Contrary to expectations, it really happened: Julia made it into the first string. She will have to share the Mid Laner position with Gilbert, but this achievement was still leaps and bounds beyond what Yuel and Lars got. Depending on Julia's performance throughout the upcoming year, she might even grab the entire position all for herself. It was great for her.

What face am I supposed to make? Yuel dragged himself out of the clubroom after the meeting ended. Of course, he was glad for Julia. He knew better than anybody how much Julia worked behind the scenes.

Julia started Classmancers with the ulterior motive of getting closer to Lars. However, she genuinely tried to improve at the game, even if it meant going out of her way to ask for Yuel's advice. She worked hard for the sake of looking good in front of Lars.

However, at some point, the game grew on her. Julia began playing for herself instead of focusing on how to best show off in front of Lars. She developed a genuine interest in the high-level plays and she wanted to get onto the competitive stage. Even though Julia tried to deny that at times, it was evident by how frustrated she was when she didn't make it into the scrimmage match against the Leopards.

At some point along the way, Julia developed an amazing talent for playing hyper offense. She was probably influenced by Lars's wild plays because she has been exposed to them on a daily basis.

At first, her hyper offense was rough and flawed. However, Yuel and Ellen helped Julia polish it in secret until it became a real weapon. This hyper-aggression was exactly what Julia was missing as a player because it compensated for her usual defensive playstyle. With both a Defense Mode and an Attack Mode her arsenal, Julia became a force to be reckoned with.

However, Julia had a bad habit of getting overly excited once she entered Attack Mode. She became like one of these loud Youtubers who yelled about every little thing that happened in the match.

Frankly, Yuel agreed with Julia that it was embarrassing conduct. If he could play better by transforming into a loud overhyped goof, would he have done it? He wasn’t sure.

Who am I kidding? Of course I would have done it. Yuel smiled wryly. Victory was everything. Even if he had to act like a total clown, he would have used any tools at his disposal to get an edge in a match.

But, for Julia, it was another story. This moody princess hated it when people gave her funny looks. Especially, she couldn’t bear the idea of Lars seeing her act like that. It was far from a ladylike behavior, so she was convinced Lars will hate it.

Yuel and Ellen tried to convince Julia otherwise, but she was stubborn about it. So, she never used Attack Mode in front of Lars because she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of the boy she liked.

However, during the selection match, Julia overcame that wall. She unleashed her potential in its entirety and laid it bare for everybody to see. It took everybody by surprise, even Howard. Only Yuel and Ellen knew that side of Julia because they practiced in secret with her.

Julia’s Attack Mode was still rough around the edges during its debut, but she was undeniably strong. The surprise element of revealing her Attack Mode for the first time surely played a big role in shaking the enemy team, but it was impressive how Julia capitalized on that advantage to dominate the entire flow of the match. With her joining the team’s offense, it was like the team’s attacks became ten times stronger.

In a match where the team needed an extra edge on the offense, she might very well be more valuable than Gilbert. And, if she becomes more consistent and improves her ability to switch from offense to defense on the fly - she'd become a real monster. The potential was definitely there.

What an unfortunate outcome. Yuel and Lars didn't get into the first string, so they were considering a school transfer. Since Julia has always stuck around them, Yuel thought she might want to join them.

However, Julia was on StormBlitz's first string now. For her, transferring schools meant giving up on the position she worked so hard to get.

How am I supposed to approach this? Yuel rubbed his temples. In theory, it was a simple matter. He just supposed to come up to Julia and inform her about the transfer idea. After that, whether she decides to join or not, was no longer Yuel’s business. Julia was the one who had to make the decision.

But, that's just theory. In practice, it was up to Yuel to break the news for her and face whatever reaction she was going to fire at him. And oh boy, her reaction was bound to be far from calm or reasonable.

This is giving me a headache. I just need to get it over with. Yuel took a deep breath and caught up to Julia on her way out.

“Wait,” Yuel called.

“What?” Julia continued walking without slowing down in the slightest. Her pacing was so fast that Yuel almost had to jog in order to keep up.

“I need to tell you something important.”

“Yeah?”

“Would you stop for a second?”

“.......” Julia came to a sudden halt.

Phew, okay. Yuel also stopped to catch his breath.

“There,” Julia started walking again. “One second passed.”

“Wha, wait!” Yuel barely caught one breath and he had to start chasing again. This girl had no chill! She was probably still mad about that quarrel they had before the meeting. Honestly, Yuel hasn't forgotten that incident either. Julia's insults toward his teamwork with Lars were still fresh in his mind.

Nevertheless, he had to put all of that aside for now in order to discuss what really mattered. And, to do so, he first had to catch up with Julia. So, he had to increase his pace and-

“Whoa!” Yuel tripped and dived into the floor. “Ouch.”

“......” Julia stopped because of the crashing sound and turned around. “You okay there?”

“Y-Yeah,” Yuel waved his hands. “Finally, you stopped.”

“Hmph,” Julia turned around again but this time she didn't start walking. At least, not yet. “What's so important that you have to say it right here and now? Gonna complain about the selection match again?”

“No, let's put that aside for now,” Yuel stood up and wiped his hands against his pants.

Okay, he finally captured that problematic girl. What’s next? How should he approach her? He was clearly on Julia’s list of “Idiots to Kill” right now, so he had to proceed with caution.

“Congratulations,” Yuel tried to start off with some positivity. “It's only half a spot, but you're in the first string. You really deserve it.”

“Is that supposed to be sarcasm?”

“No, I really believe you deserve it. The way you played in the third game was impressive. I would have picked you for the first string too if I were the captain.”

“Is that so,” Julia shrugged. “But, you still would have split Mid between me and Gilbert, right? After all, I played so poorly in the second game that you lost because of me, right?”

“I didn't say that.”

“But, that's what you think, right?”

“That's not the topic right now,” Yuel tried to deflect the question. This wasn't about the selection match right now. He had to discuss the school transfer-

“I bet you feel like an idiot, don't you?” Julia continued with her nonsense. “It's only because you came outta nowhere and took my Support role that I ended up playing Mid, you know?”

“Yes, I remember that,” Yuel nodded. Back when they first met, Julia was insisting to play Support for Lars because she believed that’ll bring them closer together. However, then Yuel came into the picture and became Lars’s Support. As a result, Julia had no choice but to switch her main role to Mid. After all, she had no chance of beating Yuel when it came to supporting.

“But, look at the result!” Julia grinned. “I'm on the main team while you're stuck on the bench. Hilarious, isn't it? Ahahaha! I bet you're thinking now how you should have played Mid yourself instead of helping me learn it, right?”

“... I wouldn't say that,” Yuel claimed so, but he had to admit a part of him was irritated by this outcome.

He has been watching over Julia’s progress the entire time and has been helping her improve as a Mid Laner. Therefore, as her coach, he was happy for her success. However, at the same time, he was mad at himself.

If only Yuel spent more of his time on improving himself instead of coaching Julia, perhaps he could have beaten Howard during the selection match. Yet, instead of pushing himself to new heights, Yuel burned his free time on helping Julia with her countless problems.

What an ugly feeling. Somewhere deep down, Yuel regretted all of it. He was glad Julia made it into the first string and yet, at the same time, he actually wished for her to fail and stay on the bench along with him Lars. If only Julia didn’t make it into the first-string today, holding a conversation about a school transfer would have been so much easier.

“Don't worry,” Julia finally turned to face him. She placed both hands on her hips and lifted her chin like a pompous queen. “I'll make it big in the first-string to make up for you and Lars not getting in.”

“To make up...?” Yuel blinked. Oh, so that’s how Julia saw it. Now that she got into the first-string, she suddenly became the “representative” of the trio. She was the queen because she reached the first-string and they were nothing but second-string plebs compared to her. That’s what Julia was implying, right?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Yeah, that’s right. The two of them were total trash! They had terrible teamwork and they didn't have half the skill required for reaching the first string! Is that what she was saying!?

“Forget it,” Yuel turned around. “Enjoy your stay in the first-string while it lasts.”

“Huh? What's that supposed to- hey!” Julia called out from behind but Yuel kept walking.

There was no need to tell her about the transfer. She finally made it into the first-string, so she should enjoy riding the high horse while she could. After all, she no longer had anything to do with benchwarmers like Yuel and Lars. Julia already got her desired spot while they had to gamble on a new school in order to reach the competitive scene. This had nothing to do with her.

Is this really fine? Yuel jerked uncomfortably. If he doesn't inform Julia about the transfer now, she won't have enough time to join them later even if she wanted to. Was this really for the better?

But seriously, I've had enough. Yuel’s fists trembled. There was a limit to how much bullshit he could bear with. He had enough of that girl’s attitude.

Julia always treated him like dirt even though he was always there to help her with anything she needed. It was largely thanks to Yuel that Julia made it so far and reached the first-string.

Yet, what did Julia ever do for him in return? Nothing. She only bitched and spit in his face like he was some lowlife. Maybe Julia didn't really mean everything she said to him, but enough was enough.

Yuel has been patient with her shitty attitude for two years now. It was annoying, but he could handle it. However, some of her actions today crossed the line. Criticizing Yuel and Lars's teamwork just to spite? That’s a new level of low.

On top of that, she suddenly began acting like she was a league above them just because she entered the first-string. In truth, that achievement meant nothing compared to their failure because the competition for Mid wasn’t nearly as fierce. Gilbert was a solid player, but he wasn’t Howard or Ellen.

So, with all that considered, Yuel had every right to ditch her. Julia should keep enjoying her precious spot on StormBlitz. Maybe she'll even become the main Mid Laner of the team.

She should keep enjoying her moment of glory until Yuel and Lars face her at the regionals and mop the floor with her! That'll teach her a lesson or two.

I'm really getting heated over this. Yuel took a deep breath before entering his home. Forget Julia. There are more important things I should be doing, like researching our transfer options and preparing a strategy to convince mom to let me transfer.

As soon as Yuel returned, he sat down in front of the computer. He and Lars couldn't just transfer to any random middle school. It had to be a school with a Classmancers team, preferably a decent one.

Unfortunately, there weren't many nearby schools to choose from. His mom was assuredly going to be against the transfer, so if he picks a faraway school which requires extra transportation fee - his mom will shoot him down on the spot. Therefore, he had to choose a school that was at least as close as his current school.

Out of the small list of options, there was only one which had a Classmancers club: Skyline Junior High.

Ugh. Seriously? Yuel frowned. Was that really the only option they could go for?

The team representing the school was Stratus. Yuel researched all the teams in the region last year, so he knew a little about their histories. Stratus was a bottom tier team which hasn't passed the first round of the regionals for the past few years.

The main reason for that must have been its painfully tiny club. The school only allowed the club to get nine members. In other words, they couldn’t even form two full teams for sparring against each other. It sounded like oppression.

Also, nine got dangerously close to five, which was the number of strong players required for doing well in tournaments. Freshmen counted among these nine, but they were ill-suited for tournaments due to their lack of experience and polish. Therefore, as far as participating in tournaments was concerned, the relevant number of club members was nine minus the number of freshmen.

That greatly restricted the club's options for forming the first-string. The team had to be composed of a small number of seniors and juniors, regardless of their actual skill. Not to mention, they also had to fit themselves into the five meta roles even if it meant some of them will be playing their secondary roles. It was a disaster.

But, in a way, that was good news for Yuel and Lars. Less club members meant less competition for starter positions. So, it'll be easier for them to grab their spots in such a team. There was no way they'll have to compete against a Bot duo of the same caliber as Howard and Ellen.

Is that really something to be happy about? Yuel smiled wryly. He was supposed to be striving for the top of the competitive scene, yet here he was rejoicing at the fact he won’t get much competition in Stratus. Absolutely disgusting.

That’s how far he and Lars have been pushed. They had to seek a team with less internal competition so they could reach the competitive scene and battle against the best. They first had to go downwards in order to be able to climb up from there.

So, Stratus was an alright team for them. But, will the school allow Yuel and Lars to join? Clubs usually only scouted first-year students, that was the standard routine.

However, transfer students had a peculiar situation. They were new students who haven’t joined a club yet even though they weren’t freshmen. Yuel’s current school allowed clubs to scout transfer students, but there was no telling if Skyline Junior High followed the same rules.

To eliminate any doubt, Yuel called the school. Fortunately, even though it was summer vacation, he got a hold of somebody. So, he proceeded to ask a couple of questions.

The phone call somehow dragged out for almost half an hour. The woman's tone implied she was growing impatient, so Yuel cut it short before she snaps at him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get all the data he needed. The woman didn't know the specifics about the Classmancers club because she wasn't directly involved with it. The only good news he got was that the school's policy was the same as in his current school.

In other words, clubs were allowed to recruit transfer students as if they were freshmen. So, there shouldn't be a problem getting into the club itself.

Another thing Yuel learned was that the school didn't think highly of the Classmancers club. Even when he told the woman he was an experienced player with a high rank, she still tried to push him toward joining other clubs. It almost felt like somebody told her to lower the motivation of anybody who wanted to join the Classmancers club.

It was a nasty treatment but far from unusual in this region. It generally felt like schools didn't appreciate the Classmancers clubs much. Even his school treated StormBlitz as an eyesore to some extent, despite the team’s strong performance at the regional. StormBlitz’s ridiculous entrance exam existed largely to appease the school by “showing” how serious the club was.

Only Leo Junior High seemed to have a genuine love for its Classmancers club, which made the Leopards such a powerhouse team. They even had a coach, something that was relatively rare even in high schools in their region.

Truly, Leo Junior High was a great school for playing Classmancers. Unfortunately, the school was located on the other side of the city. On top of that, the coach pretty much only ever put seniors on the first-string, so Yuel and Lars probably won’t make it in as juniors this year.

That coach only ever made one exception in the past for Fenrir, a strong player who was allowed to join the first string as a junior and became the captain on the following year. However, that was a very particular instance that it was not worth betting on. Even if Yuel can somehow convince his mom to attend such a faraway school, the competition there would be even fiercer than in StormBlitz. That’ll defeat the entire purpose of transferring.

Why am I even thinking about it so much? Yuel sighed. Naturally, he would have liked to be a part of a prestige Classmancers club which the school treated with respect. However, that was a pipe dream at the moment.

So, during middle school, he and Lars will have to keep eating dirt and play for teams that weren’t respected by their own schools. Things will get better once they enter high school and attend Ivy High, the powerhouse of the region’s high school competitive scene.

However, that’s two years from now. Right now, his only option was Skyline Junior High and the small underdog team that was Stratus. Not the most exciting option, but that’s all he could get Yuel and Lars will have to take that small team and transform it into a powerhouse that rivaled StormBlitz and Leopards. Then, they'll beat both these teams and go to nationals!

Later that day, Yuel called Lars over to discuss his findings. He also filled Lars in on what went down during the club meeting.

“July made it!?” Lars exclaimed.

“Yes, she got half a position,” Yuel explained. “She’ll share Mid with Gilbert, but I’m sure she’ll get to play at least a few tournament matches.”

“Sick, yo!” Lars pumped a fist with a big grin, but then it hit him and his smile died down. “But wait, what about our super secret transfer plan? You talked to her?”

“I... tried to bring it up,” Yuel averted his eyes. “But, she was raving so much about making the first-string that it seemed like she wouldn’t trade her Mid position for the world.”

“Yeah, makes sense. So, she said she ain't interested?”

“Um, something like that,” Yuel said. He didn't really ask Julia but her attitude made it crystal clear: she was going to treasure her precious starter spot like it was her baby. So, there was no reason for her to transfer schools.

That’s why Yuel didn't bother to ask her for confirmation. After all the bullshit she gave him today, he didn't really care for her. Yuel and Lars will make it just fine on their own in a new team. They didn't need Julia.

“I better call her to say congrats,” Lars dialed up Julia's number.

“Uh, sure...” Yuel gulped. If Lars blurts anything about the school transfer and Julia acts oblivious, it'll make it seem like Yuel just lied about talking with her. It wasn't his intention to deceive anybody, but...

“She doesn't pick up,” Lars shrugged. “I thought she'd be fine by now.”

“She seemed so-so,” Yuel said. “She looked happy about the first-string announcement, but she still seems to blame herself for our defeat in the selection match. It was hard to even start a conversation with her.”

“Feels bad,” Lars shook his head. “Maybe we should visit her tomorrow? Maybe even throw a party to celebrate her promotion and stuff.”

“I'd rather focus on training,” Yuel said. “We can't waste any time. Before we run into Aegis and Athena in another match, we have to get as strong as we can.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Lars smiled wryly. They both shared the same feeling of weakness after the defeat in the selection match. So, they had to get stronger no matter what! They couldn't waste even a single day!

“So,” Lars started. “You figured which school we go to?”

“As I said, there's only one option really,” Yuel explained what he found out about Skyline Junior High and its small team, Stratus.

“Oh, so they're like an underdog?” Lars's eyes sparked for some reason. “That's so cool, yo! It's like in the movies: the underdog team which gonna change the town forever!”

“Heh, easier said than done,” Yuel chuckled. “But, we'll have to make it work somehow.”

“No problem! With us on the team, it gonna transform from underdog to top dog!”

“That's right,” Yuel nodded. A Bot Lane duo of their caliber should be able to transform Stratus into a force to be reckoned with. If the team got at least one or two more competent players, it should be able to put on a strong performance in the regionals.

But first, Yuel and Lars had to actually convince their parents about the transfer. The new school year was just a few days away, so transferring with this timing was a bit awkward.

In Yuel's case, bothering his mother about the transfer was definitely going to be quite the headache. There was no way in hell she'd see eye-to-eye with his determination to play Classmancers competitively. Especially, not after what happened with his dad.

“Oh,” Lars shrugged. “My folks already agreed.”

“What. Just like that?”

“Yep, pops said I can transfer wherever I want. I told him I got this silly situation which is like being a great basketball player but not getting picked for the main team based on positions. He agreed it sucks and said I should totally search for a place where I can get into tournaments.”

“Wow, that's very supportive,” Yuel smiled wryly. I wish mom was at least half as supportive about these things. Dad would understand where I’m coming from, but he has no say in the matter.

“So, it's my turn next,” Yuel sighed. “I hope I’ll be able to catch my mom today and talk to her about it. She sometimes stays over at the office, but she should be coming home today. Though, I don't expect things to go smoothly...”

“No problem, dude,” Lars puffed his chest and pointed at himself. “Lemme talk to her then. I'mma convince her, no problem!”

“Please no. You’ll only make things worse.”

“Haha, maybe. I saw yo mom like once but she looks like a serious business lady.”

“She really is. She'll hear you say ‘yo’ once and she'll find a way to send you to jail, I guarantee.”

“Savage, haha. She's like a judge or something, right?”

“A prosecutor.”

“Oh yeah, that pro thing. So, if she’s also a pro, she should understand where ya coming from. Tell her you wanna become a pro just like her!”

This guy... Yuel sighed but also couldn't help but smile.

The confrontation with his mom was going to be tough. It’ll possibly be one of the hardest battles he'll ever fight in his life. Nevertheless, he had to face his mother and convince her to let him transfer.

He’ll get into Stratus, participate in the regionals and fight Howard again, this time on the competitive stage. This was the first step toward the competitive scene!