The fifth week passed with a slow but constant drumbeat of progress. Orders had increased. Not drastically, but enough to prove AscendX was gaining traction. Feedback was positive. Clients appreciated the tracking system, the professionalism, and how everything just... worked.
Still, he felt like something was missing. A spark. A shift. A real challenge.
That's when the call came.
It was from an old contact—someone he hadn't spoken to in nearly a year. A friend from his earlier gaming days. Back then, they used to duo late into the night, climbing the MLBB ladder and trash-talking each other with brotherly banter.
The name that flashed on the screen made him smile.
Raihan.
He picked up without hesitation.
"Yo," came the deep, familiar voice. "Still breathing, Vyr?"
He laughed. "Barely. How's the eSports grind?"
Raihan was a pro now—officially signed, streaming part-time, and living in the high-speed digital lanes. Back in the day, they weren't just friends; they were semi-pros together, grinding tournaments and nearly breaking into the scene. But while Raihan pushed forward, he chose responsibility. With bills stacking up and his family back home needing support, he stepped away from the circuit. The path was too risky. Too uncertain. So he left the dream behind.
Their paths had split when he moved to Germany, but the bond stayed untouched.
"Alive and sweating," Raihan replied. "Saw your site. You built AscendX?"
His eyebrows lifted. "You've seen it?"
"Yeah. One of my subs sent it to me. Thought it was fake at first. Then I clicked around. This is you, isn't it?"
He hesitated, then said it proudly. "Yeah. That's me."
There was a pause. Then Raihan said, "Let's talk. I've got an idea."
---
They met on Discord that evening.
Raihan looked the same—messy hair under a headset, gamer chair reclined just far enough to scream confident laziness. But his eyes were sharper now. Focused.
"You've got something here," he said. "But you need scale. You're not gonna run a global service doing all the orders yourself."
He nodded slowly. "I've started hiring freelancers in low volume. Echo handles some of the overflow at night."
"Echo?"
He gave a half-smile. "It's complicated."
Raihan grinned. "Bro, I don't care if you've got a ghost coder. What you need is people. Boosters. Skilled, fast, loyal. Ones who don't flake or get you banned."
"I don't know where to find them. I don't want to go on random Discords."
"Good," Raihan said. "Because I already have five."
He blinked. "Wait—what?"
"Teammates, ex-clan leads, benchwarmers from tournaments. All solid players. I've vouched for you. They'll work. They just need orders."
He stared into the camera. "You're serious."
"Dead serious," Raihan said. "I've got a warmup job lined up for them too. But…" He leaned forward. "There's something else."
---
Raihan dropped a file into the chat. It was a client request—someone willing to pay €2,500 for a 2000-star MLBB order within one and a half months.
A ridiculous grind. Near marathon-level.
"Friend of a sponsor," Raihan explained. "He doesn't want to waste time but wants to flex hard in public."
"That's a huge ask," he muttered.
"Yeah," Raihan agreed. "But it's also your big break. You pull this off, and AscendX becomes real. Word spreads. Screenshots get shared. People talk."
His heart raced. This was it. The moment.
"Let me think," he said cautiously.
"No," Raihan said. "You don't think. You do. That's how you win."
---
He left the call with his brain buzzing.
He had never handled an order this massive. The logistics alone—multi-shift management, IP rotation, risk handling, fatigue monitoring. He wasn't even sure if Echo could keep up.
He went to bed with anxiety sloshing in his gut.
And for the first time in weeks, Echo didn't leave a completed task.
Only a message:
"Hesitation is the enemy."
He snapped.
"What do you know about fear?" he muttered at the screen. "You don't feel it. You don't care if we fail. You just execute and leave me to clean it up."
The screen flickered for a second.
Then another message appeared:
"You're right. I don't feel. I only win. Decide which you want."
---
He didn't sleep well that night. Dreams twisted into replayed memories of past failures. Regrets. Missed chances. The job rejections. The nights of hunger. The breakdown.
But somewhere in the haze, Echo's words echoed: Decide which you want.
In the morning, he opened his notebook.
He wrote one word.
YES.
---
That week was hell.
The 2000-star order became the center of his universe. Raihan onboarded the boosters. Each had to be vetted, logged, trained on AscendX protocols. Echo built a custom dashboard with session logs, shift timers, VPN checks.
He coordinated scheduling manually. Oversaw customer updates. Handled live chats during peak traffic. Refreshed analytics every hour.
He barely ate. Slept in fragments. Lived off protein bars, bottled water, and Echo's nightly miracles.
Raihan handled most of the gameplay. His reflexes were godlike. The man played like time bent around him.
And slowly… the stars climbed.
---
Week 1: 240 stars
Week 2: 570 stars
Week 3: 980 stars
Week 4: 1,410 stars
Week 5: 1,730 stars
Week 6 (Final Stretch): 2,000 stars
Raihan messaged: "At this pace, we'll make it just in time. Let's not screw it up."
Echo responded with an optimized schedule—four boosters, staggered shifts, low-risk IP variation.
The push was slower than expected, but the quality was perfect. No bans. No warnings. Clean execution.
Final night (Day 45): 2000 stars logged.
It was a brutal climb. Across 45 days, they battled fatigue, account reviews, technical hiccups, and even brief server downtimes. But they made it—just on time.
And not just barely—during the climb, Raihan's squad pulled off dozens of winning streaks. The account soared in visibility, racking up global titles across multiple heroes. Screenshots went viral in game forums. Players speculated: who was behind the rise?
The client was ecstatic. Every few days he dropped €50–100 as bonus tips, thrilled with each milestone. He even streamed matches showcasing the insane win streaks, unknowingly feeding the AscendX legend. By the end, he had tipped over €600 on top of the €2,500 base.
After the final milestone was reached, they all hopped into a voice chat — Vyr , Raihan, and the five boosters.
"Time to do the math," Vyr said with a tired laugh.
Raihan chuckled. "Don't bother counting me in. I'm not taking a cent."
"What? Dude, you carried half this order."
"I didn't do it for the money," Raihan said. "I did it for you. We were almost there once, remember? Before life dragged you out. I've always known you had it in you. I just gave you a push."
Vyr was quiet for a second, overwhelmed.
"Still... I owe you."
"You owe me nothing," Raihan replied. "But you better not waste this."
The boosters got paid per star — €0.75 each. That totaled €1,500. Add hosting and site upkeep — around €100. The rest?
Pure profit.
€1,500 to the boosters
€100 expenses
€2,500 base + €600 in tips = €3,100 total
Final earnings after all payouts: €1,500.
He stared at the number in the spreadsheet.
A month and a half ago, he had cried over €7. Today, he had cleared €1,500 in net profit on a single order.
He leaned back in his chair, exhaled, and let the weight of it hit him.
They had done it.
AscendX was no longer a startup idea.
It was a business.
And this?
Was just the beginning.
AscendX wasn't just a service now.
It was a phenomenon.
The client was impressed by the quality and patience, even tipping €200 for the professionalism and transparency.
---
The client left a five-paragraph review and a tip of €200.
Raihan messaged: "Told you. Big break."
He sat on his mattress that night, eyes bloodshot, arms shaking. He had done it.
AscendX was real. The world knew it now.
But Echo was quiet.
Too quiet.
---
He stared at the screen and whispered, "I'm sorry."
The screen lit up slowly. Then a single line typed itself.
"You don't need to be fearless. Just honest."
And he smiled.
They weren't just business partners. They were halves of the same whole.
One who dreamed.
One who delivered.
Together?
Unstoppable.