Everybody silently watched Alex leave the stage, without turning his head even once. From start to end, nobody uttered a single word. There’s nothing to say here.

  “This is good.” Ruez o himself.

  “Good?” Jennifer raised an eyebrow. Sure, that zy bum deserved some scolding, but wasn't this too much? She never saw Alex react sly about anything before. It kinda freaked her out, holy. He even tried shouldering all the bme, despite being a master of excuses. She had no idea how to digest this.

  “Now,” Ruez turo Jennifer as if what just happened was already history. “One pyer already came to terms with his faults. What about you?”

  “I...” Jennifer’s lips trembled. She couldn’t bring herself to y her feelings bare, but she had to. Because even Alex, of all people, mao admit he was a trash quitter. Jennifer won’t run away either.

  “I probably shouldn’t have rushed Spellbook,” Jennifer said with downcast eyes. “After falling behind, I should've built something more stable against an aggressive scrub like Gunz.”

  “And why you didn’t do that?”

  “Because...” Jennifer gritted her teeth, chewed her lips and finally opened her mouth. “I wao py bo. I’m a bo pyer.”

  “Even at the expense of losing the game?”

  “No, that’s... I mean...” She hung her head. No, that’s wrong! She didn’t... But, she actually kinda did... GAH, her brain hurt!

  “Good girl.” Ruez patted her head.

  “Eh? What?”

  “Admitting that bo held you back is a huge step forward.” Ruez nodded with a kind smile. Normally, Jennifer would dismiss this kind of topi five seds, without even sparing a fra of thought on it. No matter how many obstacles she had to swim through while pying bo, she never admitted that stig with bo was a big mistake at times. Today was a first.

  “I know you’re fed up with this lecture by now,” Ruez said. “But, you o stop chasing that false ideal you created in your head. That famous video of DimensionShift beating Maker with a bo is sure amazing, but it made you miss the whole point. Before being a renowned bo pyer, Shift is firstmost a strong pro pyer. That one amazing bo py in the video was build upon solid foundation, it didn’t happen in the spur of the moment like you seem to think.”

  “I know it wasn’t a fluke,” Jennifer said with sparkling eyes. “Shift pull off that kinda py any day! He’s awesome like that!”

  “That’s not the point,” Ruez sighed. “The point is, Shift decided it ropriate for him to py bo that matly after he analyzed the development of the match to that point. That’s why I told you to also watch matches in which he doesn’t py bo. Did you watch them?”

  “A little...” Jennifer shifted her eyes away. Holy, she couldn’t bear watg them for more than a few minutes. For her, Shift was the best bo pyer in the world. Watg him py something other than bo was like watg how the best pitcher in the world pyed as an outfielder. Sure, it could be fun to watch too, but it ruined Shift’s age.

  “If you tried to analyze them, you’d realize he’s not using bo every game. In fact, I’d be surprised if he uses ore than half his games.”

  “Geh...”

  “I know you don’t like hearing it, but it’s the truth. As I said, he’s a pro pyer before he’s a bo pyer. His job is to win. He knows when to give up on bo to secure victory.”

  “Grrr...”

  “If Shift were in your shoes st game, he wouldn’t hesitate to give up on bo. He’d go for a slower and more stable build instead of rushing Spellbook.”

  “I get it already.” Jennifer grumped. There’s no denying it, Coach was right. If she truly wao py bo on the highest level, she had to learo give up on it for the sake of victory. It sounded dumb, but that’s the circumstances bo pyers had to fa the currea. bo buffs when!?

  It ainful reality to accept since for her pying Cssmancers was all about pying bo. Still, little by little, she started ing to terms with it. Even a legendary pro pyer like Shift, renowned as the best bo pyer in the world, couldn’t afford to py bo every match. So, pying bo 100% of the time was clearly wishful thinking.

  “As long as you uand,” Ruez nodded. “I’m not going to force you to py either way, it’s your choiake. In the end, I’m just a coach. It’s you who’s pying the actual game. You have to decide what’s right for you. I made you practice the standard pystyle too, so I’m sure you py at least half-detly without bo.”

  “I py SUPAH detly with any build!” Jennifer pouted. Coach drilled AAAAAALL the stuff into her, included how to build and py meta csses as Carry and Mid. She rarely ever used these builds outside practice, but she definitely knew how to. pared to pying bo, the standard pystyle was like the easiest shit in the world.

  “Detly, huh.” Ruez sneered. “I hope you give it a try match. You may be surprised.”

  “Huh? Surprised by what?”

  “You’ll see,” He smiled meaningfully. “Very well, that about s up the important points. Now, just a couple more pointers for the rest of you. Let’s start with Albert.”

  “Yes?” Albert stiffened. Something was ing. Gulp.

  “First, I’ll say you pyed well overall. No pints about your performance.”

  “T-Thank you.” Albert forced a smile. Gulp, gulp and double gulp. Coach was starting with praise? A meteor of criticism was about to drop on Albert.

  “With that said,” Ruez tinued. “You’re teically the shot-caller. I know I divided the responsibility between you, Jenny and Alex, but I’m sure everybody sees you as the main shot-caller.” He sed the rest of the kids and they nodded in response.

  “Yep, Albert makes the best calls.”

  “Mhm, no question about it.”

  Oi, don’t agree so casually. Albert frowhanks for the extra pressure, guys.

  “As I previously noted,” Ruez tinued. “You’ve been turtling too much st game. There were multiple times when you could have gone on the offensive, but you retreated. Why?”

  “Um, well, I actually... Err...” Albert shifted his eyes from side to side until they id on Jennifer. In truth, he wao take the initiative on multiple occasions, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t allowed to, because Jennifer made a different call.

  “Okay, okay,” Jennifer pouted. “Jeez, o look at me like that. Yes, I chied out, I admit.” She already admitted that pying bo was a mistake, so at this point, she was willing to admit anything. “It was all me. Sorry, Coach. I didn’t feel like we could win any of these team fights, so I said we should retreat. My bad.”

  “I see,” Ruez nodded in uanding. “However, that doesn’t clear Albert from responsibility. I divided the shot-calling role among you to ensure nobody monopolizes the trol. If one of you makes a poor call, the others are supposed to object. Isn’t that right?”

  “Y-Yeah...” Albert cast his eyes downwards, avoiding Coach’s pierg gaze.

  “Tell me, did you agree with Jenny’s call for a retreat every time?”

  “ly...”

  “Yet, the team ended up retreating every siime. I thought everybody agreed you’re the main shot-caller here? Why they didn’t listen to you?”

  “Well...” Albert didn’t know how to retort. Perhaps he was seen as the “main shot-caller”, but Jennifer was the captain. pared to her, Albert ractically a nobody. He’s just one of many semi-det bench pyers in this huge club.

  “You didn’t oppose her, right?”

  “Well, I did say the 4v3 situation looked like a good ce to attack, but...”

  “You gave in to her.”

  “I... I guess. I mean, she’s the captain.”

  “That’s an excuse,” Ruez shook his head. “In the end, you didn’t trust your own judgment. Jenny is the captain just because she’s loud, that’s about it.”

  “Hey! Hey!” Jennifer waved angry fists.

  “I joke, of course,” Ruez snickered. “But, my point is: she didn’t bee the captain for her shot-calling skills. She make a det call on a blue moon, but it’s clearly not her strong suit.”

  “Grrr, is it just me just me or Coach is bullying me more than usual today?” Jennifer hissed.

  “It’s all for your own good.”

  “Oh yeah, I’m sure!” She puffed her cheeks.

  “Anyway,” Ruez turo Albert. “o be scared of Jenny. Have more fidence. If you think she’s wrong, say it to her face. She wouldn’t get the hint otherwise.”

  “I uand.” Albert nodded. Easier said than done, but he’ll give it his best shot.

  In this fashion, Ruez addressed every pyer in order. His criticism was brief but sharp. It struck every pyer in their most sensitive spot, f them to front their greatest blunders.

  “There’s more I’d like to say,” Ruez cluded. “But, I o pay a visit to the first string too.”

  “Did they blow it?” Jennifer asked.

  “I haven’t seen the result yet, but most likely.” Ruez nodded as he walked toward the exit. “Jenny, go piebody from the reserves to sub for Alex. You take whoever you deem fit, I trust your judgment. Ask for Albert’s opinion if you’re not sure.”

  “Roger.”

  “O thing: make sure you barickshooter. I doubt Gunz py every css on such a high level.”

  “Of course, no question about it. That fug Trickshooter is getting his ass banned for sure!”

  “Language, young woman.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Jennifer waved her hand. Her fradually returhat’s good because being eid positive was her main redeeming point. Without that, this girl simply wouldn’t be Jennifer.

  “Good lu your match.” Ruez left the stage on that note, leaving the kids to their own devices. They’ll surely put on a good performan their final game. And if they stumble again, that’s alright too. After all, this was just a scrimmage, not a tour match. They were here to learn and gain experienot just to win.

  Losing today’s scrimmage may cost the Leopards the ce to be seeded high iour, but that’s not a deal breaker. If the kids get to learn something new and improve for the future, that’s a firade.

  In that regard, Ruez was thankful to StormBlitz. Both their first and sed strings were strong and engaging. Fighting against them provided his kids with an abundance of experienbsp;

  On his way across the hallway, Ruez spotted a familiar face. Alex was just standing there, staring at a wall with a soft drink in hand.

  “You really put me on the spot with your stunt,” Ruez admitted. “It was hard for me to be too harsh on Jenny after you quit like that. Was that yoal?”

  “Who knows,” Alex shrugged and took a slow sip from his drink, without even turning to face Ruez. “Don’t get the wrong idea, though That idiot go die in a hole for all I care- agh!” CHOP!

  “Don’t talk like that, especially when you don’t mean it.”

  “Tch, whatever.” Alex rubbed the ag spot on his head. “Some coach you are. Is it fuing your pyers? You literally put me on the sed string to fuck with me, you twisted bastard.”

  “First, nguage. Sed, ‘twisted bastard’? That’s some respect you show your coach.”

  “Whatever. I don’t expect to stay in the club anyway after all this crap.”

  “I’m not kig you out, if that’s what you think.”

  “Eh? You want to keep me?” Alex shuddered. With everything that just happened on stage, he was sure his middle school Cssmancers career was over. Yet, he was allowed to stay? “Why? Didn’t you put me through all that shit to make me quit on my own?”

  “If I wanted, I would have kicked you out a long time ago,” Ruez said matter-of-factly. “You call me ‘twisted bastard’ or any other names you wish, but I want you to uand I didn’t io bully you.”

  “Then what? What was the point of that whole gig?”

  “I simply wanted you to realize how low you’ve fallen,” Ruez expined. “I knew you’ll stumble once Warlock is banned, and I and hoped that’ll make you question yourself.”

  “Wait, you knew I’ll perform poorly without Warlock? You make it sound as if...”

  “I do have access to your match history, after all,” Ruez smirked.

  “You sly bastard,” Alex ched the drink in his hand, almost making it spill out. “You knew all along, but you made me dig up the data anyway for the show.”

  “It’s to make sure you front the facts by yourself. It’s ohing to be told by somebody else, and ao uhe truth on your owher way, the goal wasn’t to make you quit. On the trary, it’s to make you take the game seriously again.”

  “Ah.” Alex paused. So basically, it was a wake-up sp. Or rather, a freaking punch. This sly coach went as far as putting Alex on the sed string, endangering the whole team’s ces of winning, just to punch Alex straight in the brain.

  This stunt might cost the Leopards some seeding points, which will hurt their ces to win the regionals this year. Didn’t Coach care about winning the regionals more than anything? After all, it’s the guy who came up with the weird mixup strategy for that sole purpose.

  So, what gives? All this effort and risk, for what? Just to mentally sp Alex across the face? That’s so dumb. What did Coach want from him? What did he expect?

  “Keeping me in the club after all this shit,” Alex muttered. “It’s like you’re saying I still have a ce to get anywhere.”

  “Yes, you do,” Ruez nodded. “You’re a talented boy. Already in your first year, you were very close to the level of the first string.”

  “But, I didn’t make it.”

  “Indeed, because I have a policy of f the first string from seniors,” Ruez said. Uhe kid was a godly prodigy who stood above the rest, there’s no ce Ruez would pick them for the first string before their st year. There were many reasons for that approach.

  One of the goals was to make the younger pyers hunger for the first string, motivating them to train harder. After all, it’s not like getting on the first string as a junior was entirely impossible. The current captain of first string was one such rare example, a truly genius kid.

  All in all, this motivator worked well for most kids. However, it backfired in Alex’s case.

  In hindsight, maybe Ruez should have strayed from his policy this ond put Alex on the first string as a freshman. Unfortunately, he couldn’t predict these seque the time. He still had a lot to learn as a coach.

  “This is your st year,” Ruez said. “You still make it into the first string if yood enough. You may be rusty, but your sharp instincts are still there. If you polish yourself in time for the regionals, who knows what’ll happen.”

  “Are you really going five me...?” Alex hung his head. The drink in his hand trembled as he tried to take a sip. “Even after all the shit I’ve been pulling the st two years, you’d still let me into the first string?”

  “If you prove you’re putting effort and show results, I have no reason to refuse you. Everybody makes mistakes, especially kids. There’s no reason to n you for it.”

  “T-Thank you v-very much.” Sobs mixed into Alex’s words.

  “Good luck,” Ruez patted Alex’s shoulder and tinued further down the hallway. “I’m expeg great things for you.” On that note, he left.

  Both Alex and Jennifer received heavy blows after this match. Good. That should serve as a call for them. Each of them had to be broken down so they rebuild themselves from scratch, strohan ever. Ohey do that... Hmhm, who knows how strong they’ll bee.