So... just who is Tiffany Chang?

In this world, there are things beyond our understanding.

Things we call truly absurd.

Things we call... monsters.

And, what is a monster?

Well, since the dawn of human civilisation, in fact, since the dawn of the age of humans, a simple question has been asked.

"We know of what we know of. That is true. But what of what we do not know of?"

Or even more perplexing, " What of what we can not know of."

Simply put, there are things in this world that make no sense to people, no matter the situation.

It's too confusing, too illogical... it betrays reason.

Or... does it?

The truth is... that in this world, we tend to draw rules about what can and cannot exist based on our own perception of reality.

Think of it this way.

You know of a squirrel, do you not?

However, do you know of a scorpion?

Good. Of course you do.

However, what would you think if a scorpion tail suddenly grew out of a squirrels back.

You would think it unnatural, would you not?

After all, as per your own understanding, it should be impossible... for a squirrel to grow a scorpion tail.

In fact, beyond that, it should be impossible for a furry animal to grow something with an exoskeleton out of its back.

That, to you, is beyond your understanding of reality.

Ah... it goes even deeper.

What many often fail to realise... is that with every concept... comes several binding concepts.

These concepts combine to form an ideology.

And if these concepts do not contradict each other, one finds a form of peace.

When a lion grows, it grows bigger, starting off looking like a cub, and then growing into something more impressive.

When a tiger grows, the same thing happens.

When a squirrel grows, it's the same thing.

When a human grows, and so on...

You learn that things often connect.

So, baby like animals grow into adult like animals. And they do that... by growing bigger.

You rationalise this... and then grow something of a doctrine out of it.

Simply put, you put things together, and because they seem to fit, you go along with it.

But then, one may ask, what of flies or birds and their eggs?

Well, experience and education teach you of these things.

You watch and learn.... "Oh. Bugs and birds aren't like other animals."

And so, you categorise them. Placing them in boxes.

We call that "taxonomy."

Categorising things so as to find a way to define them.

And so, why is that a thing humans do?

Well... one can argue that it is simply a human's continuous pursuit for deeper truth.

After all, one can not deny that the deeper truth is always going to be alluring.

After all, why live in a lie?

Why live in uncertainty?

Why live in irreality?

That being said, what is a monster?

The simple answer is, ...

... a monster is something that tears apart our understanding of everything in front of us. And that doesn't necessarily need seventeen heads.

No.

Sometimes, it just needs to be even better than one would've thought.

And that... would be Tiffany Chang.

From the moment Ken started the match, Tiffany, at an even faster pace than before, started to make her move.

Rose: Oh my gosh, Tiff.

And she wasn't doing badly at all.

She made her way from giant root to giant tendril. Each climb, each grapple swing, and each run slightly faster than the last.

Ken: (thinking: She's learning at an even faster pace than I'd expected. Hmph. Of course, I should've expected something like that to have happened.)

Luke: No kidding, Rose.

Luke, who had played the game a few times before her, had to concede that Tiff had already gotten movement down to a degree that had impressed him.

Luke: (thinking: Could I even do that?)

As for Julianne Hunter....

Julianne: (thinking: This girl....)

And as for Max, he remained silent, watching Tiffany's map like a hawk.

He was waiting for that moment. That moment during which Max would finally get started.

But, in the meanwhile...

Tiffany: (thinking: These controls are pretty complicated. And if I'm not mistaken, from what I saw, they're way more complicated than Ken's class's controls.)

Her character quickly grappled from one root to another, only barely missing one and, at the last minute, grappling another tree root and going further.

Tiffany: (thinking: If this is what Max is capable of,... no. If he's even better than me... then... he's just got to be that good. Could he truly just be... that fast? Even as a normal human?)

There was no way Tiffany was simply going to hand Max the victory. No. That just wasn't going to happen.

Just as she was halfway...

Ken: (thinking: I made sure to let her have a head start. Of course, taking her character there would be just about the same thing. However, allowing her to rack up just a little more experience... Hmph. Yeah. That seems about right.)

Max continued to watch Tiffany.

With every move, he could see her mastery over the controller increase.

He could see her understanding of the Dextrous environment increase.

And with a small breath...

Max: (thinking: This is not gonna be easy.)

As for Ken...

Ken: (thinking: Well, ... Max.... what will you do?)

At that point, Tiffany's character was just about at the mid point of the game.

Tiffany: (thinking: Ok. That's just about right.)

However, Tiffany Chang, almost paradoxically, started to slow down, coming to an abrupt halt right next to the midpoint.

Needless to say, everyone's attention fell to the teenage girl.

But before a word could be said...

Tiffany: Get ready, ... Max....

Max: Hmph.

And as for those watching...

Luke: Oh boy... (thinking: This just got real.)

Ken: (thinking: This is gonna be good.)

Rose: Oh my gooooooosh!

Julianne: (thinking: Stopping right before the real race starts. Now that's a smart move.)

She took another massive sip of her coffee.

Julianne: (thinking: This girl is smart. Hmph. No wonder she's the team leader.)

And Max...

Max: (thinking: Here goes nothin'. But... I won't lose!)

Now, having seen all this, one would wonder the reason for the tensity between these two characters.

The simple answer being...

.... bulls.

One may think of it as two bulls in a pen.

Maximillian Hunter and Tiffany Chang.

This was their first time playing this game against each other. In fact, it was even Tiffany's first time playing.

The reason for their cautiousness and perhaps even respect for the others' craft.

That came from the fact that, while they'd never had a video game contest before, they'd most certainly had fought before.

Just once, while sparring.

A battle of strength, willpower, and wits.

The result?

Max won.

But that wasn't all.

There was another result to that fight.

The simple answer being... mutual respect.

There are many ways to learn respect, be it through watching people, what they say and what they do...

And while that is all true, and in fact, because that is all true, a fight is simply the fastest way to learn to respect someone.

Max had learned to respect Tiffany's power, skill, and ingenuity.

Tiffany had learned to respect Max's unpredictability, thinking skills, and tenacity.

So, while this battle in Warring Dimensia 2 started, it was clear to say... that this pair of teenagers had learned not to take the other lightly.

They'd brushed each others chests and seen what was beyond the other's eyes. There was more. So much more.

After all, Max did not know how Tiffany hit him while he was dashing.

And Tiffany, still stuck on that last punch she'd thrown while he was restrained, didn't believe his super speed was entirely responsible for that dodge.

No.

As both opponents watched the screen, their brains louded out...

There is more to my opponent. I just know it.