The long scrimmage between Stratus and the Leopards had come to an end. The final outcome was more than predictable, but there had been some unexpected results along the way.

The Leopards started off on the right foot and established dominance early on, as expected from the undefeated champions. However, Stratus didn't take any of that lying down. Time after time, they brought forth unconventional weapons and strategies in order to challenge the champions.

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

Honestly, that one was far from an elegant performance. One could even brand it as an insult to the competitive scene.

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

Naturally, the same trick didn't work for them twice in a row. Cato would have become a disgrace to the Leopards’ legacy if he allowed such nonsense to repeat itself.

So in the end, the unconventional Dark Knight idea only worked once. It took the Leopards off-guard the first time, but after that, the Leopards thoroughly shut it down.

This led to the return of VanishingFlower. Compared 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 presence, to the point of wasting lots of resources on the surveillance of just one player.

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

That led to an unexpected 2-2 tie between the two teams. This was a situation that probably nobody in the stadium expected to see.

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

Undoubtedly, this was yet another example of Yuel Fermond using unconventional means to claw his way out of a terribly losing situation. What a stubborn man. His persistence knows no bounds.

Alas, a tie was as far as he could go. What transpired afterward was barely even worth analyzing. The Leopards crushed the competition via raw strength by subbing in an extraordinary Korean player.

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

However, little did she know that this player was so overwhelmingly powerful. Apprentece's one brief appearance on the stage rendered null all the four games 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 play in comparison.

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

Apprentece was like an entire legion in the form of one player. He had the strength to carry his entire team on his back and dictate the rules for everybody, allies and enemies alike.

This is the type of player I strive to become as well. Fiona thought that to herself when she watched the last game.

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

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

But, the Leopards had no trouble recovering 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 last 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. And yet, they also have Apprentece on top of that. It throws the region’s sportsmanship into question."

"Right?” Karen nodded. “I mean, goddamn it. We really stand no chance, 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 overcome. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Whoa, are you really saying we gonna beat that 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 player in a 5v5 game." 

Apprentece was indeed an overbearing existence, like a chess piece that transcended 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 victory against them," Fiona promised.

"I'm sure you will, sis!" Karen was now singing a completely different tune after the declaration. Like, it seemed totes impossible to beat that Korean hacker. But, if sis says we can 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 since they 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 strongest team in the region."

"For real?" 

"Yes,” Fiona said. “They triumphed over Taurus, the usual favorite for third place. Also, they achieved a 2-3 against the regional champions. As such, it stands to reason to consider 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 competitive game since its conception."

"Wow, what a joke."

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

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

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

“Wow, that bad?”

“Yes, that bad.”

To call it disastrous would be an understatement. The Stratus of past years did not have the faintest shred of competitiveness to it.

Everything from their mannerisms to their skill showed they had only played Ranked at 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 laughing 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 Classmancers team for another. Even his Bot partner came along with him.

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

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

Of course, the team was mostly carried by Yuel and his lane partner, Gunz. Nonetheless, the other players showed some promise as well. Unlike their predecessors, they clearly took their training seriously.

It remains to be seen where this peculiar team will go from there. It seemed to have a lot of room for growth, but will they be able to overcome their shortcomings and polish their skills further before the regionals?

On the way out of ProCenter, Karen posed a question. "So, when do we play 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 understandable why a school would not be willing to play along with such a request on a whim. Especially, a school like that."

After conversing with the principal of Skyline Junior High, it became very clear just how lowly the school regarded Classmancers as a sport. And frankly, their attitude was hardly surprising given the terrible record of their representing team.

Most likely, the school had been feeling like a laughing stock ever since it joined the competition. Everybody called Stratus the worst team in the region, which subsequently damaged the school's reputation.

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

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

"For real?" 

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

For one, the 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 play a game.

Admittedly, the Valkyries were not any better at the moment, but their situation was different altogether. Their small numbers stemmed from the difficulty of finding new members, not from restrictions laid 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 conduct their practice in a basement storage room.

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

"Every school has its own interests in mind, as any institution does. In that sense, I can at least understand where their attitude is coming 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 convincing them through monetary means.”

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

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

Furthermore, she went through similar negotiations with other teams from the region in order to arrange at least three scrims for the team. Fortunately, with two coaches from the region vouching for her, it was easy enough to convince a few other teams to fit another scrim into their schedule. another scrimmage.

So originally, Fiona came prepared to enact the same tactics on Skyline Junior High. However, the more she talked to the principal, the more repulsed she became by the idea of giving this man any money. No offense to him as a person, but his attitude toward Classmancers was borderline disgusting. He didn't consider it an actual sport in the slightest.

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

"Welcome 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 delays?" 

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

"Thank you, but no need to hurry. This is not a life-or-death matter. Drive safely, please."

"Of course, milady." 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 longer than 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 acting up again,” Fiona said. “Though, in its own way, it is a valid strategy for long matches.”

“Blegh. A lame 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 backbone.”

“I agree, it was not a very elegant conduct. The Leopards are the strongest team 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 watching.”

“Right? Cato be ruining everything he touches.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I understand the sentiment.”

In general, the entire scrimmage lacked strategic elegance. It was a clash between two chess opponents Fiona was familiar with, therefore she expected the match to boil down to a battle of wits and smarts.

Alas, the overall outcome 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 irregular playstyles of Memer and Vanishing were the main reasons they managed to bust holes in the Leopards’ defenses. Meanwhile, for the Leopards, it was ultimately the raw strength of Apprentece that handed them the final game on a silver platter.

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

That was not how a competitive 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-defined strategy. At least, that was Fiona’s ideal vision for team-based sports.

But, perhaps I am I have no right to criticize them on that. Fiona thought. After all, the few team sports I participate in do not follow that ideal either…

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

Nonetheless, this experience offered something different from the usual challenges Fiona was already accustomed to in solo sports. And so, she continued partaking in two such sports for now: volleyball and Classmancers

In both, Fiona strived to command an organized team and dominate through tactical warfare, yet things always proved to be difficult in this field...