Failing

Haruki was still staring at the screen, his face looking like he'd just been hit with a harsh reality. The kid had been playing for eight years and had beaten that boss when he was just 12. But this time, he tasted bitter defeat. His mom, sensing his disappointment, gently patted his shoulder to comfort him.

On the other hand, Akira didn't seem surprised. He had already predicted that Haruki would fail when facing the planet boss.

"Well, you made it this far but failed. That sucks," he said.

Akira took over the computer and returned the game to the main menu before logging out of Haruki's account. Meanwhile, Haruki kept staring blankly at the screen, his hands clutching his pants under the table. Akira noticed the dissatisfaction on the boy's face but pretended not to see it.

"It's okay, sweetie," Hana said softly, trying to soothe her son's heart. "We'll find a new team—"

"I don't get it," Haruki mumbled. He looked at Akira, who was shutting down the computer. "They shouldn't have been there."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "They? You mean those ice skeletons?"

Haruki nodded, and Akira snorted in response. He had expected Haruki to say this after the test ended.

"Yeah, you're right. They weren't there until the patch update in season 14 if I'm not mistaken. Maybe season 15 or 16."

"Patch update?" Haruki frowned.

Every online game gets updates every few months or at the start of a new season. Developers do this to fix bugs and add new content to the game. They usually also re-balance the game, like changing weapon stats, nerfing one armor kit but buffing another, or altering mob spawns times on certain planets so players can find new farming spots.

All of this is done to create new METAs (most effective tactics available), so players don't find the game repetitive and boring. Although, some players end up frustrated by these changes. Sometimes, a few players find a bug or loophole that lets them gain an unfair advantage in the game.

Planet Callisto had gone through several patches. When the game first launched, the boss room only had the Ice Dragon, but after a few years, the developers decided to make some small changes to the dungeon, one of which was adding ice skeleton mobs that could explode and freeze the players.

"Back then, Planet Callisto was a popular farming spot because the rewards for normal and hard modes were the same, causing many old and high-rank players to raid the dungeon. They often ended up in queues with newbie players. So, a lot of newbies got carried."

"Then, what's the problem?" Haruki asked, curious.

"Of course, the developers didn't like it. The normal mode was meant for new players to adapt to the game. The campaign story is a tutorial for new players. One player with the right build could beat the Ice Dragon in under 30 seconds. If too many newbies who didn't know anything got to the next planet, they'd just be a burden to other players in the future. That's where noob players are born."

Haruki nodded his head.

"So, the developers patched Planet Callisto," Akira continued. "They changed the rewards between normal and hard modes. To prevent high-rank or old players from taking normal mode queues, they modified the dungeon, adding ice skeletons to the boss chamber. This only triggered if you played with a party member who had already beat the story campaign."

Akira saw Haruki bow his head, contemplating his mistake. He wouldn't be surprised if Haruki just found out about this now. After all, the boy had always played PvP mode, and the last time he played PvE was when he was 12. It made sense he didn't predict those ice skeletons.

The room fell silent, the only sounds being the clicks of the mouse and keyboard. The failure of the test seemed to deeply affect Haruki, putting him in a bad mood, but Akira said nothing to console him. Besides being terrible at comforting, Haruki's mom was in the room with him. She would surely comfort her son.

"It's okay, Haruki. Let this failure be a lesson," Hana said softly. "There are other esports teams better than this. We can try applying to them; maybe they'll see your talent."

Hearing her words, Akira snorted. Hana had indirectly insulted Quantum Esports, but Akira didn't take the bait. Besides not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, his team was already in bad shape.

However, Haruki seemed to disagree with his mom. The boy stood up and bowed deeply in front of Akira. Naturally, this action surprised Akira, especially since Haruki did it in front of his mother.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing?" Akira asked, panicking.

"Please give me a second chance! I promise I won't disappoint you this time! Please, let me retake the test!"

Haruki continued bowing, ignoring Akira's pleas to stop. The kid refused to listen to anything from Akira except for permission to retake the test. This situation made Akira scratch his head in frustration. On top of that, Hana remained silent.

Akira hadn't expected the situation to become this bothersome. He thought Haruki would just leave after failing the first test. It hadn't crossed his mind that the boy would be this stubborn.

Sighing in frustration, Akira decided to take a firm decision.

"If you want a second chance, stop bowing."

After Akira said that, Haruki finally stood up straight, his face full of hope.

"A pro player must know their own mistakes." Akira continued. "Do you know your mistakes?"

"I was too careless," Haruki replied, unsure.

"Yeah, that's one of them. But you made three big mistakes."

Haruki frowned. Then Akira laid out his mistakes.

First, Haruki didn't read the patch notes. Developers always announce what changes are made in the latest updates. It's crucial for players, especially pros, to read them. Every change in the game determines META, strategies, new armor kit selections, and many other important aspects that affect gameplay, whether in PvE or PvP.

Second, Haruki didn't prepare when Akira gave him the chance to prepare his build. One of the biggest factors determining the course of the game is the build. The right build can defeat bosses quickly, even other players in PvP mode. If Haruki had prepared his build for armor kits and weapons, he might have beat the Black Dragon in seconds.

"And most importantly, Haruki, you lack self-evaluation," Akira said, pointing at the boy's face. "You don't know your strengths and weaknesses. I admit you have amazing mechanical skills, but not the knowledge. You don't know the right armor kit to beat the boss, you didn't use recommended weapons, and you didn't pay attention to your character's resistance levels. You just charge at enemies and shoot them all. You play in the worst possible way."

Haruki bowed his head as he listened to every word from Akira's mouth.

"In other words, you've got muscle but no brains," Akira continued. "You'll never be an esports athlete with that mentality."

Akira's words were harsh. Even Hana couldn't hold her patience, her usually smiling face now frowning. However, Haruki showed no signs of being offended.

"Come on, Haruki! We're leaving this dump! This arrogant don't deserve you," Hana scoffed, pulling her son's hand. "Besides, this team will disband soon. The owner is truly clueless."

Mother and son left the room. The door hit Daiki right in the face as Hana opened it. Apparently, Daiki had been peeking from outside, afraid to disturb the test process. Daiki only dared to enter the training room once Akira was left alone.

"Are you okay, Akira?" Daiki asked, worried.

Akira just nodded.

He wouldn't get angry because what she said was true. Given the current situation, it was only a matter of time before Quantum Esports would no longer be heard of in the esports scene.