Soon after Yuel joihe Cssmancers club, people pushed all sorts of menial tasks on him. Or, rather, he always somehow found himself volunteering after learning the circumstances. Watg others do things ineffitly or struggle with something that’s so easy to resolve - it’s aggravating, he couldn’t stay put.

  Thus, he methodically and thhly resolved every request to the best of his ability. He opened up the dysfunal puters in the club and ed their fans, resolving the overheating issue. In addition, he edited the Cssmancers fig file on all puters, l the quality of graphi favor of better performance, something these potato PCs really needed. On top of that, he installed a newer unofficial version of Cssmarainer, which worked on the older OS of these puters.

  It came as no surprise everybody started treating him as the “tei”. Whehey faced a teical problem or question, no matter how small, they always turo him first. Eve had absolutely nothing to do Cssmancers, they still turo him. Ugh.

  “Say, Yuyu.” Ellen creeped up behind him. “How you record videos on PC?”

  “Videos? What kind of videos?”

  “You know, game footage and stuff.”

  “Not sure, there are probably some programs for that. You should google it.”

  “My, you really don’t know?” Ellen whimpered like an abused puppy. “Or, you just don’t want to help lil’ ol’ me?”

  “Ugh, alright I’ll look into it.”

  “My, aren’t you a doll~”

  And aren’t you a snake. Yuel sighed, but accepted the job anyway. With each passing day, the amount of random tasks thrown his way seemed to increase. It came to the point he helped others install, update and fix random smartphone apps. None of that had anything to do with him or Cssmancers! It was a huge pain, but feeling useful wasn’t all too bad.

  When he wasn’t providing teical support, he pyed practice matches with the other members, grinded rank points online in a party, theorycrafted, discussed the meta and basically participated in whatever the club felt like doing at the moment. The daily schedule Aron printed was very specific, but the atmosphere in the club was more id back than expected. It wasn’t unon for a rge portion of the club to just do whatever they wanted and drag the rest into that activity, regardless of what was written in Aron’s schedule. Naturally, Aron frowned upon that, but then just sighed and pyed along.

  The training regime was a bit g too. They only pyed and discussed Cssmancers for about three hours a day, they didn’t even exercise to stay in shape. pared to how intense was the entry exam, the club’s regime was very casual.

  heless, it tributed immeo the members’ groyers. Everybody oeam were skilled pyers, so pying with them and against them was an effit way to improve. There’s no paring that to pying Ranked with only Lars and Julia, which is how Yuel traihroughout the summer. Even with this casual regime, just by being around these high level pyers - he was going to improve immensely.

  Still, not being given any specific challeo overe was a bit disappointing for a rookie. The greatest “challenge” freshmen faced early on was deg on their petitive IGNs. They were going to carry these names all the way to the pro se, so it’s an important and difficult decision. At least, for some...

  “I’mma go with Gunz.” Lars said.

  “Let’s see if it’s avaible.” Howard typed “Gunz” into the textbox. “Seems good. You sure you don’t want more time to think?”

  “Yep, 200% sure.” Lars gave a thumb up. So, why did he pick “Gunz”? Simple, he just loved pying first person shooters, there’s no deeper meaning to it. He literally went with the first thing that crossed his mind, as expected of the goof.

  “Alright. It’s simple, but effective. Actually, I should give you all a little advice.” Howard addressed the rest of the newbies. “It’s best to keep your nick at one or two simple words. Just think about the poor entators who’ll have to pronounce your names in the middle of a team fight. You don’t want them go ‘And now, watch Mr.CoolShadowKnightTopPyer go for the kill!’. Sounds silly, right? It should be obvious, but pick a name you won’t be embarrassed to be called by.”

  That was valuable advice, Yuel didn’t even take entators into at during his brainst. Some of his ideas tained unon words that sounded intelligent, such as PerfunctoryAid, StiltingTactid QuintessentialVictory. The image of a entatoing “And now, QuintessentialVictoes for the kill!” was hiriously sad.

  Reaffirming Howard’s advice, the niames of senior members were indeed simple and cise. Howard was Aegis, Ellen was Athena, Aron was Frown and Trever was WildDragon. In that sense, “Gunz” was a det name as well, even though zero thought ut into it.

  “Okay, I decided on mioo!” Taison announced. “It’s DaBestBro!”

  “... did you even hear anything I just said about oo two words?” Howard frowned.

  “Who cares about that crap, yo. This is da best nick, bro! They just call me ‘DaBest’ for short, khaha!”

  “Alright, it seems avaible. You sure about it?”

  “Totally.”

  “Here, done. Just don’t e g to me ter when entatonna make it sound silly.” Howard shrugged. “You’ll receive a notification ihe game in a few hours, so make sure to open it and firm,.”

  “Roger.”

  “Got it.”

  “Now, that leaves the three of you.” Howard turo Yuel, Julia and Gregory. “You still have until tomorrow to think about it, but make up your minds already. If you don’t, we gonna piething silly for you. I heard that’s hot stuck with ‘Frown’. You don’t want that, do you? Especially since we got Ellen, the number oerrible Name Geor’ in the world.”

  “U-Uood.” Yuel answered with a shaky voice, the Ellen threat was surprisingly terrifying. After Gregory was reduced to GG, there’s no telling what else that girl could pull out of her deviant mind. Gulp.

  Theoretically, they were given more than enough time to decide on something like a niame for a video game. However, in truth, they didn’t have any time at all! A week was too short!

  Especially, for Yuel this was a huge decision. He wasn’t just deg on some arbitrary name he could ge ter, the IGN was going to stick with him all the way to the pro se. Therefore, this decision was as critical as naming a newborn. His parents said they spent months brainst ideas for his name, yet now he had to decide something of the same importan less than a week! Ugh!

  “My, why not just go with Yuyu? A cute and simple name~” Ellen giggled.

  “No thank you.” Yuel retorted.

  “And what about you, July?” Ellen asked. “If you need help, you always sult your sis~”

  “Sorry, but I’m a single child.” Julia said.

  “My, how cold~” Ellen ed herself around Julia and snuggled her. “Let’s see, what name will suit a cute girl like you? Oh, I know! How about MaidenInLove?”

  “W-Wah!?” Julia jumped out of Ellen’s embrad sed the room. Phew, Lars already went to py. “ould go with such a dumb name!? Idiot!”

  “My, how adorable~” Ellen smiled fuzzily, as if watg a barking puppy. “Then, how about Aphrodite, the goddess of love? Or, maybe Venus?”

  “Venus doesn’t sound too bad, actually.” Julia pondered.

  “Okay, it’s decided then: VenusInLove!”

  “Go die in a hole!” Julia roared. “But well, I guess Venus is kinda dope. I was waiting for Lars to piething first, but ‘Gunz’ is... like...”

  “Oh, you wao match his name? How cute.”

  “M-Mind your own business, hmph.” Julia crossed her arms and turned away.

  “Then ‘Venus’ it is.” Howard submitted the name application. “It always amazes me how these simple names aren’t in-use already. Kinda makes you feel like the petitive se hasn’t spread around enough yet. Sad.”

  With Julia’s name decided, only Yuel and Gregory were left. Perhaps they were overthinking this, but they just really wao e up with the right names. By the end of the day, Gregory finally decided on something. “I’ll go with DaBestSupport, kek.”

  “You too with this nonsense?” Howard sighed. “You better sider this carefully, who knows if you keep pying Support your whole career.”

  “I’m sure I will. I’ll prove that by beating you scrubs first, kek.” Gregory touched his gsses as he challenged both Yuel and Howard.

  “Well, whatever. As long as you’re happy with it. Four down, you’re the only o.”

  “I... still need more time.” Yuel mumbled. He already got a few solid idea in mind, such as ‘Rook’ and ‘Bishop’, but Gregory’s niame threw him off.

  DaBestBro and DaBestSupport, huh. Yuel had plicated feelings about that. It’s like the two of them were announg to the entire world: “We’re going to be the best duo in the world!”. Wasn’t that what Yuel and Lars promised to bee? A, Lars went ahead and picked a stupid niame like ‘Gunz’ without waiting for Yuel.

  How was he even supposed to find something that matched ‘Gunz’? Should he call himself Sword? Shotgun? Sniper Rifle? Impulse Grenade? Ugh, so stupid! He now uood why Julia was so irritated about that o make things worse, Lars already firmed the name in his at, so there’s no going back. Seriously, that brainless goof...

  On the way home, Yuel developed an unstoppable urge to sh at Lars about the topic.

  “Did you hear what name Gregory picked?” Yuel asked.

  “Yeah, DaBestSupport or something.” Lars replied.

  “So, now Taison is DaBestBro and Gregory is DaBestSupport.”

  “Haha, these dudes really think they’re all that. Welp, we gonna show them who’s ready ‘da best’ around here, yo.”

  “That’s not my point.” Yuel sighed. Being roundabout never worked with Lars, he was too deo read between the lines. “They picked hat synergize with each other. It’s like they’re deg they’ll bee the best duo in the world.”

  “Yeah, these dudes sure dream big, haha.”

  Says the guy who made me pursue the exact same dream!!! Yuel was at his wits’ end. He had e out and say it straight, didn’t he!? Goddammit, that dense goof! “We could’ve done something like that too, e up with hat work with each other.”

  “Heh, yeah that’d be cool.” Lars nodded.

  “Yes, it sure would’ve been. But, a certain goof came up with a stupid name nobody follow up on.”

  “Hey, how was I supposed to guess? You didn’t tell me you wao do that kind of stuff, dude. I just wao get it over with. ”

  “Well, that’s true.” Yuel mumbled. He was mad at Lars the whole time, but it’s also his fault for thinking of this idea only now.

  “Besides, Greg’s name feels like he’s just copying Tai.” Lars shrugged. “You don’t wanna use a name like ‘Gunz’ just because it sounds cool to me, right? I also don’t wanna be named after some chess piece or some stupid plicated word like ama-gama-something-something.”

  “It’s ‘amalgamation’ and it’s a cool word.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” Lars waved his hand. “Anyway, Greg’s name sounds like he’s just stalking Tai and hoping Tai gonna carry him into being ‘da best’ duo. Is that what you want, dude? To be iro duo just because I’m a sick pyer?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Right? Before we bee ‘da best duo’, I first gotta bee da best Carry and you gotta bee da best Support.”

  “You’re right.” Yuel realized he was too hasty. Lars was right, they first had to hoheir individual skills before they could dream of being a powerful duo. Their experiences iry exam made that clear.

  Right now, Yuel’s tactics couldn’t beat Howard and Lars’s power couldn’t win against Ellen. Therefore, even when baogether, they couldn’t beat the duo of Howard and Ellen. First, each of them had to get as close as possible to beating their respective rival.

  “Yeah!” Lars excimed. “Then, together, we gonna be da super ultimate bestest duo, yo!”

  “Heh, didn’t you just say Gregory is ‘dreaming big’? Your dream is even crazier.”

  “Haha, I said he’s dreaming big, but I never said that’s bad! We just gotta dream even bigger to beat them, yo!” Lars grinned and stretched a fist. “Let’s do it, dude! If they gonna be da best, then we gonna be da best of da best, yo!”

  “I’m already sick of this ‘da best’ nonsense.” Yuel sighed and bumped fists with Lars. Things were fihis way, there’s o force himself into pig a matg h Lars’s. Yuel would first focus oering himself as an individual pyer, then he’ll band with Lars to form the ultimate duo.

  “I decided on a name.” Yuel annouhe day. “I’ll go with Rook.”

  “Short and cssy, alright.” Howard nodded and inputted the name.

  Error: The name is already in use.

  “Eh?” Yuel blinked. “Then, Bishop, maybe?”

  “Worth a shot.”

  Error: You ’t use the name of a css from the game.

  “Excuse me?” Yuel couldn’t process the nonsense happening right now. Bishop was indeed a css in the game, but that wasn’t what Yuel tried to reference. Besides, what’s with this discrimination? “They allow you to use Aegis, even though it’s also Padin’s ult, but not Bishop? Seriously?”

  “Go figure how these things work.” Howard shrugged. “You should spice up the names a little. Say, how about DaBestRook?”

  “I’d rather die.”

  “Haha, figured.” Hhed. “What else do you have?”

  “Err, I’ll have to think about it all ain...”

  “Hey now, I warned: you only got until today. Seems like I need e up with something myself.”

  “W-Wait, I-”

  “What, you rather leave it to Ellen? Hey, Ell-”

  “Please no! Anything but that!” Yuel begged. Any name was going to be better than whatever Ellen would pick!

  “Alright, then how about Chessboy? Sounds professional.”

  “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

  “Oh, you figured?” Howard chuckled. “Actually, I have a det one. How about Chessmaster?”

  “That sounds a bit... pretentious, I think” Yuel mumbled, uo fully dismiss the suggestion. It indeed sounded cool, he had to admit. Not to mention, he already sidered Chessmaster during brainst, Horobably khat.

  However, despite all that, Yuel felt relut pig Chessmaster. It sounded so pretentious, as if g he’s smarter than everybody else.

  “Pretentious? Suits you perfectly then.” Howard sneered. “You always act like some know-it-all, pulling ideas out of your ass while pretending they make perfect sense.”

  “Well, that’s...” Yuel frowned. Pretentious? Was he? Really? He crafted his tactics based on data and the situation at hand, that’s just the natural thing to do. But, for some reason, the tactics that came naturally to him were sometimes difficult for others to grasp.

  Even so, it was never his iion to pretend he was smarter than his peers. He merely suggested the tactics he deemed best, regardless of others’ opinions. Though, admittedly, he found some joy in making his pn work when nobody else believed in it. Ugh, was he a little pretentious after all?

  “Look, the name’s avaible too.” Howard said. “We gonna go with Chessmaster then, like it or not. Unless you prefer Chessboy, haha.”

  “No ce.” Yuel made a face. “I don’t particurly hate Chessmaster, but it sounds so... bombastic.”

  “Heh, me and Elly went with mythologiames and they sound fine, right? I’m the shield of gods and she’s the goddess of war. Actually, putting it like that is kinda embarrassing, isn’t it? Haha.”

  “It sure is.” Yuel nodded, but he didn’t feel like ughing at these names. Back during the entry exam, Howard was ihe “shield of gods”. No matter how many times Yuel tried pierg through Howard’s defenses - it never worked out. The name Aegis might had sounded a bit cheesy, but Howard’s skill lived up to the grand expectatio by that name.

  The same applied to Ellen. Acc to Lars, she always came on top whehey fought. No matter how close he got to killing her or how many fights he won against her - she ultimately won the war. Truly, the goddess of war in the flesh. In the few practice matches Yuel pyed with her over the week, he was deeply impressed by the craftiness of her tactics.

  Then, what about Yuel himself? Wasn’t he also capable of feats that could live up to a bombastiiame? He had the ability to analyze his oppos, discover their weaknesses and prepare the worst possible situations for them. That’s the skill which disced others from pying with him in grade school, but it’s also the skill which allowed him to pass the club’s entry exam.

  “Do really think Chessmaster suits me?” Yuel asked with a serious expression, leaving no pce for jokes.

  “Nah, it’s obviously too good for you. Chessboy suits you way better.” Howard joked anyway.

  “Ugh...”

  “At least, for now.” Howard smirked. “Last time we pyed seriously, I shut you down food. But I’ll be ho, it wasly a walk in the park. There were a few times, like really few, when I actually felt pressured by your pesky offense. If you improve even more, then who knows? Maybe one day I’ll sider you worthy of a name like Chessmaster.”

  “Then I’ll go with that.” Yuel said. “sider it my decration: I’ll beuch better and find a way to break through your shield of gods.”

  “Heh, I’m amazed you spout suonseh a straight face.” Howard shen his eyes turned cold. “Don’t get carried away, kiddo. If you think you’re the only one who gonna improve, you have ahing ing. It’s not like I gonna sit on my ass do nothing. If you think you catch up with me, think again.”

  “Even so, I’ll definitely do it.” Yuel insisted.

  “Heh. Anyway, here you go.” Howard finished submitting the niame. “I hope you’ll live up to your name, Chessmaster.”

  And so, the first week of club activity came to an end, with all freshmen obtaining petitive he step was debuting in the petitive se and spreading these names far and wide across the Cssmancers unity!

  Yuel - Chessmaster

  Lars - Gunz

  Julia - Venus

  Taison - DaBestBrregory - DaBestSupport