"Wow, look at this PC. Isn't this the best one we have got in this club? I am so jealous. I wish I had such a good PC as well."
Clement also came over to look at Olivier's PC. And he sounded jealous once he was finished observing the PC.
Even Olivier had to admit that he got the best deal from Terry's negotiations. And his game was also running quite smoothly. He would be able to progress a lot more than he expected.
"Alright team, our assignment for today is to help Olivier level up faster. He is still at level 25, so the goal is to get him past level 30 by the end of the week."
Terry's words caused the rest of the team to cheer up and be ready to help. Soon, they were all in the game and dungeon hunting. It was a fun time and Olivier was reminded of his childhood days from his past life.
His gaming journey started like this - with a group of friends who liked similar interests. It had been simple but fun when he had begun to play at the start.
The two hours of gaming time ended too early. But the afternoon had been successful.
Not only had Olivier gained levels, but the team had finally spotted where Ezra's character lacked and gotten to help her level up her skill tree as well
Olivier also wanted to add his advice but did not know enough about Ezra and her playstyle to make any comments. So, he remained relatively quiet throughout the whole practice, choosing to focus on dungeon raiding instead.
By the end of the session, Olivier was tired and sore as well. Gaming had never been this hectic for him before.
"Alright gang, we are done for today. Make sure you get plenty of rest. And, I might have a surprise for you by the end of this week."
Olivier was interested in the 'surprise' but so was everyone else. However, Terry did not reveal what he was talking about.
That disturbing silence lasted the whole week. Olivier finally managed to hit level 30 and the real content of the game started for him.
In this one week, Olivier had proven his skills. He had also gotten used to his smaller body and his fingers no longer slipped on the keyboard when he mashed.
And you know what the best thing about being young is? There was no pain in his fingers and his reflexes were fast and accurate. His body was no longer his weak point.
He had gotten so good in fact; this his team was unable to keep up most of the time.
"Sheesh kid, have some mercy on us, poor folks. You are like a hurricane, swift and deadly. I am sure you will do well in an actual match as well."
Isaac suddenly spoke up and a tense silence followed his proclamation. They had yet to talk about the big fish in the room - the team line-up.
"A-Anyway, Terry, you said that you would tell us good news today. So, hurry up and spill."
Mirai changed the topic as soon as she realized where things were headed. She was the official mood-maker for this small group.
Terry coughed into his hand to regain momentum and dispel the tense silence that had emerged around the group.
"Ah, yes. As I said before, I am sure you will like this surprise. Tomorrow is our long-awaited weekend but that is not all. Do you know the guild, Winded Gliding which came second in the last world championship? They are holding an under-18 gaming cup for locals tomorrow. And I sighed our team up."
Terry spoke up with a proud voice. He seemed to be the only one visibly excited by this news. Everyone else just looked shocked.
"Terry, could you not have us about participating in this tournament beforehand? I do not think I have time to make it to this tournament. You know weekends are a busy time for me."
Ezra spoke up suddenly and she sound upset.
But Terry seemed to not notice her apparent feelings. And if he did notice, he chose to ignore them outright.
"I know you are busy on the weekends Ezra, but this is the only chance we will get. Besides, we have a substitute for you now so you can join us anytime you are free. I am sure it will all work out somehow."
Terry tried to assure Ezra but she looked even more upset than before.
To Olivier and everyone else, it was obvious why Ezra was upset. She was upset because her friend had prioritized his gaming over their friendship. He had decided not to wait for Ezra to be free and participated as soon as he had been able to.
But unlike Ezra's emotional self, everyone else knew it was the right decision Terry had made.
"Ezra, I am sure you will be able to join us in the upper bracket soon. Meanwhile, we will try out best to get that far."
Mirai spoke up this time and Ezra suddenly realized everyone wanted to participate in this tournament. They were not going to wait for her to finish her errand.
It sucked to realize this but Ezra also had to admit that it was about time.
She had put her gaming club behind too much and they had to have gotten fed up by now. There was no way they were going to wait around for her.
"A-Alright, I understand. Then, I will do my best to get my work done. Meanwhile, you guys can win our matches and make me proud."
Ezra compromised in the end. Everyone was excited about the weekend and the competition. It was going to be their first time this year and it would also set the tone for their club in the future.
...…..
"Are you sure you will be alright, young master? Should I accompany you to this event?"
The butler asked as soon as he noticed Olivier was up and getting ready. The weekend had started so the butler was surprised to see his young master up.
"Nah, it is fine. Natasha said she would come along to cheer on Mirai. I am sure things would be alright if she is with me. Besides, I also have a temporary phone with me in case of emergencies."
Olivier held his phone up to show the butler. It was the final straw that made the butler back down.
Olivier got this phone from his uncle as soon as he returned. It was nice to have a solid device to connect with his teammates finally.
"Olivier, are you ready? We should get going now."
Natasha yelled from downstairs. She seemed ready to head out and was dressed a little too much for a gaming event.
While most of the people in the gaming venue show up in jeans and black T-shirts (as per the dress code), Natasha was in a dress and had a lot of jewelry on.
"What are you looking at? If I am going to go out, then I need to maintain the family image. You are lucky you do not need to dress up because of the dress code."
Natasha turned her head toward Olivier when she spoke. She looked excited to be going out of the house.
Olivier did not tell her that she could have chosen to dress up as the event demanded her to. He did not want to bring down the excited look on Natasha's face after all.
"Anyway, we should be heading out now. I borrowed a driver and some cash from my father. It will be an awesome outing for us."
Natasha's excitement drowned out anything else Olivier was feeling now. He was happy to be swept up in her momentum and allow his nerves to calm down.
The driver soon came to pick both Natasha and Olivier up. He looked to be a middle-aged man with a receding hairline.
In other words, it was a face Olivier would never be able to remember if he did not try.
"Let us go now. We need to make it before the pre-sign-ups, right?"
As far as Olivier knew, these large-scale events had a pre-check-in to make sure teams were all present. Then the brackets were drawn to ensure who all would be getting a bi and which teams needed to compete.
It was all a complicated process that Olivier had never been fond of. But he did respect the back staff's dedication to their job.
The venue was a familiar stadium. Olivier had used this place as a practice ground for his team a lot. And now he was officially playing here as a team player.
"Olivier, let us wait here. I made a call and Mirai said that everyone else is already here and accounted for. She will come and pick us up."
Natasha's words caused Olivier to be shaken from his headspace. His thoughts had drafted apart and he had lost focus back there.
But now that he was paying attention once more, Olivier realized that it would not be safe for him to unlock the back doors.
Even if Olivier knew the password to every room in this building, he did not cause any chaos.
"Sorry. This place just reminds me of the past a little."
"Oh yeah. Your father was someone affiliated with this place, right? I almost forgot about that."
Natasha snapped her fingers as she recalled what she had been told before. Of course, she had not paid attention to it before because she had not been interested.
She flinched when she noticed the startled look on Olivier's face. Maybe she should not have said those words so openly.
"Look, kid, I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you and-"
"Natasha, Olivier, so here you both are. Man, it sure is hard to find someone in all this crowd. Now hurry up. We need to get in before they close the gate."
Mirai found them at this exact time. She looked at the Olivier but the kid looked a little distracted. But now was not the time to be distracted by things.
There was too much to be done and Mirai needed to brief Olivier about the conduct he should follow here.
"Ah, give Olivier a second Mirai. I accidentally said something I should not have and now he is in shock. He will be alright in a minute or two."
Natasha assured Mirai and they both guided Olivier inside.
Unknown to Mirai, the reason Olivier had been shocked was not that she had brought up his 'father' but because he had caught a glimpse of 'Lucas Lee,' his last pupil.
He had not expected to see Lucas, much less see him remaining in Winded gliding. It was weird to see that Lucas had not left this team like his other pupils.
Olivier finally snapped out of it once he was inside the venue. His team's face made Olivier relax and he finally let the tension go.
So, what if he saw Lucas Lee out in the open? If Olivier was going to remain in the competitive scene, then he needed to prepare himself to face a lot more familiar faces in the future. This industry was a landmine of people he knew after all.
"Alright team, are you ready? I managed to get the datasheet for the competition and it seems like we will need to brace ourselves. It does not seem like this tournament would be able to conclude this weekend."
Terry placed the bracket sheet in front of the team. Their first opponent had been unable to show up on time so they had a bi already.
Similarly, a lot of teams had a bi. But there were still a lot more teams than anyone expected there to be.
The competition would be fierce.
"Man, I cannot believe there are so many people here. I wonder if we will able to last long."
Clement was a ball of nervous energy. He was the one most concerned about their standing in such a talented environment.
"The purpose of today is not to win, but to stand out. If even one of us gets scouted out by a professional team for their training camp, it would be a big win for us."
Terry pointed out and it seemed to put even more pressure on Clement.