When people speak of late... and late being late, different meanings come to mind.

Some say 10pm, some say 12pm, and some say, " The night is still young." at 3am.

That mentality, perhaps, would reflect the mindset of these youngsters had they looked at the clock.

But none of them did. And why would they?

Their attention was on Tiffany Chang and Maximillian Hunter.

The question on their minds being... who would win?

Max had the edge in experience, knowhow, and game control.

He didn't just know the game better... he also knew the game better.

That would be to say that he not only understood the controls, gameplay, and tactics better, but he also knew how to take advantage of a situation in which something went wrong.

Say, for example, Max missed a jump.

What would he do?

He knew better, having been in that situation many times before.

What if the unexpected happened?

Then... Max would simply react accordingly... after all, he was quite used to odd things happening.

In this sense, he had a huge advantage over Tiffany. One so big that had the race been fair, the match would have been decided very quickly.

But... Ken decided to make things more interesting.

Now, Tiffany had  the advantage in terms of covered distance.

And that gap was closing at an incredible pace.

Rose: Oh my gosh, Max is catching up.

Luke: Yeah.

Both players' faces remained transfixed on the screen.

Max catching up was a given. They all knew that would happen.

However, the more pressing matter to all of them was this.

Ken and Julianne Hunter realised this sooner than Rose and Luke.

Rose: But... Tiff is also getting pretty close to the finish line.

Luke: Yeah...

The real race wasn't just Max catching up to Tiffany... it was also Max doing it before Tiffany reached her final destination.

And so the real metric of who was winning the race was...

Luke: Hey Ken.

Ken: Hmm?

Luke: Who's got the lead now?

Ken: Hmmm... For now... Max.

.... whether or not Max could move at at least, on average, double the speed that Tiffany was going.

Sure, the areas at which they would be travelling at any given time would be different, but still... on average, as long as Max kept moving at twice the speed Tiffany was moving, he could still beat her.

As for Tiffany, she needn't even so much as look at his cintroller.

Ken's statement was enough, and to her, that was incredible.

The concept of the fact that Max would have to move much faster than herself to beat her was not lost on her, and so, she was impressed.

To think... that Max could outspeed her to such a degree.

That was truly something to behold.

At that point, she was convinced.

After all, she wasn't unaware of how incredible her own reflexes were compared to those of normal people.

And as for Max, seeing as his "normal" and "alien" speeds were totally different, it would make sense to believe that Max was had truly exceptional reflexes, just as Ken had earlier stated.

Tiffany: (thinking: So he is good. Good.)

But... that didn't mean Tiffany Chang was done.

No.

In fact, it only meant she would try even harder.

There were two reasons for this.

The first, ....

... she would never hold back against an opponent in a match like this.

It would be dishonourable and disrespectful.

But also...

... she, to some degree, wanted to know... just how good Max's reflexes were.

They were good.

Better than those of an average human, she would say, but... how good?

And so...

Rose: (thinking: Wait, is Tiff...?)

... she doubled down on the game, this time shifting her focus entirely to the game.

Tiffany: (thinking: Just how far can you go, Max?)

And so she played harder, her character making its way towards the finish at an even faster pace.

There is something to be said about focusing on something.

It is oft said that one's entire being lies more in the mind than in the body, and those who have walked this life for a long time can easily attest to that.

And while that isn't to undermine the importance of the physical realm, it also is to further elucidate the importance of the meta-physical realm.

Simply put, if one lacks the mind for it, it matters little what the body says, for the mind will drag them both into that situation.

A good example being people who become depressed.

While it takes a while, even their body begins to deteriorate.

Even more, the same thing occurs with people who try to achieve.

It is most often, if not always, those with the strongest spirits that end up winning.

Those that refused to surrender that always end up going on and on.

That is humanity.

And in this case, it could be conferred in the example of Tiffany who did what many gamers of this age would call "leaning forward in the chair," or rather, truly taking things seriously.

As one would call it, she put her entire being in it.

And, strangely enough, the entire room became even more tense.

Almost as though Tiffany was fighting even harder in a very spiritual sense.

And, as a result...

Ken: Hmm?

The pair had so far run quite a distance.

Max was much further up ahead. In fact, he was close to crossing the halfway point.

But Tiffany...

Rose: Hmm. Is something wrong, Ken?

The teenage boy remained silent for a moment, watching it in something of disbelief.

Luke: Hey, Ken.

Julianne's own calculative eyes had noticed it, too.

But she remained silent.

Ken: I do believe...

He stared at the screen for one more moment, making sure he wasn't wrong, only serving to further agitate Luke and Rose's curiosity.

Ken: ... that Tiffany has officially overtaken Max.

Rose: (gasps) Really!?

Luke: Huh?!

The shock resonated around the room.

But the one more perturbed by it all was Max, who had genuinely believed he would maintain his lead.

For a moment, he looked at Tiffany, who was at that point completely locked into the screen.

Not even for a moment did she look back at him.

Max: (thinking: Just... what the heck is she?)

The fact of the matter was... that Max had not slowed down since he'd started.

And so, that could only mean one thing.

This girl...

... she was improving even as he looked at her.

And that was completely true.

She was learning.

When to grapple and when to simply run.

When to risk it or when to play it safe.

She was learning.

And at an insanely fast pace.

As for Max, he turned back to his screen.

Max: (thinking: Tch... no way am I gonna let her win.)

Meanwhile, the others...

Rose: (thinking: Oh my gosh! Tiff is amazing!)

Luke: (thinking: If Max doesn't step up his game...)

Julianne: (thinking: Don't give in, sweetie.... don't give in...)

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

To a certain degree, Ken did feel a bit concerned about Max.