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Chapter 34: Practice makes perfect! Shino’s POV December 23rd. That was the big day. The Yokohama Christmas eSports Tournament Which meant we had exactly **less than a week to whip this chaotic excuse of a team into shape. And by "chaotic," I mean **what kind of team has a mom and an idol playing in a high-stakes tournament?! I made Haru inform his family and in-game wife so they can know it beforehand. I hope they agree, especially that Marika. I know 500,000 yen isn’t worthy for her (because she can earn it in a week), but PLEASE COOPERATE! --- After School - Training Begins Haru and I trudged home after a long day at school, exhausted but ready to jump into practice. We had barely stepped through the door when we saw Shiori and Marika already lounging on the couch. "You two sure look relaxed," I muttered, dropping my bag. Marika stretched, looking fresh from her salon trip. "We just got back from Tokyo. A day of self-care before that battle is necessary." Shiori, still scrolling through her phone, looked up and smirked. "Besides, I already carried Haru in rank games this morning. I’m ready." Haru groaned. "We’re not talking about that." Marika clapped her hands together. "Alright, shall we begin? I’m excited!" I sighed, already feeling the weight of responsibility. "Fine, but if we don’t get serious, we’re going to embarrass ourselves." --- First Official Team Meeting - Haru’s House We gathered in Haru’s living room, our newly formed team sitting in a circle like a weird family intervention. "So... we’re really doing this, huh?" Haru’s mom, Miyako-san, adjusted her glasses, looking way too casual for someone about to tank her way through a pro tournament. "I still don’t get why I can’t join," Nishi, Haru’s little sister, pouted from the couch, arms crossed. "I’m way better than Shino." "Oi, EXCUSE ME?!" I snapped. "Who taught you how to play this game, huh? That was ME! I CREATED YOU!" "You also miss half your shots," she shot back. "I—I HAVE A HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD PLAYSTYLE, OKAY?!" Haru clapped his hands to cut off the immature girls rivalry. "Nishi, you’re too young to enter. Rules are rules." Nishi groaned but didn’t argue further, probably because she already knew the answer. Instead, she grabbed her phone and started on her playing in the background like some side character. Meanwhile, Marika—yes, THE Marika, Japan’s national idol and Haru’s aunt—leaned forward with a mischievous smile. "I’m looking forward to this. It’s been a while since I’ve played seriously." Seriously?! She said that like she hadn’t just been wiped out by Shiori in a casual match while humming a pop song. --- Roles & Training Plan "Alright, let’s go over team roles," I said, pulling up my notes. "We’ve got—" - Haru - Assassin (Dagger specialist, aka the team’s biggest headache) - Shiori - Mage (Burst DPS, also Haru’s biggest headache in general) - Marika - Mage (Support/DPS hybrid, because idols apparently do everything) - Haru’s Mom - Tank (Because why not?) - Me - Sniper (Obviously, because I like shooting things from a distance where it’s safe.) "So, our biggest weakness is..." I looked around. "Honestly, we don’t have a healer." Nishi’s the only healer here.. and yes, although there are skills that can grant healing effects, this is not sufficient for PvP combats. Haru’s mom casually flexed her arms. "That’s why I’ll be soaking up all the damage. Back in my day, we didn’t need healers. We just fought through the pain." But, she just played a few days ago, right? **What kind of gamer energy is that?!** Haru sighed. "Mom, this isn’t an actual battlefield..." "Well, it is now, sweetie." Shiori, who had been oddly quiet, finally spoke up. "I say we practice through live matches. No better way to improve than real combat." As expected of the teachers. I smirked. "Oh? You just want an excuse to show off, don’t you?" Shiori’s face turned red. "T-That’s not—!" "You totally do," I added. "But hey, as long as we win, I don’t care." I can’t still forgot how she defeated me easily on our 1v1 battle. I know Shiori is a great force. As expected of milfs. --- Practice Matches - Disaster Strikes We queued up for our first match as a full squad. Game Start. We all played on our phone. Of course we can’t bring our gaming set ups on the venue right? Apparently, SFO has a PvP feature in an arena match, which is held of course on the arena. It’s inside is like the Gladiator arenas you can see on some Isekai animes. Or if you are a wholesome otaku don’t want cliche genres, it’s like the arena in one piece, dressrosa arc. Five minutes in, and we had zero synergy. 1. Haru kept running off alone. He can’t use his assassin skills because there’s no way he can ambush on open spaces. "ASSASSINS ARE SUPPOSED TO ROAM!" he yelled as he got ganged up on for the third time in a row. "ROAM SMARTLY, YOU MORON!" I yelled back. 2. Shiori played aggressively—but only with Haru. DAMN IT, THIS AIN’T YOUR DATE! "I CAN TAKE THEM ALL!" Haru screamed as he charged into three enemies alone with Shiori. She, uh... she could not take them all. Yes, Haru’s a top player, but he’s to squishy. Without heal, he can be easily killed. But no, as he play, although he’s reckless, I can’t believe he can dodge and parry attacks easily. Shiori also know how Haru moves. Well, they’re playing together for a long time so that’s already a given. 3. Marika was too chill. "Oops\~ I forgot to cast my shield." "MARIKA-SAN, PLEASE." I can’t believe she switch into a mage class. Her original class is suppose to be a fighter. Is it because she aims to defeat Shiori on the mage category? 4. Haru’s mom was terrifying. I don’t know how, but she actually tanked like a boss. The problem? She didn’t understand game mechanics. "Mom, press Q! Q! QQQQ!!" "What does Q do?" "YOUR ULT! YOUR GIANT STUN!" "Oh, that sounds fun." She finally pressed it ten seconds too late. Miyako-san knows how to build gears properly, but she lacks mechanics understanding. Also, who’s tank in their right mind to fight without damage dealer in their backs? 5. I missed a few shots. Which everyone definitely pointed out. Also, why I’m fighting in the vanguard? We’re just fighting on our own, without formation and teamwork at all. --- Post-Match Breakdown Although we didn’t lose on our practice matches, we would lose if we played like this in the tournament. Horribly. Players there for sure are veteran, they know well how to synergize, and work with squads. I sighed. "Okay, so we have almost a week to fix this mess." Marika stretched. "That was fun. Let’s do another." HOW WAS SHE STILL HAVING FUN?! Shiori crossed her arms. "We need better coordination." "No," I corrected, "We need basic communication." Haru’s mom nodded. "I’ll start studying game mechanics." Shino.exe has stopped working. I can’t believe even three of us are pros, we don’t have the most important thing... TEAMWORK! Well, we only coordinate on boss fights. But I terms of player encounters, Haru’s skills can one hit anyone, especially if he execute ambushes. Shiori on the other hand, is a great player who excels on battle iq, and can analyze situation well. Haru sighed. "Okay, okay. Let’s focus on—" Suddenly, Nishi spoke up. "Haru-nii, your movement sucks." The entire room went silent. "...Excuse me?" Haru narrowed his eyes. "You keep blinking into fights like an idiot." "I—" Haru opened his mouth, then closed it. Then looked at his gameplay footage. "... Huh." "She’s right Haru. At least try to learn how PvP arena team fight works." Anyways, we wrapped this mess of ours. Stressing it our won’t help right? But at least, I know that we can win this! --- **Late-Night Bonding** After a grueling evening of practice, we decided to wind down with snacks and drinks in the living room. Marika stretched lazily. "I still think we should make a team name." Haru perked up. "Ooh, something cool-sounding?" Haru’s mom chuckled. "Or maybe something wholesome?" "Wholesome? Mom, we’re in an eSports tournament, not a baking contest," Haru groaned. "Why not both?" Marika teased. As we debated ridiculous team names, I looked around at this chaotic yet strangely fun group. Maybe... just maybe, we stood a chance. Even if our synergy was trash. "Well, maybe we should at least form an official guild?" (A/N: Guilds are group of players in SFO. I hope you readers are already know it.) Shiori replied. "Yeah, but whose gonna be the leader?" Marika smiled, and butted in. "I’ll be the guild master. Apparently making a guild has a real money cost, so I’ll handle it." Yeah, creating guilds costs money, but not that costy. Of course, everyone agrees. Guild leader is just a role anyways. It doesn’t have any sense at all. "By the way, everyone, I’ll name the guild: Usagi-chan Cafe!" "AHHH NO!"