The team's manager, Nick, had a brisk but friendly voice over the phone, meticulously guiding me through the travel logistics.

From booking the plane ticket to the exact details of my stay, and comforting words like, 'You're gonna do great, I believe in you!', he spared no effort in supporting me.

Despite his encouraging tone, a seed of doubt lingered.

After all, he was just the team's manager, and his knowledge of the game might be limited.

Then came the most challenging part of the journey – the flight. I had never flown before and had my reasons for that. However, there was no turning back now.

If I let this chance slip away, the nagging 'what if?' would haunt me more than the anxiety of boarding this damn airplane at this exact moment.

The initial moments were terrifying – the roar of turbines and a queasy sensation that persisted in my stomach.

But I pressed on, letting my thoughts drift to what awaited me upon arrival.

Apart from Nick, I hadn't actually conversed with any of my soon-to-be teammates.

The suddenness of the decision left no room for formal introductions. We didn't even get to play a single scrim game.

It was a peculiar situation – knowing I was about to join a group of people bound by a common passion, yet being a complete stranger to them. At least for now.

I felt utterly unprepared for what was to come.

Social interactions weren't exactly my strength, and just thinking about it made me break into a nervous sweat.

Nevertheless, there was no avoiding it.

LoL was a team game, and communication was the key to victory.

To be fair, my conversational skills weren't that terrible, but I always needed a lot of time to get to know someone before feeling comfortable talking to them.

Until reaching that state, I would always think twice, or maybe even thrice, about what I was going to say, and in the gaming world, that could mean a swift demise.

Upon landing, the team manager, a friendly face in the crowd, welcomed me at the airport.

“Heyyy! Over here!” His voice reached me in an instant; he was just as outgoing as I had imagined.

Navigating the bustling terminals, we exchanged pleasantries, and I made sure to fix my eyes right onto him.

Otherwise, I would get lost in the crowd and probably die of a panic attack or something like that.

My sense of orientation was truly terrible – the complete opposite of my map awareness in-game, which was quite good.

As we got into a taxi and started talking, Nick explained everything about their way into this tournament, but because of all the stress I had gone through during the flight, most of it slipped right through my mind.

----------------------------------------

“Sooo, what are you gonna play, Noah?” His eyes were filled with excitement.

I didn't quite understand what kind of answer he was expecting.

In the end, it depended on what my teammates and the enemies were going to play.

Although I obviously had some picks that I preferred over others.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

You know, I'm pretty much a pure mage player, especially artillery mages suited me well.

Burst mages, or as most players would call them, 'control mages,' also worked just fine.

“Uhm... whatever we need, I guess,” I said in a bland tone, shrugging my shoulders.

“Ouuhhh, such a mysterious answer! You'd do a great job at interviews; never accidentally spilling out information that shouldn't be said.”

He tapped me on the shoulder and came a bit closer to whisper. “Would for sure happen to me!”

Then he laughed in such a cheerful way that it infected me aswell.

Nick seemed to be a pretty nice guy.

“Look, there we are already! Time really flies by, huh...?”

The last part had sounded a bit melancholic, but since he smiled, I didn't worry too much about it.

The hotel, a temporary haven for gaming athletes, loomed in the distance.

As the taxi pulled up to the entrance, I caught a glimpse of the gaming rooms through the glass facade, making my heart beat in excitement.

The place was filled with e-sports enthusiasts, recognizable by their casual attire – jogging pants and, of course, the ever-present Red Bull cans.

The collective hum of joyful nerds filled the air with an overwhelming euphoria – that, and the strong need for a fresh shower.

As we approached the front desk, Nick handled the check-in process for me, and I thanked God for that because I really didn't want to do it.

"Enjoy your stay, gamers!" she yelled in a somewhat cringe-worthy manner, but at least that would make me appear less so.

"Soo... Which floor do we need to go?", I asked carefully, scared of the answer that might follow.

Please not higher than 3rd, please not higher...

"Oh, it's the 8th floor, but we can just take the elevator." Unbothered by my concerned expression, as he was going ahead, I was left alone with a spiral of negative thoughts.

8th floor... Not only would this mean that it was going to be pretty hot up there since it was the middle of summer, but there was also another problem...

Stopping in front of the elevator while pulling my heavy luggage behind me, I glanced at Nick with a fearful look.

Empathetic as he was, he understood immediately.

Gratefully, I handed over my suitcase to him as he went into the rising horror that I wanted to avoid.

I'd already conquered my demons by overcoming my extreme fear of flying – that was enough for today.

It was when I entered the 4th floor that I started questioning my decision.

Why the hell was I willing to fly at one thousand km/h through the sky, but refuse to take the elevator?

I'm so ill, man...

After about 5 minutes, we reunited again.

"Don't worry, we're a tight-knit group," Nick reassured me, probably thinking the dead look in my eyes came from nervousness, not from the 216 stairs that I'd just climbed up with 40°C hot air around me.

At his point I was sure there had to be more deaths from overheated people in stairwells than from... many other things.

"You'll get along with the others, I'm sure of it! Just be yourself." Nick seemed just as excited as I was, if not even more so.

We walked down a corridor adorned with posters of past e-sports events.

A slight relief came over me as it was much quieter up here than in the lobby.

Loud noise was pretty much the bane of my existence, and I've already had way too much of it for the day.

Only the muffled sounds of gaming equipment, such as the clicking of a keyboard, could be heard.

Maybe I could finally get some rest...

This journey had been much harder than any solo queue session I've had so far...

We kept going for some time until reaching our designated room.

The atmosphere changed immediately as we stepped in.

My hopes were diminished in an instant.