From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 78: When You Queue for Casuals and End Up in the World Finals

Chapter 78: When You Queue for Casuals and End Up in the World Finals

Micah had been focusing on his new role during the early game, not really paying attention to other players, neither on his team nor the opponent’s team.

Until the moment he saw the two enemies’ IDs, DiabolicDestroyer and PoisonIvy, in the chat group, realising they were from SilverBlade Legion, he hadn’t cared about who else was in the match. He hadn’t even glanced at the scoreboard or stat screen. But now? Panic filled his mind.

Before the match began, they had vetoed turning on voice chats, as they were literally side by side, with no need to listen to others talking nonstop. After that experience with Cora’s friends, Micah was not in the mood to listen to some random girls squawking in his ears because of Darcy. He had barely glanced at the All and Team chat tabs in passing.

Micah exhaled sharply. Maybe if he had checked in the pre-game lobby, or chatted with the players before loading in, he could have gotten more info and figured out if any big names were in the queue. Now it felt like they had walked into a lion’s den blindfolded.

He and Darcy were like two shut-ins in the game world. They didn’t know who was who, even if they had seen the famous usernames!

Were the others also from some Esports teams?

If so, it would be in their favour. Darcy’s skill would not be too eye-catching.

Micah scanned their own team’s lineup:

SyberSlay: Jungler

BloodbathPunk: Top Laner

CrashOverRide: Tank support

And the opponent team:

DiabolicDestroyer: Top laner

PoisonIvy: Support

BloomBoaster: Mid-Laner

ManiaGunner: Jungler

SteelWarfare: Tank

Micah hastily took a screenshot and sent the usernames to Cora via text, asking if she knew them.

Micah prayed that someone within six people would be a semi-pro at least! Maybe it would deflect some of the attention from Darcy.

Meanwhile, Darcy had already started snowballing their lane. After harvesting waves of minions and setting up a freezer near the tower, he suddenly dove in. His champion blinked forward with a skill combo, chunking the enemy HP down to zero in seconds. First blood lit up the screen.

DarkVyne had slain BloomBoaster!

Micah, still stunned, barely managed to follow, tossing a quick movement bluff and shield in support. His heart raced. There was no time to dwell on other things. He couldn’t afford to screw up and drag Darcy down.

A sense of competition sparked within him. Even though his skills were still lacking compared to those of the pros and Darcy, Micah didn’t lose hope.

He stayed behind the minion wave, calculating skill cooldowns and watching enemy rotation. The chat log continued flashing.

[All] PlainPrivillage: What’s the situation? Did DiabolicDestroyer get the first kill?!

[All] KillerKitten:....

[All] EasySweep: What? No way! Is it the opposite?

[Team] BloodbathPunk: Hell, yeah! DarkVyne slayed their mid-lane! We are on fire!

[All] PVPMaster: Haha! I knew it!

[All] SplatterDemons: I want to see it! Broadcast it!

[All] NinjaInPajamas: Yeah! This is so unfair! I want to see DarkVyne kick DiabolicDestroyer’s ass!

[All] PVPMaster: hey BloodbathPunk, at least update us!

[All] AtomicArsenic: Where are the DiabolicDestroyer and others?

[All] SplatterDemons: They are hiding! Haha!

"Do you want to switch to voice chat with the team?!" Darcy murmured, noticing Micah’s distracted glances toward the chat log.

"Might be useful." Micah agreed.

The moment they joined, chaos erupted.

"I told you they aren’t answering!"

BloodbathPunk said, his voice high-pitched.

"So what we will tell those people? My inbox is full!" CrashoverRide groaned in exasperation.

"Guys, cool it," said SyberSlay, voice low and commanding. "Focus up. We can’t tilt this early."

Micah, who had opened his mouth to speak, closed it again awkwardly.

Ding. His phone buzzed on the desk.

Cora: OMG! What’s it with your luck?! The jungler, SyberSlay is the captain of BlackEagle’s second squad! And the other two are his teammates in the second team! They’re new, so most people won’t recognise them yet... but I watched all their gameplay clips during the monthly grind for XP rewards. They’re insane. And your opponent! DiabolicDestroyer is vice-captain of SilverBlade Legion. And I think PoisonIvy is their new support! Ahhhh! Why didn’t you tell me? I missed such a match!

Micah blinked, rereading the message twice.

Two pros in the enemy team vs three semi-pros in his team...

His lips twitched. The enemy’s other members, even if they were not famous, probably would be ranked better than him, considering they matched with three semi-pros and one diamond in their team! It was like he was an ant caught up in gigantic elephant fights.

At least Darcy had slain one of them.

"FrostbiteAshe, don’t fall behind." Darcy’s voice snapped him out of it.

There was a gasp in the voice chat.

"Sorry," Micah mumbled, tossing his phone aside.

"Umm... hello?" BloodbathPunk said into the mic, caught off guard by the sudden new voice.

"Oh, are we actually talking now? No more Pings?!" CrashoverRide asked brightly.

"Yeah, my teammate is a bit shy.... but he prefers to talk..." Darcy said with a smile.

"Hey!" Micah threw a lazy punch at him. "Don’t talk nonsense!"

Darcy laughed.

The other three members went silent for a second. They all heard the sound of a punch land.... No way...one thought echoed in their minds. These two are sitting together IRL!

BloodbathPunk glanced at their captain. When they had seen the DarkVyne account, they were so delighted. But in the allied chat, he hadn’t replied once.

But it seemed this FrostbiteAshe was the key to attracting DarkVyne to their team.

Thus, a misunderstanding was created in the LoJ online community.

"Was there any strategy you want to share?" SyberSlay asked.

"Yeah. I noticed their top laner swapped tactics. He’s playing more defensively now. Was gonna go all-in, but I’ll hang back instead. Can you handle their jungle rotation?" Darcy said.

"Roger that," SyberSlay responded.

Micah, meanwhile, stayed silent. He glanced toward Darcy. Focused. Calm. More like Captain.

Even SyberSlay was listening to his command.

In contrast, Micah felt like a plucked chicken. All his liveliness had been sucked away from him, fearing what would happen next.

He just sat still, waiting for the match to end.

*****

A few minutes earlier:

Darcy didn’t particularly care much about the match itself. For him, it was just an excuse or a chance to be near Micah, to share something he liked. Winning and losing didn’t matter as long as they were having fun. But something shifted the moment Micah nearly choked on his noodles mid-bite. From that instant, the easygoing, sharp-tongued gamer who used to trash-talk opponents with a wicked grin was gone.

Micah’s entire demeanour had transformed. He stopped joking around. His fingers moved mechanically, and his posture stiffened. The most noticeable change was his gaze kept flickering to the chat box, over and over. It wasn’t just nerves or focus. Micah looked tense. Distracted. Worried, even.

Darcy narrowed his eyes, suspicious. Someone in this match had to be the cause.

Was it a familiar username? A rival? Or maybe something more personal, an ex? A friend turned enemy? Someone who had a history with Micah?

Why the sudden seriousness and distraction?!

He wanted to ask. The question came to the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated.

For one, it was all speculation. For another, he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the truth. If it was someone important to Micah... would change things between them?

Darcy clenched his jaw and turned back to his screen. He wouldn’t pry. Instead, he resolved to win this game swiftly. He quickly scanned the mini-map and scoreboard, formulating a plan to exploit the enemy’s weak early-game lane pressure and snowball their lead into a quick victory.

But just as he killed their mid-laner and wanted to go after the others, something changed. One of the enemy players, previously aggressive and feisty, suddenly changed tactics. They became cautious, baiting out abilities, and predicting movements with uncanny precision. It threw Darcy’s rhythm and ruined the strategy he had just planned.

He furrowed his brow. They were reading the map like a pro, anticipating moves two steps ahead. Darcy realised then that this wouldn’t be a solo carry. He couldn’t win alone.

He exhaled and spoke. "Do you want to switch to voice chat with the team?!"

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