“That’s all I have for you in the video.” Yuel paused the marathon of Nia’s failures.

  “Phew.” Nia sighed in relief. Finally, all this bullying was over... or, so she thought.

  “Now, onto issues I ’t show you in the video.”

  There’s more!? Nia slumped in her chair. Is this torture ever going to end!? But, I better listen. Yuel is always a bully, but he says good stuff every now and then.

  “First,” Yuel started. “There’s an issue that I don’t expect to resolve immediately but it’ll have to be addressed at some point: your limited pool of csses. You pretty muly py three csses at the moment”

  “Four.”

  “Rogue doesn’t t.”

  “But, I like it.” Nia pouted.

  “Yeah, you tell him!” Luke tuned in. “Rogue is awesome! One of the most satisfying csses to py against good teams. They gonna try to ter the heck out of you, but if you mao py well anyway - you’re a legend!”

  “And that’s exactly the problem,” Yuel said. “Good teams will ter you. This isn’t Ranked. We’re not pying in official matches just for practice. We o win and that’s why Rogue is too unstable. No matter how good yue is, the enemy will shut you down.”

  “Nah, you’re exaggerating.” Luke waved his hand. “Lemme py Rogue against the Leopards and I’mma show ya it work.”

  “No thanks. I don’t want to give them any free wins.”

  “Yikes, harsh.” Luke cracked a ugh. “You really got a beef with Rogue, doncha?”

  “Not really,” Yuel said. “I just look at things objectively. Rogue is a fwed assassin. There’s a very clear limit to how far it get you in a petitive enviro. It’s sort of a ‘passable’ pick for Ranked, but it doesn’t cut it on the petitive level.”

  “Whatever you say, man.” Luke shrugged.

  “Anyway, back to Nia,” Yuel focused on the current victim of the match review. “As I said, it’s not an urgent problem, but you o start sidering which other csses you want to py. I doubt any of our oppos will ban all three of your csses, but it’s something that happen.”

  “I hope not,” Nia said.

  “I hope so too, but that’s not all. Pying more csses means having more options. You’ll always be able to pick a css that suits the situatio, which is a very valuable advantage for a Jungler. So, make sure you start looking into other csses.”

  “Ok.” Nia nodded half-heartedly. It didn’t sound like she was going to do anything about it, but at least Yuel phe idea in her mind.

  I just urly nag her about it. Yuel thought. At some point, she’ll have to start taking it more seriously.

  Anyway, that issue paled pared to Nia’s biggest fw, which roblem so big it couldn’t even be showcased in the video. Or, rather, the fact it couldn’t be captured on camera was the very reason it was so grave.

  “,” Yuel tinued. “The most ing problem you have right now is the fact you ’t stay awake for five games.”

  “Gufuu...” Nia made a weird noise and shifted her eyes away.

  “As far as I’m ed, that’s the most critical issue at the moment. If we ’t trust you to stay awake throughout the ech, then we ’t t you for anything.”

  “Guuu...” Nia’s shoulders dropped. It was a critical hit.

  “Isn’t that a little too harsh?” Kai objected. “She pyed the first three games just fine. Most of the matches at the regionals are best-of-three anyway, so she’ll be just fine.”

  “But, the finals are best-of-five, Yuel responded. “Didn’t we say we want to take the regionals? If so, we have to be able to perform during the finals too. Not to mention, all the scrimmages are going to be best-of-five.”

  “Fair enough,” Kai ceded.

  “I know I might sound harsh,” Yuel admitted. “But, it’s because this is a problem I’ve brought up many, many times. Even during club practiia always takes at least one nap, sometimes more.”

  “Zzz...” Nia was curled into a ball with her eyes closed.

  “Haha!” Lars ughed. “Did she just fall asleep again? For real?”

  “Truly, she’s the Phantom of Napping!” Vi made noise.

  “Nia...” Kai sighed. Even she didn’t have it io defend Nia at this point.

  “I think she’s faking this one.” Yuel came closer and pihe girl’s nose.

  “Guh!” Nia jolted.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it has to be said. You have to do something about your napping tendencies. We ’t rely on a pyer who might fall asleep at any moment.”

  “Sleep is neccessary,” Nia argued. “I’ll die without it.”

  “Yes, all humans would die without sleeping. But, there’s a differeween sleeping at night and taking a nap during a match.”

  “Naps are also essential.”

  “No, they’re not,” Yuel argued back. “You just have to get your body used to not napping. Or, if you really have to nap that badly, then train yourself to nap at other hours, like in the evening. That way, you won’t doze off during practid matches.”

  “Impossible.” Nia pouted. “It’s a biological problem.”

  “No, it’s not. You train your body to work differently”

  “Gufu...” Nia took out a bar of chocote and munched on it with rapid, but small, bites. She was like a ered hamster eati meal.

  “Look, I’m n to be mean,” Yuel said. “I uand this is easier said than dohis isn’t like learnirategies or practig your meical skill. Napping iernoon is probably a habit you’ve had for a long time, so I don’t expect you to fix it ht. But, please uand that it has to be addressed.”

  “Gu..........” Nia stopped mung and slowly raised her head. “I uand that, but...”

  “Of course, I didn’t bring this up just to bash you. I got a couple of ideas.”

  “Like what?”

  “You don’t exercise regurly, do you?”

  “I do exercise.”

  “Really?’ Yuel was taken aback. “What kind of exercises do you do?”

  “Napping exercises!” Nia decred proudly. “Watch this.” Her head dropped and her entire body rexed in an instant. She was like a robot whose batteries ran out. “Zzz...”

  “Seriously?” Yuel made a face.

  “Su amazing teique!” Vi cpped for some reason. “To think that the Napping Phantom had mastered such a high-level teique, the Instant Nap!”

  “Yo, this chick is golden!” Luke ughed. The iggled too.

  “Ahem.” Yuel cleared his throat. “That’s an impressive ability and all, but how about you also exercise ‘being awake’?”

  “Zzz...”

  “And, she’s not listening...” Yuel sighed deeply and pihe girl’s nose again.

  “Gunya!?” Nia jumped. “Oh, good m.”

  “It’s already noon!”

  At this point, all Yuel wanted was to be released from hell. Wasn’t he supposed to be the “bad guy” here today? The one who “tortures” everybody with what he had to say?

  At some point, this sleepy girl turhe tables on him. That’s some crazy skill she got. And, the scariest of all, she probably doesn’t even realize it.

  “ANY. WAY.” Yuel desperately tried to wheel the versation ba topic. “You don’t exercise, do you? And, by ‘exercise’ I mean physical exercise, not this ‘napping exercise’ nonsense. I’m talking things like jogging.”

  “Nope, I don’t.”

  “Okay, so I suggest you start doing that. It’ll make you more eic.”

  “What? How? I always right after PE.”

  “You’re right, exerg does tire you out. But, if you do it regurly, your body will get used to exerting that muergy and will try to meet the demand.”

  “Hm?” Nia tilted her head. “I don’t get it.”

  “Basically, your body will get used to spending a lot of energy on a regur basis. As a result, it’ll produce more of it and you’ll have more energy throughout the day.

  “Really?” Nia eyed him with a skeptical eye. “Sounds like wizardry.”

  “Not at all. I even send you some articles about it.”

  “Hmm.” Nia twisted her lips. “Sounds like a pain, though.”

  “Yeah, it sure is.” Yuel smiled wryly. “I also had a hard time starting. I’m not very athletic, so I thought that jogging regurly was impossible for me. To tell the truth, I was half-dead after jogging for like 5 seds.”

  “Oh, that sounds like a world record.”

  “Heh, it might as well be.” Yuel cracked a dry ugh. “But, Lars pushed me to keep trying so I stuck with it. It’s really amazing how much easier jogging became over time. Nowadays, I don’t even think much of it. It became just a routine.”

  “So, you jog daily?”

  “Yes, pretty much.”

  “Wait,” Kai interjected. “When do you even have the time for that? When I visit you for practice, we’re stuck pying Mancers until evening.”

  “Evening isn’t the end of the day,” Yuel answered pinly. “There are usually at least six hours left after that. I usually train some more with Lars, then we go jogging. Though, I only do half his distance.”

  “Ya gotta get better, yo!” Lars excimed. “We gonna go to jogging nationals, believe it!”

  “You go. I believe in you,” Yuel said. “You’ll take the petition by storm with that jogging speed that’s probably faster than my sprints.”

  “Alright, I’ll do it! Nationals, here I e!”

  These guys... Kai couldn’t believe it. Not only do they tiraining after I leave, but they also exercise on top of that? Do they even have a life?

  “Say, just w,” Kai started. “Do you guys even have any free time?”

  “Yes, of course,” Yuel answered. “I usually have a couple of hours after all that.”

  “And, let me guess,” Kai said. “You spend them on researg Mancers some more?”

  “Sometimes. But, unless we have something important ing up, I usually do other things.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t mind answering, but we’re going on a ta here,” Yuel said. “What’s with the sudden i? We’re still in the middle of reviewing Nia, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. You’re right.” Kai shifted her eyes away. Curiosity got the better of her. After learning that Yuel and Lars also exerg after a full day of training, it made Kai realize she was being naive.

  All this time, she used her guitar practice as an excuse to practice Cssmancers less. She didn’t talk about it much with other people, but she definitely used it as an excuse for herself.

  “I got such a serious hobby in addition to Mancers, so I don’t have time to practice Mancers all day. I need some free time too.” Kai always came up with me excuses like that whenever she sidered extendiraining regime.

  But, Yuel and Lars made no excuses. They trained longer and harder than Kai ever did, and they alsurly exercised on top of that. Exerg was a healthy activity in general, but it also must’ve tributed to their amazing performan Cssmancers. And, it was also a rather “serious” regur activity, almost as serious as Kai’s guitar lessons.

  So, in the end, it turned out Kai had nothing on these guys. If Yuel and Lars could achieve all that every single day, then there was no reason why Kai shouldn’t work just as hard.

  I guess that’s why I wanna know what they do in their “free time”. Kai smiled wryly. If it’s any more stuff reted to Mancers, I gonna might cry.

  “If I may,” Vi interjected. “Discussing Chessmaster and Gunz’s daily schedules is, in fact, very important! And, it’s 100% relevant to the topic at hand.”

  “How so?” Yuel asked.

  “I believe everybody here agrees that you two stand above the rest when it es to your Cssmancers skill, am I right?” Viuro the others for affirmation. Luke and Nia nodded immediately, but Kai just chewed her lips and looked away.

  “Well yeah, they’re pretty good,” Kai answered against her will. She didn’t want to admit it so openly, but she uood where Vi was going with this so she pyed along. And well, I guess it IS true. All this time, I thought the skill gap between us wasn’t that big. But, that scrimmage showed me h I was. These guys are something else.

  “Ergo!” Vi tinued. “I believe it’ll be beneficial for us all to hear what’s the daily schedules of our two stars. At the moment, you two seem like geniuses pying at a level unattainable for us mortals. However! If we hear more about how hard you work every day, it shall give us a clearer idea of how much we have to work in order to catch up. In other words, it will motivate everybody to train even harder!”

  “I see...” Yuel decided to py along. Holy, Vi’s excuse sounded like that of a desperate journalist trying to get an interview.

  heless, there was no harm in discussing this topiore. It may indeed motivate the other club members to work harder. Also, if anybody in the club thought that Yuel and Lars reached their current level just by being “geniuses”, then this was a good opportunity to destroy that false impression.

  “There isn’t a whole lot to add, though.” Yuel simply rehashed the things he said previously.

  He and Lars trained until evening every day, except for the rare occasions when one of them was busy. After practice was over, they jogged together for a while. Yuel was always the first oo call it quits but Lars tinued running some more after that, with increased speed to boot.

  “Heh, that’s a real sports monster for ya,” Luke joked.

  “It’s just a routine from my basketball days,” Lars said. “It keeps my tration at 200% at all times, yo!”

  “Expect for when you o study,” Yuel pointed out. Everybody chuckled.

  “Anyway,” Yuel tihe overview. “After I finish jogging, I have some free time.”

  “And, what is it you d these free hours?” Vi inquired. “Studying?”

  “Yeah, sometimes there’s homework, but I usually finish most of it in school. I work on it during lunch breaks and during other csses.”

  “Huh, not bad.” Kai smiled wryly. I wish I had that level of motivation. I usually postpone all that crap until the st moment.

  “So,” Vi tinued. “If not homework, what else do you do in your free time?”

  “Online chess, usually.”

  “As expected from the Chessmaster!”

  Huh. Kai made a face. That doesn’t sound like the daily life of a middle schooler at all...

  “Hold it right there!” Vi excimed all of a sudden. “Are you not an honor student as well?”

  “If you’re asking about my grades, thehey’re good,” Yuel answered pinly.

  “Then, pray tell, where in that packed schedule do you evehe time to study? Are you operating during the Dark Hour!?”

  “I’m not sure what that is, but I don’t actually study that much.” Yuel shrugged. “I memorize most things just by listening in css. I only have to review material when there’s an uping exam. Though, even then, I try to do it at school as much as possible.”

  “This bruh is legit a mae.” Luke cracked a ugh.

  “Right?” Lars agreed. “Dude is like a pro pyer at pying school. Somebody better be paying him a sary, haha.”

  “I agree,” Yuel said. “You should be paying me for helping you with your studies all the time.”

  “Hey, I didn’t ask for that kind of help.”

  “Oh, so you’re saying you’re fih failing all subjects other than PE?”

  “Weeeeelp, that’s...”

  “Don’t fet that getting into Ivy High demands a det score and yours is only halfway there.”

  “I’m very sorry. Please ti me, teach.” Lars joined his hands together and bowed, worshiping the god of academics.

  “Good, good,” Yuel nodded in satisfa.

  “So...” Kai turo Lars now. “What do you do in that free time?”

  “All sorts of stuff,” Lars said. “Sometimes, I go py some basket with dad and his pals. Other times, I just watch TV and stuff. Ya know, fun stuff.”

  This sounds more normal than Yuel. Kai nodded. He still trains more than I do, but at least Lars doesn’t fet to have fun in his free time.

  “Oh!” Lars suddenly remembered. “I also practice my main csses for an hour or two before bed.”

  More practice!? Kai roared internally. Just what is wrong with these guys...

  “So,” Vi started. “I take it you finish all your homework in school as well?”

  “Homework? The heck is that?” Lars ughed it off.

  “Aye, that’s my guy!” Luke high-fived Lars.

  “That’s not something to celebrate,” Yuel criticized. “I uand that homework usually es across as b and I also question the efficy of this entire system. But, at least it gives you a reason to review the material on your own every now and then. In my experience, self-study like this is a great way to improve at any subject.”

  “Dang, who let a teacher into the club? Eject him, guys!” Luke ughed and the others chuckled along. In the end, it didn’t seem like anybody took Yuel’s words too seriously, but that was fine. Most kids this age only thought of homework as a chore, so that kind of rea was to be expected.

  “So,” Vi summarized. “I believe we got a clear image of our stars’ daily routines. No doubt, it is filled with much blood and sweat. However! It is thanks to this routihat they had asded to a higher pne of existend gained skills that rival professionals!”

  “Heck yeah!” Lars pumped a fist. “We’re ready to debut at the pro se at any time, yo!”

  “I don’t think we’re ready just yet,” Yuel objected. “But yes, we do train a lot. I hope nobody here was thinking we just picked up Cssmancers one day and immediately became this good. If you want to get better, you have to train hard, that’s how things work.” He directed these words mainly at Nia, who was the inal topic before this little side trip.

  “Oh.” Nia blinked in surprise. “So, you’re not aliens from p Mancers?”

  “Definitely not,” Yuel said. “We’re humans, just like you. I know it might not sound the most ving ing from me sidering I’m already at this level, but trust me, everybody had tless fws when they were starting out, even Lars and me. What’s important is to notice your fws as early as possible so you start w on them.”

  “Reasonable.” Nia nodded. It seemed like discussing Yuel’s schedule really helped a little. At least, Nia seemed mreeable than before.

  “So,” Yuel tinued. “You should start exerg.”

  “Nope.”

  “Eh...?”

  “Sounds like a pain.” Nia puffed her cheeks. “Don’t wanna.”

  This girl... Yuel felt like colpsing i but he held himself together. Okay, fine. I know it’s hard to vin unathletic person to start jogging. I’m a living example of that myself, so I’ll give her some time. Little by little, I’ll keep nagging her until she folds.

  And so, Nia’s part ich review came to an end. in line was arguably an eveer troublemaker...

  DarkestCymore