Chapter 18 – Rumors

-Chu's PoV-

The world can be classified in different ways, depending on one's interests and principles of classification. The classifications (also known as taxonomies) in turn determine which comparisons seem natural or unnatural, and which are literal or analogical. For example, it has been common to classify living creatures into three distinct groups—plants, animals, and humans. According to this classification, human beings are not a special kind of animal, nor are animals a special kind of plant. Thus any comparisons between the three groups are strictly analogical. Reasoning from inheritance in garden peas to inheritance in fruit flies, and from these two species to inheritance in human beings, is a sheer poetic metaphor.

Another mode of classifying living creatures is commonly attributed to Aristotle. Instead of treating plants, animals, and humans as distinct groups, they are nested. All living creatures possess a vegetative soul that enables them to grow and metabolize. Of these, some also have a sensory soul that enables them to sense thei-.

"Chu, someone is looking for you!" a loud male voice resounded throughout the classroom.

The voice of one of my coursemates brought me out of my focus in reading the passage I was reviewing for my later subjects. I glanced at the entrance and saw a girl, Team Paradigm's captain, talking to my acquaintance who just shouted my name. This might be important if she wants to talk in person instead of just sending it in a messenger app.

I put my school-issued tablet down for later and stood up then unhurriedly walked towards the entrance of our classroom while some of my classmates in this course looked at me curiously. I took a quick glance at my watch. It is still about 10 more minutes before class so the professor will not be arriving anytime soon.

"Chu, there you are!" the girl exclaimed after she noticed me approaching.

"Oh he's here, I'll leave you two alone then,"

My coursemate, Hugo, teasingly said as he smirked at me and left.

How irksome. The last thing I want is rumors to spread about me and this girl. Though the said girl seems oblivious to his imputation.

"What do you want?" I said curtly.

"What? Not happy to see your teammate?" she replied teasingly.

"Not in the slightest," I replied unamused.

"T-that's harsh" She instantly deflated like a balloon.

"On with it, I need to get back to studying."

"Oh right!" she instantly went back to her positive demeanor. I'll never get used to this girl's quick change of pace.

"I just want to ask if you're available on Friday after school, I arranged a scrim match against another team so we could practice before the qualifiers."

"You called me out in the classroom just for that?" I said incredulously.

"Uhm yes, shouldn't I have?" She said confused.

If I didn't respect her as our team captain and also as a skilled player who bested me in a 1v1 match, she would have been getting an earful from me.

"...Nothing. I'll go online that time."

"Great! See you on Friday then!" she loudly exclaimed before she waved goodbye and walked away.

I sigh.

Her last words of farewell probably have been heard by the whole classroom judging by how audible it was.

I walked back to my seat mindful of the stares and murmurs I was presently receiving. I sat in my chair, intent on getting back to reading when, as expected, Edward (a close friend of mine) approached me.

"You lady killer! What is this rumor I heard about you having a date with a cute busty girl on Friday?!" He exclaimed loudly for all the class to hear, intent on turning the smoke into a forest fire.

This scoundrel. He's always been the type to relish my discomfort. What a friend indeed.

I stared at him in complete silence. He seems unabated at first but slowly caves in. Coupled with my no-nonsense face and stoic demeanor, doing that seems like the best way to warn him when he's getting out of line. Works every time.

"O-okay fine I'll stop the teasing. Though I'm quite curious about what a popular freshman wants with an antisocial sophomore like you," he asked.

"She just wants me to play a scrim match in preparation for the qualifiers in the CoA tourney."

"What? You said you don't want to join the u20 tourney."

"I said I didn't want to join it with you."

"Urk! Are you still mad about the username fiasco? Just buy a name change card if it bothers you that much."

"It is inefficient and it won't do anything to raise your stats. I'd rather buy a material for forging than buy a name change. Though it has nothing to do with it. I just deemed it impossible to win and therefore, a waste of time if I teamed up with you."

"As blunt as always. Just hook me up with that girl or something and I'll forgive this grievance you inflicted upon me," he said dramatically.

"I do not think you have a chance with her in the slightest," I replied honestly.

"Hmph, nothing is impossible. We share the same hobby of playing CoA and I don't look too shabby myself right?" Don't tell me that these guns have no shot at her?" He said as he flexed his non-existent muscles.

I stared at his actions flatly before continuing.

"I am not sure if she is even interested in guys, to begin with."

"What!? Is that true?"

"Just a hunch. But don't go spreading any weird rumors about her or I will get livid." I said intimidatingly.

"U-understood," he said nervously. "Though, it's quite a shame if what you said is true since she's one of the top 5 most popular freshmen beauties rated by us sophomore guys," he continued.

I stared at him curiously.

"Ohh of course you don't know, you never were once one for gossip and rumors."

"Gossip and rumors are oftentimes exaggerated and far from the truth."

"Then tell me what you think of these rumors about the top beauties and then we're even," he said jovially, eager to share stories with a friend.

"...Fine," I conceded.

"Okay, first is the cute and bubbly girl you just talked with, Elizabeth Miles. They say that she's a full-fledged gaming fanatic, which I suppose is true since she managed to recruit you to her team. There are even rumors that she turned down the e-sports club which is intent on recruiting a talent like hers. She is also the most popular girl among the freshmen since she's pretty lively and outgoing and almost part of every circle."

"I guess most of those rumors are authentic. Though I am not sure about the e-sport club part."

"You know what they say when there's smoke, there's fire. Which reminds me, they also tried to recruit you right?"

"Yeah, I turned them down since it seems like a bother," I replied bluntly.

"Still adamant about keeping your reputation I see," he teased.

"And do tell me what exactly you meant by that?" I asked menacingly.

"N-nothing, moving on, the second is the complete opposite of Miss Miles. Katherine Katrisha or something. I heard she is the cold beauty you often times see in the library. I haven't really seen her in person since I don't go to the library that much and she was not there the one time I did decide to go look for the said beauty," he paused to think for a bit then leaned a bit towards me before continuing in a lower voice.

"Rumor says that she's an honor student with rich but strict parents so she always studies non-stop even during her breaks at the college library. If you're not up to her standards, she will likely ignore you or probably think lowly of you due to her upbringing," he said conspiringly.

"I see, she seems like someone hard to get along with."

"Yeah, I think so too. Third on the list is Michelle Thompson, the cheerleader team's new recruit. They sa-"

"Good morning." a loud and authoritative voice broke our conversation.

Mrs. Smith, a pleasant-looking woman of medium build in her mid-30s unceremoniously entered our classroom. The gaze from her black-rimmed glasses is all it takes to silence everyone in the room.

"I'll continue later," Edward said as he hurriedly went back to his seat.

A couple of seconds later, when she deemed it proper to start the class, she began talking.

"Okay class, let us begin. The first order of business is attendance. After that, we will continue where we left off at our last meeting."

---------------------------------------Liz's PoV- (after class)

I entered my own room after a long day at the university.

Inside the room is a floor made up of wood in a bright golden tint. The walls and ceiling of the whole area are sky blue, my favorite color. It gives me a sense of freedom with its hue resembling the unrestricted morning sky. Littered on the walls are many posters and other things I could plaster onto it. Mostly composed of portraits of Team Paragon's members and a few other CoA-related arts.

My bed is next to the rightmost side wall of the room, while my laptop, PC, and Xbox are situated on the leftmost side of the room. I haven't really played much of the games they offer ever since I started playing CoA though I still use the laptop mostly for school purposes. Virtual Reality games offer much more sense of freedom and immersion that you cannot get from playing a game while just looking at a monitor screen. I do not have a television here however since TVs are a nonfactor for me.

To my front is the VR pod I use to play CoA. It is a fairly new model and well-maintained 'cause I always clean it myself. Next to it are three narrow racks connected to the wall full of numerous figurines I have collected throughout the years of playing CoA. It is composed of different figurines of pro players and primarily of my favorite team, the Paragon members, whom I proudly displayed as some sort of trophies.

After changing out of my outfit and donning comfortable clothes, I immediately went to the VR pod and started streaming.

I said my greetings to my viewers before announcing that I would be just mostly practicing in PVP today since the qualifiers are almost near.

There are not many viewers for today since it's in the middle of a week but there are some enthusiastic fans whom I feel grateful for who always watch me play whenever I stream. One of them is the new girl who donated just now.

RandomGirl123 Donated 30 dollarsGood luck with your practice match! UwU

HardcoreViewer: Wow, how rich!

Gregory864: Minus 30 dollars kekw

im12btwxoxo: My dad is wealthier than that. I can beat that easily!

Simpguy99: Nice! another fan of our princess!

"Wow, thanks RandomGirl! You have been donating a bunch of times even though you have just been a viewer for only a week, right?"

RandomGirl123: Oh! Do you remember exactly when I started watching your stream? UwU

I tapped her profile to filter out the other chat and see what she was typing.

"Of course! I keep track of most of my viewers."

Those that do not type perverted stuff in chat anyway. Those types get a warning or are permanently banned if they persist.

RandomGirl123: Wow, for real!? I feel super important right now! I'm like, a big fan of yours, for real! UwU.

"Really? That makes me so glad to know. Oh! You have an account, right? How about we play CoA together?"

RandomGirl123: No!

"H-huh why not?" I asked a bit dejected.

RandomGirl123: I mean, I'm sure you're super busy and all with the tournament practice you're having so I don't want to be a bother. UwU

Ohh so that's why. For a second I thought she didn't want to play with me. What a kind person, she even prioritizes my time over herself. Now I really want to meet her in-game, I feel we could have a blast if we play together.

"Well, we are kind of busy preparing for it. But you can pm me anytime you want to play and I'm sure to make time, alright?" I said enthusiastically.

RandomGirl123: O-okay I'm looking forward to it.

"Ohh that reminds me, my team and I are going to have a practice match with some of my acquaintances on Friday in preparation for the qualifiers so please cheer for us on that day!"

Simpguy99: Anything for our princess! I would even catch a grenade for you if you so ordered me to!

im12btwxoxo: Of course, I'll donate with my dad's credit card if you guys win!

BillSmith: Good luck with the scrim match on Friday!

I already got the approval of Kat and Chu personally earlier so the match is set in stone... Which reminds me.

I opened my friend list and saw that Kat is online.

I wonder what she is doing now, probably grinding since the qualifiers are getting close. I'll ask her again if she needs any boosting, but judging by her skills, it seems I would just slow her down since she is getting half the XP if I join, and with the penalty in the level difference, it would be better to leave her alone for now until level 70 or so.

Argh, this sucks! Really want to play with her right now. Oh yeah, Kat can now join a guild. I'll ask her to join mine after the scrim match. I would love to introduce her to my guildmates!