"Hello everyone, I am Aqua. I am the designated leader of this team and I play as a healer. But I am sure you all knew about that already."
Aqua's boastful voice was loud. Olivier could already feel the other three players' annoyance and their desire to log off.
Only the thought of their tournament performance as well as the contract they had signed kept them in the group.
"We know you. But I do not think I have heard of the last member of our team before. Who are you?"
Olivier was sure that this question was directed toward him. He was the only one here who did not have any kind of social media presence after all.
"He is a special case. I invited him to this competition. He is not a streamer or an influencer, but Controller is an incredible player who will help the team."
Aqua quickly explained and an awkward silence followed his announcement. Olivier could tell that the other three were less than thrilled to have Olivier play with them.
"We cannot have that. This collaboration is for us all to take advantage of each other's fame and gain a bigger following. No offense, kid, but you being here is not something I want."
Luna quickly shot down Olivier with those harsh words. She was not the only one who wanted Olivier replaced with another streamer.
Heck, even a trainee would do. Their last member just had to be someone she could take advantage of and push her career ahead.
"Well, too bad that the team had already been finalized. If you want to back out, then you will have to talk with the management about it. I can not do anything about it anymore."
Aqua's words shut the other three up.
They could ask the management to withdraw them from this competition as a form of protest, but it would harm their reputation.
Plus, they would also have to pay a fine for breaching the contract. It was an overall loss for these streamers.
"Fine, the kid can stay for now. But are you sure this is a good idea? Will he even be able to keep up with the power level of our plays? Many of our opponents are professional players. They will take advantage of any weakness we have."
Ella's sweet and fake voice sounded understanding but Olivier did not miss the underlying tone of disapproval in her voice.
But despite her disapproval, Ella did not do anything else. She calmed down and decided to give Olivier a chance.
Maybe this kid would prove her wrong and end up surprising her and everyone else as well.
"So, I think we should start by trying something easy. How about we try a dungeon before jumping into the ranked ladder? We all need to get used to each other's playstyle."
Delon's cheerful voice tried to cut through the tension that had descended on the team. He was the only one who still sounded happy right now.
"Hmm, Delon is right. We need to focus if we want to win this competition. We will also need to work as a team if we want to take down some of our biggest competition."
Ella also agreed with a sweet voice. She was trying her best to preserve her image, but her real self had already been seen by everyone here.
"Since all our accounts are level 150 without any skill points allocated assigned to them, let us choose a basic dungeon to run through. Once we are done with the basic dungeon, we can try and level up the difficulty."
Aqua's suggestion was quickly agreed upon by the other three. And they were off to face their first dungeon challenge.
"Alright, the goal of this dungeon is simple - kill the boss before the timer runs out. Thankfully, between all of us, it should not be a problem. Do you want to consume your skill points before the run or after this?"
Aqua asked before he started the dungeon.
Skill points could make or break a character. Even 10 points of speed could turn the flow of a match around.
And once chosen, they could not be reallocated. So, one needed to make a firm decision before committing to their choice.
"Hmm, I have already decided. I will be going with my regular build."
Luna decided before she began to allocate her points. Delon and Ella followed suit. They did not even try to match each other halfway, each choosing to maximize their damage.
"Controller, what about you? I will hold off my points allocation for now."
Aqua's decision was the right one. He was behaving as the leader and looking after the weaknesses of his team.
"I will hold these points for now as well. I will need to see what I need to compensate for the sake of the team."
The silence that followed Olivier's words was awkward. The other three did not say anything once they realized that they had messed up.
This was a team competition, not a solo run they could brute force.
"Well, I am sure our team will be alright. Now then, shall we enter the dungeon? We shall decide on the main roles after seeing everyone's performance."
Aqua decided and they entered the dungeon.
Instantly, the three streamers on their team dashed toward the minions. They were all trying to outdo each other.
"Hey, you need to work as a team. You are lucky you are in one party and cannot damage each other right now."
Aqua yelled as he began to heal his allies. But the three DPS on their team had no intention of listening to him.
Nor did they have any intention of helping their healer.
In the end, Olivier had to be the one to help Aqua out by killing any stray mob that tried to reach the healer.
And then, the mob boss came. The giant roared as soon as he saw the party.
[Boss skill used. Resistance +300%, Party Atk -50%]
"Shit, I forgot how annoying this boss was. Do not worry, I'll kill it."
Luna assured the team. But the boss chose that moment to ram into the trio, instantly making their health fall below 50%. Even the tank was struggling since it was an offensive set.
The boss raised his club and a red arrow appeared on top of Ella's head. She had been marked as the boss as the target.
"Hey, help me out. Hurry up and heal me."
Ella cried out as the boss smashed the ground near her. She had made a lucky dodge. The others tried to kill the boss, but the boss was aggroed on the tank of the team.
Finally, Luna managed to divert the boss's aggro toward herself after she used most of her MP. But she was in the same state as Ella was with her HP cut in half.
"Someone, hurry up and save me. Healer, do your job."
Luna cried out as she dodged the boss's attacks. With a single swipe of the boss's club, Luna's health fell below 30%.
Olivier could not stand to see this pathetic scene anymore. These people had no teamwork or intention of playing this game in unity.
He would have to take the lead and call the shots.