Chapter 9

Our Impenetrable Love

Chapter 9

NAPASINGHAP si Gen nang makita ang anunsyo ng Call of Duty Philippines. They just announced a tournament with over P300,000 cash prize for the grand winner! Kung manalo ang clan nila at paghati-hatian nila iyon…there’s no doubt that she can still receive a good amount!

Ang modes ng tournament ay Hardpoint na 150 ang dapat score and the main goal is to protect the hardpoint for a hundred and fifty seconds, Search and Destroy which the main goal is to successfully plant or defuse the bomb or kill all the enemies, and Domination, which the team needs to capture points A, B, and C for 150 points.

Napangiti siya sa mga modes na iyon. Hardpoint and domination will definitely be full of clashes to defend and capture the hardpoint, and search and destroy will mainly be about trying to read the enemies moves.

Hindi na bago sa kanya ang mga tournament. Dahil competitive nga ang clan nila, sumasali ito sa mga tournament kahit online lamang at hindi na magkita dahil online lang naman ang laro.

But this time, it’s a national competition.

A real-life competition…where people will actually be there to watch and her team’s going to be facing the other team.

“Jas, sa tingin mo makakasali ako? Gusto ko talaga sumali!” Agad na tawag niya sa kaibigan nang makita ang anunsyo at paulit-ulit na binasa iyon hanggang sa nasaulo niya na ang lahat nang detalye.

“Hinay-hinay!” tawa nito nang hindi pa siya tumigil sa kasasalita.

Before joining the nationals, their team obviously has to go through a lot of competing with other teams who want to join and from there, the road will only get harder.

But if there’s one good thing about her clan, it’s that they don’t back down easily.

“You’re one of the clan’s best players! Bobo naman nila kung ‘di ka nila isasama, ‘no!” komento nito, totally supporting her.

Natawa tuloy siya. “Syempre, madami kaya tayo sa clan. Saka dapat fixed na ang sasali na five members. Nakakalungkot naman na hindi ka makakasali!”

“Gaga, ayos lang ‘yan, mapapanood ko pa rin kayo sa live! Gabi naman iyon usually, diba?”

“Parang sigurado ka nang makakasali ako, ah!” she laughed. Kahit matagal na siya sa clan at hindi niya itatanggi na mas marunong siya sa iba nilang members, hindi niya pa rin alam ang iniisip ng clan master nila.

“Syempre! Sure na pasok ka na r’yan!”

Napangiti siya sa suporta ng kaibigan. Sana nga talaga ay makasali siya. This’ll be a big opportunity for her to be known.

Kahit na wala naman sa pangarap niya ang pagiging kilalang gamer, pangarap niya na simula bata pa ang makilala bilang isang magaling na designer. This is also one step closer to that dream of hers.

And she badly needs the money to save up for her ultimate goal, GNV’s physical store.

XHYRO could most definitely not believe his eyes. If someone could slap him right now for him to go back to his senses and tell him it’s a dream, he wished it could happen. But no one is there to slap him, and no one’s telling him to snap back to reality.

Totoo nga ang nababasa niya ngayon. P300,000 for the winning team. Game. Something he’s good at. Something he could prove to his parents that his gaming won’t go to waste and he actually earn from it. Something that he could benefit of because of the money.

His clan, Titans, might not dominate the leader boards as much as VS does—which he’s sure they’re participating as well, but they’re also competitive.

Sa dalawang clans na ito maraming gustong pumasok pero pili lamang ang nakakasali lalong-lalo na ang VS nang sumikat ito dahil sa husay ng bawat miyembro.

He thinks it won’t be long until both of his and Gen’s clan compete with each other. For some reason, he’s actually excited for that day to come.

“Anong plano, boss?” Tanong niya sa clan master nilang si Greg nang tumawag ito sa kanilang clan group chat at una pa lang, alam na niyang patungkol ito sa kompetisyon.

They have over 30 members. Marami na rin iyon para sa isang clan kaya bawat buwan ay mataas ang nakukuha nilang puntos sa kanilang clan. The strict rule with their clan is that no one has to be inactive for more than a week. Ito ang patakaran ni Greg na talagang seryosong-seryoso sa paglalaro kagaya niya.

Like Xhyro, there are around five other members who stream from the clan. Dito pa lamang, malalaman na seryoso sila sa paglalaro.

“Sasali tayo, syempre!” sagot nito. “Lahat ba gustong sumali? Para maging fair, sa clan muna tayo maglalaban-laban para malaman kung sino ang sasali.”

“Sasali po ako!”

“Ako rin.”

“Gusto ko rin po!”

Almost all of the members wanted to join. Wala siyang masyadong ka-close sa mga ito maliban kay Greg na siyang nagpakilala sa kanya sa grupo. Kaya palagi rin siyang solo gaming sa stream. Just like what he said, his hands get all nervous when he’s playing with other people.  Para bang kamay niya na ang nahihiya sa mga ito.

Greg laughed at the sudden noise in the call. Lahat ay determinado para rito, ngunit anim lamang ang pwede. Five members and an alternative.

“Practice ang lahat mga 2 days, tapos sa Sabado, 3 games, 5v5 sa clan, game ba? Lahat naman ata active tuwing weekend,” paliwanag nito.

“Pa’no malalaman ang limang sasali? Hindi po ba kasama ka na ro’n?” tanong ng isang hindi niya kilala ang boses. Nakakalito naman kasi ang mga ito sa dami nila.

Nakikinig lamang si Xhyro habang nagpapaliwanag ang clan master nila. Kahit magaling siya, kinakabahan pa rin siya na hindi siya makasali.

Greg’s fair to everyone. It doesn’t mean that he streams and he’s a good sniper player, he’s automatically in. Kailangan galingan niya ang gameplay niya sa Sabado para makasali siya sa kompetisyon na ito.

“Hindi ba kailangan natin ng coach para dito?” Tanong niya mayamaya dahil base sa alam niya, kapag nationals ay kailangan may coach.

“Hindi pa naman natin alam kung makakasama tayo sa nationals. Pagkatapos ng 2 weeks registration, may elimination pang magaganap. Hindi magiging madali na makarating don,” mahabang litanya ni Greg. “Kaya practice your skills. Familiarize yourself with different guns and play different modes, lalong-lalo na ang tatlong kasama sa kompetisyon. Alamin ang pwestuhan sa bawat mapa at siguraduhing saulo niyo na ang pasikot-sikot sa mga mapa. Kaya?”

Xhyro couldn’t help but to let out a smirk. This game’s definitely on.

He needs the money to support himself…and if he’s getting to nationals, he just might prove something to his parents.