2 A Brother's Contempt

"If only I saw the announcement that our class was rescheduled, I could still continue sleeping right now!" Claire complained after knowing that night classes would start the following week due to ongoing renovations of their classroom.

They were sitting in the school cafeteria finishing their coffee. Some students gave them a strange look. Seeing someone drinking a coffee at past 4 pm was rather unusual for teenagers.

"It doesn't matter. This is still a productive day. We have posted our squad announcements. And let's wait here for interested students to contact us." Sofia took a sip of her coffee and examined her bag. She could not even remember when was the last time she touched her bag.

"You look so excited opening your bag!" Claire commented.

"Ah, it's nothing. I just want to see what's in here. By the way, we should change our in-game name. Since we are aiming to be part of the pro scene. We must use something meaningful and cool names." Sofia put her bag away. She took her phone and stared at her screen that was displaying her profile name - tank17.

"What do you have in mind?" Claire inquired without looking at her. The lady was already focused on her profile also.

"You are an assassin. You can use something terrifying. For example, Almighty Killer." Sofia brushed her short hair using her fingers.

"Yes, that is a good name! I will get my in-game name changed now!" Claire approved. She swiftly tapped the editor settings on her profile and deleted the default name she used - assassin_00. She then typed her new name - Almighty Killer.

"I will edit mine as CEO UNRIVALED." Sofia chuckled as she also updated her profile information. Her friend remained silent while taking all her daily rewards.

A man suddenly approached the two ladies while they were so engrossed in their phone.

"I have noticed your post for squad members. My brother told me that he would apply for the marksman role."

Claire looked up and recognized the man. He was one of her classmates in P.E but in a different class.

"Where is your brother then? If he wants the role then he should directly come and talk to us." Sofia told the man.

"He is still in his last class. It will end at 4:30 pm." The man answered and shifted his foot, a habit he does when he is nervous.

"How about you, Clark? Are you not playing?" Claire offered a friendly smile at him.

"I am playing mage but I still need to practice my skills. Joining tournaments is probably too early for me." He shyly responded.

"It's okay. This tournament is not an individual battle. As long as you have the general knowledge of the game and the map, we can come up with the strategy of how to improve our weakness through teamwork." Sofia finally placed her phone down and paid attention to the man.

"Sof, this is Clark, We are classmates in my P.E at section 3 class. Clark, this is Sofia, we have a night class together and we also live in the same building. It is her idea to create a squad for the tournament." Claire took the initiative to introduce the two.

"Pleased to meet you, Clark." Sofia stood from her seat and extended her arms for a handshake.

"Yes, thank you!" The man firmly grabbed her hands despite the loud sound of his heartbeat and smiled at her. He did not also understand why he felt nervous approaching them.

"So, you would be a mage, Clark and your brother would be the marksman. We need one more member to register in the tournament." Claire beamed.

"You can't just randomly pick a member!" Clark scowled. He knew that the application for joining some existing squad was not easy. The player must show off their skills and talent to prove if they would be worthy to join the team. Yet, these ladies just told him that he was already part of their squad!

"Didn't you hear what Sofia just said? It's about teamwork! Besides, she really plays tank well." Claire giggled.

"Alright. But don't blame me. I'm not really good." The man shrugged and yielded. But Sofia's expression turned dark after hearing his response.

'Don't blame him?' She gritted her teeth while replaying what the man said in her head.

"Clark, you must fix your mindset, or else I won't force you to join the squad. Right now, we are taking a gamble using our instincts. There are full of uncertainties due to the lack of experience in the pro scene. But if you have that kind of thinking, you may just use that as an excuse to slack off and pull us down! I don't need your lack of self-esteem and disinterest." Sofia quickly criticized him.

The man stood straight, 'This Sofia is so mature. I just play the game for fun but she is so uptight and serious about it!' He made a quick mental assessment of the lady before he spoke his response. "I don't lack self-esteem. It's just that I play the game for entertainment. It is fun to play. So I don't see it in a serious way!."

"Hah. Fun is one thing! Think of it like this way. This gadget is a liability." Sofia paused and waved her mobile phone in front of Clark. "Your phone needs to be charged to operate. Charging goes to your electricity bill. Playing a game requires having the internet open. It's another bill for an internet connection. Most importantly, we spend our time. And do you know what it meant to spend our time is, Clark?" Sofia looked at him straight in the eye. Her expression resembled that of her past life as the CEO of the Summers Company.

"I don't know! I don't pay electricity bills and my parents are paying for my internet connection. I am still young, I am not responsible for paying those! Geez..." Clark trembled. He felt like the lady was an elder scolding him directly for his negligence of private responsibility.

"That's too bad if you don't know what time is! Then, I will tell you, time is gold. It is equivalent to wasting gold if you waste your time. This is the most precious thing you will ever have next to your life. And since we like to spend time playing our phone, let's just convert the liability and make an asset out of it. We need to invest in our skills and win big tournaments. That way, we can earn big profits. But currently, we are at the bottom... so we will take one step at a time to achieve our goals." Sofia rubbed her fingers and clasped them together.

Her response rendered the man speechless, 'Time is gold? Did she just saw a quote on social media? But how did playing a game become assets and liability?' His mouth gaped and his eyes blinked rapidly.

Even Claire was dumbfounded by Sofia's reasoning. She looked at the lady with admiration, 'I never thought of it like that. It's incredible that Sofia had made me realize these things! My parents would be proud of me for having a friend with good influence. Hehehe'

"Did you understand what I said?" Sofia added after not hearing any response from Clark. The man took a deep breath and clenched his fist tightly.

"I understand what you said but I don't get the point of saying these things to me. My parents are rich! These electricity and internet bills do not concern me. I don't know about my brother but he has experience in gaming contests. That must be the reason why he wants to join your squad to play for the district tournament." Clark finally managed to voice out his arguments.

"Heh! Your parents are rich. That's fine but not impressive. Let me tell you this, why don't you aim for something like surpassing their richness through playing games? Now that would be a remarkable feat!" Sofia smirked.

'Surpassing my parents' richness!' A spark of zeal was suddenly ignited in the man's eyes. A different emotion stirred at his chest.

As Sofia observed his facial expression, she leaned her face on the table. She mentally screamed for victory. The lady knew that Clark was now convinced.

"Okay, I will practice my skills and surpass my parents soon." Clark beamed a different aura.

"That's the spirit. Now, we need one more last player." Sofia mumbled and looked outside the window. Some students are forming groups and others are busy playing outdoor games. 'I used to play volleyball but now, it seems that my interest is no longer in that game.' She mentally commented after seeing the empty volleyball court on the field

In a distance, another guy stood from his seat and walked closer to their table.

"Sorry to interrupt, I didn't mean to listen to your conversation. I am Joey on section 4. And your discussion sounds interesting. I also play the game so I want to apply and fill in the lacking member. I can always adjust to whatever role the squad needed." The guy politely told them. He was also deeply moved by Sofia's point of spending time.

"Oh, nice! Joey, I know you! You are part of the basketball team, right?" Claire grinned and greeted the man. His tall height and striking face would make any student pay attention to him.

"Ah, yes. I used to play basketball but my legs were injured. I don't play anymore." Joey confirmed.

"That's too bad. Sorry to hear that, man." Clark told the guy with a sympathetic gaze.

"It's okay. My father was the coach so, I joined the team," the guy smiled bitterly.

"I see. I am Sofia, I will do the tank role. This lady is Claire, she will play an assassin. Then, Clark plays the mage. His brother will take the marksman. Since you can adjust, then fighter or support would be yours." Sofia directly explained their arrangements.

"Yes, do you want to practice now?" Joey eagerly inquired.

"Let's have a meeting first. It's about time that Clark's brother would join us. Let's just wait for him first." Sofia said and gestured the men to take a seat.

"I didn't place a name of the squad yet because you might want to give your ideas. So the agenda of our meeting right now would be to come up with our group name. And let's arrange our vacant time since we are in different classes and our schedule varies." Sofia continued as her members listened attentively.

"The first district tournament would be on the 14th of this month. It is Valentine's Event at our place which means its a big event, not just a tournament. We only have a week to prepare and synchronized our gameplay before the big day. Daily practice is essential but the school work must not be neglected. We need great time management." She emphasized and the rest nodded their head in agreement.

While they were discussing, Clark's brother finally showed up.

"Oh, that's my brother! Bro, over here!" Clark waved his hands on him.

"What are you doing here, Clark? I thought you went home already!" The man asked curiously after seeing his brother.

"AH, I will also join the squad. They would let me play as a mage." Clark responded with enthusiasm. But his brother's expression turned sullen.

"What did you say? You will be the mage? Is this a joke!? You don't have the skills!" His brother frowned and looked disgusted of the idea that he would be playing together with his brother.

"I did tell them about that earlier, Bro. I know my skills are low." Clark felt dejected.

"There's no need to talk about skills right now. If you have doubts about your brother's skills, you can just play with other squad members." Sofia glared at the newcomer.

"I don't have doubts! He can't really play the game properly!" Clark's brother argued.

"It's fine. This is not an individual game. What he lacks, the other members can supply. Do you want to join?" Sofia crossed her arms over her chest and questioned the man.

"Ha! Why would I join you? There is no way I am joining a team of a loser!" Clark's brother told her in contempt before the man walked out of the cafeteria.

"I feel bad. My brother is really a good marksman. And he had experienced in pro scene." Clark commented as he pursed his lips and stared at the retreating figure of the man.

"I also feel bad that you have to deal with that kind of attitude from your brother! His attitude won't make his ship sail farther from the shore." Sofia meaningfully mumbled as she finished her coffee. She did not expect to see such degree of rudeness amongst siblings.