Ch.64 : Unity preparation

A few moments later, a sleek car pulled up in front of Rika's internet café. Out stepped three sharply dressed men—Ethan, Rion, and Kai—former members of Rika's old e-sports team.

Ethan, the cocky one, walked in first. The atmosphere inside the café instantly shifted, just like when Talia had shown up before. Everyone froze at the sight of the legendary team, Tim Immortality.

"Holy crap! That's them, right? The world champions?!"

"No way, I'm a huge fan! Can I get a selfie?"

A crowd quickly gathered, bombarding the trio with requests for autographs and pictures. From the upper floor, Rika watched it all unfold and sighed. She had expected this kind of commotion.

Talia descended gracefully from above, flicking her fan to send a breeze directly at the three. Just as Ethan was about to greet her, Rion nudged him aside and rushed up to Talia with a wide grin.

"Talia! Long time no see—I missed you so much!" he said enthusiastically.

Talia sighed, clearly unimpressed. "Don't flatter yourself. I called you here for a match. Get ready."

Rion glanced back at Ethan and Kai, and the three of them burst into laughter.

"Pfft, who the hell's crazy enough to challenge us?" Kai scoffed.

Ethan added, "I bet Talia wants to be our opponent. Haha!"

Before Talia could respond, Rika stepped in. "I'm the one challenging you. Got a problem with that? If you do, you're free to leave."

Ethan's face immediately turned serious. He stepped forward and asked, "Who are we supposed to fight, Rika?"

"You don't need to know. Just know this—we can't lose." Her eyes burned with determination.

Rion shrugged with a mocking smirk. "Wow, sounds like this opponent must be a real beast, huh?"

Kai snorted with laughter, which prompted Ethan to cover his mouth to stop him from going too far and angering Rika.

Right after that, Rika pulled out her phone and called her father to ask for Nic's home address. Her dad, a bit confused, didn't know it off the top of his head. But then he remembered that Nic had once written down his home number during a debt situation at the café.

Using that, Rika quickly dialed Nic's house.

---

At Nic's house, he was relaxing on the couch with Jenny and Fanny, watching TV, when the landline rang. Thinking it was probably his parents or older brother, he picked it up casually.

"Hello?"

"Is this Nic?" came Rika's voice—straight to the point.

Nic instantly recognized her tone and smirked. "Miss me already?"

Rika's face turned red instantly—her feelings had already hit the 100% mark—but she shook it off and replied firmly, "We're having a rematch! 5v5 MOBA game! Get your team ready and come to the café this afternoon! If you say you don't have a team, that counts as a loss! Bye!"

*Click.*

The call ended before Nic could say anything.

He stared at the receiver with an expression of disbelief.

"SHE THINKS I HAVE AN ESPORTS TEAM LIKE SHE DOES?!" he yelled in frustration.

Fanny and Jenny rushed over.

"What happened, Nic?" Fanny asked, arms crossed.

Nic let out a long sigh. "She challenged me to a 5v5 MOBA match. Do either of you play MOBAs?"

Jenny tilted her head. "MOBA? Is that food?"

Nic facepalmed. "Yeah, that means you definitely don't."

"Fanny?"

Fanny shook her head. "I prefer physical training over sitting around gaming."

Nic sighed deeply. "Alright then. Let's go to the Unity HQ construction site. I need to talk to the others."

He quickly messaged the Unity group chat and the three of them headed out. Once they arrived, Nic was impressed by how close the HQ was to completion. Soon, they'd have a real hangout space.

Leona walked over, sipping from a milk carton. "So, what's up?"

"Are the others here yet?" Nic asked.

Leona nodded and pointed toward a nearby park. "They're waiting over there. Oh, and Eliz, Raina, Luna, and Sylvia made it too."

Nic rushed toward the park. Leona glanced at Jenny, who hadn't moved. "So? How was your date? Where'd you guys go?"

Jenny answered innocently, "At Nic's house."

Leona froze. "What?! At his house? You guys seriously…? Ah, forget it." She rubbed her temples, trying to digest that information.

Meanwhile, Nic arrived at the park and saw Mira sitting and chatting with Selene. Their bond seemed to be growing. He greeted everyone and quickly got to the point.

Vivi raised her hand. "Why the sudden challenge? And why 5v5?"

Nic shrugged. "She's mad she couldn't beat me solo. I guess this is her next move."

Lily dramatically grabbed Nic's arm and raised it in the air. "Ha! No one can defeat the champion of our hearts!"

Olivia gently pulled Lily away and smiled. "Please continue, Nic."

"So," Nic began, "who here knows how to play MOBA games?"

He started asking them one by one.

Vivi shook her head. "I focus on basketball. I've never touched a game in my life. I'm sorry, Nic. I should be more dependable as your first girlfriend."

Nic gave her cheek a playful pinch. "I'm not disappointed, Vivi. You're amazing just the way you are."

Nia followed. "I don't have time for games. The student council and martial arts club already eat up my schedule."

Leona smirked. "I tried gaming once, but I got bored playing alone. Though, my dad does own an esports team."

Yui giggled. "I've only played coloring games… hehehe."

Violet raised her hand. "Me? Nope. Not a gamer."

Jenny and Fanny had already made it clear they couldn't play, and neither could Olivia.

Nic looked around. "So… anyone at all?"

Four hands went up—Lily, Eliz, Bella, and Julia.

Nic grinned. "Seriously? That's enough!"

Lily stood proudly, hands on her hips. "I'm a game queen, but I try not to stand out. If people knew how good I am, I'd be swarmed."

Everyone laughed at her comment. Lily pouted. "Hey! I'm serious! Just watch!"

Bella added, "I play whenever I'm bored after dance practice. I've played MOBA games before."

Julia chimed in, "When I'm not hacking stuff, I game. And if I keep losing, I just hack the game. Hehe."

Eliz nodded casually. "I play because my classmates are obsessed with it. Sometimes I join in."

Nic clenched his fist. "Perfect. Let's show them what Team Unity is made of!"

They all placed their hands in the center and raised them up together.

"WE ARE UNITY!!" the others cheered from behind, rallying behind the newly formed Unity Five as they prepared for their biggest match yet.

To be continued…