Call of the Battlefield Online (TAGLISH)

Level 12:\Ren

Level 12:\Ren Hernandez\Disconnect -Tumbling town, tumbling down–

Ren peeked at Derek's face. He wore a wide smile, yet his coffee-colored eyes shed tears. Did he shed tears of joy? Or crocodile tears? One thing's true: He won the tournament. Babawi ako sa iyo, balang araw! Hindi ko na masasabi kung talagang kaibigan pa kita, o magkakagalit na tayo sa loob at labas ng larong ito!

His chest tightened, as he watched two scantily-dressed girls give a ₱500,000 big check to Derek. The girls swooned over Hagibis, and to his friend-turned-archnemesis, Derek as well.

He peeked back at the audiences, and Estelle's nowhere to be found. Nandito ba si Estelle kanina? Sabi niya manonood siya, pero wala naman!

He took a deep breath until Chesa patted his shoulder, “Ren, buti nga nakaabot tayo ng second place eh.”

“Ang daling sabihin no?” Ren yelled at Chesa's face, “Pero kaibigan ko ang umano'y nangdaya dito, Chesa! Kaibigan ko!”

“Pagbigyan mo muna yun. Baka may pinagdadaanan eh, alam mo yun?” Arnold hugged Ren, “Ren, may susunod pang mga laban.”

Rivas called Ren's group as a 2nd Placer. Chesa, Carlos, and Bernardo instead took the ₱250,000 big check for Ren and Arnold.

The crowd roared in glee, while a handful of front row spectators lowered their faces due to Ren's loss. He looked at Derek again, and said to Chesa, “Ngayon alam ko na, kung bakit siya ganoong kalungkot kanina.”

Ren and his team approached the organizers, then asked to change their big check into cash. While waiting for the cash prize, he brought out his blue Nokia 3310 cellphone, then he called his mother.

His mother didn't know anything about the games except violence and profanity thrown around the living room. She even yelled at him over long hours of game time. Yet, her mother still loved & supported him, as she believed there'll be a way to earn real money by pro-gaming.

“Mama, second place kami ngayon sa tournament namin kanina.”

“Okay lang yan, anak. Magsi-uwi na kayo ha, at malaki-laki ang mga dala ninyo.” Desiree said.

“Opo, mama.” Ren ended the call.

Bernardo patted Ren's left shoulder, “At least, naranasan nating lumaban sa ganung tournament.”

Carlos said, “Paano pa kaya kung ma-TV tayo sa susunod nating laban?"

The rest of Ren's teammates voiced out their excitement for the next battles that might be televised at least in a cable TV channel. However, Ren's thoughts wandered elsewhere in his personal hell: Forget everything about his in-game bestfriend-turned-classmate. That's it.

Chesa patted their shoulders, "Tara, uwi na tayo!"