"So, this is the runt Ruez brought over?" A voluptuous woman came forth and examined Jin from head to toe. "Hey kid, do you know who I am?"

  "Ignis, the Top Laner," Jin answered.

  "Oh, yood!" Ignis grinned. "Hey guys, check this out! Looks like I'm so famous they even heard about me in a!”

  You wish. Jied silently. I only learned of a lowly pyer like you because I had to research my oppos for today. And it’s Korea, not a.

  Ignis. Top Laner. Favorite csses included: Knight, Viking, Berserker, and apparently Warrior as a situational pick.

  This woman was a brute who relied on her meical skill and snappy deaking in bat. If she were a character in a fighting game, she'd definitely be a goril archetype who promoted mashing buttons all day without thinking.

  If I really get to py Top, then she'll be my oppo. Jin reasohat'll be much easier than fighting against "her" in Mid...

  "My, what a cute little boy~" A pale proached him with a pyful smile. Her por skin was in stark trast to pitch-bck dress, making her look like a vampire or a witch. In fact, that’s the kind of persona she role-pyed durireams.

  "So, do you know me as well, perce?" The oi herself with an i smile.

  "Esmeralda, the Mid Laner."

  "My, I'm honored~" Esmeralda patted Jin on the head for a job well done.

  Like I thought, this one is annoying. Jied his eyes and did his best to ehe "little kid” treatment. Just from watg a couple of Esmeralda's streams, it was evident she was an etric person.

  At first, Jin thought Esmeralda only role-pyed for the camera. However, he ter found more evideo suggest this weirdo acted this way even outside streams, and his fears became reality just now.

  Esmeralda was an etric, through and through. Even her pystyle was quirky and odd, making it difficult to analyze.

  It's too risky to face her in ne during su important game. Jin cluded as such. Teically, she seems like a very yer. So weak, that she shouldn’t have any business pying on a B-League team, even in the west. Yet, here she is...

  Esmeralda's pystyle was... unusual, to say the least. It seemed weak, yet it also delivered det results at times. It was truly a mystery, like the woman herself.

  Even though Jin studied that etric pystyle and thought of many ways to ter it, he still didn’t feel fident fag this woman. Especially, not with so much hanging in the bance here today.

  "So, your name is Jin?" Esmeralda tilted her head.

  "Officially, it's Young-jin."

  "My, are you Korean?"

  "Yes, I am." Finally, somebody gets it right!

  "Pft, haha!" Ignis broke into ughter for some reason. "'Young Jin? Seriously? Haha!"

  "My, it's rude to ugh at people's names like that," Esmeralda pointed out.

  "But, it's 'young', haha! Imagihis kid in like 80 years from now. A total geezer, but everybody still calls him 'young', haha!"

  "In Korean, 'young' meaernal’," Jin informed.

  "Yeah, eternally 'young', haha!" Ignis ughed until her sides hurt. "It means you're too ‘young’ to challenge us, kid."

  "We not know that until we fight." Jin frohe insult head-on. pared to the pros I pyed ba Korea, this woman is small fry. I believe I have a real ce of beating her in 1v1 on ne.

  "Oh?" Ignis lifted her . "Not sure why, but my senses are tingling. Don't tell me you think you actually win against us, kid."

  "I will not know until I try," Jin responded as evenly as possible. Regardless of how unskilled the woman was, she still deserved minimal respect as a pro. Though, I'll most likely lose any shred of respect for her if I defeat her.

  "Dang, this brat is totally looking down on me, I feel it!"

  "Give it a rest." A bulky man came iween them. His entire body was made of thick muscle, to the point he looked more like a bodybuilder than an esports pyer. That was IronWall, the captain of the Sweepers.

  His presence is even more intimidating than I imagined. Jin gulped.

  IronWall was a mountain of a maowered not only over Jin but over everybody present. And, his sturdy muscles made it seem like he could snap any of them in half with his bare hands if he wanted. It was definitely best to stay on this guy’s good side...

  But, unlike Jin, the others weren’t fazed by IronWall’s presence.

  "Watcha want, Dima?" Ignis scoffed. "You better scold that brat, not me. He's the one looking down on me!"

  "Is he really looking down on you? How do you figure?"

  "I feel it!" Ignis insisted. "My gut never lies."

  "So, you're yelling at a child because of some vague gut feeling? Are you serious?"

  "Geh... B-But...!"

  "Just give it a rest. Now." IronWall smashed the entire versation to piece with his heavy anding tone. After that, he turo Jin. "Sorry about that, kid."

  "I'm sorry as well." Jin bowed slightly. "It seems I wasn't respectful enough. I'll make sure to learn from this mistake."

  "My, Jinjin is such a polite boy~" Esmeralda noted.

  Jinjin...?

  "Oh, such maturity!" Ro cpped. "As expected from a genius wonderkid!"

  "So, Boss..." IronWall examined Jin from head to toe. "This is the boy you pn to scout?"

  "Yes, this is the ese wonderboy in the flesh!"

  I'm Korean.

  "But," Ro tinued. "Given his young age, this is no simple matter." He turo Jin. "I hope you’re not offended by the caution we exercise. It's just that unusual to scout subsp; a young pyer, at least on out part of the globe."

  "Yes, I uand.”

  It was unfortunate, but such was reality. As far as the pro se was ed, Jin was just a 12 years old brat who cimed he pyed well.

  Apparently, it was always plicated to hire children for any kind of job. As such, everybody proceeded cautiously on this matter.

  "I just prove my skill in battle," Jin said pinly.

  "Yes, yes. That's the spirit!" Ro nodded repeatedly. "It's so refreshing to see such a strong fighting spirit from somebody so young!"

  "Thank you," Jin made sure to thank the overly-excited for any random praise. It was a little tiring, but Jin had to make sure he stayed on the man's good side. As long as Ro liked Jin, his ces of being scouted increased tenfold.

  "Of course," Ro tinued. "I said 'scout' but it's not for the Sweepers, obviously. No matter how talented you are, you'll have to start from C-League, young d."

  "Yes."

  "The truth is, I wanted you to py a game with them so they could judge your skill for themselves. But unfortunately, they'll be busy with the world tour for a few good months."

  That's too bad. Jin thought. It probably would’ve been easier for me to prove my mettle against them.

  In preparation for today, Jin studied as much as possible about the teams owned by Sebastian Ronshfeld. The man owwo teams at present: the Sweepers in B-League and the ers in C-League.

  Surprisingly, out of the two, the ers were actually more successful within their own league. That much was evident by the fact they were pying abroad at the moment, as part of an ongoing world championship. Uhem, the Sweepers hadn’t reached any such reition within the B-League.

  Of course, being a league higher meant the Sweepers were actually strohan the ers. However, their ck of success in their own league made them seem like failures.

  Though, that's probably just a prejudiy end. Jin was smart enough to realize as much. In fact, I probably should be gd I got to py the Sweepers today. The team's reputation aside, they’re definitely strohan the ers. So, they’ll make for better training.

  To be on the safe side, Jin researched both the ers and the Sweepers before ioday. So, he khe Sweepers packed a punch despite their retively “unsuccessful” performanbsp;

  "As such," Ro tinued as he turo the Sweepers. "I know your schedule is also packed, but you're the only ones avaible. So, I'd like you to py with the ese wonderboy."

  I'm Korean. Jin corrected for the 100th time today.

  "No problem," IronWall said. "We're already in the middle of wasting our time on middle schoolers, so this ges nothing."

  "Hey!" Ignis interjected. "What do you mean 'wasting our time'? This is important training for my brother’s team, you know."

  "And?" IronWall shrugged. "How does that help us improve as a team, exactly?"

  "Heh. Obviously, we're preparing him for when he gonna joieam. Then, we'll finally break through that damn A-League barrier!"

  "Yeah, right." IronWall shrugged. "You just want to help your brother win his little school petition.”

  "Yeah, that's a part of it of course." Ignis nodded. "He gonna bee the hero who destroys the Leopards' win streak!"

  "Bold words," Ruez cut into the versation for the first time.

  "Geh, so you're also here..." Ignis made a face. "What did you e for?"

  "I'm the coach of the Leopards, in case you fot. This boy is under my care."

  "Heh, so the little brat needs an escort? Doesn't sound like he's ready for the adult world of the pro se."

  "That's just regution," Ruez expined. "I ’t leave my pupils unsupervised when I send them to a pce like this."

  "What, are you saying we gonna bully him or something?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Well too bad, because you’d be totally right!" Ignis thirst her fi Ruez. "We gonna bully him so hard, he won't think about joining the pro se for aen years! There’s no way in hell I gon one of your students get in here so easily!"

  "I have a distinct impression I'm being hated here." Ruez smiled wryly, but he didn't linger on that point.

  Ignis was the same during her middle school days too: brash and upfront. If she didn't like somebody or something, she always threw shade in their face without thinking twice. So, there was o be too bothered by her attitude. That’s just the kind of person she was at her core, even after so many years have passed.

  "Just you wait," Ignis said. "Wardy will kick your team's ass this year! I'm preparing him real good for that. It gonna be sweet, sweet revenge!"

  "Yes, it’ll be quite the fateful revenge if your brother successfully defeats my team," Ruez agreed. "He'd put ao a winning streak that started with his sister."

  "I-It didn't start with me!" Ignis denied.

  “StormBlitz were the favorites that year if memory serves. You were expected to take the regionals.”

  "Yeah, but then some meddler came outta nowhere and boosted the damn Leopards through the roof. Nobody was ready for that shit!"

  "Is that the kind of excuse you also make today when the Sweepers lose?"

  "Nah." Ignis shook her head. "When we lose, it's always Hawk's fault. That's the script."

  "Hey!" Somebody from the team objected, most likely that "Hawk" guy. The rest of the team ughed in response.

  "Anyways!" Ignis insisted. "Wardy will take you down this year, mark my words!"

  "He's indeed a talented young man," Ruez agreed. "I'm very curious to see what kind of team he brings against us this year."

  "Aha!" Ignis pointed a bming finger. "I k! Yed this whole charade to spy on Wardy’s team, didn't you? You're so scared of StormBlitz that yoing the extra length to study them, that’s how shook you are."

  "Not really," Ruez denied. "They already had their first scrimmage a few days ago, and they'll have another one before fag us. So, we’ll have plenty of data to work with.”

  "But, I bet you want more!" Ignis insisted. "You're pnning to expose all their weaknesses from up close!"

  "That's why I was against this idea." A third party joihe hectic discussion. It was her than Howard, the captain of StormBlitz.

  "Howard, right?" Ruez stretched a hand. "I believe this is the first time we get to speak face to face like this."

  "Yes, it is." Hoolitely accepted the handshake but there was obvious hostility in his eyes. "I apologize for being blunt like this, but I have to say I also don't like this arra at all. Letting an enemy coach watch ames from up close is like handing out free dies. We’re not running a charity here.”

  "But, my boy," Ro interjected. "I believe we had an agreement. Your team is allowed to py the Sweepers today uhe dition you’d accept this arra.”

  "Yes, I'm aware," Howard said. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm pnning to cel the deal. I just felt like expressing my dissatisfa, that's all. Kids are always a little selfish like that, right? Haha."

  "Heh, as long as you uand." Ro didn’t say anything more oter.

  "You rest assured," Ruez said. "This arra will be very beneficial for your team as well. In fact, it'll be so informative that I hesitated about this idea at first. But, my team is too busy with scrimmages at the moment, so I had to make do."

  "I don't see how this exge is going to be too informative for us," Howard insisted. "You get to spy on four of our pyers, while we only get to see of yours in a. And, your pyer hasn’t even shown up during any scrimmages so far. If that’s not bogus, then I don’t know what is.”

  “that’s exactly the reason this will be so informative for you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  "Young-Jin isn't a regur pyer." Ruez smiled meaningfully. "The truth is, I nning to keep him off the stage until we run into suffitly difficult oppos. That may, or may not, be your team. Surely, you uand what that implies?"

  "Yeah...“ Howard frowned. “You're saying we might've only learned of his existen the very day of our scrimmage.”

  “Or perhaps only at the regionals, depending on how that scrimmage goes. I assure you, it would’ve been quite the shock for you to run into him at the finals for the first time.”

  “That does sound wicked.”

  "Right?" Ruez nodded. "That's why, giving you a ce to learn of Young-Jience so early, and even team up with him, is invaluable information. So frankly, I believe this intel is worth more than anything your team offer us."

  "That's provided he's at least half as good as you’re advertising." Howard scoffed. He examihe Korean boy from head to toe but he couldn't sense anything special. Judging by looks alone, Jin looked like a run-of-the-mill Asian kid, nothing more.

  "His skill is the real deal. You'll see that for yourself very soon."

  "Is that so." Howard wasirely vinced.

  He’s so cautious. Ruez smiled meaningfully. That's a very mature and professional approach. He uands the Leopards will be his biggest obstacle this year, so he's very serious about withholding information. Impressive for his age.

  Most kids that age, even the “serious pyers”, only ed themselves with winning games They didn’t give as much thought to factors outside the game, such as hiding important information from eeams.

  But, then there was Howard. A kid who hasn't received any professional coag, yet ducted himself almost like a young pro.

  No, that's not quite true. Ruez g Ignis and Esmeralda. Those two probably taught him the importance of such matters. I’m not so sure about Ignis, but I know Esmeralda is a good teacher. Cato and Matthew are very mature pyers thanks to her coag.

  The chatter died down and the two teams returo their respective stations.

  The Sweepers' coach joihe audien order to give his two ts on Jin's uping performa wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Jin’s fate was at this man’s hands right now.

  With all due resper. Ro, the man was a businessman. His observatiarding Cssmancers were amateurish at best. Therefore, it was unnecessary to have a more knowledgeable spectator in the audience. And, it had to be oh a ral stance, unlike Ruez.

  Shortly, both teams arrived at their stations. And so, preparations began.

  "Sorry Roi," Howard apologized. "You'll have to sit this o."

  "Lol, you kig me out?" Roi ughed. "Man, that’s harsh. I mean, I made only one mispy that was REALLY bad.”

  "It's not about that overextension," Howard said. "The ese kid here wants to py Top."

  "I'm Korean," Jin corrected.

  "Yeah, of course."

  A dark cloud hovered over their iions. Though Howard went along with Ruez's expnation for now, he still had his doubts about Jin's actual skill. Really, just how strong could a kid like that possibly be?

  Suppose, for the sake ument, that Jin was the “best pyer” in the region. Even then, he probably wasn’t that much above the rest of the petition.

  Therefore, this practice match was a bad trade for StomBlitz either way. They were trading information about 4 of their pyers in exge fetting to know one mysterious pyer. So, unless Jin’s skill was literally godlike, this trade had no ce of ever evening out.

  Well, no use thinking about it so hard. Howard cluded. I already agreed to this arra, so let’s see how things py out.

  It was a good thing Jin picked Top, for it meant he’ll have to face Howard’s sister in ne. Uhe other pros, Ignis definitely won't hold bauch, especially not after their brief exge. So, it should be easy enough to determine whether Jin was truly a genius who could rival pros, or just a skilled middle schooler like the rest of the Leopards.

  "Just so we're clear," Howard said. "Even though everybody seems to be treating this as an exam designed for you, for the rest of us this is just another practice match as a team. And, I'm the captain of this team, so you gonna follow my orders."

  "As long as they're good orders," Jin responded.

  "Fair enough." Howard respected that bold attitude. sidering the few details he heard about Jin's background, it made sense for Jin to not be too trusting of other children's skills.

  Apparently, the training this boy underwent ba Korea was quite intense. So much, that the petitive middle school se in the west looked like a joke to him. And that's why he was here right nolying to join a pro team at such a young age.

  But, I'm sure Ruez exaggerated when he expined all of that. Howard thought. Still, a match is a match. As the captain, I’ll do everything I to win this game, even if it ends up helping a snobby Korean kid get into the pro se before me.

  And so, another practice match between StormBlitz and the Sweepers and was about to begin. Will the Korean wonderboy be able to live up to his reputation and give the pros a hard time...?

  DarkestCymore