War Grounds 1 A CRUSHING DEFEA

The system blared as the match ended. Highlighted on the screen was the word 'Defeat' in bold red color. It was an eyesore.

'Damn it! Today's an unlucky day again! Why do I get to be teamed up with four healers? The system's rigged!' The scrawny black-haired eighteen-year-old teenager wearing a loose black sweater and red pajamas growled. He madly stomped his feet on the cold white floor as he forcefully took off his gaming helmet and carelessly threw it on his bed.

Knock! Knock!

"Al? Is something wrong, dear?" A concerned female voice echoed outside of the boy's room.

"Nothing, mom! Just don't mind me!" The teenage boy did not open the door as he sheepishly stared at the TV screen on the wall, where the recent match's result was still displayed.

[Score: 0-5]

Team A (Ranked according to performance)

Player 1:

CancerIsLife, Bronze II Dwarf Priest, 0 Kills, 1 Death, 0 Assists.

Awarding 5 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Bronze III.

Player 2:

CottonBalls, Bronze V Elf Priestess, 0 Kills, 1 Death, 0 Assists.

Awarding 4 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Rookie I.

Player 3:

Udil, Bronze II Human Warrior, 0 Kills, 1 Death, 0 Assists.

Awarding 3 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Bronze III.

Player 4:

NorthWestEastNorth, Bronze IV Demon Doctor, 0 Kills, 1 Death, 0 Assists.

Awarding 2 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Bronze V.

Player 5:
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_@IceIceBaby@_, Bronze II Human Priest, 0 Kills, 1 Death, 0 Assists.

Awarding 1 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Bronze III.

'What the hell? That stupid dwarf priest received the most EXP? He was useless throughout the game! I was not even able to receive a single healing spell before the enemies killed him! Arghhhhh!'

If not for the tight budget constraint, Al would have punched the screen. Having no other practical means of expressing his frustration, the boy clicked the 'thumbs down' marker in each of his allies' profile.

"You're a useless carry! How dare you blame us for your lack of skill!" CancerIsLife immediately sent a message in the lobby's chat, upon receiving the notification.

"Yup, this is my first time to witness a Warrior with such slow hand speed. Help me report this noob, everyone." _@IceIceBaby@_ added.

Al's eyebrows twitched upon reading the comments. He knew that among the four healers, it was only CottonBalls, who had played well, and the rest were utter trash players.

[Score 5-0]

Team B (Ranked according to performance)

Player 1:

Hell Kaiser, Bronze II Demon Berserker, 4 Kills, 0 Deaths, 1 Assist.

Awarding 30 EXP, and MVP Medal.

Rank promoted to Bronze I.

Player 2:

DieN00bs, Bronze III Murloc Gunner, 1 Kill, 0 Deaths, 4 Assists.

Awarding 25 EXP, and Gold Merit.

Rank promoted to Bronze II.

Player 3:

TheHealer, Bronze II Orc Priest, 0 Kills, 0 Deaths, 5 Assists.

Awarding 20 EXP, and Silver Merit.

Rank Promoted to Bronze I.

Player 4:

Caitama, Bronze IV Demon Charger, 0 Kills, 0 Deaths, 5 Assists.

Awarding 15 EXP, and Silver Merit.

Rank Promoted to Bronze III.

Player 5:

zZzBoooooringzZz, Bronze II Goblin Bomber, 0 Kills, 0 Deaths, 5 Assists.

Awarding 10 EXP, and Silver Merit.

Rank Promoted to Bronze I.

"Hahaha! How I wish that my next opponents are this weak! Thank you for the donation, losers :P" Hell Kaiser sent a message with a sneering emoji.

"Get lost, you bunch of losers. All of you are just dead weights in this gaming community", zZzBoooooringzZz commented.

"Haha! Agreed! Anyone teamed up with any of these five n00bs is surely having a bad luck An automatic demotion. Haha!" DieN00bs added his ridicule in the lobby chat.

"Let's form a party?" TheHealer changed the topic as he sent out an invitation.

"Let's go!" The rest of the gang in Team B responded as they left the lobby, leaving a mental blow to the members of Team A.

Without clicking the 'Exit' button, Al pulled out the plug of his console, forcefully turning off the game.

'Damn it! If only I knew that my first game today would be this terrible, I would have waited around evening to play. It's a public holiday, so cancer and kid players are rampant! Tsk! How unlucky.' The boy chuckled.

Every day, players are only awarded by the system with one entry ticket for War Grounds. The moment they lose a battle, they'll have to wait out for the next day to play again. Unfortunately for Al, his first game was a crushing defeat.

'What to do?' After a few minutes of calming his state of mind, Al pondered.

Blip! Blip!

The gaming helmet sprawled on Al's bed vibrated. It was his mounted phone's alarm.

Regretting his 'not-so-awhile-ago' fit of rage, Al immediately reached for his phone, hoping it was not damaged. Fortunately, it was still in good condition as the bed cushioned the throw.

[You have received a message from Osho.]

"Hey, Al! Have you opened the dark web that I had mentioned yesterday? You won't believe what I have found there! So, be careful in using it. At best, I suggest that you don't open it anymore ;)

Stay safe,

Your forever carry, Osho. "

'Tsss.' Al hissed and rolled his eyes upon reading the message from his best friend. He immediately knew what Osho had implied. The boy quickly opened his phone's browser.

[Welcome to Chrome ]

'Dark Web for gamers,' Al rapidly typed in the keywords. Instantly, after clicking the search button, countless links appeared in the interface of his phone, most of which were forums.

'Tired of being a loser? Click this link now! Limited offer only...' After a few minutes of scrolling down, a particular link's catchphrase piqued the interest of Al.

'Seriously? The universe is really in the mood of bullying me now, huh? Tsk. Never mind.' He was just about to scroll down using his thumb, when his phone vibrated again - a notification from another application, causing him to open the link accidentally.

'Shit! What bad timing! Now, I have to waste three seconds of my life to return to the other links!' Al rolled his eyes.

The screen continued to load for about another three seconds, before directing Al to the so-called 'dark website.' Unable to return to the previous display, the screen remained black as nothing happened.

'Urghhh! This site is literally a 'dark' web! Or Is it the internet? Damn! Why is the internet so slow today? Seriously? Come on, you stupid phone, load quickly!' Al was already irked to the peak level; he was having a bad day.

Just when he was about to call it quits, a prompt appeared on the screen.

[Tired of being a loser? Download this Master AI now, and conquer any game!]

'Huh? Seriously? I'm no loser, but what's there to lose?' Without hesitation, Al clicked the 'Download' button.

After ten seconds of download, another prompt appeared.

[Master AI (Artificial Intelligence) - SARS successfully downloaded. Click to install]

Starving for power, the boy thought that he had hit the jackpot. He pressed the 'Install Button' with unprecedented excitement.

[Warning! A virus has been detected! Critical Process Died! Restarting the phone now. All files and connected accounts will be deleted.]

'WTF!' Al screamed at the top of his lungs; his face was gruesome as he had received another crushing defeat.

Chapter end