The guys were already positioned in their respective places. As usual, they left the first seat vacant for me. Flint, who was the unofficial vice-captain of the team. It was unofficial because Flint didn't want to take the responsibility. However, he was unconsciously leading the team on my behalf most of the time.
"Invite them," I ordered Flint, and put the headphones on after logging in to my account.
Not saying a word, Flint acted upon my order while I remained to stare at the monitor. Our opponents quickly accepted our invitation for a classic game of 5v5, like they were just waiting for us to do so.
I cocked my head on my left shoulder and cracked my knuckles to condition my fingers. Wearing a stoic expression, I carefully held the mouse and chose the best hero I could handle. There was no need to tell the rest of the team to pick their best heroes. We all had one goal in mind: to crush opponents without mercy. The best way to do it was to give everything we got and not hold ourselves back.
Thirty seconds before the game started, I closed my eyes and mentally chanted my mantra.
I am Stryker. I play to win, not to lose.
Chanting this mantra helped me boost my confidence into high gear. Rather than having outstanding skills, I believe that having self-confidence can lead to a satisfying result. A skill can easily get countered if your opponent has better skills than you. But with confidence driving your play, you can be invisible. However, it isn't easy to hold on to one's spirit.
In most cases, once a person's confidence gets shaken, they often lose self-esteem and lose the game. It shouldn't just be a spark in your fire but a good quality of tinder to keep your flames burning and keep you going. Once you have confidence and believe in yourself, I can guarantee that you have already won the game even before it starts.
When I opened my eyes, after conditioning myself for the game, there were only five seconds left.
I licked my lower lip before turning to check the team. "Let's win this game, team!" I voiced out to boost our team's morale.
"Yes, captain!" they all shouted in unison.
I grinned inwardly.
Our team may be made up of a whole bunch of dorks, but once in the game, the storm forming inside their eyes was ready to cause a catastrophe on the battlefield. You will completely forget that they were half-idiots because they were very clever when it came to Quest of Legends. We weren't named Kings of Kings for nothing.
Executing our main plan, which we always used to win all our challenges, our team was divided and separated to guard their usual lane. Yohann went to the top lane with me, while Flint was alone in the mid lane. Stationed on the bottom lane were Louis and Trey. Not long after, the opponents approached us on our respective lanes.
Yohann and I went into combat with Ice Breaker and Desert King. I was slightly surprised by the fast execution of combos. Yohann almost couldn't keep up with their APM because of faint shock from the remarkable speed of attacks, but I made sure to support him.
I could also hear Trey and Louis' changes of plans in their lane amid Louis' hymn of curses.
No need to ask. They were also given an unexpected blow by Alpha Male and Faker. On the other hand, Flint was quietly dealing with Dark Eight in the mid lane with his brows deeply furrowed.
"Don't go with your usual combo, Yohann," I said loudly as he was one chair away from me. "Use a rain shower first to cause damage, then a thunderbolt to stun them. After I use my poison arrow, release your tornado blast instantly, copy?"
"Got it!" he shouted and did as he was told.
I let Yohann initiate the attacks, and I followed his lead to flawlessly execute the plan. He attacked using his rain shower when I struck them with my three-directional arrows. Before they could even run away, Yohann had already stunned them with his thunderbolt.
In order to slow down their recovery from being stunned, I hit them with my poison arrow, giving enough time for Yohann to charge his second skill and release his tornado blast straight onto the enemies. With that, Ice Breaker and Desert King received great damage.
Seeing how we managed to control our lane, I relaxed and waited for Yohann to finish them with his ultimate skill. However, before Yohann and I could finish them off and get the first kill, the system announced, "First blood!"
I jolted in my seat, startled. With my eyes wide open, I quickly glanced at our team's standing and saw that we already had one death. "Alpha Male has slain Zero Killer."
What the fuck? What the hell is happening?
Biting my lower lip, I maneuvered my mouse and swiftly threw arrow spears at Ice Breaker and Desert King, which led to their deaths. I didn't bother waiting for another attack from Yohann and used my charged skill instead.
"Stryker has slain Ice Breaker and Desert King."
I clenched my fist after I successfully avenged Louis's death. It was immediately followed by Trey's death, though. The announcements of kills and advancements in the game were endless, making me unusually anxious. I pushed my back to sit straight and moved closer to the monitor.
"Alpha Male has slain Phantom Grim."
Renewing my grip on the mouse, I assisted Yohann in destroying the enemy's first tower. I also checked to see how Flint was doing in the middle, and I was relieved that he was holding out well.
"The enemy has destroyed the tower."
"You have destroyed the tower."
"Dragon Ranger has slain Dark Eight."
The announcements were ringing in my ears as I suddenly thought of a better plan. Our main plan and usual position wouldn't stand a chance against them. It was time for us to go out of our comfort zone. I had to execute a game plan on the spot.
If this continues, it will be a marathon of destroying the three towers from the top and bottom lanes. Whoever gets to destroy the main tower first in the camp will win the game.
Of course, I wouldn't let that happen.
"I am Stryker. I play to win, not to lose," I whispered once again as my eyes narrowed.
We will not just win this game. We will rule over it.
But first, we needed to make a little sacrifice to ensure that our plan would work.
"Yohann, we have a new plan. I need you to listen to me," I told him as our enemies were approaching us again for the second combat. "I'll hold onto them first while you charge your ult. Kill them right after I throw my arrow-spear, okay?"
"No problem, captain." I nodded, hearing Yohann's confident response.
It brought me a sense of relief until I heard another announcement of kills.
"Alpha Male has slain Phantom Grim."
"Faker has slain Zero Killer."
"Damn it!" Louis cursed out of frustration when he died once again. He even lightly hit the keyboard, losing his patience.
I couldn't blame him, though. The opponents were overwhelming us with kills. I pressed the keys fast and hard when I released my arrow-spear to speed up our plan. In no time, Yohann and I managed to kill Ice Breaker and Desert King for the second time around without any damage to our HPs.
Yohann proceeded to destroy the second tower on the top lane. While the players we killed were still respawning, I removed my headphones to face Trey and Louis.
Trey already had his headphones removed. Disappointment was written all over his face. "Alpha Male's really something…" he whispered to himself.
"Damn that, Alpha Male!" Louis ranted before he met my gaze, noticing that I was looking at them. "We should exchange lanes, captain. You'd be able to hold him off."
If it was only that easy, I would've resorted to that plan right away. However, since that wasn't the case, I shook my head and turned to them. "Just let him kill you."
Both of their jaws dropped when I nonchalantly said that and put my headphones back on, just in time for the arrival of Faker and Ice Breaker. I grinned because everything was going according to plan.