"ORD lo~!"
I was weeping tears of joy as I held my pink identification card up high in the air.
Two years. Two years of military drills, training, confinement (well, at least I got to book out during the weekends most of the times), slogging outfield, marching, riding in five tonner trucks as they fetched me and my platoon from one forward observation point to another…
And it was finally over. I was a civilian once more. I had finally gotten to my operationally ready date in one piece, and I was free to live my life as a civilian once more. I was finally free to return to professional gaming again!
Honestly, it wasn't all bad. There were plenty of fun stuff that I enjoyed in the army, especially with three overseas training missions included in the space of a year. I had befriended lots of awesome comrades, who were now my bros for life. We had been through thick and thin, surviving all sorts of tekkan (suffering) together.
Even after we finished our military service, I was confident that I would see them again. Our bonds were too strong to break.
"So what do you plan to do, Jiu Wei?"
One of my buddies, Zhi Hin, asked. I grinned.
"Resume my gaming career."
"That's interesting." Another buddy of mine, Qi Yang, chuckled. "Good luck with that. We'll support you when we can."
"Same! Good luck with university!" I recalled that he was going to major in art or humanities in Nanyang University, and planned to be a teacher in his neighborhood secondary school eventually.
"Haiz…" Qing Han sighed. "Why you play RTS sia…? If you play FPS maybe we can party up."
"I might give it a try," I said with a shrug. "Titanrise is being released on PC this summer, and I plan to get that game."
"You and your giant robots." Zhi Hin laughed. "I can see that you really like your mecha."
"Mecha is awesome."
By now we had reached the gate of the camp we had been posted to for the past year and nine months (the first three were spent in basic military training in Tekong). All of us turned to regard the camp that had been our second home for the last couple of years, and then we threw our berets into the air.
"ORD LO!!!!"
*
"Hey, Gary! I'm back!"
It had only been the next day, but I couldn't wait and rushed to the HQ for Team Solid somewhere in Dhoby Ghaut. They had an entire room reserved for their use behind some Internet café, and even after two years I saw that not much had changed. The team was still stationed there, and the café was bustling as ever, with teenagers and university students hanging out to play LAN games and other multiplayer activities. The majority was split between shooter games such as Cry of Duty or Right for Dead, and MOBA games like League of Myths and Defense of the Primordial. I was heartened to see a couple of gamers teaming up in Spacecraft, though.
Real time strategy games were far from dead.
Navigating through the rows of gaming computers and customers who were much too focused on their games to pay any attention to me, I reached the back room, which had the label "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."
Knocking on the door, I repeated my call, and heard a grunt from within. Sighing, I pushed the door open and stepped into the room reserved for Team Solid members. Even though I had officially retired two years ago, to do my mandatory military service, I was still part of the team.
Or so I hoped.
"Jiu Wei. It really has been a while."
The chubby, balding manager, who was staring at his screen before I entered, hastily alt + tabbed whatever he was watching and rose to his feet to greet me with an oily smile. He almost offered me a hand, but suddenly withdrew it. Not because he was rude, but…well, let's just say I caught sight of used tissues strewn about under the desk, and his belt was strangely unbuckled.
"Your fly is unzipped too," I told Gary. His round face flushed, and he hastened to strap his pants and belt back on properly.
"Ahem…" he cleared his throat while frantically wiping his fingers with fresh pieces of tissue and plastered on a smile. "As I said, it's been a while."
"Yeah. How's the team doing?"
That was meant to be a polite question. I heard that they recently got routed in Nation Wars a month ago. We didn't even make it past the preliminary group stages having fallen prey to Canada in a 3-1 defeat. Obviously I wasn't going to mention that.
"We're…coping well. Adjusting our team regimens, and recruiting new members. You know…the usual. Scott is out scouting for new talent."
I brightened up at that. So we would be getting fresh, youthful members, or experienced veterans to join our already threadbare team. Last I heard, we only had three Psidork players. Not even a single Terran or Demon player.
"Speaking of recruitment, I've just finished my national service. I just ORDed yesterday."
"Yeah, I heard." Gary steepled his fingers somewhat nervously and lowered his head, refusing to establish eye contact with me. "Congratulations."
"Um…" I decided not to beat about the bush and go straight to the topic. "If you would have me…"
"Jiu Wei," Gary cut me off. "When was the last time you played Spacecraft? And I don't mean a couple of hours on ladder during the weekends. When was the last time you played it seriously…as in professionally?"
"…two years." I frowned. There was something in Gary's tone that alarmed me, but I forced myself to calm down. "Look, I did my best, okay? But you know how the army works. I can only book out during the weekend, and then I've to book in on Sunday night. Where got time to play seriously? I've been keeping up with the latest changes and expansion, though, so I just need a bit of practice before I get back to shape…"
Damn…I sounded more defensive than I thought I would be.
"Relax. I'm not blaming you. It's just that…" Gary sighed and bowed his head, looking as if he was in despair. "Our funding has been cut…sponsors have been pulling out. I'm not running a charity here. I can't afford to run a charity. I appreciate you returning and volunteering your services, but quite frankly…a lot has changed over the last two years."
"I know. The new expansion…they also changed quite a lot of mechanics and added a few new units."
"The game is not the same as it was two years ago." Gary stared at me sternly. "Tell me…what is your current rank in ladder?"
I hesitated for a moment. "After the last major patch? I haven't…touched the game for two months."
"Before that? You were high platinum, low diamond. In the previous patches. And you think you can just waltz in here and reclaim your spot in the team?"
"No…" I began, and then fell silent. Gary was right. Just what was I thinking?
He had every right to reject me. So much about the game had changed, and I didn't have time to explore the new changes and polish my skills. I didn't have any time to train. The last couple of months, even though I was clearing leave, I had spent it finalizing my university application. One of the conditions that my parents set when they allowed me to pursue a career in professional gaming was that I completed my education. That I at least graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the National University. That was the only compromise they were willing to accept.
I could neither blame my parents nor Gary. They were all looking out for my future, or in Gary's case, he had a legitimate reason. I had to be one hell of an arrogant idiot if I thought I was entitled a place back in the team based off my past achievements.
The Team Solid manager was right. Everything had changed over the last two years.
"You are right." I calmed myself down and forced a smile. "Honestly, I was just here to say hello after I ORD. I'll…be training and preparing myself first…I'll familiarize myself with the new mechanics and learn the new meta. Once I get back to Grand Masters, I'll return and ask you."
"If you get back to Grand Masters on the Southeast Asia server, we'll welcome you back with open arms," Gary replied simply.
"Thank you." taking a deep breath, I turned away and left the office…the office that used to be the HQ where I trained my gaming skills before I served in the military.
Looked like I had to start from scratch.
That was fine. Every journey began with a single step, and every Emperor was born a baby.
My reign would begin again…
*
"Hey! Isn't that Jiu Wei?"
"Oh? Harry?" I stopped when a familiar voice called out to me. A junior was jogging toward me, waving his hands excitedly. I remembered him – he was only thirteen when I last met him, before I left for the military, but now he was fifteen.
He jogged up to me and grinned. "It's been a while!"
"Yeah, it has. Doing O Levels this year?"
"Next year," he corrected, beaming. "But it doesn't matter, I'm a pro gamer. Who cares about school?"
My parents did. As I said, one of their conditions for allowing me to be a pro gamer was for me to complete my education, so that I could find a proper job if I couldn't get back into professional gaming, or if I quit the esports scene.
Of course I didn't tell Harry that. I merely smiled and nodded.
"I just saw you coming from HQ! Are you back in Team Solid?"
"No. I'm not good enough yet. I've been out of the game for a long while, and my skills have gotten rusty. I need to relearn the game from scratch."
"AW…well, I can help you with that!" He then frowned when his smartphone buzzed. "Oh, Gary is calling me."
"You better run along," I suggested. Gary was not known for his patience, and knowing Harry, he was late for training again. He had hardly changed in the past two years. He was a lot taller, though. The short, baby-faced kid who had just joined the team back then was now a towering giant, a full head higher than me.
"Sure." Harry gave me a glance and grinned. "You just finished national service, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So…are you now a special forces soldier?"
"No, just an ordinary rifleman in an infantry regiment…" Nine Division Infantry, if I wasn't mistaken. Not that he would know what that meant until he entered the service three to four years later.
"Heh…" Harry grinned. "I bet you'll get hired as a bodyguard to protect a CEO's daughter, and he will request that you protect her in both real life and the game. Then you can put all those martial arts you learned to good use…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I held up both hands. "Are you mistaking me for somebody?! I'm not Li Xiao Yao, you know? I've never learned any martial arts in depth before, I'm just an ordinary rifleman and not some top-secret, elite Special Forces soldier, and nobody is going to hire me to be a bodyguard."
And even if they did, I would refuse.
"Also, I'm not going to spend 12-18 hours a day gaming, and somehow still have time to flirt with beautiful ladies in the real world, attend classes in my university, and take on a side job as a cop. And I'm definitely not homeless – my parents haven't kicked me out of the house and left me to sleep on a park bench outside."
"Oh…" Harry looked disappointed. I buried my face in my palm.
"Look, kid…if you're looking for those kind of bullshit, nonsensical stories where the main character plays games all day but is still somehow super handsome, fit and super-strong, without maintaining any semblance of physical training, then you're in the wrong place. Sorry, but I'm just a regular guy, and I can guarantee I won't be meeting any wealthy CEO's beautiful daughters, become a target for assassinations, and any of those unrealistic bullshit. I'm just here to train myself up back to be a pro gamer."
"But that's boring!" Harry complained. "Readers want an overpowered MC…"
"I DON'T GIVE A F WHAT READERS WANT!" I yelled. "What are they going to do, put a gun to my head and threaten me? If I don't become a Special Forces super-soldier with invincible martial arts who gets a harem of beautiful woman, they will hunt me down through my IP address and murder me?"
Harry was about to argue some more, but his smartphone buzzed again. Sighing, I waved him away.
"You had better go," I told him.
"This conversation is not over," he growled, glowering at me. I glared at him back, and thanks to my time in the military, I was actually more imposing than a skinny teenager who spent too much time gaming and no time exercising at all.
"Yeah, it is. And if you don't drop it, I'll kick your ass. Now get moving. Or would you rather drop 20 here and now?"
That warning, along with my violent jabbing of a finger into the ground, worked. I had never seen Harry run so fast before.