449 Matthew’s Neutral Stance

["Do I need to remind you that we're supposed to be regional champions? Even if you don't care about public opinion, the coach sure does."]

There was some undeniable truth in William's argument. Rodriguez droned a lot about the importance of maintaining a favorable public image as the "representatives of the region". So, besides just winning, the Leopards were supposed to serve as a role model for other teams in the region, or something.

As such, delivering a passive victory here might not be good enough in Rodriguez's book. He might interpret it as the team's lack of confidence in their own ability.

[But, what's wrong with that?] Cato questioned. [All that matters is the end result. We should strive to increase our chances of winning no matter how it makes us look. That's just basic logic.]

For as long as Cato remembered himself, he had always lived at the receiving end of the audience's ridicule. Even when he won games in chess, the crowd didn't sing him any praises. In fact, some even expressed signs of contempt and disgust toward his tactics.

[But, I've never thought of it as a problem.] Cato reminisced. [Seeking recognition was never the point for me. I'm not some clown whose job is to entertain the ungrateful audience. ]

However, things were a little different in Classmancers. Here Cato wasn't playing alone, therefore also had the rest of the team to consider, as well as the coach.

So, while Cato had no problem "looking bad" for the sake of securing a passive victory, what would Rodriguez think of this approach? And, what did the rest of the team think?

"Sonya, which camp are you in?" Cato asked.

"Your camp, I suppose," Sonya answered. "What you've just explained reminded me why we put aside the option of overwhelming Top. I agree that we should proceed slowly and steadily here to not give the enemy any openings. One mistake can cost us the entire game against their hyperbole aggression."

"Are you sure you're not overcompensating there?" William asked. "Just because you made a mistake in Top last game and that cost us a lot, it doesn't mean that's something that'll repeatedly happen. Not to mention, it'll be Ron playing Top next, not you."

"But, the possibility of something like that happening again isn't off the table," Soyna insisted. "Stratus's offense turned out to be much fiercer, much more calculated than what we saw in their previous scrim."

"Yes, they've clearly improved in that department. Fair enough." William nodded. "I get where you're coming from but I still think you're overcompensating, so I'd let Ron try playing aggressively."

"In short," Cato summarized. "It seems like we're split into 2v2. We need a tie-breaker here and there are only 10 seconds on the clock. Matt, quick! Decide our fate!"

"Huh?" Matthew made a face. "Me? Why?"

"There's no time! Pronto, young man! Which side are you on!?"

"Eeeeeh…" [Keep me out of this, please.]

"C'mon, Matt!" Ronald urged as well. "Lemme have Berserker! We're homies, right? Right!?"

"So loud…" Matthew covered his ears. "I don't care either way. Just give him what he wants if that makes him shut up. It's not like either option sounds particularly better than the other."

"Okay, you heard the man!" Ronald grinned confidently. "Gimme what I want, bruh!"

"Fine, fine…" Cato sighed in defeat and picked Berserker with 2 seconds on the clock.

It would've been less stressful for him if he picked a class for another role first. That would've postponed the dilemma of Top Lane for later.

But, Cato didn't want to lose his initiative in this drafting phase. After all, the drafting phase of the previous game decided more than 50% of that game's outcome, so Cato had to make sure he wins the drafting phase this time no matter what.

Picking the Top Laner early was considered the most optimal meta draft, so Cato insisted on not giving up on it, even if it meant picking a class he didn't fully agree with. But well, at least somebody was happy about this turn of events...

"Heck yeah, now you're talking!" Ronald pumped a fist. "It's the best choice, I'm telling you!"

"Well, now the burden of proof is on you," Cato said. "Still, I'm surprised you picked that side of the argument, Matt. I thought you were a paragon of defense. It's treason then."

"I agree that defense is far better, it's the safest way to play," Matthew said. "But, Ron clearly wants to go on the offensive in his lane, so why not just let him?"

"Really? Just like that?"

"Yeah." Matthew shrugged. "I mean, you discussed this topic from top to bottom as if you're deciding the fate of the world, but in the end, it's just one game. It's not like messing up will ruin your entire life."

"My, what a nonchalant take on the situation. Don't you care about losing?"

"I want to win, of course," Matthew asserted. "But, it's not like anybody here has any hard data to prove who's correct, right? I mean, this is the first time we're trying this formation against Stratus in the first place. So, nobody really knows how it'll pan out."

"Right," Cato agreed. "But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to predict how things will go down. We do have [some] data, after all.."

"True, but I think you give it too much weight." Matthew shrugged. "Nothing beats actual experience. All this baseless arguing reminds me of these uninformed 'Day 1 tier lists' that people make as soon as a new game is out. People act like they have everything figured out, but in truth, they don't know shit."

"My, that's harsh." Cato smiled wryly.

"I agree, that was uncalled for." Sonya frowned. "We have plenty of data to work with."

"But, it's all hypotheses, right?" Matthew argued. "We don't have any actual statistics on how well this formation works against Stratus. Like, this is the first time we're using it against them."

"I'll concede that much," Sonya agreed. "There are far too many parameters to consider in order to accurately estimate the outcome. It's a lot of guesswork and speculation."

"Yep, exactly my point," Matthew said. "So, what's the point of getting so hung up on it? Ron has a class he wants to play and you don't have a solid case against it, so why not just let him? What's the worst that can happen? Us losing this one game? Big deal."

"Actually yes, it [is] a rather big deal," Cato said. "But, you got your point across. I agree that we got a little too hung up on that pick."

"Did we, really?" Sonya asked. "I thought we were just making our case."

"Just making your case? Pft." Ronald sneered. "You two were droning about it like your lives depended on it. Like seriously, relax my guys."

"We argued with you because we believed, and still believe, that our approach has a much higher chance of winning us the game," Cato explained. "But I agree, it was probably a little unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. This one pick isn't going to seal the fate of the entire game by itself."

Besides, giving Ronald what he wanted was probably the smarter thing to do. Not only it will boost the brat's motivation and performance, but it'll also score Cato some extra authority points over Ronald in case the brat ends up performing poorly. It was a win-win for Cato in either scenario.

[This can work in my favor.] Cato thought. [If we lose because of this pick, then he'll have to listen to everything I say next time~ At least, I hope he will...]

There was never telling with that brat. The only one Ronald ever listened to was his older brother. Nobody else had much authority in his eyes, save maybe for the Coach. Having such a wild card on the team was a huge pain in the arse. Sigh.

[Wait, why am I even thinking about the potential benefits of losing?] Cato stopped himself right there. [We're not supposed to lose anymore. In fact, we absolutely CAN'T lose another game, or else Mr. Korea will be on our case. That's the whole reason I was pushing so hard against this risky Berserker pick.]

Sonya must've felt the same way, that's why she joined forces with Cato so readily. And, William probably understood the gravity of the situation as much as they did, yet he seemed to believe that giving Ronald an aggressive class would somehow increase the team's chances of victory.

So in the end, the only one whose vote wasn't directly influenced by the topic of "winning vs. losing" was Matthew. He made a completely neutral stance, claiming that neither side was objectively superior to the other. It was a logical argument, but it also hinted that he didn't care as much about losing.

[My, he is so indifferent toward our fates.] Cato sighed. [Then again, he wouldn't be Matt if he suddenly started caring about this now.]

As the Leopards, the regional champions, each member of the team was shouldering the heavy responsibility of putting on a strong performance in front of the crowd. They were supposed to represent the pinnacle of the regional competitive scene and to defeat their opponents in a way that inspired awe. That was the kind of ideological stuff Rodigeuz often talked about.

Everybody took these words to heart to one degree or another. They understood their important position in this region's competitive scene and that they had to live up to the expectations

[But, Matt is always the exception, isn't he?] Cato smiled wryly. [I'm sure he also cares about the title and winning, but not nearly as much as we do. I bet he sees scrimmages as nothing more than "simulations", so he's fine with losing a few games in exchange for gaining more information to work with.]

"You're really chill about all of this, aren't you~?" Cato asked. "It doesn't bother you at all that maybe you've made the wrong call and that Ronald's Berserker will be the end of us."

"I do care, of course," Matthew said. "But, if you're asking [how much] do I care? Eh, not that much, to be honest. You win some, you lose some. That's life for you."

"So mature~"

"It's really like that, though," Matthew insisted. "Nobody knows whether we gonna win or lose with either of the game plans, so I say pick the game plan that'll shut up that loudmouth. Besides, all these arguments aren't helping the team's morale."

"True, true." Cato nodded. "Still, I like how you really don't care about the team's reputation. Perhaps you're the only real voice of reason we have on the team. Everybody else got recruited into Rodriguez's cult~"

"I guess I just don't see what's the big deal." Matthew shrugged. "In the end, we just need to win in the tournament. Until then, everything else we do is just training and simulation."

Of course, it was impossible for Matthew to be totally oblivious to the fact he was a part of the Leopards. Rodriguez droned about the importance of this topic to the point it engraved itself on their brains As such, in the actual tournament, he'll probably be far more motivated to win.

Until then, as long as the match at hand didn't register as a matter of life and death, it seemed he didn't care about the outcome early as much as the others did. Perhaps it had something to do with his background.

[Maybe I just don't really register myself as a part of something that "amazing".] Matthew thought. [I mean, the fact somebody like me got into this team kinda undermines its prestige.]

Despite how much competition there was in the club, Matthew didn't consider himself particularly gifted for getting into the first-string. It just so happened that he accumulated enough game experience and was borderline good enough to make the cut, that's all there was to it. There were plenty of other strong players in the club who were constantly breathing down his neck, threatening to overtake him at any moment.

In the first place, Matthew never really chased the competition that hard. For him, Classmancers wasn't a game he played to become "the best there ever was". It was more of an existential activity for him.

Classmancers happened to show up during the darkest episode of Matthew's life, back when he lost all the will to keep going. The game distracted him from the harsh reality of his situation and allowed him to connect with other people, to form genuine bonds that he never had with anybody else outside his family before that.

[Playing the game is just something I've been doing ever since.] Matthew thought. [It's as natural as breathing at this point, and nobody competes at breathing, right? Well, I guess some people maybe do, but that's beside the point...]

The bottom line was that Matthew has been playing Classmancers because it sustained his social life. He never really expected to see himself making it big on the competitive scene. So, even though he received coaching from a pro player and he had a high-level player as his best friend, Matthew himself was nothing special.

Therefore, if somebody like him who was only slightly above "mediocre" made it into the Leopards, then this team simply wasn't as godlike as others wanted to consider it. Sure, it was a solid team with solid players, but that's about it. Nothing made it immune to committing mistakes and losing scrimmages.

[That's just life for you.] Matthew shrugged. [No matter how big of a deal a team thinks it is, somebody may always come along to bully it. And, speaking of bullying...]

The enemy locked their first two picks: Sorcerer and Elf.

[Seriously? Why me?] Matthew frowned. [This totally looks like a personal attack targeting me.]

The enemy has already banned Aeromancer and Warlock, which was a direct attack on Matthew. But furthermore, they had the nerve to pick Sorcerer and Elf, two other classes which Matthew mained. It was like an all-out attack on Matthew!

[Do I have a label on my head that says "Please target me"...?] Matthew made a face. [These guys have the makings of professional bullies.]

None of the previous teams showed any special interest in Matthew before. Maybe it's because the previous teams had less data to work with, but it still felt like Stratus in particular was very adamant about targeting Matthew, of all people. But, why?

[Is Vincent involved in this in some way?] Matthew wondered. [From what I remember, he was all about gathering intel on people and then bragging about how much he knew. Basically, he's a stalker, so I wouldn't be surprised if he plays an active role in this bullying. Though, that still wouldn't really make much sense...]

Vincent shouldn't have any idea about the classes Matthew mained. Matthew picked up Classmancers after leaving his old grade school, so none of his former classmates should know anything about what transpired afterward. They knew nothing bout how Matthew went to a rehabilitation center, met Esmeralda there, and received Classmancers lessons from her.

[So yeah, I dunno how this keeps happening.] Matthew sighed. [Maybe it's really as Cato said and the enemy strategist is smart enough to figure out that I'm maining a small number of classes. What a drag... But, at least I'm not playing Mid this game.]

Aeromancer, Warlock, and Sorcerer were all unavailable, so playing Mid under these circumstances would have been quite painful for Matthew. Fortunately, the team agreed on formation A, so Matthew was going to be in Bot this time.

[I wonder, does their Elf pick also target me? That's the one class I've been playing in Bot in the previous scrims.]

This was the second time in a row the enemy picked Elf for Carry, which was a little sus. Gunz didn't seem all that impressive with Elf, at least not nearly as much as he was with Trickshooter and Gunslinger. On top of that, Elf was a defensive Carry that didn't really match Stratus's aggressive playstyle that well.

[Of course, Gunz still made the class look very oppressive.] Matthew thought. [But, I'm sure he's the type of player who can pick any class and make it look good. He's not like me who has to focus on just a handful of classes in order to have a chance at all. Though, even Gunz stands out the most with a few specific classes, huh.]

This validated that Matthew's approach of focusing on a few specific classes was legit. He wasn't [lazy], he was [efficient]. A real pro gamer.

As such, the same as in Mid, Matthew only dabbled in a handful of classes for the Carry role. The enemy took his favorite class, but there were at least two others with which Matthew will perform well. Hopefully, the enemy won't start banning these classes in the upcoming games...

[Gotta say, I'm really glad I got out of Mid before they sealed all my best options there…]

Matthew was one step away from getting completely chained down in terms of class picks. Fortunately, the team jumped ship right before Matthew sank down...