The long scrimmage between Stratus and the Leopards had e to an end. The final oute was more thaable, but there had been some ued results along the way.

  The Leopards started off on the right foot aablished dominance early on, as expected from the ued champions. However, Stratus didn't take any of that lying down. Time after time, they brought forth unventional ons and strategies in order to challehe champions.

  At one point, the audience even appuded Stratus' achievement. Though, it was questionable whether anything about that Jungler Dark Knight deserved any praise.

  Holy, that one was far from a performance. One could even brand it as an insult to the petitive se.

  heless, that unlikely strategy worked for Stratus for one game. Once again, Yuel Fermond had proved his ability to vert a dubious strategy into a winning position.

  Naturally, the same trick didn't work for them twi a row. Cato would have bee a disgrace to the Leopards’ legacy if he allowed suonseo repeat itself.

  So in the end, the unventional Dark Knight idea only worked o took the Leopards off-guard the first time, but after that, the Leopards thhly shut it down.

  This led to the return of VanishingFlower. pared to the first game, her performance was far better this time around. However, it also felt like the Leopards dug their own grave in that game. They were overly cautious of Vanishing's preseo the point of wasting lots of resources on the surveilnce of just one pyer.

  Of course, some precaution was definitely necessary against a sneaky oppo like that. However, the Leopards took it way too far. And so, ed by their own paranoia, they ended up dropping the 4th game.

  That led to an ued 2-2 tie betweewo teams. This was a situation that probably nobody iadium expected to see.

  The Leopards had superior specs overall, it was clear as day. Ahey tripped twice against an inferior team. It was quite peculiar.

  Undoubtedly, this was yet another example of Yuel Fermond using unventional means to cw his way out of a terribly losing situation. What a stubborn man. His persistenows no bounds.

  As, a tie was as far as he could go. What transpired afterward was barely even worth analyzing. The Leopards crushed the petition via raw strength by subbing in araordinary Korean pyer.

  Until that point, Fiona had only heard rumors of Apprentece. Cato was a regur visitor to her house, and Ruez tutored her from time to time. Thus, it was iable for Fiona to learn about the existence of this secret pyer.

  However, little did she know that this pyer was so overwhelmingly powerful. Apprentece's one brief appearan the stage rendered null all the fames that came before it.

  Apprentece made it clear as day that only by including him in the lineup did the Leopards finally exhibit their full strength. Everything that came before it was child's py in parison.

  Apprentece destroyed Stratus without giving them so much as a fighting ce. The seemingly invincible Korean pyer left no openings in his defense as he pressed attack at every turn. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Apprentece pyed on a whole different dimension pared to the rest of the region.

  Apprentece was like aire legion in the form of one pyer. He had the strength to carry his eeam on his bad dictate the rules for everybody, allies and enemies alike.

  This is the type of pyer I strive to bee as well. Fiona thought that to herself wheched the st game.

  The specifics of that game weren't even worth discussing. It was a one-man show by Apprehrough and through.

  Perhaps, if there was o worth mentioning, then it was the single death Apprentece suffered in that game. For just a brief moment, the seemingly invincible pyer let down his guard and allowed himself to overextend. This one careless mistake cost him his life.

  But, the Leopards had no trouble rec from that setback as they were already far ahead in the game anyway. And so, despite this one achievement, the curtain dropped on Stratus without mercy.

  "Welp, that's that." Karen threw her arms behind her head as she spoke. "Dang, that st game was sure something. Where the hell did they bring that guy from? It almost looked illegal.”

  "Yes, it does rub me the wrong way as well," Fiona agreed. "By nature, the Leopards already hold most of the region's most impressive talent. Ahey also have Apprente top of that. It throws the region’s sportsmanship into question."

  "Right?” Karen nodded. “I mean, goddamn it. We really stand no ce, do we?"

  "Language, Karen,” Fiona scolded. “And, as impossible as the challenge may seem at the moment, in the end, this is but another obstacle for us to overe. Nothing more and nothing less."

  "Whoa, are you really saying we gonhat thing, sis?"

  "Apprentece is not a 'thing'. And, regardless of his impressive skill, he is a middle schooler like the rest of us. Besides, ultimately, he is but one pyer in a 5v5 game."

  Apprentece was indeed an overbearience, like a chess piece that transded the game’s rules and moved around even more freely than the queen. But, no matter how strong a chess piece was, it was just one piece out of many. Thus, it should be possible to defeat the Leopards as a team even without directly triumphing over Apprentece.

  "I shall lead the team to victainst them," Fiona promised.

  "I'm sure you will, sis!" Karen was now singing a pletely different tuer the decration. Like, it seemed totes impossible to beat that Korean hacker. But, if sis says we win, then we will!

  "Well, at least Stratus looks like a bunch of pushovers," Karen said. "So, they’re not a threat at all."

  "Pushovers?" Fioan blinked. "Is that how they looked to you?"

  "Yeah. I mean, they're not the worst out there sihey took at least a few games, but meh, they're D-tier at best."

  "Actually, with this result, they might have just established themselves as the third stroeam in the region."

  "For real?"

  "Yes,” Fiona said. “They triumphed over Taurus, the usual favorite for third pce. Also, they achieved a 2-3 against the regional champions. As such, it stands to reason to sider them the region's No. 3."

  "Dang, they really shot up through the ranks, huh." Karen chuckled. "Weren't they like the worst team in the region before?"

  "Indeed. Stratus used to be at the absolute bottom until this year. From the records, Stratus has not won a single petitive game sis ception."

  "hat a joke."

  "That's perhaps going too far," Fiona said. "But yes, the team was undoubtedly a disgrace to the petitive se. Out of curiosity, I did review some of its ames."

  "Oh, you did? Dang, you should have told me. I would've brought pop and stuff, haha."

  "You should be gd you did not have to subject yourself to that torture,” Fiona said. “That horrendous spectacle would have spoiled your pop."

  “Wow, that bad?”

  “Yes, that bad.”

  To call it disastrous would be an uatement. The Stratus of past years did not have the fai shred of petitiveo it.

  Everything from their mannerisms to their skill showed they had only pyed Ra best. They clearly did not practice much beyond that, if at all.

  When Fiona first learned of all that, she thought Yuel Fermond was a madman for joining a team like this. He had a promising future in StormBlitz, yet he threw it all away for a ughing stock of a team.

  Perhaps there were some legitimate reasons why Yuel Fermond had to switch schools the way he did. But without any further data, from the side, it looked as if the man simply switched from one Cssmaeam for another. Even his Bot partner came along with him.

  If switg teams was indeed his main motivation, then it was beyond questionable. What did he seek to aplish in a lowly team like Stratus? The question that had been eluding Fiona for the loime.

  And, perhaps the answer didn't even matter. In the end, despite all odds, Yuel Fermond successfully turhis godforsaken team into something.

  Of course, the team was mostly carried by Yuel and his ne partner, Gunz. heless, the other pyers showed some promise as well. Uheir predecessors, they clearly took their training seriously.

  It remains to be seehis peculiar team will go from there. It seemed to have a lot of room frowth, but will they be able to overe their shortings and polish their skills further before the regionals?

  On the way out of Proter, Karen posed a question. "So, when do we py them?"

  "Actually, about that... To put it simply, we won't."

  "Say what?"

  "Unfortunately, their school rejected my request to hold a scrimmage."

  "How dare they." Karen cracked her knuckles. "Sounds like somebody better teach them a lesson or two."

  "It's quite alright." Fiona smiled softly as she caressed the angry kitten's head. "It is uandable why a school would not be willing to py along with such a request on a whim. Especially, a school like that."

  After versing with the principal of Skyline Junih, it became very clear just how lowly the scharded Cssmancers as a sport. And frankly, their attitude was hardly surprising giveerrible record of their representing team.

  Most likely, the school had been feeling like a ughing stock ever si joihe petition. Everybody called Stratus the worst team in the region, which subsequently damaged the school's reputation.

  Probably because of that the principal insisted on stig to the usual schedule for the team, that of partaking in the bare minimum of three scrimmages.

  "In fact," Fiona expined. "I got the impression they had been quietly trying to close the club dowhe past few years."

  "For real?"

  "Yes. They did not ht admit it, but their attitude and as spoke louder than words."

  For ohe school had been cutting down the club’s size. Currently, the club was only permitted to have up to 7 members. It was just barely enough to py a game.

  Admittedly, the Valkyries were not aer at the moment, but their situation was different altogether. Their small numbers stemmed from the difficulty of finding new members, not from restris id out by the school.

  What's more, the Valkyries at least had proper facilities for their club activities. The same could not be said about Stratus. From what Fiona gathered, Stratus were forced to duct their practi a basement ste room.

  "Whoa, that's hel harsh." Karen made a disgusted face. "That school is just pure evil!"

  "Every school has its own is in mind, as any institution does. In that sense, I at least uand where their attitude is ing from."

  "But, shoving the entire club into the basement? The fuck?"

  "Language, Karen,” Fiona scolded. “But yes, I agree their methods are rather repulsive. That is why I ultimately gave up on ving them through moary means.”

  In cases like this, money spoke louder than words. Fiona came to Skyline Junih fully prepared to donate a “pensation fee” in exge for approval. That was simply the way of the world.

  In fact, that was also how she ultimately bribed her school into allowio form a Cssmancers club. Likewise, Fiona also had to “donate” some moo the regional authorities so that the Valkyries would be registered for this year’s regionals despite the short notice.

  Furthermore, she went through simir iations with other teams from the region in order te at least three scrims for the team. Fortunately, with two coaches from the region voug for her, it was easy enough to vince a few other teams to fit another scrim into their schedule. another scrimmage.

  Sinally, Fiona came prepared to enact the same tacti Skyline Junih. However, the more she talked to the principal, the more repulsed she became by the idea of giving this man any money. No offeo him as a person, but his attitude toward Cssmancers was borderline disgusting. He didn't sider it an actual sport in the slightest.

  In the end, as much as Fiona wao py against Yuel's team, she ended up leaving that meetiy-handed. So, the long overdue rematch will have to wait longer. Perhaps they'll have a ce to face each other at the regionals at least. Fiona could only hope so.

  "Wele back." The chauffeur, Sébastien, greeted Fiona and Karen as they approached the limousine. "Would you like to head home now?"

  "Yes, please," Fiona replied as she checked her watch. "My piano lesson starts in half an hour. Should I inform the tutor about any potential deys?"

  "Hrm. I'm afraid so, midy," Sebastian said. "Currently, the estimated arrival time is 40 minutes." He reported after cheg the navigation app. "Naturally, I'll do everything in my power to deliver you to the lesson as quickly as possible."

  "Thank you, but o hurry. This is not a life-or-death matter. Drive safely, please."

  "Of course, midy." Sebastian bowed deeply and closed the limousine’s door after Fiona and Karen boarded the expensive vehicle.

  “Phew.” Karen dropped onto the soft sofa. “That was one long scrim alright.”

  “Yes,” Fiona agreed. “It was lohan it should have reasonably been, especially the first game.”

  “That’s all Cato’s fault, I’m telling you. He stretched out that game like crazy.”

  “True, it must have been his bad habit ag up again,” Fiona said. “Though, in its own way, it is a valid strategy for long matches.”

  “Blegh. A me strat.” Karen made a disgusted face. “I mean, he’s in charge of the team that’s known as the ‘regional champions’, right? Dude should show more bae.”

  “I agree, it was not a very elegant duct. The Leopards are the stroeam in the region, so they should strive to be a role model for everybody else. However, I’m sure Cato’s strategies were not very inspiring for anybody watg.”

  “Right? Cato be ruining everythiouches.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far, but I uand the se.”

  In general, the entire scrimmage cked strategic elega was a csh between two chess oppos Fiona was familiar with, therefore she expected the match to boil down to a battle of wits and smarts.

  As, the overall oute was very different. It ended up as a battle in which the strength of the individual pieces had more impact than the overall strategy.

  For Stratus, the irregur pystyles of Memer and Vanishihe main reasons they mao bust holes in the Leopards’ defenses. Meanwhile, for the Leopards, it was ultimately the raw strength of Apprehat hahem the final game on a silver ptter.

  In short, it was far from an intellectually satisfying scrimmage. It looked more like a csh of etrid powerful pieces. All in all, Cato and Yuel seemed to have very loose trol over the events that transpired.

  That was not how a petitive team should look like. The team’s overall performance should not be at the mercy of the individual skill of a select few. The team should act as a monolith that follows a well-defirategy. At least, that was Fiona’s ideal vision for team-based sports.

  But, perhaps I am I have nht to criticize them on that. Fiona thought. After all, the feorts I participate in do not follow that ideal either…

  Holy, partaking in team sports was akin to opening a of worms. Teamwork was an iing challenge in theory, yet in practice, it almost always ended with teammates overly relying on Fiona’s skill. It was such a paradox.

  heless, this experience offered something different from the usual challenges Fiona was already aced to in solo sports. And so, she tinued partaking in two such sports for now: volleyball and Cssmancers

  In both, Fiona strived to and an aeam and domihrough tactical warfare, yet things alroved to be difficult in this field...

  DarkestCymore