"Well, yeah, she did, but that's not the important thing. The major factor for her popularity and the reason why even pros are terrified of her is that she is the only player in the world who broke the record by winning eight rounds against the Godbots, as we call it for the bots with impossible difficulty. That's the same as winning half of the game. That's why she was also given the devilish nickname 'Godkiller'. This is why she is known by most CS:UW around the world, and some even worship her as the goddess of CS:UW. I thought you knew this since you are her cousin," Skinny Jim said with a shrug.
Viktor awkwardly chuckled as he scratched his temple. However, inwardly he was surprised that Tiana had such an impressive track record in the online world. He had no idea that she was this popular and wondered how Taya would react if she knew about this.
"That's why everyone expects her to qualify her way towards the international leagues and make her presence even bigger," Butkus added.
"There have been talks of who is the number one player in the whole CS:UW player base, and locally Snow Queen has been voted as the number one. But of course, globally, the votes are different since international pros have a way bigger fanbase, and it's not easy for Snow Queen to garner their attention unless she wins in any international leagues. But in my opinion, she is the best player with inhuman skills," Bucky said with a fanatic light in his eyes.
"Yeah, dood. We are jealous that you got a quick tutoring session from the CS:UW goddess herself. Heck, we would gladly die for just a tip from her," Skinny Jim said with a foolish smile.
Viktor mentally shook his head, feeling amused by seeing how fanatic Tiana's fans were.
"Yo, it's natural since he is her cousin. And hey, we wanted to say thanks for saving us from that punch. Going against someone like John isn't easy. But since you have the Snow Queen's backing, he wouldn't dare try against you. So, don't worry, in case you were," Butkus said in a concerned tone.
Viktor waved his hands with a candid smile, "No, it's fine. Mother has told me that I shouldn't let injustice take place before me, especially when it's happening to my friends."
"Friends?" Butkus acted like he was tearing up and hugged Dorian, "Aooo, you are too good for this world. But we are happy to have you as a friend too, hehe."
Skinny Jim and Bucky also nodded with smiles as Viktor tried to wiggle out of Butkus' hug and acted like he was getting choked.
"Hey, little Butkus, are you trying to kill our new friend?" Skinny Jim pulled him back and saw that Dorian was finally able to catch his breath.
"Alright, alright. My friends, let us now allow this wonderful gentleman to continue with his game since the tourney will be starting soon, and he won't be able to play till they finish," Bucky gave out a warning.
"You are right. Let me play one quick practice match," Viktor said while the other three eagerly sat near him to see his gameplay.
Viktor turned around to continue with his game, but they all had a flabbergasted look when they saw Dorian still continuing on without changing the 'Impossible' difficulty level, even after hearing all of their advice.
"Dood, did you by chance forget to change the difficulty level?" Skinny Jim asked as he swallowed his saliva, feeling parched after giving Dorian countless reasons not to choose that difficulty level.
Butkus and Bucky could only stare at the loading screen with dumbfounded looks as they slowly turned their heads robotically towards Dorian, who had a calm expression.
Viktor answered with a bright smile, "Why are you guys looking at me like that? I indeed want to play against the God bots."
"But...why?" Bucky asked with a flummoxed expression.
"Yeah, especially after we told you like a million reasons not to," Butkus said as he slightly shook his head.
They all perked their ears to hear Dorian's explanation.
Viktor inwardly chuckled as he looked at these three's funny expressions and plainly said, "It's nothing big. After hearing from you guys how people have been subject to despair after playing against them, it made me feel more hopeful about having a chance against them. As my mother had said, there is hope after despair and many suns after darkness. I believe that maybe I should give it a go as well and see if I can at least win one round. I am also the Godkiller's cousin, so I obviously can't come short, right?"
Butkus and the other two had speechless expressions, not knowing how to refute him since what he said seemed like they made sense.
They also felt as if his mother was a wise and benevolent woman after hearing from the kind of teachings she gave him.
They also found the second point valid since he was indeed the Snow Queen's cousin, and in case he was going to be a pro in this game later, then winning at least one round against these bots would be a great achievement indeed.
In fact, they see people in streams every day trying to win at least one round against the God bots and gain some popularity only to see them fail miserably and get trolled by their own viewers.
Butkus whispered to the two, making sure Dorian doesn't hear him, "Hey, the moment he gives up, be ready to encourage him. Otherwise, this could be a traumatic event for him."
The other two nodded with a thumbs up while Viktor could only smile hearing his whisper.
The game started, and Viktor only had a pistol in the first round. He even kicked the bots in his team, and he was all alone against five Impossible level bots.
Butkus and others wondered if he was crazy enough to kick the bots in his team since even the best pro would have zero chances of winning a single round like that.
Viktor was playing as the terrorist, and Butkus and the others eagerly watched how he was going to face the first counter-terrorist or CT.
"Here we go…" Butkus mumbled as he saw Viktor going into the bombsite where there could be a CT waiting for him.
Viktor suddenly came upon a CT, and the bot also spotted him and quickly turned around to aim at him. But before Butkus and the others could reply, they heard the sound of Viktor tapping the fire button on the mouse.
*Click!*
And after that click, all three were staring at the screen with their mouths completely wide open.