After the endless sounds of my fingers dancing skillfully on the keyboard and the crisp clicking sound of tapping against the mouse's button, the right corner of my lips automatically rose when I saw the game's result. It was a landslide win. My team completely destroyed their tower, which led to their defeat.
Victory.
The taste of victory was very familiar to me. Despite having consistent wins, I still couldn't help but feel proud of myself. That game marked my thousandth victory of all time — straight wins since I started playing the game without any loss.
I let go of the mouse and removed the headphones before leaning back on the swivel chair. My teammates were cheering and celebrating because we won the game for ample money.
I guess that is one of the reasons why I love playing games and strive so hard to be the best. Besides the reason that it could relieve a pile of stress, it could also make me earn money just by sitting and moving my hands and fingers.
I lightly massaged my wrists as I looked at the left side, where the losing team we fought was seated. The surprise with a mixture of devastated looks on their faces was enough to tell me that they weren't expecting their defeat. They must be really confident that they would win when they challenged us in a battle.
To be honest, they are all good. Two players from their team were even ranked as Challengers, while the remaining three were Master I. Among all the Challengers we had fought with, they were one of the hardest to beat. Still, I knew that I could beat them along with my team.
"Easy five hundred bucks..." I whispered cockily and grinned at them.
I could sense that I had already pushed the button of their team's captain, who was seated just beside me by lightly mocking them. There was only one chair in between, separating our team from them.
"I don't believe this... I want a rematch!" Their captain demanded. His voice was hoarse and stern. The veins on his neck protruded as if he was holding himself back a lot from going nuts because of his overwhelming defeat.
My brows raised on their own when he demanded another match.
"Easy, Harry..." Flint, my best friend and one of my team members, said to the other team's captain. "We had a deal. We only agreed on a single match. We won, and your team lost. Be true to your word and be a man!"
Harry craned his neck to look at Flint. "Don't worry," he calmly said. "We're still going to pay for the five hundred we owe you. I just really want to fight your team's ace. One-on-one."
He averted his gaze from Flint back to mine. "Name your bet. I don't care how much it costs." His eyes were screaming confidence as a façade to hide his frustrations and eagerness at wanting to beat me.
Tilting my head, I smirked at his statement. Is he being serious?
I heard Flint and the other boys laugh after hearing Harry's words.
Flint laughed. "Are you fucking serious, Harry?"
Exactly my thoughts.
"His pride must be ready to get stepped and trampled on," Trey added.
Louis started his own bet. "I bet the game would be finished in twenty minutes."
"I'll bet a hundred bucks," Yohann also butted in. "It will only take fifteen."
Harry's jaw clenched at my team's mockeries. Instead of backing out, though, I knew he'd only be more determined to defeat me. He had already set that goal in his mind. He wanted to prove them wrong.
But, of course, I wouldn't let him gain that satisfaction. I also had something to prove.
I am undefeatable.
No one could defeat me.
Losing was undoubtedly not in my vocabulary, and I was not planning to add it to the list.
I don't play a game to lose; I play it to win and nothing else.
I am born to win.
"Make it ten minutes," I declared, and they all went quiet.
Harry creased his forehead as he stared at me.
"I'll finish the game and beat him in ten minutes," I clarified before putting back the headphones and staring at the monitor. "No need for a bet," I continued. "I know you just want to prove something, and I share the same sentiments."
"That's my best friend!" Flint exclaimed and laughed once again.
He even stood behind me to massage my shoulders, and I just calmly waited for Harry to accept my invitation for a one-on-one battle.
"Kiss your straight wins goodbye," Harry whispered, gritting his teeth, as he accepted my invitation.
I grinned widely at his threat that didn't even shake my confidence. "Prepare to lose twice this day," I countered.
He muttered curses while I just kept quiet and put my fingers in the correct position, waiting for our game to start.
When we were in the five-on-five battle earlier, he had some tactics and robotic movements that he repeated to get a kill that I had already memorized. And since he chose the same hero he used during our 5v5 combat, I could easily defeat him if he would still stick with the same combos.
Unfortunately for him, he decided to stick with his combos. Fortunately for me, I could counter all his attacks and kill him using a very basic combo of the hero that I was using.
I didn't know how he was able to be a challenger with his skill. He might be the one who created his own combos, but if he kept on using the same thing, it would be less effective.
Come on, fucker!
Out of frustration and boredom, I clenched my jaw repeatedly. I didn't agree with this fight just to get bored. I thought it would be a challenging one-on-one battle. I should have asked Flint to bring me milk and just sleep if I only knew that it would be this fucking boring.
The moment I destroyed his tower effortlessly, declaring another victory of mine, I yawned and stretched my arms as my friends celebrated my triumph.
"Damn! It didn't even reach ten minutes," Flint laughed so hard and clapped his hand — very happy with the result of the game.
"This record should be in the Guinness World Records," Louis said.
"Fucking five minutes! I'm so proud of you, Ry! But too bad I don't have a hundred bucks," Yohann said and playfully sounded disappointed.
I didn't pay attention to those dickheads' remarks and just turned my head to Harry, intently looking at his monitor. His eyes were bloodshot. And once again, I knew he wasn't expecting his defeat. If only he showed off his skills more and escaped from his comfort combos, maybe it would be worth a fight.
"You could've let my friend win a hundred bucks and make our game last for ten minutes if you only utilized your hero's strengths," I told him as I removed my headphones. "The reason I was able to defeat you―without breaking a sweat―is that I already know your combos. I've memorized it. You keep using the same series of movements, even during our five-on-five game. I know how to counter and avoid them. Even your defense tactics were the same."
Everybody suddenly became silent as I started to lecture Harry.
I wasn't voicing my thoughts to humiliate him. Rather, I wanted him to learn and realize his mistakes so he wouldn't do it again and improve more.
"Try exhausting your skills even more. Explore for more combos that you can make. Maybe in time, you'll be able to come near me, but remember that I won't let you go over me," I said, casually standing up from my seat. "Prove that you are worthy of being a Challenger. Don't be an embarrassment to your team. You are even their ace―their captain!"
Clenching his fists, he slightly bowed his head. His shoulders moved up and down rapidly because of his hasty breathing, which was, maybe, a result of frustration and anger from being defeated twice.
One of his teammates, who was also a Challenger, came closer and gave us the money worth five hundred dollars.
"Thank you for the good game," he said, with a smile plastered on his lips, and stretched out his arm for a handshake.
"No problem." Flint was the one who entertained him.
I looked away at Harry and walked past where he was seated.
"Stryker."
I stopped midway when Harry suddenly called me, using my game handle. He finally got over the biggest shock of his life, I guess.
Lazily, I turned to face him again. "What, Blank Death?"
"We will meet again," he said, and I shot my brow up while staring at him. "I will make sure to defeat you when that time comes," he told me, filled with a renewed determination.
"I can't wait for that time to arrive," I said, and with a ghost of a smile, I extended my hand as a sign of truce. "I hope you'll be able to give me a good and interesting fight by that time."
He smirked at that and nodded before he shook my hand. "As you wish."