In a triumphant reverse sweep, the Los Angeles Emperors had completely crushed the Beijing Tigers. Their captain, Yeh SuWen, had left the stage in tears. The team had such a strong start, yet they had been toppled in such a manner.

As the Los Angeles Emperors raised their trophy, many spectators had been left in a very confused state. This had been the first time a North American team had ever won the world champions.h.i.+ps. The majority of the spectators had come from all the Asian Countries to root for the Beijing Tigers. Only about 40% of the spectators were from North America, and they were exuberant beyond belief.

The rollercoaster of emotions had left both sides at the farthest ends of the emotional spectrum that they could have possibly felt. From the peak of excitement and antic.i.p.ation to the loathing and dread of a possible reverse sweep, the fans of the Beijing Tigers had a very tumultuous emotional adventure. Of course, the reverse of the emotions were true for the fans of the Los Angeles Emperors.

Li Ming had been invited to sit with Chie and the rest of the Osaka Phoenixes by Conflux for this event. The team had been pretty unbiased in terms of rooting for a team. They just wanted to watch the highest level of gameplay that they could watch. Because of this, when the Los Angeles Emperors won, they were cheering pretty excitedly too. This left Li Ming as the odd man out as his favorite team had just lost, while he was sitting with a group of people that were cheering.

Recalling this memory, Li Ming couldn't help but feel bitter.

"Excuse me, what would you like to drink?" a flight attendant asked him.

"Hot chocolate please." Li Ming replied without hesitation.

***

Li Ming unlocked the doors to his apartment. A familiar scent wafted through the air towards him. A sense of homeliness as he collapsed onto his bed. Thankfully, his wallet wasn't too sore. The team had treated him to meals on the day of the final as well as a meal before he left. He still had around 300 dollars left.

He would be returning to school tomorrow, so he would get his chance to talk to his counselor about this new potential future prospect of his. After spending time with Conflux and Chie, he found that he enjoyed their company quite a bit. Conflux was quiet and witty, while Chie was amusing and attractive at the same time. Lasks, their mage player, was quiet and rarely said anything, but he wasn't a wet blanket for the mood in any way.

Collisio, their tank player, was quite a character. He knew the ins and outs of international travel and had many connections to get what he needed. He even hooked up Li Ming with an upgrade for his flight back, allowing Li Ming to sleep comfortably in first cla.s.s.

Li Ming was pretty content with his vacation. Although he didn't find out anything about community colleges, he was able to get recruited to a team. If he actually became part of their starting roster, he would receive a contract for an entire million dollars a year, and would have the opportunity to earn more.

This offer was very attractive to Li Ming. He felt like he would be set for life if he managed to stay on the team for ten years or so. He would be financially stable and would have little to no worry about job security. Of course, the contract terms had yet to be determined, so he would have to to wait and see.

But for now, all Li Ming wanted was to fall asleep. Closing his eyes, he slowly felt the drowsiness overcome him. Despite sleeping for several hours on the flight, he had still felt sleepy upon laying down on his own bed.

*Ding~!*

His phone received a notification. Annoyed, Li Ming pulled out his phone from his pockets. It was a text message from Mato.

"Hey there~! o(≧∇≦o)

I heard that you attended the tryouts! ヽ(〃･ω･)ﾉ

Celeste wouldn't tell me about it tho! ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)

Care to tell me how it went?

-Mato"

Li Ming eyes shot back open in surprise! News had travelled that fast already? He didn't expect Mato or any one else to know about this for at least until he was officially signed onto a team. Hopefully, her team captain wouldn't accuse Li Ming of stealing the playstyle they had discussed.

"h.e.l.lo!

The tryouts were quite fun! But you had surprised me a lot! I originally only wanted to play casually at an internet cafe, but you actually sent me to a tryout instead!

Anyways, a lot happened, and I eventually got asked to join the Osaka Phoenixes. I don't know if I should join or anything, but they seem quite cool. I told them I'd make a decision about joining them after I spoke to my counselor about it.

Anyways, how've you been?

-Li Ming"

After sending that message, Li Ming closed his eyes with the intent to go to sleep. He heard his phone's notification buzzer go off again, but he stuffed his phone under his pillow and went straight to try to sleep.

*DingDong~*

This time it was his doorbell. Li Ming was now very agitated. His first attempt to sleep was blocked by a text message, and now his second attempt to sleep was also disrupted by a rude door bell.

*DingDong~*

The doorbell rang again. Frustrated, Li Ming rolled out of bed, praying that it wasn't some sales person. He walked to the door while wondering if it was possible to disable the doorbell so no one could bother him anymore. Reaching the door, he peered through the peephole to see who it was. To his surprise, it was Counselor Watanabe! She looked quite agitated too!

"Li Ming! I know you're in there! I asked your landlord and she said she saw that you came back today! Open up!" she demanded!