Chapter 78 - Quick Considerations

"I am wrong in this matter. The contents of our terms and conditions were not thoroughly examined by me!" the chairman admitted after discovering the loophole in their demands. More so, he felt greatly embarrassed for how he treated the young lady.

He suddenly remembered the words when Sofia ridiculed them. 'They lacked characters!'

As the other people on the table heard the man, they felt a sudden pang of guilt. To be able to own such a mistake, all his subordinates were quick to disagree.

"No, chairman! That lapses had nothing to do with you. It is us who overlooked this loophole. We should have thought of this matter!" the man shook his head trying to console him.

The moment one subordinate expressed his opinion, each one of them followed.

"This event is not what I have imagined. Heck, it's just a district tournament! I thought that it will be a simple contest. Now, it's beyond my expectations. So, the exclusive press contract was not opened during the publishing of terms and conditions because all of us that this is just a small contest. It's why we are only high lighting the game cheats and prizes." the lady analyzed carefully how they did not put such clause on the terms and conditions.

"I admit that I never anticipated reaching this kind of success in this event so far. I just didn't think that time that we need to bind the participants for their publicity." another female supported the lady.

"Anyway, just like the young lady said... we will move forward. This is a good lesson for all of us. In the next event that we organize, we will not commit the same mistake." the man sitting beside the lady also commented.

Upon hearing his subordinates, the chairman sitting at the center felt warm inside. He was new to this team. In fact, they are not so familiar because they only work together for this tournament. 

He even sometimes felt cautious to express something so as to avoid misunderstanding with his subordinates.

But now that his members were willing to share the burden of their fault, he felt proud. At the very least, he was certain that working together with the team was an experience he would want to continue.

He gently placed his phone on the table and produced a relaxed smile.

"Since everybody reflected our fault, we must do something to correct our action. Please call the FDS Press Company and explain to them this matter. The players can choose their own press. There is no need to force the squad for any interview," the chairman ordered.

"What about that young lady who just left? Damn! I was sweating because of nervousness! She was younger than me but her aura was too domineering!"

"Isn't that the user of CEO UNRIVALED? She is actually fierce and decisive both in the game and in real life! Some gamers are only strong virtually but shy in real life. But that lady, what an outstanding character!"

"True! That youngster is not simple! I noticed that her way of speaking possessed validation. Her tone gives off certain accuracy."

"She even saw this flaw in our terms and conditions?! Who reads terms and conditions these days? Even adults would just click the agree without examining the content of the terms!"

The chairman nodded while listening to the discussions of his subordinates praising Sofia non-stop. 

"I'll apologize to the young lady. It is also good that they did not end up being disqualified. For now, let's oversee the championship," the chairman announced with a solemn expression on his face.

"It felt great that we did not disqualify their squad right away." 

"I agree! If we removed them, it would surely cause an uproar to the audience!"

"Hmmn, Who knows if they were disqualified, that youngster would probably sue us instead!? She sounded like a lawyer earlier!"

"I also noticed her tone. It's so firm and hard to argue!"

"In this event, their performance undeniably had attracted most of the viewers that made these audiences continue to follow our event. Thankfully, we made a right choice to talk with her first!" the chairman finished his words.

Meanwhile, Sofia was just about to return to their booth when a person caught her attention.

It was a lady standing on the side of the hallway. The lady was wearing a simple dress but her overall figure exudes nobility.

When they made eye contact, the lady moved her feet and approached her.

"Excuse me? Do you know the direction of the player's booths?" the lady said.

"Yes, I'm playing the tournament. Every squad has an assigned booth. Which booth do you want to go to?" Sofia told the lady.

"Oh, I'm here to look for Mr. Ching," the lady replied in a low tone. Something that was very similar to how Sofia spoke.

"That's Stephen, right?" Sofia casually inquired.

"Yes, that is his first name," the lady replied calmly.

"We are on the same squad. You can come with me to meet him," Sofia offered and started to continue walking.

"Ohh, thank you! I'm Grace!" the lady introduced.

"Sofia,"  she extended her hand and the two shared a handshake.

When Stephen noticed Grace walking beside Sofia, his expression turned sullen.

Before he could conceal his expression, the two ladies already saw it.

"Actually, I have to do something else. Nice to meet you, Sofia!" Grace halted her steps.

"Nice to meet you too, Grace!" Sofia muttered but did not pry further.

As Grace walked back, she did not look at the people. Her line of sight was maintained on the floor but her head was unbowed. Sofia could not help but detect a slight aloofness within her. 

'Nobles,' she mentally took a note before resuming her steps.

Clark, Joey, Claire were chitchatting with Jing Jing and did not notice Sofia at first.

They only turned to look in her direction when she sat on the sofa.

"Sof, how's the talk?" Claire was the first to ask her. The lady held an anxious look and she kept twisting the ends of her hair.

"They are reviewing their terms and conditions," Sofia easily replied.

"Sof, you won't believe it! The Lee Gaming squad had declared that they will crush us in our next match!" Joey chirped after noticing the online debate about them.

"They can crush us if we are not careful. Brent, their founder, is a good gamer," Sofia expressed.

"Yes, plus they are the premium players. The social media is discussing our next match as the premium players vs the monster newbies!" Clark slightly laughed and also check his phone.

"Those gamers are rich. I don't understand why they want to join this kind of event. The tournament prize is nothing to them!" Claire complained.

"It's not about the prize. It's about the joy and prestige," Joey explained.

"Ahh, that also makes sense. But this is just a district tournament! What kind of prestige they would get out of this small event?" Claire retorted.

"This event is not small Claire! It attracted the interest of tourists and even pro players in different districts! Don't underestimate this event. This might be the most trending event in the history of online tournaments!" Joey defended.

"That makes sense," Claire nodded and did not speak anymore.

"Brent has studied gaming tactics. He can make something out of an impossible situation. Let's plan our line up first against their squad," Sofia stated.

"We should just mirror their picks!" Joey suggested.

"Mirroring their pick is okay. We can have the same lineup as them. But they have skins, we will be at the disadvantage," Sofia shook her head and presented the possible problem they will face.

"Stephen, do you have a great grasp of how to use the marksman with the ultimate that has the longest range?" Sofia asked.

"I'm not confident in that character. It requires so much prediction to fully utilize its ultimate. Plus the cool down is one minute and thirty seconds. It's so long," Stephen looked apologetic.

"If its cool down is shorter, that character would be a bug!" Sofia chuckled.

"That's right!" Stephen agreed. "I'll stick with my archer!"

"Okay, let's play safe and exhaust their patience. What will you use, Joey?" Sofia turned her head and face Joey.

"If we plan to pester them a little bit, the best role to get is support," Joey replied.

"Perfect! Then our lineup is tank, mage, assassin, marksman, and support. Let's avoid clash and enjoy playing," Sofia finalized.

"I'll play the same, but this time, I won't boost my speed. I will max my damage," Claire told them.

"Stephen, you need to max your life steal. Be sure to pick all the items that can gain life steal," Sofia reminded.

"How about me? Should I focus on magic damage?" Clark questioned.

"No... not magic damage. Clark, you need to focus on making the cool down of your skills lessen. It is important that the skills of your mage is ready at all times. Our goal is to exhaust their patience. The more they become irritated, they will surely make mistakes!" Sofia analyzed.

"Okay, I know what to do," Clark affirmed.