“This is all hard to believe, right? I don’t bme you.” Howard nodded. “But rest assured, sis proved she was stronger in the end. I mean, she’s still a prht? Haha.”

  “But,” Yuel started. “You’re saying it was a close fight.”

  “Yeah, it retty o-neck, which was a shocker to pretty much everybody. Sis went to drown all her salt in alcohol afterward.”

  “Even though she won?”

  “Yeah, even though she won.” Howard nodded.

  “That’s all hard to take in...”

  “Yeah, I know the feel. But, it’s all true. This Korean pyer is a real monster. He makes Fenrir look like a cute puppy in parison.”

  “If he’s that good, then why didn’t he show up in the previous scrims at all?”

  “It’s because he’s that good,” Howard expined. “If you let a guy like him oage, he’ll sughter any team by himself.”

  “Yeah, I see that happen. The two previous teams already got steamrolled by the Leopards.”

  “Right. Now, imagine what would happen if they add the Koreao the lineup? It’d be overkill.”

  “Does this Korean pyer have a name?”

  “ht. It’s Young-jin. His IGN is Apprentice… or, was it?” Howard tried to remember. “Actually, I think it elled a little differently? Like Apprentece or something? Anyway, that’s yuy.”

  As much as I don’t want to admit it, so far Howard’s responses seem genuine enough. Yuel thought. It sounds like he’s telling the truth, as much as I don’t want to believe it...

  A secret sixth pyer, a Korean pyer, and a middle schooler who could rival pros like Ignis. It was a mixture of elements that were hard to digest. Each of them alone was still fine, but when they all verged together into one person...

  “Well,” Howard said. “I’m not going to force you to believe it. I just wao inform you, that’s all.”

  “What for?” Yuel demanded. “To scare me?”

  “Heh, not at all.” Howard smirked. “But, I figured this story might be a little disheartening, which is why I made sure to speak with you alone. After all, I’m sure your team prepared long and hard a lot for this match, right? It’d be a shame to learn that there was a secret sixth pyer they know nothing about, an oppo who is far strohan the rest of the Leopards bined.”

  “That’s true,” Yuel agreed. Hearing something like that right before the match could be a heavy blow to morale.

  Most of the team members were probably already on edge from the fact they were about to face the regional champions. So, if shog news like this were to hit them right now...

  I suppose I should be thankful for Howard’s “sideration” here. Though, that still doesn’t expin why he decided to share this information with ME.

  “So,” Yuel started. “You were siderate enough to not drop this bomb on the whole team, thank you very much. Yet, you’re still fih piling this kind of pressure on me, huh.”

  “I trust you to not lose to this pressure.” Howard smiled meaningfully.

  “What’s yenda in all of this?”

  “Nothing much, really. I’m just helping out my former vice-captain. I’ve always been this nice, haven’t I?”

  Yeah, right. Yuel made a face. He definitely wants me to do something based on this information. But, what could it be? By itself, this info isn’t worth that much. I should try fishing for more details.

  “I’m still not vinced,” Yuel said. “This story still sounds kind of bogus. You haven’t even told me anything about how this guy’s pystyle. You only told me he’s ‘very good’, which doesn’t say much.”

  “That’s fair.” Howard nodded. “Alright, I’ll share the few things I know.”

  “Please do.”

  “Alright, so first of all, the guy is strong across the board.”

  “Yes, I believe we already established that.”

  “I know, I know. Just make sure you don’t fet this little tidbit while I tell you the more specific things I learned about him.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.” Yuel nodded.

  “So, the first thing you should be ready for is Korean cel. You know what it is, right?”

  “Of course.”

  Korean Step cel, which was usually called Korean cel or KC for short. It was an advanced method of exploiting the input buffering of the game, allowing pyers to skip portions of the recovery animation.

  The teique was fairly well-known in name, but its popurity varied in different parts of the world. For example, Korea and a wholly embraced Kd ied it into all levels of py. Likewise, other petitive ses in Asia also frequently made use of KC.

  Oher hand, the western se was far less ied in mastering KC. The teique almost never showed up in pro matches over here, except in the highest echelons of A-League. And even then, whenever a western A-Leaguer used KC, the entator would often overhype it as a godly teique that only the chosen ones could wield.

  Holy, I didn’t pay it much attentioher. Yuel admitted. KC demands too much practice for too little of gain.

  As somebody who strived to research every facet of Cssmancers, Yuel naturally dabbled in KC as well. He studied the teicalities behind it, the adva offered, and how to execute it.

  And then, after abs all that theoretical info - it was time to reproduce the teique!

  If only it was that simple. Yuel frowned. I spent about a week trying to figure it out, but I felt like I made zerress.

  No amount of tutorials uides helped Yuel whatsoever. He uood the theory behind the teique, yet he was uo pull off these frame-perfeputs. It was beyond human capabilities, surely.

  And so, after a long week of experiments, Yuel ultimately gave up. For truly, mastering the Korean cel was but a pipe dream for a meically-challenged pyer like him.

  I remember thinking Lars will be able to master it in a few days. H I was...

  Even Lars, the meical beast, struggled with KC. His respoimes were definitely on point, so he should have been able to nail these perfect sidesteps. A, he couldn’t do it sistently at all.

  There was some sort of mental block that he had to overe in order to be able to perform Ksistently. It seemed that the teicalities of the exploit went over his head, so it was hard for him to frame his mind correctly.

  I’m sure he would have been able to master KC if he focused exclusively on it for a few good months. But, we never have such luxury.

  The goof had plenty of other important things to learn and master first, so practig KC was at the very bottom of the backlog, gathering dust. And so, Yuel and Lars never got around to discussing KC again ever since.

  Ahere it was, on its way to greet the two of them again. Apparently, the Leopards’ Korean pyer was going t this plex teique to the table today.

  "How good is his KC?" Yuel asked.

  "It’s good enough to make sis rant about it all night." Howard smiled wryly. "From the sound of it, that KC gave her lots of trouble in fights."

  “So, his KC has a high success rate.” Yuel frowned.

  Due to the strict timing of KC, it ractically impossible to have a 100% success rate with it. The smallest human error was enough to throw the ehing awry.

  Even the best Korean pros admitted in interviews that they made sure to not overuse KC. The more often they used it, the more likely they were to mess it up in a critical moment.

  So, even if their success rate with KC seemed like 100% on paper, in practice the pros made sure to choose the best and most fortable times to utilize the teique. That’s how they maximized their success ce, making it look as if they could pull off K their sleep.

  And apparently, Apprentece wielded his K a simir level. It wasn’t just some fancy teique he used in order to impress the audience. He really knew how and when to utilize this advaool in order to give himself an advantage in bat.

  This is all useful information. Yuel thought. But, with that said, there isn’t much I do to ter KC. It’s all about seeing it in a and adapting accly. I want some more crete details about Apprentece’s pystyle.

  "They fought in Tht?” Yuel asked. “So, I take it Apprentece is a Top pyer."

  "I wouldn't be so fast to clude that," Howard objected. “As I told you, this guy is strong across the board. So, I wouldn't be surprised if he py more roles. Heck, I won’t be surprised if he py all of them equally well.”

  “So, you’re sayihat good, huh.”

  “Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little,” Howard admitted. “But trust me, I’m n to scare you for nothing. I really think he might be at that level. After all, he gave sis a fair fight, remember? How many middle schoolers do you know who pull that off?”

  It sounds like the experience left a mark on Howard. Yuel gulped. He always tries to look strong and fident, so it’s rare to see him railed up like this. Should I be getting worried, too?

  At this point, Yuel no longer harbored any suspi regarding Apprentece’s existence. He had no choice but to accept that such a skilled pyer lurked in the shadows of the Leopards.

  And so, Yuel had to brace himself. Even if Stratus defeat the Leopards today, there was a secret final boss awaiting them at the end of that road.

  As the only member of the team currently aware of this, it was Yuel’s responsibility to get as mutel as possible oopic.

  “Okay,” Yuel started. “I uand that he use Kd probably py multiple roles. Is there anything else? Tell me everything you know."

  "We'll be here all day if I give the full version.” Howard chuckled. “Here’s the gist of it: he's practically a pro. Meical skill, deaking, game knowledge, adaptation, parrying, Kd even his ability to fit into eams. Everything is top-notch with this guy."

  "You make him sound invincible."

  "For middle school level? Yeah, he might as well be."

  "But, your sister defeated him, right? So, he must have some weaknesses."

  "Whoa there. Did you really just pare sis to middle school level?"

  "That wasn't my iion," Yuel crified. "I was just thinking about what you said earlier. Ignis struggled against him at first, right? But, she won in the end. So, she must've figured something out."

  "I'll be ho, it felt like the main reason sis ‘won’ was because Apprentece rushed things a little."

  Howard briefly summarized the two big occasions in which Ignis came on top against Apprentece. In both examples, Apprentece went for uncharacteristically rushy pys that led to unfortunate clusions.

  The first time, he challenged Ignis to a fight despite having fewer minions on his side. He did a good job evening the odds at the cost of his HP, but then the enemy Jungler, Hawk, showed up.

  “Thankfully, I made Dan rescue that blockhead before the situation got out of hand. But, it was still a close call.”

  I see Howard’s absolute defense saves lives, as usual. Yuel made a face.

  “Then,” Howard tinued. “There was oher notable py in the sed game...”

  He retold horentece prematurely aggressed on Ignis by using the Viking’s ult. That, too, y born out of a sense of rushiness.

  Most likely, the guy thought that being pushed back 24/7 was bad for his evaluation. Therefore, he decided to act.

  “I advised him against it, mind you,” Howard mentioned. “But, the fool still went for it. And, he performed well, all things sidered.”

  Apprentece’s risky py did reset the uation, f Ignis into recalling with low HP. That was a rather impressive achievement against an early-game Orc.

  As, Ignis outsmarted the kid. Instead of recalling, she hid in the jungle and waited for the best moment to rendezvous with Hawk. Then, the two of them delivered a devastating bita the tower, demolishing it wholly.

  “A actic,” Yuel said.

  “I had a feeling you’ll say that.” Howard chuckled. “Scammy tactics like that really speak to yht? Haha.”

  “It’s a perfectly valid strategy,” Yuel argued. “She took advantage of her css’s strengths and of the synergy between Ord Beastmaster. It was a brilliant py. So much, that I find it hard to imagine Ignis doing this.”

  “Are you throwing shade at my sis?”

  “I just had the impression she’s a more straightforward type of pyer.” Yuel sidestepped the accusation.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Howard nodded. “Sis insists she’s the one who came up with that py, but I have my doubts. It robably Hawk’s idea. Or, maybe Esmeralda fed both of them something, who knows.”

  Regardless, the fact remaihat this ploy pletely destroyed Apprentece’s reputation for that game. That euation looked like a bluhat started the moment he prematurely activated the Viking’s ult.

  “Both times, he robably getting anxious about the exam,” Howard said. “That’s why he went for pys that were a little rash and risky like that. He’s not like that normally.”

  “I see, so Ignis’s ‘victory’ was mostly a circumstantial thing.” Yuel frowned. Apprentece lost to pressure both times because it was an important exam. I doubt any of that will happen to him in a normal game.

  In clusion, there was no intel about any obvious weaknesses in Apprentece’s pystyle. He rivaled Ignis from start to end, except for the few moments where he had a pse of judgment because he was thinking too hard about being evaluated by the audience.

  There’s no way I’ll be able to find any weaknesses in an oppo like this, not without lots of footage data to analyze. I’ll just have to treat him like Taurus’ Triangle.

  In other words, for norentece will have to be treated like a force of nature. It was best to py around this powerful foe and target other weaknesses.

  heless, Yuel wao gather as muformation as possible in preparation. After all, knowledge equaled power, especially for circumstances like this.

  "About that sed example, you said you warned him against attag, right?"

  “I sure did, but he didn’t listen.” Howard shook his head. “He was too fident and that cost him. It looks like deep down he’s still a brat, despite his impressive skill.”

  "The fact he went for such a risky py in the first pce is suspect. If he's really that amazing of a pyer, I would have expected him to cooperate with the Jungler for something like this."

  "I advised him that as well, actually." Howard sighed. "But, he said it'll take too long for Dan to rotate over there, so he’d rather take matters into his own hands.”

  “That doesn’t sound ving.” Yuel frowned. “I’d expect a high-level pyer to be more flexible than that. He should’ve timed his py better to sync up with Dan’s rotations.”

  “I’m with you. But, it felt like he didn’t want to rely on Dan in both games.”

  “Any reason for that? Did he think it’d hurt his evaluation or something?”

  “I doubt it. I mean, knowing how to cooperate with the Jungler is a big plus, right?”

  “Definitely.”

  The Jungler was like a free resource that roamed around the map. As such, any ner could put the team’s Juo good use in order to promote their is, and it was very much advised to do so.

  Therefore, effitly cooperating with the Jungler should’ve earned Apprentee points. A, he decided against it. Why?

  “I could tell he wasn't too happy with Dan's level as a whole,” Howard expined. “Maybe he’s too used to pying with higher caliber Korean teammates, so he didn’t want to give Daime of day."

  "So, he wasn’t very cooperative in general?"

  "Oh, he cooperated plenty,” Howard said. “For the better or the worse, he's pro material. He was able to set his prejudice aside for the sake of winning.”

  “But then, why didn’t he cooperate with Dan?”

  “Well, he cooperated with us as necessary, but it didn’t feel like he really trusted any of us. So, if he thought he could aplish something alohen he preferred doing that alone."

  "I see." Yuel nodded. Iing information. I feel like I'm starting to get a picture here.

  Apprentece was like an alienated king. He was a fo this nd, both in his roots and his skill level.

  In matches, he probably felt like an aristocrat who was forced to py along with filthy oners. Nobody here was deemed worthy in his eyes, yet he alshe y for occasional cooperation.

  As such, Apprentece cooperated with the “lowly pyers” but only for as long as it was absolutely necessary, and not a sed longer. For example, in the mid-game, he probably stuck close to his teammates in order to participate in team fights.

  However, in the early-game, Apprentece was all by himself in his ne. So, he preferred to aplish everything with his own two hands, without relying on any of these “oners” he ying with.

  This sounds like an ahat’ll help me find some of his faults. Yuel reasoned. But, it’s too early to tell. I need more data.

  Yuel asked some more questions but he didn’t learn anythihere were many things that even Howard didn’t know oopic, despite him pying the role of the informant here.

  “It almost feels like an interrogation, haha.” Hhed dryly. "I only came here to give you a little bit of info, but now I’m getting flooded with questions.”

  "You only have yourself to bme for it," Yuel said. "You 't just drop a bomb like this and then leave as if nothing happened. If yoing to give me information, then you better give everything."

  "Well, now you know about everything I know, provided I didn’t fet something."

  "It feels like the main thing I’ve learned is that you don’t know much about him either.”

  "Haha. Harsh, aren't we?"

  "But, it's true, isn’t it? That's why you came to me with this information in the first pce. You shared what you ko make sure I keep digging deeper from there, right?

  "No idea what you're talking about." Howard smiled meaningfully. "I just came here to give a tip to my ex-vice-captain."

  "Okay, we leave it at that.” I’m fairly certain I’m right on the money here.

  The Leopards were Howard’s eoo, so it could be argued that Yuel was currently the “enemy of an enemy”. heless, it was unlikely for Howard to do a favor like this to Yuel based on that alone.

  No, Howard definitely believed he had something to gain from this exge, and that something robably further information about Apprentece. Especially, information ing Apprentece’s weaknesses.

  He gave me as mufo as he could to make it easier for me to expose Appretence’s weaknesses. Why? Because he’s also searg food way to deal with this threat.

  StormBlitz will eventually front the Leopards as well, and they will likely run into Appretehere. So, Howard wao be as ready as possible for that enter.

  I assume that's the gist of it. Yuel deduced. As always, he's good at making others do the work for him. But, I 't deny this exge of information is mutually beneficial.

  "Alright then," Howard said. "I've said my piece. Hopefully, you put this information to good use. Don't disappoint me." He speared Yuel with his hawk eyes, implying that failure was not an option.

  By “disappointing”, I assume he means failing t Appreo the stage.

  Even though they’ve been discussing Apprentece for a while now if the guy was aable oppo, that wasn’t the case at all. After all, Apprentece was the “secret sixth member” of the Leopards, a final boss who hasn’t officially revealed himself yet.

  Therefore, to eve a ce to py against this powerful oppo, it was first necessary to force the Leopards into a er. That alone was already a high bar to set, given how skilled the known members were.

  A, Howard ractically demanding that from Stratus. He tasked them with beating the Leopards to a pulp and f the Korean pyer onto the stage. No sweat.

  As if it’s that simple. Yuel made a face. Before I even start ing up with any pns against Apprentece, I first have to 100% trate oing their main team. Otherwise, we’ll crash and burn before we get anywhere.

  “Well, that’s all from me.” Howard turned around and zily waved behind his back. “I leave it to you to decide how to share this information with your team. I have no idea how they tick, so I ’t advise you on that one.”

  “I’ll probably keep it to myself for now,” Yuel said. “o distract them with unnecessary il we actually get close to pying against Apprentece.”

  “That’s probably for the best.” Howard nodded.

  So, he actually agrees. Yuel voiced his thoughts out loud to fish for Howard’s opinion, and it was a successful catch. Whewo of them were in agreement on something, there was a very good ce it was correct.

  “By the way, if you happen to win today, then you know who to credit, right?”

  “Yes, myself and the team.”

  “Haha, alright then. Good luck out there, you’ll really . I’ll be watg from the audience, so make sure you put on a good show today.”

  And on that note, Howard left.

  This guy is really something. Yuel made a face. He just came here, dropped a bomb, pced tons of expectations on me, and the as if nothing happehe nerve.

  heless, this exge was mutually beneficial, so Yuel couldn’t pin too much. As minimal as the intel about Apprentece was, it still gave Yuel a few hints about how to deal with this pro-level oppo.

  But before that, Stratus first had to defeat the Leopards’ regur lineup. And at the moment, there was a very real ce of the team not making it all the way to Apprentece, in which case all of Howard’s intel will go down the drain.

  So, until we start winning, I’ll keep this information to myself. Yuel decided.

  And so, with this important piece of information in hand, he finally joihe others in the waiting room.

  DarkestCymore