Chapter 104 - Choose Your Teammates Wisely!

"OHOHO, may I request the assassin user to give tips on how to use the role efficiently?" the host instantly came up with the idea. Since he was a veteran, he could also relate to Claire's reluctance to speak. The man knew that it was frightening to face the crowd for the first time.

Claire gave a faint laugh after hearing how the host had emphasized the word 'efficiently'. Surely, she does not feel that she was good enough to give these kinds of tips.

First, their squad was just formed for this tournament. Those who were more veteran would surely criticize was she speak too much.

"What should I say to them, Sof? AHAHA, I am not that great player of the assassin role," she leaned on Sofia's ear and whispered. She knew that Sofia would be able to give her some advice on what to tell the crowd.

"Just mention the things that make you play the assassin role easier," Sofia whispered back at her.

Claire nodded and took a deep breath. She also felt that Clark tapped her arm before the man gently nudged her to move forward.

'Just as I thought that my turn to speak is over! Huhu,' Claire mentally groaned. Her hands started to sweat while she tried to rub them feeling a little comfortable.

Sofia's hand lightly patted the top of her head giving all her anxiety some rest.

"They are your fans. Just treat it like you are talking with us," Sofia muttered.

Claire pouted and went back to the middle of the stage...

"Ladies and gentlemen, the assassin user of the Chronos squad!" the host repeated to introduce her and let her get into the microphone stand.

Claire smiled at the man and then she glanced at the members of the Chronos squad. She giggled after seeing that the four of them gestured a thumbs up.

"Hello, errr... I am C-Claire. I am the assassin user of the Chronos squad. Hehehe," Claire chuckled awkwardly and made a long time pause. She knew that her voice was a bit shaky, and her heart was rapidly beating too. 'Calm down, calm down,' she mentally repeated to remind herself to calm.

The entire gym turned silent waiting for Claire to continue. The host also glanced at her back with a sympathetic look.

"It is true that the character in the game and in real life is not the same," WINS commented. 

"Well, I remember getting nervous on my first appearance in the public. I am also like this girl," one of his companions responded.

"Their squad leader is remarkable! She could speak like you, boss WINS! Hehe, she's not nervous!" the other companion stated.

WINS stared at the group for a while in deep thought. He was also impressed with how Sofia made her speech.

From where he was looking, he could see Sofia's side looking straight ahead with a very serene expression. It was almost as if nostalgia was written on her face.

"The Chronos squad leader, her background may not be simple. She mentioned her complete name earlier. Sofia Su, maybe she is from the Su Family in the fifth district?" WINS finally came up with his theory. After all, the player in the 

"That Su Family in district 5 who ruled those chains of business? Wow! Maybe she is their heir sent to the simple district 7 so she could get some normal life before she joins their corporate world?" one member supplied with a comical look in his face.

"Wow! That is only in the dramas! It does not happen in real life," WINS playfully told his member.

"AISH!!! Boss WINS, it is not just a drama. Those rich people really do this kind of thing!" the member insisted.

"We don't know about their background but what is sure is that it is not simple," WINS finished and returned his attention to the assassin user of the Chronos squad.

On the stage, Claire was struggling to breathe. Her anxiety started to turn higher but she forced herself to face the crowd. 

"Ehem! So, about my tips in playing assassin role... well, I-I am not really that expert. I am just like you people," Claire emphasized.

"Awe, this lady is too modest!" an audience talked to the person sitting in front of him. The man also looked behind and nodded at him in approval.

"If you are not that expert then I don't know what an expert is!" another person laughed lightly and everyone joined him.

"Hehe, so... as I was saying... ehem! My tips are... th-that you must familiarize the battlefield. N-not just the lanes and the jungle monsters with buffs but including the distance of each grass and your movement speed. Y-you need to conceal your presence and wait for the right timing, so this familiarization of the grass area is very helpful. Y-your movements also change depending on which boots you will use, so, you have to check these details... And--- ehem!" Claire paused again and took a long breath. She was stuttering badly. 

Finally, after some time of reminding herself to calm, she felt a lot better after speaking few words.

"And you also need to grasp the dynamics of the walls." Claire went to a full stop.

"The walls? Interesting! Could you please elaborate about the walls, Ms. Claire?" the host asked her.

"The walls are part of the battlefield and not just a decorative element of the map. We might think that only the characters fighting has their dynamics but the stones and walls also have their own purpose," Claire stated.

"Come and share to us the purpose! Even I am not so good with this! I will definitely follow your tips!" the host showed a glint of interest in his eyes.

"Okay, so the walls... There are walls that we can use certain skills such as... the dash forward of my character and I can easily through the opposite side. Some walls are also solid and would block your movements, giving you a dead end. If you familiarize these things, your escape route will be maximized," Claire finished. In her gameplay, she was mostly reliant on these things, hence, she felt the need to share them with the audience.

The entire gym still remained silent despite Claire's ended speech. She had even turned around and was about to move away, but then, she retracted her movement and gazed back at the audience...

She suddenly remembered Sofia's advice. 

'Just mention the things that make you play the assassin role easier.'

It rang to her head as if she was being reminded that she missed some kind of important tip and now, she knew what it was.

"It is a 5 v 5 map because the game is about teamwork. Even if you are the greatest assassin user, if your teammates are not willing to cooperate, there is still a tendency that you'll end up feeding. So choose your squad playmates... wisely!" she confidently added with a grin.

Teamwork!

Everyone shared the same thought and agreed with her. 

"AHA! That's right! Teamwork is everything to carry out your strategies!" the host instantly agreed and took over the microphone stand.

In the side of the audience area, those solo players who were within the bleachers alone nodded their heads and instantly agreed to Claire too. 

They simultaneously expressed their thoughts loudly about their troubles in playing solo.

"Ahh, great sister, you are right! Having a good teammate is an advantage!"

"Choose your teammates wisely! But my friends do not play! I have no luck getting a good team!"

"Aye, this is true! Agree, agree!"

Playing with a random team was indeed one of the hardest and most challenging matches to play. 

From the lineup picking where no one would want to adjust character roles. Sometimes, there were three marksmen players that would never change roles because they were confident of their abilities to carry. Only to end up being the food of the enemies. 

Also, getting buffs and who would take the role as junglers could cause great destruction of a character's growth. There were also times when the teammate is too greedy for kills only to die in the process of chasing the enemy... these kinds of struggles cannot be avoided by solo players. 

"Now, we have heard from the assassin user. Teamwork is everything in this real-time strategy game!" the host repeated.

"Alright, we will give the rewards to our champion but before that, there is an important announcement from the game developers and organizers of this tournament." the host added and then another man walked out from the personnel door.

The man was wearing a business suit and his entire aura exudes authority. Something that Sofia could tell that the man was perhaps a CEO himself!

"To the players and patrons of the game, I came here to give you some interesting information. With the success of this tournament, we will hold another one! This time, it would be a regional tournament! And there is also a game update for the mode of the game!" the man quickly spoke.

"The details of the next tournament will be posted online with no fixed venue yet! But, you can now form your squads and start your practice!" the man added and the entire crowd became excited. What the man had said gave them joy. 

"So, the most interesting part of the regional tournament is that you will get a more exciting cash prize and other deals. And the mode of banning a character during the lineup picking in the lobby before the match began will be practiced!"