The Bitterness of Surrendering

As expected, the atmosphere in StormBlitz's waiting room was heavy. Even though the early surrender was supposed to help reduce the frustration, it was nonetheless a mentally devastating last resort.

I believe I've done an alright job convincing them it was a fluke. Howard thought. But, it's not that easy to accept it, is it?

Howard also struggled to fully come to terms with this outcome. Logically, he understood how and why it happened. But, that didn't change the fact it was frustrating beyond measure.

We shouldn't have lost to a team like that under any circumstances. Even with luck on their side, the fact they managed to win a game against us is nothing short of insulting.

StormBlitz had a reputation to uphold. It was supposed to be the second-strongest team in the region, the only team that had a chance of beating the Leopards. And yet, here they were, losing to some unlikely opponent.

This is sure hard to accept. Howard sighed. But, we have to move on.

"All in all, it was a pretty unexpected outcome, right? Haha." Howard forced himself to chuckle. "I'm sure nobody saw this coming before the game started."

"You can say that again, lol." Roi laughed. "Like, the heck was that game? That Rosemary chick just snowballed like crazy!" 

"It's because Dan was feeding her," Julia said.

"Dang…" Dan shook his head. "Gotta rub salt, aren't you? For the record, you also had your ass kicked by that Werewolf."

"Yeah, true. But, it happened, like, only once," Julia argued. "Besides, I totally gave her a fight at the end even though she was 2 levels ahead. I would've MURDERED her ass if she wasn't so fed because of you." 

"Now, now." Ellen intervened. "What's done is done. Danny made a couple of mistakes and the enemy did a very good job capitalizing on them. Let's leave it at that, shall we?"

"Meh, whatever." Julia shrugged. Goddammit, because of that idiot, I missed my chance to score points! Now, who knows if Howard is gonna give me another chance today. Grrr.

Julia was the biggest victim in all of this. It wasn't a big deal that the team dropped one game, but Julia ended up butchering a critical exam! She'll never forgive this!

I hope Gilbert also runs into issues when he subs in. Julia prayed. It'll be total bullshit if suddenly the team starts winning hard once he subs in.

And yet, there was a very good chance of that happening. As Howard said, the first game was an anomaly. Most likely, Dan won't mess up that badly again today.

It's like he did it on purpose to mess up my game specifically! Julia ranted as she dropped on the sofa and crossed her arms. I'm mad. Like, real mad!

Alas, the others ignored her. They were too busy thinking about how to win the next game.

"We have to play safer in the early-game," Howard said. "Even if we lose in terms of farm and have to turtle, it's far better than giving the enemy momentum. The truth is, the Valkyries aren't that strong. It's just that their captain knows how to snowball with momentum."

"Yeah, don't worry, guys," Dan reassured. "I'm not gonna die that easily next game. Probably. Hopefully. Haha."

"You better not." Howard shot a glare. "If you mess up that badly a second time, there will be consequences."

"W-What kind of, exactly?" Dan tried to maintain a smile. "You're not gonna boot me from the team, are ya?"

"Of course not. Fortunately for you, there aren't any replacements available for now."

"Phew."

"In other words," Howard continued. "What I'm saying is, you WILL perform well in the next game. You don't have any other option."

"Gulp." Dan felt heavy responsibility dropping on his shoulders. Howard's hawk gaze pierced right through him, giving him no option to disobey.

"If you fail me again today, get ready for a lot, and I mean A LOT, of extra training. I'll make sure you train at least ten times as much as everybody else." 

"I-I won't mess up again! I promise, sir!" Dan saluted.

"Lol," Roi laughed. "Are you supposed to be Pip or something?" 

"Speaking of Pip, where is he?" Howard looked around. "Maybe he and his notebook caught something interesting."

"He's been waiting over there" Ellen pointed at the back of the waiting room, right around the corner. "There's him and the rest of the curious bunch. They've been listening for quite some time now, these lil' peeping toms~"

"Kek, we're busted." Gregory came out from around the corner, fully revealing himself. Taison and Philip followed after him.

"What's with all the sneaking?" Howard asked.

"Weeelp." Gregory shrugged. "I wasn't sure this was a good time to approach you guys, you know?"

"How so?" 

"Like," Taison answered instead. "You guys got royally dunked on, khaha."

"Um, yeah, that…." Gregory shot Taison a glare. Dumbass! Did you have to say it like that!? Are you trying to pick a fight here or some shit!?

This surely wasn't the best time to act all snarky. Like, these mfs just dropped a game in the most embarrassing manner possible, so they gotta be irritable as hell. It was a terrible idea to step on Howard's toes right now.

Alas, the idiot didn't care in the slightest. "I'm tellin' ya," Taison continued. "None of this would've happened if I was playing. Word!" 

"Huh, how reassuring," Howard said. "It sounds like StormBlitz would become a very strong team once you join the first string."

"Right? Right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be very strong. Next year, that is."

"Tch, this shit again…" Taison clicked his tongue. "Like, I don't get it, man. Why July gets to play games while me and Greg are warming up seats on the bench? It ain't fair, man!"

"We're not having this conversation again. I don't have time for your nonsense right now," Howard stated matter-of-factly. "As I've explained at least a hundred times by now, Julia has the potential to bring something to the first-string, unlike you two. That is all."

"Again with that rude bullshit..." Taison made a face. "How did you even decide that shit? It makes no sense!"

"It makes perfect sense to me, which is the only thing that matters here." Howard cut that conversation short. "Anyway, we have limited time here. Pip, come here." 

"Yes, sir!" Pip dashed forward like a trainee in boot camp. "Reporting for duty, sir!" 

"Yeah, yeah." Howard shrugged at these theatrics. "I assume you wrote some notes about the game, right?" 

"Yes, sir! Of course, sir!" Pip waved his big notebook. It had pages upon pages of insightful intel about the enemy forces, including notes about the most recent game.

"Dang, what a nerd, khaha!" Taison laughed. "I've been tellin' ya, you dawg ain't improving at the game because you're stuck writing 'em notes all day instead of playing. Am I right, or am I right, Greg?"

"Yeah, totally..." Gregory went along with that narrative just to shut Taison up, but deep down, he didn't agree. It's actually kinda impressive how consistent Pip is with that shit.

Gregory and Pip were kindred spirits, in a way. They both passed StormBlitz's entrance exam by acing the second stage, the one that tested players on game knowledge and decision-making. By getting the highest score among all participants in their respective years, Gregory and Pip immediately entered StormBlitz without having to do the third part.

I mean, I would've totally aced that test, too. Gregory asserted. But, why leave anything up to luck, right? Like, the third test is real cancer. It relies way too much on your scrubby teammates and all, so it's way better to dodge that bullet.

And, Pip was smart enough to understand that as well. Just like Gregory, the boy must've gotten his hands on some example questions from previous years and memorized them.

At least, I think he did. Gregory was sure of that at first, but he started having doubts as time went on. I mean, this kid be recording literally everything in that notebook. I bet it even says when was the last time he took a dump, kek.

Pip was hella studious, to the point it was almost respectable. Gregory was also the intellectual type who studied the game to gain an edge, but that kid was a hella lot more motivated about the whole affair. Bruh was like a walking encyclopedia, word.

How does he not get tired of that shit? Gregory wondered. It feels like he's always there, ready with his notebook at any time of the day. Kid's a psycho, kek.

So yeah, Pip was sorta impressive in a way. Basically, he was a nerd up to eleven. So, no wonder Howard was paying attention to the kid. Sometimes, it was really helpful to borrow that kid's notes for personal use, Gregory did that from time to time as well.

"So," Howard continued. "Are there any interesting notes about this game? Only give me the short versions, please."

"Yes, sir!" Pip saluted. "So, um, the short version, let's see…" He flipped through numerous pages, all supposedly written during this one game. Madness.

Did this mf really have so much to write? About one game? Gregory made a face. Like, I know some of it gonna be map drawings and shit, but damn, son. WTF.

There was never a "short version" with this mofo, not really. Dude recorded literally EVERYTHING he saw without distinguishing what's important and what's not. And, he wasn't that great at summarizing it briefly for people, so it often proved REALLY tedious to use his data. But, that didn't stop Howard from trying…