The season of scrimmages began. Schools arranged official Classmancers matches among themselves and carried them out throughout multiple months.

Winning scrimmages determined the seeding of each team for the regionals. The more wins, the higher the seed. The higher the seed, the easier it’ll be to make it to the finals.

In a sense, the scrimmages were like the beginning of the regionals. By winning a lot during this phase, a team could easily secure itself a high spot at the regionals.

This system was in place to lower the odds of a good team being eliminated early. For example, it prevented StormBlitz and the Leopards from running into each other early in the tournament.

Last year, the Leopards and StormBlitz were the first and second seed respectively, so they were guaranteed to run into each other only at the finals. Any lower seed had to beat both of these tycoons in order to take the regionals.

As much as I’d like to take on strong teams, I rather avoid the Leopards if possible. Yuel thought. His primary goal was to get a rematch against Howard. In addition, he promised his mother to take the regionals this year, that was the condition for transferring schools. If he fails to deliver, he’ll have to stop playing Classmancers...

Unfortunately, dodging the Leopards at the regionals won’t be easy. Even if Stratus becomes the second seed, they’ll still have to fight the third seed at the semi-finals. And, the third seed will assuredly be either the Leopards or StormBlitz in that hypothetical scenario. So, Stratus will have to fight back-to-back against these two teams in the semi-finals and in the finals.

We need to get the first seed. Yuel concluded. Only this way, the team will have a chance to dodge the Leopards at the regionals. However, getting first seed pretty much meant proving they were currently the strongest team in the region, so it was like a catch-22.

Each team had to partake in at least three official scrimmages and the win rate was going to determine the seeding. In the case of a tie, the seeding from previous years will be taken into account. And, given Stratus’ history...

We’ll lose in every single tie. Yuel frowned. The only way around it was to arrange more scrimmages in an attempt to increase their win ratio. For example, winning 2 out of 3 matches yielded 67% win rate, whereas winning 3 out of 4 yielded 75%.

So, even if a team couldn’t beat one of the strong rivals in the region, it could prey on the weaker teams to boost its seeding. The only time this method didn’t work was when the rival team had a perfect 100% win rate. In that case, said team could only be beaten via a tiebreak. Or, worst case, it was possible to challenge the team to a scrimmage and that'll serve as a tiebreak that relies on skill, not legacy.

However, right now, this was like putting the cart before the horse. First, Stratus had to actually prove its worth. It had to overcome the stigma of being the “worst team” in the region.

There was only one good thing about being considered weak: it meant all other teams will want to scrimmage with Stratus. The reason? Easy wins. Stratus was the was “bottom tier” team, so everybody would gladly farm them.

In fact, Stratus’ reputation was so bad, that some teams with some self-respect didn't even bother requesting a scrimmage with them, like StormBlitz did last year. It was a “waste of time”, as Aron put it. Even though it meant StormBlitz could get an easy extra win that way, it won't teach the team anything and it won’t help the players improve. It was questionable whether it’d even work as sparring for StormBlitz.

It’s sure not fun to be ridiculed like that, but this is good for us. Yuel thought. He didn't want to hold a rematch with Howard during a mere scrimmage anyway. They’ll settle everything at the regionals.

However, unlike StormBlitz, the Leopards traditionally held a scrimmage with Stratus. In fact, their custom was to hold a scrimmage against every single team in the region. Their coach pushed this idea and the other schools complied.

So, we're going to run into that wall sometime soon. A shiver ran through Yuel. He still remembered the scrimmage he had against the Leopard’s second-string. It was such an intense bout. Surely, this year they won't disappoint either.

Rather, the Leopards will be even fiercer this year, for this time they’ll come at Yuel with their first-string. It’ll be the kind of first-string that could defeat StormBlitz, just like it happened last year. Yes, that’s right. The Leopards beat a StormBlitz lineup that had powerhouses like Howard and Aron in it.

Granted, this year’s players will be different because only seniors played on the Leopard's first-string. Nevertheless, the coach, Rodriguez, has been proving himself as a producer of champions, year after year.

Granted, a lot of this depended on Rodriguez’s decision. The Leopards might send their second-string to deal with a "weak team" like Stratus. That'll be maximum insult.

Even if they pull something like that, we'll simply draw out their first-string into the fight. Yuel promised. They won’t run over us with a second-string team, that I promise.

Aside from StormBlitz, most other teams in the region would happily jump on the opportunity to get an easy win off the "weakest team". So, Stratus should be flooding with scrimmage requests. Alas, everything was up to the club advisor to decide...

"I scheduled your scrimmages. Write them down," Ms. Stone instructed. "You'll be playing Taurus on January 5th, the Leopards on February 14th, and Tycoons on April 21st."

"Only three?" Yuel asked. "Didn't more schools ask to play against us?"

"There were a few requests, but three scrimmages is all you need."

"Um...” Yuel didn’t expect this to happen. “Could we please get more scrimmages?"

"No," Ms. Stone didn’t give any openings for a rebuttal.

Lazy bum. Yuel retorted mentally. There could only be one reason why this woman didn't want to schedule additional matches: it be more bothersome to manage, that’s all. She'll have to communicate with more schools, and she’ll have to accompany the team to ProCenter for every scrimmage. So, the more scrimmages, the more she'll have to work. She clearly didn't want any of that.

"Lazy bitch," Kai ranted on their way back to the clubroom. "Would it kill her to give us at least one more scrimmage? Damn her. No wonder this club looks the way it does."

"Yeah, it's unfortunate," Yuel nodded. "Why do they always dump the supervisor job on somebody who doesn't care about the club in the slightest? Sigh."

"Well, at least we got proper dates. That's something."

"Better than nothing, that's for sure," Yuel nodded. "So, we first play against Taurus."

"Taurus, Leopards, and Tycoons. I feel like it's the same order as last year."

"Because it’s precisely is!" Vincent greeted them at the entrance to the basement clubroom. He pulled out his tablet and flipped through some notes. "Taurus, Leopards, and Tycoons. This was the exact order last year as well. And, the year before that. And, the year before-before that. Even the dates are similar."

Why in the world does this guy even gather all this info...? Yuel made a face. Meanwhile, Kai wasn't fazed at all.

"So, she's just recycling the same exact routine every year," Kai sighed. "Lazy hag."

“Since you know so much about this,” Yuel started. "I assume you also have detailed information about Taurus in that portable library of yours.”

"But, of course I do!” Vincent made noise. “After all, this is the tablet of the Information Blackhole! It records all events known to this mortal world. Its information is second only to the Akashic records themselves!"

"So, summarize it for us," Yuel requested. In truth, he already knew some things about Taurus because he helped StormBlitz research them last year. However, it was always good to get extra info and hear another person’s perspective. Especially, this clown’s opinions were often on point, as unlikely as it sounded.

"Alrighty," Vincent accepted the quest. "Gather, everybody! We shall hold a tactical meeting regarding our first opponent: Taurus!"

"Oh man, we're in for a history lesson," Luke sat down and pretended to take a nap. "Wake me up when we're getting to the interesting bits."

"I only wanna know who are the strongest players there," Lars grinned. "Gotta know who I gotta wreck, yo!"

"Actually, about their lineup..." Vincent lowered his tablet. "I don't know a single thing! All their players were seniors last year, so they’ve graduated."

"Yeah, it seems we'll be going in blind," Yuel nodded.

"Indeed, such is our inescapable fate," Vincent nodded. "Nevertheless, if we analyze what we know from past years, we can estimate their current power level! Unlike us, their club is allowed to recruit tons and tons of members. As such, they're far more likely to recruit talented players. Point in case: their team has been hitting Top 8 every year, sometimes even Top 4. They're a worthy opponent, no doubt!"

"Zzz..." Luke produced fake snoring noises.

"Long story short, they're good," Kai summarized. "But, they're just Top 8 or Top 4 material at best. We gonna kick their asses."

"Yeah, now ya talkin'," Luke woke up. "We got this. Let's meme these guys to death, haha!"

Luke seems to firmly believe that he’ll be playing on the first-string. Yuel thought.

At first, this tiny club had no choice but to rely on Luke for Jungler. However, now it had an alternative: Nia.

The girl was still rough around the edges, but she improved dramatically over the past month. She became more cooperative and came to accept that Yuel's shot-calls had some wisdom behind them. Even if she didn’t always comprehend said wisdom at first, she usually followed his advice.

In terms of skill, Luke was the better Jungler right now. However, his insistence on playing memes was his undoing. It wasted away his potential, for he constantly had to fight from a disadvantageous position. No matter how much Yuel lectured him about it, Luke didn't budge. For that guy, playing Classmancers was all about playing memes.

On top of that, Luke was the least serious club member during practice. Ben also deserved an honorable mention because the guy missed lots of practice days, but at least he stayed extra hours on the day he was present.

But, Luke? You'll never find that guy staying after 3pm. Everybody else willingly stayed overtime, but Luke was nowhere to be found.

So, with all due respect to Luke's skill, Yuel preferred Nia as the team's Jungler. Especially, she should be playing in the upcoming scrimmages. It’ll be the best place for her to gain practical experience and develop as a competitive player.

As the team captain, Kai was in charge of determining the lineup. Yuel was merely her advisor and they had some disagreements. However, on this topic, they both agreed: Nia should be the Jungler. At the very least, they should send her to play first to see how she fares. Worst case, they could always substitute her for Luke later.

Still, this was a difficult decision to make, so they withheld their verdict until one week before the first scrimmage. However, the time has come. By now, they were wholly convinced.

"Alright, I'll announce the lineup," Kai stood in front of the rest.

"Do we really need that shit?" Luke dragged himself to the meeting. "We already know who's playing what."

"Nay, nay, nay!" Vincent waved his arms. "This is a tradition! It's proof that we're a serious high-level club!"

"Even though we're totally not," Luke rolled his eyes.

"Speak for yourself,." Kai gave him a look. "We're aiming to win the regionals."

"Heh, big dreams." Luke shrugged. "But hey, I'mma help you however I can. With my pro-level memes, of course!"

"If we even gonna need your help."

"Huh? What's mean?"

"Nothing,” Kai shook her head. “Anyway, everybody here?"

"Yep, I'm here!" Lars gave a thumbs up.

"Here..." Nia raised her small hand.

"... and what exactly are you doing over there?" Kai narrowed her eyes. Everybody was gathered around Kai in an arc, but Nia was hunched under a table for some reason.

"I like it here."

"Huh, okay," Kai shrugged and continued looking around. "Ben... isn't here today."

"So, he's even going to miss such important days," Yuel criticized. "I won't be surprised if he misses the scrimmage altogether."

"Well, everybody who matters is here, so let's begin. Here's the lineup:"

Carry: Kai (Beat)

Support: Vincent (InformationBlackhole)

Mid: Lars (Gunz)

Top: Yuel (Chessmaster)

Jungler: Nia (VanishingFlower)