Chapter 6 - Stephen's News

"So, how's your practice game? Let me know what you think of the Chronos squad." WINS casually asked his squad members. His attention was darted on the boy who played the assassin role. The boy was the youngest member on the team.

"It was quite shocking. Particularly their team rotation. It lacks of focus. But at the same time, it made me confused of which lane they were targeting to push!" the assassin boy answered in a respectful tone. He pointed how the Chronos destroyed all the initial towers on the three lanes.

"I think it was mind blowing! I have never felt my heart beating so fast for the longest time. I felt so alive during the clash!" the tank user added. He remembered how they got wiped out during the clash but still managed to win.

"They did have potential. Their tank was undeniably the one who carries them," the fighter user commented.

"Boss WINS, you were right. They are good at ganking and jungle stealing. It was not clear in the early minutes of our game and we even stole their jungle once. But in the later game, they have completely dominated us in gold," the mage user confirmed with a beaming smile.

"Cheh! Boss, I think those players are just noobs. It was a boring game," their marksman user criticized.

"AH, you really lack in right judgment! How could it be boring when you are smiling after the game!" the tank user frowned and glared at the player. There were plenty of members in FAB_Gamers squad and it was the first time that they party together. They usually have a different teammates depending on the availability of their players.

"The Chronos mage got most of their deaths. It can be considered as feeding. Yet on the late game, it was also the mage who got the most numbers of kills. I think all the kills were not coincidental, it was arranged by the tank. Whoever is the CEO UNRIVALED, that player is controlling the tank skillset to make sure that their mage would get the last hit," the assassin user told them about his analysis.

"That's right! I was also certain that the tank becomes the core. The team got 8 kills and the tank got 8 assists. That already means something in the team fight, right? So, don't call it a boring match," the fighter user also looked down at their marksman.

"AH... but they did not push on our base after we got wiped out. Which means, they are still noobs," the marksman user defended. WINS only nodded his head in understanding.

"That part is also confusing. If they push to the base, we would not have a chance to win. It was still a good game. I don't mind if they want for another match," the tank user nodded his head and looked at his squad leader.

"Yes, me too. Boss, ask them for another match!" the mage user grinned.

WINS was contented with the squad members' assessment. Hearing the satisfaction in their tone while speaking meant that the Chronos squad was a worthy opponent for them.

"That's good that you enjoy the game. I will tell their leader for another practice match and contact you if they agreed." WINS dismissed. He decided to go back to his office and left his squad members in the training room by themselves.

As he sat down at his comfortable gaming chair and looked at his monitor, which showed his chatbox, he noticed a reply from the Chronos leader.

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: You are a smart leader. You will surely prosper!

WINS secretly laugh, 'The way this person speaks has an air of density and volume. It was not just a mere chat. It was a message that holds a lot of assurance and conviction. As if the person was certain of what the message contains.'

He slowly pressed his keyboard keys and lazily typed a response.

FAB_Gamers WINS: one more match?

They, gamers, are like this. They don't need a lengthy chat message to convey what they were trying to say. They could even shorten up a single word with the fewest possible alphabet character and the person they were having a conversation with could still understand them. They were not strangers with acronyms, contractions, and abbreviations of words either. In fact some would invent their own way of chatting.

~

"AH... Why did you ask us to return to our base! We can push their tower, you know?" Clark was complaining at their loss. They almost reached victory.

Yet, the almost was still equivalent to defeat.

"It's okay. It was a practice match. The idea was to test our skills." Stephen told Clark. Even though he did not understand why Sofia told them to retreat, he does not seem to care that they were defeated because of her decision.

"Stephen is right. We should internalize what happened during that match." Joey suggested.

"The lesson here is that if we don't push in the very first chance we have, it will lead to our defeat." Claire laughed. She was not affected by the result either.

"You have a point, Claire. Hehe, How's the experience?" Sofia asked them.

"It was not easy! They have killed me 3 times and I felt frustrated and burdened!" Clark quickly lamented.

"Yes, they are good," the rest of them agreed.

"Our opponent next week would be the same as them. We should think of a strategy on how to win." Sofia looked at her phone while speaking. Stephen who was sitting behind her secretly took a peek at her screen and saw the conversation trail between the other squad leader.

"How did you get acquainted with that squad leader WINS?" Stephen curiously asked.

"Oh, it was last night after we play..." Sofia said while her attention was still on her phone.

"What happens after we play last night? I thought you would sleep?" Stephen gazed at her and inquired quietly. Their companions were now focused on the mobile phone.

Sofia stretched her arms and legs before turning her attention to Stephen. "I realized last night that random matches won't be beneficial to us. So I checked the top 5 global rankings squad and message their leaders if they are interested in a squad vs squad fight," she slowly spoke.

"Okay... I have a piece of bad news, do you want to hear it?" Stephen quickly changed the topic.

"Bad news? On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest and 1 is the lowest, how bad is your news?" Sofia calmly stared at his face.

Stephen absentmindedly traced the tattoo on his arm, "It's probably 10 for you."

"That worst? Go on and spill your bad news..." she ordered.

"So I went to school earlier this morning. The school head said that my offense was too heavy that they cannot overlook the situation. I was already expelled on their record," Stephen said with apologetic eyes.

"The school gave you an expulsion? That's really bad," Sofia felt concerned. She glanced at the time on her phone and stood from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Stephen asked while she walked towards the other room. Sofia did not give him an answer but Claire looked up and realized that the lady was heading towards her bedroom.

"Are we done with our practice? They are sending another match invite in the lobby," she said loudly.

"No, go and continue playing without me. I will ask them to let us borrow a player to complete our lineup." Sofia answered while sending a message to the leader of FAB_Gamers squad.

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: something important came up. I will leave my team to you. hehe lend me two of your players to complete our lineup?

FAB_Gamers WINS: Two players! Are you making me responsible for your squad? that's a shameless request!

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: if you feel responsible, then, thank you? it's not shameless coz you have plenty of members? and we are only in minimum? thank you?

FAB_Gamers WINS: why the question mark... should I say you're welcome?

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: Thank you! with no question mark.

FAB_Gamers WINS: Fine. Give me something in return.

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: I'll give you skin. Which one do you want?

FAB_Gamers WINS: I'll think about it first. Wait for me to ask for the most expensive skin.

The Chronos Squad CEO UNRIVALED: Please practice modesty!!!

For some unknown reason, WINS was enjoying their exchange of conversation. The other person has an air of eloquence that kept him amused.

After their quick chat ended, Sofia emerged from her room wearing a different outfit. It was casual jeans but with a white top and a black blazer. She also placed a hair clip on the side of her head.

"Are you going out?" Claire asked.

"Yes, I am tagging Stephen with me. You three, I leave you to practice here. Their leader will let us have a temporary member to join you." Sofia explained and grabbed Stephen along with her.

"They are close?" Clark asked Joey who was initially the original friend of Stephen.

"They seemed to be close now?" Joey shrugged and focused on his mobile phone.

Claire just looked at the two figures as they walked out of the apartment. She silently returned her attention to the game and noticed that their lineup was complete. On their team, there were two additional players from FAB_Gamers squad who joined them.

"Is this okay?" Clark asked after seeing their lineup.

"On practice matches, this is okay. But it's rare because squad leaders normally do not lend their members to their opponents." Claire explained.

"Ahh... It was that tank and mage earlier. Should I change my role?" Clark asked when he noticed that the two opponents became their ally.

"Hello!" the male voice greeted them through the speaker. It was their new tank user ally. They conveniently access their microphone for better communication.

"Hi!" Claire responded.

"OHHH... A girl gamer? I'm Brandon. What's your name?" the tank user swiftly asked.

"The name is Claire. Our mage is Clark, the fighter is Joey. It's just the three of us. Our tank and marksman went out." she explained and made a quick introduction.

"Hi Claire, I am Michael, the mage user but I can do marksman for now. Hi also to Clark and Joey! Brandon and I will be your ally as requested by our squad leader." another male joined their conversation.

"Okay. Thank you for your time, Seniors. We are grateful for allowing us to have a practice match with you. We are just real amateurs in this game." Claire responded respectfully. They were aware that their squad is not like a normal group of players. They are in the pro scene and their time is also valuable.

"I noticed that your Chronos squad is barely in a minimum member. But why do you need to have a practice match?" Brandon's voice followed the speaker.

"Oh, it's because our district will have a tournament on this game next week. And we decided to participate in the tournament." Joey answered. Clark was speechless as he could not imagine that the players he had idolized were actually playing with him!

"Which district are you guys in?" Michael suddenly inquired out of curiosity.

"It's in District 7." Clark finally found the guts to speak.

"Ohh... that would be a great thing to watch. I will tell our squad leader if he would allow us to go." Michael said with enthusiasm.

"Yes, we would surely watch you guys." Brandon agreed. He also made a quick search on his computer and typed District 7 Online Tournament. The search result was few but on point. It gives the details of the participating squads and the venue.

"Oh, there are a lot of squads joining in your tournament. Good luck guys!" Brandon added after seeing the lists of participants. He scrolled down his mouse until he saw the name of the Chronos squad on the list.

"Thank you!" Joey stated as the timer of their on going match started counting. Soon after, they became silent and the second match commenced.

~

Outside the apartment, Sofia and Stephen were heading towards the school. Several people threw them an awkward look.

"I swear to get plenty of sleep after the tournament..." Sofia mumbled. She assumed that the students were looking at her because of the pimples on her face. With her short hair, it was noticeable.

"Let me see that civilization of pimples that you are talking about." Stephen halted and turned her around to face him.

"It's here." Sofia casually pointed on her right chin near the ears.

Stephen tilted her chin and stared at the skin. Her face was not really full of pimples but there were indeed a group of red marks that were swelling on the side.

"Ahh.. so this is the civilization. I see." Stephen rubbed the red marks gently but Sofia smacked his hand.

"Don't touch it! It would become worse!" she finally turned around and started walking. Stephen grinned behind as he followed her lead.