The Valkyries' Next Battle

"Your next scrim has been decided," Nakajima announced to everybody. "You'll be playing against StormBlitz, the second-strongest team in this region."

"No way!" Karen pretended to be shocked even though she pretty much figured this out weeks ago. Like, it was impossible to keep the whole thing under wrappers with how much Fiona studied these guys at home in the past few weeks.

"Hmph. The second-strongest team?" Cornelia lifted her chin. "Then they're no match for us, seeing as we're the strongest team, ohoho!" 

"... are we seriously doing this again?" Andria frowned. "Not to pour salt or anything, but aren't we shooting ourselves in the foot with these scrims?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Nakajima asked.

"First we challenged the champions, now we're challenging the runner-up," Andria explained. "Now, I don't want to insult anybody here when I say this, but we're clearly not ready for that grand stage."

"Huh? Not ready?" Cornelia raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean? We have gone through so much training! We are beyond ready!" 

Andria rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, we are most definitely ready. That is, ready to get mopped by our foes to the audience's amusement."

"Hmph. Perhaps that's the fate that awaits YOU specifically," Cornelia argued. "But as for me, I shall use my noble might to thoroughly submit these commoners!" 

"What a confident little flower you are..." Andria smiled wryly. She refrained from discussing the topic any further because they were clearly on different wavelengths here.

"Andria's stance is reasonable," Nakajima said. "StormBlitz is a formidable foe. It's a team without a master, yet it has been consistently placing in the region's Top 3 for years now. And, this year's lineup definitely lives up to that reputation."

These words didn't instill much confidence. In fact, they only made Lua hold her head in despair. "So, our chances of winning are..." 

"Thinking about hypothetical chances will do us no good," Fiona asserted. "The fact of the matter is that we are going to challenge StormBlitz, therefore we must strive to win."

"Yeah, exactly!" Karen grinned. "No matter who the opponent is, you always gotta imagine yourself beating them! Fake it till you make it!" She grinned confidently. "We might be considered underdogs for now, and we did kinda blow it against the Leopards, but we're way stronger now!"

"Well put, Karen." Nakajima nodded. "It's been almost two months since the last scrim. All of you have become much stronger warriors in that short time, I can guarantee it." 

This wasn't some empty pep talk. The Valkyries have indeed grown much stronger in these two months. They made an impressive amount of progress, an amount Nakajima wasn't used to seeing from her pupils.

[So, this is the power of middle schoolers, huh.] Nakajima nodded. [It's rather impressive, I have to admit.]

In Nakajima's experience, it was rare to see any player from the Aces improve at such an astonishing pace. The way the Valkyries grew from beginners into accomplished players was a delight to see.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. These girls improved so quickly precisely because they had so many obvious issues to iron out. Nonetheless, their progress was satisfying to monitor.

At present, the Valkyries were already close in skill level to the Aces' freshmen. This meant they weren't ready at all for the high school competition, but for middle school, their skill level was considered decent enough in the region.

[By my estimation, they can now hold their ground against most regional teams.] Nakajima thought. [The Leopards and StormBlitz are still out of reach, and I suppose Taurus and Stratus are a bit too strong for now. But, any other team is beatable.]

In the span of half a year, the Valkyries evolved from a team of nobodies to a serious contender for the region's Top 5. This fact was certainly going to take the competitive scene by surprise this year.

[I suppose this is what happens when a team in this region gets a proper master-level coach.] Nakajima thought. [Anybody with coaching is bound to develop that much faster than the competition.]

The same was observable in the high school scene, where teams without a coach naturally lagged behind the rest. The only exception to that rule was the Knights, who didn't train under any master and yet still maintained their position in the region's Top 3. Essentially, they were like a high school version of StormBlitz.

Either way, just by having a proper master, the Valkyries were already on the right path to success. And, despite some of their difficult personalities, all the girls here had been working hard these past two months.

"Your opponents will be formidable, there is no denying it," Nakajima said. "But, with how much you've grown, you will not embarrass yourselves on the stage, that much I assure you. StormBlitz is a strong team, but this will not be another one-sided match."

"R-Right." Lua nodded, trying to keep her concerns at bay. But, it was difficult to hide the fact she very much agreed with Andria's take on this topic. Both of them instinctively rejected the idea of facing another powerhouse so soon.

Noticing Lua's growing concern, Andria realized she had done an oopsie. [I shouldn't stain that innocent flower with my own complicated feelings on the matter. I should've kept these thoughts to myself for now.]

And so, Andria initiated her redemption arc. "Now that I think about it, the coach makes a good point. The team's skill level is definitely a world apart from where it was two months ago. Everybody evolved into beautiful butterflies in such a short time~!"

"Um, do you really think we improved that much?" Lua asked.

"But of course!" Andria exclaimed. "A mere glance at our ranks should tell the entire story. I was caught in a neverending limbo between Gold and Platinum a month ago, but now I'm halfway through Platinum."

"Oh, right." Lua nodded. "I was also stuck in low Gold for a while, but now I'm in Platinum V."

Of course, it was natural for them to rank up over time as long as they kept on a regular basis. After all, the ladder grind rewarded more points for winning than it deducted for losing. This system was designed to motivate players to keep grinding ad infinitum, at least until Diamond where people say you must be decisively above 50% win rate to progress.

But, even the grind to Platinum was rough. A 50% win rate barely cut it at these ranks. Lua had been progressing at a snail's pace for a while now.

To climb to Platinum and beyond, players had to also consistently perform well and grab bonus points through personal achievements. That's how Fiona was already Platinum I despite getting into Clasmancers much later than Lua and Andria.

In fact, for quite some time now, most of the team was stuck at around the same ranks. Only Fiona and Karen had been making substantial progress.

But in recent months, the entire team started moving forward at a good pace. After overcoming the shock caused by the first scrim, everybody realized the immense gap that existed between the Valkyries and the rest of the region. It pushed them to work that much harder in order to catch up to the competition.

"If our ranks aren't proof that we've improved, then what is?" Andria asked. "So, with that in mind, I apologize for my hasty remark from earlier. The way we are now, our team has a real chance at defeating anybody from the region!"

"R-Right!" Lua regained some of her usual vigor. Now that everybody was on the same page, she felt far more confident about the whole arrangement. They could do it! Yeah!

[Alright, that expression looks good enough.] Andria nodded in satisfaction after seeing her little white lie bring the desired result. However, in truth, Andria didn't believe a single word she had just said, not even for a moment.

So, the team's ranks improved. What of it? They only took a tiny step forward. All the strong teams in the region boasted Diamond and Challenger players. The Valkyries were still like small fry in comparison. They had absolutely zero chance against StormBlitz.

[Why can't we have a fair scrim for once?] Andria ranted on the inside but retrained a poker face on the outside. She didn't want to inject any of that venom into the team.

[Karen and Cornelia acting like they're confident about this, so I'll do the same for the sake of the team's morale. After all, that's what stage acting is about.]

As the child of a professional actor, Andria learned such concepts from a young age. Humans had to wear personas in order to smoothly interact with each other, and sometimes it was necessary to hide one's true feelings for the sake of others.

The negative feelings Andria harbored toward these unfair scrim arrangements were like a barrel of poison. If she opens the lead, the toxicity will pour out endlessly and smear the entire team. She didn't want that to happen, so she had to play along.

[Though, I'm definitely going to file a complaint with the coach later.] Andria thought. [This nonsense isn't right. What is even the point of going up on the stage if we're fated to be slaughtered? It makes no sense.]

Surely, the coach understood just how absurd it was. So, why was the woman approving of this nonsense?

[Maybe there are reasons, but I don't see them right now.] Andria thought. [So, all I can do is keep rebelling against the authorities. Such is my duty.]

The young team was about to receive a terrible beatdown for the second time in a row. This wasn't right.

But, there was a time and a place to voice her complaints on the topic, and that time wasn't now. So, she refrained from arguing any further for now.

With all resistance dying down, Fiona concluded that everybody was on board with this idea. "We have two weeks from now to prepare for this match," she said. "I have extensively researched their team with Lua's help, so we will begin by holding review sessions. The first step toward victory is understanding our opponents.." 

"Hold a second," Andria interrupted. "Lua, you've been researching the Leopards?" 

"Um, yes, I have…" 

"So, you knew this was coming."

"More or less, yes..." Lua lowered her head. She never received an official confirmation from Fiona but she always suspected that was the case. "I had a feeling something was in the works there, but to think we'll be fighting them so soon…."

"Oh, I see how it is. You have the burden of insight, don't you?" Andria nodded in understanding. "You were the one tasked to gaze into the abyss, so you know its horrors better than anybody."

"Yes..." Lua shuddered at the mere recollection of the data she gathered. Comparing the Valkyries to StormBlitz was just depressing. It didn't take a genius to figure out just how badly that match will play out.

"Our opponents are formidable, that is a given," Fiona said. "However, no team is invincible. At the end of the day, the players in StormBlitz are middle schoolers like us. They can be overcome."

"Yeah, you tell 'em, sis!" Karen grinned. "We're going to mop the floor with these guys!" 

"Indeed," Cornelia agreed. "We shall elegantly execute these plebeians and establish ourselves as the most noble team in the region!" 

"Yeah, sure..." Andria spat a sigh. She didn't have the energy to voice any further objections against the overconfident trio.

Fiona was confident she would lead the team to victory through her jungling skills and her shot-calling. Meanwhile, Karen was a simpleton who enjoyed difficult challenges. And as for Cornelia, that lunatic was ever confident in her ability to accomplish pretty much anything. There was really no convincing any of them that this scrim was a terrible idea.

These overconfident three created the impression the majority of the club was on board with the StormBlitz arrangement. So Lua, being the fickle flower she was, ended up being swept in the current.

As for Andria, she had no choice but to play along. "Very well," she said. "If you're all so confident about this, then let us embark on this treacherous journey together!" [Even though we are destined to fail…]

With that, the winds calmed down. Everybody was now "on the same page" in regards to the upcoming scrimmage. At least, that's how it appeared.

"Good." Nakajima nodded in satisfaction. She purposely stayed out of these arguments to let the girls solve their problems on their own.

Similar in-fights might occur during competitive games, and Nakajima will not be there to solve the issues for them. So, this bickering counted as training in its own right.

"As Fiona mentioned, you will begin by reviewing StormBlitz," Nakajima explained. "After that, we'll move to practical training. For the next two weeks, I want each of you to think long and hard about how you're going to play this match. Set your goal to nothing less than StormBlitz's total defeat, understood?" 

"Yes, master."

"What was that weak response!?" Nakajima demanded. "A mouse squeaks louder than this! C'mon, one more time. Understood!?" 

"Yes, master!" the team responded in union despite how embarrassing some of them found it.

In particular, Karen couldn't help but giggle after the fact. [Heh, I bet Coach just likes being called "master". What a weirdo.]

You see, Nakajima wasn't just a "coach". No, she was a MASTER!

A master of what, you may ask? Who knew!? But, she totally was! Apparently.

So yeah, for some ungodly reason, Nakajima insisted everybody called her "master". To this day, she always scolded whoever refused to comply with this arbitrary rule.

Naturally, Karen used to be one of the most frequent criminals in regards to this stupid rule. She used to frequently call Nakajima "coach" on purpose, sometimes calling out to the woman for no particular reason other than to annoy her. Heh, these were fun times.

Even now, when everybody replied "Yes, master!", Karen did it very quietly. Like, the whole thing just sounded awkward, you know?

[Is this some Japanese thing?] Karen wondered. [I mean, ain't nobody talks like that nowadays. Heck, is this woman even really "Japanese"? Sometimes I wonder.]

Nakajima was definitely sporting a Japanese name and the look, yet her English was hella clean. It didn't feel like she had much of an accent, which only made the whole setup that much more dubious.

[Aren't there all those memes about how Japanese people only know how to speak "Engrish" or whatever it's called? Heh, can't tell if the memes are lying or our coach is just special.]

Either way, Nakajima didn't fall into that stereotype. Maybe because she was an exception to the rule, or maybe because she wasn't actually ACTUALLY Japanese. Nobody knew. The "master" was a total enigma on that front.

Of course, a coach who spoke fluent English was a blessing. Nakajima taught the team properly, her instructions were insightful and to the point. Karen grew to appreciate that about the coaching. In fact, sometimes she was almost willing to call Nakajima "master". Almost.

And so, it was under the guidance of this "master" that the Valkyries set out to challenge the 2nd strongest team of the region...!