Chapter 105 - The Ban Feature

Hearing that a new feature would be added to the game, the gym began to overflow with murmurs from the crowd. 

"What is the ban feature? Is that like a difficult mode?"

"OMG! That banning option! It is when you prohibit the opponent to play a certain character! Cool!!! Then, players in this game need to familiarize more than one character! Ohh, that is hard but still, it's cool!"

"Haha, I know this ban feature. This one is available in pc games. When the update comes, that is one challenge to all mobile players. Especially if the character that they are playing will be blocked by their enemy!"

"Awesome! If they add the ban mode, it will really make the match more exciting! I've been waiting for this feature to be added!"

It can be heard that every player of this game does not really understand the ban mode feature. Some are in deep confusion while others were exchanging their opinions.

There were players who just learned to play online because the game became available on their mobile phones. Hence, newbies like them could not relate much to what the news was all about. They could only listen to those more experienced gamers talking enthusiastically about the news.

Indeed, those who had learned to play online games on pc first already knew about the ban mode. But, at this point, they have not yet experienced this feature on the mobile game. These players had also complained to the moderators of the game about the lacking feature.

Now that the announcement of adding the ban feature was formally out, the audience's subject of discussion quickly focused on this new feature. Their talking became non-stop and the host was having difficulty breaking their chitchats.

"Hehe, our audience could not wait to play this feature! Let us hear additional information about the future version of the game!" the host interjected to grab the crowd's attention back to them.

Finally, the sound from the bleachers toned down, until everyone stopped their discussion and started to listen.

The man who had just announced the news slowly adjusted the tie of his neck. Then, he looked at the host.

"Alright, let's listen!" the host casually repeated and nodded at the man.

"Yes! In line with this new mode, there will be an update coming in the version of the game to add the banning feature in the next days to come. For the next tournament, we welcome every participant to the regional competition!" the man slightly glanced at the Chronos squad members.

His gaze specifically landed on Sofia but the lady was looking at the audience instead of him. 

"Congratulations to the champion of this match!" the man stated and finally got the attention of Sofia.

Both of them looked at each other for a few seconds and nodded their heads. 

Sofia was the first to nod her head and the man subconsciously followed her gesture. 

In an instant, the man was completely surprised by the signal of the lady. Her movement conveyed a sense of familiarity. It was as if she was acknowledging a business partner! 

The man could not help but ask himself, 'How could this girl casually nod at me when the other people were completely intimidated by my presence?!'

Sofia did not break their eye contact and stared at the man with her clear eyes. Her gaze traveled to the sophisticated name tag written just on the right side of his suit where his name was formally scribbled. His position was also placed below his name.

Greg Washington

Chief Technology Officer

Based on the man's posture, Sofia guessed that he was around 27 years old. With his position, she could tell that the man might be one of the creators of the game. Perhaps, a gamer himself that had retired and decided to make a new game in the mobile version.

'A CTO? Hmmn, if the man is the chief technology officer behind this game, how big had this tournament had become for him to visit here personally?' Sofia secretly wondered.

She was only aware of the online trends but in fact, sometime around the afternoon that day, the game already hit its first million users! 

The app recorded the highest gain of users in a single day that all of the big bosses made an emergency meeting. There was no other gaming tournament held on that day other than what Sofia and her team had participated in. 

After knowing about the cause of rising their statistics, these corporate personalities behind the game instantly decided to organize another tournament.

The man that Sofia was facing even volunteered to see the hype of the district 7 championship!

This means that the online district tournament had really given the company that owned the game their real profit! 

Thus, the chief technology officer quickly flew on a private jet just to see the tournament himself! He had not witnessed the entire elimination round. But, he was able to see the last match of the Chronos squad vs the Lee Gaming squad.

The man slowly walked towards the group and extended his hand for a handshake.

"Congratulations!" he formally greeted the group.

Seeing that the man wanted to shake their hands, the four members of the Chronos squad was completely hesitant. For some reason, the man had really intimidated them.

"Thank you, Mr. Washington! It's our pleasure to meet you!" Sofia firmly shook the man's hand.

'Mr. Washington?' the man mentally repeated his name in a form of a question, but only smiled slightly at Sofia.

Seeing the action of their squad leader, the four members finally reached out and exchanged a handshake too.

"Thank you, sir!" the four said simultaneously before shaking the hands of the man.

"Well played!" the man muttered.

There were no other formalities after that. The man just gave the group a formal smile, one that is not too friendly and not too cold.

Not long after the man left, Clark tapped on Claire's shoulder.

"Now, you have said well in your speech!" he complimented.

"Oh, I was so nervous! My voice was even breaking!" Claire giggled. She did not felt embarrassed about the experience. All she had was felt proud that she had overcome the ordeal.

In the distance, the host started announcing the sponsors of the tournament again but he did not announce the man's exact identity to the crowd which made Sofia slightly intrigued.

Surely, there was no way for the host to missed such obvious details of the man! His position was not something that should be ignored.

In the corporate world, Sofia knew that the big bosses of a certain organization rarely appear in this kind of tournament. They will only participate in formal company gatherings and parties. Thus, she became curious about the man's attendance.

"We will join, right?" Clark suddenly asked. But after noticing Sofia's serious expression, he had sensed that their group might not join. 

"Sof? Are we going to join?" Joey also inquired

Despite the enthusiasm of the crowd about the news, Sofia's face remained undisturbed. There was no hint of excitement in her expression that majority of the gamers had.

"Are you okay, Sof? Haha, Could it be that this is the only time that the reality of our victory had sunk in your system?" Claire joked.

"Hehe, No. I am just thinking some things... Anyway, it's too early to decide for our participation in the tournament," Sofia finally mumbled. 

"Ahh, you're right!" Joey and Clark simultaneously responded. They also realized that the venue might be in the other district and it may have a conflict with their studies. After all, they still need to focus on their school activities!

"This new mode, it might be difficult to win," Claire suddenly mentioned. She recognized how tough it would be in playing a new role.

"That next tournament is indeed not that simple. Even I also know that this is difficult. I only know how to play this tank character. I have practiced playing this character since the game was released. So, if there is a ban feature and my character will be ban, that would be a disaster!" Sofia instantly admitted.

"Yeah, we need to practice thoroughly for another character and familiarize their dynamics," Stephen prompted.

Sofia sighed and stared at their prize that the host was holding. 

She knew that the original owner of the body was really focusing on using the specific tank character. This girl was only addicted to one role. So, she did not dare to tell her members that they would be participating or not.

It was too early. For Sofia, this means two options. They would practice and test their progress first. Or they can wait for another tournament to open. 

"Well, let's see what we can do. I'm sure, we can easily familiarize using other roles of the game," Sofia finished. With their passion was set on playing online games, she was also confident that it would not take long for them to learn other roles.