1 The Beginning

Click, click, click, click.

A pair of hands fluttered across the keyboard and mouse. Click, tap, click, tap. The rhythm of the tapping sounds were produced in a perfect symphony. With the final click of the mouse and the tapping of the keyboard, the screen of the monitor flashed.

There was a bright light and letters on the screen spelling out the word, "Victory!"

Loud cheers and chants came from the crowd.

"Aces!"

"Aces!"

"Aces!"

However, the sounds changed from loud chants to someone calling his name.

"Brother Li! Brother Li! It's time for you to wake up! You've been sleeping for almost the entire day. Is this college too hard for you?"

Li Xin rubbed his eyes and opened them tiredly to see his best friend, Dong Hai dressed up in his uniform.

"Eh? A- Dong?"

Instantly, Dong Hai changed from a smile to a cringe. "Stop calling me that! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

Li Xin chuckled as he watched his best friend look around frantically to see if anyone heard him.

"Relax, the rooms are extremely sound proof. Did you forget what type of college this was?" Li Xin asked with a tone that pointed out the obvious.

"Ah, right." Dong Hai muttered. "I forgot how rich this college was, they even provided us with our own monitors to play games. How crazy is that!"

"What can you expect? This college is supported by countless sponsors. Naturally, the college will be rich."

Dong Hai laughed. "You're right. Anyway, I'll see you in class Brother Li!" Dong Hai's expression turned slightly bitter before he spoke again. "Hopefully, you won't derank again. I know you've been practicing hard."

Li Xin gave Dong Hai a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll continue to work hard in order to stay at the rank I am now."

Dong Hai nodded his head. "That's good, but I want you to become higher. That way, we can dominate the competitive scene together as brothers!"

Li Xin stared and smiled at Dong Hai's back as he left the room. Li Xin got up from his bed and stared at the bright sun that lit up his room. Of all the colleges he could've been drafted to, it had to be one of the highest competitive colleges.

Not for sports. Not for school subjects. It was nothing related to gaming. This college was a place for gamers to expand their skills in gaming. Creating more potential for future gamers to rise and become a professional. After all, this generation was dominated by games.

"How ironic," Li Xin muttered as he stared off into the horizon. "I came to college to quit gaming, but somehow my fate has once again entangled with gaming."

Saying this, old memories started to engulf Li Xie's mind.

Li Xie, a professional gamer who was known throughout the world. He was famous for his astonishing achievements. Winning international tournaments eleven times in a row. That was something impossible to achieve seeing how competitive and skilled everyone was. However, Li Xie proved everyone wrong.

Li Xie was the best at SpaceCraft 2, a game involving tactics and skills. No one could compare to him, he had all the fame he needed to succeed! However, things took an unexpected turn.

Li Xie suddenly disappeared from the gaming community when he was about to reach the highest level one can achieve. No one knew what was going one until Li Xie posted an announcement saying that he was going to attend school and that was why he's going to quit gaming.

This caused uproars, people cursed at Li Xie for giving up on gaming. But that was back in high school, he was now in college living a…not very peaceful life.

After all, Li Xie and Li Xin were the same person. Compared to years ago, their appearances have differed. Li Xin had never used his real name before because he hadn't reached the appropriate age. That was why he made up a name similar to his real name.

However, that was years ago. The game SpaceCraft 2 has long disappeared and everyone has moved on to a new game. It's name was…

"Pure Aim." Li Xin muttered. "Although they're made by the same company, the intensity and competitive level is on a different scale."

Yet Li Xin had no worries about reaching the peak of the mountain. It was that he didn't want the stress that came with professional gaming. Having to always keep up with people's expectations, always having to stay at the top, and even dealing with haters were a bit stressful.

Moreover, the betrayal of "Aces" left a deep scar in his heart. After that incident, Li Xin wasn't sure if he wanted to continue playing games again. In conclusion, he decided to never touch the game again.

Li Xin shook away the memories and glanced at the clock. His eyes nearly popped out of it's sockets. He was already thirty minutes late to class! Li Xin quickly put on his uniform and grabbed his bag and rushed through the hallway.

When Li Xin passed a few people in the hallway, he was always given a mean or rude look. Li Xin wasn't surprised at that, after all, his rank was second to last. If not the worst, it was the second worst.

Now that Li Xin thought about it, even he didn't know how he deranked so much. A month ago, he was only fourth to last! Was it because of his looks?

Li Xin swiped at his purple hair and contemplated if that was it. His answer was no, he thought of himself as a handsome young man.

"Well, there's no point thinking about it now. After all, today decides the day if I'll go up a rank or go down a rank." Li Xin said.

From being a worldwide professional gamer turns into someone who's worried about his rank degrading to the lowest one.

"If I get kicked out, I get kicked out. If I go up a rank, then I go up one. It's a Win-Win situation!"