52 Everybodys Alternatives (1/2)

”You did it, huh.” Howard nodded in satisfaction after hearing Yuel's report. ”You got Trever to step down and led your team to victory. You even became the new captain, congratulations.”

”Thanks.” Somehow, being praised so openly by Howard felt weird. Still, it's all true. Yuel truly achieved great results, despite all the drama that happened in the team.

Just half an hour ago, Yuel was shaking in his boots from the mere idea of confronting Trever. In the end, he not only overcame that hurdle but also achieved victory. With Lars's help, of course.

This definitely warranted a celebration. Yuel took a sip from his Coca-Cola can, no longer feeling guilty about not paying for it.

”I see everybody is celebrating with Coke,” Howard chuckled at the sight. Every member of the second string was holding a can in their hand. ”Should we name your team CokeBlitz?”

”That just sounds wrong. On many levels.”

”I know, right? Haha. Was it your idea to buy Coke for everybody?”

”No, that's... Um, a fairy delivered them.” Yuel smiled wryly. When they finished the match and returned to the waiting room, five cans were waiting for them. Trever promised to treat them if they win, so he must have watched the match from somewhere.

This was probably Trever's way of making up for the troubles caused. He really didn't have to, but it brought smiles on everybody's faces. They all sat around the room, chatting away while drinking. It did wonders to the team's spirits.

Even though Trever wasn't here, he was still supporting the team from behind. In the end, Yuel was just a stand-in. Trever was much better suited to be the captain.

”Anyway, you really did well.” Howard sang even more praises. It's amazing. Howard had never praised Yuel like this before. He always either scolded or belittled Yuel and rarely ever appreciated. This was huge progress!

”I'm really impressed.” Howard didn't stop. Okay, at this point the amount of praising started sounding downright uncanny. ”So, I'm trusting you to win the last game as well.” Howard's eyes turned sharp, like a knife pressed against Yuel's throat.

”O-Of course!” Yuel responded by instinct. After receiving so much praise, he had to live up to the expectations placed on him... Wait, was that maybe Howard's goal all along? Did Yuel just beautifully walk into Howard's trap? Gah! N-No! Yuel didn't care about any of that praise! Not even one bit! Really! Goddammit...

”How did your game go?” Yuel asked, trying to deflect attention from himself.

”We won, but it was a close one. They adapted to us really well, which is why,” Howard placed a hand on Yuel's shoulder and squeezed it. ”You must win the next game, no matter what.”

”G-Got it.” Yuel stepped back to escape the grab. Ugh, it hurt a little.

”I have high hopes for you” These were Howard's last words before leaving.

[He'd say anything to motivate his chess pieces.] Yuel grumped. [Just you wait. I'll make you praise my skill for real next time.]

Howard's lip service wasn't appreciated, but it's understandable. The first string was in a tight spot, hanging at a 2-2. One more defeat and StormBlitz will lose the entire scrimmage unless Yuel's team prevails once again and finishes with a 4-1. That'll guarantee StormBlitz's victory today, regardless of how the first string match plays out.

After getting buttered up so much by Howard, Yuel secretly hoped the first string will blow their next match. That'll turn the second string's 4-1 into today's savior. That'll show Howard!

[But first, we have to actually win.] Yuel switched gears. It was too early to indulge himself in rebellious banter. He still had an important game ahead of him. A game he had to win at any cost.

His team took the last game quite convincingly, but that's because the enemy didn't expect Lars to be this strong. They allowed Lars to pick Trickshooter and to gain early momentum, that was their undoing. Lars was unstoppable once he started rolling.

But, the Leopards surely learned from their mistakes. They'll find a way to adapt. The next game won't be nearly as easy.

First, they'll most certainly ban Trickshooter. After that overwhelming performance, anybody could tell it's Lars's strongest class. It's the only class with which he had a positive win ratio against Trever in 1v1.

However, that didn't mean Lars couldn't play other classes. He liked insta-locking Trickshooter, but Yuel made sure to stop him every once in a while so he picks something else. Yuel also closely monitored the classes Lars picked during practice, to make sure the distribution wasn't 99% Trickshooter and 1% everything else.

Thanks to that, Lars didn't become a one-trick pony. Trickshooter was still his main and strongest class, but he could play many other Carry classes too. So, unlike Freezer, Lars won't fall apart just because his main class is banned. Probably.

[It'll be fine. That goof will do fine.] Yuel repeated like a mantra while walking upstage. The fifth and final game was about to commence.

”Leopards switch a player.” The umpire announced. ”Freezer is replaced by Onions.”

[Not surprised.] This only further supported Yuel's theory. Freezer could probably only play Warlock on a competitive level. And, even then he had some glaring issues.

On paper, Freezer seemed like an experienced player with superb decision-making skills. But, something was amiss. Most likely, Freezer was rusty with other classes due to lack of practice.

”That's what happens when you only main one class all day,” Yuel addressed Lars. ”You'll be kicked out as soon as your main is banned.”

”Yeah, I get it, I get it” Lars nodded. ”You only told me that like a billion times. Don't worry, I practiced all the good classes. Pick any Carry you want and I'mma show you da stuff, yo! ”

”Elf.”

”Geeeeh! I mean, not like I can't, but... Really, dude?”

”Yes. They're going to be on guard against you and Elf is great for these scenarios. But, I haven't decided for sure yet. It depends on whether they ban Trickshooter during the first-”

『The enemy team banned Trickshooter.』

”Welp,” Lars sighed. ”Guess Elf it is. You're a freakin' prophet dude, I swear.”

”I just got something called 'basic drafting knowledge.”

”What's that skill? Never spent any SP on it, haha.” Lars tried to laugh his disappointment away. ”Meh, just pick whatever you think is best. I'mma blow these guys out of the water no matter what I play.”

[Mr. Confidence, as always.] Yuel sighed. As much as he wanted to take a jab at Lars's attitude, he couldn't. Lars delivered results, regardless of matchup and circumstances. That always gave him the excuse to not participate in the drafting process. No matter what class he ended up with, nine times out of ten he prevailed through brute strength.

Everybody else could draft. Gilbert was good enough to be the team's drafter, Dan was decent and Roi could at least draft a good matchup for his own lane. But Lars? Put him in charge of drafting and he'll mash random buttons.

Was it mandatory for Lars to know drafting? Well, not necessarily. This was a team game, so as long as others could handle the drafting - Lars didn't need to lift a finger. At least, that's how Yuel justified being lax with Lars on the matter.

Honestly, it's such a pain to teach that goof anything outside matches. Things which Lars couldn't directly experience on his flesh through gameplay simply refused to register in his bird-brain. Sigh.

”How do you feel about fighting their Pyro?” Yuel asked.

”She's sick, yo! That insta-kill combo is da stuff!”

”That's not what I'm asking.” Yuel shook his head. ”Think you can handle her? Remember. you won't be playing Shooter this time. If you think she's too much, we can ban her.”

”No problem!” Lars flashed his teeth. ”Elf, Pirate or even Archer - doesn't matter! I'mma beat her for sure!”

”Some confidence for somebody who can't beat Trever.” Yuel rubbed his temples. If he got one cent every time Lars spouted such overconfident nonsense, he'd be a millionaire by now.

It was no use. Mr. Confidence thought he could take on the whole world, so Yuel had to make the call himself.

The first two bans were pretty much decided. The first was Shadow Walker because it's Shadow Walker. The second was Cryomancer because SkyNight played it extremely well. That left only one more ban for this banning phase.

There's no point banning Warlock anymore, since Freezer was switched out. And, there weren't any other bans which seemed mandatory.

So, maybe it's a good idea to ban Pyromancer here? After all, they had to win this round, no matter what. They were going to win here and make sure StormBlitz wins the scrimmage, no matter how first string fares. That's what Yuel promised.

Until now, Yuel had always kept Pyromancer in play. However, that's only because there were reasons to believe they'd successfully deal with Breaker's combos. Right now, he wasn't so sure.

Because of Freezer's sub, Pyromancer became a wildcard. There's no telling whether the new player was going to play Mid or something else. Therefore, there's no telling whether Breaker will play Mid or Carry. She exhibited mastery in both roles, so either was a legit option.

If she plays Mid, she'll face Gilbert again. That's an unfavorable matchup, as proven by the devastating results of the third game. Yet again, they'll have to devise some elaborate plan against this arrangement, such as picking Aeromancer + Beastmaster.

Last time, that almost backfired. They were only saved because Freezer was a rusty Electromancer and because the enemy didn't properly shut down Dan's Beastmaster. It's no good to rely on such luck again.

On the other hand, if Breaker plays Carry, Lars will have to handle her. Unlike Trever, Lars had many holes in his defense. Against the absurd burst of combo, even a tiny misplay in defense was going to be fatal.

Without Trickshooter, could Lars fight Breaker without getting eliminated in an instant? Ugh, it's such a sticky situation. No matter where Breaker plays, she'll be a tough opponent to deal with.

”You're running out of time.” Gilbert pointed out.

”Oh, right.” Yuel returned to earth. The clock showed 5 seconds. He had to make the second ban, so he banned Cryomancer.

”What's wrong, dude?” Lars craned his head toward Yuel. ”You look beat. Fried your brain? Haha.”

”Maybe I'm a bit tired.” Yuel exhaled and dropped backward on his chair. Thinking of it, he had been making shot calls for four games in a row now and this was the fifth. Every game was also stressful too. The Leopards never gave him a breather.

And, then there were other responsibilities weighing on his shoulders: being the captain and being repeatedly told to win 4-1. Oh, and in case people forgot, he was also the Support. No, no pressure at all. Easy.

”You look troubled,” Gilbert said

”I just can't make up my mind about the last ban.”

”You don't have to make that decision alone, you know.” Gilbert crossed his arms. ”I'm still technically the vice-captain, in case you forgot.”

”Yeah,” Roi added. ”Speak to us if you got problems, man.”

[Oh, right. I suppose I can borrow their help.] Yuel contemplated for a moment. It's true he was responsible for drafting, but they were a team. Just the way Lars was exempt from drafting because somebody else could handle the job, Yuel could also share some of the burden with others. Especially with Gilbert, who was as good as Yuel in drafting.

”I consider banning Pyro,” Yuel explained. ”But, I'm not too sure.”

”That's new,” Gilbert raised an eyebrow. ”You've been arguing for keeping Pyro open this whole day. What changed?”

”I'm not sure we can handle her this time. Because of the sub, we don't know if she is going to be Carry or Mid, so it's hard to prepare. And, you know how Lars plays. He'd be combo'd to death in a second.”

”Whoa!” Lars exclaimed. ”You don't trust me, dude?”

”Not particularly. Not after you chased Breaker under tower and got killed.”

”Welp, that was kinda dumb,” Lars rolled his eyes. ”But, c'mon! I dominated most of the game, didn't I?”

”Yes, with Trickshooter. Which is now banned.”

”I can do that with any class! 200%!”

”If only I could take your word for it...” Yuel sighed for the hundredth time. ”Besides, that's only half the equation. There's the chance she'll play Mid, which means we'll have to go out of our ways to counter her again.”

”I can spare you that headache,” Gilbert pointed at the enemy's bans. ”These aren't bans for playing a Mid Pyro.”

After Trickshooter, the Leopards' second ban was Paladin. Not surprising, considering Justice Strike had been giving Breaker trouble. These bans directly targeted Yuel and Lars, so the straightforward counters for Mid Pyromancer were left open.

”If we suspect she goes for Mid,” Gilbert said. ”I can go for either Sage or Sorcerer. Not claiming it'll to be an easy ride, but I should be able to handle her.”

”I see. You're right.” Yuel rubbed his eyes. He started overthinking the whole topic way too early. He should have known they could narrow down Breaker's options based on the bans, but... He freaked out. Maybe his brain was really fried at this point.