A/N I hate that this fanfic is all over the place. Every chapter, I surprise myself because I don’t know what I’m going to end up writing lmao sorry. I have moved from MBL to Tiktok, watching smart dogs howl. Please comment and upvote if you’ve enjoyed this chapter!

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Another day, another season starting for the NCT Center members to panic over something I felt was a little bit too trivial. One of the NCT Center members was none other than Jung Jeffrey (I decided to call him Jeffrey every time Mr. Hotshot did something that was unbelievably stupid), who was absolutely terrified for his future.

They told me it was an understandable fear and I knew it was something that happened every season. Every season, Kyungsoo would get rid of a few basic characters. Either upgrade their skills, customize them, or remove them to make way for new characters so he could replace the professors.

It happened to me before and I was once a Layla player—the queen of the basic characters. All I had to do was to parade around with a bazooka. It was one of the first characters that were taught but after a few years and the new creation of characters came into play, Layla was then removed and more powerful characters made it to the arena. I moved to Miya which was simply upgraded and I was good to go.

There were lists of basic characters that Kyungsoo decided to remove and upon doing so, our players would have to focus on new characters. I agreed. Basic characters simply did not make the cut and could not fight against the meta-heroes that were going to make it to the arena.

One of those characters was Jung Jeffrey’s Alucard. I told him. I told him so many times that his Primary, Secondary and Tertiary characters were… mundane. He did not listen to me so here we were, having snuck into the council meeting.

And I had ing Jung Jeffrey on my shoulders.

“It hurts.”

“You’re fine, people say I have a flat .”

“Jeffrey…. Jeffrey!” I hissed, trying to balance him without dropping him. He was holding onto the lockers that were by the council meeting room, trying to peer into the high-rise window to see if they would get rid of Alucard. “They will see us, Jaehyun.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Jaehyun replied and I could feel his foot on my shoulder shifting. “Do you hear anything?”

“I’m down and you’re up,” I reminded him and he paused with a small ‘Oh’. “Jaehyun, get down. Kyungsoo will tell us when the meeting is over.”

“If they get rid of Alucard which is my main, I am done for, Nabi. I am a hundred percent done for.”

I told him that he was being dramatic when I lost my footing, Jaehyun dropping onto the ground. I waved my hands instinctively, trying to find something to grab when he beat me to it, catching my body with one arm before I hit the ground.

The abilities of an assassin, I thought. Jaehyun steadied me, both my arms around his neck. My heart was hammering in my chest—not because of Jaehyun, but because I knew that we would get caught and the Council Building was off-limits for players.

“Look, if your primary character gets removed that you get to play your secondary—” I paused when Jaehyun booped my nose with his, a playful grin traveling up his face. I grabbed his face to hold him in place. He switched between personas so easily, it confused me at times. “Listen to me! Besides, you still have your hidden character, no?”

“I am not going to play my hidden character. I would rather die.”

I was curious as to what his hidden character was but my train of thought was cut off when both of us heard yelling. A scuffle and a grunt followed. Both of us rushed to the source just to see two people that were in the same position as we were, for the same exact reason.

Only difference? The person who was yelling was not even trying to hide it.

“Don’t you dare!” Na Jaemin screeched, pounding on the glass with his fist as Jeno held him up. “Oh. Hi, Noona! Hi, Hyung—NO! Get your grubby hands off the snow gloves!”

“Jeno, what’s happening?” I asked the halfling who held Jaemin on his shoulders with ease. Jeno looked bored, the male blinking once. The area we left was for the assassins and where both of them stood had the Mages sign right upfront.

“Jaemin heard they wanted to get rid of his primary character.” Jeno patted Jaemin on the thigh who resumed screaming. “Aurora.”

Aurora was also a basic character. I could tell there was a reason to get rid of her in the arena. Her character was too slow and I told Jaemin just that.

“I like to be slow!” Jaemin scowled. “I make an entrance, I freeze people. I am elegant… I am a snow queen.”

Then, just like that, Jeno told Jaemin the same thing I told Jaehyun.

“Play your Secondary and push it up to main since your Primary Character is gone.”

I nodded with what Jeno said, both Jaemin and Jaehyun looking at me and Jeno like we were traitors. It was that moment we heard a loud squeak, all of us looking over to the end of the hall to see Kim Bunny in all her pigtail glory.

“Aurora is removed?” she asked, her voice high at the new news. “Aurora was my hidden character!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I sat back with Yuta beside me, the male playing on his phone. Nakamoto Yuta had nothing to worry about. Never in a million years would they get rid of Johnson. He was their cash cow. Jaehyun was holding onto the hope that maybe… just maybe the character that he had been training for the past four years would not be removed.

“I mean, why would they even remove Alucard? I know they added Fanny but…” Jaehyun pointed to Jeno. “Saber is also a basic character! Why would not get rid of that?”

Dana looked at Jaehyun like he was stupid. The female was praying that her character would not be removed. She had been playing a basic character that had been upgraded too many times, her family almost blackmailing the Council of Peril just to keep it in her center in Shanghai.

“Dude, if NCT Center gets rid of Saber, Jeno is out of here,” she told Jaehyun who realized what he said did sound stupid. “He ain’t looking back, bro.”

“Sounds about right,” Jaehyun admitted, nodding. Kyungsoo went up to the podium and began to show the characters that would make it this season. Dana’s character was upgraded one more time, the female pumping a fist in the air with victory.

Right as Jaehyun and Jaemin thought, both Aurora and Alucard were in the list of characters that would be removed to make space for new upgraded characters. Jaehyun groaned, burying his head in his hands and I gave his thigh a small pat as Jaemin stood up.

Livid.

“This isn’t fair! I’ve been playing Aurora as my main for four years. Four years!”

“Flexibility is key, Na Jaemin,” Kyungsoo answered, the Grandmasters and Masters looking at their EPIC Senior who was going to throw a fit. Johnny looked over to Jaemin and told him to stand down.

Jaemin fumed while Jaehyun mourned the loss of his character. My partner slid lower into his seat, closing his eyes and leaning on my shoulder when I reached up to pat his face sympathetically. I understood how it felt to train for a character in hopes to play it in legend for years to come but that hardly happened.

Characters changed and evolved; players would be forced to take on new roles in draft picks. It was just how it was. Kyungsoo seemed to have dealt with this numerous times before, the male not even bothering to stop and try to comfort the two (or more, I heard that they were removing a tank that Lucas played as well but he was still cheery. Seemed like he had no idea Tigreal was removed from the Center).

“Hand over the sword, Jaehyun,” Johnny said, Jaehyun crossing his arms. His compact sword would be in his pocket and we weren’t allowed to keep the items from the center. I was allowed to keep my bow since East Coast Training Center went down and under and there would no longer be an inventory but for Jaehyun, his sword would go to inventory until they would find a better use for it.

“No.”

“Jaehyun, it’s alien technology. We need to put it in inventory,” Johnny said, Jaehyun scowling and grabbing a compact item before throwing it to Johnny. Johnny pressed on the button to check the sword out, the blunt blade extending from the item before Johnny made it shrink and pocketed it.

“No,” Jaemin said automatically, seeing Johnny’s eyes on him. “I will not give up my snow gloves.”

“The crown too, Nana.” Johnny pointed at Jaemin and I shrugged. “Nabi, can you…”

“Your battle, Gamemaster,” I said and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not ing with moody players. Not my job.”

“I just want to be a snow queen!” Jaemin erupted, Johnny telling him that he can be a snow queen some other time. For now, the two would have to train their Secondary Character. They had no choice. Jaemin very reluctantly gave Johnny his snow gloves before we waited for the rest to come.

“Is there a reason why we’re not heading to the arena?” Dana asked from beside her boyfriend, Johnny placing a casual hand on her shoulders. She glared at him and it did not take long to realize that these two were also in another one of their personal disputes. “Or are you going to keep that from me, too?”

“Shush, baby. Not here,” Johnny said lowly and she rolled her eyes, shrugging his hand off before flipping him off and then walking away. Johnny simply shook his head at her. “We actually have a game soon. The inter-school game before we head off to Japan to the Arena of Kiken.”

“Where?” Jungwoo asked.

“Jeju.”

“But first off, I need to tell all of you that Qian Kun and WayV will proceed as an individual entity. They are still part of NCT Center, don’t worry but they will continue on as a whole team and stay as a fixed unit. In any case where they need help or we need help, we are able to interchange players.” Johnny paused as if he was trying to remember what to say. “Also, we have quite a lot of last-level EPIC Players. Taeyong is not going to be around for a while because he was scouted by a team in Japan. He flew there to consider the contract.”

There was a hum and I saw Jeno and Jaemin exchange looks.

“Those who are in EPIC II. Our priority is to push you up to the last level of EPIC in order for you to be bought as Legend players. Those who are in EPIC III will be getting offers from Scouters soon. Nabi, have you gotten an offer?” Johnny asked and I nodded.

“Russia,” I told him, everyone gasping. “Same Center as Hansol.”

“Are you taking it?”

“My father isn’t okay with me playing for the Russians. They have a lot of Draxians there,” I told them. “Russian Battle of Peril Culture isn’t for the weak. They have curated curriculums for halflings.”

I saw Jeno perk up before I continued. “It’s already tiring playing with humans.”

“Russia has a halfling team and a human team,” Yuta said. “Their rules are different.”

Johnny nodded. He also seemed to understand the difference between countries.

“Well, if you don’t take it… I think you know who to recommend,” he told me and I flickered my eyes over to Jeno. Jeno must have told Johnny had I knew about him being a halfling. “Jeno, how does Russia sound?”

“I don’t want to go to Russia!” Jaemin piped up from beside Jeno, everyone staring at the distraught mage player. “It’s too cold.”

We seemed to have forgotten that Jaemin and Jeno came as a package deal.

“You wanted to be a snow queen, Nana,” Johnny pointed out, Jaemin staring at him. “Okay, another talk for another day. Anyway, back to the upcoming game tomorrow. Since we are pushing EPIC II players up, Jaemin and Jeno, you take the spot. Jaehyun, we need you to practice Gusion since your Alucard is gone.”

Johnny ran his eyes over the players, a hand wiggling in the air. Johnny squinting at the tiny female who was trying to get chosen.

“Me! Me!” Bunny exclaimed. “I can play tank!”

“You? Tank?” Jeno asked and Bunny nodded.

“My Secondary Character is Lolita. Mage-Tank,” she said before she beamed. “Besides, it’s about time we try other characters, don’t you think?”

“Once again, Kim Bunny being the optimist she is.” Johnny chuckled. “Alright, Bunny. If Jaehyun is going, Nabi… Yeah, you are, too. Jae, stop glaring at me like that. That’s five, right?”

Bunny, Jeno, Jaemin, Jaehyun, and me. I nodded.

“And then subs, we need subs. Haechan?” Johnny called, Haechan raising a hand to show that he was around. “Dana, in case. Also because I need to make sure she doesn’t break up with me.”

A snicker from the players, Johnny shaking his head.

“Who are we playing against?” I asked. “I recall you saying Jeju?”

“JYP. Arena of Miroh,” Johnny said and Haechan let out a chortle.

“JYP? So we’re going against the orphans?”

“That’s not nice, Haechan.” Johnny paused. “They are strays.”

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[Straykids, JEJU]

Straykids, a group from JYP Center. As I watched their games in the small shuttle ship that we had entered, I realized that they had a certain gameplay to them. Johnny saw me watching the video, a smile on his lips.

“How are they?” he asked and I looked up. “Impressive, right? A bit impulsive but…”

“Risky,” I told him. “They aim from far but deal a lot of damage. Not many people play short range.”

Johnny nodded. “What do you think we should do?”

“Because of that, we might have to double tank and find someone who can play a charger. Someone who is able to charge towards them,” I said and Johnny contemplated it. I saw Dana on her phone, texting something.

Dana: And he’s so ing annoying
Dana: Last night, all I asked for is to see him and he goes “babe, I’m tired”
Dana: And im like ??? Tired of what? I don’t even get to see him in between classes anymore and even for a ten-minute talk, I can’t see him??? Am I crazy or???
Bunny: psycho
Dana: what
Bunny: uh… I mean Johnny is a psycho ^^
Dana: right and

I chuckled, looking over to Johnny who was reading Dana’s texts over her shoulder. Instead of yelling at her, he simply slid down further on the seat and reached over to drag her over his lap. She continued texting, her body against his chest.

Dana: man I ing hate him
Aera: huh
Dana: like I really do
Bunny: sure

Johnny leaned down and pecked Dana on the cheek, the female swatting him away but not moving away from his lap. He knew how to handle Dana, the male simply closing his eyes and acting like he did not see a thing. When he stopped kissing her, Dana shot up and looked at him questioningly.

“Why did you stop?” she demanded, Johnny’s body laughing as he chuckled, Dana punching his chest. “I asked you, why did you stop?”

Dana had an insane temper, Johnny trying to tame the Kraken by kissing her fist and she relaxed. Right in front of me, Jeno and Jaemin were watching a video together. Bunny was beside Jeno with the seatbelt on, her head bobbing to the side. She had fallen asleep so suddenly, the female’s body moving to the motion of the shuttle ship.

Haechan was on his own, taking the back of the shuttle ship. He had taken four seats, stretching his legs out in front of him. I glanced over at Jaehyun who was by the window, the male looking out at the clouds.

“Sleepy?” he asked suddenly as if he felt my eyes on me and I shook my head. But I was sleepy and as much as I tried to fight it, he had removed the armrest from between us, the male patting down on his lap. I shook my head and but he insisted, the male draping an arm over my shoulder to slowly lay me down. I closed my eyes, Jaehyun tucking a strand of hair behind my ear before looking back out.

My relationship was on the borderline platonic yet so romantic. We did things Dana and Johnny did. No one questioned it, no one spoke about how it was not something friends do but I was waiting for the time when it would not be me anymore.

When the turn-over time for me would come and he would get a new partner, I was sure that we'd remain as friends and take steps back from what we built together. I felt Jaehyun rub my back softly and when I to my back, he smiled down at me with that dimpled smile women would die for. 

If I was a puzzle to him, he was an enigma to me. I couldn’t figure him out and even if I knew that what we have been doing was to cater to his need to fulfill his ego… why was I playing along? Jaehyun seemed to know that I was thinking of something, Jaehyun reaching up to kiss the tip of his finger before pressing it against my lips.

His fingers lingered over my lips, brushing it back and forth softly. He then brought his palm over my eyes, closing it softly.

“Dream of me,” he whispered, urging me to sleep.

I did dream of him and his dimpled smiled, playing with red strings as it pulled me to him. In the dream, I danced around him the string tightening around him even if he was the one controlling it.

And when I woke up, I reminded myself that I was in control of my feelings.

I wondered if he was in control of his.

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“Straykids tried to adopt Renjun and Ten when we were last here,” Jaehyun told me, pulling me alongside of him. “Dana attacked Bangchan for even trying. You are familiar with some of them?”

“I do know that NCT Center is one rank higher above JYP.”

“Our arch-nemesis, really.” Johnny grabbed the equipment, hauling it on his back. His hands moved beside him as if he was trying to find something.

“Are you finding something?” I asked Johnny, the male nodding.

“My girlfriend,” he said, frowning. “Oi! Oh Dana, come here.”

“Relax, man.” Dana narrowed her eyes at Johnny, jumping down onto the ground from the shuttle ship.

“Don’t want to lose you—”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Like both-ly,” Johnny replied. Dana beamed at him, Jaehyun making a face at her and she flipped him off. “Okay, I know that made no sense. The Arena of Miroh is this way.”

“Who is the Gamemaster for StrayKids?” I asked Jaehyun, the male telling me it was a guy named J.B. “J.B? Defsoul? Wasn’t he the Mage for GOT7?”

“Yeah, they are now in Legend. Jackson Wang went back to Hongkong, I think,” Jaehyun shrugged. Behind me, I saw Bunny hooking arms with Haechan who sleepily walked beside her. “Oh, there he is.”

“Johnny!” Straykid’s Gamemaster greeted, his hands in the air. “Hello, NCT.”

“Hello...” we murmured. Johnny shook his head, telling J.B that we were tired from the trip.

“Alright, let’s get to the game then? You can go back once we are over. Three turrets on each side,” J.B said and Johnny nodded.

“It’s a brawl?”

J.B nodded. A brawl was a shorter and faster version of the full game. Instead of a full six small and one big turret on each side, it is shortened to two small turrets and one main turret instead.

“Sure. Sounds good. We’ve done some character cleaning before we came,” Johnny told J.B who nodded.

“Yeah. Bangchan lost his Secondary Character, too.” J.B motioned to the people who were waiting for us in the arena. I noticed a few people who were there but I could not put their names to their faces just yet. One of them stepped forward and I noticed that he had a bow.

He bowed when he saw me before he offered a hand and I shook it.

“The Legendary Park Nabi?” he asked and Jaehyun tightened his hand around mine, clearing his throat. “Jaehyun, long time no see.”

“Mhm,” Jaehyun grunted.

“I heard NCT Center got rid of Alucard?”

Jaehyun did not say anything, glaring at him. Bangchan smiled and let go of my hand.

“See you in the arena. Straykids!” Bangchan yelled. “1!2! Step out!”

The sudden chant from the other players made us freeze, Johnny flickering his eyes over towards us before he yelled out very loudly.

“NCT!”

“To the World, NCT!” all my friends bellowed. I made a mental note to remember it, J.B telling us to start on the draft pick.

“I already chose my members, Dana and Haechan are here for substitute in case anything happens.” Johnny led us all to the side of the arena, all of us sitting down.

“Alright, Bangchan, Hyunjin, Jisung, Changbin, and I.N,” J.B motioned to them. “You?”

“Nabi, Jaehyun, Jeno, Jaemin, Bunny.”

“That’s me!” Bunny yelled out.

“Let’s ban a few characters? Three each?”

The Gamemasters began to discuss how to start the game and I saw Jeno take out his suit. The Saber suit was different from all of ours since it could deploy daggers and I watched Straykids look over at us, whispering something under their breath.

“Who should we ban for Straykids?” I asked, running my eyes over JYP Center’s basic characters. “It was a hit or miss for us on whether we would be able to ban a character that was actually played by the other team. “Who do you guys usually ban?”

“Bangchan is the main Marksman, but they defend him like their lives depend on it. Hyunjin babysits him most of the time,” Jaehyun told me. “Hyunjin plays Kadita.”

“The water mage?” I asked, Jaehyun nodding. “Their arena can handle the water?”

“Yeah, island arena’s man. They even have a water-fighter. Whatever that is,” Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Definitely ban Kadita. We can’t have Hyunjin shooting water at us. Sigh, do I miss being the snow queen.”

“Kadita is banned!” Johnny yelled out after a few minutes of discussing. Hyunjin gasped before glaring at all of us. “Alice, too.”

Hyunjin gasped again. “That’s my Secondary Character!”

“And the last character NCT Center will ban is: Chou!”

Han Jisung and Hyunjin looked like they were ready to beat us up. I got to know later on that Han Jisung played Chou has his main and Hyunjin played Chou as his Tertiary Character. Chou was a character that attacked people with karate. Players who played Chou had to know how to backflip and attack in the stealthiest way possible.

“Straykids are banning!” J.B called out and they huddled around, whispering to each other.

“Gusion and Benedetta!”

Jaehyun stood up, pointing at them. “That is my Secondary and Tertiary Character! What am I supposed to play now?”

“Play your hidden one, Jung!” someone yelled back. “Let’s try to get his hidden character right and if we ban that too, we’ll be able to kick him out of the game.”

“Really? And you want Lee Haechan or Oh Dana instead of Jung Jaehyun?”

“Wait, makes sense. Han Jisung, what do you think?”

“Guys, guys….” Hyunjin began, putting a hand in the air, his eyes on Lee Jeno. “Let’s ban Saber.”

A beat of silence, Bangchan looking up at all of us staring at him. Jeno slowly rose to his feet.

“You… want to ban Lee Jeno’s main character?” Bangchan asked and I saw their pupils waver, Jeno almost challenging him with his gaze. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“Banning Saber!” Hyunjin yelled out, J.B turning pale at Hyunjin’s decision.

Jeno threw two hands in the air, his lips pursed at their decision. I knew Jeno played a variety of characters and his second character was a tank and then a mage—Saber was the only assassin he played. Them banning Saber was a punch to the gut.

“Oh no… now you did it, Hyunjin!” Han Jisung murmured as their tank pounded on his chest.

“We can handle Lee Jeno.”

That proved to be wrong, however, and the person who took the most damage was the one who banned Saber himself.

Hwang Hyunjin.

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“Ya’ll ain’t ready for my hidden card,” Jaehyun said, shaking his head as he put his shoes on. We were all so curious as to what Jaehyun’s hidden card was and we expected something cool… A tank or a fighter, perhaps.

It was obvious to us that it wasn’t a tank but a support mage, Jaehyun standing up and putting on his arena glasses before reaching for the cat ears.

Wait, cat ears?

“You have Nana as your hidden card?” Dana asked incredulously, the other team pointing at Jaehyun at laughing. “The little kid character that turns people into cats?”

“Hey, don’t laugh! You threaten the cat, the claws come out.” Jaehyun narrowed his eyes at Straykids.

“Meow,” Hyunjin teased before smirking.

“Whatever, I’m going to turn all of you into cats,” Jaehyun grumbled and through my glasses, I could see him practice his aim. I would see them as cats if they were attacked by Jaehyun and much to my surprise, the people that turned to cats had their faces floating on the hologram. Hyunjin was who near Jaehyun was a victim to Jaehyun’s practice aim, the male slowing down as he tried to move away.

“You look good as a cat, Hyunjin,” I complimented while I peered through my glasses, Hyunjin scowling at me, his head bobbing above a cat animation before he went back to being him, a human.

While Straykids had an influx of Marksmen, it meant we had to make sure we had more tanks. It took a while for us to discuss on our gameplay strategy when we looked at Jeno who was still fuming.

“What are you going to play, Jeno?” Changbin asked, winking at the man.

Jeno did not reply to the other team, turning to Haechan. “Where is the zipline?”

I frowned. Why would he need a zipline?

It was obvious that the moment the other team realized what Jeno was about to play, they knew they ed up. Jeno playing a Fanny that flew from side to side was enough to be the biggest danger in the Arena of Miroh.

“W-What… What zipline? Why would he need a zipline?” the youngest of the Straykids asked, Jeno ignoring him and demanding the zipline from Haechan. “Oh my god, he’s going to play Fanny? Hyung, you’re dead.”

Hyunjin had paled, realizing the severity of the situation and I laughed softly under my breath. Jaehyun was simply too focused on wanting to turn people into cats to even care about Jeno’s fury.

“I told you that after last time, do not—I explicitly said, do not anger Lee Jeno. You know he takes his anger out on the arena!” J.B said to his players and Johnny laughed, finding the whole situation funny. “.”

“Well, hyung! Remember that one time you were a legend player and you angered Byun Baekhyun?” Jisung asked, trying to downplay problem.

“Of course, I remember. He was a mage who turned into an assassin. Byun Baekhyun just charged at me even Wang Jackson started running away. Tuan just sat down.” J.B eyed Jeno who was focused on the attaching his zipline to the suit, Haechan helping him since he knew how to do it. “Hwang Hyunjin, if we lose this game because of you, I will make sure you’re sleeping near the minions.”

Straykids

VS.

NCT

“Yeah, Hyunjin,” Bangchan began, pointing at his teammate. “You better keep your in the bushes!”

[Hello, Jaehyun's hidden character]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I knew what was going to happen. I could see with the way Hyunjin had stuck himself to Bangchan’s side. Estes, the character that Hyunjin played was a support mage that continuously healed their teammates. I would have a hard time getting Bangchan.

“He’s going to buff up. They’ll be maxing his level and then protecting him,” Jeno said and I saw him tighten the zipline, his eyes on the arena. I noticed that his second button was lit up.

“You got your second skill first?”

Jeno did not say anything, choosing his arcana. Hyunjin was in for a treat. The blaring sound of the bell rang, Jaehyun rushing to the front with his cat ears. I laughed at my partner’s prop, Jaehyun winking at me and feigning claws.

“You go, tiger,” I told Jaehyun, beginning to buff up. If Bangchan was going to be the main damage dealer of the other team and Jeno was to be a distraction, I’d have to be the one who’d deal damage.

“I’ll protect you,” Jaehyun told me, his hand aiming to place a trap in case anyone would come my way. I saw Bunny and Jaemin trying to help each other, both tanks leveling up from the minions. “And there goes Jeno.”

Jeno did not hesitate, the male bringing himself up and I saw him narrow his eyes on the arena from above. He was scouting out for a particular person when there was a squeal, Bunny yelping.

“Take that!” Bunny yelled, throwing a low damage dealing bomb. She was going to get attacked, Jaemin stunning Changbin and I.N who had shown up. “Okay, okay, I’m running! I don’t have my shield yet!”

Jaemin squeaked.

“Stay here, protect the turrets,” I told Jaehyun, the male adjusting his cat ears. Rushing over to Jaemin and Bunny, Changbin bared his teeth at me. Changbin and Jaemin were playing the same character, the two tanks protecting their marksmen.

“Let’s see if you can get to my marksman,” Changbin said haughtily, his hand pressing on his first skill before he shot forward. He knew Jaemin was not very familiar with Gildur but he was wrong if he thought that Jaemin would not fight back.

“Noona, I got it!” Jaemin yelled, his first skill forcing him forward when both of them clashed in the middle. With a grunt, Jaemin tried to throw Changbin to the ground but to no avail—Changbin was shorter but he had better balance. It wasn’t long before Jaemin was thrown to the side.

I aimed at I.N from where I was at, shooting an arrow into the air when it went straight for his suit. With Straykid’s tank focused on Jaemin, I.N seemed to realize that he had no protection, the youngest of Straykids taking two steps backwards.

He began to run and I ran after him. He would be an easy kill, I thought. He was still in his first level and haven’t leveled up yet but what I didn’t realize was that he was leading me somewhere.

Right to Bangchan was waiting in the bushes with Hyunjin.

I dug my feet onto the panels of the arena when I heard the rustling of people, an arrow coming from somewhere. I took the damage, wincing when I saw my health going several bars down—Bangchan should be a level above mine.

Having a support with you helped you with that.

“Hey, pretty girl,” Bangchan’s voice came from somewhere, another arrow coming from one of the bushes. I moved away in time, shooting straight for the bushes when a yelp sounded. Hyunjin staggered out and I saw that he had taken the arrow for Bangchan.

Another arrow to the bushes and hoping that hit Bangchan when Hyunjin froze. Something was coming and just as Bangchan emerged from the bushes, bow and arrow in hand, a body swung from above.

And attacked Hyunjin.

He brandished two swords in the process and I heard a cheer from Haechan, the male proud of Jeno. A mage was no match for an assassin, Jeno rotating the sword with his fingers. Bangchan shot a few arrows to Jeno, trying to save his teammate but I was right there—and it wasn’t long before both Bangchan and Hyunjin got their first death, the arena shifting for them to be taken the recall center.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Do you even wash your minions? They stink!” Bunny was yelling to Changbin, the other team’s only tank trying to stop the two tanks from shooting down the first turret.

“We do!” Changbin yelled back, Jaehyun turning him into a cat. Changbin grunted, his body freezing on the panel as Bunny watched through her glasses.

“He’s an ugly cat, Oppa.” Bunny smiled when her skill lit up. “I got my second skill! Jaemin, you go get it!”

“Let Nabi and Jeno handle the jungling, we should focus on the turrets,” Jaehyun said when there was another scream.

“I’m only level 2!” Hyunjin’s voice yelled out, Jeno spotting him Hyunjin one more time