[Can you really call a game a spinoff when it takes the Titan and the Fall out of Titanfall—not to mention the wall-running...? But the moment it takes the best parts of PUBG and Overwatch, you've already got a top-tier character, don't you? It's got that Indominus Rex kind of strength.]
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The god of energy drinks is temperamental. Merely praying isn't enough to make him so much as look your way.
But the moment the worshipper has caffeine in their system, the energy-drink god suddenly bestows his blessing. It's almost like a kind of trance state. What am I, a shaman?
For example, courage. The courage to keep my nerve even in my current situation, where a woman in a Hannya mask who's taller than me is staring me down.
Masked Hannya: "I saw you at GGC. Therefore, I wanted to meet you."
No Face: "...Th-thanks."
Why the hell did she choose a Hannya mask? The courage I got from the energy-drink god is already crumbling at the edges. More importantly, she's just plain scary!!
Eight: "U-um..."
Masked Hannya: "I am not fixated on the title of Real Cursed Prison. However, I want to know the reason you acquired the title of Real Cursed Prison."
No Face: "Huh...? The reason...?"
I don't remember ever calling myself that in the first place. Look, now the cameraman and Sasa-kamaboko-san don't know what to do.
Mysterious Silver Mask: "Come on, Ame—Hannya! Be a little friendlier! Come on, peace sign for the camera!!"
Oh, if it isn't Mysterious Silver Mask—the Mysterious Silver Mask making absolutely zero effort to hide who she is. Huh, I have to make a peace sign too? Fine... Yeeah.
Well, well, Katzo-kun. Why are you whispering so quietly the mic can't even pick you up?
Kei: "Su—no, I mean No Face, what's wrong? Every single thing you do looks weirdly suspicious."
No Face: "...Even the Japanese 'Taboo' is a bit much, so I put Backdraft and Tonight through a 'Mix,' blended that with a sports drink, and knocked it back... Hehehe."
Kei: "W-wait... You're seriously doing a 'Mix Accel'!? And if you brought another one in here, don't tell me...!"
No Face: "Heh heh heh heh... 'Mix Accel Joint'..."
Kei: "N-no way..."
Katzo shakes his head in disbelief, shuddering at the combo name that just came out of my mouth.
Even if "Mix" is the budget version of "Taboo," it's still fairly risky. Accelerating a "Mix" with "Accel," then unlocking "Joint" on top of that... This is dangerous enough that even I need to stay off energy drinks for a while afterward or I'm in trouble.
It's legal, though.
Honestly, I keep catching myself unconsciously stroking the Riot Blood at my waist, so this is getting a little dangerous... but right now I'm more wired than usual.
In both senses.
Kei: "Y-you're really going that far just to win...?"
No Face: "Nah...? Winning or losing isn't that important to me... It's just that I need caffeine level 5.5 or higher to do what I want... Everyone knows that once you're at caffeine level 5 or higher, you can make what feels like 1.5 times your normal concentration your baseline, right?"
Kei: "Ah, sorry, even I haven't studied that far. Or rather, I haven't sold my soul to Riot Blood that completely."
No Face: "Filthy casual..."
Kei: "I'd rather you called me rational."
That said, pulling off a "Joint" is pretty difficult. To begin with, it varies from person to person, and it's a technique you can't pull off unless you've gotten wired on energy drinks enough times to have a rough feel for the timing...
But I can do it. I'm not a heavy user, but I am a mid-level one.
Eight: "W-wait, wait, wait, Uomi-san! If even you start chatting away on your own, there's no way I can keep everyone under control by myself!?"
Kei: "Ah, sorry. Well, basically, that's how we got here. Don't worry about Silver Mask. Apparently she gets genuinely chewed out if she carelessly plays games over the public airwaves, so just think of her as background chatter."
Eight: "I really don't have the nerve to treat America's number one as background chatter... And, um, we were actually supposed to do an advance play session of Grave Versus, but it turned into Galaxia Heroes Chaos... That really is because of all this, isn't it, Uomi-san?"
Kei: "That's exactly it... Well, I pulled a few strings to drag him out here, so please let that make up for it."
For Justice Versus, the Grave Versus we were originally supposed to do in Galaxia Heroes was...
Huh?
That's a problem. The caffeine still hasn't fully settled in. Feels like a gas stove that won't ignite.
Fine, then. I'll strike the spark myself.
No Face: "Yo, Eagle Eye. I hear you came all the way to Japan just to play against someone like me?"
Masked Hannya: "Affirmative. I wish to compete against you."
I raise a hand to stop Katzo before he can ask what this is about.
Besides, I told you about this beforehand.
With one hand, I crack open a Riot Blood Revol Blantan—Japanese-made—and down it in one go. Then, with that distinctive energy-drink harshness still lingering on my tongue, I throw the words straight at Amelia Sullivan.
No Face: "Let's settle this with Triangle Trinity."
Masked Hannya: "...!!"
Looks like she understood me even with the Japanese-accented pronunciation.
Nice. The engine's warming up.
No Face: "We're on TV, right? Then it's gotta be entertainment."
Triangle Trinity.
That's the name of an unconventional new match format implemented alongside an update to Galaxia Heroes Chaos.
It's clearly different from the standard 1-on-1 format, where each player controls one character and the first to take two rounds wins.
In this category, each player brings a roster of three characters into the sandbox called Chaos City, where you, your opponent, and an NPC fight it out in a three-way clash—a one-round, 3×3 battle-royale-style match.
No Face: "You came all the way to Japan. I'll use Cursed Prison for you."
Masked Hannya: "I accept."
No Face: "Good."
Oh, my head's clearing up.
That's Revol Blantan for you—this stuff kicks in fast. They weren't kidding when they said it's dangerous in a completely different way from Quantum.
Kei: "Whoa... insurance isn't going to pay out if you have a Legal Fall, you know?"
No Face: "Don't worry. I still remember the proper way to make cup noodles."
Kei: "You're at the point where you could forget a process that's literally just pouring in hot water and waiting three minutes...?"
Pour in the hot water, then crack open a Riot Blood and drink it while you wait three minutes.
See? Perfectly normal.
Eight: "Um! Please stop moving everything along while leaving both me and the staff behind!"
Kei: "Ah, sorry... Anyway, Hannya-san has already booted up her VR, so why don't we start the commentary over here? Seriously, sorry about this."
Exactly.
What a pain, having a Hannya mask just move everything along on her own!!!
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Eight: "Okay, even though this is my show, everything keeps moving along with me completely sidelined and I honestly want to cry, but Eight-chan refuses to be discouraged, so I'd like to get us back on track! Uomi-san, I'm sorry I didn't study up enough, but what exactly is Triangle Trinity?"
Kei: "Triangle Trinity is a genuinely brand-new match format. Players select three characters, and every time one gets KO'd, they switch to the next one. Personally, I would've liked mid-match switching even if it cost gauge."
Mysterious Silver Mask: "Me too!"
Eight: "So instead of taking rounds with your three-character roster, you win by knocking out every character your opponent has?"
Kei: "Mm, not quite. For one thing, the victory condition of obtaining the Chaos Cube is gone. Triangle Trinity... its abbreviation was WΔ—Double Delta, I think? WΔ is something you could call a match format unique to GH:C. Put simply... an NPC also enters the match in addition to the two players fighting each other."
Mysterious Silver Mask: "Three-on-three-on-three. That's why it's Triangle Trinity—a three-way triangle."
Eight: "I see..."
Kei: "Oh, they're at character selection. Amelia has... Ms. Play Display, Cursed Prison, and Zenoselgus. Her second and third picks are the heavyweights she's good with, but... 'Top Display,' huh."
Mysterious Silver Mask: "No Face has... Dust, Twinkle Pixie, and Cursed Prison. Wow, all fighters!"
Eight: "I understand that No Face-san's characters are all fighting types, but what does Hannya-san's Top Display mean?"
Kei: "There are no rounds in WΔ. And for a certain reason, you're encouraged to find the NPC as fast as possible... Here we go, Eight-san. Will it be 'Invader: Invelzer,' 'Re-Ancient: Repdinos,' or 'Machine Swarm: Mechanitan'...?"
Mysterious Silver Mask: "If it's Fourth View Mode... YEAH!! It's Mechanitan! This is going to be interesting!!"