Welcome everyone! I am whitworth5274, the author of Level Up. I would like to first welcome back the readers of New Game, the prequel to this story, and to those who read the first version of Level Up earlier this year. To remind those people, this is not the original story. I restarted it due to wanting to keep what made the first one likeable (to me), and that was not about saving the world, but playing video games. I believe it is a standout story in this community, and I rather keep it unique rather than do what has already been done.

For those who didn't read New Game, I suggest you do, even if it is a skim. I, at this point, wouldn't say it is necessary, but to know the backgrounds of the main characters, you will need to.

But a quick summary of New Game: Joshua Hardin, aka "Hardin25" joins forces with his longtime rival Hana Song, aka "Dva" in a bid to win championship gold at the Gaming World Championships. They fall in love, go through some controversary, nearly win the tournament until the Omnic in the Korean Sea disrupts everything, leaving the victory vacated.

Level Up takes place a year later, just after Hana comes back from military service. We actually start at this moment. As for updates, unofficially the writing of the story begins now, but do not expect frequent updates until next month or 2019. The rest of the story will be here quicker than you'll think. I am just excited to write about Josh and Hana again.

So without further ado, enjoy the first chapter of Level Up!

Josh

5. The people were ready. All over the world, thousands of basement-dwelling, couch potatoing, school skipping, Mountain Dew and Doritos eating teenagers of all kinds sat with their various streaming devices in hand, eyes on the screen as if their lives depend on it. The comments rage with anticipation of the next five minutes, entertained only by the music blasting out their speakers.

4. I enter my room, toting 4 liters of root beer, 3 bags of various chip brands, and a bottle of lotion...for dry skin. I set my items down, and seat myself in my comfy gaming chair. As I look at the stream chat, I can barely, just barely, keep with the comments, as over 30,000 people who got nothing better to do sit at their computer screens, and instead of busting their balls or stirring up shit on social media, these boys and girls rather be here. That's kinda awesome, to be so beloved in this way. You can't get 30,000 people to go green in an hour, but promise a livestream of a video game for a few hours, they'll be there.

3. With little time to spare, I make final preparations. Food? Check. Drinks? Check. Excellent internet connection? Check. Headsets? Check. Lotion… Checkmate. However, I'm missing something...Ah, yes.

2. I hastily open a new tab, linked to the main page of the stream. Searching for one streamer in particular, I was pleased to know that the competition hadn't arrived, and given the time, she shouldn't be up anyway. Due to her joining the military temporarily to stop an Omnic threatening her homeland, she hadn't streamed games or anything at all for a year. It is already bad enough we're both made famous by the same game, in the same competition, in the same tournament, and fighting the same battle over four years ago, and we would continue to compete for the gold for the next two years, her winning all three times, and teamed up last year, nearly winning it. But each year, I came closer...but close is not good enough. If I do anything this year, I will defeat my arch-nemesis, and take home the gold in our fourth meeting.

1. As the countdown began to wind down to the final seconds, I looked over to my large wooden shelf, seeing the trio of silver trophies lined up in the center. Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be #2 in the world, because I never, ever thought I would even reach the top 20, but being beaten by a girl, a super attractive South Korean girl at that, ruffles my male American feathers. Call it hurt pride, because that's exactly what it is. I move my gaze down normal eye-level, where a picture of me and my rival are shaking hands at the end of two years ago's match that lasted almost over an hour. Along the same part of the shelf were other pictures of us, with or without our trophies. We were portrayed as a friendly rivalry, but in truth, it was more than that. Last year proved it better than anything. Despite the troubles we had leading up to our big moment, we stuck together, and I couldn't wait to see her again.

Ok, maybe I have had some...thinking time of her, but it was more of an "I hadn't had sex in a year and my girlfriend is a war hero" fantasy. I like her, and I definitely like her to think of her in the nude.

0. The stream countdown is over, and I officially broadcast the stream a few seconds later. As the livestream begins, I put on a smile, happy to be able to do what I love in front of...65,000 people. Damn...what if I fuck up? Nah… These same 65,000 people definitely watch my rival stream as well, and if I mess up, there's no telling what'll they say on her stream. Ah, whatever, they probably shit on me anyway. "Hello everyone from all around the fucking world, human and Omnic. I should need no introduction, and but out of the 65,000, a good… 30,000 are probably forgetful. Welcome to my livestream, and I'm your host, Hardin25. Now let's get some things settled." I put up my bottle of lotion, and snicker into the camera. "Dva isn't home yet to me to use this, and neither are you nasty ass horny dogs either. Save it for later today, or save it for the championship in two months...if they let me back in again. Now, if your stream is just right, can I get some random emojis in the chat?" My 65,000 and rising minions bombarded the chat with emojis, and I nodded in appreciation, hovering my mouse cursor over the Starcraft II launcher. "Thanks, guys, now let's get started."

Just then, my phone buzzes, and I excuse myself to attend to it. It was a message from Hana's grandfather, letting me know that she had just landed in Busan and to...check my mailbox. Oh, I knew what this meant. "Hold on guys, I just got a message from South Korea. Our hero Dva has landed in Busan, so we are happy about that, but also...it's here. The invitation we all been waiting for! I'll be back!" I race to the front door, opening it and quickly grabbing the mail inside. I threw all unimportant letters aside, taking back into my game room the letter signed by the Gaming World Championships, the biggest gaming league in the world. "Ok, here it is. We're opening it, and... Let's see… Same old greeting, same old message, yeah I'm invited, register here and there...WHAT?" Omg. This couldn't be happening. Of all the outcomes of this year's tournament, this had to be worse than last year's decision.

"In an effort to truly determine who the best in the world is, this year's tournament will not be separated by games, as such in the past. Instead, participants will play through several games at each stage until one is declared the winner." I set the letter down after looking at the list of games to be played at the upcoming tournament, looking breathlessly at the home menu of Starcraft II. It wasn't on the list. "Oh boy."

But the best part is that now I can claim the gold. And that thought definitely puts a smile on my face. It's time to level up, Hardin25, or else Dva will get ahead.

...I really just began this story like I did the last one, huh. Me starting a livestream with a countdown, begin said stream, goes to mailbox to see GWC letter inside, and read it to the public of what this year's events will be. I'm like most games in this era. Just a few tweaks here and there, but pretty much the same as the last one.

I continue to stare at my computer screen, just waiting for my mind to process what I just read. For years, GWC split its tournaments by certain games, such as Starcraft II, Super Smash Bros, Call of Duty, and others. But if it is going to a singular, huge tournament with a variety of games to play...that means...I begin laughing to myself as I turned to the camera. "Well guys, this means one thing. The western gaming world will win. Sorry China and Korea, but America or Europe is taking the gold. So Junkrat, Roadhog, the Shimadas, and my beloved Dva… Suck it. But to my fellow Westerners, who is king of the west? Yours truly. Finally going to add gold to my collection. So if your name is Widowmaker, Tracer, Pharah, Mercy, bow your heads low and suck it. Same time if you prefer, or we can do turns. To the boys, McCree, Reaper, bow your fucking heads low and kiss my ass. I'm winning, no matter what."

Despite the bravado I display, I am quite nervous about the whole thing. The competition pool now expands beyond Starcraft. The fighting community, the platforming community, the RTS community, the shooter community, every conceivable genre of gaming could have representation at the upcoming tournament. The grand prize isn't just king or queen of a community, but king or queen of the world undisputedly. I already claimed king, as Hana claimed to be queen. We have the sponsorships, the victories, the viewerships, but so do many others. Our crowns will be challenged, claims put to the test, and if either or both of us fail, our fall from grace will be greater than it could have been last year.

As a wise, legendary gamer told me, "'The world will make heroes rise, but the world loves to see them fall.'"

Hana, 5 hours later

"I...believe it is my...turn."

"You do deserve it." With a slow movement, Josh dragged his hand down Hana's sides to her inner thigh, caressing it in tempo to her sighs. Her hips bucked at the touch, begging for her core to get the promised attention. She whined as Josh continued to tease her, even pulling back her panties and let then snap back her pelvis. After toying with her long enough, Josh tugged on her sweats and underclothes in one quick movement. He moved down immediately to see the exposed core, taking in the many folds the fleshy, damp walls made. He smiled as he noticed how soaked they were, due to the many minutes of Hana being aroused during their time. Looking back up to Hana, who was between desperation for Josh to get to pleasing her and pleasure from his continued teasing, she watched him lower his head. He hovered over the core for a few seconds, his breath tingling Hana's nerves, then extended his tongue, tasting the lubricated skin. After hearing a slight sigh from the girl, the boy brought himself lower, using lips and tongue on the opening.

Gaming's most hardened player was reduced to a sex-crazed girl, just off the stimulation of her core. She, unlike Joshua, had been aroused far too long and felt like any moment she would just explode. From her pelvic region to her brain, every nerve took part in her satisfaction. To increase it, she placed a hand on Josh's head, nearly stuffing his face in her pussy while his tongue explored her inner walls, his nose tickling the clitoris. He chuckled at Hana's actions, then proceeded to give her exactly what she wanted. Raising his head a bit, he penetrated the walls even deeper by using his middle finger.

Hana squealed at the invasion, nearly crushing Josh's head between her legs. A chorus of panted breaths, moans, and a varying assortment of words that told Josh to keep going sang from Hana's vocal cords, broken as her language was. But before she could get used to it, an increase of speed and the addition of two more fingers occurred, nearly driving Hana mindless. Josh came back up to her, kissing her hard before moving away from her gasping lips to her neck. While he was near her ear, he said only three words: "Joshua is calling."

I open my eyes in shock and surprise as my computer broadcasts the same message over and over. Great, he wants to video chat now out of all times. Coming down from my unfulfilled high, I lean up on my bed, wiping my left hand free of bodily fluid with my covers while my other hand pulled up my pink panties back to their rightful position. I begin to readjust my bra, but contemplate against doing so just to tease my boyfriend just a bit. Agreeing with my devil, I only move the right strap back up to my shoulder while the left hangs off my body, the article itself barely covering my breasts as I want it to, but enough to be somewhat decent in my slutty ways.

Before you reprimand the poor heroine of this story, remember that she hadn't had sex in a year and she saved Korea along with some other Korean gamers by defeating the Omnic. Let her blow some steam.

I click the command to answer the call, and seconds later my boyfriend appears on screen. "H-Hey there!"

"Hana? You seem...unsettled."

Thanks to you, assface. "Oh nothing, I was just surprised by your call, that's all."

"That explains why you're dressed as such."

I tug on the right strap still appropriately placed on my shoulder with a finger. "Would you...prefer me in a different state of clothe?"

"Enticing thought, but not right now. This is a business call. I don't want Hana, I'll get to her soon enough. Hardin25 wants Dva."

Oh. He wants to talk business. I straighten up a bit, wondering just what our alter egos had to discuss. I had already read my invitation to this year's championship, and social media had made me aware of Hardin25's threat. Forming a smirk on my face, I got into Dva mode. "What are you going to say now that you already haven't?"

Hardin25 returns my smile. "I could start with how I am going to win this year, but you must have heard that. So, as longtime rivals and former teammates, I would suggest, for the sake of us and our other selves, we train together again. Yes, it makes no sense to do so since we're competitors again, but since the championships is in New York, you might as well come here. Maybe I can teach you a few things, and you could teach me what you know. This is the ultimate bout, and whoever wins is definitely the best. Now you may ask why I have invested interest in keeping us on our pedestals?"

"Definitely. You want to win, why should you care about me?"

"Easy. Do you want any of those other fuckers claiming that they're better than either of us? No. I will rather die than hear that Junkrat or McCree is better than would rather retire than hear Tracer or Widowmaker is better than you. But the two of us, we're already king and queen. I will only share the throne with one person. What say you?"

I don't know if Joshua or Hardin25 is asking me, but the answer is the same nonetheless. "Of course. I'll be with you in two days. For training...and for Hana, training."

Joshua deviously smiles. "I await your arrival." He signs off, and I fall back on my bed. His words hit me more than he knew. For the last four years, I was queen of the Starcraft world officially, while being of gaming in general came from my popularity. Same titles were bestowed to Joshua as well. But to officially be crown the queen of gaming...that is huge. All I had to do is make it to the finals, and my title, win or lose, is sealed.

But if I fail, the fallout, the drama, the fall from grace will be harder than it could have been last year. I will not repeat last year.