The final match was set.
Sohow, so miracle, maybe karma or just codic timing—Team Lacta won the next round of rock, paper, scissors, launching them straight into the grand finals.
"Maybe I should use this luck in the lottery," Sangwon said, staring at his hands like they were made of gold. He was the one who won them the spot in the first place.
They didn’t trust Zeno with it anymore.
Their excitent was buzzing as they waited to see who they’d be up against in the grand finals. The last ga was running its final minutes, and again it seed like a no-brainer.
On the screen, Team Daebak was facing off against Team Spirit.
"Team Daebak advances to the finals!"
The announcent ca in loud and fast. Daebak dominated. The screen replayed their final kill—Phoenix teleporting behind the enemy’s mage and wiping them out with a clean combo.
He was their team’s jungler, a position he liked because it ant he could go around all of the lanes.
With that, they victoriously went backstage while waiting for the final ga. Phoenix walked ahead of his team, sweat on his brow, fire in his eyes.
Team Lacta was walking toward them to prepare. As Phoenix passed by Zeno, their shoulders bumped into each other.
Technically, Phoenix intended for it to happen.
However, he didn’t stop walking after doing so. He didn’t even glance sideways. Instead, he just uttered, "Lucky," before going to the restroom on his own.
Fifteen minutes.
That was all that was left before the last match-up of the tournant.
Phoenix stood in front of the bathroom mirror, palms planted on the sink, the sound of running water echoing off the tiles.
He took a deep breath, then shook his head slowly.
It had never been easy for him.
Unlike other actors, Phoenix didn’t start with a safety net. He didn’t have any famous family, nor did he have expensive coaching. No second chances.
His dad passed away at a young age, and his mother worked, leaving him with his grandparents most of the ti. For a while, he thought he’d never escape the mundaneness of his old life.
He was so ordinary to the point that it hurt.
He even used to hate the mirror.
But now, he looked at himself and saw the man he was supposed to be.
"I’m not going back to that pathetic state," he whispered. "I won’t stop now."
He splashed cold water on his face, shook it off, and walked out of the bathroom with new fire in his steps.
The stage lights flared.
The casters welcod the audience to the final match of the tournant. Fans spamd the chat. s, declarations, support, threats, and marriage proposals for Zeno flooded the comnts in real-ti.
Team Lacta and Team Daebak sat across from each other at their respective booths.
Zeno pulled his headset on, flexing his fingers as he looked across the stage. Phoenix was already watching him from the other side, brows lowered.
The draft phase began.
Players hovered their picks and bans, discussions going between and through mics and team chat. It was ti for Phoenix to ban a player. Without any hesitation, he locked it in.
Lacta Lynx - BANNED
For a full second, no one spoke.
Then Crabby shouted from the comntator booth, "WAIT, WHAT? HE BANNED LACTA?!"
Zeno’s face didn’t move, but his hands tightened around his mouse.
Knots leaned into the mic. "This... is bold. Phoenix just banned Zeno’s main character. The one he’s played since the start."
"Talk about sending a ssage," Crabby said, half-laughing in disbelief.
- He did not.
- Oh, it’s personal.
- THIS IS WAR.
- The two are fighting in the theaters and here.
- FIGHT BACK, ZENO. FIGHT BACK!
- Didn’t Zeno say that was the only hero he could play??
- oh no oh no oh no no no no no
- team Lacta is done. good run guys
"What do we do?" Jace asked, turning toward Zeno.
"Wait, wasn’t that your only hero?" Sangwon asked, staring at Zeno in alarm. Sohow, after they won the first ga and were now in the finals, a fire was lit inside him. Zeno still didn’t like him, though, so he didn’t respond.
Even Hyunbin looked over and muttered, "Crisis."
Zeno still appeared calm, but his eyes were darting across the screen. Everyone knew he had only been playing for a week.
His account was only a week old, too. Therefore, he had few to no unlocked heroes.
anwhile, Risa crossed her arms tightly. Her brows furrowed.
"Are you afraid of Lacta?" she asked Phoenix.
Phoenix didn’t turn to look at her. His fingers tapped idly on the desk, eyes locked ahead. "I just want to win."
"But he’s new—"
"That’s not my problem."
From the comntator booth, the casters picked up on the tension imdiately.
"Phoenix banning Lacta Lynx might be the most aggressive move in this whole tournant," Crabby said. "That’s like... that’s like removing the training wheels from a three-year-old’s bike."
"Or taking away a writer’s keyboard," Smitzy added.
The ban tir ticked down.
"Zeno?" Mimi asked quietly.
He didn’t answer.
"What are we going to do?" Jace asked again, panicking. "We can’t forfeit in the finals. Can we?"
Zeno exhaled. "Just lock in your heroes."
"Jace, you be the marksman," he added.
They all paused.
"What?" Sangwon asked.
"Lock them in," Zeno said, calmly this ti.
Without another word, he clicked through the interface, swapping out his and Jace’s roles.
"Are you sure about this?" Jace asked.
"Nope," Zeno replied simply. But his fingers never stopped moving. Jace was panicking even more!
He finally scrolled to his own hero selection screen.
It was... pitiful.
His roster was mostly tutorial characters and free-week options.
All the flashy ones were greyed out. No skins. No premium exclusives. No Lacta Lynx.
Except—
One na blinked in the corner of the jungle. It was... odd.
"Milkman Maximus"
"No, Zeno. No," Jace said. "His na might sound stupid, but he’s really hard to use. Even pro players need at least a full week of gaming with just this character to get him right."
However, everyone had already locked their heroes in. He was the only one left.
Zeno stared at the buff-looking guy holding two tal jugs. He had visible nipples and had a milk foam mustache.
- WHO IS MILKMAN MAXIMUS
- What is that
- IS THIS AN ACTUAL CHARACTER
- zeno you’re not serious
- he went from ani catgirl to protein milk bro??
Zeno clicked on the na.
He locked it in.
Zeno started scrolling through the skill descriptions quickly, eyes skimming while the rest of them panicked.
"Passive... Condensed Power... huh," he muttered.
"First skill: Moo-vent Speed Boost?"
"Second skill: Calcium Shotgun..."
He clicked open the third skill’s info when Jace gently nudged his shoulder.
"... Do you know how to play this character?" he asked out loud.
Zeno shrugged.
"No."
The screen glowed.
Match starting in 5... 4...
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