After a long silence, Juniper licked her lips and said in a hoarse voice, “Sorry, I must have been dreaming."


    "It''s okay."


    The students were forgiving. After a couple ofughs, they dove back into their discussion about thepetition.


    "The reason Neverfall Navigators is called that is because when Demon was on the team, they never lost. Not once. Ever since Demon left, their record has been painful to watch."


    In dozens of matches over two years, they''d only won a handful of championships. The rest were second or third-ce finishes. And the few they did win were in tournaments where the top teams didn''t even participate, so they weren''t worth much.


    "They keep talking about making improvements, but how are they getting worse?" one of the guysined, frustrated. “The quarter-finals are this weekend against a top Oceania team. Just looking at the lineup, I''m already worried for them."


    "I heard someone on Neverfall Navigators is injured, too. How are they supposed to y like that?"


    If they couldn''t beat the Oceania team, they''d be knocked out of the top four, not even securing third ce. Die-hard fans of Neverfall Navigators could ept them taking second or third ce, but not even making it to the finals was uneptable. This was the team Demon had built. Failing to reach the finals would be like smashing Demon''s legacy to pieces! And this was supposed to be the strongest eSports team in the country. If they couldn''t do it, no one else stood a chance.


    Suddenly, the future of Orient Country''s eSports scene looked bleak.


    "The number one ranked team, fallen this far in just two years..." One of the guys was so frustrated his eyes were red. "If Demon knew about this, she''d be turning in her grave."


    "Demon definitely knows. The question is why she isn''t doing anything about it.” "You don''t think she actually took a high-paying job with Batonia''s team, do you?!" "No way," someone immediately retorted. "I still remember what Demon said after herst championship win. She had said, ''I fight for the honor of my country."" Juniper took small sips from her water bottle, listening quietly to the conversation. Tsk. Not bad. At least the rumors were about her leaving, not about her being dead. After retiring, she had stopped following news about Neverfall Navigators, assuming they were strong enough to continue without her. Who would have thought so much could change in two years.


    Juniper opened herptop and


    started looking up news about Neverfall Navigators. In the beginning, their performance had been decent. But as time went on and other powerful teams emerged, it became clear that Neverfall Navigators was struggling with many issues.


    The biggest problem was ack of confidence. When she was there, she had been their anchor. No matter what mistakes her teammates made, she could always turn


    the game around. They had grown too used to having her.


    But people had to learn to grow up and stand on their own two feet.


    “Juniper, are you a fan of Neverfall Navigators too?" Hattie leaned in, noticing the articles on Juniper''s screen.


    Even though she didn''t y video games, Demon had been so famous a few years ago that even a total novice like her knew the codename. Demon''s record still sat at the top of the leaderboards unsurpassed after two years.  s?novels


    “Hmm?” Juniper''s fingers stilled on the mouse, aplicated feeling stirring within


    her. She offered a faint smile. “You could say I like them."


    "The quarter-finals are this weekend,


    but it''s a shame all the tickets are sold out. Hattle said disappointed. "Otherwise, you could have gone There''s a rumor that Demon might show up to save the day."


    Failing to reach the finals would mean that, for the first time, Orient Country''s g wouldn''t be raised at the tournament. It would be a massive blow to the team, the country, and the fans.


    Show up? Juniper frowned. Was anyone going to notify her, the person in question, about this n?