She knew the odds of winning four against five were slimâand one against nine was downrightSisyphean In the lower leagues, a miracle might occur, but this was the big leaguesâthe domain of champions.Here, every opponent was a gladiator, and Cordelia, despite her skills, was hopelesslyoutnumbered.
The match ended, and Cordelia paused, her heart pounding, before queuing up for another round.She was met again with targeted hostility, but this time, one of her teammates couldnât stand by andwatch the bullying. They fought valiantly, yet even their two against five was futile.
Cordelia wasnât playing for fun; she was playing for glory. Her rank, once a dazzling 18 stars, hadnow plummeted to 16 following her defeats. Frustration seethed within her.
She queued again, her resolve unwavering, only to be singled out once more. Insults peppered thegame chat as the match concluded:
âShameless bitch, did you seduce the Jungler to boost your rank?â
âYou donât belong in this game.
âEasy money!â
Cordelia brushed off the vitriol, though another star slipped from her grasp. But she refused toconcede.
As she entered the next round, she was instantly recognized. A voice cut through the gameâs voicechat, dripping with sarcasm, âHey, lady, Sweetheart paid us with a hundred bucks each, how about you double it? Then maybe weâll stop targeting you!â
Another chimed in with mock sympathy, âSweetheart pays off both enemy teams and yourteammatesâ900 bucks just to tank a match! Who can compete with that kind of cash? And thatLearner, I bet they havenât spent a dime on the game. Not everyoneâs rolling in it like Sweetheart,who rakes in thousands each month on streams. And her boyfriend, the Jungler? Heâs on anotherlevelâearning millions!â
Cordeliaâs brow furrowed. Since when did gaming become a contest of wealth?
The game ended predictablyâwith another loss. But Cordelia played on, determined. Even when herteammates gave up, she fought on. One match, as she cleverly attempted to push a tower, ateammate exposed her strategy, ensuring yet another defeat.
After a string of losses, Cordeliaâs phone hit the table with a thud.
Merry had been watching since the fifth match. She tuned into Sweetheartâs stream just in time tocatch an earful, âLia, this girl is outrageous! I reported her, but the platform is doing nothing. Sheâsusing you to boost her stream popularity, and now her channel is blowing up!â
Merry ranted about Sweetheartâs artificial stream appearance and her blatant lies, accusingCordelia of being a homewrecker despite having parted ways with Jungler long before.
Cordelia sighed. It was just a game, but now it was personal.
Sweetheart continued her tirade on stream, sharing Cordeliaâs contact info to her audience andpainting her as a deceitful backstabber who had used Jungler to climb the rank Cordeliaâs phone nearly crashed under the barrage of hateful messages.
[Get lost, bitch!]
[How much for a night, whore?]
Iâm going to kill you in this game]
A series of harsh words made Cordelia furrow her brows.
Merry was livid, accusing Sweetheart of doxxing and demanding action.
Cordelia took a deep breath and messaged Jungler, âCan you keep your girlfriend in line?â
Jungler replied, âEvery time I try to speak up for you, she flips out. How about this, Iâll get you a newaccount. Can you stop using your old one?â
Cordelia frowned. She hadnât done anything wrong to deserve this. Why should she be the one toback down? She texted Jungler back, âIf you donât control her, donât blame me for taking action.â
Jungler replied, âWhat are you planning to do? Donât do anything drastic. What if you just stepback? Iâl compensate you.â
Cordelia didnât reply. Initially, out of affection for Jungler as a gaming friend, she planned to stepback. As long as Jungler kept his girlfriend in line and avoided any further trouble, the five lostgames wouldnât matter.
But nowâ¦
Cordeliaâs expression turned icy, a serious glint appearing in her normally indifferent eyes. Withouthesitation, she located the friend request from Sweetheart and accepted it.
In her live streaming room, Sweetheart spoke up, âWow, finally got a bite! She accepted my friendrequest. Is this some kind of apology? Psh, let me tell you guys, her username is âLearnLover, andher profile pic is a math test â sheâs masquerading as a student, deceiving Jungler to boost herrank. Such people are just repulsive! Even if she apologizes, Iâm not letting her off the hook. Shecan kiss her account goodbye; I wonât let her get away with this!â
As soon as Sweetheart finished ranting, Cordeliaâs prepared message was sent.