What a monster. Nia thought. That Pirate was something else. He thhly destroyed her without batting an eye. Could she even do anything against that guy? No way...

  Yolem has beeroyed!

  Great. Even lost my Golem. I’m through.

  This was just one of these times, wasn't it? From time to time, she ran into Ptinum ranked oppos who clearly weren't Ptinum. They were either Grandmaster smurfs or future Grandmasters who haven't earned enough points yet. These guys had tech that was outta this world.

  Every time Nia run into one of those, they mopped the floor with her as if she was a scrub who picked the game just the other day. These were painful games. Nia even sometimes felt like dropping Cssmancers food after these.

  Judging by the way this Pirate ying, he was clearly a Grandmaster-in-training as well. No normal person could possibly dodge Izuna Drop so quickly while being surprised by a back-attack. It was simply impossible; it definitely went against the ws of physid all that.

  What do I do? Nia curled into a ball as she waited for her respawn. Her sneak atta backfired in the worst ossible. For the rest of this match, she couldn't rely on this setup anymore. The Imperial Spear into Izuna Drop was no longer a viable bo.

  But, Nia's entire game pn for this match relied on pulling off that bo; she even bought that Imperial Spear specifically for it. The spear greatly boosted the physical damage of her ability after nding a successful basic attack so it was supposed to power up the follow-up Izuna Drop from dangerous to deadly.

  But, that Grandmaster level Pirate could dodge this setup. It should have been an uable transition from one move into another, yet that Pirate could interrupt it with a Dodge Roll.

  Was there any ce that one dodge was a fluke? No way. It was impossible to dodge like that through sheer luck. This Pirate was definitely a monster with the inhumaion neccessary for thwarting Nia’s setup. Scary.

  Not to mention, onia’s surprise attack failed, the Pirate terattacked right away without wasting a moment. In a blink of an eye, Nia turned from the predator into the prey. It was terrifying.

  I heard them say this pyer is good, but this is... Nia shuddered. What was she even supposed to do against this? She couldn’t possibly beat such a Grandmaster level oppo.

  This, right here, wasn’t arance exam; it was bullying. They set Nia up against a terrifying oppo just so they could ugh at how badly she was about to lose. Maybe she shouldn’t have applied to this club, after all...

  I should just go home. Nobody will notiyway. Nia brought her feet down to the floor and ched her troller.

  Yeah, I’ll just stand up and walk away. No point staying here just to be bullied like this.

  Despite these thoughts, Nia didn’t budge. She remained frozen in pce. Her Ninja has already revived but she just stared at it bnkly.

  Was she going to run away agaie everything, this was a rare opportunity. For the first time in forever, somebody actually noticed her and invited her to join a club. She won’t get many other ces like this.

  On top of that, it was a club fame she liked. Admittedly, its MOBA mode was quite a pain because everybody always bmed her for everything. But, Duel was fun. Sneaking up to unsuspeg oppos and taking them down in one-shot was the best.

  In addition, the club was small so she won’t have to be around too many people. Also, this basement room was felt like she could easily hide here from the rest of the world whenever she o. Pying here felt almost as safe as log herself away in her room.

  But, I gonna lose... Nia jerked. That monster is going to walk all over me. Everybody will think I’m the worst pyer ever. They’ll ugh at me and kick me out. I...

  SURRENDER

  Nia put down her troller. This was for the best. If she was going to embarrass herself like that in front of a crowd, she might as well quit before things got ugly.

  “Huh?” Kai blinked. “A surrender?”

  “Heh, looks like she is shook,” Luke chuckled.

  “It was just oh,” Yuel said. “The match barely started so she had plenty of time to make a eback. ’t say I’m a fan of this quit.”

  “Did I go too far?” Lars scratched the back of his head. “She almost got me back there so I went all serious on her.”

  “You did fine,” Yuel said. “I didn’t suggest you as her oppo just so you let her win. I wao see a prame in which the examiner doesn’t make an amateur mistake that gets them killed.”

  “Hey, hey, hey,” Vi excimed. “I made no such mistake. I’m telling you, it’s all the Vanishing Phantom! She erased her presence from my mind and snuck up to me!”

  “Yeah, sure.” Yuel rolled his eyes. “Frankly, I also wao test how Nia haressful situations. As we all know, fighting Lars be rather discing. So, I wao see how that goes.”

  “That’s cruel,” Kai said. “It’s like you threw her to the wolves on purpose. I knew I should’ve stopped this shit. What if she leaves because of this? Actually, where did she even go?”

  “She’s gone,” Luke sed the room with hand-binocurs. “Her tablet isn’t there either.”

  “Oh! She must have vanished from this realm!” Vi made noise. “As expected from the one and only Vanishing Phantom! She pletely erase her existence, both inside and outside the game!”

  “What if she left?” Kai shot a gre at Yuel. “It’d be your fault.”

  “She didn’t leave,” Yuel replied calmly. “She’s hiding behind me.” He turned around and exposed the sneaky mouse.

  “H-How?” Nia trembled. “You got eyes on your back too?”

  “I saw you sneaking in this dire.”

  “Tch, failed. What a tough ‘it’.”

  When did this bee a game of hide-and-seek? Yuel narrowed his eyes.

  “Phew, good thing you didn’t leave,” Kai hurried to Nia’s side. “Sorry about that match. That guy is to so pitting you against him was a mistake.” Kai gave Yuel the evil eye while expining the situation.

  “I see,” Nia nodded and sheepily peeked at Yuel through her long bangs. “He’s the bully.”

  “All I want is to hold a proper exam,” Yuel sighed. It felt like anything he says will be used against him. It was easier to just take the hit here ahem see him as the vilin of this story. After all, he was the “Chessmaster” so it was only fitting.

  "I say we had enough," Kai put down her foot as the captain. "We say well against Vi earlier. It should be enough to vinybody of her skill in Duel." She addressed everybody in the room but her eyes lingered ohe most. After all, he was the "troublemaker" around here.

  "Alright, fine," Yuel wasn't satisfied with the oute but at least this match proved ohing: Vi didn’t mess up on purpose or by act. Nia truly had a knack for l her oppo's guard and sneaking up to them ued. If not for Lars's quick rea, he might have also lost the duel.

  For now, that was enough to prove that Nia wasn't a plete amateur. The items she built, the way she farmed, and her sneaky pystyle were all det enough for a freshman. However, Duel alone wasn't a good indication of whether a pyer was fit to py Cssmancers. After all, it was a team game.

  "The's move on to the main MOBA mode," Yuel said. "That'll be the true test. She proved she py Duel but we o make sure she py MOBA too."

  "Yeah," Kai agreed this time. "So, let's..." She paused and looked around. "Huh? Where did she go?"

  "Behind you," Yuel pointed.

  "Huh? No way. She was over there just a moment ago- Whoa!" Kai jumped after turning around. Nia was really standing behind her! When did that happen!?

  "Ahem," Kai was quipose herself. "We want to test how you py in MOBA mode as well. Is that alright?"

  “Is that alright?” Yuel raised an eyebrow. Aren't the examiners supposed to dictate what's going to be oest?

  "MOBA..." Nia mumbled and gnced downwards. "I, um, kinda tired after the previous matches..."

  "You only pyed two Duels," Yuel said. “And, you forfeited almost immediately in the sed game.”

  "Um, yeah, but, err..."

  "It gotta be test ay or some shit," Kai said. "Even a basic match drain you when you know you're beied."

  "Y-Yeah! That." Nia nodded repeatedly and her spaghetti hair filed like tentacle arms.

  This girl seems niia o herself as she stared at Kai's back. If I stay behind her, I won't get bullied as much. Especially, by that main bully over there. She stared at Yuel with narrow eyes. That guy must be the ringleader of all the bullies. Scary.

  She has only pyed two matches and she's already tired? Seriously? Yuel wondered. Exam or not, two Duel matches should be nothing for somebody who pyed the murly. I sure hope she's n to avoid the MOBA exam.

  "Cut her some sck, dude," Lars said. "She pyed slick for a rookie. She even almost got a kill on me. ya believe that?"

  "No, to be ho, I still find that hard to believe. You were careless back there. I’d hink you're almost a Challenger in Duel when you py sloppy like this."

  "Ouch, haha," Lars ughed it off and turo Nia. "GG there. But, why did ya quit? You still had a ce."

  "I lost," Nia mumbled. "You're to. You must be a Grandmaster."

  "Yep, I'm a Grandmaster! Just haven't grinded up there yet. But, in terms of skill? I'm totally up there."

  "Of course you are," Kai rolled her eyes.

  "Believe it, yo. Wanna 1v1 me?"

  "I'm dow's get it down after the exam."

  "You got it! First to te’s go!" Lars turo Nia again. "You totally should've kept fighting. You could've gotten me."

  "I don't think so." Nia averted her eyes.

  "Yo ninja skills are top-level, I'm tellin' ya. That sneak attack was the real shit. I somehow dodged it but I was legit worried how I gonna deal with it ime. Really wao keep pying against ya and see where it goes. You're hel good, yo!"

  "T-Thanks," Nia felt her cheeks heating up. Even though that guy was a total duel monster who thhly destroyed her in that 1v1, he actually seemed like a nice person.

  Maybe Nia really should have tried harder. Even though her sactic failed the first time, she was actually kinda close. If she just went for the Izuna Drht away from stealth, she could've taken about half the enemy's HP. So, she should've tried that attack at least one more time before quitting.

  I ran away. Like always. Nia slumped. That’s how it was every time for her. Every time she serouble, she ran away and hid. That was so much safer and easier than fronting stuff.

  But, where did all that running bring her? Nowhere. She became a phantom. One of the boys here called her sud he on point. Nia was the elusive phantom who always ran away when things turned rough.

  So, was she going to ran away from this club too? Holy, the uping MOBA exam sounded scary. Whenever she pyed online, everybody always bmed her for every little thing she did. Even something as simple as breathing was a sin somehow. It was awful.

  Even after she muted the chat, she could still hear their voices in her head.

  jungler is brain dead

  yeah jungler is a troll

  Jungler uninstall game ktnx

  It has been a long time since she turned off the chat optioirely. Ahese insults have beeing away at her to this day. Was she really that bad? Was she makieammates' lives miserable? Was it better if she did?

  heless, she kept pying because Cssmancers was otherwise a fun game. Though, already back then, she has been gradually shifting toward Duel mode. Fighting 1v1 was just way more rexing. There was no ce of disappointing any teammates and she was the only one who could bme herself.

  But, grinding levels through Duel took long because the mode gave less pyer exp. So, Nia kept pying MOBA as well. She globally muted her teammates for all games a grinding to Lv. 50.

  At Lv.50, Ranked mode got unlocked. That was supposed to be proof that Nia finally became det at the game. Surely, her teammates in Ranked would reize her skill.

  So, Nia uhe chat for the Ranked qualifier. After all, when properly utilized, the chat and the pings were useful tools that helped teamwork. So, for important qualifier matches, Nia hoped the team would use the chat to great effect.

  As, it was a mistake. The pints and slurring were more severe than ever.

  omg jungler kys

  jungler go py pa

  tnx for putting us in bronze

  Nia quit the qualifier after just two games. It was horrible.

  Why did everybody have to be like that? It wasn’t even like Nia did poorly iwo games. As long she got to py Jungler, her KDA was generally positive. She finished most games without dying mud with a bunch of kills on her record. So, she generally did just fine as a Jungler.

  The same couldn’t be said for pying other roles so maybe the pints were warrahere. But, as a Jungler? Nia was actually doing great. Or, at least she thought she was. Her teammates seemed to disagree.

  After suffering two toxic qualifier matches like that - she quit. She didn’t touch Cssmancers for two weeks after that. At the time, she thought she was doh this toxic game.

  However, after trying out some other PvP video games, she found herself pying Cssmancers again. Why? She couldn’t tell for sure. Most likely, because it felt like a waste to drop the game after p so many hours into it.

  In every new game she picked up, she had to learn the characters, abilities, aa from scratch. It was such a chore. Every time she performed poorly aeam lost, she couldn’t shake the feeling she would’ve easily turhings around if only this was Cssmancers.

  Not to mention, other online games weren’t aer in terms of toxicity. Everybody was usually quiet during the first couple of levels of the game. But, once her at leveled up a little, pints started p like a waterfall. Sometimes the toxicity was directed at her, sometimes at other teammates; it was such a disgusting enviro.

  Worst of all, Nia felt like she was being one of these toxic pyers too. These enviros were drawing the worst out of her.

  Therefore, she dropped team-based games altogether and focused on 1v1 modes. That’s how she came to main Duel in Cssmancers. It wasn’t quite as diverse and iing as the MOBA mode but it was fun in its own way. Besides, sneaking up to oppos and striking them before they realized what happened was just the same in Duel as it was in MOBA. That was the most fun part of Cssmancers.

  Best of all, there was nobody there to rant about her performance or insult her. She alone posed the eeam and was the only one who could criticize herself. So, instead of pying the Ranked MOBA mode she unlocked at Lv.50, she instead focused on the Ranked Duel mode that was unlocked at the same time

  It was rough climbing the ranks with just assassin csses but she made it all the way to Ptinum. She actually achieved something; it was fun. Nobody could deny her achievement or say she was terrible at the game.

  In faobody could say anything because there was literally nobody else there. Nia pyed all by herself. In every match, there was only her and her oppo. Some oppos sent her hatemail but that’s about it.

  go py assassins creed you cheap sneaky bastard

  must be fun pying like a rat

  i swear imma find you irl and stab yo ***

  Some of these people are insane. Scary. Nia always made sure to report any pyer who talked like this. It always creeped her out even though she khese people will never find her in real life. After all, sometimes people didn’t notice her even while standing right in front of her. She was that sneaky. Nin nin.

  Still, she occasionally picked out of the window to make sure nobody was ing. It was scary.

  However, as for the insults themselves, they were just me. These were the words of salty scrubs who got whooped hard. They should just go cry in a er.

  “You asking if it’s fun being sneaky like this?” Nia smirked. “Of course it is. QQ noob.”

  It was awesome. Every time she snuck up to an unsuspeg oppo and cut them down - it was the best thing in the world! She could do that all day. Well, at least until she got tired and needed a nap.

  Still, despite how fun Duel was, occasionally she couldn’t help but think ba the team-based MOBA mode. Toxicity aside, there were a bunch of fun moments she experiehere which Duel couldn’t offer. For example, highlights like ganking an oppo with a piogether allies. Or, friendly iions like resg an ally by ganking their ne.

  Moments like these were rare but they made Nia feel like she mattered, like she ged somebody’s day for the better and that they were grateful to her. It was like somebody actually noticed and aowledged her presence.

  None of that ossible ihe oion she could spark in this mode was the hatred of her defeated oppo. That was also a form of aowledgment but it wasn’t the positive type. It was more like Nia fighting against the world all by herself. Sigh.

  How great it’d be if she could py the MOBA mode in a more positive enviro. If only she wasn’t always surrounded by a bunch of randoms who always cimed they knew better than her and thought it was alright to threaten people over the i. Seriously, the FBI should monitor the game and put people like that in jail.

  On a while, Nia gave the MOBA mode another shot. However, she only pyed in Casual and always kept the chat muted. Her teammates probably always bmed her for everything but she didn’t see the pints so she didn’t care.

  Okay, maybe she cared a little. Even without seeing the messages, she felt like they were insulting and bming her. Sometimes, not knowing what they were saying about her felt even worse. She couldn’t help but imagihe worst.

  Still, Nia didn’t dare to uhe chat. She kept it off and avoided all iion with her teammates. She only used pings to announce where she was rotating and when she was about to gank a hat was more than enough.

  Or, was it? Wouldn't it be better if she properly unicated with her teammates and they phings together? After all, it was a team game. They should all be pying the game together.

  But, instead, Nia ying by herself. Without any unicatioeammates were as real as bots. If only she could uhe chat and talk to them, pn with them, and celebrate victory with them. Maybe she could even make some friends this way.

  As, it was impossible. Everybody acted like a toxic scum online so she avoided them like the pgue.

  But, perhaps in this club, she'll be able to get that dream realized. There was that girl with the bck cap and the smiling blonde guy. They seemed the very least, they weren’t bullies.

  The others also seemed fine for the most part. There was that one bully who always criticized Nia for every little thing she did but the others kept him in check.

  That’s why, instead of running away like Nia has been doing her entire life...

  "O-Okay," Nia spoke up. "I do the MOBA test. I just need a few mio recharge."

  And so, Nia took the first step. This was a rare opportunity that could only occur on a millennium. She had to seize it. She'll pass the exam and join a real club for the first time in her life! Hopefully, the MOBA exam won’t be scary...