69 Overwhelming Win

After the first couple minutes of overwhelming advantage on Ravenville's side, the opening game continued on in a rather predictable manner.

Along with the passing of time, it became abundantly clear that Armadillos' various attempts on taking back the momentum of the match had become increasingly futile as the game went on.

Before long, the initially loud cheers and shouts from within the stadium too slowly quietened down as the match also progressed past its few decisive moments and into the end phase for the two sides.

Just like most of the school's own students, on her seat, Althea had become more and more excited and focused the more the Illusions increased their lead on the scoreboard!

With the development of the match, she had also become all the more familiar with her brother's style, strengths, and uniqueness as an Arena player the further Irvine played actively on the match.

Although as an amateur she couldn't quite grasp the entire theory and concept of the 'role' that Irvine was trying to fulfill in his team, she could see that at least her brother had put a lot of thought into his own developmental roadmap as a player with this match alone.

This was the one thing that she was sure of!

Althea felt that the decisiveness and smoothness in Irvine's plays couldn't have been achieved by someone who's still yet to be sure on what kind of player one aspired to become.

.

Of course, with two different teams playing in one stadium, not everyone would be able to share the joyous and celebratory mood of the match when one side was winning.

For one thing, the few students from Western Zeta who had taken the effort to come here to watch and support their school's Arena team had not been looking too good for a while.

"As I thought, beating one of the top 3 is going to be hard this year as well..." One person said dejectedly among them.

"Don't worry guys, this match ain't the end for us! There's still the next match, right!?" Another one raised his voice in an attempt to also rise the others' spirits.

For the past few generations, being a Tier-1 school that focused on Battle Arena achievements in Zeta City had been nothing short of a tragedy.

At first, it had been slightly bearable with only Verdante and Ravenville regularly taking 2 of the 3 spots for their Silver Crown participation rights.

But in recent years, with the steady rise of Eastern Zeta as the 3rd team that regularly took the last Silver Crown spot, the morale of Zeta City's Tier-1 schools had been at an all-time low, at least for their Battle Arena teams.

Even so, in the end, with their Tier-1 status on the line, and also the format of the Warrior Crown that focused more on the total win-lose count instead of individual match results, none of the teams in this League would give up so easily midway through.

This was especially true for this kind of violent sport.

Because who's to say that in a couple of weeks from today, the strong teams wouldn't hurt each other too badly while going against one another and give the rest of them the chance to reclaim some of the spots in the nationals.

These unpredictable odds, along with the always visible improvements shown by their own players, were probably the only things that allowed these weaker teams to grit their teeth and continue marching on forward through the hellish weeks of the regionals.

"..."

But even those strong determinations would need to be put aside at least for today's match.

The current score being displayed on the main monitor was 4-0. With Ravenville dominating all the way through.

For the entirety of the match, the Illusions had only needed to briefly go on the defensive twice!

And both times, none of their attempts had even allowed any progress towards solving the Illusions' front tower's upper section.

Meaning they're not even close to getting their first point!

On the contrary, throughout the HIGHLY offensive style of Derrick and Irvine combo, two of the Armadillos' members had been completely eliminated to 0 HPs.

They were the starting Front Guard and Main Fielder that Irvine had had the chance to fight from the start.

No matter how people looked at it, the game had now turned into nothing more than a one-sided onslaught that even the supporters had started feeling bad for cheering too loudly everytime something good happened for the Illusions.

.

*SIGH*

Troy simply shook his head with a complicated look.

Competitions are always like this. When two sides with very different levels clash, and they always will, the far weaker side will always end up in a situation very close to despair.

The only the difference would be how these weaker teams faced their losses and move forward after.

Those would be the ultimate measure on whether or not they would still have hope in staying on the same stage as the other teams for the next time.

"--Well, this is clearly a waste of time." The Defenders' scout spoke bluntly, not minding the gloomy atmosphere that the losing team and its supporters were currently facing.

"What do you mean? It's a refreshing match for me. We see an interesting new take on the Solver position as well." Troy too didn't linger for too long sympathizing with the losing side. He turned back to his casual cheery self after a couple more seconds,

"--Not to mention, we still get to see the target in action in the end. So what's the big deal?" He consoled and asked.

During the match, Derrick, Irvine, and Naomi had progressed through the game steadily without getting too greedy in pushing through and getting more points for themselves.

When they'd felt like they're starting to get severely outnumbered or put in a too risky situation for their likings, the three would always obediently back down first to regroup and catch their breaths.

This was why, even with their overwhelming lead and difference in skills, the Illusions had still ended up having to go on the defensive a couple of times.

And in those times, Baron had had no trouble in holding back the enemy's tides all by his lonesome while the advance group focused more on recovering their stamina for the next round of push.

This had actually been Irvine's idea.

For Irvine, not only had he thought that such an arrangement would make their explosive offensive plays to have a more impactful display for the next wave after having rested, it would also give the chance for Baron to showcase his domineering skills as one of the best Guard in college to the Defenders' reps.

All in all, it's a win-win strategy that's subtle enough not to make the match's development looked rigged.

Of course, in the end it would still be very hard for just the display of skills in a match of this level to impress people like them, and Irvine knew this as well...

"What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I can also watch a pro player overpower an amateur many times and not get anymore impressed. In the end, the opponents are too weak to see the true worth of even the Ravenville's freshmen, let alone Baron who is the Ace Guard we currently have our eyes on." He grumbled in reply.

During the defensive, all Baron had to do was dashed towards the enemy party and flicked a couple [Air Pistols] off his fingers, sending the opponents flying out the building in no time.

With Baron's speed, the Armadillos' advance group hadn't even known what hit them before getting pushed out.

Of course, there was also the fact that the other side had never anticipated the possibility that the strongest player in the starting lineup would actually take the Front Guard post!

Lark had actually arranged this 'little' surprise to increase the chance of 'overwhelming' win for the school's opening match.

"Well, don't worry sir. At least we've wasted enough of our trip's budget this time to not have to return the leftover back to the team's office." Troy retorted with a friendly smile.

He knew that the scout beside him hadn't put too much expectations in watching the match this time apart from it being a form of courtesy towards Baron.

For him, all this was simply to build the foundation of their relationships later on.

"You little..." The scout only returned the sarcastic remark with a sneer.

"--Anywho!" Troy quickly changed the topic before he got himself into trouble,

"So a fighting Solver... What are your thoughts on it coach?"

"I'm not a coach."

"Sorry, it just slipped out. --So?" Troy was truly curious on whether or not this was just a gimmick role that wouldn't last long past their reveal, or it's the real thing with potential to be developed further.

He thought that instead of him guessing and analyzing it himself, the person beside him would be able to give a more accurate opinion, seeing as he's a lot more proficient in this sort of stuff because of his occupations.

"Truthfully speaking the scope of the matter are too large to say for sure right now, we also don't have enough data as of yet..." The scout took the question seriously as well, because he himself had several thoughts regarding Irvine's play style too.

"...Interesting that you would say that."

"It is what it is."

"Are you going to collect more data then?"

"What am I, jobless? I'm busy enough as it is!"

"..." Troy felt that these words would've sound more convincing had they not been spoken by someone spending his leftover trip budget to prolong their stay in the North.

"Don't worry, the answer will reveal itself sooner or later. That boy's in his freshman year right? At MOST we'll only have to wait 3 more years."

"...That's true." Troy didn't push the matter any further either after that, "Then shall we head back?"

In their eyes, the match was pretty much over already.

"Sure." The scout nodded, "By the way-- You didn't say much about the other Starseed who appear after the substitutions for the second half?"

"Hm? Ah, what was her name again?" Troy glanced at the monitor and quickly recalled it,

"Medea Dormer. Yes well, what can I say, it's just as expected of a genius I suppose? Nothing more nothing less so it's not much of a surprise."

"That is to say, you're more interested in Irvine Lang?"

"Hey, nothing against the girl, there's just nothing new. I can see that she will most likely arrive at the Pro League sooner or later though, seeing as she's still just a new freshman today with that level of skill."

"Her style's very different from the first starting Ranger that's for sure." The scout added with a nod before continuing,

"Well, having 'nothing new' is not that bad. At least it's made it easier for a scout like me to judge her."

"And your final verdict?"

"Her potential as a player seems to be higher than Clint Silver. At least that's what I think."

"Because she's a Starseed?"

"No no, that kind of thing don't mean much... I'll explain to you on the way, let's get out of here first." He was already very bored at the match that had neared its end below.

"Alright."

...

.

.

.

Afternoon, 03:00 PM.

Inside the Ravenville stadium's changing room.

Some of the regulars had just finished taking their shower and changing back into their casual clothes.

One of them was Irvine who had just returned back to his locker from the shower room when he noticed the slightly downcast look on his teammate, Medea's face.

"What is it?" He didn't beat around the bush and asked.

"Nothing. Just a bit... Restless because I haven't played enough." She answered.

"Aah." Irvine nodded in understanding.

In the game today, Medea had once again only arrived for the latter half of the match.

And this had been decided by Lark simply because the substitution time had coincided with the elimination of the other team's Front Guard.

Since Clint had also pretty much finished mapping the rest of the towers' locations at that time, Lark had taken a 'might as well' attitude and put Medea in as a way to build-up her experience.

Irvine of course understood the source of her current frustration when seeing it from her point of view so he decided to speak up,

"That's nothing against you. The Head Coach was just planning to win by overwhelming difference in scores for this opening match. That's also why he put Baron in front."

"...Oh, you're saying Clint Silver's the better Ranger than me?" Medea glared at him for a while.

"Hn? Yeah, of course." Irvine gave a straight answer as he wiped his head dry with a towel in front of his assigned locker.

"Gee, thank you very much." She could only sneer at the man's brutal honesty.

"Disregarding the fact that his style's more suitable for direct offensive and firepower, Silver's still a better player than you overall. Heck, he's still a better player than ME overall."

"...Then why are you chosen for the advance group instead of the Captain if our objective is for larger gap in scores?"

"Are you kidding? With our 2 Solvers formation with Derrick and Naomi, we're WAY more efficient scorers than the single Captain as a Solver."

"..." Medea was stunned.

How confident did one have to be to be able to blurt that out casually, she wondered to herself.

Of course, to Irvine, he was just saying the things matter-of-factly.

"Still, right now we're only talking IF the enemy is a team that's multiple levels below us in terms of skills--"

"--Hey, um, guys." Irvine was about to elaborate when suddenly, a voice that resounded from across the space behind the two interrupted their conversation.

"You know we're all still here, right?" Clint looked on towards the two freshmen on their team with a dumbfounded look on his face.

All the 3rd and 4th year regulars, including Baron, Renee, and the Young twins, were all still inside the changing room listening to the entire conversation between Irvine and Medea this whole time.

Right now, behind them, Clint was wearing a wry smile at their bluntness while the Captain, Renee Morgan, just shook her head slightly with her back facing towards the two.

If one were to observe her closely through a sidelong glance, they would be able to notice a small smile escaping her usually cold and stoic expression.

Truth be told, Renee didn't hate the straightforwardness of these two juniors of her. At least it was far easier to stomach than the usual social formalities that she loathed.

"By the way," Clint piled on before the two could react, "You two seemed to be having an easier time than the sophomores."

"Hm?" Irvine looked confused, "What happened to Wallace and the rest?"

"They're not in too good a mood after that last match." He explained.

"..."

Hearing that, Irvine finally understood what it was all about.

It's regarding their overwhelming victory just now.

At first, when the three of them plus Clint had kept attacking and scoring from the enemy left and right, the mood of their team had been good.

It was always a great feeling when a match went smoothly as planned.

But getting closer to the end of the match just now.

Derrick and Naomi who looked like they hadn't experienced something similar, slowly noticed the sharply decreasing amount of morale from the other side.

It wouldn't be a problem if it was just that.

But close to the end, they had also noticed the other side's players began to no longer even play seriously.

When they were attacking the second tower, Derrick had even noticed that the Guard were no longer actively protecting the tower but just pacing about the zone casually without charging at him!

Their reinforcement hadn't desperately chased after them anymore either but simply jogged towards their destination.

These had been the primary reason why it had been so easy for the Illusions' to claim their 5th point at the end.

5-0.

Needless to say, for Derrick and Naomi who had just experienced for the first time such overwhelming victory that even left the other team like that, the whole thing had left a bad aftertaste in their mouth.

The 3rd and 4th years were still rather alright with it all, but Clint was now slightly curious as to why Irvine and Medea hadn't seemed bothered in the least.

Knowing what the man was asking about, Irvine could only muster up an honest reply that he felt regarding the whole situation with the enemies' attitudes at the end,

"I don't think we have the luxury to feel bad about that when we might even BE like them during our fights with Verdante or Eastern Zeta."

""...""

Irvine's answer had caused everyone in the room to turn silent for a while until Clint opened his mouth again,

"Damn, you're a scary guy..." He shook his head in defeat, "What about you then, Dormer?"

"...What happened in that last match again? I don't follow."

""...""

This answer of her was also silence inducing as well! though it was for a completely different reason than the last.