“Kai,” Yuel called out. “I forgot to ask you something during the break. What was your impression of Merlin’s Aeromancer?”

“Pft, my impression?” Kai sneered. “Bastard is a bona fide turtle, that’s the long and short of my impression. He was such a damn pain in the ass. Damn, I get irritated just from remembering it.”

“It was that bad?”

“Hell yeah, it was. The bastard straight-up refuses to fight, no matter what. He doesn’t even care if I outfarm him as long as he’s safe. He’d rather leech off his Jungler’s help than try to confront me. Disgusting.”

“Yes, that does sound to be his usual playstyle.” Yuel nodded. “But, I was asking more about his skill with Aeromancer. Did it look like he was good with it?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that, in a way.” Kai shrugged. “I mean, he barely ever dragged his lazy ass into any fights, but he usually got the job done when he wanted to. He even deflected the few attacks I fired at him, though it’s hardly an achievement for somebody who turtles 24/7.”

“I see.” Yuel knotted his brows. It sounds like Merlin can wield his Aeromancer pretty well. That’s a little disappointing. Was my guess off the mark?

Back when he was analyzing the Leopards, there was one particular detail that stood out. It was regarding Merlin and the guy’s apparent lack of class variety.

While most of the Leopards rotated through multiple different classes in a healthy manner, Merlin stuck with just Warlock for all the games he participated in. No matter what his teammates picked, no matter what his opponents picked - Merlin only ever played Warlock.

That led to a certain hypothesis: perhaps Merlin was only good at playing Warlock? It was a long shot, considering Merlin was a member of the Leopards, but it wasn’t too out there.

After all, last year, Freezer was exactly that kind of player. Once Yuel banned Warlock, the guy received an obvious blow to his performance.

Unfortunately, the Warlock ban didn’t seem to tickle Merlin at all. The guy went straight for Aeromancer next, and according to Kai, the guy’s performance didn’t suffer in any notable way. He still “got the job done”, same as always.

So, either my initial impression of Merlin was wrong, or Aeromancer is his second favorite. Hmm.

Of course, a single game wasn't enough to prove anything, but it was a fair assumption. And so, that begged the question: what was Merlin’s third favorite class?

I can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t have many classes in his arsenal. Yuel insisted even though he couldn’t quite explain what he was basing this conviction on. He just reminds me of Freezer so much. Not just the fact he likes Warlock, but also that passive yet efficient playstyle.

Both Freezer and Merlin seemed to worship the concept of being “lazy and effective”. The mentality radiated from their playstyles and likely extended to their training regimes as well.

As such, there was a very good chance that Merlin didn’t bother practicing too many classes. If so, banning every class he plays on stage might lead to something.

“I’d like to ban Aeromancer,” Yuel informed. “There is no deep or particularly sophisticated reason behind it. I just want to see what Merlin will pick next.”

“I see, I see.” Vincent nodded strongly. “You are scouting the enemy’s options via the drafting phase, are you not? Brilliant strategy! As expected from Chessmaster!”

“Well, you won’t hear any objections from me,” Kai said. “I’d ban every defensive mage if it was possible. That turtle seriously gets on my nerves.”

And so, it was decided. For the third and last ban of this phase, Yuel removed Aeromancer from the table.

At the moment, it was impossible for him to know whether that was a good decision or not. However, on the other side of the stage, the Leopards immediately reacted to this ban...

“Ugh...” Matthew growled. “Seriously?”

“My, my, my.” Cato smiled meaningfully. “It looks like they’re onto you, my boy.”

“Why me?” Matthew made a face. “I didn’t stand out last game or anything, did I?”

“Nope, I wouldn’t say you did.”

“Then why...?”

“A good question,” William interjected. “I expected them to go after me this time. Hmph.”

My, is somebody getting jealous over here~? Cato smiled impishly. “I agree, it’s a little odd. I would’ve expected them to target literally anybody other than Matt. That is, unless they somehow figured that Matt is a lazy bum who doesn’t practice many classes.”

“That’s impossible,” Matthew insisted. “They may have figured I like Warlock, I guess that was pretty obvious. But, once I picked Aero, how could they guess that it’s one of my few favorites? I’ve never picked it in the previous scrims until now.”

“That’s correct,” Sonya verified from her memory. “You really picked Warlock in every game because nobody ever banned it. Though, now that I think about it, that’s an odd match record in itself. At the very least, I would have found it suspicious if I were analyzing it as your opponent.”

“I was just using an easy class against weak teams.” Matthew shrugged. “And hey, maybe I used only one class in order to reveal as little data as possible to the enemy scouts? Wouldn’t you conclude something like that?”

“It definitely sounds like a reasonable conclusion when you explain it to me like this,” Sonya agreed. “But, you can’t know for sure how other teams will interpret it. Maybe Stratus assumed it means you can only play Warlock.”

“Really? Even though I’m on the Leopards’ first-string?” Matthew scowled. “Why would they even think that? There’s no way I’d be here if I were that kind of lousy player.”

“True.” Cato nodded. “Then again, there’s no harm in testing you, is there? It seems to me they didn’t have any better bans in mind, so they decided to target you and see what happens.”

“Why me...” Matthew muttered. “What a pain. Well, then Sorcerer is next.”

“Like clockwork, I see.” Cato smiled wryly. “It’d be really nice if you diversified your options a little.”

“This again? We talked about it so many times. I thought you agreed that this is fine.”

“Yes, it is fine for now because you improve faster by focusing on just a few classes. But, at some point, you’re bound to reach a plateau, that’s when you’ll have to start branching out.”

“It’s not like I can’t play other classes, you know. Besides, three main classes with no weaknesses should be enough to handle any situation.”

“Yes, except for the situations in which the enemy starts a witch hunt and bans all your classes right away.”

“I don’t think I’m the kind of player who warrants that much attention.” Matthew shrugged. “Heck, I still don't get why they went after me twice. But, I bet that’s as far as they’ll go. So, having three main classes is fine.”

Unfortunately, your “third” class is already a little behind the others because you haven’t been giving it as much attention. Cato kept that analysis to himself so they could move on.

Hmm. I’m sure Matt can handle things with Sorcerer for the most part, but I should keep an eye on Mid just in case. Cato made a mental note. Unlike with Warlock and Aero, I’m not as sure he can handle Beat by himself with Sorcerer.

With Matthew’s two main classes banned, it’s like he was demoted from a bishop piece to a knight piece. It was just a slight demotion, but a demotion nonetheless.

I hope nobody notices his slight decline in performance. Cato thought. It’ll haunt us for the rest of the year if other teams figure this out.

If every team starts banning Matthew’s main classes, then the Leopards might find themselves in some trouble. It won’t have a big impact on the regionals, but it’ll definitely come back to bite them at the nationals.

Worst case, I’ll have to cover up for him during the game. Cato concluded. But, first thing first, let’s wrap up this banning phase.

The Leopards had to ban one more class before proceeding to the drafting phase. And, since they were going second this round, then the responsibility of banning Shadow Walker fell on them. Or, did it?

If Memer is really just a memer, then he’s never going to pick a top-tier meta-slave class like Shadow. So, it’ll be really fun to leave the option on the table and see how Stratus responds ~

No matter what Stratus does in response, it’ll result in valuable information either way. If Yuel doesn’t pick Shadow Walker, then it’ll reinforce the idea that LegendaryMemer was really nothing more than a memer. On the other hand, if they do pick Shadow Walker, then it’ll mean that Memer was a fraud and nothing more than a meta-slave in disguise.

Coach did say that Shadow is no longer a “must-ban” after the recent patch, so it’s “up to us” to decide. Cato thought. So, he probably wouldn't mind it if I leave Shadow open in order to gain information. Buuuuuuuuut no.

Cato ended up banning Shadow Walker as the protocol demanded. Of course, nobody had any objections to this predictable decision.

We can’t afford to take any unnecessary risks, not after how the previous game turned out. Coach has already chewed us out pretty hard, so this time, we’ll do this properly.

The Leopards were the regional champions, the team everybody was expecting to dominate the competition. Meanwhile, their opponents were Stratus, the “dark horse” of the region. Until just recently, that team was dubbed the “weakest” of the region

Clearly, with Yuel and Gunz leading the team, that cursed title was but a thing of the past. Nonetheless, surely everybody still expected the Leopards to stomp Stratus.

So, we have to do just that. Cato asserted. And of course, I also personally want to stomp Yuel reaaaaally good~ Besides, my team clearly has the superior pieces, so I can’t let this be a “close” match. I have to destroy him thoroughly so that nobody doubts my victory.

And so, the banning phase came to an end. Next, it was Stratus' turn to pick their first class.

So, how will you come at me this time, Yuel? Cato snickered. Let’s see what nonsensical game plan you have for round 2.

There was something satisfying about watching a defeated opponent try to crawl their way up in the second game. After being so thoroughly beaten, was their soul already crushed? Or, did they mentally recover and come up with a new game plan, foolishly believing they had a chance in this new round?

I sincerely hope it’s the latter so that we can crush their souls once again~ Cato smiled impishly. But well, I probably won’t be able to figure out Yuel’s mental state from the first pick. After all, drafting openings are usually fairly standard-

『The enemy team selected Dark Knight.』

“... eh?” Cato blinked. His smug turned into a dumb smile.

“Whoa!” Ronald exclaimed.

“Are they serious...?” Sonya frowned.

“Huh.” William scoffed.

The enemy’s first pick came out immediately as if it was planned in advance. And, the pick was something between a bad joke and total lunacy…