The day of the Stratus vs. Leopards scrimmage has come. This was going to be Stratus’ biggest hurdle to date.

Of course, nobody was expecting a lowly team like Stratus to even tickle a giant like the Leopards. However, Yuel and Lars, along with the rest of the team, were planning to prove everybody wrong.

"Let's go over their profiles one more time," Yuel scrolled through his tablet as he addressed everybody on the bus. "First, TheTheorist. What do you remember about this player?"

"Oh, I shall tell you!" Vincent jumped. "She is-"

"Somebody other than Vincent, please."

"Aww, rejected..." Vincent pretended to mop, but he quickly accepted the discrimination. Intel was Vincent's specialty, after all.

He probably researched the Leopards’ members more than anybody else on the team, so of course he knew the answers. He was almost at paparazzi level in his research!

Though, unlike the paparazzi, he did respect the players’ privacy. Vincent only researched them as “players”, not so much as individuals.

For example, he knew Theorist’s playstyle and favorite classes, but not her real name. That’s where Vincent drew the line for his paparazzi activities.

Why didn’t he also look into the players’ personal lives? For one, it was a lot more work. It required him to actually dig up info on a real person, which felt like an invasion of privacy.

Still, Vincent was the son of a journalist. So, if he truly desired to know, then nothing and nobody would have been able to stand in his way! The ever-expanding Blackhole of Information shall consume all!

Nonetheless, Vincent decided against it. Why?

Doing so shall ruin the immersion! Such was Vincent’s stance. He preferred to see the Leopards’ members as “competitive players”, nothing more and nothing less. That created the illusion of distance, the same distance people felt when they watched pro players.

As long as Theorist was just Theorist, it was easier to detach her image from the fact she was a fellow middle schooler like the rest of them. This turned her into a far more fearsome existence, for she was nothing else but a member of the renowned Leopards!

So yes, Vincent couldn’t answer anything too specific about Theorist’s personal life, except for her gender which was visible within the game anyways. However, on any topic related to Theorist and Classmacners - Vincent was a walking trivia machine!

That’s why Yuel sealed this forbidden book of knowledge. And so, Vincent was denied the opportunity to answer any questions.

"I'm most interested in hearing what the Junglers have to say." Yuel turned to Nia and Luke. "Theorist’s playstyle has some important details to keep in mind."

"Eeeeh..." Luke scratched his head. "Theorist is the chick, right?"

“She is a female player, yes,” Yuel answered.

“Huh.” Kai made a face. “Is her gender the only thing that matters to you?”

“Nah, man. It’s just easier to remember girls because there aren’t that many of them competing.”

“Sus.”

“Honest, man! I remember they have only one chick, so that makes it easier to attach some details to her, ya know?”

“If you say so...”

“For real!”

“Anyway,” Yuel continued. “What can you tell us about her besides her gender?”

“Eeeeh, she’s kinda there, I guess?”

“Why yes, she is, indeed, a member of the Leopards. Thank you for reminding us.”

“Always welcome!” Luke gave a thumbs up.

“And, seriously, now?” Yuel demanded. “What do you remember about her? As the Jungler, how are you planning to gank her?”

“Eeeeh, I’ll just kinda wing it?” Luke shrugged. “Look, I dunno, man. I’ll be real, she didn’t really stand out that much.”

“Yes, she’s not the kind of player who stands out, that much is true. But, as the Jungler, you still have to pay close attention to every opponent, to know what’s the most efficient way to deal with them.”

“Yeaaaaaah, welp. If she got nothing special that comes to mind, then it means I don’t have to do anything special when I gank her, right?”

“Did somebody say ‘special’!?” Vincent jumped again. “Indeed, indeed! At a glance, it might seem as if Theorist doesn’t have any outstanding talents. However, that is entirely false! In truth, she is the-”

“Something something,” Yuel censored the spoilers. “I believe I asked you to let others answer.”

“Oh, that is right. My bad.” Vincent quietly retreated. He was acting like that one kid in class who knew all the answers and was eager to show that to everybody.

"So, you really don't remember anything specific?" Yuel verified again, just in case Luke was messing around.

"Aside from her being a chick? Nah, not really. I focused more on the dudes, like the ABSOLUTE FREAKIN' CHALLENGER. And, there's also the ABSOLUTE FLIPPIN' WINNER. Man, the names of these guys are cracking me up, haha."

So says the LEGENDARY MEMER himself. Yuel made a face. "It's true that those two stood out a lot more, but as a Jungler, you have to know Theorist's quirks as well."

"She is... an adaptive... defensive... player..." A mumble resounded in the air. It sounded as if a ghost was whispering the answer from another dimension.

"I thought you were asleep," Yuel addressed Nia.

"I'm... sleeping..." Nia responded with her eyes closed. She looked completely detached from reality, yet she still somehow responded to the scene around her.

"Dang," Luke said. "The girl is straight up answering from her sleep. Look how hard you made us study all that crap, haha."

"I did make you study a lot, I admit,” Yuel said. “But, we must know all these details if we want to have a shot at winning.”

Indeed, Yuel drilled the matchup knowledge into the team over the past two weeks. He held review sessions on a daily basis, discussing the Leopards' players and sharing any new insights discovered by him or Vincent.

Unlike with the Taurus scrimmage, for which the team couldn't properly prepare, there was plenty of footage about this year’s Leopards. After all, the Leopards already had two scrimmages this year. So, there was a lot of data to analyze.

With that said, their first-string didn't play in all 10 games. After getting three wins with ease, the Leopards always altered their lineup, most likely filling it up with second-string players.

Interestingly, AbsoluteChallenger remained on the team even after these alterations. Perhaps it was a punishment for performing a little “poorly”, at least compared to how solid the rest of the team was.

Regardless, footage from six games was plenty of data to work with. Yuel and Vincent cooperated once again to create an extensive review video, focusing on the Leopards' best plays and tactics.

Overall, the Leopards this year were a defense-oriented team. Their shot-caller prioritized defense over offense for most situations, even when the team had an overwhelming lead.

Though, maybe they just wanted to play with their food. Yuel took everything with a grain of salt. It's unfortunate, but both of their opponents were rather weak. So, I don't think these matches gave us an accurate representation of how the Leopards play when they're 100% serious.

With that said, the footage of these “easy games” was the best material Stratus had at hand, so Yuel made everybody study it extensively. But unfortunately, some goofs didn't do their homework properly, like Luke.

On the other hand, there was a certain sleepyhead who normally didn’t take things too seriously. And yet, right now, she was answering all Yuel’s questions...

"Merlin is... a baiter... he lures people in... zzz..." Nia answered with a mumble as if she was really in the middle of sleeping.

"She really studied, huh." Kai nodded in approval. "That's how a dedicated Jungler should look like. Take notes.."

"Yeah, yeah." Luke shrugged. "I’m REAL sorry for not being a walking encyclopedia. But yeah, this girl sure crammed all that stuff, huh. I bet she stayed up late at night, reciting all this crap. I bet that's why she's so sleepy right now, haha."

"I didn't... cram... that much... zzz..."

Considering she bothered to defend herself, I have a feeling she crammed a lot last night. Yuel deduced. He has spent plenty of time coaching this troublesome girl, so he learned her quirks by now.

Nia always got defensive whenever somebody exposed an embarrassing quirk or secret of hers. So, the girl definitely crammed last night. Her denial pretty much confirmed it.

Maybe that's really the reason she's so sleepy today, more than usual.

Nia's sleepiness usually struck later in the afternoon, but today she dragged herself like a zombie to the bus. It was clear she missed sleep over something, but what was the cause? Yuel has been wondering that ever since they boarded the bus.

But now, the mystery was finally unraveling itself: Nia was studying. And, judging by how defensive she got over Luke’s comment, the girl probably stayed very late into the night to go over Yuel’s notes.

Is it my fault? Yuel frowned. I did tell them over and over how important it is to be ready for today. Maybe Nia took it a little too far...

Then again, Nia being Nia, she was probably very nervous about today’s match anyway. After all, she mentioned countless times how "scary" it was to go up against the regional champions.

So, she probably would have had a hard time sleeping either way. Perhaps, she only went over Yuel's notes because she couldn't fall asleep.

Yeah, let's go with that. Yuel deflected the blame for now. I sure hope it doesn’t cause any trouble for us...

While the bus was on its way to ProCenter, Yuel continued the final review session before the big match. This year's lineup was looking as strong as ever, living up to the reputation of a champion. The scrimmage was going to be an uphill battle, that’s for sure.

Judging by the team’s responses, Kai and Vincent learned the matchups well. They were at the top of things, familiar enough with every member of the Leopards. So, for them, this was a simple review session.

The same applied to Ben, whose diligence finally got an opportunity to shine. He properly studied all the notes Yuel and Vincent prepared. So, even though he was quiet and didn’t look for opportunities to loudly boast about his knowledge, Ben usually knew the correct answer when directly asked.

And, there was also Nia who somehow quoted notes from her sleep. So, overall, the majority of the team took the studying seriously and prepared their the upcoming scrimmage.

The only troublemakers were Lars and Luke, who had a bad case of selective memory. Lars only remembered the players who played in Bot, whereas Luke only focused on the Leopards’ aggressive players: AbsoluteWinner and AbsoluteChallenger.

So, the last-moment cramming during the bus ride was primarily meant to educate these goofs. Of course, Yuel didn’t delude himself into thinking this would make a huge difference, but even a small difference was better than nothing. Stratus needed every advantage it could get for this scrimmage, no matter how tiny.

While the team was busy reviewing the details, the bus arrived at its destination.

"Nia, let's go." Kai nudged the sleepyhead. "Are you alive? Hey, earth to Nia."

"Gufu..." Nia stood up, with her eyes still closed.

"C'mon, let's go."

"Gufu..." Nia wobbled out of the bus, almost tripping a few times in the process. Then, once she was finally outside, she lay down on the sidewalk.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Sleeping..."

"C'mon, get up." Kai pulled Nia up, forcing the sleepyhead up on her feet. However, the sleepy girl had no strength. Nia’s body tilted from side to side, threatening to collapse on the road once again.

"Dude looks totally wasted, haha." Lars laughed. "Should I carry her?"

"I'm sure she can walk by herself," Kai insisted as she shook Nia. "C'mon, girl. Wakey wakey."

"No."

"What the-!? C’mon, stand up already...!" Kai pulled the jellyfish off the ground once more and made the creature stand on its own feet. But, Nia's legs had no strength to them and she immediately buckled over again.

"Just carry her," Yuel said. "We need her to be ready for the first game, so it’s best to let her rest as much as possible before the match begins.”

"Okey-dokey!" Lars approached the knocked-out girl. "Leave the carrying to me. That's my specialty, yo!"

Lars loaded Nia on his back and gave her a ride to ProCenter.

Plan... successful... Scattered thoughts crossed Nia's mind as she was riding her mount. If she REALLY wanted to, she probably could muster what little strength she had left in order to walk by herself. But, it was so much comfier to be carried like this...

And so, with Nia riding on Lars's back, the team reached ProCenter.

"What took you so long?" Ms. Stone, the club supervisor, showed them a scowl. "Let’s go, you have to register that you’ve arrived."

This entire event was clearly a hassle for the woman, that much was obvious from her businesslike attitude. She had zero interest in anything that was going to transpire here today. Or, so everybody thought.

"I'll be in the cafeteria if you need anything," Ms. Stone said. "By the way, they sell good coffee there. It looks like one of you might need just that." She eyed the sleepy girl on Lars's back.

"Oh, that's an awesome idea!" Luke exclaimed. "Make her chug on that caffeine so she wakes up! Ez solution."

"Indeed, indeed." Vincent nodded. "The Caffeine of Ultimate Awakening shall instantly bring anybody back on their feet!"

"I wish it was that easy." Yuel sighed. "I actually made her drink coffee once so she wouldn’t fall asleep during practice. The result was... not quite what I expected."

"Oh, I think I remember something like that," Kai said. “She was acting kinda weird, right?”

"Yes, she got... drunk. That’s the best way I can describe it."

"That's wild, yo!" Lars laughed. “Did you mix coffee with vodka or some such?”

“Of course not. It was regular coffee.”

"Pft!” Luke joined in on the laughter. “How do you even get drunk on coffee???"

"I don't have the slightest idea," Yuel admitted. "But, she definitely started acting strangely after drinking it. Like, stranger than she usually is."

"Strange how, tho?"

"It's hard to describe." Yuel shuddered as he recalled it. "She was all fidgety and her gameplay was far more proactive than usual. It was a mess. It’s as if somebody injected her with hyperactivity drugs."

"Haha, that's sure some shit." Luke laughed his ass off as he imagined Nia as a hyperactive zombie.

"So, she's weak to caffeine?" Ben asked.

"Apparently?" Yuel shrugged. "Either way, the experiment didn't end successfully. I haven’t tried giving her coffee ever since, and looks like she’s not too keen on drinking it herself."

"Man, I totally gotta try giving her some." Luke snickered like a child preparing a prank.

“Just make sure you don’t do it on a day when we have a scrim.”

“Yeah yeah, of course.”

After registering at the counter and receiving a key, the team proceeded to their waiting room. It was their second time here in ProCenter as participants, so none of them was too awe-struck by the scenery anymore, except for Ben who missed the previous visit.

Along the way, the team passed by a few men in black.

Is that the security? Or, bodyguards? Yuel noticed how the men stood at a calculated distance from each other as if forming an invisible blockade. They wore the typical attire often seen in movies, with black sunglasses and an earphone on one ear.

"Hey, look." Luke pointed at one of the black suits. "You think they’re filming a movie or something?"

"Yo, it sure looks like some 007 stuff!" Lars's eyes lit up as he surveyed the area. Alas, there were no cameras in sight.

They're probably the real deal. Yuel thought. But, I don't remember seeing security like this before. Did something happen here? Or, maybe they’re escorting someone important?

The answer soon revealed itself. In between the bodyguards' careful positions, there stood a tall, blonde girl. Her beautiful gallant form would make it easy to mistake her for a supermodel.

But, Yuel knew better than that. Why? Because, unfortunately, he recognized that majestic figure...