"I do the MOBA test,” Nia decred. “I just need a few mio recharge."

  Recharge? Yuel raised an eyebrow. Are you a robot?

  "Are you sure about it?" Kai asked. "You don't have to push yourself. You just went through two difficult duels."

  "It's okay. I think."

  "You think?"

  "Um, I mean," Nia stumbled over her words. "I-I'll do it! But, it’d be nice if I get a little break to recharge."

  "Sure, there's no rush," Kai nodded. "Tell us when you're ready."

  "Ok," Nia put down her school bag and fished inside. Meanwhile, Kai approached Yuel.

  "Did you bckmail her into it?" Kai asked.

  "I didn't do anything," Yuel said. "And, that's actually rude. I'm not some kind of a bully."

  "Not sure Nia agrees on that one and I see why. You're ly being friendly this exam."

  "Why everybody has to be like this..." Yuel sighed. It felt like everybody here was making him out like some kind of vilin. All he was trying to do was hold a proper exam that'll test everything they o know about Nia's skill.

  I bet Arohrough simir criticism before. Yuel smiled wryly. Back during StormBlitz’s entrance exam, Yuel thought Aron was quite the bully examiner. Aron asked questions nonstop and made many remarks, some of which came off as rude. At the time, it felt Aron was getting a kick out of bullying freshmen.

  But, now that Yuel was in the same shoes, he realized that wasn't the case at all. Aron merely tried to gauge Yuel's skill to the best of his ability, the same thing Yuel was trying to do with Nia right now.

  Unfortunately, when the examinee was so difficult to judge, it forced the examio push harder to gather more useful data. However, doing so made it look like Yuel ressuring Nia for fun. That wasn't his iion at all.

  Seems like my high-level unication skills strike again. Yuel sighed. He really had to work on that area but he wasn't sure how.

  Being good at unication would be a great plus for a shot-caller. As frustrating as it was to admit, everybody felt more motivated to follow the lead of somebody charismatic. That's why everybody liked Howard as their shot-caller over Yuel.

  The only reason people agreed to follow Yuel’s calls was that he proved his ability time and again. But, that almost felt like submitting them through force. It shouldn't be like that. Teammates should work more naturally with each other. If only Yuel could better vey his iions without ing off as an evil critig nagger, everybody will be happier.

  Actually, maybe I should start right here and now. Yuel o himself. This was a good opportunity to operate out of his fort zone in order to improve the situation. He should clear things up with Nia and expin he was merely trying to test her in different ways to get a better read on her.

  What is she up to anyway? Yuel approached the curled mass of bck hair. Nia was sitting hu the er and making some weird noises.

  Oh, she's eating something. There was a brown bar of chocote in her mouth and she was mung on it with tiny but swift bites. She looked like a hamster.

  Pft, heh. No, stop. Put on a serious face. Ahem. Yuel cleared his throat and straightened his posture. Then, he approached Nia.

  Munch. Munch. Munch. Then, a pause. Nia slowly raised her bck eyes and eyed him through her messy bangs.

  "I-I'm not giving it," Nia curled up further and pressed the bar of chocote to her chest.

  "I didn't e for that," Yuel said. "I just wao say that... Well..." Words didn't e. He knew what he had to say but the wot lost somewhere at the back of his head.

  "Kukuku!" A suspicious ughed resounded from behind. "Just as my calcutions showed! If I follow the trail of the Mystic Eyes, I find the Vanishing Phantom!" Vi popped out of nowhere.

  "So, that's what you meant by 'recharging'," Viook a quick look at Nia’s chocote and jotted something down on his tablet. "Alright, duly he fuel for the Vanishing Drive is chocote! You got a favorite brand?"

  "Anything goes as long as it's good," Nia opened a pocket in her bag and revealed a pile of ed chocotes. "These are good."

  "Hohoho, that's quite the colle! You always carry that many with you?"

  "My mom works at a sweets shop, so..." Nia took a long, hard look at the chocotes ihe bag. She was carrying so but she always ate them by herself. Didn't other kids tend to share their snacks with their friends? Who knew. She never had such friends to share with.

  Oime, she dumped a huge pile of chocote oable in css. She was hoping to share some sweets with others and make friends like that. It was a 200 IQ bribery tactic.

  But, that didn't quite work out as she hoped. The chocotes successfully drew everybody's attention and made them remember s. But, they only came to ask for chocote and the as soon as they got it. Nia didn't eveo exge a single word with them. Her grand chocote bribery ploy fell through.

  But still, sharing snacks was something friends did, right? She got plenty to spare and the people in this club actually talked to her and were mostly nice, with a few exceptions. So, maybe this was the kind of situation where she should share chocote?

  This will also be like bribery for the exam. Nia smirked. This should increase her ces of passing the scary MOBA exam. If everybody learns Nia carries snacks around and shares them, they'll surely want her in the club so they eat snacks all day long!. It was the perfect bribe.

  "Um, you want?" Nia stretched her hand in Vi's dire. "This is good stuff."

  "Hey, thanks," Vi accepted the bar of chocote. "Oh! This is indeed high quality! No doubt, it's the chocote of aristocrats! I shall dub you the Phantom of Chocotes! Nay, the Chocote Phantom!"

  "Hah..." Nia wasn't sure what to make of that. "I got more. So, if others want too..."

  "Got it," Viurned around and made a hand megaphone around his mouth. "Free chocotes! Free chocotes here! You've asted anything like it!"

  Not a moment passed and everybody was there.

  "Yo, what's up?" Lars came over. "Oh! This thing is sick! Thanks, dude."

  "Not bad, not bad," Luke nodded. " I try that ooo? And, this one also looks great too."

  "Thanks," Kai also took one.

  There was enough for everybody. In fact, there was way more than enough. There was virtually o the chocotes p out of Nia's bag.

  Why do I carry so many? Nia smiled wryly Perhaps, all this time, she has been waiting for an opportunity to share the chocotes with others. Or, maybe she was just zy and preferred to load her bag to st a week or two.

  OK, I bribed them. Nia o herself. Now, they'll let me pass for sure. And, maybe they'll even bey friends. Just in case, I should offer them some more.

  Nia went on another round of giveaways for everybody. Except, there was one boy she refused to give anything to. It was that bully guy. He didn't deserve anything.

  The eime, the bully kept gring at her as if judging her every move. He must have been trying to submit Nia through the iy of his gaze. Scary.

  "I-I'm not giving you any," Nia puffed her cheeks.

  I see I'm very liked. Yuel sighed. Somehow, he mao create the image of a bully even though he was merely trying to hold a proper entrance exam. Why did things always turn out this way?

  No, not this time. Yuel o himself. This time, he won't let it end here. He'll speak up and try to clear up the situation. Yes, he will... once he figures what to say. Any moment now. Any moment.

  "What?" Nia looked at him with suspicious eyes.

  "Ah, well," Yuel shifted his eyes away. This was such a pain in the neck. Why did he even have to justify himself? He was trying to do the right thing here, yet everybody treated him like a vilin for it. It was s.

  heless, he had to suck it up and gh with it.

  "I'm sorry," Yuel almost coughed while pushing these words through his throat. "You seem to think I'm beio you but that’s not my iion. All I want is to properly test your skills. Pitting you against Lars was a great way to see how you fare against a strong duelist, that's all there is to it. It’s just a part of the exam."

  "Suspicious," Nia gave him a look. "Are y to aice to get chocote?"

  "No, I just wao clear things up. For some reason, people often mistake my iions and make me out like some terrible person."

  Maybe because you really are. Nia shifted her eyes away. Well, maybe she was judging him too harshly. After all, she has just met this boy so she didn't know much about him. Maybe he just looked like a mean stalker bully but, iy, he was a nice person. Maybe.

  Besides, Nia only got to apply to the club thanks to Yuel. Back when the club was recruiting members outside, he was the one who notiia in the crowd. At the time, she was curious about joining the club but couldn't muster the ce to step forward.

  Then, Yuel called out to her. That spooked the heck outta her, so she ran for her life! But, the guy chased her like a trained professional stalker! She had to use her advaninja teiques and hide in the shadow of the crowd to shake him off.

  After she successfully erased her presehe pursuer gave up a. But, before doing so, he put a flier of the Cssmancers club on one of the boards. Nia snatched that thing and filled it in.

  , she went to hand the registration paper to the club. But, she got nervous about ing in. After all, all these guys were a bunch of strangers.

  So, the pn of attack was to sneak into the club, leave the paper on one of the tables, and slip away unnoticed. But, yet again, Yuel spotted her with his hawk eyes! That gave her the spook of her life and she ran for her life again. That guy was like a eology security droid! Scary.

  While running away, Nia dropped her application form. Yuel must have picked it up and passed it to the others. If he truly were a terrible person, he would have tossed that flier into the trash and that would’ve killed Nia's ces of getting into the club. Yet, Yuel cared enough to hahe application and the club even called Nia for a test despite her te registration.

  So, Yuel wasn't a bully. Probably. At least, it didn't seem he had bad iions.

  "Here," Nia stretched a hand holding a chocote bar. "Peace?"

  "Peace," Yuel accepted the treat. The chocote was really sweet, even a little too sweet to his taste. But, it was solid. No wonder Nia was addicted enough to carry aire factory in her bag.

  While Yuel was enjoying the chocote, Nia stared at him the eime. Her little bck eyes peered through her long spaghetti bangs. It was as if she was analyzing an otherworldly creature.

  "I got something on me?"

  "Hm? No. I thought it’s curious that aliens like chocote too."

  "Aliens? What aliens?"

  "Then, are you a droid? A terminator sent to ensve mankind!? Scary."

  "Excuse me?" Yuel made a face. "I thought ead you uood I'm n to pull anything."

  "Hm?" Nia tilted her head. "How's that reted?"

  "You tell me. What's all this about aliens and droids?"

  "You gotta be one of those.”

  “I’m not, though.”

  “Don’t lie.”

  “I’m not lying...”

  “Impossible,” Nia puffed her cheeks. “Then, what manner of creature are you?”

  “I believe I belong to the Homosapien species.”

  “An esper, then.”

  How’s that the clusion!? Yuel nearly chocked on the chocote.

  “Most people 't find me even when I’m on standby,” Nia expined. “But, you track me even when I hide. Gotta be some supernatural power."

  What's more “supernatural” is your ability to hide all the time. Yuel rolled his eyes. Just like Nia was surprised about being found by Yuel, he was astonished by the very opposite: how came nobody but him could ever find Nia?

  Not to sound like Vi, but this really makes her seem like a phantom. Yuel shook his head. It was as if Nia could turn into thin air in front of their very eyes. Was this girl some sort of esper? Heh, now who is being silly? There has to be a logical expnation for this.

  From what Yuel could tell, Nia had a habit of pg herself at the edge of people's field of view. Even now, while she was just taking a break to stuff herself with chocote, she chose to sit at the er of the room. Why? No idea. But, that's what she was doing.

  Being tucked away at the er like this made her retively difficult to spot. And, that's how Nia generally “vanished” in his experience. She often positioned herself in some obscure location that would be easily overlooked unless somebody was actively searg for her there. And, even then, it might take them a while to spot her there. She was most likely a Grandmaster in hide-and-seek.

  But then, why this trick didn't work on Yuel? Perhaps his observation skills were slightly better thahers'.

  Thinking of it, everybody used to pin when I was 'it' in hide-and-seek. Yuel smiled wryly.

  Whenever he was 'it' and began his hunt, he started by carefully sing his surroundings. Often times, he could spot at least five kids hiding nearby before he even took a siep.

  "John behind the statue. Alex uhe table there. Jack pretending to be a middle schooler in that pack over there."

  "Man, what the..."

  "This guy sees everything, I swear."

  The boys came out of their hideouts one by one and admitted defeat. Though, it was often followed by a fair share of ranting.

  Yuel never uood what was the problem with his way of doing things. As “it”, his job was to quickly and effitly expose the hiding spots of others. It only made seo start the game by carefully analyzing his surroundings and calling out everybody he saw.

  In a way, that's how he often found Nia as well. Back when he spotted her in the crowd, it was when he desperately searched for didates all over the pce. And, it was the same story when he spotted Nia in the hallway. He was just hoping for more people to apply so he found that someohat’s all there was to it.

  "You must be good at hide-and-seek," Yuel cluded.

  "Wha!?" Nia jumped. "How did you know?"

  "Well, I'm an esper so I read your mind."

  "Scary," Nia shivered. She didn't actually believe that nonsense, right? ... right?

  "I'm good at hiding" Nia admitted. "Normally, you need aire army to search the area to fihat's how good I am."

  "Impressive."

  "Yeah. When we pyed hide-and-seek, I sometimes even stayed hidden all the way into the night. They never found me. And, once I came out, nobody was even there anymore. They must have rage quit."

  It sounds more like they pletely fot about you a... Yuel had no idea what to say about this story. At the very least, it firmed his suspi: Nia was a natural pro at hiding. That's all there was to this "Vanishing Phantom" mystery.

  “The same way yood in the ‘hide’ part of hide-and-seek, I’m good in the ‘seek’ part” Yuel expined. “That’s how I find you faster thahers. It’s simple as that.”

  "That's it? Really?" Nia stared at him in suspi. "I think you're still hiding something."

  "You're the one doing the hiding here." Yuel sighed. Apparently, there was no ving this girl. For the world to make sense, Yuel had to be some sort of, esper, alien or robot. Oh well.

  What's iing about this whole thing was how Nia's Grandmaster hide-and-seek skills seemed to extend to Cssmancers in a way. By taking advantage of the stealth meic, she vanished from the enemy's sight and snuck up to them when they least expected it. The stealth empowered her natural hiding skills for double the effect.

  So far, she has caught Vi and Lars off-guard by pying this way. But, will her pystyle prove effective against other pys in the MOBA mode? They were about to find out in the upi match.