Challenging the Sweepers

"So, this is the runt Rodriguez brought over?" A voluptuous woman came forth and examined Jin from head to toe. "Hey kid, do you know who I am?"

"Ignis, the Top Laner," Jin answered.

"Oh, you're good!" Ignis grinned. "Hey guys, check this out! Looks like I'm so famous they even heard about me in China!"

[You wish.] Jin retorted silently. [I only learned of a lowly player like you because I had to research my opponents for today. And it's Korea, not China.]

Ignis. Top Laner. Favorite classes included: Knight, Viking, Berserker, and apparently Warrior as a situational pick.

This woman was a brute who relied on her mechanical skill and snappy decision-making in combat. If she were a character in a fighting game, she'd definitely be a gorilla archetype who promoted mashing buttons all day without thinking.

[If I really get to play Top, then she'll be my opponent.] Jin reasoned. [That'll be much easier than fighting against "her" in Mid...]

"My, what a cute little boy~" A pale woman approached him with a playful smile. Her porcelain skin was in stark contrast to pitch-black dress, making her look like a vampire or a witch. In fact, that's the kind of persona she role-played during her streams.

"So, do you know me as well, perchance?" The woman pointed at herself with an innocent smile.

"Esmeralda, the Mid Laner."

"My, I'm honored~" Esmeralda patted Jin on the head for a job well done.

[Like I thought, this one is annoying.] Jin averted his eyes and did his best to endure the "little kid" treatment. Just from watching a couple of Esmeralda's streams, it was evident she was an eccentric person.

At first, Jin thought Esmeralda only role-played for the camera. However, he later found more evidence to suggest this weirdo acted this way even outside streams, and his fears became reality just now.

Esmeralda was an eccentric, through and through. Even her playstyle was quirky and odd, making it difficult to analyze.

[It's too risky to face her in lane during such an important game.] Jin concluded as such. [Technically, she seems like a very weak player. So weak, that she shouldn't have any business playing on a B-League team, even in the west. Yet, here she is...]

Esmeralda's playstyle was... unusual, to say the least. It seemed weak, yet it also delivered decent results at times. It was truly a mystery, like the woman herself.

Even though Jin studied that eccentric playstyle and thought of many ways to counter it, he still didn't feel confident facing this woman. Especially, not with so much hanging in the balance here today.

"So, your name is Jin?" Esmeralda tilted her head.

"Officially, it's Young-jin."

"My, are you Korean?"

"Yes, I am." [Finally, somebody gets it right!]

"Pft, haha!" Ignis broke into laughter for some reason. "'Young Jin? Seriously? Haha!"

"My, it's rude to laugh at people's names like that," Esmeralda pointed out.

"But, it's 'young', haha! Imagine this kid in like 80 years from now. A total geezer, but everybody still calls him 'young', haha!"

"In Korean, 'young' means 'eternal'," Jin informed.

"Yeah, eternally 'young', haha!" Ignis laughed until her sides hurt. "It means you're too 'young' to challenge us, kid."

"We not know that until we fight." Jin confronted the insult head-on. [Compared to the pros I played back in Korea, this woman is small fry. I believe I have a real chance of beating her in 1v1 on lane.]

"Oh?" Ignis lifted her chin. "Not sure why, but my senses are tingling. Don't tell me you think you can actually win against us, kid."

"I will not know until I try," Jin responded as evenly as possible. Regardless of how unskilled the woman was, she still deserved minimal respect as a pro. [Though, I'll most likely lose any shred of respect for her if I can defeat her.]

"Dang, this brat is totally looking down on me, I can feel it!"

"Give it a rest." A bulky man came in between them. His entire body was made of thick muscle, to the point he looked more like a bodybuilder than an esports player. That was IronWall, the captain of the Sweepers.

[His presence is even more intimidating than I imagined.] Jin gulped.

IronWall was a mountain of a man. He towered not only over Jin but over everybody present. And, his sturdy muscles made it seem like he could snap any of them in half with his bare hands if he wanted. It was definitely best to stay on this guy's good side...

But, unlike Jin, the others weren't fazed by IronWall's presence.

"Watcha want, Dima?" Ignis scoffed. "You better scold that brat, not me. He's the one looking down on me!"

"Is he really looking down on you? How do you figure?"

"I can feel it!" Ignis insisted. "My gut never lies."

"So, you're yelling at a child because of some vague gut feeling? Are you serious?"

"Geh... B-But...!"

"Just give it a rest. Now." IronWall smashed the entire conversation to piece with his heavy commanding tone. After that, he turned to Jin. "Sorry about that, kid."

"I'm sorry as well." Jin bowed slightly. "It seems I wasn't respectful enough. I'll make sure to learn from this mistake."

"My, Jinjin is such a polite boy~" Esmeralda noted.

[Jinjin...?]

"Oh, such maturity!" Ronshfelt clapped. "As expected from a genius wonderkid!"

"So, Boss..." IronWall examined Jin from head to toe. "This is the boy you plan to scout?"

"Yes, this is the Chinese wonderboy in the flesh!"

[I'm Korean.]

"But," Ronshfelt continued. "Given his young age, this is no simple matter." He turned to Jin. "I hope you're not offended by the caution we exercise. It's just that unusual to scout such a young player, at least on out part of the globe."

"Yes, I understand."

It was unfortunate, but such was reality. As far as the pro scene was concerned, Jin was just a 12 years old brat who claimed he played well.

Apparently, it was always complicated to hire children for any kind of job. As such, everybody proceeded cautiously on this matter.

"I just prove my skill in battle," Jin said plainly.

"Yes, yes. That's the spirit!" Ronshfelt nodded repeatedly. "It's so refreshing to see such a strong fighting spirit from somebody so young!"

"Thank you," Jin made sure to thank the overly-excited for any random praise. It was a little tiring, but Jin had to make sure he stayed on the man's good side. As long as Ronshfelt liked Jin, his chances of being scouted increased tenfold.

"Of course," Ronshfelt continued. "I said 'scout' but it's not for the Sweepers, obviously. No matter how talented you are, you'll have to start from C-League, young lad."

"Yes."

"The truth is, I wanted you to play a game with them so they could judge your skill for themselves. But unfortunately, they'll be busy with the world tour for a few good months."

[That's too bad.] Jin thought. [It probably would've been easier for me to prove my mettle against them.]

In preparation for today, Jin studied as much as possible about the teams owned by Sebastian Ronshfeld. The man owned two teams at present: the Sweepers in B-League and the Cleaners in C-League.

Surprisingly, out of the two, the Cleaners were actually more successful within their own league. That much was evident by the fact they were playing abroad at the moment, as part of an ongoing world championship. Unlike them, the Sweepers hadn't reached any such recognition within the B-League.

Of course, being a league higher meant the Sweepers were actually stronger than the Cleaners. However, their lack of success in their own league made them seem like failures.

[Though, that's probably just a prejudice on my end.] Jin was smart enough to realize as much. [In fact, I probably should be glad I got to play the Sweepers today. The team's reputation aside, they're definitely stronger than the Cleaners. So, they'll make for better training.]

To be on the safe side, Jin researched both the Cleaners and the Sweepers before coming here today. So, he knew the Sweepers packed a punch despite their relatively "unsuccessful" performance.

"As such," Ronshfelt continued as he turned to the Sweepers. "I know your schedule is also packed, but you're the only ones available. So, I'd like you to play with the Chinese wonderboy."

[I'm Korean.] Jin corrected for the 100th time today.

"No problem," IronWall said. "We're already in the middle of wasting our time on middle schoolers, so this changes nothing."

"Hey!" Ignis interjected. "What do you mean 'wasting our time'? This is important training for my brother's team, you know."

"And?" IronWall shrugged. "How does that help us improve as a team, exactly?"

"Heh. Obviously, we're preparing him for when he gonna join the team. Then, we'll finally break through that damn A-League barrier!"

"Yeah, right." IronWall shrugged. "You just want to help your brother win his little school competition."

"Yeah, that's a part of it of course." Ignis nodded. "He gonna become the hero who destroys the Leopards' win streak!"

"Bold words," Rodriguez cut into the conversation for the first time.

"Geh, so you're also here..." Ignis made a face. "What did you come for?"

"I'm the coach of the Leopards, in case you forgot. This boy is under my care."

"Heh, so the little brat needs an escort? Doesn't sound like he's ready for the adult world of the pro scene."

"That's just regulation," Rodriguez explained. "I can't leave my pupils unsupervised when I send them to a place like this."

"What, are you saying we gonna bully him or something?"

"No, of course not."

"Well too bad, because you'd be totally right!" Ignis thirst her finger at Rodriguez. "We gonna bully him so hard, he won't think about joining the pro scene for another ten years! There's no way in hell I gonna let one of your students get in here so easily!"

"I have a distinct impression I'm being hated here." Rodriguez smiled wryly, but he didn't linger on that point.

Ignis was the same during her middle school days too: brash and upfront. If she didn't like somebody or something, she always threw shade in their face without thinking twice. So, there was no need to be too bothered by her attitude. That's just the kind of person she was at her core, even after so many years have passed.

"Just you wait," Ignis said. "Wardy will kick your team's ass this year! I'm preparing him real good for that. It gonna be sweet, sweet revenge!"

"Yes, it'll be quite the fateful revenge if your brother successfully defeats my team," Rodriguez agreed. "He'd put an end to a winning streak that started with his sister."

"I-It didn't start with me!" Ignis denied.

"StormBlitz were the favorites that year if memory serves. You were expected to take the regionals."

"Yeah, but then some meddler came outta nowhere and boosted the damn Leopards through the roof. Nobody was ready for that shit!"

"Is that the kind of excuse you also make today when the Sweepers lose?"

"Nah." Ignis shook her head. "When we lose, it's always Hawk's fault. That's the script."

"Hey!" Somebody from the team objected, most likely that "Hawk" guy. The rest of the team laughed in response.

"Anyways!" Ignis insisted. "Wardy will take you down this year, mark my words!"

"He's indeed a talented young man," Rodriguez agreed. "I'm very curious to see what kind of team he brings against us this year."

"Aha!" Ignis pointed a blaming finger. "I knew it! You arranged this whole charade to spy on Wardy's team, didn't you? You're so scared of StormBlitz that you're going the extra length to study them, that's how shook you are."

"Not really," Rodriguez denied. "They already had their first scrimmage a few days ago, and they'll have another one before facing us. So, we'll have plenty of data to work with."

"But, I bet you want more!" Ignis insisted. "You're planning to expose all their weaknesses from up close!"

"That's why I was against this idea." A third party joined the hectic discussion. It was none other than Howard, the captain of StormBlitz.

"Howard, right?" Rodriguez stretched a hand. "I believe this is the first time we get to speak face to face like this."

"Yes, it is." Howard politely accepted the handshake but there was obvious hostility in his eyes. "I apologize for being blunt like this, but I have to say I also don't like this arrangement at all. Letting an enemy coach watch our games from up close is like handing out free candies. We're not running a charity here."

"But, my boy," Ronshfelt interjected. "I believe we had an agreement. Your team is allowed to play the Sweepers today under the condition you'd accept this arrangement."

"Yes, I'm aware," Howard said. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm planning to cancel the deal. I just felt like expressing my dissatisfaction, that's all. Kids are always a little selfish like that, right? Haha."

"Heh, as long as you understand." Ronshfelt didn't say anything more on the matter.

"You can rest assured," Rodriguez said. "This arrangement will be very beneficial for your team as well. In fact, it'll be so informative that I hesitated about this idea at first. But, my team is too busy with scrimmages at the moment, so I had to make do."

"I don't see how this exchange is going to be too informative for us," Howard insisted. "You get to spy on four of our players, while we only get to see of yours in action. And, your player hasn't even shown up during any scrimmages so far. If that's not bogus, then I don't know what is."

"that's exactly the reason this will be so informative for you."

"Excuse me?"

"Young-Jin isn't a regular player." Rodriguez smiled meaningfully. "The truth is, I was planning to keep him off the stage until we run into sufficiently difficult opponents. That may, or may not, be your team. Surely, you understand what that implies?"

"Yeah..." Howard frowned. "You're saying we might've only learned of his existence on the very day of our scrimmage."

"Or perhaps only at the regionals, depending on how that scrimmage goes. I assure you, it would've been quite the shock for you to run into him at the finals for the first time."

"That does sound wicked."

"Right?" Rodriguez nodded. "That's why, giving you a chance to learn of Young-Jin's existence so early, and even team up with him, is invaluable information. So frankly, I believe this intel is worth more than anything your team can offer us."

"That's provided he's at least half as good as you're advertising." Howard scoffed. He examined the Korean boy from head to toe but he couldn't sense anything special. Judging by looks alone, Jin looked like a run-of-the-mill Asian kid, nothing more.

"His skill is the real deal. You'll see that for yourself very soon."

"Is that so." Howard wasn't entirely convinced.

[He's so cautious.] Rodriguez smiled meaningfully. [That's a very mature and professional approach. He understands the Leopards will be his biggest obstacle this year, so he's very serious about withholding information. Impressive for his age.]

Most kids that age, even the "serious players", only concerned themselves with winning games They didn't give as much thought to factors outside the game, such as hiding important information from enemy teams.

But, then there was Howard. A kid who hasn't received any professional coaching, yet conducted himself almost like a young pro.

[No, that's not quite true.] Rodriguez glanced at Ignis and Esmeralda. [Those two probably taught him the importance of such matters. I'm not so sure about Ignis, but I know Esmeralda is a good teacher. Cato and Matthew are very mature players thanks to her coaching.]

The chatter died down and the two teams returned to their respective stations.

The Sweepers' coach joined the audience in order to give his two cents on Jin's upcoming performance. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Jin's fate was at this man's hands right now.

With all due respect to Mr. Ronshfelt, the man was a businessman. His observations regarding Classmancers were amateurish at best. Therefore, it was unnecessary to have a more knowledgeable spectator in the audience. And, it had to be one with a neutral stance, unlike Rodriguez.

Shortly, both teams arrived at their stations. And so, preparations began.

"Sorry Roi," Howard apologized. "You'll have to sit this one out."

"Lol, you kicking me out?" Roi laughed. "Man, that's harsh. I mean, I made only one misplay that was REALLY bad."

"It's not about that overextension," Howard said. "The Chinese kid here wants to play Top."

"I'm Korean," Jin corrected.

"Yeah, of course."

A dark cloud hovered over their interactions. Though Howard went along with Rodriguez's explanation for now, he still had his doubts about Jin's actual skill. Really, just how strong could a kid like that possibly be?

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that Jin was the "best player" in the region. Even then, he probably wasn't that much above the rest of the competition.

Therefore, this practice match was a bad trade for StomBlitz either way. They were trading information about 4 of their players in exchange for getting to know one mysterious player. So, unless Jin's skill was literally godlike, this trade had no chance of ever evening out.

[Well, no use thinking about it so hard.] Howard concluded. [I already agreed to this arrangement, so let's see how things play out.]

It was a good thing Jin picked Top, for it meant he'll have to face Howard's sister in lane. Unlike the other pros, Ignis definitely won't hold back too much, especially not after their brief exchange. So, it should be easy enough to determine whether Jin was truly a genius who could rival pros, or just a skilled middle schooler like the rest of the Leopards.

"Just so we're clear," Howard said. "Even though everybody seems to be treating this as an exam designed for you, for the rest of us this is just another practice match as a team. And, I'm the captain of this team, so you gonna follow my orders."

"As long as they're good orders," Jin responded.

"Fair enough." Howard respected that bold attitude. Considering the few details he heard about Jin's background, it made sense for Jin to not be too trusting of other children's skills.

Apparently, the training this boy underwent back in Korea was quite intense. So much, that the competitive middle school scene in the west looked like a joke to him. And that's why he was here right now, applying to join a pro team at such a young age.

[But, I'm sure Rodriguez exaggerated when he explained all of that.] Howard thought. [Still, a match is a match. As the captain, I'll do everything I can to win this game, even if it ends up helping a snobby Korean kid get into the pro scene before me.]

And so, another practice match between StormBlitz and the Sweepers and was about to begin. Will the Korean wonderboy be able to live up to his reputation and give the pros a hard time...?