Sitting in a large lobby with comfortable sofa chairs, I surveyed the room. The back and white the of the Nexus gaming colors the whole room like an extravagant, yet modest modern canvas. The mood of its staff occupants was lancholic though. After what happened in our last match, it is to be expected. It was so silent that you'd rarely hear anyone utter a single word except for the sound of a TV in the waiting lobby room playing the interview of an all too familiar Japanese beauty. The sa player who wiped the floor with us earlier in our match.
"I will win, I cannot see her dodging my slashes even if she was still in her pri three years ago".
I snorted at that ridiculous statent. She might be talented, but she never faced a different kind of talent like Yuusha. Though I might be biased since I was once her teammate...... And also, probably a little bitter cause she ended our last chance of qualifying for the AC tournant.
"Bob, Mr. Royce will see you now." The receptionist politely caught my attention.
"Ohh, right," I replied.
I stood up imdiately, extra careful to not let the team manager wait even by a single second. I walked ahead into an opaque glass door that hid the manager from onlookers outside of his office. I braced myself for the worst as I entered. Inside, I saw a neat-looking room with luxurious paintings and ornantal flowers. Relaxing and pleasing to the eye is what I would define it. However, the current owner of the office is anything but relaxed.
"You know why I called you here, don't you," The team manager asked intimidatingly.
Our team manager has always been the serious type, he has brushed-up shiny hair and a no-nonsense look always plastered on his stoic face. He is clean-shaven and neatly dressed in a luxurious suit that is probably a whole month's worth of my salary.
"Is it to invite for a drink later so we can drink our problems away?" I made a joke to lighten the mood.
He ignored it completely. Looks like he's pretty pissed that it didn't even have any effect. Let's not push our luck then.
"That was your last chance to qualify at the AC and you blew it! This is the 1st ti our organization cannot even attend the tournant. Do you know how humiliating it is for , a newly appointed team manager!?" He raised his voice, further hamring his resentnt.
"Yeah, sorry bout that, I'll take the bla, I underestimated their ace. I tried to finish it faster by doing a headshot but it backfired." I apologized to calm him down.
"At least you know when to take responsibility," he said sardonically.
"Let be blunt, you will be getting kicked out of the team after the contract expires," he continued.
"I... I understand" I said bitterly.
"The only thing you're good at right now is publicity. You can't even qualify for the Andartha Cup. I should've listened to the higher-ups when they warned that you guys cannot match the current competitive scene," he admonished.
My pride as a veteran pro CoA player took a big hit in that, but there's nothing I could say as a coback since the results of our matches say otherwise. I just took it all with grit and a clenched fist.
"The higher-ups are planning to recruit new young players and rebuild the entire roster from scratch. I'm telling you this now for you to prepare for it when the ti cos that your contract expires. You should be grateful," he said condescendingly.
"Yes sir....."
After a while of dumping all his frustrations onto , the 'eting' with the team manager ended.
I exited the Nexus gaming building. I don't have any destination in mind. I just walked aimlessly for a while until my feet dragged into the usual bar I go to when I want ti to think by myself.
As I entered the bar, the sll of ale and wine instantly perated my nose. The ambiance of this bar suits my taste perfectly with its slow music and relaxing decors. It is charmingly old-fashioned and also doesn't have that many custors being out of the way of the main city streets. You could even call it 'hidden' as others might say. I've been a regular here ever since I beca a mber of team Nexus Gaming cause it's relatively close to the building, just a few ters away, and also serves so of the best alcohol I have ever tasted. Considering I'm sort of a heavy drinker, that is a pretty high standard.
I entered the bar and took a seat at the long bar table counter. The bartender Jonas, whom I'm very familiar with given the number of tis I've been here gave an acknowledging nod. He was currently mixing drinks for another custor with astonishingly exaggerated movents, which made it quite entertaining to look at. After serving him the drink, a Long Island Ice tea if I'm not mistaken, he took my orders.
"The usual," I said before he gave a shot glass along with the standard bottle of rum I always order when I want to wallow in regrets.
I spent a couple of minutes in peace, thinking about the events of today and what the future entails when suddenly a familiar voice spoke from behind .
“I knew you'd be here, you always go into this pub whenever we have a bad match" a familiar gruff voice ca from soone who sat beside without warning.
Gustav Fernandez, aka Vanguard 'the Wall'. We have been teammates for more than a year. I'm sotis quite jealous of him since he has a moniker. People just call the strategist of the team, or sothing like that, nothing concrete by the CoA community. Can't bla them though, I don't have any skills that stood out, except for my strategies and tactics, which unfortunately didn't do any help to our most recent series of matches.
"Here to bla for the loss too?" I replied without looking.
"You know the fault lies in the whole team on why we lost back then, not just on you, right?" after pondering for a second, he continued. "Though you are the one who suggested our battle plan, so it probably is mostly your fault." He said jokingly.
"Not helping," I said irritably.
He sat next to and ordered the sa bottle of rum as mine. He was tall, muscular, and well-built with a clean-shaven head and scary-looking face. If I hadn't known him for a long ti, I would've been a little bit intimidated by soone like him sitting close to .
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm getting replaced too you know," he said gruffly.
"So, you know about the news?"
"Yeah... The managent wants to build a new team from scratch. Now that our contracts are about to expire, nothing is going to stop that from happening. I'll probably find another team eventually though. There are always many teams who change their roster after the AC tournant concludes. And if it doesn't go the way I want, I could always easily join any tier 2 pro team with my experience.
"Well good for you".
"Not planning to join this ti in team hunting?" he asked a little surprised.
"Probably not," I said curtly.
"That's surprising. What do you plan to do?"
I looked up at the lights of the bar, it was dim, with a good ambiance. The main reason why I love to drink at this place. It is quite relaxing.
"I'm not sure myself, probably retire? I'm getting too old for this shit," I replied tiredly.
"What! Why? I thought your dream was to win a second AC before you retire?" He replied a bit shocked.
"We didn't even qualify for it this year. I'm already 27 and my skills are already rusting because of my age and diminishing drive to improve myself. I can't wait another year just to play in the tournant.” I reasoned.
“So what? You plan on quitting CoA just like that?" He said with a hint of aggravation.
"...I'm not quite sure myself." I pondered as I shook my shot glass.
After a short while, I continued.
“When I first started CoA, it was the best thing that happened to . I worked hard, and I was motivated in playing to improve, I also found close friends online while playing and ford a team. We eventually won the AC with that sa team. After that though, it's always full of pressure. Pressure at being a title holder, as 'THE' very first AC champion, is unsurmountable. The pressure of always being the captain of my team is also getting too hard for to handle. You need to work extra hard in keeping your team together and prepare battle strategies with the coach against your opponent. You also always take the bla whenever your team loses or plays badly. Frankly, I'm getting tired... but you already know how hard it is since you were also a captain back then before we tead up.”
“Yeah, if it weren't for your team, we would've been the first AC champion. I still resent you for that you know.”
“If you want to resent soone, resent that girl who destroyed you guys at the finals.”
"Argghh, don't remind . It was fucking humiliating getting soloed back then by a single-player 3v1, especially in a finals match. I had nightmares from that match for weeks. That girl is a different kind of monster." He shivered.
"I get what you an. I know it all too well playing as her teammate... though her drive to win during that first AC tournant was entirely on a whole new level."
“Yeah, I noticed that too, as if her life depended on getting the cup. Never seen a player that determined to win before. It's such a sha she just quit though. I've always wanted a revenge match with her.”
"...A sha indeed."
That girl has been always secretive even when in-ga. She always uses a voice changer and sotis even ignores us like she's an entirely different person. When the tournant ended, she didn't even go online a single ti in CoA and also never responded to our in-ga PMs. Sothing must have happened after that tournant. I hope she's doing fine wherever she is now.
We transition into a comfortable silence for a while, slowly taking our shots. Until he suddenly piped up a question.
"Do you really plan on quitting CoA?" he asked genuinely.
I pondered for a mont. Thinking about what to do from now on.
"Probably, I an, what use is there for soone as untalented as ? We both know CoA is different from most of the other strategic e-sports. Skills are what matters in CoA. Cheap things like strategies won't win against pure raw skills. There are monsters out there that defy logic and completely ignore tactical advantages. You know, I'm not as good as those monsters."
"I completely disagree, I won't let anyone talk shit to my rival like that, even if it is you doing the shit talk."
"Heh, thanks man, that ans a lot..." I smiled at that.
Another silence, a lot shorter this ti before Fernandez suggested sothing.
"I think that it's a waste for you to leave the pro scene completely though. Why not try becoming a coach or sothin' so you could put that big head of yours to use?"
His suggestion hit like a truck.
Realization begins to dawn on . If winning my second AC tournant as a player is impossible, why not use my strategies and leadership to build a team that can win it for ? Why not use all my experience and knowledge in the ga to train players full of potential to beco monsters in the ga?
My heart pumped fast and loud like a bass drum. This feeling, it has been so long since I last experienced it. I barely rember it from when I first built the team Paragon from scratch. A dream. A vision. A desire to create the strongest team that will shake the world of CoA.
“You know, you do say good things sotis.” I grinned.
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