Chapter 256: Chapter 256 – A Bet Against Flexy, 5 Grand On the Line!
If BRO sports was a heaven for sports equipment, then THE Lodge was a paradise for sports enthusiasts.
The first room they entered from BRO sports was a wall climb room.
Many people stood around the large room. Some of them climbed an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips placed in a way that imitated real bouldering paths in the world. Soft mattresses were installed below to soften the fall.
Not only that but there was also a tall wall with a safety rope. Someone was climbing it at a fast speed, like a spider. And on the smaller wall on its side, a young man a little bit younger than Max tried to climb slowly, making his way up.
On the other side of the room was an obstacle area. Thin ledge, cliffhanger, salmon ladder, unstable ladder… There was also a bouncing spider, a rope swing, and a warped wall. Any obstacles someone wanted to find, the area had everything they had to offer.
"Buddy…" Max muttered in a low voice as he kept looking around, "I want to live in this place."
"Sorry to break it to you. While the name of this place is the lodge, it has no lodge." Flexy answered with a grin, "But well, you will be able to visit anytime while you're in this city, no?"
— The name is a pun
— I thought it was a lodge at first, but I found out it isn't a lodge! I was bamboozled.
— Whoever named this place is a genius. Many people want to find a lodge, but they find a sports center and are happy with it. He got many customers thanks to this
— Why don't they open a franchise and name it THE Inn?
— Fool! That won't spell BROTHEL but BROTHEI. It doesn't live up to the name!
The chat conversed among themselves as Max nodded at Flexy.
"Ignoring your pun, you're correct. Still, can we use them for free?"
"Usually, no." Flexy shook his head, "But since we bought something from BRO sports, we will be able to use this place to try the new equipment we have for free. Of course, it only applies until we leave. The bill serves as our ticket."
"Ah, that's why the person near that door asked to see our bill."
"Exactly." The orange-haired streamer snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "So, we will use this opportunity to have fun. What do you think of racing using the obstacles in that corner? In VR, you might be unbeatable. But I am confident with my strength in real life."
"Oh? You're challenging me?" Max raised his eyebrows as he looked at Flexy.
Through his self-reflection, he learned not to be arrogant. But that only applied when he faced strangers or people he didn't know pretty well, like Puppeteer. Facing them, he would be humble and calculating, pretending to be normal while actually a predator.
As for Flexy… The story would be different.
"How about we bet $1,000 in the race? I believe that will be fun." He raised his chin and looked straight at his friend.
"Hah, only $1,000?" Flexy scoffed in response and crossed his arms, "I was thinking 10 grand, but it seems that's too much for you. Fine, I will play with that bet."
"So that's how you wanna play, huh?" Max snickered, "Fine, how about we meet in the middle and settle at 5 grand? Thank you for your patronage in advance."
Both of them grinned widely as they tried to step above the others. This exciting situation invited the viewers to join the fun, and it was all started by a very familiar person.
[BloodSucker has started a mission.]
[Stream Mission: Win the bet against Flexy! Heh, I bet you won't be able to beat that person IRL!]
[Reward: 15,000 diamonds!]
— There it is, Viscount BloodSucker with his money!
— It sounds fun, so I shall join!
— 5 grand? That means 250K diamonds, right? Guys, let's fund Breeze for this challenge
— Fund what? He will get nothing if he loses.
— Nah, you don't understand. If he knows he gets more money, he will be excited and win this race!
The viewers were correct. In fact, as Max headed into the changing room with Flexy and read the chat, he became more excited. Flexy groaned because he had no moral support from his viewers, mainly because he joined Max's stream right now.
After changing into their respective clothes and shoes and putting the old one in a locket, they went to the 'course of the day' that was designed by the people from THE Lodge. They constantly changed the obstacles everyday so people could try how good they were.
Coincidentally, only a girl was trying the course of the day now. And she looked like she was almost finished, judging from the sweat that poured down her face. Her pink hair clung onto her skin and white crop top as she landed on the finish.
As a good person who knew manners, Max approached her with a smile and called out softly, "Excuse me. Have you finished using this course?"
"Hya!" The girl was surprised when someone suddenly talked to her. She got flustered and raised her hands to her chest—a shade of red appeared on her face. "U-Umm… F-Feel free to. I just finished." She said.
"Really? Thank you." Max smiled brightly before turning to Flexy, informing his friend that the course was free. Both of them walked to the start while arguing who was the best.
The pink-haired girl, ignored, strode away from the course and hid behind a wall. Her face was still red, and her heart was beating fast.
'W-What is Breeze doing here?!' She shouted in her mind, still flustered.
She peeked a little bit and saw what happened. Max was still arguing with Flexy about who would go first and began to play rock-paper-scissors to decide it.
Just looking at them a little was enough. She quickly pulled her head back and put her hand on her chest.
'Calm down. He doesn't know that it's you. There is no way he knows. I am totally different from when we met.' She calmed herself down, breathing deeply.
The girl shook her head and nodded to herself. With herself looking different from when she met with him, there was no way he would realize it.
'Yes, there is no way he realizes I am Princess Peach. Waah, that was embarrassing. I got flustered because I thought he called out to me because he recognized me. I want to bury myself on the ground so bad! Stupid Fio! I am so stupid!'
Princess Peach, known as Fio Stark in real life, crouched and berated herself.
Meanwhile, near the course of the day, Max groaned because he had just lost the rock-paper-scissors and had to let Flexy go first.
"Hahaha! Too bad. It seems that in terms of RNG, the Goddess of Luck still smiles at me more. You need to go to a shrine or a church to cleanse yourself, buddy."
"Grr… As much as I want to deny it, I know that the Goddess of RNG doesn't smile at me often." Max responded, "Is her type someone who is loud and annoying? I should be louder if that's the case."
"Hehehe, it just means I am more charming to her." Flexy laughed loudly, "But still, that girl from earlier was cute. She also seems to recognize you. Maybe she's your fan?" He smirked.
"Nah, I don't think so." Max looked at the place where the pink-haired girl disappeared and shrugged his shoulders.
"I thought it was someone I recognized at first, but I was wrong. They have similar pink hair, but the girl I know is arrogant, while the girl from earlier gets flustered easily. They are different people."
— Do you mean Princess Peach? Yeah, they are too different
— Even if they have the same pink hair, their personalities are so different!
— Guys, do you understand the term roleplay?
— There is no way they are the same person
"Is that so?" Flexy asked as he read the chat and found out the identity of the person Max talked about. "Well, teasing you isn't that fun anymore with you having someone you have fallen with." His grin widened as he teased his friend.
"Shut up and go. I am ready to time you." Max growled and opened a screen with a stopwatch. "I hope you have 5 grand ready to transfer to me."
"Tsk, no fun." Flexy clicked his tongue and stood on the starting line of the course. "I am ready."
"Alright, after 3." Max said as he hovered his finger in front of the stopwatch. "Ready? 1… 2… 3!"
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