Chapter 195 - Last Game Of The Day: Playing Different Roles (1)

"Let's play one more game? Hehehe... Last game for today," Stephen said while staring at the screen of his phone.  He was checking the interface of his character stats and looked at his account inventory. His fingers were flipping through various of commands on the screen.

"Okay! Let's wait for Clark to return. By the way, why don't we try a different role this time? Let's shuffle just for fun," Joey grinned. They had been playing consistently to their roles. For some reason, the idea roused his interest.

"I'm okay with it. How about you play as a tank and I will play as an assassin!" Stephen agreed. Then, he glanced at Claire and said, "Wanna play a marksman, Claire?"

"Nah... I will be a cancer once I change a role," Claire complained and formed her lips into a thin line. A cancer member in competitive gaming simply meant that instead of being able to play well or carry the team, she would be their burden instead.

It was not that Claire cannot play another role. She had tried playing different characters before.  Her reason was completely about her gaming style. Playing solo and roaming for kills in the map excites her more than clashing. She was aware that her gameplay is not suitable for other roles.

"Ahahaha, no worries. We are just having fun. Play marksman, Claire. Then Clark can play a fighter. Ms. Jing Jing will be our mage!" Joey finished.

"Hahaha, yes, let's try this arrangement. Come, I'll send invites to the lobby now," Stephen urged and the prompt message of his invitation displayed quickly to the screen of Claire and Joey.

"Ms. Jing Jing, you are not online?" Stephen asked after realizing that Jing Jing's account cannot be found on his friend's list panel.

"Wait for a while. I logged out my account earlier," Jing Jing said. Although she was holding her phone, the screen on it was still on the progress bar with a 34% loading...

At the same time, the figure of Clark then emerged in the doorway. Joey swiftly waved his hand to signal him to move in haste. "Clark! Hurry! We are going to play now! This time, your role is a fighter!"

Clark was initially consumed with the thoughts about his 'conversation' with Sofia. He was a little bit absentminded. But, after hearing Joey's last sentence, his consciousness snapped. "WHAT? Brother, I am still developing my gaming skills in the mage role. Now, you want me to switch with a fighter? That's definitely a mess!"

His objection was made clear. But Joey just grinned and waved a hand. "Don't mind it, We are just having fun. HAHAHA"

"We are not in a competition anyway. Consider this as exploring other characters ability," Stephen stated.

"How about I pick the character that you will play, Clark? Hmmmmn, use the Thrower. That character has the ability to toss enemies and allies to a different location," Joey said. 

"Okay... I'll try," Clark agreed as he accepted to invite that Stephen sent for him.

"Alright, I'm inside the lobby," Jing Jing also announced.

"Let's go!" Stephen declared as he clicked the 'find match' button on the screen. The countdown quickly appeared on the screen and it only took 20 seconds for them to find their opponents.

The parameters of random matching to find an opponent is quite complicated. And like other existing online games, this game would utilize the MMR of the players to determine their best suited enemy to bring balance in the battlefield.

Otherwise, it would be unfair for the newbies if the system will give them pro players opponents.

The matching environment and the player's gaming experience will surely be compromised.

Naturally, the opponents of every team cannot be predicted. Only the system would select it for them. But, there were two possibilities to anticipate the level of their opponents skills for an unbalanced group depending on their luck as a team.

The first possibility is that, if the MMR is unbalanced - meaning, some members have high MMR while others are low level in the group, there would be a tendency that the system will match them based on the rate of the player's highest MMR. The system will prioritize the highest MMR.

In their case, Claire had the highest MMR in the Chronos squad. If they are unlucky, the system would surely give them opponents who would be at the same skill set level as Claire.

This was oftentimes the reason why some modest pro players would play using a different account if they will have a duo playing with them that is not the same level as their main account. It was the best way so that their partner won't get stressed against high-skilled players.

The second possibility would emphasize great luck because the chance of this to happen is very small. In the random matching of the unbalanced team, if the group is lucky, the system will match them based on the team member with the lowest MMR.

Everyone's attention was already on their phone. The opponents immediately flashed on their mobile screens and revealed that it was a squad too. Mighty Wrecker Squad.

After which, the banning started from the opponent's side before it alternately change.

"What character should I ban?" Claire asked them as she was the first person in the squad to use the ban.

"Just ban whatever character. Hehe, we are just playing around anyway," Joey casually answered.

"If Sofia knows that we are not practicing religiously, will she get angry?" Jing Jing asked them. She was worried that this group was not actually serious with thier practice.

"Nah, this is actually what she said, Ms. Jing Jing. Sofia told us to try to use other roles in the game so that... if our main character will be banned during the tournament, then, we have other options," Stephen replied.

"Yeah, Sofia will not get angry. But this match will be a hell of a mess! HAHA... Ms. Jing Jing... you will witness me doing some cancer gaming!" Claire stated while giggling loudly.

"Just pay attention to the map and avoid getting killed," Joey said after he made a ban.

After the random ban, they finally got on the step of choosing their roles and characters to play. The group followed what they had previously planned.

"I will choose the Archer as a marksman," Claire announced and locked the character on her screen.

"Okay! I will be using the Hook," Joey stated as he picked the tank role.

After few more minutes, everyone had selected their characters. Clark did use the Thrower character and Stephen picked the assassin role. He was using the character of a cursed swordmaster that can utilize demonic doppelgangers. Lastly, Jing Jing picked the summoner. The same character that Sofia was practicing.

The Chronos Squad Line-up Arrangement:

Claire - Marksman user.

Clark - Fighter user.

Stephen - Assassin user.

Joey - Tank user.

Jing Jing - Mage user.

Claire maneuvered her Archer and it went straight to the jungle area. It was a habit for her to farm first. 

Stephen joined Claire in the jungle area since he was using an assassin. And jungling was more beneficial for him so he could quickly build an item.

"Ahaha... sorry, sorry," Claire mumbled and her Archer quickly moved to the bottom lane. 

Since Joey was the tank user, he joined Stephen to help him farm easily. 

Jing Jing took the middle lane and Clark went to the top lane.

By the time their characters obtained the ultimate skills, their quirkiness was instantly discerned by their enemies.

"Let's ambush their bottom lane! Their marksman is on solo," one of their opponents said and signaled for his team to gather. He was the fighter user and the initiator of their team.

"The marksman is not in the bottom lane. It's in the bush near the mid. I noticed its shadow earlier," the enemy mage player announced.

"AHH... Yes, no one is in the bottom lane now! I will try to attack their defense tower here and push," the fighter opponent said.

He was completely oblivious that Claire's marksman was semi-roaming the map. She was just using the grasses to hide her presence and tried to find an opportunity to find kills. And when the enemy mage made an announcement about her location, she had actually left the mid and was moving back to the bottom lane.

The fighter enemy relied on their creeps and was about to attack the tower. But, a rain of arrows from Claire's second skill suddenly dropped from the sky and pierced his body. Not only the damage was high, but it also had an after effect. He was also stunned within the range of the tower.

This timing was perfectly calculated by Claire. The fighter opponent could not move when all his allied creeps were eliminated. Putting him in a dire situation for the tower started to attack him.

"F*ck! You said that their marksman is in the mid... why is it attacking me now?" the fighter user complained.

"I just told you that I saw its shadow on the bush. I did not know that the marksman already returned to its position!" the mage ally defended.

"I'll die! Argh! How did she get the time to come back this fast?!" the fighter user expressed.

He had accepted his fate. Even if he had his ultimate ready, since the rain of arrows took his chance to move and cast it, his HP was quickly drained.

First Blood!

"I don't like this anymore! Damn, I plan not to have any deaths in this match. But now, I am the first to get killed!" he angrily said. His companions could even hear him gritting his teeth out of disappointment. 

"It's still early to quit. Come on bro, have some respect," the mage user told him in fear that this fighter user would just go AFK.

"Let's target that marksman once I revived. I will definitely get my revenge for killing me!" the fighter user stated.

On the side of the Chronos squad, Stephen curled his lips into a smile and briefly looked at Claire. "Definitely not a cancer gaming," he mentioned.

"Nice, Claire! Assassin or marksman role, you are really a first blooder!" Joey commended her too.

Claire only giggled at Joey and did not refute to Stephen. She did mention before they started playing that she would be a cancer in this match!