Nia went to sleep. She was forfeiting from today's scrimmage. This left Stratus without a Jungler.

  But, Yuel repared for this. After all, when it came to Nia, nobody could say for sure how much the team could rely on her. In fact, it was impressive she made it this far.

  Yuel repared for the worst from the start. He even sidered the possibility of Nia not pying today at all due to stage-fright. Fortunately, she proved to be a sturdier girl than that. Though, it took some effort to get her started...

  Either way, the team had a substitute ready from the start. It was Luke, the "Meme Jedi" himself. Luke was the st person Yuel wao rely on during an official match, but there was no other choice.

  "Luke, we need you to sub in," Yuel said. "Nia is too tired to keep going."

  "Oh! So, it's finally my time to shine!? I've been waiting for this!" Luke ched a fist and grinned broadly. "My body is ready! Hit me up any time, bro!"

  "Good to see you got the fighting spirit." If nothing else.

  It's not like Yuel was looking down on Luke's skill. On the trary, Luke was a very aplished pyer. He had the 3rd best meical skill in the club, his deaking was airtight, and he suffitly researched the game to better himself.

  Unfortunately, all these impressive qualities only applied within a very specific category of csses: memes. Despite possessing such skill, this guy restricted himself to bad picks. As a result, his performance was far from reliable.

  So, even though Luke’s performance was often “impressive”, it was only within the scope of memeing. He -tier pyer among memers, no doubt about that. But, pared to yers could achieve with meta csses, Luke didn't leave much of an impression.

  To make things worse, the memes were so deeply rooted in Luke's expertise, that it was impossible to expect him to perform well with meta csses even if he agreed to pick them. He barely practiced them, so he barely had any experie was a sad story, but that’s the best Stratus had at the moment.

  "So,” Luke poi Lars and Kai. “What we gonna do about these guys?”

  The quarrel went on without an ending in sight.

  "Look, dude. Just give us one game as Bot. Just one."

  "No, I'll be pying Carry until the end."

  The two bickered like little kids. Both sides refused to yield even though her of them roviding ving arguments. And, even if one of them leveled a goument, it was uhe other side will listen. They were just shooting their raw thoughts at each other, trying to submit the opposition by showing assertion. It was a sad sight.

  I'd like to take over Bot too. Yuel thought. But, it doesn't look like Kai will agree any time soon.

  It was a difficult situation. It reminded him of the breakdown Trever had during st year's scrimmage. Back then, Yuel had to e up with a solution as well.

  Is this going to happen every scrimmage? Yuel sighed deeply. Last time, Yuel resolved the issue with Trever thanks to Lars stepping in. But, in this situation, Lars art of the problem.

  As far as Yuel was ed, Lars was in right here. But, siding with Lars would look like pying favorites. It won’t quell Kai. In fact, it might only make her angrier.

  So, Yuel had to find another way. It was important to make both sides agree on a truce. But, what could Yuel possibly do about this? He cked the skill to make people calm down and listen to reason.

  What would Howard do here? Yuel couldn't help but ask.

  If this were Howard's team, he’d calm everybody down in a matter of seds. That's the kind of dominance he exhibited as a captain. When he was anding a team, everybody saw him as a king who couldn’t be opposed.

  pared to that, how did Yuel's teammates saw Yuel? It didn't feel like they thought much of him. Every time he suggested something, he had to justify himself to no end before anybody agreed with him. The only one who was always unditionally on his side was Lars.

  That’s why it’d be so easy to side with Lars here and 2v1 Kai. Together, they had quite the authority ieam. Everybhem as the best pyers in the club, save maybe for Kai who always acted like she was the top dog.

  So, if Yuel and Lars teamed up against Kai, the rest of the club will probably side with them. Especially, after that terrible defeat in Bot that brought ruin to the rest of the team. Everybody will agree the team needed a stronger duo in Bot.

  So, Yuel and Lars should be able to get their positions with the help of peer pressure. But, at what cost? Kai won't be pleased by such a development. It’ll only tilt her further.

  There were various ways in which she could retaliate. For example, she could feed o AFK. Kai should be mature enough to not resort to such childish sulking, but there was elling what a tilted Kai was capable of.

  However, it was more likely Kai will object by pig a marksmae what the team decided. This was a on stunt online when two pyers called the same role aher was willing to step down.

  How did pyers usually resolve these situations online? Usually, they didn’t. Both pyers just locked into the same role and then the game went to hell.

  That's how oeams sometimes ended up with bizarre formations. Two mages in Mid, two bruises in Top, or two marksmen in Bot. Yuel has seen all these binations before.

  Needless to say, these noa formations were far from optimal. They usually doomed the team to a devastati, especially at higher ranks.

  We ’t py like that against Taurus. Yuel thought.

  Perhaps, a gimmicky lineup would have worked against Taurus before they got their new subs. But now, the new pyers turaurus into a dangerous team. They were swift, calg, and anized. If Stratus tried to face these new foes with a wonky formation, it’ll be another crushi.

  Then, what was the solution? Kai had a personal grudge against the enemy Carry, so it's unlikely she'll step down from pying Carry. Yuel didn’t have the skill to vince her.

  Then, do I ask Lars to give up? That didn't feel right either. Lars's frustration was well justified and Yuel felt guilty for it. After all, it was Yuel who vinced Lars to py Mid for now.

  Yuel believed that, in time, Kai will e to uand that Yuel and Lars were much better in Bot than her and Vi. And, he was right. Kai won't openly admit it, but she must’ve realized that Yuel and Lars were the stronger Bot duo. That was evident by how much she trusted their performance during their after-school training, in which Yuel and Lars alyed Bot.

  heless, Kai insisted to py Carry. She was refusing to e to terms with the facts. Or, perhaps she believed she'll surpass Lars as a Carry with enough trainiher way, she didn't step down and this was the result.

  The moment the team ran into a truly strong Bot duo, Kai and Vi didn't quite cut it anymore. Many ued things happened in that game, but everything started in Bot. The main reasoeam lost so badly was due to their ck of dominan Bot. It was all because Yuel and Lars weren’t the Bot duo.

  And, it was Yuel roved of this situation. He vinced Lars that this setup was fihat there was o rush Kai into surrendering her Carry role.

  So, it's all my fault. Yuel bit his lip. He was the culprit here. If not for his passiveness, they would have easily scored their third victory of the day, which would’ve wohe entire scrimmage. Stratus could’ve opehe season with a strong 3-0.

  As, now they were in a 2-1 situation and the team was thrown into disarray. It was all because of one bad decision Yuel made a while ago, long before this scrimmage was even announced. It was such a grave miscalcution on his part.

  If only there was a way to grant both Lars and Kai's wishes at the same time. That'd be the ideal resolution to this entire mess.

  But, that was impossible. The team needed a magical damage dealer, or else the enemy will focus on building physical defense and Stratus' offense will no longer pose a threat. The entire game will be one big uphill battle.

  So, somebody had to py a mage. And, that somebody had to be the Mid. Or, did they...?

  What if e won’t be in Mid? The idea struck Yuel out of the blue. There were other positions in which a magical damage dealer could be pyed. For example, Kai could py Pyromancer as a Carry.

  I doubt she'll agree to it, though. Yuel reasoned. Pyromancer has received numerous nerfs throughout its life cycles to e wasn't a top-tier Carry. It was an uandable bang dire sihe css had to pay for its flexibility in some way.

  However, Bot wasn't the only alternative position for Pyromahere was one niche, borderline a meme, alternative. “Pyromancer Jungler” was a thing that existed.

  Overall, it had more fws than advantages. But, precisely because of that, there was one madman who'd gdly take on the challenge: Luke. For the better or the worse, Luke actually knew how to py Jungler with Pyromancer.

  Yuel was responsible for ing up with the team’s lineups, so he had to learn the preferred csses of all his teammates. That included memorizing Luke’s csses, which gave Yuel nothing but a headache.

  Memes, memes, and more memes. Memes as far as the eye could see. That was the list of Luke’s preferred csses in a nutshell.

  However, within that mountain of garbage, Yuel spotted a couple of csses that were borderline acceptable. Extremely niche Jungler picks, that were only scarcely picked in the petitive se and only under specific circumstahat most pyers weren’t familiar with. Most people would regard them as a joke without a sed thought, but they were at least borderline viable. Yuel always focused on these csses for Luke when simuting the team’s lineups.

  One such a niche Jungler pick yromahis marksman-mage hybrid css was flexible enough to be pyed as a Jungler si had a huge burst potential like that of an assassin.

  Based on how the previous game went, the team definitely needed a strong aggressive Jungler. It was the most effective way to instill fear in their new foes and make them sed-guess themselves. That should stop the “Triangle” from going after so many risky pys.

  It would’ve beeer if Luke were a sane pyer who could pick a proper assassin Jungler, but the guy insisted on subpar picks. Few of them had the kind of aggressioeam needed right now, but Pyromancer was one of the best options among them, if not the best.

  Pyromancer’s main weaknesses for junglihe ck of strong d good escapes, but there were a couple of advantages as well. It was an unusual Jungler because it dealt magical damage. Its damage might catch the enemy off-guard if they don’t build enough magical defense during the early-game.

  In addition, Pyromancer cleared minions quickly. So, it was great for split-pushing and for defending nes when the ners were absent.

  If Luke picks Pyromahe team will secure itself a magical damage dealer. That’ll make it more acceptable for Lars to pick a physical css for Mid. For example, a marksman.

  A Mid Carry, huh. Yuel knotted his brows. It was a niche formation that was used on a while even on the petitive se. Throughout Cssmancers’ history, there were even times when Mid Carry was meta. Though it was usually formed with a mage pying in Bot, so it was a little different from Yuel’s idea

  Two Carries, that’s what Yuel had in mind. That should resolve the bickeriween Lars and Kai. They'll both get to py Carry, one in Mid and one in Bot. Meanwhile, Luke will fill in as the team’s magical damage dealer.

  But, Carry in Mid be rough. Yuel leveled an argument against his own idea.

  The main reason mages were prioritized for Mid was their fast wave-clearing speed. Mid was the shortest ne in the game, so both sides wao position their best wave ers there.

  Fortunately, Lars mairickshooter, a marksman that excelled at wave clearing when utilized optimally. In Lars’s hands, Trickshooter will easily hold its own against most mages on ne.

  In fact, Lars’s wave-clearing with Trickshooter robably better than his wave-clearing with actual mages. That's how absurd was the skill level gap between his Trickshooter and his other csses.

  The more Yuel thought about it, the more he vinced himself of this lineup. Two Carries, one in Mid and one in Bot. The Jungler will be the mage. The team should have enough experieo pull this off. In addition, the weirdness of that lineup might catch the enemy off guard and give Stratus the surprise element.

  "Luke, you please pick Pyromanext game?" Yuel requested.

  "I dunno, man," Luke said. "I really wao show off my sick Rogue skills."

  "Pick Pyromancer," Yuel insisted. This was no longer a request. "If you pick Pyromancer, Lars and Kai both pick marksmen. That should put ao their bickering."

  "Oh, I see whatcha doing there," Luke nodded. "Alrighty, you got it. Pyro it is."

  "Thanks," Yuel cleared the first hurdle. Now, it was time to deal with the two troublemakers. Kai shouldn't have any problem with this setup, but Lars might pin. The goof was unusually worked up about the whole thing.

  Lars has been doing his best to maintain his usually goofy smile, but Yuel could see through the cracks in that facade. Lars was a breath away from snapping at Kai and being really angry. It was a rare side of Lars that only surfaced during the most critical times. Yuel had to act before the sealed demon breaks out.

  " I have a moment?" Yuel interrupted the heated argument. "I have a suggestion."

  "Huh?" Kai turo him with an annoyed gre. All her irritation was suddenly directed at Yuel. Yikes.

  "Go ahead, dude," Lars tried to sound as casual as ever, but there was a hint of irritation in his tone as well. Those two have been fighting over the Carry role for so long, that they started seeing everybody as hostile. It didn't help that Yuel was the one who vinced Lars to py Mid until now, so it ossible Lars was bming Yuel for all of this.

  "Kai, you insist you'd win against Renegade ime, right?" Yuel asked.

  "Of course I will," Kai answered without the slightest hint of hesitation. "I'd rip that bastard apart."

  "Then, how about we put that to test?" Yuel suggested. "You py Carry game. If we win, you keep pying Carry. But, if you lose tade again, you'll hand Bot to us."

  "Fair enough," Kai nodded. It was surprisingly easy to vince her. Perhaps, the possibility of losing tade again didn't eveer as an option in her mind. She was going to win, no matter what. Such was her unyielding vi.

  Okay, that's one problem off the table. Yuel o himself. Unfortunately, this wasn't over yet.

  "Yo, dude, what the heck?" Lars demanded. "We gotta py Bot. We 't be dropping games like that."

  "I agree,” Yuel said. “But, Kai insists she win, so let's give her another ce. The previous game was filled with many ued developments and we picked a hyper-aggressive lineup, so everything crumbled like a domino effect from one mistake."

  "That's why I'm sayita ha ourselves. That way, there won't be any mistakes."

  "Aren't you a cocky one," Kai gave Lars a look. "I get it done myself no problem."

  "I dunno about that."

  "I'll show you,” Kai decred. “I'll crush Renegade like a bug!"

  "Guys, please," Yuel intervened before war broke out again. "Lars, don't fet we still have a lead of one game. We won't lose the scrimmage even if we lose game."

  "What's with that weak mentality, yo?" Lars demanded. "Are you pnning to throw the game? Doesn’t sound professional to me."

  "Of course I want to win," Yuel reassured. "I'm just saying it's not the end of the world if we lose one mame. If Kai insists she do it, let's trust her on that. If we lose again, you and I will take over Bot for the final game to make sure we win the scrimmage."

  "Dude, but I y Carry!" Lars bared his true feelings. What he wished fht now, more than anything, was to wield some strong guns and go PEW PEW BAM BAM BOOM! He didn't wan dudes like StormMonster catch him defenseless like st game. As long as Lars had stable DPS, he could take on anybody! He could even topple Maker, yooooooo!

  "No problem," Yuel said. "You py a marksma game."

  "Wut...?" Lars blinked multiple times.

  "Wait," Kai started. "Didn't you just say you were fih me pying Carry? What the heck?"

  "How about you both py Carry?" Yuel suggested.

  "Huh???" Kai was pletely thrown off, so much that she fot she was angry just a moment ago. "What are you on about? I dunno what you smoked, but it gotta be some serious shit."

  "Lars will py Carry in Mid and you in Bot," Yuel expined his idea. "Nia went to sleep, so Luke will be subbing in."

  "Huh? Nia is out?" Kai checked around. It took her a while to find Nia, which didn’t surprise anybody. However, in this case, it was more justified than usual because a b covered Nia from head to toe. It was almost as if the girl went into hiding.

  "She 't go on," Yuel informed. "So, Luke will sub in."

  "Woohoo! The star of the show is here!" Luke pumped a fist and fshed his teeth. It robably his own way of iing some positivity into the air.

  "Oh, we're done for," Kai sighed.

  "Hey, hey, hey!" Luke sulked. "Doncha write me off like that! I gonhese guys to death! Ez."

  "More like, you gonna meme us into losing" Kai rolled her eyes.

  "Anyway," Yuel interrupted. "You know how Luke only py bad picks?"

  "o!" Luke excimed again. "It's meme picks, bro. Get your facts straight."

  "Yeah, I know he only py trash picks," Kai nodded.

  "It's meme picks. Memes."

  "So," Yuel tinued. "I thought about the list of horrible picks he has to offer."

  "It’s meme picks, I'm tellin' ya..."

  "And,” Yuel tinued. “Pyromancer is one of the more viable options he has to offer."

  "Jungler Pyro? Seriously?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's what you call 'viable'?"

  "Cut me some sck, I doly have much to work with."

  "Yeah, fair enough,” Kai nodded. “Fot you only had crappy picks to work with."

  "It's memes..." A mosquito buzzed some nonse the two ig.

  "If Luke picks Pyromancer, we'll have a mage," Yuel expined. "So, Lars won't have to py a mage anymore. He pick Trickshooter, who e just fine against mages."

  "Oh!" Lars excimed. "You're a genius, dude! I'm lovin' it."

  "Isn't that risky?" Kai asked. "Mages are the meta in Mid for a reason, you know."

  "I know,” Yuel sadi. “But, Lars's Trickshooter is better than all his mages bined. on sense doesn’t apply to it."

  "Ya got that right!" Lars fshed his teeth. "My mages are like Bronze rank pared to my Master rank Shooter, believe it!"

  "That's not something to be proud of," Yuel retorted. "Work harder on your other csses."

  "Yeaaaah, weeeelp," Lars gnced aside and whistled ily.

  "Anyway, there you have it," Yuel summarized. "You both py Carry this way."

  "But, what if we lose because of this lineup?" Kai asked. "You'll just use that as an excuse to kick me outta Bot."

  "Don't worry, dude," Lars said. "I ain't gonna lose with Trickshooter. And, if I do, that's all on me. You just gotta kick Renegade's ass. That's all ya have to worry about."

  "Fair enough," Kai smiled for the first time sihey ehe room. The two finally reached an agreement. “Okay, let’s roll with this pn.”

  "Phew," Yuel sighed in relief. He wasn't fident in his ability to defuse this charged situation, but it was a success. U year, he resolved the team's turmoil without any help from Lars or Howard. Finally, he reached the point he was capable of such great feats without external help!

  And so, the team resolved its bickering and headed into the game with renewed determination. However, will that be enough to topple the enemy’s triangle of doom...?

  DarkestCymore