I don't own Starcraft II.
A/N: this is to get rid of my writer's block for Reincarnation is Troublesome. I love Starcraft II, and kudos to S0S for winning WCS. This is my tribute to all the aspiring players who want to do more, and be known as great players.
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Chapter One: Path Less Travelled
I growled as I slammed my headphones onto the table, my best friend smirking as she sat across from me. Calmly, she placed her own headphones down on her laptop and walked around, staring at my own laptop's screen at the Result Screen of the game. As she browsed all of my game's stats, she laughed, resulting in me growling even more at her.
"Oh relax, Awut," she snickered. "You just have no chance against me! I'm the campus champion for a reason!" She patted my back a few times. "Hey, I'll even buy you lunch, alright? Just tell me what you want."
"I want to actually win once against you," I grumbled. "Seriously, Zerg is so cheap!"
"But it works," she laughed, rolling her eyes and pulling me to my feet. "Besides, Protoss is pretty weak against a ['ling rush']. You just gotta work around it. Trust me, it'll get easier as you go on. You've only been playing for a month after all." My best friend dragged me to the grab-n-go's at the side of the campus cafeteria. "Now tell me what you want." I sighed, not really able to stay mad at her. Bella had been my best friend since childhood, and was the gamer nerd of our duo. While I had excelled at soccer growing up, she was more obsessed with Lego, Star Wars, and video games. We were both eighteen, though she was a sophomore in college while I was only a freshman.
"I guess I'll take Subway," I told her, getting an approving nod from her. "I could use something filling." At that, though, Bella rolled her eyes.
"If you want filling, than get the combo from the campus grill," she told me. "Seriously, even I can't eat that much!" I smirked as she laughed loudly, her shoulder length curly red hair bouncing in front of her face. She even looked like a nerd. Bella was that pale skinned redhead with rectangular glasses and freckles, and that snorting laugh that was somewhat cute. She was about 5'1, just an inch shorter than myself, and you could usually find her in comfortable shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt with some video game or movie reference on it. Thinking of that, my mind wandered back to the game we had been playing. Starcraft II. It was a game that she had been enthralled with since it came out. She had all sorts of collectibles in her room and, whenever there were 'tournaments', she'd always live-stream them.
"So, what race would you recommend for me?" I asked her curiously. There were three races in SCII. Protoss was the one I tried out first, and had done well with in the training program. They were pretty slow to build up and get moving, but once they were up and running they were nearly unstoppable. Zerg was Bella's main race. It was aggressive, fast, and relied on expert levels of coordination and multitasking. Bella was supremely ADHD, and had no problem keeping up with the fast paced requirements of it. The final one was Terran. To be honest, I didn't like Terran very much. It seemed too reliant on building up a strong army and defending rather than being able to attack in small squads during the game. Bella insisted that Terran was made more for adaptive play than I was giving it credit for, but I wasn't too sure.
"Well, I'd say you should stick with Protoss," Bella answered me as I helped the guy behind the Subway counter make my sandwich. "You have the most experience with it, and you've actually gotten decent at using them."
"Not enough to beat you," I replied. She simply laughed again. It was times like this that I saw how good looking she turned out. While I was always popular for playing soccer, she drew people in through her looks and personality. I mean, I was Thai. I was short, and had black hair and light brown skin. I wasn't the best looking guy; average at the best. Girls didn't go for the short guys who weren't white. Well, the ones I knew anyway.
"Trust me, I won't lose easily," Bella told me. "Give it a few months and maybe you'll get on my level. I'm 174 in the Grandmaster League after all. I've been playing for years, you won't beat me so easily."
"You won in three minutes," I deadpanned.
"Semantics," she waved me off. "You just need to play against some people your level. Haven't you been playing ladder at home?"
"I don't have time," I replied. "Not with all my homework and working part-time." Bella sighed, making me feel a bit like an ass. Bella was only in college to get an Associate's Degree so she had something to fall back on. She was a diehard SCII player, and had even entered a few local tournaments and had come in first almost every time. "Well I can't help it! My parents can't afford to pay for my classes!"
"Yeah, yeah," Bella spoke disappointedly. "I just… I wish we could do this together, ya know? I mean, I'm leaving in January and I wish you could come with me." I mentally facepalmed myself. That was right… Bella was leaving for Seoul in a month to further her way into her dream… She was hoping to qualify in some sort of professional league that, to be honest, I had no clue how it worked. She'd be out there for at least a year on her own.
"Yeah… I'll miss you," I told her, getting a smirk in return.
"Jeez, you sound like I'm leaving right now," she laughed. "C'mon, I'll teach you how to play a bit better." We sat down back at our table as she pulled her chair over to my side. I went onto the ranked matches and started up a new game against a random person. As soon as the game started up, she grinned. "Alright, the first thing you want to do is get more probes. Waiting to get that first pylon will only set you back, and every second counts in this game."
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"Alright, set up pylons here, here, here, and here, and set up your gateway right here," Bella managed to speak and point out places on my screen as she snacked on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was only two weeks until she moves to Seoul, and she was helping me with my Build Order. I was on my actual computer at home, with one of our friends, Jake, leaning over my left shoulder while she was hovering over my right. "This creates a barrier up the ramp that enemies have to break through before they can get to your base."
"What about expanding?" I asked her. "I have to get my probes out, right?"
"That's why we sent that one out scouting," she pointed to the lone probe wandering around the map. "And why we have this little hole right here on the grid, see? Now, when that gateway is up, you want to build some zealots and a cybernetics core to get the warp gate. Not only will it decrease production time, but it'll allow you to send your troops anywhere you have energy."
"Wait, so that's how you got your guys in my base?" I asked Jake, who chuckled and nodded. He was a nerd just like Bella, but was a bit calmer and less eccentric than the redhead. "Damn…"
"Protoss has excellent unit mobility," he told me. "You want to make use of it."
"Watch out, your enemy is about to send guys in," Bella warned me.
"How can you tell?"
"I just saw a small group of marines pass by your probe. His base is right here," she pointed to the top left of the map. Mine was on the bottom right. "I counted about three." I nodded, seeing that my first zealot was ready. I quickly put down the cybernetics core. "You want to get that up right as you put the gateway down, but it's too late now. You did get your forge down, though. Ok, so make a few photon cannons right here and here so you can defend your base a bit better. You're still in Bronze League so he's more likely to run right in with no regard for his units. I nodded, and sure enough the other player sent his three marines in without hesitation. My zealot managed to get one killed before my second was made. My first zealot died but the second on quickly killed his two remaining marines. "Very good. Now your warp gate is ready. Switch your gateway and make two more. Also, use this probe to build some pylons here, here, and right around here." She pointed to two places in my base, and one out near my enemy's.
"Why here?" I asked about the one near my enemy's. "He'll find it."
"Not if you place it behind the grasses here," she replied. "These will cut off visibility, and in Bronze League not many people will take advantage of that." I nodded, following her advice.
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"I'll miss you!" Bella shouted as she hugged me. We were at the airport with her family and a few of her close friends. "Oh man, it's gonna be so weird not talking to you every day!"
"Yeah, it is…" I replied, saddened that my closest friend was leaving for such a long time. "I'll miss you too. Stay safe, alright?"
"Of course!" she laughed. "Hey, don't break your other leg, ok? I'd hate for you to hurt yourself and me not be able to be here comforting you!"
"Yeah…" I groaned. The last time I broke my leg, Bella hadn't left my side for months.
"And hey," she gave me a serious look. "Keep practicing, alright?" I nodded slowly at her. "Seriously, I want you to be able to beat me next time!" She looked at her friends. "And you guys had better teach him too!" They gave her affirmatives as she turned to go through airport security. I sighed, not sure what I should do. On one hand I wanted to do what she wanted me to do and start playing full time. I wanted to stay with my best friend and follow her. But on the other hand it was almost impossible for me to do so. She'd been playing for years, and I only had a few months under my belt. Plus, my parents didn't have the money to support that lifestyle, and neither did I. It was impossible for me to do the same as her.
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"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Starcraft fans of all regions!" I turned away from my homework to pay attention to the live stream at BlizzCon. I was now a sophomore in college, and was working on some General Biology homework. I tuned that out though, instead listening to the host of the WCS Finals host. "Four years ago we had our first LoTV Finals, and Classic broke his Curse of Eight for the second time in a row, climbing his way to the top against Life and claiming his first trophy, as well as the title of the first Legacy of the Void World Champion! Fast forward four years and we have our first American player make it to the Best of Sixteen, then the Best of Eight, and finally, the WCS Finals, claiming her place as the first female Starcraft II player to ever make it to the finals!" I grinned. So she made it. "Now, these two commanders of the field are on standby to make a match that will go down in history! For Classic, to be the second two-time Starcraft II champion ever; and for Beastie, to become the first female champion ever! Ladies and gentlemen I present your finalists, Classic and Beastie!" I grinned as the entire stadium cheered as the camera panned to show both finalists walking down through the audience to the center stage. Classic has a light smile on his face as he high-fived people on his way to the stage. It was obvious he was a little bit nervous, though. On the other side, though, was Beastie. My best friend, Bella. Through sheer luck she had made it to the WCS Finals, and she admitted as much. She was an excellent reactionary player, starting with a simple build before improvising the rest of the game, though she did mainly focus on roaches, mutalisks, queens, and nydus canals. I turned back to my homework after seeing her, not really interested in the commentary from the hosts. It would take them a few minutes to banter before the actual rounds began, so I had enough time to finish my homework.
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"Beastie's got a powerful army, but Classic has her spread way too thin!"
"She's got no resources, and no supply, and no bases, she is completely at Classic's mercy- and GG! After a long power struggle, Classic finally takes down that last Ultra and takes his second World Championship." I sighed as Bella lost the seventh match. While she had given Classic a good fight, she simply wasn't skilled enough to take on a long-time professional. Not a half hour later I heard my phone ringing, indicating I was getting a video call from Bella.
"Hey there," I smiled a bit when her face popped up on my phone's screen. Hey eyes were red from crying and her face was flushed. "You did well. Gave him a run for his money. I wouldn't be surprised if you get the title next year."
"Yeah, totally," she laughed weakly. "Dammit, I was so close…"
"Hey, you got further than I ever could!" I told her. "Seriously, your first year and you make it to the finals? That's unbelievable! You've definitely made a name for yourself."
"I know, I know…" she sighed. There was silence between us for a few seconds.
"Will you be coming back?" I asked. Much to my dismay, Bella shook her head.
"I actually have a shot…" she said, her voice wavering, but filled with renewed strength. "I'm gonna stay another year. I've got a part time job at a small street-corner store and I've even got my own apartment outside of Seoul! I mean, it's the really tiny kind, but it's workable. I'm living well, and even made some friends!" She smiled a bit wider.
"Yeah…" I tried to hide my disappointment. "You know, we haven't talked in a long while…"
"Yeah, sorry," she apologized. "I've been busy training. I've been trying to form or find a team but nobody wants to have a foreigner."
"Hey, maybe this will get someone's attention," I told her, making her smile. "Tell you what, I've raised a bit of money and I'm sure I can come and visit. How about I skip next semester and come and visit for a while? You know, give you a reminder of home." There was a pregnant pause.
"Seoul is my home…" Bella spoke just loud enough for me to hear. "I mean, I miss everyone here in America. I really do. But… I feel like I belong in South Korea. I love it there. The people are usually friendly, and it's so modern here. I'm finally on my own and I don't want to give this up, ya know? I'm sorry… But I'm staying here…" There were a few voices in the background. I couldn't hear much, but her name was yelled out a few times. "I have to go. I'll… I'll see you around, ok?"
"Yeah… See you…" And with that, I said goodbye to my best friend.
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A/N: I didn't intend the ending to be so sad, but it was the only way my brain was going! Sorry it's so short, I just wanted to get this writer's block out of the way. SCII pros sacrifice so much just to do something they love, and I wanted to embody that in my own way. I know it isn't completely realistic, but I did my best. I don't know all the terms and ins and outs of the tournament systems, so please don't shout at me too bad for it.
My Life For Aiur
TheKaiSenpai
Godspeed you magnificent bastards.