Ares

Chapter II

“I think that was my last one”, I say while stretching my arms in the air. Marcus and Oskar say their goodbyes as I exit the game.

After disconnecting from discord, my whole attention is put on my livestream’s chat. Tomorrow is our second match of the tournament in North America. We lost the first one after our comeback from Dreamhack Montreal. My performance was not too bad, but I made some mistakes that ended up costing the win – which were pointed out by my teammates after the match.

“No facecam?” Although that is a frequent asked question, I choose to reply before leaving. “No, I don’t like people seeing the funny faces I make while playing. Marcus already gives me enough for that.”

I do not know the exact reason why I made friends with him as soon as I started trying out for the team during practices. Now we are the most connected players in the game – I dare to say. Our roles fit almost perfectly together. Thus, our great communication is one of the elements that makes our team one of the bests.

“At what time are your practices with the team? You sound tired.” I comb my hair back after reading what a moderator of my chat the platform I use to stream – Watcher – asked. “Neon, we don’t have an established hour. We mostly adapt to other team’s schedules.”

I already knew how exhausted I would feel if I decided to stream, yet I still did it because I wanted to have fun with my friends and relax a little bit from the stress the las tournament put me in.

“Did you hear what Lethal said on his stream?”, I read out loud from the chat after picking another random question. “I didn’t, but I don’t really care about it.”

Lethal is a professional player for the team called Team Royale, which is currently in fifth place in our region. He used to play for Ethereal Gaming but decided to leave after a losing streak a year ago, leaving the spot for someone to join the team. I was lucky to be that someone.

“Don’t take words too seriously.” My conclusion seems to calm my small audience down for a bit.

Involving myself in drama, it is something I hate doing. Not only could it bring me trouble, but it is also somewhat absurd. We should just be here to play a game we enjoy and entertain those who are watching. Saying more than needed is nonsensical for me.

“I don’t know when I’ll be streaming. Thank you for the support and the great comments. I’m still trying to keep in Montreal what happened in Montreal.” A wide smile draws in my features as I say that. It is not like I have those memories fresh in my head whenever I play, but the unease I felt after our last loss reminded me of that last event that we took part in.

I soon end my stream and turn off my computer. My earbuds rests on my desk, right next to my white keyboard. The thought of changing this last item is now in my head. Nonetheless, I am sure that it is not related at all to my poor plays during the last game.

Maybe I should just clean it up.

A sigh escapes my lips as I take my phone and get up from my comfortable chair. My best friend, Faye, wanted me to call her whenever my stream would end. I make sure she is not busy and start the call once I am alone in my bedroom.

“Did you get some rest?” She asks after our usual greetings.

I lie down on my bed, looking at the white ceiling while replying. “Enough”.

By the short silence she maintains, I can tell that she is worried for my unsurprising lack of sleep. “Kathlyn, I don’t want to steal time from you, but whenever you feel like taking a break…”

“I know, thank you.” My interruption does not bother her at all. It’s not the first time she has made that suggestion and, even though it sounds good, we barely ever have a chance to meet due to our equally demanding schedule. “How have you been?”

Although my change of subject is quickly accepted, I immediately regret doing it. “I am still wondering why you haven’t told me anything about this PS guy.”

“His name is Philip. I have already told you everything you should know. He is a player for a European team and we just danced a song or two.” Faye mutters something I can’t understand but I don’t ask her to repeat it. Instead, I keep reassuring her that being currently the only woman in the professional scene of my favorite game is not as bad as she thinks.

“I know, I just saw some tweets about it recently. I’m sorry. I’m just worried that a moron could try to take advantage of you”, she says with honesty, her voice sounding softer by the end of that sentence.

“My teammates got my back, Faye. I’ll be ok”, I say firmly, ignoring the fact that it was one of my friends the one who put me in that situation at the party.

“Alright, I kind of trust them.” Her laugh makes me close my eyes and smile. It does not matter how fun I have while playing games, it’s the time I spent talking with Faye Baxter what brings the most joy to my life most of the days.

We have been close friends since high school. She was one of the only people who knew about my love for videogames and I can safely say that I would not be here if it was not for her.

Faye knows nearly nothing about Besiege Of Combat, yet she is constantly checking up on the matches I play in tournaments. She does have interest in the game. The one thing that keeps her from being more immerse in it is college – which is more important to her at this moment.

“I have to attend a conference and you should probably rest a little bit”, she states after several minutes of talking about random topics.

It does not matter if we talk three minutes or a whole hour, it never seems to be enough for me. The conversations with her always feel like a breeze of fresh air that lightens the stress and motivates me to pursue victory in every tournament possible.

“I’ll try.”

“Stay away from guys with weird names.” Her last comment makes me laugh loudly. She is now asking for the impossible, even my name in game is an odd one.

Ares. That is how most of the members of the Besiege of combat community call me. It was chosen randomly when I started playing games almost ten years ago and I decided to keep it. Not only because it references a God from the Greek culture, but it is also because I could not think of a better name to be known as.

“Can’t promise that”, I acknowledge, ready to forget about my phone and get some food before the daily meeting with my team begins.

She lets out a brief giggle, saying goodbye right after.

Sitting up over the blankets that cover the mattress, I take my phone between my hands and order Chinese food. While my meal arrives, I scroll through my social media. Clips of whatever Lethal said about me appear constantly. However, I do not let curiosity control my actions as I continue ignoring any posts involving him.

I soon have to pick up my food and stay in the small living room, waiting for the rest of Ethereal Gaming to exit their rooms and join me.

“You have a weird schedule”, Aaron, the older member of our team, expresses when sitting next to me on the couch.

“I couldn’t eat because I was streaming”. My explanation makes him nod in understanding, even though the idea of streaming is not one of his favorites. He would rather be sleeping or watching movies instead of playing the same game almost the whole day.

One by one, our teammates arrive to the meeting room. We have already analyzed together the playing style of Audacity – the team we are playing against tomorrow. However, we always talk the night before any match in order to ensure that we are all in the same page.

Oskar, being the leader, repeats the roles we usually play as, reminding us that aggression on attack might be helpful for most of the rounds.

Although I try to play safely, I know that rushing in the building could be advantageous if I secure those early kills that distinguish my role in the game. As an entry fragger, I am the first person to enter the building and establishing control in one area of the map is crucial for the rest of my team to do their job.

That is why my poor performances often result in losing rounds. Nonetheless, I keep my spirits up for the upcoming matches. I can’t play badly forever.