Chapter 554 - 550: Lorcain U Esports Club

In less than ten minutes, a crowd had gathered behind Ethan Sterling.

Everyone was playing the same game, with all the same heroes and skills, but watching Ethan Sterling play was a pleasure to watch. It even gave rise to the illusion, ’Am I even playing the same game as him?’

Moreover, Ethan Sterling could not only play but also give commands. On top of commanding, he could even provide commentary for everyone. This made him seem even more at ease and in complete control.

Wasn’t this what you’d call a god-tier player?

Under Ethan Sterling’s command and strategy, the match was dragged into the late game. At that stage, the economic gap no longer mattered, as nearly everyone had reached full build. Victory or defeat would hinge on the final team fight.

And Ethan Sterling, with both Flash and Golden Body as defensive skills, switched from his earlier conservative playstyle. Before anyone could react, he flashed in to initiate a fight, aiming straight for the enemy’s core damage dealer—the Shooter Position.

A full combo of skills landed perfectly. The opposing shooter and the Support protecting them were both instantly vaporized.

When the enemy jungler, the Flying Mantis, saw an opportunity and leaped in, Ethan Sterling reacted instantly, pressing Golden Body to negate the damage. The Mantis’s position was exposed and all its skills had missed. It was chased down by his team’s shooter and instantly killed with two critical hits.

At the same time, achievement notifications for Ethan Sterling’s last move popped up on the screen.

"Perfect Initiation"!

"Soul Reaver"!

"Instakill"!

With the enemy jungler and shooter dead, the team easily secured two major boss monsters. The late-game double buff from them was a clear sign the game was over. Before they could even push to the enemy’s high-ground crystal, the other team had already voted to surrender.

Ethan Sterling had the highest damage output and the highest score in the entire match, almost single-handedly turning the tables and carrying his teammates to victory!

"Fucking awesome!"

Brandon Marshall was ecstatic, clapping a firm hand on Ethan Sterling’s shoulder.

The rest of the onlookers were hyped up too, and started chattering excitedly. "Damn, that was sick! He made even a clunky hero like that look amazing!"

"Hey, freshman, what’s your major? You gotta carry us sometime so we can rank up!"

"Why do you look so familiar?"

Someone got a good look at Ethan Sterling’s face, furrowed their brows, and leaned in for a closer look. The more they looked, the more familiar he seemed. "Seriously, you look familiar. I’ve seen you before!"

Before Ethan Sterling could say anything, Jameson Stone chimed in with a suggestion. "Senior, maybe you’ve seen him on a livestream for some tournament?"

"Huh?" Prompted by Jameson, the guy seemed to have an idea. "For real, have you played in a national tournament before?"

That one question sent ripples through the crowd. Brandon Marshall and the others were all stunned.

"You’ve played in a professional tournament?"

"Freshman, are you a pro player?"

Ethan Sterling smiled and explained humbly, "Not a pro player. I just formed a team with a few friends on the fly, and we sort of stumbled our way into the nationals."

Since it had come to this, Ethan Sterling felt there was no need to hide it anymore. It wasn’t that he ever intended to conceal this part of his past, just that he wouldn’t bring it up proactively.

"It was last year’s Autumn Split. Our team was one of the top four from Veridia, but we ran into a professional team in the first round of the nationals. It was a close loss."

His words jogged someone’s memory.

"Ah, I remember now! You guys ran into the Solara MT team, right? I remember! You were the jungler, and you almost turned the tables on MT!" the person exclaimed, incredibly excited.

Because it was the most popular competitive PC game in the world, almost everyone watched the annual tournaments.

So with his reminder, the others started to remember, too.

Someone even recalled Ethan Sterling’s team name. "SYBF, right? ’Submit to No One’!"

Ethan Sterling smiled and nodded.

"Holy shit, freshman, you have to join our Esports Club!" Brandon Marshall grabbed Ethan Sterling’s hand like he’d just found a treasure. "Forget everything else, if you join, we’ll finally have someone to carry us up the ranks."

Ethan Sterling replied, "Senior, that’s what I’m here for—to sign up."

"Follow me!" Brandon Marshall enthusiastically pulled Ethan Sterling toward a small room in a corner of the Esports Club, and Jameson Stone quickly followed.

A small sign was taped to the room’s door. It read: President’s Office.

Brandon Marshall gave a token knock on the door before pushing it open without waiting to see if anyone had heard. "President, I brought a ringer to join the club!"

Ethan Sterling and Jameson Stone followed behind, and the moment they stepped inside, both of them were dumbfounded.

The President’s Office wasn’t large. There was a desk with a computer on it, and the only other furniture was a water cooler and two chairs.

Two pennants hung on the wall. One read, "Lorcain University 2019 Outstanding Club".

And this was 2025!

The other read, "2020 Wild Campus Esports Tournament - National Runner-Up".

And this was 2025!

But none of that mattered. What was important was that the person sitting behind the computer desk in the President’s Office was none other than the sweet-looking girl who had just led them in at the entrance.

"This is our Esports Club president, a third-year, Riley Kent."

Brandon Marshall made the introduction, then, noticing the expressions on Ethan Sterling and Jameson Stone’s faces, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow smugly. "Pretty, right?"

Riley Kent slowly rose to her feet and gave the two a small smile. "Welcome to the Lorcain U Esports Club."

Ethan Sterling snapped out of it and blinked. He never would have imagined that the president of the Esports Club would be a girl, let alone one who looked so sweet.

"You can register your personal information here first." Riley Kent took out a pen and handed it to Ethan Sterling.

Ethan Sterling nodded dazedly and walked over to start filling out his information on the application form.

Brandon Marshall was still buzzing with excitement, recounting to Riley Kent the story of how Ethan Sterling had played in the nationals and the brilliant moves he’d just used to turn the game around.

Riley Kent listened with a shocked expression. When he was done, she looked at Ethan Sterling and asked, "Freshman, do you have any plans to keep competing?"

Ethan Sterling had just finished filling out his information. He looked up and asked uncertainly, "You mean, for our Esports Club’s competitions?"

"Not entirely," Riley Kent explained. "The Esports Club occasionally holds internal tournaments, but those are basically just for fun among members. I’m talking about more formal competitions, like the ’Collegiate Esports Cup’ or the ’University Esports League’—semi-professional events like those."

As Riley Kent was speaking, however, Brandon Marshall couldn’t help but let out a couple of awkward coughs.

Ethan Sterling didn’t notice, but he was a little curious. "Our Esports Club has its own semi-pro team?"

"We do." Riley Kent nodded. "Right now, we have a seven-person roster: five main members and two substitutes."

Ethan Sterling understood. He then broke into a small smile. "Sure. Since I’ve joined the Esports Club, I’m part of the team. If the club needs me, I’ll play!"

Hearing this, Riley Kent clasped her hands together in front of her chest, overjoyed. "That’s wonderful!"

Just then, Jameson Stone, who had been standing to the side, raised his hand. Looking at Riley Kent, he asked, "Senior, do you have another application form? I want to join the Esports Club too!"