Chapter 278 - Player DEATH & The Slayer_Gods Squad

Sofia entered her apartment unit and was welcomed by the sight of Heiz with the usual face mask covering her face. Her baby was sleeping peacefully in the sofa. However, when Sofia looked closely at her face, she noticed something different...

"Hi, sis! Claire came here earlier. She brought you a shirt and she also said that she would sleep early tonight. But if she won't be able to wake up at 5 AM using her alarm clock, you are free to enter her place with this key and wake her up personally," Heiz reported and gave Sofia a key to Claire's apartment.

"Thanks, sister Heiz! No wonder all lights in her place are switched off," Sofia accepted the key and took the shirt. It was the uniform that they would use in their business. "This is good. The tailor is indeed reliable," she muttered after inspecting the stitches of their logo.

After contemplating for a while, Sofia looked up and stared at Heiz again. Then, she asked, "The color of your eyes... is that the real color?"

Heiz's eyes were almost pitch black when she first met her. But, now, the color was a striking coral green!

"Hahaha, yes. Sis, I like using contact lenses. I have a few colors and used them alternately. I'm resting my eyes," Heiz replied with a hint of shyness in her voice.

"The natural color of your eyes is so captivating, sis Heiz. I think Hazel has taken that color," Sofia casually replied and took her charger. "I will be early tomorrow. Please take care of my apartment, sis. And just in case there will be a need for money, there is a box on the counter. You can use the cash there," Sofia added and gestured to Heiz in the direction of the counter situated near the shoe rack.

"Thank you for being so kind to me, sis! Good night!" Heiz replied while watching Sofia's figure going to her room.

"No need to thank me. It is the right thing to do. Good night, sis! Please have a rest too. If Hazel wake's up, you will lose your opportunity to get your rest," Sofia stated and finally entered her room. 

She left her phone switched off but made sure to connect it to the charger before she changed her clothes and went to bed.

A thought came to her mind after she closed her eyes. 'I have nothing to fear for tomorrow and the succeeding days to come. Come what may...'

The night is still young but all members of the Chronos squad had resigned into a deep sleep. Only the gossips that circulated online about them were still restless.

The live broadcast had long been ended. But, in other gaming clubs, some squad leaders were just watching it. Some random professional players tried to search them if they are in the game but to their dismay, all the members of the Chronos squad were offline.

District 6, E-Sports VI Gaming Club Training Base

Ten people consisting of 9 professional gamers and one coach sat silently in the dark training room. There were five main players seated on the left. The coach was standing in front of them. And there were other four respected players on the right side. A projector was placed on the center table that displayed the live broadcast.

On the right side were Sofia's acquaintances, the Fab_Gamers Squad. On the left side is pro players of Slayer_Gods Squad. All of them were wearing the same color of jackets. But, the printed logo on the back was totally different.

Two different squads but they were signed and handled by the same club.

"The club had decided for my squad to participate in the regional tournament. But, coach, why are we watching gossip on social media instead of discussing our strategies? It's not even certain if that Chronos squad would really participate. Let's focus on our other opponents," the squad leader of Slayer_Gods squad complained while the video of the live broadcast was still being projected. 

This man was in his early twenties and was using an in-game name DEATH. His member's in-game names were also associated with his: Extinguisher_Mage, Extinction, Last_HP, Lifeless_Combo. Their names were stitched beautifully at the back of their jackets.

Their coach listened to him attentively before he shifted his attention to the other side. "Squad leader WINS, you have told me that the Chronos squad will participate? Can you confirm it to squad leader DEATH?"

"The Chronos squad has a direct invitation to participate in the tournament. CEO UNRIVALED, their leader told me the last time we have chatted. They will accept the invitation once they finish their responsibility at school," WINS calmly replied.

"Direct invitations are mostly given to prominent clubs. But, their squad manage to get one. This proves that the organizers of the tournament had determined that they have the skills to compete with other squads," the coach stated thoughtfully.

"Please keep it a secret. CEO UNRIVALED wished to announce their participation personally," WINS added to remind the people inside the room not to leak the information in social media.

"I've seen posts that also claimed that their victory is purely beginner's luck. In that case, it's easy to defeat them," DEATH grunted and smirked at WINS.

"Do you agree about the beginner's luck, squad leader WINS?" the coach questioned him.

"W-well... I watched their game that time. And I have spoken with all of them too. It's not as simple as luck. Just observe that live video and focus on CEO UNRIVALED. You will have a better idea of their squad rather than reading a random hate post against them," WINS prompted and everyone returned their focus on the video.

"I have analyzed their gameplay last time. It was well-calculated. They have skills," the coach added.

"Not just their gaming skills, coach. They also have market value. It had been weeks since the championship of the district tournament had happened. Normally, the talks on social media would have been neutralized. But, for some reason, they maintained their names as hot topics," WINS added.

"Ahh... the concept of getting a private press helped them to stay on the trending topic. Now, they had been using it as a good excuse to be mysterious so the netizens could continue to speculate about them," DEATH commented with a cold glare to WINS direction.

"Maybe? But, that's not the point of this meeting. We are here watching this new trending video so that your Slayer_Gods squad will have an understanding of your opponent's character. Don't underestimate them," WINS stated. "Their gameplay is not just about teamwork and coordination in the game. Their individual characters are significant in the way they play."

WINS stood from his seat. The video was finished. He switched on the lights of the room and joined their coach.

"The video is finished. I'll ask your squad member... what is their observation of the Chronos squad? Let's start with Extinguisher, bro..." WINS hinted.

"I'm not really sure, squad leader WINS. But, based on what I've seen... I think that their marksman user is domineering. When he demanded not to block their path, the students looked terrified of him. Their fighter user seemed cool. He just laugh. The mage user is probably not much of a talker. He did not say anything there. The assassin user is a nice girl. She seems frightened," Extinguisher_Mage immediately described what he saw. His tone was respectful despite knowing that there was a hidden conflict between WINS and DEATH.

"Good observation, bro. But there is one important point that I have to emphasize in the video. Just take a look at all their reaction here... look at this," WINS said and moved his feet towards the computer that was connected to the projector.

Then, he adjusted the video to the time when Sofia arrived... He even zoomed the reaction of every Chronos member, each have a distinctive smile on their face but they were not looking at the camera.

"That expressions... no matter how dominant their marksman user had acted or how cool their fighter user... look at them. The four of them smiled in perfect synchrony because CEO UNRIVALED arrived. In the game, that is how they execute their gameplay. The core of their teamwork and coordination is CEO UNRIVALED. Your squad can only win against them if you will disable her first. Focus on the strategy that will disable her character in the game and you can easily annihilate her members." WINS finished and return to his seat. 

Their coach nodded his head and clasped both his hands. "That's very clear. We have to target the damage taker instead of their damage dealer. This is not an ideal way of fighting against other opponents. But, this is the hypothetical way of dealing with the Chronos squad."

"I hope your Slayer_Gods squad could form a good rotation strategy. Targeting and eliminating the tank first is very difficult on the battlefield. That's all for me. We will take our leave," WINS stated and signaled his members to go.

"Thank you for your insights, squad leader WINS," the coach said before the four players left the meeting room.

"Your welcome, coach. Good luck!" WINS replied without looking at them.

DEATH was silent for a few seconds. His members did not speak a word too. And neither was the coach. 

After a while, DEATH questioned, "We can probably deploy two marksmen and give up support? This way we can maximize our damage to the tank."

"Good idea, squad leader DEATH. Just do what you think is most effective. I have to go now," the coach said and hastily left the room.

All the member's expressions turned dark while watching the figure of the coach exit the meeting room. 

"Why did the club assign that coach to us? It's obvious that he does not like our squad! He did not even care what we would do!" Extinction grumbled.

"Let's just play. He is upset that we are playing in the tournament. He wants the FAB_Gamers to play instead of us," DEATH sighed.

"Then, he should tell WINS of what he wants! He is venting his disappointment on us!?" Last_HP also expressed.

"Haha, our coach can't do anything. It was WINS who requested the club that his FAB_Gamers be excluded from the tournament to avoid issues about conflict of interest. WINS told me that he regarded the Chronos squad as close friends. And the club bosses know it. If his squad will not get the victory of this tournament, they might accuse him of giving away the match. It will tarnish his image," DEATH bitterly replied.

WINS may have his reasons, but, deep down in his heart, DEATH really felt that WINS was just using him and his Slayer_Gods squad as a shield of his FAB_Gamers image.. He could not help but felt irritated by the idea.