Felix looked down at his phone again, scrolling through the match details with one hand.
The glow from the screen reflected faintly against his face as his thumb moved slowly over the schedule. Around us, the gaming room was filled with the quiet hum of computers, the occasional click of a mouse, and the soft tapping of keyboards.
"I’ve already booked a game with a team you may not actually know," he said.
He paused for a moment before looking up at us. "But they’re a higher-ranked team."
I raised an eyebrow. "Who are we playing?"
Felix turned his phone slightly so we could see the name.
"Phantom Legion."
The name appeared on the screen.
VØID VS PHANTOM LEGION
For a second, nobody said anything.
Danny leaned closer to her monitor. "Phantom Legion?"
Caleb nodded slowly, and his expression changed. "I’ve heard of them before."
Sasha looked at Felix. "Coach, you actually invited them for a practice match?"
Felix nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
Danny groaned and leaned back in her chair. "We just found out the competition was moved to next month, and you’re already putting us against a stronger team?"
Felix didn’t look bothered. "That’s exactly why you’re playing them."
He slipped his phone into his pocket and folded his arms.
"You have more time before the competition now. Use it. If you only practice against teams you’re already comfortable beating, you won’t improve."
Nobody answered him.
Felix looked around the room. "Phantom Legion is better than you. They’re faster and more experienced, and they’re going to punish every mistake you make."
Danny made a face. "That was supposed to make us feel better?"
Felix almost smiled. "No. It was supposed to make you pay attention."
A quiet laugh escaped Caleb.
I adjusted my headset and turned back toward my monitor.
The match lobby had already loaded. The screen displayed both teams on opposite sides.
On our side was the familiar name.
VØID
Across from us stood
PHANTOM LEGION
Five usernames appeared beneath their team name. Seeing them there made something tighten in my chest.
They weren’t just some random team Felix had found online. They were ranked higher than us. And now they were sitting on the other side of the lobby, waiting to play.
Both teams were in the character-selection screen. No one had locked a character yet.
Everyone was still choosing.
I moved my mouse slowly across the available characters, stopping over one before moving away again.
My fingers rested lightly on the mouse. I watched the opposing side; they were doing the same thing. Hovering over different characters and changing their minds, watching us to know the characters we will choose.
It was almost like a silent conversation.
Nobody was saying anything, but everyone was trying to read everyone else.
"Don’t rush your picks," Felix said from behind us. His voice was calm, but we all knew he was watching every move on the screens.
"Look at what they’re choosing before you lock yours."
Caleb leaned closer to his monitor. "They’re hovering."
I looked at the opposing side. One of the Phantom Legion players had selected a character temporarily, but they hadn’t locked it.
A few seconds later, they switched to another, then another player changed theirs.
Danny frowned. "Are they trying to figure out our picks?"
"Probably," Sasha replied.
She adjusted her headset. "They’re checking our team composition."
I swallowed and shifted in my chair.
The room suddenly felt quieter.
The soft hum of the computers seemed louder now. The faint clicking of mice and keyboards filled the silence between us, while the countdown continued ticking down on the screen.
00:48
Nobody had locked a character yet.
Not us. Not even them. We were all waiting, trying to figure out what the other team was planning.
Felix folded his arms across his chest. "Remember, this is a practice match. Don’t panic."
I nodded, but my heart was already beating faster.
It wasn’t just any team.
It was Phantom Legion.
A stronger team. A team we were supposed to learn from. A team that could expose every weakness we had before the real competition even began.
Danny suddenly spoke through her headset. "So... what are we picking?"
Caleb laughed softly. "That’s what we’re trying to figure out."
I smiled slightly, but my eyes remained fixed on the screen.
The opposing players were still moving their cursors. One of them hovered over a character and moved away. Another changed their selection and changed it again.
They were so patient that it made me wonder if they were doing the same thing we were.
The countdown dropped.
00:35
My hand tightened slightly around the mouse. I moved my cursor again, hovering over a character, but still, I didn’t lock.
Neither did Phantom Legion.
The tension in the room grew with every passing second. Nobody wanted to be the first person to reveal their hand.
Felix finally spoke. "Take your time. Watch them carefully."
I took a slow breath and settled deeper into my chair.
The cool air from the room brushed against my arms. My headset felt heavier around my ears, and I could hear the faint sound of my own breathing beneath the game audio.
The match hadn’t even started yet. We hadn’t fired a single shot. We hadn’t taken a single step onto the map.
Yet somehow, it already felt like a battle.
I glanced at the names across the screen one more time.
PHANTOM LEGION
My heartbeat picked up again.
This wasn’t going to be an easy practice match. And somehow, I knew this was going to be one hell of a training session.
The countdown continued.
00:30.
I moved my mouse slowly across the screen, looking through the available characters. My eyes moved from one option to another, weighing every possibility while the seconds slipped away.
"Don’t rush," Felix reminded us from behind.
His voice was calm, almost too calm for the pressure building inside the room.
"I know," I murmured.
On the other side of the lobby, Phantom Legion was doing the same thing.
Their players kept switching between different characters, hovering over one before moving to another. Every change felt deliberate.
"They’re trying to figure out what we’re planning," Sasha said.
Caleb nodded, his eyes never leaving his monitor. "Then let’s give them nothing."
Danny laughed softly. "Easy for you to say."
I smiled, but my eyes remained fixed on the screen.
00:24.
One of the Phantom Legion players suddenly selected a character, but they didn’t lock in.
Felix leaned slightly closer to our screens. "Watch their selections."
I nodded.
Another Phantom Legion player hovered over a different character and then another.
They were building their team slowly, carefully putting pieces together without revealing too much.
I glanced at my teammates. Everyone looked focused now.
No more jokes. No more complaining.
The pressure in the room had changed.
A few minutes ago, this had felt like another practice session. Now, it felt like we were sitting across from an opponent who was studying every move we made.
I moved my cursor over my preferred character. My finger hovered near the mouse button, then I stopped.
"Felix," I called.
"Yeah?"
"Should I take this one?"
He looked at my screen for a moment. His eyes moved over the character selection before returning to me.
"Don’t lock it yet."
I nodded and moved my cursor away.
00:17.
Danny shifted in her chair. "We’re running out of time."
"We still have time," Caleb replied calmly. He sounded completely relaxed.
I wished I could say the same about myself.
00:12.
Phantom Legion locked another character.
A small confirmation appeared on their side of the screen.
I swallowed. They were slowly revealing their strategy.
Every locked character gave us another piece of information. Every second made it harder to hide our own plans.
My fingers tightened around the mouse.
00:09.
"Everyone, get ready," Felix said.
I adjusted my headset. The familiar pressure of the ear cups settled against my head as the game audio grew louder.
My heartbeat seemed to match the ticking countdown.
00:07.
Sasha finally hovered over her character.
"Should I lock?"
Felix looked at the screen. "Wait."
She froze. Nobody moved their mouse again.
00:05.
My heartbeat picked up faster that I could hear the faint clicking of someone’s mouse beside me.
00:04.
Caleb moved his cursor into position. He lowered his eyes slightly as he waited.
00:03.
Danny whispered, "Come on..."
00:02.
The countdown flashed on the screen.
Felix finally spoke. "Now."
We all clicked. One after another, our selections locked in.
The lobby changed almost instantly.
VØID — LOCKED
Across the screen, Phantom Legion’s final selections appeared too.
PHANTOM LEGION — LOCKED
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
I stared at the screen, studying the opposing lineup. Their composition was stronger than I expected.
Every character seemed to have a purpose.
Every player appeared to know exactly what they were doing.
"They’re serious," I muttered.
Felix smiled faintly. "Good."
The character-selection screen disappeared.
The room filled with the sound of the loading transition.
The loading screen appeared.
The VØID logo appeared on one side. Phantom Legion’s logo appeared on the other.
Seeing both names displayed together made my stomach tighten.
This was no longer just a name on a schedule.
We were about to face them.
My heart began pounding harder. Danny’s voice came through my headset.
"Ready?"
I adjusted my headset and leaned closer to the monitor. "Ready."
Caleb laughed quietly. "Let’s see what Phantom Legion has."
Felix stood behind us, his arms folded across his chest.
"Remember what I told you."
I took a slow breath.
"Communication, patience, and don’t panic, right?" I said calmly.
Felix nodded. "Exactly."
The loading bar slowly moved across the screen.
Ten percent.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The numbers climbed steadily.
Nobody spoke. We were all waiting for it to start.
My fingers rested over the keyboard, ready for the first command.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
The computer fans hummed around us, the sound mixed with the quiet game music coming through our headsets.
I glanced at the opposing logo one last time.
PHANTOM LEGION.
Then I looked back at our own.
VØID.
My nerves were still there. But beneath them was something else.
Something close to excitement.
We had been waiting for a real challenge, and now we finally had one.
The loading bar reached the end, and the screen faded. The match was about to begin.
I looked at my teammates and smiled.
"Let’s do this."
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