"So," Yuel started. "If Challenger really plays better based on how 'strong' he believes his opponent to be, does that mean he'll revert back to normal in the next game? After all, if we’re being brutally honest for a moment, then the last game was a very decisive one-sided massacre."

"Hmm." Vincent crossed his arms. "I'm afraid that making this kind of prediction is outside my area of expertise. Conclusions such as these are not present in the archives of the Akashic Records, at least not in the segments I'm permitted to access."

"But, there is a chance of that happening, right?"

"I suppose so. At the very least, a behavior pattern like that would be in line with how the Threat Overthrower trait works. If there’s no threat present, then there’s nothing to overthrow, simple as that."

"Okay, that's good enough to know."

Nothing was ever guaranteed when dealing with moody players whose performance swung drastically from one game to the next. So, Yuel had to make an educated guess here based on Vincent’s dubious-sounding, yet often accurate, intel.

"If this analysis is on point, then it sounds like Ben is the perfect counter to Challenger," Yuel said. "He's an expert at looking non-threatening."

"My thoughts exactly!" Vincent nodded strongly. "Perhaps I will also be able to utilize my superb acting skills to fool Challenger into lowering his guard, but for Ben, that sort of trickery comes naturally!"

"T-Trickery?" Ben fidgeted. "I'm not trying to trick anybody..."

"Exactly, that's what makes it most beautiful! Other players would have to go out of their way to convince the enemy that they weren’t a real threat, but not you. For you, looking innocent is as natural as breathing!"

"T-Thanks, I guess..." Ben wasn't even sure whether that was a good thing or not, but it was sorta true. Most of his opponents didn’t seem to think much of his skill, so they didn’t bother going too hard against him. It was probably thanks to his defensive playstyle that discouraged conflict.

I’ve always thought this is a bad thing I have to fix. Ben introspected. But, if it can help the team in this game, then maybe it's not such a bad thing, after all...

And so, it was decided. Ben will take Vincent's place for Game 4. Not only will it reinforce the team’s defense in Top, but it should also serve as an additional counter against Challenger.

I actually wonder how low Challenger’s skill level can fall. Yuel thought. In the first two games, he made a bunch of careless mistakes as a Support, so we can probably expect him to be about as careless in Top as well. That might make him an even better target for ganks than he already was.

With Nia now back in service, surprise ganks were on the table again. So, in case Challenger shows any signs of being careless, he might become a great gank target for Nia.

Bot and Mid have airtight defenses, but we might be able to bust through Top. Though of course, I don’t want to put all the eggs in one basket.

Yuel had already crafted multiple plans for combating the Leopards' new lineup, but it was going to be a rough fight no matter what. Especially because fighting against Cato and Merlin in Bot strongly resembled the feeling of facing Howard and Ellen. Both pairs excelled at stalling and baiting, making them tricky opponents to submit.

Honestly, I'm not sure we’re equipped to deal with something like this right now. Yuel frowned as soon as he drew the analogy with StormBlitz. The memory of that crushing defeat against Howard was still fresh in his mind. To this day, Yuel wasn’t able to fully overcome that frustration, and Lars was probably in the same boat.

That one fateful defeat cost them the opportunity to play on the competitive stage as part of StormBlitz. If they hadn’t defected to Stratus, then how would they have spent this year instead?

I would’ve spent the whole year spying on enemy teams and collecting data for Howard’s first-string. Yuel was sure about it because he had already done some of that work back when he was a freshman. It was a worthwhile job in its own right, but it didn't even begin to compare to the experience of playing on the first-string himself.

During the first few months, a part of me regretted leaving StormBlitz. Yuel admitted. Even now, whenever I have to deal with troublemakers like Nia and Luke, I can't help but wonder how much nicer it would have been to only have high-caliber players on the team. But, I feel like it doesn’t bother me nearly as much anymore.

Yes, Luke was a problematic memer brat, Nia was an unreliable sleepyhead, Kai was a moody player, and Vincent sometimes fell short compared to the competition. Clearly, this team had no shortage of flaws. If Yuel were their opponent in a match, then he'd come up with countless ways to exploit their weaknesses and run them into the ground.

Nonetheless, this “flawed team” was on the competitive stage right now, putting on a fight against the strongest players this region had to offer. Yes, despite Stratus’ many flaws, they were very much capable of stumping the Leopards and even winning some games.

So, all in all, I'm glad I left Storm and came here. Yuel smiled wryly. Then again, it wasn’t exactly my decision alone. If anything, it was originally HIS idea.

"Say," Yuel whispered on the way to the stage. "How do you feel about leaving StormBlitz to join Stratus? Any regrets?"

"Hm?” Lars cocked his head. “Where did that come from?"

"Just wondering."

"Hmm. Welp, it's sad that we had to leave July behind and all that."

"True."

"And well, Roi and Dan were cool dudes, too. I liked playing with them."

"Right."

"But, I ain't regretting nothing!" Lars declared. "I mean, staying in Storm would've meant skipping on all these awesome games we’re having, right? So, no way I'd ever choose to stay there. Stratus is the place to be, yo!"

"Agreed." Yuel nodded.

This underdog team, with its fair collection of questionable team members, was the place where Yuel and Lars belonged now. Right now, Stratus was a far cry from a prestigious team like StormBlitz and the Leopards, so their chances of winning the regionals were equally slimmer. But, Yuel and Lars will make it work.

"Let's win this one."

"Yeah, we got this, believe it!"

With somewhat revived confidence, Stratus headed into the fourth game of the day.

In a way, this was the decisive game of the day. Not only because the Leopards will be crowned the winners of the scrim if they win this one, but also because this was Stratus' last chance to drag the mysterious Korean player to the stage.

But, we can worry about that part later. Yuel thought. Sorry Howard, but I'm not going to dance to your tune the entire day. I agree that it's important for us to fight the Korean player as soon as possible, but I shouldn’t prioritize that over everything else.

A scrimmage was an event where players got to test their mettle against other strong competitors. The goal was to see how far the team could go, as well as what worked and what didn’t. Winning or losing was just the end result. It's the process that mattered the most.

But of course, I'll still do everything in my power to ensure that we win. Yuel asserted. I won't be satisfied with reducing this entire game to a practice session for Ben and Nia. Sure, this is technically a practice game, but it's a serious game all the same!

With these renewed realizations and convictions, Yuel and the team headed into the fourth game!