The pretty rookie
1258 Words
The ONYX5 training facility was bigger than Lin Yu...no, Yu Chen had imagined.
She stood across the street, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her oversized hoodie, staring up at the glass-and-steel building that reflected the pale morning sky. The ONYX5 logo loomed above the entrance in sharp black lettering, sleek and intimidating.
This was real.
Her phone buzzed with a reminder notification.
ONYX5 Open Tryouts — Check-in 9:00 AM
Yu Chen swallowed and stepped forward.
The lobby buzzed with noise the moment she pushed through the doors. Voices overlapped—nervous laughter, confident boasting, keyboards clacking from demo stations set up along the walls. Dozens of players crowded the space, most of them tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in team jerseys or branded hoodies.
She instantly felt… small.
“Hey, kid.”
Yu Chen flinched as a guy with a buzz cut glanced down at her, eyebrow raised.
“You here with your brother or something?”
Her mouth went dry. She forced her voice lower, steadier.
“I’m here for tryouts.”
The guy blinked, then laughed. “No way. You don’t even look old enough to queue ranked.”
Yu Chen didn’t reply. She just walked past him toward the check-in desk.
The staff member barely looked up as she handed over her ID—fake name, clean documents, everything prepared weeks ago.
“Yu Chen,” the woman said, typing. “Mid-lane?”
“Yes.”
A wristband slid across the counter toward her. Black. ONYX5 logo stamped in silver.
“Qualifier room B. You’ll be playing online rounds first.”
Yu Chen nodded, fingers curling tightly around the band as she stepped away.
Behind her, she heard someone mutter, “Is ONYX5 recruiting idols now?”
She ignored it.
The qualifier room was colder, quieter. Rows of PCs lined the walls, already occupied by players stretching fingers, adjusting mice, murmuring to themselves. Yu Chen took an empty seat near the corner and sat down carefully, keeping her shoulders squared, posture loose but controlled.
She logged in.
As soon as the lobby loaded, her heart settled.
This was familiar territory.
The first match started fast. No introductions, no mercy. Everyone was trying to stand out, to dominate, to prove they deserved to be here.
Yu Chen didn’t try to shine.
She played clean.
Precise last-hits. Perfect wave control. Calculated trades. When her jungler misplayed, she covered for him without comment. When bot lane collapsed, she rotated early, turning a loss into a double kill.
Halfway through the game, someone in team chat typed:
nice mid
She didn’t respond.
The match ended in a decisive win.
Game two was harder. The enemy mid-laner was aggressive, flashy, exactly the kind scouts loved. He went for risky all-ins, taunted in all-chat, tried to force mistakes.
Yu Chen waited.
At twelve minutes, he overextended by a pixel.
She punished him mercilessly.
The kill feed lit up. Gasps echoed softly around the room.
“Who’s that guy?” someone whispered behind her.
“Newbie, I think.”
“Damn. He’s kinda… pretty?”
Yu Chen’s fingers faltered for half a second.
Pretty?
She shoved the thought away and focused.
By the end of the qualifiers, her name sat quietly at the top of the scoreboard. No fireworks. No trash talk. Just results.
A staff member entered the room.
“If your name is called, follow me for the next round.”
Yu Chen’s stomach twisted as names echoed through the room.
Then...
“Yu Chen.”
She stood.
As she passed through the hallway, she felt eyes on her. Curious. Appraising. A few amused.
_________
The second room felt different the moment Yu Chen stepped in.
No crowd. No noise.
Just ten desks, ten PCs, and five people standing behind a glass wall, watching without speaking. ONYX5 staff.
One of them finally spoke, voice calm and flat.
“Everyone here already passed the skill check,” he said. “From now on, we’re looking at decisions.”
Yu Chen took her seat.
“You’ll play again,” he continued. “Same patch. Same champion pool. But roles will be assigned.”
A few players stiffened.
“Assigned?” someone asked.
“Yes,” the man said. “You won’t all be mid.”
A quiet scoff came from the back. “I didn’t come here to play support.”
The staff member didn’t react. “Then you won’t go further.”
Silence settled in.
The man glanced at his tablet. “Yu Chen.”
She looked up.
“You’re jungle this match.”
Heads turned.
Jungle wasn’t her role. It wasn’t what she’d practiced for this tryout. But she didn’t argue.
“Okay,” she said.
That was all.
The game loaded, and chaos followed almost immediately. Former mid-laners struggled in new positions. Calls overlapped. Mistakes piled up. Everyone wanted to stand out.
Yu Chen didn’t.
She tracked the enemy jungler. Covered lanes before they collapsed. Took objectives quietly. When top lane overextended, she was already moving.
No spam pings. No typing.
Just decisions.
Midway through the game, the mid-laner snapped. “Why aren’t you ganking mid?”
Yu Chen answered without raising her voice. “Your wave’s bad. You’d die.”
There was a pause.
Then he backed off.
They won the match, not by overwhelming the enemy, but by staying in control.
When the screens went dark, no one spoke.
Behind the glass, one of the staff leaned closer. “That jungle player,” he said. “What’s his background?”
“No record,” another replied. “No team history.”
The first nodded slowly. “He listens. He adjusts.”
Inside the room, Yu Chen removed her headset. Her hands were a bit sweaty.
The room stayed quiet for a moment, only the hum of PCs and the faint clatter of keyboards lingering. Then one of the staff stepped forward, clipboard in hand.
“Alright,” he said, voice even. “Thank you, everyone. That concludes this round.”
Players began exchanging glances, some shrugging, some frowning, unsure of what would come next.
“Before you leave,” the staff continued, eyes scanning the room, “we have our decision for the mid-lane slot.”
Heads turned. A few players leaned forward, curious.
“Yu Chen,” the staff said.
Her heart skipped.
“You’re moving forward with ONYX5. You’ll join the main roster as our mid-lane player.”
A low murmur ran through the room. Some of the other players looked stunned. A few exchanged disappointed glances.
Yu Chen blinked..her heart fluttered.
“Please follow me,” the staff added, gesturing toward a side door. “Everyone else is free to go.”
She stood, backpack slung over one shoulder, and walked past the others, who were already gathering their things. The silence felt strange, almost like the moment itself hadn’t fully registered.
Behind her, she could hear a few quiet whispers. “Who is he…?”
She ignored them. Stepping through the door, the staff led her into a hallway that smelled faintly of cleaning supplies and recycled air.
“You’ll get a tour of the facility, meet the team, and get your schedule,” the staff said. “Any questions can be addressed once you meet the team manager.”
Yu Chen nodded once, voice barely above a whisper. “Understood.”
As the door closed behind her, leaving the other players behind, a strange, quiet thrill ran through her.
She was here. She had made it.
And this was just the beginning.
- Writer
