The Sweepers, a pro team belonging to the B-League. Even among the few B-League teams this region had, they were one of the weakest, only slightly ahead of the Falcons.

In the first place, the competitive level in this country wasn't very high. Therefore, a “B-League team” here was equivalent to a C-League team back at home, if not below that.

In other words, the Sweepers were basically at the bottom of the professional food chain. 

I wonder how weak they’re going to be. Such were Young-jin’s idle thoughts as he headed into the building together with the coach.

"What's with the difficult face?" Rodriguez asked. "Getting nervous?" 

"No," Jin answered evenly. "I worry they not very strong."

"Aren't you a cocky one." Rodriguez smiled meaningfully. "You know, most kids your age would be thankful for the opportunity to play with pros."

"That’s not new. I played pros before."

"Right, you did, didn't you." Rodriguez nodded in understanding. For any ordinary kid, playing against the Sweepers was a golden opportunity. But, Young-Jin was far from ordinary.

"Oh, you're here!" An elderly man greeted them at the elevator, full of smiles. "So, you're the wonderboy I’ve heard about so much! Indeed, indeed. I can see potential oozing from you!"

"T-Thank you." Jin bowed weakly. "Potential"? What is this guy talking about...?

“I even heard you mastered the Chinese Step Cancel despite your young age! Is that true?”

“Um, yes, I guess...” Actually, it’s called the KOREAN Step Cancel...

Frankly, Jin found himself a little overwhelmed by Ronshfelt’s presence. The guy spouted so much nonsense with absolute confidence that it was difficult to confront him.

Jin burned with a desire to retort on every single thing Ronshfelt uttered, but it probably wasn’t the smartest idea. After all, Ronshfelt was a figure of great importance. Therefore, Jin had to be on good terms with this clown of a man.

Fortunately, the coach came to his rescue soon enough.

"Long time no see." Rodriguez offered a hand, which the smiling man happily accepted.

"Fernando, my boy!" The man, Sebastian Ronshfelt, eagerly shook Rodriguez's hand. "Look how much you've grown!" 

"I believe you said the same thing the last time I came here.”

“Perhaps I did, perhaps I did.”

“I doubt I’ve ‘grown’ at all since then. It was only a couple of months ago.”

“Perhaps it was, perhaps it was. Nonetheless, the growth of young potential never ceases to amaze me!”

“I wouldn’t call myself ‘young’ anymore.”

“Perhaps.” Ronshfelt nodded. “Nonetheless, for me, you’ll always be a young aspiring pro. This is the place where you grew up, after all.”

“In a way, I suppose,” Rodriguez didn’t argue with that. Though it was clearly an exaggeration, like most things to come out of Ronshfelt’s mouth, there was some truth to the matter.

“So, what do you say?” Ronshfelt asked. “Would you like to return to the pro scene?" 

"Sorry, but I'll have to decline. I have my hands full with coaching the future generations."

"Indeed you are, indeed you are." Ronshfelt nodded. "The ‘regional champions’, was it? Indeed, your high school team never fails to disappoint." 

"It's middle school, actually." 

"Oh, correct, correct." Ronshfelt nodded. "I got our champions mixed up for a moment there. We have both ‘middle school champions’ and ‘high school champions’ in our small city. Isn't that simply amazing!?"

Not really. Jin retorted silently. If the same champion dominates every year, it means there’s a big skill gap in the region. That’s a bad thing.

However, that remark didn’t enter the conversation. Ronshfelt carried on with his pleasantries as he led Rodrigeuz and Jin through the hallway.

Most of what Ronshfelt spouted sounded like pure nonsense. However, the man was clearly an important figure here, so Jin didn’t dare to interject.

“Well then, Fernando.” Ronshfelt stopped in front of a door. “We can leave the talk about your plans to rejoin the team for a later date.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a very short talk.”

“Haha. Perhaps it will, perhaps it will. Either way, the man of the hour is our young prodigy over here. What was the name, again?”

“Young-jin.”

"So, Jin. I can call you Jin, right? The Sweepers are about to wrap up a practice game. You'll join in the next one."

"In which role?" Jin asked.

"Role? Simply pick whatever you’re most comfortable with. You're the star of the show today, so no need to be shy."

"Understood. In that case, I take Top."

"Very good, very good. An assertive boy. I like that." Ronshfelt nodded nonstop as he spoke. "Follow me." He opened the door and led them inside.

So, this is it. Jin gulped. Despite trying to maintain a confident front, his pacing was slow and his eyes darted from side to side. The nerves were getting to him no matter how hard he fought to keep them under control.

The trio entered a big room at the far end of the floor. There were two rows of computers positioned at a fair distance from each other. It was clearly meant to simulate the arrangement of the two pro teams on a stage.

With that said, there was no big stage anywhere in sight and there weren’t many seats for the audience. Therefore, the simulation was incomplete.

I'll give it 6/10. Jin rated the room based on other pro facilities he visited back in Korea.

This place satisfied the minimal requirements for pro practice, but it didn't seem to go any further than that. The fact the room barely had any audience seats implied this setup wasn't professional enough to host any exhibition matches here.

"Good, good." Ronshfelt nodded as he looked at the monitor hanging in the center of the room. "Looks like they're about to finish their spar."

Are they? Jin’s eyes zigzagged across the screen to absorb all the available information. As expected, the Sweepers are in the lead. Though, I'm not sure it can even be called "sparring". This is more like practice for the pros.

The Sweepers, a B-League team, were facing a much weaker opponent. It was a team from another middle school - StormBlitz.

They were considered one of the strongest teams in the region, second only to the Leopards. And, judging by their performance in the recent middle school scrimmage, that was probably a good estimation of their power level.

StormBlitz seems a little below the Leopards, so they're probably really the 2nd or 3rd best in the region. Jin concluded as such after the Leopards had a meeting in which they analyzed StormBlitz’s scrimmage.

So, how was this “2nd best middle school team” faring against the Sweepers? Naturally, they were losing pretty badly.

With that said, the kill count and the map state didn't make it apparent right away. StormBlitz at least had the decency to not lose too badly in obvious areas.

Nonetheless, other numbers on the screen exposed the undeniable truth.

The Sweepers are far ahead on farm. Jin noticed. If they really wanted, they could've finished this game at least five minutes ago. But, they're taking their time. It’s probably to give StormBlitz a chance.

The unfolding situation on the screen was all the proof Jin needed. StormBlitz was reduced to only two living members, yet the Sweepers didn't hurry to abuse the situation.

If the pros really wanted, they could’ve won in many different ways from this position. For example, they could've gone after the Overlord buff and become an unstoppable force. Or, they could mount a big push on Mid and most likely win that way. There were countless easy options.

And yet, the Sweepers avoided delivering the killing blow. Instead, they continued giving StormBlitz some chances to recover.

I think this is going to take a while. Jin concluded.

The match reached its conclusion only ten minutes later. As expected, the Sweepers emerged victorious.

Despite how long it took, that match was nothing more than one-sided stomping. The Sweepers held the upper hand all along. They simply postponed the final blow for a while, taking it easy against the younger players.

"Oh, it's over!" Ronshfelt clapped once. "What an intense battle! It looked like a done deal at first glance, but the kids sure held their ground until the bitter end! I can't believe such young talent exists nowadays!" 

They only held on for so long because the Sweepers let them. Jin made a face. The more this old man talks, the more I feel like he has no idea what he's talking about.

"A very nice match!" Ronshfelt clapped as he approached the Sweepers. "Now, attention please, everybody. The man of the hour arrived! I’m introducing you Jin, the Chinese Wonderboy!" 

Korean. Jin retorted mentality.

Normally, he'd shove that correction right into the speaker's face, but this clown was too big of a figure.

According to Rodriguez’s briefing, Ronshfelt was the owner of the esports team, and of the entire building in fact. Yes, that old fool was like the king of this entire territory, so Jin had to tread carefully. It wouldn't be wise to get on the Ronshfelt bad side and lose this important opportunity.

Following the loud introduction, the pros left their seats and sized Jin up with curious looks.

Some of them seemed interested to hear more. Meanwhile, others scoffed in response, maybe at the fact Jin was a kid or at the fact he was a foreigner. Naturally, none of them knew him or had any idea at what level he played.

On the other hand, Jin knew each and every one of them. He did his homework for today, so he learned what level of threat each member of the Sweepers posed.

On top of that, Jin knew exactly what these people were for him right now: his sworn enemies. They were foes he had to crush today in order to advance toward the pro scene and escape the skillless middle school swamp he was stuck in ever since he left Korea...