Adopted Soldier

The next match was about to start, Alex and his group went to the designated seats for players waiting for the next round. Once he got seated Alex started to watch intently at the other players matches. The skills he has currently was not enough, if he doesn't do something there was no way he can win against Emily. So he needed something, anything that could give him some kind of edge.

Emily on the other hand didn't bother to do any of that since watching the opponents play style wont really help her improve. So instead of watching she went to the audience area to play with her fans, while it wasn't their turn.

Niel on the other hand approached Blair and Kim Suho. The two players of the Gaming Club who were just looking at their feet. Kim Suho had a look of irritation, like he couldn't accept what was happening.

Yet he knew that if he and the other Gaming Club members entered this tournament without Emily or Alex, then they would've lost in the quarterfinals. Kim Suho wanted to win and save the Gaming Club from disbanding. He thought at the beginning that they could do it even without the help of Alex and Emily. He thought that they had a better understanding of the game and practicing together with his clubmates would give them victory.

When he saw their improvement he was filled with pride that the Gaming Club wasn't only for fun and they could now compete properly. Yet what was the reality of the situation even Blair their ace wasn't a match for either Alex or Emily. One of which just learned how to play the game recently.

They weren't even helpful at doing anything, he and Blair simply stood there doing nothing. He just wanted to win and go back to the old times, when they can have fun playing games... Was it really alright if they win?

Even if they win now, they would extend the life of the club for a bit. They would still need to prove themselves by winning other tournaments. At this point no matter how hard he tries, they can never go back to those fun filled days of casual gaming.

'Even if we save the Gaming Club, will it still be the Gaming Club I know?'

While Kim Suho was questioning the existence of the Gaming Club, Blair was feeling a bit ashamed.

She the supposed ace of the club wasn't able to do anything at all. She even told Luvia that they didn't need the Mercenary Club. She told her that all they need was to get better by themselves. In the end she believed that there teamwork would prevail.

That's what she thought, but reality would prove otherwise. When they played with the Mercenary Club for the first time, she was shocked. Alex the one who didn't even have an ounce of experience playing FPS before meeting them, actually improved so much that he could basically kill them all in game. Though he did sacrifice his teammates in the process.

Then Emily came and proved that she and her team weren't really anything special. The moment Emily joined the game it didn't matter if they had the better teamwork. Heck it didn't matter if Emily had a team or not, she by herself was capable of wiping them out.

In the end they were simply inadequate. At first Blair simply though Emily was special, that she was just a cut above the rest. At this point Blair still believed that they could win the tournament without the help of Mercenary Club.

Yet once more reality was cruel. If it weren't for Alex and Emily she and her team would've lost on the third round of the preliminaries. There opponent had a God level player and she wasn't a match for him. It didn't matter if you have teamwork as long as the opponent and you have a great gap in skill. If you don't have someone equally skilled to suppress the other, then losing was only inevitable.

While the two members of the Gaming Club were being depressed while their heads look downwards, ashamed by their own incapability, Niel approached them.

Niel Rayheart was a true genius, as he was born that way. He never truly needed to work hard for anything until recently. Yet at this moment he was working hard to become the best he can be. So seeing the two Gaming Club members looking like that, after a simple setback made him feel disappointed.

He wasn't expecting extreme dedication like Oliver's, or perseverance like Evangeline's, or even the stubbornness of Rachel. He just expected them to fight until the end for what they love, in this case is the Gaming Club.

It wasn't good to compare yourself to such people like Alex or even Emily who are outside the norm. Even he who was blessed with talent could only support the two.

"Hey you two how long are you going to mope around?" The two didn't even lift their heads to respond.

"How disappointing, is that all you're worth? I thought you're doing this because you don't want your club to disappear. If so then how about doing your best?" When Blair and Kim Suho heard what Niel said they both glared at him.

"What do you know Mr. Perfect? We're not like you guys that can do anything without much effort. How can you understand the frustration of being able to do nothing?!" Kim Suho got angry at Niel's statement and shouted at him. While Blair simply glared at Niel even harder.

"Hmph, not much effort? I heard from Rachel that ever since Alex learned how to play the game he kept on practicing without sleeping for the past few days. He even watched videos of different play styles, studied all the maps and such. Is that not much effort? Also before you claim that you can do nothing, how about doing something first? You see I haven't killed a single enemy in the game and all I did was support the two. So I suggest you change the way your thinking. Isn't this game suppose to be played as a team?" When Niel was done with saying what he wants to say, he showed his usual radiant smile at the two and left.

The two Gaming Club members felt even more ashamed as they understood what Niel was trying to convey to them. After a few seconds of silent contemplation they lifted their heads and a burning passion could be seen in their eyes, their resolve had been fortified.

...

Rachel was watching Alex who was currently in deep concentration watching the other players playing their matches. While looking at him she remembered what Emily said about Alex being disappointed in her for not trusting him. Was that really the truth? If so why was Alex doing this? It doesn't really feel like he even cares anymore. Did Alex even care that much in the first place?

It was at this moment she realized that even now she couldn't understand much of how Alex's mind works, she still couldn't understand what makes Alex tick. It was not from the lack of trying either, since she has been observing him ever since he transferred, but it seems that wasn't enough. Rachel then decided after she apologizes to Alex, she will ask Emily to teach her about all the things she knows about Alex.

Like what are his favorite games, what he likes to eat, what are his fears and such. It is possible that Emily knows all those things since they are childhood friends. When Rachel remembered that face she felt extremely conflicted.

...

The quarterfinals had finally concluded and now the tournament was heading towards the semi-final matches. The next opponent of Alex's team was the team considered to be the most likely to win the whole tournament. Not only does this team have the best coordination in the whole tournament, they also had two God level players on their team. Seeing as Alex's team also had two God level players the match was most probably going to be about who has the better coordination. So knowing Alex's team had two bystanders, the audience felt like this might be it for Alex's team.

Even the fans of Emily felt a little unenthusiastic about their chances. Still they had to support their Bloody Princess.

"For the eternal night!" The fans started chanting in support for Emily.

The game started and same as before Alex and Emily didn't change the way they played, even though their opponents were better than the past ones they faced. To the two the only real opponent they had were each other.

Niel who was supporting Alex and Emily like usual had suddenly been surrounded. He was being shot at in three different directions. Alex and Emily tried to save him, but neither of them expected this to happen so they were late to react. For the first time since the tournament started Alex's team finally lost a man.

The other team felt elated that their plan had worked. Now they only needed to face Alex and Emily separately and finish off the scrubs afterwards. Yet as they were now going to phase two of their plan something unexpected happened.

One of the two bystanders threw a nicely timed flash grenade on their side. This moment of confusion was enough time for Alex to shoot two of the surprised enemy players.

The enemy team was in utter shock at the sudden turn of events. The two bystanders who did nothing the whole tournament finally moved and they supported both Alex and Emily in near perfect coordination with each other.

'Was this part of their plan all along? Was this their fail-safe if ever that guy died? Damn it! They got us... Everything was just bait.'

The ace of the other team, who had no idea what happened before the match, thought everything that was happening now was all part of the other team's plan. Still they can't give up now. They still had two God level players alive in their team, with that they can still turn this around.

Yet while the game continued they finally noticed the huge difference in skill between them and Alex and Emily. The four of them at this point were classified as God level players, but they weren't at the same level of skill. The only person as skilled as Emily or simply near her skill was Alex, and vice versa the only one skilled enough to beat Alex in this whole tournament was Emily. Yet unfortunately for everyone the two of them were teammates.

With the renewed vigor of Kim Suho and Blair, the semi-final match wasn't as exciting as everyone thought it would be. It didn't even end in the result everyone expected. The actual winners of this match was an unknown team, with two God level players.

This was a shocking upset. The team that everyone thought was most likely to win wasn't even able to reach the finals. When Emily's fans saw the result of the match most of them cheered like deranged lunatics.

"QUEEN! The eternal night is your domain may the glory of your victory resound throughout the land!"

Niel looked at the two members of the Gaming Club and smiled. He raised his hand which the two responded by giving him a hi-five.

"See that, now you can say you actually tried."

...

The final match of the tournament was anticlimactic. The enemy team wasn't even remotely as good as the one in the semi-finals. The only reason they even got to the finals was because they got lucky. All the teams they face were mostly second rate. Now in front of Alex's team that were playing together better than during the start of the tournament, with two attackers and three supporters.

The final match ended with Alex's team's overwhelming victory. The cheers were even relatively weaker than when they won in the semi-finals. Now it was time to declare their victory on the tournament also to decide who won the bet.

After counting all the kills the winner of the bet was....