Chapter 277: Press Conference: Pre-Exhibition Games, Part 1.

It took a few seconds before everything synced into the cameramen's minds, that the representatives of the ARES Guild who would be participating in the press conference have just walked past them.

In the next second, Cameras started flashing as Pedro and Lony maintained a cold demeanor—not even smiling at any of the cameras.

On the other hand, Pedro's mom smiled a couple of times towards the cameramen, while Talia even happily waved like a celebrity to all the camera around them.

"Hehe… Hehe…" Talia chuckled to herself like a happy kid who was given a new toy to play with.

Soon, they arrived at the waiting room with the guidance of the hotel management personnel. They would remain in that room, on standby, until Weyron's group arrives and the press conference starts.

Fortunately, they did not wait too long as Weyron, Meen, and Pedro's Aunt Veronica walked out of the elevator.

Compared to the ARES Guild's Black and White-themed uniform, the Oran Gutan Guild had a White uniform with Black and Orange prints as design—so that it would not look like they were some kind of medical personnel.

…

At this moment, in their discussion/meeting room, everyone from the ARES Guild was gathered and were watching the news together.

Loren's eyes shined bright—as if she was a proud friend, after seeing Talia wave towards the camera as if she was a celebrity.

On the other hand, Mathew could not help but slap his face from embarrassment as Roval, Aldo, and Arvedar smirked towards him as if they were saying, 'You have quite a little sister, vice cap!'.

"Little Talia looks so beautiful on the TV!" Loren said happily like a proud elder sister or friend.

"It's to be expected! She took her beauty from Vice Cap! Hahahaha!" Roval laughed out loud in response.

Arvedar and Aldo were not also able to hold their laughter in response. They burst into laughter making Mathew flick his tongue.

Mathew was about to scold them, but when he saw the two girls also smiling, he could not help but shake his head and sigh in response. Then, he mocked, saying, "I just hope that we got some sponsorships after this and make extra money. It would be nice if we could invest in a shawarma food stall that Talia loves to eat. It's been ripping my pockets off ever since we started training."

Roval simply chuckled in response and said, "Aish, Vice Cap! Why don't you just find some kind and innocent boy for little Talia, so that you would not carry the burden of spoiling her requests every time?"

"Why? Do you want to apply as one?" Mathew smirked in response.

Roval burst into laughter in response and said, "Brother Aldo, Brother Arvedar, and I would pass! We don't want our pockets to be like yours, Vice Cap! Hahahahaha!"

"Then, stop saying nonsense and stop rubbing salt on my painful pockets!" Mathew grumbled in response that made everyone else laugh.

…

At this moment, Weyron, his mother, and Meen arrived at the waiting room—completing everyone who would be participating in the press conference.

Weyron bowed slightly in respect to his aunt—Pedro's mother and their boss, which was followed afterward by Meen.

On the other hand, Pedro simply smiled at his Aunt Veronica, while saying, "Aunt… Since when did Wey last look this decent?"

His Aunt Veronica simply chuckled in response and said, "When he graduated from high school! Hahahaha!"

"Aish… Cousin Peds, making fun of me as soon as we saw each other after several days of 'intensive' training. Do you badly miss my handsome face that much?" Weyron flicked his hair, acting as if he was a prince charming in some fairy tale story.

However, contrary to Weyron's expectation that Pedro would be annoyed in response, Pedro chuckled in response and said, "Sort of… You only put effort into your image if there's someone whom you are trying to impress…"

Pedro stole a glanced towards Meen before smirking. Then, he said, "I wonder who it is… Hmmm…?"

Weyron flicked his tongue in response and frowned, saying, "Don't be like that Cousin Peds!" Then, he covered his mouth from Pedro's Aunt Veronica's view, and grumbled in a weak tone, saying, "My mom is here… I'll get scolded if say things like that!"

Unfortunately, Weyron was already too late to warn Pedro. When Weyron stole a glance at his mom, she was already glaring towards him. So, Weyron could only avert his gaze away from his mom as much as possible.

Fortunately, the event organizer went inside the room—informing them that they can now go to the stage. So, Weyron used that chance to escape by saying, "L-let's go now… We can't let everyone wait that long!"

Pedro's Aunt Veronica smirked mischievously in response and said, "You're right! There are also 'a lot' of things that we need to talk about afterward."

Shivers run through Weyron's spine as his mom and Pedro's mom went out of the room—ahead of everyone else.

Meen simply shook her head in response before following their two bosses.

Pedro simply chuckled in response as he tapped Weyron's shoulder while saying, "Don't worry Wey! A boss is meant to be cleared! You'll soon be able to 'clear' it. That said… I hope that personal matters won't affect the performance of your guild! I have high hopes in the 'Oran Gutan' Guild!"

Pedro left the room followed by Talia and Lony—who simply smiled towards Weyron as if they were saying 'Good luck'.

Weyron simply sighed in response and said, "Don't underestimate us too much, cousin… After all, we are 'the' Oran Gutan Guild!"

Weyron followed them to the press conference area afterward.

There was a long table covered with white linen. On top of the table, there were microphones, name tags, and a bottle of water for each of them.

At the furthest left—based on the view on the television's live coverage, Talia was seated with her Professional In-game Name written on her name tag on the table. "Shawarma—Team ARES, Support"

She was followed by Lony with a Professional In-game Name, "Bulk—Team ARES, Ace"

Then, By Pedro with a Professional In-game Name, "Black—Team ARES, Captain"

His mother, "Mrs. Caroline Armaz—President, Armaz Electronics Inc."

His Aunt Veronica, "Mrs. Veronica Santiago—Director of Guild Affairs, Armaz Electronics Inc."

Then, Weyron followed with a Professional In-game Name, "Noryew—Team Oran Gutan, Captain"

And lastly, at the furthest right, Meen sat with a Professional In-game Name, "Neem—Team Oran Gutan, Ace"

At this moment, various cameramen started 'firing' shots to take a picture of them. The flashes consequently blinded all of them but they did not mind that much because the press conference would start at any minute.

That said, it was a different case for Weyron. He covered his eyes and shouted, saying, "Hotel Managers! There are some 'defective lights' going on and off! Can you do something about it? It's so painful in the eyes, to the point that I am not able to see the beauty of some of the reporters in front of me!"

The cameramen stopped taking pictures and simply laughed in response. This, in turn, reduced the number of flashes as the cameramen took pictures without flash afterward.

On the other hand, the event organizer took this chance to start the press conference. She introduced everyone one by one, indicating their specific roles in the Exhibition Games to come. Then, after some introduction about the overall gaming organization, they immediately proceeded with the first reporter to start.

"Good Afternoon, Everyone! I am Dell Corman from HIJKLM News! For my question… There have been rumors around lately that each affiliate company and corporation—like Armaz Energy International, can bring three teams, at most, to the said exhibition games. So, I would like President Caroline Armaz about why there are only two teams endorsed by Armaz Energy International? Wouldn't it be ideal to bring three teams like the other affiliates of the Game Developers, to increase your chances of winning?" The reporter asked.

Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply smirked in response and said, "Uhm… Regarding that matter, I think that you should ask my son about it instead if you want a more detailed explanation as to why we are only sending two teams to the exhibition games. But to answer your question, we are only going to send two teams because we just had established our gaming organizations a week ago. Unfortunately, building another third team would take more time, and 'that' third team might still not be able to participate in the exhibition games. So, instead of forcing things. We decided to focus on what we have to increase our chances of winning."

"I see…" The reporter nodded in response. But in the next second, the reporter asked, saying, "But I heard that there are some independent gaming organizations that expressed their desire to form an agreement with your organization for that 'last' spot. What are your views on this part?"

"Yes, you are right! Since last night, we have received a lot of offers from different gaming organizations in the country... Even in the other parts of the continent! However, to be fair to everyone else, we have decided to kindly decline them instead. We'd rather prefer 'not' to be the start of any conflict amongst the various gaming organizations! After all, our organization's goal was to enjoy the game—even on such competitions."

"Thank you, President Caroline!" The reporter said as she sat down.

Afterward, the next reporter stood and said, "Good afternoon, everyone! I am Heich Feile from Channel 12345 News. Based on the information that you released earlier, Team ARES is your gaming organization's main guild. But what's intriguing is that there are only nine [9] players in the 'main' team's roster! Something that is way fewer compared to the overkill number of players in the Team Oran Gutan. I would like to ask Director Santiago if you could share the reason behind such arrangement."

"You'll know soon, in the exhibition games! But if you want to really know the reason for the respective roster of each team, then I suggest that you ask the two Captains instead. That's if they would reveal their own reasons themselves." Director Veronica Santiago said confidently.

The reporter glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Captain Black, can you spare us some information?"

Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "I am sorry, miss! I would rather choose to keep my mouth shut than unconsciously start a 'war' between the two teams. Anyway… It's not like the Exhibition Games is the actual Professional League. You can consider it more like a 'Friendly' Match amongst selected gaming organizations all over the world. For me… There's no need to take things that seriously, especially that the game has just been officially launched."

The reporter nodded in response and asked, "I see… So, are you saying that Team ARES is still under development?"

Pedro confidently nodded in response and said, "Absolutely! Even if, just in case, we become the best team in the world… There would still be a thing or two to improve and develop."