Champion

"I get that I talked with you for a couple of minutes, and may (or may not) have a wonderful interaction. But still, why the hell are you following me?" The receptionist turned and gave a look of annoyance towards the white-haired teen.

After his supposed shift was done, the teen just kept on following him wherever he went. He tried going to the smoking room and smoke some cigarettes, but he found the teen already sitting there attentively. He then went to the snack bar but was surprised to find him kneeling with a cheap gum on his palm presented as an offering. He tried sneaking to the employee's lounge but immediately noped out when he saw the familiar silhouette before the door. At this point, he has given up on ditching the guy. So instead of getting away from him, he decided to let the bloke follow him around.

"So what do you want?"

The teen's eyes lit up in excitement. "Thank you for acknowledging me, great teacher!" He then gave a deep bow, with his palms and fist brought together.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I wish guidance from the great you."

"What could I possibly help you with?"

"I wish to know the nature of this tournament." He said solemnly.

"The what?"

"How is this tournament 'played?'" He said putting on emphasis to the word "played."

He felt another urge to slam his head on the nearby wall, but he held it in. 'What is this noob doing in here?!' Someone with no idea about games or even the event is out here competing. Has the world gone insane?

"Follow me, I'll bury as much information as I can in your skull." But as an employee of this establishment, he must guide this stupid customer.

The receptionist walked to find a vacant machine for them to practice on, with the overly cheerful teen in tow.

"First and foremost, this is a game machine." He pointed at the vacant machine just beside him.

"Oh, a game machine." Ye Han nodded.

"The controls are simple, you use this joystick to move your character. Then we have these four buttons are for attacking, the top is for left and right punch respectively." He pressed the buttons to demonstrate.

"Punch!"

"Then the buttons below are for kicks, I know you get the pattern here." He then demonstrated how it works.

"The bar at the top is the health bar. The goal of the game is to empty the bar above. Just remember, always empty the health bar."

"Yes, great teacher."

"Now here's the complicated part, if you do a sequence of moves you'll be able to achieve a combo. Watch this." He then swirled the joystick and pressed the left kick then right kick buttons.

The character did a spinning kick.

"Don't worry, all the combos are listed here. You can also create your own combo, but it would take tons of practice. Now come and sit here, practice and have a feel with the game." He gestured for Ye Han to sit.

"Now pick your character."

Ye Han looked at the receptionist confusedly.

"Use the joystick, now pressed that button."

The receptionist did not even bother to look back at Ye Han. It was painfully obvious that the teen has not even touched an arcade machine in all his life. He has imagined countless scenarios of him being thrashed by the more experienced gamers. The chance of him winning? Ultra slim, he may win some rounds by fluke but ultimately, he would still be beaten badly by others. So after Ye Han took a seat, the receptionist immediately went away to finally relax.

'There's still a couple of minutes, he should at least have a basic understanding of the game. I'm gonna go take a smoke, this day's been exhausting.' He thought.

***

"Ah, finally. I have my well-earned rest at last. How is that noob doing? Wait, why am I thinking about that guy?"

The receptionist emerged from his break with a refreshed expression plastered on his face. The rush hour earlier took a lot of his energy. And teaching the clueless teen made it worse. But who was he? He's the 6-time employee of the month and the manager's favorite. This kind of work routine is something normal for him.

But he couldn't help but think of that teen. A pig might as well fly before he could advance to the next round of the competition.

After his break, the awards ceremony is also being held. But he was uninterested of the results. It's always the same people year after year. There might be some changes but it was always one of the Big 4. 'I bet this year's champion [dIdI], that girl seems to be keen on winning back the title.'

"…this year's King of the Avenue is none other than, the newcomer, [dingaloo]!"

The announcer's voice reverberated throughout the establishment. It was accompanied by claps and cheers from the audience.

The receptionist was mildly shocked by the result. He was very unfamiliar with the guy. He did not even appear in the competition for the last 3 years. Just who is this guy? He came near the stage to take a closer look of the champion, but he almost fainted when he saw the familiar shoulder-length white hair and tracksuit.

"HE WON?!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Some audience looked at it him weirdly. "How the f*ck did he win?"

He immediately grabbed someone from the audience to question. "How did he win?!"

"Him?" The guy clarified.

"YES! How did he win?" The pure disbelief in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Well, we all thought he won't win. Did you know he used Lyka?! He used effing Lyka dude. The lowest tier fighter. He used her throughout the whole series and he won, he actually won. Can you believe that?" The guy chattered excitedly like it was some sort of historic event.

"But how?"

"I don't know man. All I know is he created history. He opened a brand new door to this game. Who would have thought that Lyka could be used like that? Her creator must be so proud. This is big, man. This will become a new meta. He proved to the world that there are no useless character, only useless player."

After he was done explaining, he slowly backed away whilst wiping his tears. This is truly a historic moment for the gamer community and the franchise. Some analysts who were in attendance have given preliminary investigation and every one of them gave the same conclusion, it's a new meta.

Ye Han scanned the crowd for any signs of his great teacher. His eyes darted around and at an inconspicuous corner, and finally found him at last. He stepped down the stage, and the crowd gave way for him to pass through.

"Great teacher, I've won" He then gave a profound bow.

But the receptionist is not able to register the scene in front of him. His mind is still struggling to contain the fact that the stupid guy who did not know what a username is was actually the champion of this year. 'There are actually flying pigs. Curse those geneticists.'

"So when do I start?"

"What start?"

"The job." Ye Han emphasized.

"Job?" The receptionist was confused.

"I've won the tournament, means I get the job, right?"

"I've said no such words." He tried remembering him promising a job. There was not even a job hiring.

"Well, what's the use of all this?"

"This is a gaming competition. The winner gets a prize, not a job." He clarified.

Ye Han opened his mouth in disbelief. This is not a job hiring? 'I was duped?'

"So yeah, congratulations. I have no idea how you won but still, good job my student." The receptionist finally accepted his role as the great teacher. 'Well, I taught him the basics. It actually feels good to be respected and acknowledged.'

"Don't call me your student." Ye Han replied coldly. "Filthy liar."

As he said that, he coolly walked out of the store with his prize and trophy by his arms.

Although he did not care, something broke inside the receptionist's heart.

"What?"