-Elizabeth's PoV-

 

As we both agreed upon, June paid for our time at the VR cafe. He even wanted to recruit Katherine to their team but I profusely declined for her. I don’t want to become a catalyst for Katherine to join their team since those guys usually go to different VR cafes for betting matches and I don’t want her to become addicted to gambling. Now though, we are currently having an after-party celebration for our win.

"Cheers!"

"Yeah!"

"Woohoo!"

"Great job guys!"

 

We are sitting at a moderately large square table in a cafe/bar found inside the building of the VR cafe. This part of the building is like a hub for players who want to take a break from gaming and relax for a bit. There is a very large television that is streaming games in the middle of the establishment connected to the bar side.

 

I was seated in the middle with Katherine to my left side sitting next to the window corner and my best friend Lenna to my right side. On the other side of the rectangular table is Romel sitting in the middle, Benny sitting on the window side, and Raynold sitting in front of Lenna. Each of us has his or her own order of pastry or food except for Katherine.

 

"Didn’t expect there to be a literal cafe here inside this VR cafe building." Katherine mused

"This area is mainly for customers of the VR cafe to relax, eat some good food, or take a break from VR gaming." I supplied.

Katherine is relaxed taking a sip of her coffee while the others are talking about our recent game with Ronel mostly bragging loudly.

"Are you sure you don’t want to order any sweets?" I asked.

I said it was my treat at the cafe since I was the one who invited her in the first place but she insisted on paying for herself.

"Yes, I’m sure, I’m not too fond of sweets" she replied coolly.

So mature. She really gives this air of a dependable and cool adult. Very humble too. She is probably as good as me or even better but she still doesn’t brag about her CoA skills. Not like someone I know.

"I almost killed him solo without any help! And because of me, he is severely weakened so my teammates could finish him off!" Romel bragged.

"If you had to choose a MVP in that match, that would surely be me!" he added.

"We didn’t do much though......" Beny shyly butted in.

"It is only you who didn’t do anything, I almost killed their ace. If my single slash just connected back then he would’ve died instantly. He just has the advantage in gears but I’m more skilled than him!" Romel exclaimed.

"Hmph! We both watched the whole match and you two didn’t do anything, right Ray?" Lenna argued.

"They didn’t seem to do much but every little thing counts in a match so I wouldn’t cut out their contributions to the team," Raynold said neutrally.

"You guys just cannot comprehend the complexity of the plays I’ve done!" Romel exclaimed.

"Please don’t mind him, Katherine, He has a medical condition that makes all of the words that come right out of his mouth seem obnoxious." I sighed.

"I don’t mind, he actually seems kind of fun to be around," Katherine replied

Are we even talking about the same person? While I was pondering, I took a bite out of my strawberry cake. On the edge of my sight, I notice Katherine looking intently at the strawberry cake.

Does she want a bite or two? Probably not, she said she doesn’t like sweets.

"By the way Miss Katherine, where did you learn to play like that? Your movements are so good that I thought I was watching an amateur pro player.” Raynold addressed the elephant in the room.

All eyes fell on Katherine, likely eager to know the reason for her aberrance. At least control your curiosity guys! Look at her, you guys are making her flustered.

“Ohh I…... I just played a lot of VR single-player games so I had a lot of training.” She answered slowly.

I kind of doubt that though, since there are no single-player games that I heard had as complex skills required for its gameplay as CoA does. Map awareness, stamina management, dodging, parrying, and aerial combos, are just a few examples of its complexity that no other games have integrated into their games. However, I might be wrong since there may have been new VR game releases I’m not privy to so I didn’t push the subject.

All of the others were convinced by her reasoning, except for Raynold who probably had the same conclusion as mine.

Just as Raynold was going to ask another question, there was a sudden commotion among the other customers inside the cafe. I tried to find the cause and I saw they were all looking at the TV screen of the cafe/bar. Watching it for a few seconds, I instantly knew what the commotion was about.

"Look at the screen, team Razor Gaming is having a press conference."

"Ohh they're interviewing Zetta? He’s your idol, right?"

"That’s Zetta 'the Duelist'?"

"Many players claim that he is unbeatable in 1v1!"

"Shhh, I can’t hear what they’re saying."

"It’s just a replay though I watched it live."

"My dream is to beat him in a 1v1 match someday."

Die-hard fans of the pro scene at the tables surrounding us made an uproar, talking animatedly with each other.

It was a replay of the post-game press conference of team Razor Gaming for their yesterday's win. The captain and ace of team RG (Razor Gaming), Sebastian Guillaume (aka Zetta) is shown on screen.

 

The commotion died down a bit when the press started asking their questions.

"Mr. Sebastian, what is your take about your team's comeback from a 1-player deficit with a spectacular 2v3 in game 3 of your match against team Eclipse?" A reporter said.

"The other team put all their resources into eliminating our 2 supports so Flamboyant and I capitalized on their lack of MP and HP to play aggressively and not let them recover," Zetta answered confidently.

I took a glimpse at Katherine and noticed that she seemed to be deep in thought. I've already watched it but Katherine seems entirely focused on the screen making me wonder if it is the first time she watched a press-con of a CoA pro league.

"Mr. Guillaume, many people are asking, who do you think in the current pro league can give you the hardest challenge in a 1v1 match?" another reporter said.

"Right now, I think team Royals's ace Arthur and probably team Shaolin's ace Yang can give me a good fight."

"Do you think that you will be the first ever player in the history of CoA to have 2 Andartha Cup belts under your name?" A reporter asked

In the past 3 years since the first ever Andartha Cup, no one has ever achieved the feat of being the champion for the second time so fans of the game would kill to see one in hopes of putting them on a pedestal and worshiping that player like a god. Fans are weird like that I suppose but I’m no different, I also want Zetta or one of the former team Paragon members to have a repeat win since I’m a big fan of them.

The closest currently was Zetta who won with team Paragon on the first Andartha Cup or AC for short. His new team got only 5th place in the second AC due to the sudden disbandment of the team Paragon due to their ace player 'Yuusha', who has been my inspiration in playing the game, suddenly quitting CoA. His third chance at the AC cup was the closest to anyone ever having a repeat champion with him joining Razor Gaming(a well-known e-sports organization with many different teams in different games) and placing 2nd, just almost winning the whole tournament. That is why all eyes are on him to win the 4th Andartha Cup that will be held this November.

"We can never know what the future holds. All I know is that my team and I team are going to do everything we can to bring home the crown for our fans and supporters!" Zetta passionately said.

Even though I heard it already yesterday, that statement really does give me the 'chills'. It makes me want to support him more.

"Speaking of team, your former teammate Tactical from team Nexus Gaming might be relegated to division 2 if they lose their match next week. What are your thoughts on that?"

Tactical is the former captain of team 'Paragons' who is currently playing for team NG and is also Zetta's former teammate. It breaks my heart to see all the backlash that they receive from the player base just because they keep losing their games this season.

"As Tactical's former teammate, I hope they get out of the slump their team is currently experiencing right now. But as a fellow player in the pro scene, I will not show any mercy if we face each other in CoA." Zetta said with determination.

"Tactical is getting relegated?" Katherine suddenly asked.

Her sudden interest surprised me. Is she a fan of Tactical by any chance? But if she were she would know their concurrent sub-par performance this pro league season.

"Sadly yes, they haven’t been playing well since the start of the season."

"When is his team playing next? I want to see it." she inquired.

"I think their match against team Atelier is on this weekend. Oh! wanna watch it together?" I subconsciously blurted.

"S-sorry, I’m not being a bother, right? People keep telling me I get overly friendly sometimes." I added.

I can’t help it. I get overly enthusiastic from time to time and things just come right out of my mouth unfiltered. Especially if it is CoA-related. She might think I’m too overbearing.

"……. Sure, let's watch it together."

"Really! it’s a promise, right? No backing out in the last moment?" I smiled.

"Hoo? What is this I’m hearing, are you two going out on a date or something." Lenna playfully teased.

"Ohh Lenna, we're just going to watch Team Nexus vs Team Atelier's match this weekend," I informed her.

"Ohh I wanna join, let's watch it at Katherine's home. I wanna see where you live! And maybe we could have a sleepover?" Lenna asked hopefully.

After hesitating for a bit, Katherine replied. "I’m only renting an apartment so there is nothing much to see. I’m also fine with just watching the match, but no sleepovers."

"Tsk! You’re no fun" Lenna pouted.

"Can we join in too, Miss Katherine?" Raynold butted in.

"Sorry boys, it’s a girls-only bonding session." Lenna mischievously said.

"I agree, two is too much already, my apartment is not that big to accommodate more people," Katherine added.

"Humph, we don’t need you girls! We will just have our own boys-only session." Romel added.

The conversation continued like that for a while, then we eventually went home.

 

________________________________________

Haaahh, I’m tired, socializing is tiring. We did win the match though so it is a bit fun and rewarding. I thought to myself as I approached the apartment complex I was currently residing in. The ever-so-kind-looking middle-aged guard greeted me again with the common pleasantries as I entered. I bobbed my head in acknowledgment, too tired to make small talk but not enough to forgo all of my manners. I entered the elevator along with 3 tenants who probably just got out of work and pushed the 8th-floor button.

I immediately got out of the elevator after it stopped on the floor of my apartment. I pulled out my phone from my bag and then positioned it beside the lock. The lock opened after a second, signifying that I was indeed a tenant of this exact room. The key could be in the form of a card or if you're the old antique lover, a physical key, but I chose the phone type key since it is with me all the time.

I opened the door and I was greeted by the lights turning on, ac activating, and vibrant soothing music playing as I entered. I went to the kitchen as soon as I could, ready to prepare some food. I didn't have quite the appetite earlier so I didn't order any food. Besides, only ordering coffee would make me look mature and cool, I could only hope that it had achieved its intended effect or all of that posturing was for nothing.

I saw the usual bacon and eggs in the freezer so I already knew what to cook. Not like I know how to cook any complex food anyway. How depressing.

After I ate, I put my kitchen utensils and plate in the sink. I noticed I also haven't washed the dishes and utensils I used earlier this morning.

"Well, I better get started, the dishes won't clean themselves" I sighed.

After all of my 'hard work', I went to the bath to take a shower, relax for a bit, and let the thoughts run through my mind.

I dried my body after, taking a bit longer in blowdrying my hair.

Thinking back to the events of today, it seems like I do miss playing CoA. I guess you can never part with something you really love that easily. I have to thank Elizabeth for giving me the slight push I need.

"Maybe I can...."

With renewed motivation, I went into my room and got changed into my nightwear. In the corner of the fairly large room is the VR pod I use to play my single-player VR games. The nerve gear is an outdated model compared to the ones in the VR cafe but still serves its purpose well enough.

I put on the gear and opened Champions of Andartha. I haven’t played it for a while so there was a large update. Thankfully the Fiber Optic Internet connection nowadays is very swift and stable. It only took seconds to update gigabytes worth of data. After the update, I then logged into my...... no that's not right...... our account.

 

ign: Yuusha

 

My sister's legacy. I saw her face, an exact 3D replica of her features right in front of me, staring back emotionlessly. She never did take the advice I gave her to not use the facial scan when creating her character.

 

*Warning: mental and emotional state fluctuating player is advised to take a break.​ *

 

My heart suddenly dropped, and I felt immense sadness deep down in my mind. I tried to force it out but memories keep flooding like a broken dam. Memories of my sister, my best friend, the most important person to me. The undeniable truth is that she is no longer of this world and that I will never be able to see or talk to her again. The thought of it all keeps gnawing me inside out.

 

*Warning: emotional state: Red

Mental state: Red

Initiating forced log out.*

 

I went back to the real world.

"Haaaah, Haaah, Haah!" I breathed heavily

I dry heaved as if my life depended on it. I removed the nerve gear I was wearing when suddenly, I felt water dripping down my clothes. I noticed that my tears were overflowing, I tried to wipe them but more just kept coming. I felt nauseous, I immediately got off the VR pod and rushed into my bathroom to vomit everything I had eaten earlier. I went to take my medication pills, hoping that it would relieve even the tiniest bit of the dread I was enduring right now.

I need to get some sleep, I thought to myself.

I forced myself to lie in bed hoping that all the pain in my heart would disappear, replaced by the lull of dreamland. Hoping it would go away instantly just like waking up from a terrible nightmare, but escape never did come swiftly. I cried myself to sleep that night.