Nia smiled giddily, imagining herself on a pedestal amidst the region’s best pyers.

  "Don't let this adva to your head." Yuel kicked her off the high horse. "This a good start, but the game isn’t over yet. Don't expect it to be easy to win. Our oppos are the Leopards, the regional champions."

  “Yeah, yeah, I know…” Nia pouted. It felt like Yuel just poured a bucket of cold water on her head. This killed all the excitement she had a moment ago.

  “Seriously,” Kai interjected. “For on your life, would it kill you to just praise somebody without being such a party pooper?”

  “What do you mean?” Yuel asked. “I generally give credit where credit is due. I did say Nia did well.”

  “You did? Oh yeah, you probably mixed in something small like that in the middle of issuing orders.” Kai made a face. “Lemme tell you, these small throraises don’t feel like much at all. It always sounds like you take the oute franted.”

  “Well, things did go acc to pn, so that’s n.”

  “Huh.” Kai sighed. “So, just because your super difficult pn worked out, does it mean the involved pyers don’t deserve any praise at all???”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Yuel argued. “The py I pnned for Mid was on the difficult side, I agree. But, I still suggested it because I knew you two had the necessary skill to pull it off.”

  “Whoa, you actually just said that with a straight face…” Kai felt a little embarrassed.

  There was unwavering faith in Yuel’s words. He was so fident in his high evaluation of Kai and Nia’s skills that he felt o express any of it. As far as he was ed, the fact he suggested that risky pn for Mid already stood testament to how highly he evaluated both girls.

  “Alright, I think I set how your brain is wired,” Kai said. “But, we ’t read your mind, you know? We don’t know what you really think until you tell us. Besides, getting direct praise is… well, you know.”

  “Do you want to be praised so much?”

  “T-That’s not the point!” Kai made a face. Even though this was really more or less her argument, the way Yuel phrased it made the whole thing sound cheap somehow. It’s as if Kai and Nia were desperately yearning for fttery, which they definitely weren’t!

  "I always tell ya, dude," Lars joihe versation. "You gotta give out more straightforraise, you know? Even if you appreciate 'em in your head, they 't hear any of that."

  "Hmm." Yuel knotted his brows. "I thought I made it clear enough how risky and difficult my pn for Mid was. So, the fact we pulled through it should indicate enough how well they both pyed, am I wrong?"

  "Yeah, maybe it does," Lars said. "But, it still won't hurt to reaffirm it, ya know? Not everybody gonna automatically think about it the way you do.”

  "I see." Yuel realized he might have things fraoo much there. Even though he was very satisfied with Kai and Nia’s performances in Mid, he didn't directly express these thoughts. Basically, he was like a er who didn't bother leaving a 5-star review even though he evaluated the service very highly.

  The thing is that they might get carried away if I praise them too much. That's the ohing I have to avoid at all costs.

  Yuel has seen pyers getting carried away tless times like this. The sense of success provided a catharsis for them, which made them feel like they didn't have to work as hard anymore.

  But, now that I think about it, Howard often reassures his teammates, doesn't he? Yuel thought ba his experiences in StormBlitz. He almost always drops a word or two about the team’s achievements. I never paid much attention to it before, but maybe he was following a calcuted principle.

  Perhaps Howard did it not because he wao, but because he k was important, So, did Yuel have to do this, too? He wasn't the captain in Stratus, but he was the shot-caller. As such, he was in a reasonable position to praise his teammates’ performances.

  Also, it seems like I’ve built an image of being a “cheapskate” when it es to handing out praises. Yuel made a face. So, I guess it’s a “big deal” for them when I give praise. I should really sider the implications such praise have oeam’s morale.

  As much as Yuel wao rely only on objective factors like teamwork, pyer skill, and strategy, there were also some emotional elements in the equation that influehe result just as much, and one of them was morale.

  Yuel had seen games in which the team’s morale made all the differeween victory a. In fact, the seleatch he lost against Howard was rgely caused by low team morale.

  Back then, it felt like Yuel’s decisions caused a lot of dissatisfa withieam. He forced Julia and Roi to do things they didn't want to, which definitely hit their motivation and performance.

  Yes, it's undeniable that morale is a big deal. Yuel summarized. I always tend to assume that morale will stay high as long as the team makes good pys, but things aren’t that simple in practice.

  Kai and Nia surely khat they performed well in Mid, but they also wao hear it from their teammates.

  But, instead of giving them that praise, I told Nia to not get carried away. Yuel realized his mistake. Okay, I think I know how to fix this. Hopefully.

  "You're right, my bad," Yuel admitted. "I should have properly started by saying that you both did a good job in Mid."

  "You did pretty well, too, you know," Kai said.

  "I wouldn't say I've done much,” Yuel argued. “I only cast my ult and I was almost too te to do it."

  "Yeah, you did cut it pretty close, huh." Kai nodded. "Thinking of it, you really took your sweet time rotating to Mid. What gives?"

  "I had to py around wards," Yuel expined. "Nia marked suspicious areas on the map, so I had to maneuver around those, and also dodge other meta warding spots. Now that you mention it, I don't think I’ve given Nia enough credit for that, either."

  "Right, you haven’t.” Nia gave him a look.

  Is she begging to get praised? Yuel made a face. "So yeah, Nia, your marks were very helpful. There's no saying whether I could've safely rotated to Mid if not for those."

  "So, you’re saying the entire py in Mid was only possible thanks to me, hehe." A smirk crept onto the girl's lips.

  Ugh. This is why I really don't like praising her more than it’s absolutely necessary. Yuel sighed. It immediately gets into her head.

  As usual, Nia was a troublemaker in every sense of the word. She had a bad habit of getting drunk on any praise sent her way.

  Even now, she's basking in what little praise I gave her. Yuel sighed. It's just impossible to catch a break with this girl, is it? I stantly have to monitor her and make sure she’s stable.

  Nia was like a big baby who needed careful care. But, despite being such a high-maintenance pyer, she was capable of deliveris that (mostly) made up for all the trouble.

  And, she only gets better aer with every game. She's still very inexperienced, so she has a lot of room to grow.

  But, all such thoughts only ever existed in Yuel’s head. He rarely, if ever, said any of this out loud. Because of that, maybe nobody actually uood how he really evaluated Nia. All they ever saw was Yuel’s striess toward the girl and the ck of praise.

  I’ve been avoiding praises so she won’t get carried away, but maybe I was looking at it the wrong way. Yule realized. Getting used to praise to the point she won't be carried away is also an important skill to work on.

  Perhaps Yuel was w too much about Nia’s growth, to the point of hampering said growth with hoo hands. By denying Nia the praise she deserved, Yuel didn’t allow the girl to get used to receiving praise. In turn, this might’ve made her problem even worse.

  I somehow developed the image of somebody who rarely gives any praise, so Nia probably regards my praise too highly. This is the exact opposite of how I would’ve wanted her to develop…

  “I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the ENTIRE py in Mid was only possible thanks to your efforts,” Yuel crified. “It ossible thanks to many factors, such as Kai and Ben doing a good job in their respective nes. But, you did py an integral part in all of it. Your stealthiness and ward-markiwo key ingredients that allowed us to execute the pn smoothly.”

  “Hehe.” Nia twisted her lips like a smiling cat. The praise made her feel that good, huh.

  “With that said,” Yuel tinued. “I still have to stress it’s important that none of this gets to your head. The reason I often refrain from praising you is that you have a bad habit of getting carried away.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. Every time somebody gives you the ti of praises, you suddenly start thinking you’re the best pyer in the world.”

  “Nope, never happened.”

  “Deny it all you want, but it’s the truth.”

  “It really kinda is,” Kai agreed. “I mean, I know I’m the one who attacked Yuel about this, but I kinda see his point. You really do get carried away sometimes, Nia.”

  “Really?” Nia tilted her head. “Hmm. I dunno if I agree.”

  “Just accept it already,” Kai said. “As for you, Yuel. You should’ve expined all this shit to us right away so we don’t get the wrong impression.”

  “Yes, I realize that now."

  "You always realize these things so damn te, huh." Kai shook her head. "Anyway, Nia. There you have it. He gave you your well-deserved praise, but don't let it get to your head."

  "Whoa, there are two Yuels now..." Nia made a face. Did the alien robot just vert a human to his cause!? So, that's how these weird species multiply. I see.

  Nia pouted for a few more seds but then decided to let it go. As much as she wao disagree with the "getting carried aart, she couldn't deny it entirely. There were times when the praise she received fully occupied her mind. But, it only happened a few times, okay? And, these were all short-lived instances. Yeah.

  Anyway, he did praise me. Actually, both of them did. Nia smiled to herself. And, the others also said some hings about how I pyed. Hehe.

  Lars and Ben also gratuted Nia back when she scored her Double Kill. Those two were easier ers than Kai and Yuel, but it felt good to be praised all the same. Basically, the eeam reized Nia’s worth!

  On top of that, the Leopards had been wary of Nia the entire game. In fact, it probably wasn’t a stretch to say they were scared of her! And, Nia lived up to that scary reputation by being the first oo bust through the Leopards’ defense and score a kill!

  Could it be that I'm... kinda awesome!? Nia shivered iement. Maybe I got the makings of a pro!? Yes, for sure!

  Such thoughts filled her mind as she rotated around the map. Not t, but she retty much the MVP of this game!

  From the moment Nia scored that Double Kill, Stratus was on a roll. They started off the mid-game with strong momentum, and the Leopards had been struggling to recim trol over the flow of the game.

  But, of course, the Leopards were no pushovers. Their defense was as airtight as ever and they unched a few nasty terattacks, too. So, the game was still far from decided.

  DarkestCymore