After introducing themselves to each other, they sat around a round table to talk about the competition.
"First of all, I... No, my secretary has helped me prepare the training schedule. I don't mind if anyone is livestreaming it, as Roach Planet relies a lot on RNG, and strategy doesn't matter. We will only train our teamwork until the competition on May 31st." Flexy, taking the position of the leader, explained.
Max and Atlas listened carefully while Ferin looked as if she wasn't interested in Flexy's talk at all. But from her gestures, she seemed to understand everything without any problem while playing with her nails.
"There is also a special request from my friend over here."
Flexy looked at Max, trying his best not to burst into laughter.
"He requested me to allow him to stay on the base, protecting it. There is... something that made me trust him."
The couple seemed to be curious and glanced at Max. Among them, Ferin seemed to have a bit more curiosity as she put her finger on her lips.
"Could it be that you're afraid of cockroaches?" She asked with a sly smile as if she was sure of it.
Faced with an unexpectedly on-point question, Max's body flinched a bit, making the girl's smile widen into a smug grin.
"Ah, I called it!" She exclaimed proudly. "Hehe, don't worry. You will get used to them soon. The first is always scary, they said. Well, I have two times the experience, so I assure you–"
"Fer, that's enough." Atlas suddenly interjected with a sigh, making his lover pout.
"Eh, no fun."
The blond-haired man ignored her whining and turned to Max apologetically before saying. "Sorry about what she said. Please don't mind it too much."
"It's okay." Max smiled wryly, "And I am not afraid of cockroaches. I just hate them." He added.
At this point, it might have sounded like an excuse and no one believed him, but that wasn't important. He glared at Flexy, who openly laughed and urged him to continue.
The orange-haired streamer coughed into his palm to get the couple's attention and stopped laughing. Even so, an occasional laugh still escaped his lips.
"W-Well, that's Breeze's request. Do both of you have any problem with that?" He asked, looking at the couple.
They looked at each other and then shook their heads.
"I don't mind," Atlas said.
"Hehe, me too. Rather, is there anyone but him who can run around the base at fast speed to defend all sides of our base? Even if At and I are confident in our skills, we aren't particularly suited for defending. We are more like an extermination squad!" Ferin added cheerfully.
Saying so, he stood up and stretched his body.
'I really am the worst, no? Why did I feel that way?' He thought, gritting his teeth.
'Well, let's make it up. I will take him out to eat on the competition day, I hope he don't mind what I did. Knowing him, he probably already forgive me, but I still feel bad. For now, let's focus. Any worries will only make my performance worse.'
"If everyone is ready, let's start the first game!" Flexy exclaimed with an annoying laugh. "Please accept the party invitation I sent. I will immediately search for the match once everyone accepted."
Max huffed. Finally, his friend acted normally again.
'Feeling frustrated is fine, but he shouldn't project it like that. To think I would have to tell him such a thing... He might be too tired to even think straight right now. Those panda eyes from this morning were the proof.'
He accepted the invitation and got an extra screen on the edge of his face that showed his partymate's vital condition. If the white lines became red, that meant they were knocked down. And if they died, the line would change to black.
This health system was pretty simple and convenient.
'It's so easy to understand.' Max nodded as he remembered the information he read on the forum earlier. 'I guess I will get used to this game far easier than Mercenary Quest. I already read all information that could be of help for me.'
Accepting the invitation, Ferin got closer to her lover and whispered, "Hey, should we really do that on the competition day? Is it time already?"
"I think so. We also need some reputation IRL. It's time to stand out."
"Hmm, if you say so." The girl hummed and looked at Breeze with a predatory gaze, "I think I will also have my little bit of fun teasing my best friend's man."
Atlas could only smile wryly at that, "Don't tease him too much. StoneSword's sister will be angry otherwise."
"Hehe, that won't be a problem. I can just take a screenshot of his flustered face and send it to her. I know that she will appreciate it."
"Hah..." Atlas knew that his girlfriend wouldn't stop once she was like this, "Just keep it in moderation."
At that moment, a screen appeared in front of their eyes with an explosion.
[Boom!]
[Match found!]
Flexy grinned widely and punched his palm.
"Alright! Let's do as planned earlier!"
And thus, their bodies were covered in bluish light and disappeared from the bar.