Chapter 102 - Championship (20)

Sofia took a few steps forward and went near the microphone stand. Her movement was unhurried but her posture appeared very respectable. She stood there looking dignified.

"Yes, thank you!" She offered a small smile towards the host and slightly bent her body to offer a customary bow. Her hand combed her short hair and gently tucked some of it on the back of her ear.

Opposite to her, the host subconsciously copied her gesture of politeness and nodded at her. He then glanced at the other four members standing behind Sofia and could not help but compare their expressions. 

'Phew! This girl is very calm. How could she maintain such kind of attitude in front of this crazy crowd?'

They were facing the entire crowd but it could be seen that Sofia was not much affected by the presence of the people gazing at her from afar.

Most of her teammates looked uncomfortable and slightly nervous after being subjected to the audience's gaze. Only she maintained her undisturbed attitude.

"Ehem, Ms. Sofia, please give your fans a little something about yourself," the host cleared his throat as he signal for her to speak and introduce herself to the people surrounding them. His eyes blinked a few more times for him to clear his thoughts.

Earlier, he had familiarized the names and profiles of every member of the squad before he returned to the stage.

It was unnecessary for he had already known the role of the players and he could easily call them using the characters that they had played during the match.

For instance, he can call Sofia the squad leader or the tank user. The kind of addressing towards the player may sound informal but the online tournament had long practiced this. Especially when the host cannot remember names easily. The roles were much easier to use.

'I thought it was useless of me on checking their profiles. But now that I have met this kind of player, I must thank the heavens and my ancestors for compelling me to see their information!' the host continued to ponder. There was no need for him to check the player's profiles nor memorize their names.

But for some reason, he did ask the people who compiled the participant's details and looked into the Chronos squad information. Now, he felt satisfied that he had done it.

Based on the participant's profiles, he knew their age and that these squad members were all students. Thus, he was slightly startled when his eyes met with Sofia's clear one. 

Somehow, there was something that tugged within his guts but he could not explain the feeling. The lady bore a different level of formality that he had only seen on his superiors. 

No, in fact, it was the superiority alone that he could see in Sofia's eyes despite how young this girl standing in front of him! This was the very first time that he was confronted with a gaze from a younger gamer. 

'This girl is not simple!' the host finished his thoughts and secretly inhaled some air.

Even though Sofia's face resembled that of a teenager, there was a sense of maturity in her gaze that resembled that of an adult. Such a gaze that was enough to demand respect. 

Sofia looked around from the farthest rows of audience to the front seats. Her mouth slightly opened but the heavy noise continued, hence she did not speak yet. Sofia waited for the crowd to calm down. 

At this point, the light yelling of their audience had literally turned into screaming. 

Most of those who were screaming were the audience who placed their bet on the Chronos squad online. It could be seen that they had made a profit more than what they had spent from purchasing the ticket for the tournament. Thus, they could not help but expressed their joy wildly.

"Ahehe, settle down, settle down. Let us hear the Champions of our tournament!" the host casually reminded the audience in hope of making the noise around turned low. But, they noised seemed unstoppable.

"Wow, I'm trembling! Look at my hands!" Clark whispered, taking a long breath in the process. He opened his palms and secretly showed his hands shaking involuntarily. He could feel his heartbeat racing and shout wildly despite the loud noise coming from the crowd.

"Damn right! We won!" Joey rustled back as if the idea of winning has not yet sunk on their mind. He proudly looked forward but did not maintain any eye contact. Mostly, he was facing above the walls of the gym while proudly internalizing the feeling of winning the tournament.

"Haha, we won!" Claire echoed with misty eyes. She lightly smacked Clark's hand but in the process, the boy grabbed her fingers and held it firmly. 

"Ahh, now I have calmed down," Clark chuckled without letting go of Claire's hand.

"Good for you," Claire glanced at him but did not bother retrieving her hand. Her voice somehow turned softer than usual. She then looked at the audience with her blurry vision and waved her other hand at them.

The moment her free hand shot up in the air, the cheering thundered all over the gym. The wildness of their noise had turned into a different level!

"You have so many fans, Claire!" Clark smiled and tightened his grip on her fingers. However, because of the noise, she was not able to hear him. Though, she could feel his hand gently squeezed her fingers.

Claire may have not realized how much impact her casual waving of hand to the crowd but for everyone that had seen how she handled the game beautifully even from the starting matches of the tournament, it was meaningful. This was the assassin user that gave them great gameplay!

The applaud continued and the host felt troubled. He could only laugh awkwardly after his reminder of them was dismissed. The audience seemed uncontrollable.

Sofia gave the host a sympathetic smile and stepped forward. She had no problem introducing herself for she had her experience speaking in a large crowd.

Her hand slightly moved upwards stopping just about her chest, gesturing for everyone to pay attention to her. In an instant, the loud noise around the place vanished without a trace. 

'Wow! One lady lifted her hand and made the crowd so wild! Then another lady raised her too and made the entire crowd turned silent! What kind of terrifying presence is this!' the host lamented. He was ignored by the audience earlier! But, just the gesture of these two players brought so much impact to the entire gym!

Once the silence descended upon them, Sofia looked at the crowd with a satisfied expression. She scanned the entire audience area one more before she opened her mouth and spoke...

"Gamers! I know all of us in this gym play online. At some point, we have also experienced being looked down on by those who cannot relate to the joy that we experienced inside the game. Alas! Sometimes it's irritating when we hear degrading words just because we spend a tiny portion of our time on the game," Sofia paused and chuckled. She had examined the memories of the original owner of her body and felt the need to emphasize this experience to connect with the people around her. The audience also laughed slightly, as they could totally relate to her.

"Whilst it is upsetting, we also need to understand that too much is harmful. Gaming is part of our life. But, please, take good care of your body! Do not abuse it and have plenty of rest," this time, she meant to express how much the original owner of her body had abused it to the point of losing her soul. Even if it may sound as if she was reprimanding those who were listening to her, she knew that it was necessary to be highlighted in her speech. And that moment was the best opportunity for her to express this message.

Everyone in the audience side also clapped their hands. Those of the tournament organizers and even the viewers online agreed to her. They instantly praised Sofia for this reminder and appreciated her for the concern that she showed openly to them.

"Lastly, my team expresses our deepest gratitude to the game developers of this online game for giving all of us here, the joy of playing anytime and anywhere! We were once accustomed to playing at home and in the computer shop. But since this game was launched and made available on our phone, we can play anytime and anywhere! Thank you! I hope that my fellow gamers would make their way to earn profit. Winning in the game is fun but if you are also making a profit while playing, you'll be able to have a sense of self-fulfillment and security in your daily living. There is a great opportunity in the game that you need to uncover. Bring your passion to life! Thank you for supporting us! I am Sofia Su, the tank user CEO UNRIVALED!"