Yuel took most of the blame upon himself for the situation in Top, but the others didn't quite agree.

Nia shifted her eyes from side to side. Should I say something? I feel like I should, but I don’t know what…

After all, Nia wasn't an alien robot with 200 IQ, so she didn't fully understand all the considerations Yuel had to take for that shot-call even after he tried to explain them. Nonetheless, there was one thing she DID know for sure.

I almost had that scary Orc. If I just did everything in the right order, then I should've gotten the kill. Yeah, I'm almost sure of it.

She felt like she was just as responsible as Yuel about this failure, if not more. But of course, it wasn't something she wanted to admit. Not openly, at least.

I'll just make up for it by killing the Orc next time. Nia decided. H-He's super scary, but I’ll pull it off! Probably. Yeah…

Apprentece was the most terrifying adversary Nia had faced to date. And yet, more than being scared, she was determined to slay this monster.

What is this weird feeling, I wonder? Nia had no idea how to explain any of this illogical stuff. Even though she should’ve been scared shitless, she found herself surprisingly gung-ho about taking Apprentece out.

Is this why people enjoy playing competitively? So they can hunt monsters?

Until now, this whole premise of having schools compete with each other didn’t really make much sense to Nia. She didn’t understand what was the point of organizing such a bloody competition for a video game that could be played online.

Like, seriously. Bringing players onto the stage and placing them in front of an audience, all seemed excessive. What was the point of it even?

But today, Nia finally started feeling like maybe there’s a point to it, after all. Bringing all these talented players onto one stage invoked war between the biggest monsters of the region.

These guys were unlikely to run into each other in Ranked. And even if they did, the stakes wouldn’t be the same. There wouldn’t be as much tension in the air.

So, scrims must’ve existed to arrange such monster vs. monster matchups. Such fights were as scary as they were enticing.

Until now, I thought I wanted nothing to do with any of this. But, this Orc…

Honestly, this Apprentece guy was kinda triggering. Not only did this guy counter Nia's sneaky gank, but he even turned the tables on her when she DID manage to sneak up on him. And, that happened under the tower, where Nia should’ve had an absolute advantage.

Seriously, that was hax. A player like that was not allowed to exist, especially not at a middle school level.

Everybody agrees, right? Nia thought. The entire team thinks this guy is a cheat. A monster like that shouldn't be legal. It's too scary.

Nia had the habit of calling many things "scary", but this time it wasn't just about her. The entire team would easily agree that Apprentece was just too scary to be real.

I don't like that. Not one bit. Nia grumped. Countering my stealth is a no-no. I have to make it work on him, at least once...!

Despite just being killed by a monster. Nia couldn't wait to jump back into the fray and gank this scary guy again. Next time, it'll work for sure...!

Actually, the second attempt almost worked, too. Nia thought. So, I really don't get why Yuel is blaming himself so hard here. His shot-call was fine. I could've finished the guy off if I played a little better, I think.

Nia really wanted to object to the way Yuel self-deprecated himself but she failed to find the right words. Mainly because the only words of encouragement she could think of involved owning up to her own mistakes. Gufu...

"I, um, well..." Nia opened and closed her mouth. She had a broad idea of what she wanted to say, but she couldn't string any words together. "... anyway, I think your shot-call was ok."

"How so?" Yuel asked.

"Well, I almost killed the guy, right? It was real close and stuff."

"It looked close, yes. But, in the end, it wasn't enough. My shot-call almost gave the enemy a double kill."

"Well, yeah, true, I guess..." Nia twisted her lips. It felt like anything she said would ricochet back at her.

Wasn't there anything better she could say? Something that even a smartass like Yuel wouldn’t be able to counter?

Well, there is that one thing, but... Nia clammed up. Maybe I should just say it. Ben admitted to what he thinks he did wrong, so...

It was tough. Nia considered herself an expert at running away from criticism, but now she was about to invite it upon herself. Masochism much?

"I... I messed up a little," Nia admitted. "Just a little, ok? I should've picked my shots better against that dang Orc. I could've killed him, I think. Yeah."

There, she said it. She finally admitted out loud that much of the fault lay with her execution! Gulp.

"............" Yuel said nothing. He just stared blankly at the weird creature speaking to him.

"W-What?"

"Who are you and what did you do to Nia?"

"Eh?” Nia blinked in confusion and checked around her. “Did I get abducted by aliens and replaced? Scary."

"I have no other explanation," Yuel said. "The Nia I know wouldn't admit to something like that unless I pressure her into it."

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"Well, that Apprentece guy just triggers me outta my mind." Nia puffed her little cheeks. "So, I’m saying I almost got him this time because next time I’m going to get him for sure! Probably."

"Even though you keep saying he’s 'scary'?"

"Yeah, even though he's super scary and stuff.” Nia nodded. “So, if you arrange another good opportunity like that, I'm sure I can...!"

The words just flowed out of her mouth. Blood must've rushed to her head because she had no idea how she was brave enough to spout such nonsense.

W-Waitwaitwait! Nia froze. D-Did I really just say all of that out loud!? Gufu! I, um, well...

It was too late. She had already uttered all that stuff out loud and Yuel heard it. Yikes!

It took Yuel a moment to respond to this. "I'm surprised you feel so strongly about this.”

"Well, that's..." Nia shifted her eyes away. Her embarrassment level was over 9000! "I'm just a bit salty that he countered my first gank, ok? So, lemme have revenge."

"I see. Very well." Yuel nodded. "I'll try to arrange another gank opportunity for you, if possible. And, this time, it'll be a good one, I promise."

"Ok, deal."

But, will I even be able to arrange such an opportunity? Yuel wondered. This game is about to become very one-sided...

The enemy claimed Top Turret so early into the game, and Apprentece gained tons of momentum as an Orc. So, Stratus was currently headed toward severe beatdown.

Can we still achieve anything here? Anything at all? Yuel felt his fighting spirit slipping away. Even though normally he was the type to fight his hardest until the bitter end, this one game just seemed beyond hopeless.

"Relax, my dude," Lars spoke out of nowhere. "You look like you're dying inside, haha."

"And how does that look, exactly?"

"Ya all frowning and lowering yo head and stuff. That ain’t good, yo! Ya gotta look these dudes straight in the eye because ain't over yet!"

"It’s not?" Yuel blurted. Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that...

"... wait, wut?” Lars had a pause. “Did you seriously give up or something?"

"No, I..." Yuel averted his eyes. "It’s just that this game seems almost hopeless, that's all."

"Dang, so it's that bad, huh." Lars smiled wryly. "Welp, I don't understand all them complicated strats and whatnot, but even I can tell that things ain't looking good. Like, Orc + Momentum = Bad News. This is math that even I understand."

"Correct."

"So yep, the situation sounds real rough. But, who cares?"

"... excuse me?"

"None of it really matters, right?” Lars claimed. “This is just a scrim, after all. I mean, I also wanna win and stuff, but we ain't gonna lose the regionals over this."

"Well, losing this scrim will hurt our seeding," Yuel said. "But no, it won’t single-handedly determine how we’ll fare at the regionals."

"Right? So, there ain't no reason to mop about it, yo! Even if we end up losing in the end, for now, we still have time to get back at that Orc dude and show him that we ain't pushovers!"

"True," Yuel agreed.

"Right?” Lars nodded repeatedly. “I really wanna fight that dude at least once before the game is over, and even Nia is saying she wants to throw hands. We’ve still got the rest of the game to keep challenging that Chinese pro dude!"

"He's Korean."

"Oh yeah, right. Isn't that part of China, tho?"

"... no, it's in a completely different part of Asia. Who taught you geography?"

"I dunno dude, all that 'Asia' place sounds like fiction to me, to be honest. Never saw it with my own two eyes, haha."

"Seriously…?" Yuel made a face. Just when I thought he was saying something unexpectedly smart for a change… now he's back to being the usual goof. Oh well.

All in all, Lars made a good point. This was ultimately just a scrimmage, therefore losing won't be the end of the world. In fact, most teams in the region would consider 2-3 a great achievement against the Leopards.

Of course, we're aiming higher than that, but that's for the regionals. All in all, I believe we’ve played decently today.

Before today's scrim, Stratus was just an underdog team. Nobody expected them to put up such a fight against the regional champions, let alone corner the champions into a 2-2 situation. It was a great achievement, all things considered.

We even forced them to bring out their ace. Yuel thought. So, now that we have a rare opportunity to spar with this Korean prodigy, we should focus on taking him down.

Figuring out a way to defeat Appretnece might even be more important for Stratus than claiming victory in this particular practice game. Learning the enemy’s weaknesses will serve them well during the real match at the regionals.

This might also be the last time he makes an appearance on the stage before the regionals. Yuel reasoned. Not all teams will be able to force him to take the stage.

For years now, the entire competitive scene in the region was dominated by the Leopards and StormBlitz, with Taurus being a frequent runner-up. There weren't any other capable middle school teams in this region.

I suppose today’s result actually puts us in the top 3 of the region. Yuel realized. Nobody will treat us as an underdog after this match.

Naturally, this kind of promotion came with its own share of trouble. This meant that future opponents would research Stratus’ playstyle more extensively than before, making it harder than ever for the team to reach the finals.

But, that’s a small price to pay. From the get-go, Lars and I have been planning to turn this underdog team into the strongest in the region, and we’re almost there already.

With Taurus already defeated, only two more giants stood in Strauts’ path to the top: StormBlitz and the Leopards. And, at least against the Leopards, Stratus had already proven that they could fight toe-to-toe. As such, winning the regionals was no longer a dream at this point.

That’s all great news, but this isn’t what we're here for today. Yuel reminded himself. This isn't the regionals, it's just a scrim. So, as much as I'd like to win, as Lars said, winning isn't everything here. Firstmost, our goal should be to improve as players and to study our opponents as much as possible.

So yes, perhaps this match was lost as a whole, but it didn't mean Stratus suddenly became powerless. They were still very much capable of taking down Apprentece!

Lars is still eager to keep fighting, and even Nia is the same, as uncharacteristic as that is. So, I can't be the one to throw the towel here. Yuel nodded to himself. For starters, I’ll find a way to slow down their momentum in order to give us more time to try things. Who knows, we might even turn the tables on them in the process.

Yuel took a deep breath and focused on his job as the shot-caller. There were still many unfinished things to be done here, so this wasn't over, not yet!

So, now that you've taken the Top Turret, what will be your next move, "pro"? Yuel posed the question to Apprentece, the ever-looming threat of this entire game.

For now, Apprentece had no choice but to recall to base. The injuries he sustained during Nia's attack were surely too much to write off as a flesh wound, even for him.

The real question was: where will Apprentece head next? With Top being completely under his dominion, there was no guarantee he’d return over there right way.

What would I’ve done in his shoes? Yuel wondered. Given the board state, I probably would've made rotated to Mid or Bot. Maybe even both, one after another.

With Orc's damage output, Apprentece could contest Mid all by himself even against a mage. If he opts to do so, then that would give Theorist the opportunity to recall to the base.

After doing that, Apprentece might try a similar tactic on Bot. These will be very strong plays that will allow the Leopards to turn their overwhelming advantage even more stable.

But, was Apprentece the type of player who’d “waste” his own time to help out his teammates? That was something only the guy himself will be able to answer with his next play...