The drafting phase began.

To simulate a high-level match as realistically as possible, StormBlitz didn't cut any corners during this practice. Howard drafted classes methodically as if the team’s fate was at stake.

On the other hand, the pros...

"Just let them pick whatever they want." Ignis shrugged. "No matter what he comes at me with, I'mma kick this brat’s ass. I’ll show everybody he’s in no way better than Wardy."

"My, you have such a brother-complex~" Esmeralda giggled.

"I mean, it's Wardy we're talking about." Ignis smiled proudly. "There's no way he gonna lose to anybody his age. We raised that boy."

"Yes, he's like our child~" 

"Err, I wouldn't go that far."

"No no, he's definitely a labor of our passionate love~" 

"Okay, now you're just spouting nonsense." 

"Teehee~" 

The middle school team made their first ban, so it was the pros' turn.

"So," IronWall addressed everybody. "Any bans you'd like?"

"Can't we just skip our banning phase?" Ignis asked. "Let's let them play whatever they think is best. I mean, we gonna beat them anyway."

"No, we'll ban properly," IronWall insisted with the usual heavy tone. "This is supposed to be a serious match, so we have to take the drafting phase seriously as well."

"As uptight as ever." Ignis shrugged. "Well, I don't need any bans for Top. I don't wanna hear excuses later like 'you banned my best class'. I say, let the Chinese boy play whatever he wants."

"He's Korean," IronWall corrected.

"Meh, same thing. They're all over there together, on the other side of the globe. Anyway, point is, I don't wanna ban anything for Top." 

"Fine." IronWall clearly had a thing or two to say, but he merely sighed and gave up. "What about the rest of you?" 

In the end, without Ignis requesting anything, the team defaulted to banning the usual suspects. By now, they already knew which classes StormBlitz favored, so it was easy enough to target those. Among them were Paladin and Ranger, much to Howard and Ellen's dismay.

While Ignis was indifferent toward the banning phase, the phase itself seemed to care a lot about her. The enemy banned the following classes: Viking, Berserker, and Fighter. All of them were Top Laners.

This guy did his homework. Howard thought as he satisfied Jin's selfish request.

Normally, it was unthinkable to spend the entire banning phase on banning a single role. But, these weren't just any random Top Lane classes. They were the classes his sister played the most.

Did he know that? Howard wondered. Who am I kidding, of course he did. There’s no way he shot in the dark and hit these three specific classes. This kid might be more dangerous than I expected.

When Howard heard about a "Korean genius", the first thing that came to mind was superb mechanical skill. He expected Jin to be a wild beast with superhuman reaction speed, similar to Lars.

Beasts like that usually didn't pay as much heed to tactics and didn’t bother studying their opponents. Instead, they relied on their raw strength to bust through any obstacle.

However, Jin was proving to be a different kind of player. He definitely studied Ignis, no two ways about it.

I guess that's expected from somebody who was trained in a professional environment. Howard thought. I wonder, will he admit to this if asked?

"Impressive." Howard broke the ice. "Looks like you researched your lane opponent quite well."

"Yes," Jin answered plainly. "Studying your opponent is the first step to victory."

"I agree." Howard nodded. So, he doesn’t think it’s underhanded to gain an information advantage like that. If anything, he treats it as an accomplishment. It’s unfortunate. I'm sure we would've become good friends if we met under different circumstances.

"I’m surprised," Jin said. "I didn't think you agree to all these bans, not this easily."

"You're right. Normally, I wouldn't let that stand."

"Then, why?" 

"It's a special occasion, so I have to be more flexible," Howard explained. "It's like an exam for you, so I don't want to be blamed for being the one who made you fail."

"I see."

"Besides, I'm sure you would've argued with me to death if I disagreed, right?"

"Maybe." Jin gave a vague answer but the prediction was on point. He did his homework on the Sweepers’ favorite classes and he had every intention to make use of that information advantage. Therefore, he wasn’t going to accept “no” for an answer here.

“So really," Howard continued. "I just prefer to avoid drama when possible. After all, we don't even know each other yet, right? Heated arguments between strangers are the worst, haha."

"Is that so." Jin stared at Howard for a long moment. This captain is adequate, it seems.

Instead of causing needless friction, the captain chose the most peaceful way to resolve this situation. He took the road that undermined his authority a little, but in exchange, he improved the team's chances of winning as a whole.

It was a smooth way to handle this particular situation in which one of the team members was a stranger. This “VIP treatment" made Jin feel welcome here, which raised his appreciation toward the captain and the team at large.

Was that also part of his plan? Jin wondered. If so, he might be somebody worth considering a "dangerous opponent" for the future. But, it's too early to tell.

StormBlitz finished their banning phase, with all three bans aimed directly at Ignis. Next, it was the Sweepers' turn to deliver the final ban of this phase.

"Heh, look at this brat going." Ignis grinned dangerously. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Like, I'm not imagining it, right? These bans are all aimed at me." 

"They sure are." Esmeralda smiled. "This is so cute. Reminds me of how boys harass the girls they like for attention~" 

"Yeah, totally. Like, totally NOT. What the heck are you even on about? That brat is just a kid."

"Perhaps he was mesmerized by your voluptuous form?" 

"The kid is like 12. What the heck?" 

"My, you got zero imagination, Igny." Esmeralda pouted. "Forbidden love like that is everywhere~"

"Yeah, everywhere in your head."

"But, he's a cute serious boy, don't you think?" 

"Are you trying to make me call the police on you?"

"So mean~ Sob. Sob."

"Yeah, yeah." Ignis shrugged. "Anyway, let's get the show rolling."

"Alright," IronWall agreed. "Now that you've finished your questionable conversation, let's address the last ban. I'm sure it's clear to everybody that the enemy's bans are aimed at Ignis."

"Yep, they sure are." Ignis nodded. "That’s not so weird, though. The Storm kids know what I play, especially Wardy and Elly. Though, I didn't expect them to betray me like this and give the Chinese boy all this advantage..."

"Either way" IronWall continued. "My guess is that the Korean boy himself will pick Knight, the one important class he left alone."

"Yeah, sounds feasible."

"And, that's all you have to say?" IronWall raised an eyebrow.

"What else do I need to say?" 

"Hmm, I really don't know. Something like 'ban Knight', maybe?" 

"Nah, let him pick whatever he wants." Ignis waved her hand. "The more freedom we give him, the stronger he should be, right? I wanna smash that kid at his strongest!" 

"My, how kinky~" Esmeralda commented.

"Huh? Oh, shit!" Ignis shuddered the moment she realized what she has just uttered. "Eh, I mean, ya know... I wanna spank that kid real good!"

"My, so that's the kind of fetish you're into~?”

"Oh, shush already."

As the silly banter died down, IronWall wheeled the conversation back on topic.

"So, we're not banning Knight?" 

"Nope."

"Alright then."

Until the very end, Ignis ignored the banning phase and allowed her lane opponent to do whatever he wanted.

And so, the Sweepers placed their final ban on Shadow Walker. The class has fallen out of S tier according to most people, but it was still a pain to deal with. Not to mention, StormBlitz's Jungler played this class quite adequately.

With the drafting phase out of the way, it was StormBlitz's turn to pick the first class. According to the meta, the Top Laner was often the first to pick.

"Knight." Jin placed his order.

"Very well." Howard locked the class in. An obvious pick. So obvious that I’m surprised sis didn't ban it. I really hope she's taking this seriously...

With the first pick decided, it was the Sweepers' turn.

"Knight, huh." Ignis shook her head. "Textbook first pick."

"Like I told you." IronWall sighed. "You should've banned it."

"Nah, no problem. If anything, it's great he picked Knight. It means he won't have any excuses after I kick his ass."

"So," IronWall continued. "What's your pick?"

"Heh, wouldn't it be hilarious if I pick DK here?" 

"Please don't."

"C'mon, that's the best way to put that kid in his place, don't you think?" Ignis snickered.

With Dark Knight, she could easily crush the brat during the early-game and not give him any opportunities to shine. That way, she'll shoot down all his chances of making a positive impression on Ronshfelt!

"My, Igny is such a bully~" Esmeralda giggled.

"Hey, that's not bullying. Let’s just call it ‘strict education’. We're the adults here, so we gotta teach brats to not bite more than they can chew."

"Actually, I'm not so worried about the boy here," IronWall said. "I'm more concerned with the possibility he'll stall your DK to oblivion."

"Whoa there!" Ignis exclaimed. "So, you don't want me to pick DK because you think I might lose? Seriously? Sounds like somebody got infected with the owner's overhyping disease."

"I'm not hyping anything up," IronWall said. "Countering DK is one of the most basic things any competitive player should know. So, there's a good chance he's better at countering DK than any other class."

"Sounds great, actually." Ignis nodded. "It means he’ll be at his strongest. That's exactly what I wanna crush!" 

"It might backfire," IronWall said. "To win with DK, you need to play much better than your opponent."

"And? You're saying I can't play better than some middle schooler?" 

"That's the problem, I don't know. It's the first time Fernando is recommending one of his students to the pro scene, He had plenty of talented kids over the years but he never suggested anything absurd like this. So clearly, this kid is special somehow." 

"Are you gonna trust a guy who quit the pro scene more than you trust your teammate? Jeez, thanks for the faith, cap."

"Me and Fernando played in the Cleaners together before so he's also like a teammate to me, just a former one."

"Wait, you played in the pro scene together? First time I hear it."

"It's been many years since then. But, one thing I still remember is that Fernando always had an eye for recognizing talent. He was usually our main guy for analyzing opponents and scouting new players. So, if Fernando says this boy’s skill is exceptional, I believe it."

"Hmm." Ignis crossed her arms. "Wait a minute. You both played on the Cleaners, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"And, it was C-League back then too, right?" 

"Right. We didn't have a B-League team back then."

"Aha!" Ignis pumped a fist. "It means he never got into B-League! I surpassed that guy! Get dunked, scrub!"

"Anyway..." IronWall ignored that noise and picked Cryomancer for himself. "I don't approve of you picking DK. It’s not like I’m trying to belittle you or anything. We just don't know how good that boy is. So, as long as there's a chance he can stall your DK then we can't pick it, not with the boss watching."

"My, are you afraid of dear Ronny?" Esmeralda titled her head.

"You know how that guy is," IronWall whispered. "He's all smiles but he'll chew us out if we do poorly against kids. He doesn't really like these arrangements in the first place."

"My, he doesn't?" Esmeralda blinked in surprise. "I thought he was into promoting younger talent." 

"That's just what he says," IronWall explained. "Maybe, at first, he was genuinely hyped about letting kids practice against us. But, over time, he must've realized it doesn't bring any direct benefit for the team. We don't gain any money, fame, or skill from it. So, why support it?" 

"Man, what an ass." Ignis grumped. "Now I get why it's been getting harder and harder to arrange these practice matches. He probably asks the coach to overpack our schedule on purpose, doesn't he?" 

"I'm sure that's the case." IronWall nodded.

"Damn. I can't believe I never noticed."

“You’re just a dumdum like that~” Esmeralda giggled.

“He did what he can to make it less obvious,” IronWall explained. “But, he was very direct on the topic with me the other day.”

"My,"  Esmeralda commented. "Our poor captain sure has it hard." 

"I really do, so please don't make it harder for me." IronWall sighed. "He'll give me an earful if we show him a shabby performance against kids. That's why I can’t allow DK."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Ignis said. "My bad, I had no idea he was giving you so much shit for it. I'll pick something else then."

"Thank you."

"Hmm. I'll go with Warrior then." Ignis grinned. "This gonna be fun!" 

"Are you sure?" IronWall confirmed. "It might be better to pick a higher tier class." 

"Nah, it's perfect here. You know my Warrior is solid, right? And, it also got a good matchup against Knight."

"A tentatively good matchup," IronWall corrected. "But alright, it's a passable pick. At least, I don't think I need to worry about you messing up with Warrior."

"You didn't need to worry about my DK either, you know."

"You're probably right, but better safe than sorry."

IronWall locked-in Warrior for Ignis. It was a pick that a certain somebody was very much anticipating.

She really went for it. Jin had mixed feelings about this development. On one hand, his research proved accurate enough to predict this outcome. On the other hand, it meant Ignis was probably looking down on him a little.

Warrior wasn't exactly a "weak" class but it was considered low-tier due to the existence of Knight. For most intents and purposes, Knight was straight up a "better" Warrior. It almost felt like power creep.

According to ClassSoft, Knight was intended to feel like a “class upgrade” for new players. It was a common concept in MMORPGs.

All players had access to Warrior as soon as they started the game. Later on, they unlocked Knight for free once their account hit Lv.30.

In short, ClassSoft openly admitted that Knight was designed to be an upgrade for Warrior, thus dooming Warrior to be forever low tier. Though admittedly, there were a couple of cases in which Warrior was slightly better than Knight. However, those were few and far between.

In other words, for almost all situations, Knight was the superior class. Everybody knew that, so Ignis surely knew that as well.

And yet, she picked Warrior against Jin’s Knight. Not only that, but she failed to ban Knight before Jin stole the class. It further proved how much that cocky woman was underestimating him.

About the only advantage Warrior has for this matchup is the AA range. But, it's not a big enough difference to justify the pick. How disappointing.

The rest of the drafting phase proceeded without any interesting developments. Jin dropped a few bits of advice here and there as he saw fit. Some of them went through, others were rejected. He didn't feel too strongly about it either way.

And so, the final lineup came down to...

 

=== StormBlitz ====

Aegis (Support) - Druid

Athena (Carry) - Elf

Adapting (Mid) - Aeromancer

Average (Jungler) - Lancer

Apprentece (Top) - Knight

 

=== Sweepers ===

IronWall (Support) - Cryomancer

Argus (Carry) - Gunslinger

Esmeralda (Mid) - Warlock

MegaHawk (Jungler) - Vampire

Ignis (Top) - Warrior