DEFEAT

  “No way...” Jennifer just sat there, staring at her s. Why? How? They were so much better than the enemy during the first match, what ged? How e they gged behind the whole match this time?

  “Oh, it’s over? Finally.” Alex open his eyes and yawned, stretg his arms. Grrrrr! Jennifer wao rip that scum apart! But, she gave up on it. After all, Alex’s predi came true - they lost the match. They came so close to making a eback, but they fell short.

  “Cap, you o pull yourself together.” Albert said.

  “Yeah, I know.” Jennifer muttered. “Just let me mope a little I’m also a human, ya know?”

  “No do.” Albert shook his head. “You’re the mood maker of this team, that’s literally the only reason you’ve been picked as the captain.”

  “Rude.” Jennifer’s lips curved into a thin smile. Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Keeping the team psyched was her job. No matter how grim the situation got, she’s the only one who wasn’t allowed to look down. Sigh.

  “Okay, guys!” Jennifer cpped ohey got us good this time, I won’t lie. But, we almost 4v5’d their asses even though they had Overlord Buff, so these suckers got nothing on us! They’re just a bunch of baby greenhorns! Keep ing at them with everything you got and they’ll give in!”

  “Yeah, we were so close!”

  “ime for sure!”

  “Good to see you still got the spirit.” A man’s voice mixed into the team’s cries.

  “Oh, Coach?” Jennifer blinked. “The heck you doing here?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I came to whip you into shape.” Coach sed each pyer in order with his hawk eyes. “Seriously, what are you doing? Losing to a makeshift team like that, is that how I trained you?”

  “Don’t worry, we totally got this!” Jennifer insisted.

  “Yes, very ving after going 0-2. If this were a best of three, you’d be eliminated right now.”

  “Geh. W-We’re w on it!”

  “‘W on it’?” Coach lifted his . “All I saw was you pying the exact same lineup as the first game.”

  “Well, we thought we gonna win.” Jennifer said. “You watched the first match? We totally domihat one!”

  “And, you lost.” Coach spped them with the harsh truth. “It seems you don’t even uand the reason you lost. anybody tell me why you lost the first match?”

  “Yeah, sure!” Jennifer nodded. “They got super lucky and made a few good pys he end-“

  “Anybody?”

  “Geh.” Jennifer made a face. Coach sed the other pyers, ign Jennifer’s input. Nobody volunteered to give their two ts.

  “Alright then, I’ll pick.” Coach said. “Alex, what do you think?”

  “Huh? Well...” Alex sighed. “Their game pn ged during the end game. Like, they’ve been pying defense since mid game, right? But then, they suddenly went full offehat caught us off guard.”

  “That’s all true, but you’re only stating facts.” Coach said. “Go deeper. Why and how do you think that switch happened?”

  “Heck if I knew.” Alex shrugged. “I bet their shot-caller flipped a switch. Either that, or they ged the shot-caller altogether.”

  “Good, that’s most likely the case.” Coaodded. “They made some very iing pys there, starting with the Lancer’s suicide atta Jehey went on the offensive despite being behind and it paid off.”

  Coach went over some sarios from the first match, showing how the Leopards faced airely differe during the end game. None of the enemy’s achievements were “lucky pys”, they were all methodically calcuted. He made sure to beat that fato them, so they stop making excuses and wake up.

  “Frankly, some of these pys were too impressive for middle schoolers.” Coach admitted. “Their team doesn’t have a coach as far as I know, so such a high level of py is ued from a makeshift sed string. I sent a few of our boys to tail them during this break, to see if they’re exging information with any outsiders.”

  “What, you think they’re cheating?” Jennifer asked.

  “One of their pyers from the first string has a pro pyer in the family, so you ever be too sure. Then again, their sudden transformation occurred during the first game and persisted all the way into the sed game, so it’s most likely their own hard work.”

  Coaches, let alosiders, weren’t allowed on stage during an ongoing match. In addition, pyers’ cell phones were fiscated. Lastly, the P stage ected to a private server, so one of these kids had to be some kind of hacker to use it for external unication. Frankly, it was unlikely.

  But, if they really got such a talented shot-caller, why would he be stu the sed string? The coach, Ruez, wondered. Actually, I have a good guess. Even if there’s really such a sharp shot-caller on the sed string, there’s an even more amazing kid on the first string.

  I two matches between the first strings, Ruez saw plenty high level shot-calling from StormBlitz. The kid in charge was undoubtedly Howard, niame Aegis. His older sister made her professional debut soon after finishing high school, so he must had grown up o Cssmancers from a tender age.

  The kid sure put the Leopards through hell. With him in charge, StormBlitz had an imperable defense. Outwitting or punishing StormBlitz’s pyers was almost impossible, despite the high caliber of the Leopards’ first string. Ruez traihe kids over the past three years, so he attested to their skill. Yet, Aegis shut down most of their attacks.

  From what Ruez could tell, most of StormBlitz’s first string wasn’t anything special. Athena could be praised for her unorthodox pystyle and Frown had an oppressive te game, but that’s about it. Yet, under Aegis’s and, all the gears of that team worked together in perfeion, building an unbreakable line of defense.

  The Leopards held the upper hand most of the time, but they were forced to slowly crawl toward victory. As the pyers themselves put it, fighting against Aegis felt like “bashing their heads against a wall until it breaks”. They somehow won both games so far, but they were mentally exhausted after each round.

  With such a brilliant shot-caller leading the first string, it wasirely impossible that aalented shot-caller ended up in the sed striher way, this level of challenge was just right for the kids. They’ll definitely learn something new from today’s scrimmage.

  “Your oppos were tougher than you expected,” Ruez said. “But, it doeshere. In term of skill, you’re stronger as a whole. You proved as much during the first match. Then, what’s the real reason you lost?”

  Nobody volunteered to guess, so Ruez tinued. “First, you had some bad matchups. Jennifer, you’re struggling against the duo in Bot, correct?”

  “Huh? Not at all!” Jennifer puffed her chest. “These scrubs got nothing on me!”

  “You say that, yet you failed to score any kills during the ning phase. Their Carry is about as skilled as you, so you find it hard to outpy him. And, their Suppave you trouble by g you with the worst timing.”

  “Geh.” Jennifer hung her head.

  “And Alex, you’re alsling against your ne oppo, correct?” Ruez said.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Alex shrugged. “That guy isn’t greedy enough, so I ’t punish him much. He’s such a drag.”

  “Alright, these bad matchups are ohing we’ll have to fix.” Ruez said. “Moving on, an factor for your defeat is that the enemy figured you out.”

  “Figured out?” Jeilted her head.

  “They studied how you py and used the appropriate ters.”

  “Well, we also adapted to them, haven’t we?”

  “Yes, but they adapted to you first and you fot to adapt to them iurn. After all, you picked almost the exact same lineup for the sed game, somehow expeg to win.”

  “Geh.” Jennifer averted her eyes.

  Ruez went over a couple examples from the match, pointing out moments where StormBlitz brilliantly struck the team’s weakest points. Many of the sarios involved Jennifer and Alex, whom StormBlitz targeted more frequently and food reason.

  The enemy learned Jennifer was a bo pyer, so they stayed out of her bo’s reach. This forced her to be aggressive if she wao score any kills, and mgressively she pyed - the easier it was to punish her. On top of that, the moment she finished her bo - they focused on her, knowing she wasn’t much of a threat without her bo.

  Simirly, they focused Alex in the right moments. They reized Alex as a threat in team fights, so they always tried pig him off before a team fight started. For example, oime they went hard on the offeo pressure the Leopards, f Alex to py his cards right away. Right after he did, they suddenly switched to defending to throw the Leopards off. Amidst the fusion, Alex ulled by the Druid and killed.

  “Yeah, that!” Jennifer excimed. “They kill him before every team fight, he ’t even dodge basic stuff! This guy has zero motivation to py, he doesn’t even e to practice. What’s he even doing oeam? Sub him, Coach! There are a bunch of guys who’d gdly take his pce!”

  “Hmph, do what you want.” Alex shrugged and averted his eyes, but he threw a g the coach. Despite how he talked and acted, he didn’t want to be repced due to underperf. He was a difficult kid, Ruez khat.

  During his first year, Alex dispyed great talent and motivation. Everybody believed he’ll bee a first string pyer soohan ter, including Alex himself. However, Ruez alrioritized seniors for the first string, sihey were the most experienced, polished, and reliable. Ruez already spent two years training these kids, so he kly what to expect from them. On top of that, it was their st year of middle school, so he wahem to gain some petitive experience before tag high school’s petitive se.

  Because of all that, Alex wasn’t picked for the first string as a freshman. And, her as a junior. heless, Ruez had high hopes for him and put him on the sed string as a junior, to nurture him as much as possible before his third year. Sadly, that iion didn’t reach Alex.

  He lost all motivation after not making it to the first string, He started zing around, skipping practice, bickering with teammates and perf poorly. He became but a shadow of his former promising self.

  In this regard, Jennifer’s evaluation of him was correct, for a ge. Alex wasn’t motivated to py on the sed string and there were plenty of kids who’d gdly take his pce. They’ll probably perform better too, sihey were good kids who didn’t skip practice.

  heless, Ruez wao keep Alex in the game. Maybe, just maybe, it’d spark something. If there’s any ce Alex could regain his former motivation, it was worth taking a risk and keeping him in the game.

  “Alex stays in.” Ruez announced.

  “Wha? But why!?” Jennifer cried out. “He screws everything for us!”

  “True, he messed up multiple times in both games. His ck of practice is showing itself.” Ruez shot a critig gre at Alex. “But, you ’t deny he’s at least useful in team fights, correct?”

  “What team fights? The ones where he doesn’t drop dead before they start? As if that ever happens.”

  “True, true. The enemy have a tendency to eliminate him before a team fight begins, but that just goes to shoary they’re of him. They know he’ll mess up their pns if he tributes to the team fight, that’s why they eliminate him first. That should be proof enough he’s a great asset for the team.”

  “But, he messes up simple pys! Just look how many times he failed to dodge telegraphed attacks! He’s been zing too mud lost his touch.”

  “Perhaps. But, nobody here is without faults, you all had your fair share of mispys. I’d go over them in more detail, but the break won’t st enough.” Ruez softened his tone. “You all made mistakes and will keep making mistakes, and that’s alright. What’s important is to learn from them aer yourselves for game. And, if you see somebody repeat a mistake, point it out instead of dissing them for it, uood?”

  “Roger...” Jewisted her lips, but nodded heless. Good girl.

  “Now, switch it up.”

  BAM!

  Ruez produced a booming sound with a single cp.

  “Oh!” Jennifer excimed. Here it was! The ultimate g teique, only avaible to true cp-fu masters! She practiced her g for years to get to that legendary level, but she’s still just a scrub pared to Ruez’s level.

  The thundering loudness shook the whole team. First, there was surprise and bewilderment. Then, they were repced with focus and sharpness. Everybody, even Alex, now paid attention to Ruez.

  “Frankly,” Ruez said. “I didn’t expect you run into such tough oppos today, which is why I wasn’t strict about your mixup training. But, I always tell you to practice a sedary role,” He pierced each pyer with his hawk eyes. “So, I hope you’ve been w hard on that even without my supervision.”

  “Of course!” Jennifer gave a thumb up. “I’m always ready to go as Mid!”

  “That’s a good girl.” Ruez nodded. Jennifer erhaps somewhat of a dummy, but a motivated and diligent ohe por opposite of Alex. “What about the rest? How fident are you in your sedary roles?”

  “Um...”

  “Well...”

  Cody and Joey averted their eyes, it seemed they didn’t practice much. Unfortunate, but not surprising. There were many kids who tched onto one role, sometimes one css, and wao py only that. Ruez didn’t expect them to py against such a strong team, so he wasn’t striough about their mixup training. Regrettable.

  “I’ve been pying Carry at least once a day,” Albert said. “So, I should be good to go.”

  “Oh, how promising.” Ruez nodded repeatedly. What a good and obedient kid, it brought a smile on Ruez’s face. Albert wasn’t a particurly outstanding pyer, but he practiced whatever he was told without pining. If he keeps this up, he’ll definitely bee a great pyer one day.

  “I py Mid or Support whenever I feel like it,” Alex shrugged. “So, I py either, really.”

  “That’s good to know.” Ruez had mixed feelings about this information. But, as long as it was with Warlock, perhaps Alex could really py both roles equally. That is, equally poorly.

  “Alright, so here’s what we do.” Ruez expined. “As I already said, the enemy figured you out and you have some unfavorable chups. So, game: Jennifer is Mid, Albert is Carry and Alex is Support. This will throw off your oppos and will deal with the unfavorable matchups, two birds with oone.”

  “Oh! That’s cool!” Jennifer jumped like aed puppy. “We gonna win the one! I’m feeling it!”

  “Just don’t fet what it means to switch to your sedary role.” Ruez warned. “Make sure you switch seats like I taught you. Alex must sit between Jennifer and Albert as the Support.”

  “But, then we’ll have to login again...” Alex sighed. “’t we just keep the same sits? It doesn’t really matter where we sit”

  “No, you sit like I taught you.” Ruez insisted. “As a Support, you must be stantly in touch with the Carry and the Mid Laner, sihat’s where you’ll be rotating the most during early game. I know it sounds like nagging, but it’s the little things that matter. Or what, you think you’re such pros that you unicate telepathically?”

  “Exactly,” Jennifer gred at Alex. “Just shut up and do what Coach says.”

  “Whatever...” Alex sighed.

  “Good.” Ruez nodded. “Now, onto other things to keep in mind. Jennifer, switg from Carry to Mid means you no longer have anybody to support you on ne. Make sure you don’t overextend.”

  “Roger!” Jennifer saluted.

  “Albert, don’t fet you’re a squishy when you’re a Carry. You ’t be in the enemy’s face the way you like as Support.”

  “Of course.”

  “And Alex, I’m sure you want to go for a hybrid build as always, but make sure you prioritize defeems during the early game.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

  “That’s about s it up.” Ruez checked his watch. “I don’t want you to hate me for taking your break, so let’s end it here.”

  “If you got more important stuff to say, you better tells us!” Jennifer said. “We don’t wanna lose to these guys again, so any tips will help. Right, guys?”

  “Yeah, we don’t care about the break.”

  “We just wanna win, yo!”

  “Sigh, what a drag...”

  The whole team was on the same page, save for one zy kid. They burned with the desire to win the mato matter what. Such determination! It brought a tear to Ruez’s eye. This unyielding attitude was the most important thing for petitive pyers, he was so happy the kids adopted it.

  “Heh, you’re really something.” Ruez smiled softly. With Jennifer in charge, the thirst for battle and victory ied the whole team like a virus. Despite her many shortings, nominating Jennifer as the captain was the correct decision.

  “The’s see.” Ruez tinued. “First, Jennifer. You’re a dummy, so better keep pying like one.”

  “H-Huh?”

  “Remember how you cloaked Blink i game? You tried to ‘outsmart’ the enemy by waiting for the ‘right moment’, correct?”

  “Yeah, I was gonna shock these scrubs to another dimension.”

  “Too bad, turned out they were expeg it.”

  “Y-Yeah, they seemed kinda prepared...” Jennifer averted her eyes.

  “In the end, you didn’t fool anybody and only wasted ood opportuo use Blink. What’s worse, you were preoccupied with thinking when you should reveal your Blink, which distracted you and dragged down your overall performance. Just focus on your usual bo pys and don’t think too hard, that’s when you’re at your best.”

  “Roger!” Jennifer saluted.

  “Alex, you o get your act together.” Ruez said. “I know this isn’t the first string and it’s just a scrimmage, but don’t uimate today’s importance. Your oppos are about as good as the average middle school team, so I’m going to treat today’s results seriously. If you perform well today, you may still have a ce to get into first string.”

  “Ah!” Alex’s drowsy eyes fshed for a moment. “Sure, I’ll see what I do.” There was uncharacteristic weight behind these words, the kind Ruez hadn’t heard from Alex in a long time. Good.

  “The same applies to everybody here.” Ruez turo each member in order. “Depending on your performaoday, you may earn yourselves a lot of points toward entering the first string. There’s still time until the regionals, so anything happen.”

  “Hell yeah! We gonna do it!” Jennifer’s pumped a fist, her bzing fighting spirit overwhelmed everybody arouhe whole team syched after hearing these words. They were like starving dogs and the coach just waved a bone in front of them. They had been training in the club for over two years now, so of course they all burned with desire to ehe first string. Turning said desire intth would help them triumph over their oppos.

  “, Cody...” Ruez tinued giving poio eadividual pyer, polishing them as much as possible before the game. With everybody’s fighting spirits burning strong, they headed into the game with relehirst for victory.