Lars, Yuel, and Vi arrived at the gym. As Vi suspected, they found Ben in there along with his “friends”. Even without hearing all the details from Vi, it was easy to uand this situation at a gnce.

  Ben itifully crawling on the floor, drenched i. His arm was stretched forward, desperately trying to reach the ball lying a couple of meters away.

  Most likely, Ben served as a ballboy for his “friends” here today. Except, he was an overworked ballboy who wasn’t going to get any rewards for his hard work.

  Yep, this smells like bullying alright. Lars o himself and walked toward the i basketball lying on the floor. This poor dude was used as a bullying device, wasn’t it? It clearly didn’t wish for any of this. A basketball existed for people to have fun with, not for t others.

  Lars tapped the basketball a few times and made it bounce off the floor. It was a good ball. The density felt just right and it didn’t seem worn out. The ball maintenan this club was clearly pretty good. Niice.

  As, there were vilins here who used such a nice pmit crimes. That was uable!

  This was no longer just about Ben. Lars had to teach these delis a proper lesson. They were part of the basketball club, so they gotta respect the equipment and this nice gym they got.

  “I gonna exge a word or two with yo pals over there. You don’t mind, right?” Lars went on without waiting for an answer. “Okay, I’mma be ba a jiffy.”

  He advanced deeper into the court, making sure to dribble the ball as much as possible. This poor lil’ ball probably suffered a lot during these circumstances. It deserved to be pyed with, not mindlessly tossed around like trash.

  Meanwhile, Yuel and Vi helped Ben by pig him off the fliving him water, and arranging him a chair. It was good work. Dude definitely needed a long, good rest.

  “Stay with Ben,” Yuel told Vi. “I’ll go with Lars.”

  “You wish to veo the lions’ den!?” Vi excimed. “That’s beyond dangerous! Truth be told, I’m not fident about Lars handling this either. I’m sure you tell at a gnce what manner of gentlemen we’re dealing with here.”

  “Yeah, they look like savages, alright.” Yuel nodded. “That’s why I ’t leave Lars alohere. I don’t how much I’ll help, but it should be more reassuring for him if I’m there.”

  “I see.” Vi smiled wryly. “Very well. You are his Support, after all. So go ahead, support the hero! From this moment forth, you’re the hero’s sidekick!”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about that title but I’ll do it.”

  “D-Do you perhaps require my presence over there as well?” Vi asked relutly. He clearly didn’t want to face the bullies, it was written all over his faoheless, he mustered the ce to suggest it anyway.

  “It’s okay,” Yuel said. “Stay with Ben. I think he’s a little shaken by all of this.”

  “Ihat he is.” Vi hen saluted to the departing duo. “Very well, soldier. Have a safe trip! If you fall in battle, I’ll make sure to inform your family of your heroic deeds!”

  “Heh, what a distasteful joke.” Yuel smiled wryly aured into the battlefield.

  Vi’s bad joke didn’t sound like a joke at all. This basketball court really felt like a war zone.

  Yuel and Lars were about to front three dangerous savages. There was a good ce they won’t get away unscratched. Shivers danced on Yuel’s skin from the mere thought.

  heless, he moved forward, determi the curtain down on this foul py. This unfortunate saga with Ben had to e to an end, one way or ahe resolution will probably be far from pretty but Yuel had to see it through.

  Thus, he followed Lars from behind all the way into eerritory.

  As a Support pyer, it felt a little awkward to tail his Carry. Normally, it was Yuel’s job to stand on the frontline and soak all the hits.

  But, Lars was far more qualified to hahis one. He was the charismatic goof whose words might get through to these savages.

  Yuel didn’t have the unication skills to pull off such a feat, aher did he have the patience for dealing with savages who eaihemselves by bullying others. Scums like that were among the lowest forms of life on this p.

  I don’t know how he smile in this situation. Yuel wondered as he followed Lars from behind. It’s as if this situatio affect him at all. Suerves of steel.

  Unlike Yuel, Lars seemed perfectly posed. In fact, he was having fun while dribbling the ball along the way, as if there was nothing tense or dangerous about the current situation.

  “Your club sure got a dope gym to practi.” Lars looked around like aed child in an amusement park.

  “Heh.” One of the boys snickered. “Yeah, way better than practig in the basement, am I right?” His pals cracked a ugh.

  “I knht?” Lars ughed along with them. “I mean, who in their right mind thought to shove students down the basement? That gotta be breaking some ws, yo.”

  “That’s what you get for pretending a video game is legit club activity, haha.” Another boy ughed. Lars didn’t know his name. In fact, he didn’t know any of their names, and they probably didn’t know his either.

  heless, these dudes immediately mentiohe basement. So, they knew Lars was from the Cssmancers club. That’ll make things faster.

  “I’m Lars, by the way,” Lars casually introduced himself with a friendly smile.

  “.........” The boys exged gnces, unsure how to deal with this friendly goof. There were three gangsters over there, but two of them goward the bigger dude in the ter.

  So, that’s the boss. Lars cluded.

  For the better or the worse, he had some experience dealing with wannabe gangs like this. When somebody stumped the gang with something ued, everybody naturally turheir eyes to the leader. There was always one dude who held the most authority.

  Tai was often that dude ba grade school. Lars smiled wryly.

  For a moment, the image of the three bullies overpped with Taison and his former ckeys. Taison often stood in the ter and his subroutines sought his guidan every little thing. This looked exactly the same.

  So, this gonna be ez. Lars smiled fidently. I just gotta vihe boss dude, then we’re done.

  If the leader decided to stop bullying, the others would follow suit, that’s how this system worked. Now, that there was a clear target in front of him, Lars focused all his attention on the boss in front of him. It seemed the guy felt the gaze.

  “Mike,” the leader introduced himself in respoo Lars’s introdu. The others saw it as a cue.

  “Larry.”

  “James.”

  The trio greeted Lars with gauging eyes. They were probably trying to intimidate him into submission.

  The versation seemed civil on the surface so far, but these guys were like hungry hyenas. They were waiting for an excuse to jump him. The smallest spark would blow up the entire pce.

  But, after ing this far, Lars couldn’t turn around and leave. Especially, not after seeing Ben’s sorry state. That was just terrible. These rascals probably made the poor dude run all over the pce, chasing balls to no end. Taisoo pull simir crap before, so Lars knew how this worked. It was such a distasteful method of bullying.

  Why do this? The ball didn’t ask for any of it. Lars looked at the ball in his hands. It was yet another victim here. This ball was born to let people enjoy the fun sport that was basketball. It wasn’t meant to be a t device used for bullying.

  If Lars were part of the basketball team here, he’d sh at these dudes for mistreating the equipment like this. But, right now, he was an outsider. He had no authority over this club.

  Rather, he was like an invader overextending into eerritory, unafraid of enemy ganks. The enemy clearly held the advantage here, so he had to py this one slow and steady.

  “So,” Lars started. “Ya figured I’m from the Mancers club, right?”

  “Yeah,” Mike, the leader, answered. “I saw you before. You joihis year, right?”

  “Yep, that I did.”

  “You’re not a freshman though, are you?”

  “Nope, a junior,” Lars answered. “I transferred this year, so they let me join as if I’m a freshman.”

  “Huh.” Mike didn’t show much rea. Something about this detail clearly bugged him but he let it slide.

  He’s a little different from Tai. Lars realized.

  Wheaison was leading some sort of gang, he enly hostile toward anybody who fronted him. He’d respond with loaded remarks and verbally attack his oppos at every turn.

  But, this Mike dude was different. He was kinda chill for a leader. This was the worst kind of oppoo deal with...

  “So...” Lars looked around, searg for a way to break the ice. I don’t think I just dive into the main topic without some preparation. He gulped. The two dudes beside Mike looked like they were ready to gank Lars at any moment.

  “Where’s the rest of the club?” Lars asked. “Is practice over?”

  “It ended early,” Mike said.

  “Yep,” James added. “Coach was sick or somethin’ so he ditched practice early, haha.”

  “This is the best timeline.” Larry smirked. “No practice is best practice.”

  “I’m not sure I agree with that one,” Lars said. “But, I see how it is. Practided early but you dudes stayed behind to practiore. That’s some dedication, yo!”

  “Yeah, sure.” Mike merely s this ent, her firming nor denying it. What was the truth, then?

  They probably just stayed behind to mess with Ben. Lars figured. Welp, I hope they got at least some practi. Otherwise, it’d be a real waste.

  “So?” Mike cut to the chase. “What are you losers doing here?”

  “Haha...” Lars ched the basketball in his hands. Keep it cool, dude. Keep it cool. He’s just trying to get me to start a fight. I ain’t falling for that.

  “We came to che Ben,” Lars expined. “Ya know he’s part of our club, right? So, we were w why he’s missing practice all the time.”

  “He was helping us with practice,” Mike spouted obvious bullshit with a straight face. “Unlike you frauds, we’re pying a real sport over here. So, it only makes sense for Ben to support us, don’t you think? He’s a smart guy, he knows where’s the real petition at.”

  “But, he’s part of our club,” Lars argued. “I agree basketball is serious business and all, but it’s ain’t o borrow him all the time for your own needs.”

  “Hmph.” Mike sneered. “If he didn’t wanna do it, he’d just refuse, wouldn’t he? It’s his decision.”

  “His decision, huh.” Lars smiled wryly. This dude be spittin’ facts. It’s true that everything is up to Ben in the end. This is some solid logic right there, but...

  It’s obvious these dudes were f Ben into this crap. The puy had no real say iter. They must’ve threatened him into it, probably even roughed him up a few times to “teach him a lesson”.

  It’s no good. Lars shook his head. I feel blood rushing to my head. Maybe I was a little too cocky. I said I hahis, but I’m not so sure anymore. At least, I don’t see a pretty resolutiht now...

  “Ya right,” Lars said. “Ben is free to do whatever he wants. But, he’s part of our club, so he gotta discuss that stuff with us first. So, do me a favor, will ya? The ime you ask him to help you out, I wanna be present there too.”

  “What for?”

  “To make sure it’s really Ben’s own decision.”

  “Hmph.” Mike raised an eyebrow and shot a fierce gre. “Are you implying something?”

  “Who knows.” Lars gred back. Their lines of sight cshed with each other like bdes, geing dangerous sparks in the air.

  For real, it was so hard to py ni front of this sneering scumbag. Mike wasn’t the type to lose himself to anger like Taison. Lars couldn’t crack this dude as easily as he hoped. This was getting frustrating.

  The more they talked, the thinner Lars’s smile grew. He struggled to maintain a positive facade at this point. Mike was slowly, but surely, pulling Lars toward overextending.

  Dang it! Lars let out some steam by dribbling the ball. Calm down, calm down! These dudes gonna jump me the moment I say anything they don’t like. Gotta keep my nguage . Yeah, keep it . Real . All sparkling and shiny-like, yo.

  “Anyway,” Lars tinued. “Please don’t drag Ben away before firming he’s avaible with the rest of the club.”

  “Pft, get a load of this guy.” James ughed.

  “Who died and made you god, pal?” Larry added.

  “I didn’t know Ben is your personal pet and we need permission to hang out with our friend,” Mike said.

  “‘Friend’, eh.” Lars wao say something but stopped himself at the st moment. “No, he ain’t nobody’s pet. But, he’s part of the club, ya know? If he decides to skips practice, the club hafta be informed. right?”

  “Hah. It almost sounds like you’re running a prisohere.” Mike sneered. “Club or not, I’m pretty sure Ben is free to do whatever he wants. If he wants to help us practice basketball, who are you to stop him?”

  “Well...” Lars failed to find a ter. He was never good at these sorts of debates in the first pce. He came here expeg some hot-headed oppos who couldn’t string two words together, but this Mike schmuck was a tough nut to crack.

  The bad-froth was growing tenser by the moment. The atmosphere in the gym was being thid heavy. It felt like a single spark would ighe entire pd bloody war would soon break out.

  Despite all that, Yuel tinued watg the versation from the side without saying a word. He could tell things were rough for Lars, but he couldn’t bring himself to step in and say anything.

  They would swallow me whole if I dare to say anything. Yuel gulped. Only Lars stay unfazed in front of these guys. But...

  Lars wasn’t invincible. He had no trouble fronting the bullies without fling, but he wasly a debate expert.

  pared to him, the enemy leader was rather sly. He deflected everything Lars threw his way and he wiggled his way out of every argument.

  This was bad. At this rate, Lars will lose. Not in terms of fighting spirit, but in terms of debate skills. This was a rather ued situation.

  I’ve always imagined bullies as a bunch of hot-headed scumbags. But, this guy is more like a veteran criminal who is used to getting away scot-free. Lars really hahis...?

  A debate was like a 1v1 mind game, simir to chess in some ways. The winning dition was to break through the enemy’s yers of defense and to er them with a decisive argument. As such, Yuel was somewhat adept at it. At least, more adept than Lars.

  Maybe I o man up and step in? Yuel gulped. Things aren’t looking too hot for Lars right now….

  Mike checked Lars with a strong argument. He cimed Ben had the “freedom” to do whatever he wanted. As such, if Ben deems it more important to hang out with his friends than to attend club practice, then it was Ben’s right to do so.

  It sounded like a nice argument, so it was no wonder Lars struggled to ter it. And, ihere was some truth to it as well.

  Ben definitely had the freedom to decide his as. Forbidding him to hang out with his friends would e off as tyranny. That robably the part that stumped Lars the most.

  heless, Mike’s seemingly “strong” argument was clearly fwed. Yuel had already e up with five different lines of py to ter this argument and gain the upper hand in this battle.

  But, he didn’t dare to voiy of them. The three bullies were pying nice for now, but their gres were loaded with malice. They clearly weren’t amused by this situation. If Yuel utters just one wrong word, they’ll use it as an excuse to start a war. Gulp.

  Maybe I should give Lars some advice? Yuel had a hought like that for a moment but it clearly won’t work. Even if he passes on some of his ter-argument ideas to Lars, it’ll be like a broken telephone. Lars will simply parrot whatever Yuel had to say, probably without fully uanding the depth of the arguments. Mike will er him again soon enough.

  Not to mention, the bullies probably won’t approve of “cowardly” behavior like that. They’d call Yuel out, telling him to speak up instead of whispering to Lars.

  Worst of all, Lars’s credibility will plummet if they see him rely on somebody else. The only reason Lars was successfully keeping the bullies at bay was that he looked them straight in the eye without fling. If he breaks that eye tact, it’ll be almost like admitti.

  “So, are we done here?” Mike asked in an arrogant tone, believing he won.

  “Eh, wait, about that...” Lars struggled to form a cohereence. He probably fried his brain thinking about a good ter-argument. His internal hardware didn’t have the specs to deal with such processor-inteasks.

  I have to speak up. Yuel gulped. His heart hammered in his chest as if objeg to this idea. I know this is risky but we ’t back off now. Lars created this great opportunity to settle things ond for all. If we don’t seize it now, we never will.

  And so, Yuel stepped forth and stood closer to Lars. He couldn’t remain on the sidelines anymore. Yuel was Lars’s Support, so he had to support this ceous guy to the very end.

  “You’re right,” Yuel spoke to Mike.

  “Huh?” Mike raised an eyebrow. He seemed fused. This was a good start.

  “Ben has the freedom to do as he pleases,” Yuel tinued. “We all have the right to freedom and Ben is no exception.”

  “Exactly. So, if you uand that much, would you kindly fuck off already? You’re interfering with our club activity.”

  “Ugh...” Yuel flinched in front of Mike’s intense gaze. This was bad. The pn was to strike while Mike was still fused, but the guy immediately recovered. There were no openings.

  Yuel was wrong about ohing regarding the chess analogy. Debate was indeed like a 1v1 game, but it was a game with loose rules. There were far too many tricks and teiques out there, some of which would definitely be illegal in an official game.

  Mike’s fiertimidation was one of them. Even though the guy held his ground just fine via arguments, he had no iions of pying by the rules. He’d use every dirty tri the book to secure his victory. “Fair petition” was an alien cept that had no pce here.

  I-I don’t think I do this. Yuel caved in against Mike’s pierg gre. For a moment, he fot how to form sentences. He became a helpless rabbit who was about to be devoured by a merciless wolf.

  “Hey, we’re real sorry for intruding like this and all.” Lars’s strong voice cut through the suffog atmosphere. “But, this is only fair, ya know? Ben is part of our club, so it interferes with our club activity when he’s missing. So, it’s like your club activity always interferes with our club activity, so now it’s our turn, haha.”

  “Hmph.” Mike was forced to divide his intimidatioweewo oppos. That lessehe burden on Yuel.

  Hah... Yuel felt like a boulder fell off his shoulders. His body was so tense a moment ago that he couldn't speak a single word, but now he was returning to his usual self. Lars really saved him with that interje.

  Don’t worry, dude. Lars showed a small thumbs-up behind his back. I gotcha back. Go floor that dude with your 200 IQ stuff, yot it. Yuel took a deep breath.

  He wasn’t alone in this fight. Even though he stepped in to help Lars, it didn’t mean Lars suddenly ceased to exist. The ever-fident goof was still here, standihan a meter in front of him.

  While Yuel searches for a way to er Mike through debate, Lars will deflect all the ining intimidation. Together, they’ll force Mike to py by the rules ahis guy at his own nasty game!

  DarkestCymore