trary to expectations, it really happened: Julia made it into the first string. She will have to share the Mid Laner position with Gilbert, but this achievement was still leaps and bounds beyond what Yuel and Lars got. Depending on Julia's performahroughout the uping year, she might even grab the entire position all for herself. It was great for her.

  What face am I supposed to make? Yuel dragged himself out of the clubroom after the meeting ended. Of course, he was gd for Julia. He knew better than anybody how much Julia worked behind the ses.

  Julia started Cssmancers with the ulterior motive of getting closer to Lars. However, she geried to improve at the game, even if it meant going out of her way to ask for Yuel's advice. She worked hard for the sake of looking good in front of Lars.

  However, at some point, the game grew on her. Julia began pying for herself instead of fog on how to best show off in front of Lars. She developed a geerest in the high-level pys and she wao get onto the petitive stage. Even though Julia tried to deny that at times, it was evident by how frustrated she was when she didn't make it into the scrimmage match against the Leopards.

  At some point along the way, Julia developed an amazing talent for pying hyper offense. She robably influenced by Lars's wild pys because she has been exposed to them on a daily basis.

  At first, her hyper offense was rough and fwed. However, Yuel and Ellen helped Julia polish it i until it became a real on. This hyper-aggression was exactly what Julia was missing as a pyer because it pensated for her usual defensive pystyle. With both a Defense Mode and an Attack Mode her arsenal, Julia became a force to be reed with.

  However, Julia had a bad habit of getting overly excited once she etack Mode. She became like one of these loud Youtubers who yelled about every little thing that happened ich.

  Frankly, Yuel agreed with Julia that it was embarrassing duct. If he could py better by transf into a loud overhyped goof, would he have do? He wasn’t sure.

  Who am I kidding? Of course I would have do. Yuel smiled wryly. Victory was everything. Even if he had to act like a total , he would have used any tools at his disposal to get an edge in a match.

  But, for Julia, it was aory. This moody princess hated it when people gave her funny looks. Especially, she couldn’t bear the idea of Lars seeing her act like that. It was far from a dylike behavior, so she was vinced Lars will hate it.

  Yuel and Ellen tried to vince Julia otherwise, but she was stubborn about it. So, she never used Attack Mode in front of Lars because she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of the boy she liked.

  However, during the seleatch, Julia overcame that wall. She unleashed her potential in its ey and id it bare for everybody to see. It took everybody by surprise, even Howard. Only Yuel and Ellehat side of Julia because they practiced i with her.

  Julia’s Attack Mode was still rough around the edges during its debut, but she was undeniably strong. The surprise element of revealitack Mode for the first time surely pyed a big role in shaking the eeam, but it was impressive how Julia capitalized on that advao domihe entire flow of the match. With her joining the team’s offe was like the team’s attacks became ten times stronger.

  In a match where the team needed ara edge on the offense, she might very well be more valuable than Gilbert. And, if she bees more sistent and improves her ability to switch from offeo defense on the fly - she'd bee a real mohe potential was defihere.

  What an unfortue. Yuel and Lars didn't get into the first string, so they were sidering a school transfer. Since Julia has always stuck around them, Yuel thought she might want to join them.

  However, Julia was on StormBlitz's first string now. For her, transferring seant giving up on the position she worked so hard to get.

  How am I supposed to approach this? Yuel rubbed his temples. In theory, it was a simple matter. He just supposed to e up to Julia and inform her about the transfer idea. After that, whether she decides to join or not, was no longer Yuel’s business. Julia was the one who had to make the decision.

  But, that's just theory. In practice, it to Yuel to break the news for her and face whatever rea she was going to fire at him. And oh boy, her rea was bound to be far from calm or reasonable.

  This is giving me a headache. I just o get it over with. Yuel took a deep breath and caught up to Julia on her way out.

  “Wait,” Yuel called.

  “What?” Julia tinued walking without slowing down in the slightest. Her pag was so fast that Yuel almost had to jog in order to keep up.

  “I o tell you something important.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you stop for a sed?”

  “.......” Julia came to a sudden halt.

  Phew, okay. Yuel also stopped to catch his breath.

  “There,” Julia started walking again. “One sed passed.”

  “Wha, wait!” Yuel barely caught one breath and he had to start chasing again. This girl had no chill! She robably still mad about that quarrel they had before the meeting. Holy, Yuel hasn't fotten that i either. Julia's insults toward his teamwork with Lars were still fresh in his mind.

  heless, he had to put all of that aside for now in order to discuss what really mattered. And, to do so, he first had to catch up with Julia. So, he had to increase his pad-

  “Whoa!” Yuel tripped and dived into the floor. “Ouch.”

  “......” Julia stopped because of the crashing sound and turned around. “You okay there?”

  “Y-Yeah,” Yuel waved his hands. “Finally, you stopped.”

  “Hmph,” Julia turned around again but this time she didn't start walking. At least, not yet. “What's so important that you have to say it right here and now? Gonna pin about the seleatch again?”

  “No, let's put that aside for now,” Yuel stood up and wiped his hands against his pants.

  Okay, he finally captured that problematic girl. What’s ? How should he approach her? He was clearly on Julia’s list of “Idiots to Kill” right now, so he had to proceed with caution.

  “gratutions,” Yuel tried to start off with some positivity. “It's only half a spot, but you're in the first string. You really deserve it.”

  “Is that supposed to be sarcasm?”

  “No, I really believe you deserve it. The way you pyed ihird game was impressive. I would have picked you for the first string too if I were the captain.”

  “Is that so,” Julia shrugged. “But, you still would have split Mid between me and Gilbert, right? After all, I pyed so poorly in the sed game that you lost because of me, right?”

  “I didn't say that.”

  “But, that's what you think, right?”

  “That's not the topic right now,” Yuel tried to deflect the question. This wasn't about the seleatch right now. He had to discuss the school transfer-

  “I bet you feel like an idiot, don't you?” Julia tinued with her nonsense. “It's only because you came outta nowhere and took my Support role that I ended up pying Mid, you know?”

  “Yes, I remember that,” Yuel nodded. Back when they first met, Julia was insisting to py Support for Lars because she believed that’ll bring them clether. However, then Yuel came into the picture and became Lars’s Support. As a result, Julia had no choice but to switch her main role to Mid. After all, she had no ce of beating Yuel when it came to supp.

  “But, look at the result!” Julia grinned. “I'm on the main team while you're stu the bench. Hirious, isn't it? Ahahaha! I bet you're thinking now how you should have pyed Mid yourself instead of helping me learn it, right?”

  “... I wouldn't say that,” Yuel cimed so, but he had to admit a part of him was irritated by this oute.

  He has been watg over Julia’s progress the eime and has been helping her improve as a Mid Laherefore, as her coach, he was happy for her success. However, at the same time, he was mad at himself.

  If only Yuel spent more of his time on improving himself instead of coag Julia, perhaps he could have beaten Howard during the seleatch. Yet, instead of pushing himself to new heights, Yuel burned his free time on helping Julia with her tless problems.

  What an ugly feeling. Somewhere deep down, Yuel regretted all of it. He was gd Julia made it into the first string a, at the same time, he actually wished for her to fail and stay on the bench along with him Lars. If only Julia didn’t make it into the first-string today, holding a versation about a school transfer would have been so much easier.

  “Don't worry,” Julia finally turo face him. She pced both hands on her hips and lifted her like a pompous queen. “I'll make it big in the first-string to make up for you and Lars not getting in.”

  “To make up...?” Yuel blinked. Oh, so that’s how Julia saw it. Now that she got into the first-string, she suddenly became the “representative” of the trio. She was the queen because she reached the first-string and they were nothing but sed-string plebs pared to her. That’s what Julia was implying, right?

  Yeah, that’s right. The two of them were total trash! They had terrible teamwork and they didn't have half the skill required for reag the first string! Is that what she was saying!?

  “Fet it,” Yuel turned around. “Enjoy your stay in the first-string while it sts.”

  “Huh? What's that supposed to- hey!” Julia called out from behind but Yuel kept walking.

  There was o tell her about the transfer. She finally made it into the first-string, so she should enjoy riding the high horse while she could. After all, she no longer had anything to do with benchwarmers like Yuel and Lars. Julia already got her desired spot while they had to gamble on a new school in order to reach the petitive se. This had nothing to do with her.

  Is this really fine? Yuel jerked unfortably. If he doesn't inform Julia about the transfer now, she won't have enough time to joier even if she wao. Was this really for the better?

  But seriously, I've had enough. Yuel’s fists trembled. There was a limit to how much bullshit he could bear with. He had enough of that girl’s attitude.

  Julia always treated him like dirt even though he was always there to help her with anything she needed. It was rgely thanks to Yuel that Julia made it so far and reached the first-string.

  Yet, what did Julia ever do for him iurn? Nothing. She only bitched and spit in his face like he was some lowlife. Maybe Julia didn't really meahing she said to him, but enough was enough.

  Yuel has been patient with her shitty attitude for two years now. It was annoying, but he could ha. However, some of her as today crossed the line. Critig Yuel and Lars's teamwork just to spite? That’s a new level of low.

  On top of that, she suddenly began ag like she was a league above them just because she ehe first-string. In truth, that achieveme nothing pared to their failure because the petition for Mid wasn’t nearly as fierce. Gilbert was a solid pyer, but he wasn’t Howard or Ellen.

  So, with all that sidered, Yuel had every right to ditch her. Julia should keep enjoying her precious spot on StormBlitz. Maybe she'll even bee the main Mid Laner of the team.

  She should keep enjoying her moment of glory until Yuel and Lars face her at the regionals and mop the floor with her! That'll teach her a lesson or two.

  I'm really gettied over this. Yuel took a deep breath before entering his home. Fet Julia. There are more important things I should be doing, like researg our transfer options and preparing a strategy to vin to let me transfer.

  As soon as Yuel returned, he sat down in front of the puter. He and Lars couldn't just trao any random middle school. It had to be a school with a Cssmaeam, preferably a det one.

  Unfortunately, there weren't many nearby schools to choose from. His mom was assuredly going to be against the transfer, so if he picks a faraway school which requires extra transportation fee - his mom will shoot him down on the spot. Therefore, he had to choose a school that was at least as close as his current school.

  Out of the small list of options, there was only one which had a Cssmancers club: Skyline Junih.

  Ugh. Seriously? Yuel frowned. Was that really the only option they could go for?

  The team representing the school was Stratus. Yuel researched all the teams in the region st year, so he knew a little about their histories. Stratus was a bottom tier team which hasn't passed the first round of the regionals for the past few years.

  The main reason for that must have been its painfully tiny club. The school only allowed the club to get nine members. In other words, they couldn’t even form two full teams for sparring against each other. It sounded like oppression.

  Also, dangerously close to five, which was the number of strong pyers required for doing well in tours. Freshmen ted among these nine, but they were ill-suited for tours due to their ck of experiend polish. Therefore, as far as participating in tours was ed, the relevant number of club members was nine minus the number of freshmen.

  That greatly restricted the club's options for f the first-string. The team had to be posed of a small number of seniors and juniors, regardless of their actual skill. Not to mention, they also had to fit themselves into the five meta roles even if it meant some of them will be pying their sedary roles. It was a disaster.

  But, in a way, that was good news for Yuel and Lars. Less club members meant less petition for starter positions. So, it'll be easier for them to grab their spots in such a team. There was no way they'll have to pete against a Bot duo of the same caliber as Howard and Ellen.

  Is that really something to be happy about? Yuel smiled wryly. He was supposed to be striving for the top of the petitive se, yet here he was rejoig at the fact he won’t get mupetition in Stratus. Absolutely disgusting.

  That’s how far he and Lars have been pushed. They had to seek a team with less internal petition so they could reach the petitive se and battle against the best. They first had to go downwards in order to be able to climb up from there.

  So, Stratus was an alright team for them. But, will the school allow Yuel and Lars to join? Clubs usually only scouted first-year students, that was the standard routine.

  However, traudents had a peculiar situation. They were udents who haven’t joined a club yet even though they weren’t freshmen. Yuel’s current school allowed clubs to scout traudents, but there was no telling if Skyline Junih followed the same rules.

  To eliminate any doubt, Yuel called the school. Fortunately, even though it was summer vacatio a hold of somebody. So, he proceeded to ask a couple of questions.

  The phone call somehed out for almost half an hour. The woman's tone implied she was growing impatient, so Yuel cut it short before she snaps at him.

  Unfortunately, he couldn't get all the data he he woman didn't know the specifics about the Cssmancers club because she wasn't directly involved with it. The only good news he got was that the school's policy was the same as in his current school.

  In other words, clubs were allowed to recruit traudents as if they were freshmen. So, there shouldn't be a problem getting into the club itself.

  Ahing Yuel learned was that the school didn't think highly of the Cssmancers club. Even wheold the woman he was an experienced pyer with a high rank, she still tried to push him toward joining other clubs. It almost felt like somebody told her to lower the motivation of anybody who wao join the Cssmancers club.

  It was a nasty treatment but far from unusual in this region. It generally felt like schools didn't appreciate the Cssmancers clubs much. Even his school treated StormBlitz as an eyesore to some extent, despite the team’s strong performa the regional. StormBlitz’s ridiculous entrance exam existed rgely to appease the school by “showing” how serious the club was.

  Only Leo Junih seemed to have a genuine love for its Cssmancers club, which made the Leopards such a powerhouse team. They even had a coach, something that was retively rare even in high schools in their region.

  Truly, Leo Junih was a great school for pying Cssmancers. Unfortunately, the school was located oher side of the city. On top of that, the coach pretty muly ever put seniors on the first-string, so Yuel and Lars probably won’t make it in as juniors this year.

  That coaly ever made one exception in the past for Fenrir, a strong pyer who was allowed to join the first string as a junior and became the captain on the following year. However, that was a very particur instahat it was not worth betting on. Even if Yuel somehow vince his mom to attend such a faraway school, the petition there would be even fiercer than in StormBlitz. That’ll defeat the entire purpose of transferring.

  Why am I even thinking about it so much? Yuel sighed. Naturally, he would have liked to be a part of a prestige Cssmancers club which the school treated with respect. However, that e dream at the moment.

  So, during middle school, he and Lars will have to keep eating dirt and py for teams that weren’t respected by their own schools. Things will get better ohey enter high school and attend Ivy High, the powerhouse of the region’s high school petitive se.

  However, that’s two years from nht now, his only option was Skyline Junih and the small underdog team that was Stratus. Not the most exg option, but that’s all he could get Yuel and Lars will have to take that small team and transform it into a powerhouse that rivaled StormBlitz and Leopards. Then, they'll beat both these teams and go to nationals!

  Later that day, Yuel called Lars over to discuss his findings. He also filled Lars in on what went down during the club meeting.

  “July made it!?” Lars excimed.

  “Yes, she got half a position,” Yuel expined. “She’ll share Mid with Gilbert, but I’m sure she’ll get to py at least a few tour matches.”

  “Sick, yo!” Lars pumped a fist with a big grin, but then it hit him and his smile died down. “But wait, what about our super secret transfer pn? You talked to her?”

  “I... tried t it up,” Yuel averted his eyes. “But, she was raving so much about making the first-string that it seemed like she wouldn’t trade her Mid position for the world.”

  “Yeah, makes sense. So, she said she ain't ied?”

  “Um, something like that,” Yuel said. He didn't really ask Julia but her attitude made it crystal clear: she was going to treasure her precious starter spot like it was her baby. So, there was no reason for her to transfer schools.

  That’s why Yuel didn't bother to ask her for firmation. After all the bullshit she gave him today, he didn't really care for her. Yuel and Lars will make it just fine on their own in a eam. They didn't need Julia.

  “I better call her to say grats,” Lars dialed up Julia's number.

  “Uh, sure...” Yuel gulped. If Lars blurts anything about the school transfer and Julia acts oblivious, it'll make it seem like Yuel just lied about talking with her. It wasn't his iion to deceive anybody, but...

  “She doesn't pick up,” Lars shrugged. “I thought she'd be fine by now.”

  “She seemed so-so,” Yuel said. “She looked happy about the first-string annou, but she still seems to bme herself for our defeat in the seleatch. It was hard to even start a versation with her.”

  “Feels bad,” Lars shook his head. “Maybe we should visit her tomorrow? Maybe even throarty to celebrate her promotion and stuff.”

  “I'd rather focus on training,” Yuel said. “We 't waste any time. Before we run into Aegis and Athena in another match, we have to get as strong as we .”

  “Yeah, I agree,” Lars smiled wryly. They both shared the same feeling of weakness after the defeat in the seleatch. So, they had to get stronger no matter what! They couldn't waste even a single day!

  “So,” Lars started. “You figured which school we go to?”

  “As I said, there's only oion really,” Yuel expined what he found out about Skyline Junih and its small team, Stratus.

  “Oh, so they're like an underdog?” Lars's eyes sparked for some reason. “That's so cool, yo! It's like in the movies: the underdog team which gonna ge the town forever!”

  “Heh, easier said than done,” Yuel chuckled. “But, we'll have to make it work somehow.”

  “No problem! With us oeam, it gonna transform from underdog to top dog!”

  “That's right,” Yuel nodded. A Bot Lane duo of their caliber should be able to transform Stratus into a force to be reed with. If the team got at least one or two more petent pyers, it should be able to put on a strong performan the regionals.

  But first, Yuel and Lars had to actually viheir parents about the trahe new school year was just a few days away, so transferring with this timing was a bit awkward.

  In Yuel's case, b his mother about the transfer was definitely going to be quite the headache. There was no way in hell she'd see eye-to-eye with his determination to py Cssmancers petitively. Especially, not after what happened with his dad.

  “Oh,” Lars shrugged. “My folks already agreed.”

  “What. Just like that?”

  “Yep, pops said I transfer wherever I want. I told him I got this silly situation which is like being a great basketball pyer but not getting picked for the main team based on positions. He agreed it sucks and said I should totally search for a pce where I get into tours.”

  “Wow, that's very supportive,” Yuel smiled wryly. I wish mom was at least half as supportive about these things. Dad would uand where I’m ing from, but he has no say iter.

  “So, it's my tur,” Yuel sighed. “I hope I’ll be able to catch my mom today and talk to her about it. She sometimes stays over at the office, but she should be ing home today. Though, I don't expect things to go smoothly...”

  “No problem, dude,” Lars puffed his chest and poi himself. “Lemme talk to her then. I'mma vince her, no problem!”

  “Please no. You’ll only make things worse.”

  “Haha, maybe. I saw yo mom like o she looks like a serious business dy.”

  “She really is. She'll hear you say ‘yo’ ond she'll find a way to send you to jail, I guarantee.”

  “Savage, haha. She's like a judge or something, right?”

  “A prosecutor.”

  “Oh yeah, that pro thing. So, if she’s also a pro, she should uand where ya ing from. Tell her you wanna bee a pro just like her!”

  This guy... Yuel sighed but also couldn't help but smile.

  The frontation with his mom was going to be tough. It’ll possibly be one of the hardest battles he'll ever fight in his life. heless, he had to face his mother and vince her to let him transfer.

  He’ll get into Stratus, participate in the regionals and fight Hain, this time on the petitive stage. This was the first step toward the petitive se!