“Damn!” Roi splashed his face at the sink. He was totally out of tune last game. His parries didn't connect, he died numerous times and he hasn't scored a single kill. It was like he was some Bronze player. Damn it!

“So much for ‘we ain’t throw the game’, heh.” Dan shook his head.

“It's not like I was messing up on purpose,” Roi frowned. “My bat just didn't connect and I couldn't get anything going, which only got me more triggered and distracted. You remember that feeling from baseball, right? When you're out of tune and miss literally every swing.”

“Yeah, my entire baseball career in a nutshell.”

“Lol, that's not true,” Roi chuckled. “Anyway, don't know about you, but I wasn't trying to throw the game”

“Hey, I played alright too,” Dan said. “I messed up here and there, but it’s far from my worst game.”

“Gonna make excuses, huh. I know you can play way better than that.”

“I think so too, but it is what it is. Howard packed some serious formation this time and I kept running into his traps.”

“Really now,” Roi narrowed his eyes. “You gonna say every time you messed up it was some 200 IQ trap? Like, when you ganked Gil without asking whether he had his blink on?”

“Welp,” Dan twisted his lips. “Guess I was a little distracted. But again, nothing out of the norm. I've screwed worse in Ranked before.”

“You really insist on that point as if it matters. This is a serious game with lives on the stake. You can't just say it's alright to screw up.”

“Heh, ‘lives on the line’,” Dan chuckled. “Now that's melodramatic.”

“It's kinda true, though. For Yuel and Lars, this game gonna decide the upcoming year. Who knows, if they debut as juniors and get far in the regionals, they might get some sweet pro offers later down the line.”

“Heh, always dreaming about these sweet pro offers. I remember how you used to say that by becoming the cleanup batter of our team you took a step closer to the Major League.”

“Still think that’s true. You ain’t gonna get far if you aren’t aiming far.”

“Fair enough,” Dan smiled wryly. He understood the reasoning, but for him, these were just empty words. How the heck becoming the cleanup batter of some grade school team gonna lead to the Major League? How winning the nationals during junior high team will lead to getting pro offers? It was all silly talk.

“Anyway,” Roi continued. “You really better start shaping up next game.”

“Right back at ya.”

“No kidding. I need to sort myself out-” Roi paused. An unexpected visitor entered the restroom - Howard.

Welp, this is kinda awkward. Roi put on a dumb smile. Until the end of the match, Roi and Howard were like mortal enemies. There had to be a way to break the ice somehow. “Hey look, it's the Big Shield Dude.”

“Heh, is that how you call me during strategy meetings too?” Howard chuckled but afterward, silence descended again. Roi and Dan threw glances at each other as if urging each other to say something.

“What’s with the difficult faces?” Howard asked.

“Nothing big, you know,” Roi replied with a forced grin. “It’s just we’re kinda on opposite sides right now, so it feels weird.”

“Relax, it’s just a game.”

“You really think that way?”

“Of course not,” Howard’s eyes turned sharp as he passed by them. “For me, this is an important match with huge implications. But, for you two? It’s just a game. Your positions on the first string are pretty much guaranteed, so there’s no need to stress over it, is there?”

“Well, that may be true, but...” Roi couldn’t find the right words to express his mixed feelings about this entire arrangement. This match was messed up, plain and straight.

Why were Roi and Dan on Yuel’s team? They gave the team too huge of an advantage, which made them look like bullies. It was hella hard to play their best in this environment. And not to mention, consider what was at stake on this match’s outcome... damn it all.

“You said the match has ‘huge implications’ for you,” Dan addressed Howard. “You mean, like not being able to play in the tournament this year?”

“It’s more than that,” Howard explained. “Not sure if I mentioned, but I’m aiming for Grandview next year.”

“Huh?” Roi cocked his head. “The heck is that? The name sounds kinda familiar.”

“Isn’t that the high school where Utopia plays?” Dan asked.

“Oh!” Roi exclaimed. “Utopia!? For real?!” He turned to Howard with a loose jaw. “Aren’t they like the top dogs of the high school scene!?”

“Yes, that Utopia,” Howard confirmed. “I applied for the team and they said my chances depend on my tournament results this year. Getting to nationals is the bare minimum and winning it will pretty much guarantee a scholarship and everything.”

“Damn, son!” Roi nodded with respect. “You’re shooting high, huh.”

“Impressive...” Dan wasn’t sure what else to say. This was a grand ambition but also a very down-to-earth one. “Isn’t Grandview pretty far from here, though?”

“Yeah, I plan to live in the dorms. That’s why I really need that sports scholarship they offer for Mancers.”

“I see, sounds tough. Good luck with that.” Dan smiled wryly and averted his gaze. Great, this match has just become a hundred times heavier.

For Howard, winning this match was the first step toward getting into Utopia, the pinnacle of the country’s high school competitive scene. Utopia was known as a powerhouse that produced many pro players, so for Howard, today’s match was like a step toward the pro scene. This was serious business and yet here Dan was, playing on the opposite team and getting in Howard’s way...

Stolen novel; please report.

“Alrighty,” Howard finished his business. “Good luck next game. Just don’t sweat it and everything will be fine.”

“Haha, sure.”

“Good luck, too.”

On that note, Howard left the restroom. As soon as he exited, a smirk surfaced on his face. As he thought, Roi and Dan were rattled. If things keep going this way, they’ll keep underperforming and it’ll be an easy victory for Howard. The next game was in the bag.

At around the same time, at the girls’ restroom...

It's because of me. Julia finished washing her face and stared at the mirror. All it reflected was the sight of a useless girl who achieved absolutely nothing in the past two games. After she talked big about how she'll fight her best today, she ended up putting on an embarrassing performance.

Was that the extent of her skill? No, no way. Julia knew how to play more aggressively and score kills, she just couldn't bring out these techniques in front of Lars.

When Julia was playing Ranked, it was usually enough for her to stick to defense and wait for the opponent to commit a mistake. Then, she’d punish that idiot and win the lane.

Unfortunately, Gilbert was no idiot. He knew exactly how far away he had to stay while pushing and he didn’t leave any openings even when he aggressed on Julia. In the second game, Gilbert was always on the offensive and yet Julia couldn't kill him anyway.

Even with a gank, they failed to kill Gilbert. Though, if Julia just went all out with offense at the time... Bleh, I gotta stop thinking about this before it depresses me to death.

Bottom line: Julia sucked in both games. The team somehow pulled through in the first game, but the second game was much harder. And, as much as Julia wanted to deny it, much of the fault for the team’s defeat laid with her. Not only did she fail to initiate anything and score any kills, she even ended up dying and losing Mid. Like, these were the worst things a Mid Laner could do EVER.

Yuel drilled this knowledge into her on a regular basis: “No matter how badly a Mid Laner performs, they must prevent the enemy from penetrating Mid at all costs.” How many times has he repeated that?

Every time Julia lost control in Mid, Yuel lectured her about how she put the entire team at a disadvantage. Each lane was like a pillar that supported the team's defense and Mid was the most vulnerable of them all. Countless games have been won with a team just pushing all the way through Mid without bothering with other lanes.

So, as a Mid Laner, Julia had just one job. ONE! Was it that hard? Was it!? Yeah, it sure was.

Considering the importance of Mid, everybody was eying it like hungry wolves. A single misstep would give these wolves the cue to leap on Julia and tear her apart. That's why she had to fortify her defense as much as possible.

But, playing defensively wasn't enough here. Even though the enemy team was filled with hungry wolves, they were smart wolves who didn't overextend while targeting Mid. To turn the tables on them and to truly crush their assault, Julia had to get out there and fight them face-to-face. But, the problem with that was...

“Gah!” Julia splashed her face. Her thoughts were swirling and swirling and swirling to no end. Jesus, it was depressing. Why was she even putting herself through all this crap? She just wanted to go hide under a rock...

“My, what a surprise,” Ellen waltzed into the restroom. Great, what a pleasant surprise...

“Um...” Julia didn't know how to respond, so she just silently approved of Ellen's presence with a nod.

“How cold~” Ellen pouted and quickly closed the distance.

“Wha-!?” Before Julia realized it, she was wrapped from all sides. Oh god, the snake caught her!

“No need to be like that,” Ellen rubbed herself against Julia. “We may be enemies in the game right now, but we're still best pals, right~?”

I don't remember ever being your “pal”. Julia retorted mentally while trying to shake off Ellen's embrace. Dang it, Ellen literally glued herself to Julia. This was neither the time nor place for these buddy-buddy gestures, they were in the middle of a world war.

“Would you let go already?”

“Only if you show me your cute smile,” Ellen stuck out her tongue. “You look waaaay too serious right now. No boy would approach you from one kilometer with this face, especially Larsy.”

“Mind your own business,” Julia scoffed off. Smile? What was there to smile about? She felt more like crying. “Let go already.”

“Alright, alright,” Ellen unlocked the hugging cage and slithered away. “You just looked so depressed that I felt you need a hug. Wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“C'mon, I'll listen.”

“I said no.” Can't she ever mind her own business?

“It looks like you're blaming yourself too hard,” Ellen proceeded to talk some crap anyway. Great.

Can I just leave? Please? Julia sighed because she already knew: there was no shaking Ellen off once she latches onto you.

“You actually played both games pretty well,” Ellen continued.

“Is that supposed to be sarcasm?”

“Nope, I mean it. Sure, you didn't get many kills, but your defense was on par with The Pentagon. That ult play you did in the last team fight was pretty cute too.”

Now, that's definitely sarcasm. Julia clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her skin. The brief pain reminded her of the bullshit she had to go through in that play. Yuel promised “everything will be okay”, so Julia went ahead and charged Hurricane. Needless to say, it was a recipe for disaster.

“It’ll be okay” my ass. Julia felt like tossing that idiot of a cliff. While she was charging her ult: the stupid Kraken knocked her down, that dumbass Druid pulled her into enemy territory and the damn Pirate skewered her to death. That Hurricane play was total bullshit.

“I see,” Ellen smiled meaningfully. “You probably think that play was terrible because you died, right?”

“Well, duh. It was terrible.”

“And here I thought it was good bait.”

“A bait...?”

“Yep,” Ellen nodded. “You became a must-target because Aero's ult is nasty in team fights. So, you forced our hand and we had to strike first, so your team capitalized on that. Thanks to that bait, you guys almost turned the tables on us. Good thing we're always prepared for anything~”

“Huh,” Julia scoffed. “You say it was good bait even though I died?”

“Yeah, it was a small sacrifice for the huge payoff you almost got. Or wait, did I get it wrong? You didn’t plan to be a sacrifice bait there?”

“Y-Yeah, of course, that was the plan. I was just impressed by how well you saw through it. You're really sharp, huh.”

“I sure am~”

“Haha...” Julia shifted her eyes away. Was the bait play really that helpful for the team? Even though it led to Julia’s swift death? Maybe her well-being was never a priority in the first place, so Yuel used her like a disposable pawn. That’s just... haha... ha... goddammit.

“Oh, lookie, you’re finally smiling. Not your cutest smile ever, but it's a start.”

“Heh...” Yes, Julia smiled. She smiled because of how useless she was. Yuel discarded her like a pawn in that play without even informing her. That dumbass planned to sacrifice her from the very beginning!

“Anyway,” Ellen patted Julia's shoulder. “I know you're trying your best to help Lars win so he can get into the first string, but no need to push yourself to the point of depression. As long as you play well, Lars won't blame you if you lose.”

“That's not...” Julia's words trailed off. What was this bullcrap? Sure, Julia wanted to help Lars get into the first string, but she also...

“Good luck next game~”

“Yeah, you too.” Julia left the restroom with quick strides. Once she got outside, she threw quick glances around the hallway. Okay, nobody was here.

“GAAAAAAAH!” Julia roared. What the actual fuck!? A sacrifice bait!? Was that all Julia was worth for Yuel!? Was she just some pawn meant to be discarded!? Don't you fuck with me, you dumbass! I can do way more than that! I can...! I...!

Sure, Julia was neither an amazing player like Lars nor a first-string member like Roi and Dan. And sure, she had all sorts of flaws. But! She was a player too! She wasn't some dead weight that dragged the team down, right? Right!?

Maybe she didn't have as much at stake this match compared to Lars and Yuel, but that didn't mean she was taking this match lightly. Helping Lars was an important goal, but even beyond that, she wanted to....! Goddammit!

Just you wait! Next game, I'll show you what I can do! I'll go so hard on the offense you'll be begging me to stop killing so much! I'll murder everybody! Every last one of these shitheads! I'll do it, goddammit!

With this determination, Julia headed into the final game. Will she be able to draw out her aggressive side once she’s in the match? There were no guarantees, but she'll do it! She’ll do it, goddammit!