember me though. I tend to fly under the radar a lot."

"Awesome. Sure." As John's expression went from uncertain to absolutely bewildered, he disappeared below the table to rummage about. "Give me one sec to grab your controller. Sorry!"

As she waited, her eyes wandered about the room. Familiar faces abounded, most of them grouped with others of a similar skill level. The less skilled ones tended to mingle more, while more experienced players tended to keep to themselves. There were exceptions, and the lines weren't completely set, but she'd played everyone here enough times to understand their strengths and threat levels. She obviously knew their names and preferred characters, as well.

Let's see… who should I go after first?

Over in the corner, Ian sat hunched in front of his laptop. He was probably busy working on his game. That was alright, though. She didn't intend to bother him this time around.

Every loop he's working hard on that thing. And every loop, it resets. An involuntary shudder went through her. At least he doesn't have to remember how futile it is. I can't imagine actually trying to create something in an environment like this, much less some big long-term project like that…

"Right! Here you go!" John popped back up and traded her a controller. "Now. Signups. You doing singles, doubles, both?"

"Just singles today." She nodded. "My tag is K."

"Perfect." John tapped a few keys on his laptop and gave her a thumbs up. "You're good to go! Good luck out there!"

With a nod of thanks, she stepped toward the setups. Specifically, she headed toward some of the more skilled players in the room. She quietly sidled up to their setups, standing behind their chairs patiently as they finished their game.

On screen, a humanoid corgi with cyborg arms faced down a pudgy electrician. They both leapt and dashed about with dizzying speed, throwing out strikes and projectiles to test each other even as they fought for control of the stage. After a few flurried exchanges, the dog loosed a volley of lasers. The electrician threw up a shield of arcing energy, avoiding the damage at the cost of allowing his opponent to advance.

The corgi dashed up to take advantage of the opening.

Is he going to grab? No –it's a bait.

The electrician's protection dropped at the last instant as he lashed out with a pair of sparking wires. But the dog was already in the air, leaping above the attack. A paw kicked down at the pudgy man and sent him bouncing off the stage like a rubber ball, only to be juggled in the air a couple more times. The human flailed about, lashing out with precisely timed attacks meant to get him to the ground. Unfortunately, the corgi was reading him like a book. He managed to be in just the right place at the right time to dodge and counterattack.

Kaitlyn glanced over at the corgi player – ZoggyWoggy. Despite her efforts to socialize with everyone at the tournaments, the guy hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to her in all these loops. She hadn't even played him much. As the best player at these tournaments, he was a bit intimidating to approach. He mostly stuck to beating up his training partners during friendlies. And the occasional poor soul who tried to challenge him.

That's fine. I've dealt with worse.

As ZoggyWoggy quickly finished off his opponent, Kaitlyn cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"

The guy looked up, fixing her with a dull-eyed stare. He didn't ask what she wanted. He just looked at her.

"Can I join you guys?"

Zog flicked his eyes to his current partner. The guy wasn't one of his normal practice buddies – that Kaitlyn was sure of. He was good, but not that good. Probably some guy just hoping to get a bit more experience against a high level player. Like she was.

The other guy shrugged and scooted over. "Go ahead and try. I'm getting my ass beat, anyway."

"Thanks." Pulling up a chair, Kaitlyn plugged in and selected her own character – Corgo. The same character Zog played.

After practicing with all of the characters on the roster, this was the one she felt most fit her playstyle. Aggressive, fast, and technical. Ray-Chu was still her strongest pick, but it had a lower skill ceiling. There were some matchups that it simply couldn't crack. Corgo, on the other hand, had way more potential.

Potential I'm in a unique position to develop.

Her Corgo was good, but not the best. That's why she needed to play the best.

If Zog was surprised in the slightest at her pick,he didn't show it. Instead, they simply loaded into the stage without another word.

Alright. Her grip on her controller tightened. Time to give it my best shot. Let's see how much this guy will put up with me for the loop.

And so she did.

The battle started, and she laid into her opponent. She didn't go all out – it was just a friendly, after all. Going too hard was bad form. But she did notice when ZoggyWoggy's usually bored slump straightened slightly, then turned into a lean forward.

She lost. By a whole life and a half. But it hadn't felt unwinnable.

"Again?"

Kaitlyn blinked. Zog was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Well, she grinned. If he insists.

"Sure!"

***

Cycle 30 Complete!

Ending: Under the Radar

Total Endings Unlocked: 8