Legends Rise - Chapter 35 Commitmen

“So..? What do you have to say?”

Li Ming sat across from a very stern looking Counselor Watanabe after classes had ended that day. As much as Li Ming had prepared himself for this moment, he was still extremely tense.

The Haha brothers, Hatori and Hanzo, had started to brag about how they won their first battle royale match last night. Somewhere in that conversation, it was revealed that they had been carried to the victory by a professional player. Not wanting to miss out on giving out juicy details to gossip, Kaori had gone ahead and thrown in the details that they had defeated the Tokyo Boars.

During lunch, they started showing off the replay of the match to prove their legitimacy. To everyone’s surprise, they weren’t kidding. Ken’s party had been able to defeat the entire team of the Tokyo Boars in their run to take the victory in the battle royale match.

As with all gossipers, it didn’t take much time for ‘The Dawn’ to be revealed to be Li Ming. Despite the many doubters, it was confirmed when they started looking up articles on ‘The Dawn’ and saw the results of the ‘Osaka Phoenixes’ who had recruited a graduating high schooler.

From the many pictures in the articles, it was easy to spot Li Ming during his interview at the tryouts in LA. During the entire lunch period, everyone that knew the news began spreading the information that there was a new pro player in there school. As soon as Counselor Watanabe caught wind of the identity of the pro player, it was only a matter of time for Li Ming to be called into her office after the school day was over.

He had expected as much to happen, but he didn’t expect it to occur so soon. Perhaps it was too audacious of him to bring the team outfit into a casual match with his friends. Li Ming had been so focused on his improvement as a player he had neglected the public relations matters.

Now that he had been dragged into the counselor’s room to explain himself, Li Ming had to find a way to explain himself. And fast.

“Well,” he started, “I just signed a contract with the Osaka Phoenixes to be their starting Frontliner.”

“What about school?”

“I don’t have to start team practice or living with the team until the I’ve graduated. The practice sessions that have been assigned to me only take less than 5 hours a day to complete. I’ll be able to graduate just fine, since I won’t need to work at that convenience store anymore.”

“You aren’t working at the convenience store anymore?” She asked worriedly, “Is the team paying you enough?”

“Of course!” Li Ming took this opportunity to add a little leverage for his defense, “In fact, I will be receiving about 19178.07 US dollars as of today.”

“That might be enough for you to get by, but you were definitely making more at the convenience store, right? Wasn’t the yearly salary about 22 thousand US dollars when you were working there as their overnight position?”

“Oh no, today’s payment from the team will only be for this week. I’ll get the same payment ever week. My annual salary is-”

“ONE MILLION DOLLARS?” Counselor Watanabe obviously did the calculations faster than Li Ming could finish his sentence.

“Yeah,” Li Ming said shyly, “It’s my starting salary for just staying on their roster. I’ll get bonuses if we win, and the contract duration is 3 years, with a renewal evaluation every year.”
for visiting.

“That’s…”

Honestly speaking, Counselor Watanabe was taken aback by this sudden revelation. She had a general idea on the professional Esports player scene, after all, she had been a counselor for many years. Ever since Leo Corporation started the Esport scene, there had been more and more students writing that they wanted to become pro players later on in life.

Despite the original stigma that video games carried for her, she was still very open to many different career paths. However, she still remained doubtful of the situation. To be giving one million US Dollars every year, to a student that hadn’t even graduated yet, this was still an outlandish situation for her to rationalize.

“You said you would be living with the team,” she asked, “Does this mean that you’ll have to rent a dorm or apartment from them then?”

“Actually, I’ll be living in their dorm without having to rent it. Food and utilities are included in my contract as well, along with some travel accommodations too.”

Counselor Watanabe’s eyebrows creased together as she rubbed her temples. This was quite a bit for her to take in. Not only was he being paid quite the hefty sum, but he was getting a free place to live, and free food as well!”

“Could you elaborate more on your living situation now compared to what it will be like living with the team?”

“Well, as a player on the main roster, I will have my own dorm room. The dorm room is actually a 1LDK, and is about 250 meters squared (~800 sq/ft) in size. The dorm allows pets and such,” Li Ming recounted the details of his contract, “Despite having my own kitchen, I can order food from the team’s cafeteria and have it brought up to me, or I can go down to the team’s lounge to eat with the team.”

“…That’s definitely better than your current place…”

Now with his pride on the rise, Li Ming continued his recounting of his contract. “I can also do Live Streaming, where I show off whatever I play daily, and viewers that watch me can be monetized. I also get sponsorships and earn money through affiliate marketing as well.. As for travel accommodations, any travel for competition purposes will be fully paid for and managed by the team, so nothing will have to come out of my own pocket!”

…

Faced with such benefits, Counselor Watanabe couldn’t really ask Li Ming to change his mind. If this youth played his cards right, the three million dollars would be enough to carry him through his early life, and maybe even into his midlife stage.

“But what will you do when your contract ends? How will you find a job then?”

“They have that covered too! There’s a company retirement plan, as well as there being many chances for me to become part of the staff instead of a player. If I’m good at being a leader, I could transition to being a coach. If I’m good at thinking and breaking down information, I could become an analyst. Even if all I have left is my skills in the game, I could always become a recruiter or a scout.”

This time, Counselor Watanabe truly could not find any faults in his defense. Compared to her offer of getting Li Ming through Tokyo University’s back door, this path was definitely more stable! Even if he went to college, he would still have to manage all of the housing and food situations. He would still be responsible for finding a job all on his own, and there was no guarantee that he could even stay in school if he had to work part time or even full time to cover his expenses.

After a long period of thinking, Counselor Watanabe put her hands down. She took a look at Li Ming’s student file.

“Are you sure you want to be a pro player?” She asked as she looked back up, “Are you really sure?”

“Yes, for now at least.” Li Ming answered confidently, “I’m certain that I want to be there.”

“What makes you want to be there that badly?”

*Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*

Li Ming received a text. Quickly glancing at his phone, Li Ming saw that Chie had texted him to go online to compare each other’s character’s team outfits.

“Sorry, something came up.” Li Ming said as he hurriedly got up and pushed his chair back in, “I’ll be heading back first.”

‘Oh? This is rare.’ Counselor Watanabe sensed a different expression on Li Ming as he rushed to leave. ‘Is it a girl?’

“Answer my question first.” She persuaded him, “What makes you want to be a pro player that badly?”

But Li Ming, who was already absent minded and halfway through the door, haphazardly threw out an answer.

“Uhh, the Hot Chocolate!”

Confused, Counselor Watanabe could only watch his hurried running through the halls.

Hot Chocolate? Did he mean the drink?