The "Experimental" Game

"Ugh." Yuel bit his lip. [This is going nowhere, I know that. I understand that in my head, but...]

He couldn't just throw in the towel, not yet. His stubbornness stopped him from calling it quits.

The Leopards were clearly toying with them. They have been avoiding checkmate for over 10 minutes now. It was so easy for them to wrap up the game at this point, yet they insisted to stall.

As such, there was still a chance to turn this around. A flimsy, seemingly impossible chance. But, it existed! Therefore, Yuel wanted to seize it.

[I know this is all probably just a part of Cato's ploy, but...!] Yuel couldn't back off. He continued monitoring the map and issuing orders. He was deadset on blocking off all incoming attacks while searching for that elusive opportunity to mount a counterattack.

[Against opponents like that, we have to seize every opportunity they give us.] Yuel thought. [If we want to drag their Korean player to the stage, then we have to get enough wins. So, I can't just give up like this.]

The inner struggle was eating away at him, but Yuel nonetheless continued making calls for the entire team.

"Vincent and Kai, rotate to Bot. Lars, come with me to Top."

"What about the Vanishing Phantom?" Vincent inquired.

"Ah, right..." Yuel almost forgot about the elusive girl. She wasn't contributing much in her sleepy state but she was nonetheless a member of the team, another piece on the board.

So far, Nia was doing a passable job on the defense. As such, Yuel had to put her to good use as well.

[I can't believe she actually slipped my mind for a moment.] Yuel shook his head. [I need to keep this together.]

"Nia, join them in Bot."

"Ok..." Nia answered weakly.

Even after coming this far in the game, her sleepiness still refused to lift. And, the fact she hadn't executed any big plays probably contributed to that. The game was dragging on in a boring fashion, so it was only natural for sleepiness to still haunt Nia.

In a similar fashion, frustration was eating away at the rest of the team. Nobody was enjoying the current situation.

[And, looks like I'm also getting affected.] Yuel sighed.

It was common for people to forget that Nia existed, but not for Yuel. No matter the circumstances, he was always able to keep that phantom in mind.

[Am I losing concentration?] Yuel frowned. [Focus. I have to come up with a comeback while we're defending. There's no place for error here. I have to turn this around somehow...!]

"Dude, it's enough already," Lars cut in. "We've waited long enough for an opportunity, doncha think?"

"Yes, we definitely have been waiting for a long time. But, I still haven't found any good openings, so I have to keep searching."

"Ya just stressing yourself out. Gotta relax, yo."

"Relax? How can I relax!? We're in this situation because of my bad shot-calls! So, while our opponents are still toying with us, I have to find an opening-"

"Why, tho?" Lars asked plainly.

"Huh...?" Yuel paused. "What do you mean 'why'? We're here to win."

"Well, duh. Of course we gotta win. But, why are we all sitting here turtling while you alone stressing yourself out? Didn't ya say we can 'experiment' more in this game?"

"Ah, right. I did say that..." Yuel almost forgot.

This first game was supposed to involve a higher degree of experimentation, Yuel said so himself before the match.

For example, Lars was playing Pirate instead of Elf in order to test the waters against the Leopards' strongest fighters. Similarly, Kai was using Bomber to see how far she'll get with it in the competitive scene even though it was far from her best class.

These were two handicaps Yuel approved of before starting the game. But, why did he allow these suboptimal picks in the first place? Because this opening game was a good opportunity to test out new things against the region's most powerful opponents.

[No, that's just half the reason.] Yuel recalled. [There was more to it originally.]

The whole thing he said about "experimenting" was, in part, just an excuse. Even though Yuel was really interested in testing out new things, he didn't actually believe it was a good idea to sacrifice a whole game on things like that.

[Using secondary classes against strong opponents is definitely going to give us valuable data, but that alone isn't worth losing a game for.]

There was another reason why Yuel chose to "experiment" during the first game. It was a reason that was best left undisclosed despite how important it was.

[I wanted to make sure we don't burn ourselves out too early.]

Even before Yuel learned that the Leopards' captain was Cato, it was already clear that the Leopards enjoyed dragging games out. Therefore, Yuel prepared for this accordingly.

At first glance, it looked as if the Leopards just enjoyed playing with their food. However, upon closer inspection, there was more to it.

The Leopards didn't do this for fun, at least not entirely. It also doubled as a long-term strategy for wearing down the enemy team.

That much became apparent when the Leopards suddenly quickened their pace after the first game. They struck hard while the enemy was mentally exhausted, which was a very efficient strategy.

Of course, from just two scrimmages, it was hard to say for sure whether this was going to be their regular strategy. Nonetheless, to be on the safe side, Yuel decided it was best to approach the first game more "off-handedly" than usual.

[That's why I said we should use it for "experimentation". But, it looks like somewhere along the way I forgot the original purpose of this idea...]

After learning about the Korean player and that Rook was none other than Cato, it was hard for Yuel to approach the first game "off-handedly" anymore. Especially, not after he reviewed how his chess match with Cato played out.

[In the end, I guess I did want to pay him back for that game.] Yuel smiled wryly. [And, then there's Howard with his stories about the secret Korean player.]

All these factors made Yuel thirst harder for victory. So, even though he told everybody that they were free to "experiment" in this game, Yuel himself was tryharding as usual. As a result, he fell prey to Cato's aggravating strategy.

[This is not good.] Yuel realized his cheeks were a little hot. The moment he hit the brakes and took a moment to reevaluate his own state, it became clear he was overexerting. His temples drummed and his cheeks burned.

[Drat, I need to calm down.] Yuel took a deep breath. He had to relax. At this rate, he was bound to self-destrctuct before they even reach the second game.

"Yes, you're right," Yuel responded to Lars. "Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot."

"No problem, dude!" Lars gave a thumbs up. "Also, are ya okay? You look a little weird."

"Yeah, I'm fine." [Well, not really, but I'll live. I just need to take things easy for the rest of the game and get some rest during the break.]

With that decided, Yuel reevaluated the board state.

There was little to no hope of winning this game by defending, so the team had to go on the offensive. With that said, the Leopards will shoot down any half-baked offense on the spot.

[We need to go for something big. An "all-or-nothing" kind of attack.] Yuel thought. [We either win on the spot or we lose on spot. Either result will release us from this frustrating game.]

It was for the best to wrap up this game quickly. However, that didn't mean Yuel had any intention of throwing the game, not all.

Therefore, he insisted to come up with an offense that had a realistic chance of working out, even if it was a low chance. And, he found one.

"Okay," Yuel started. "You want to launch an attack, right? So, here's how we should do it…"

And so, he laid out the details of his very questionable plan.

"Yo, so we're going out with a bang!?" Lars flashed his teeth. "I like that!"

"It sounds like suicide to me," Kai commented. "But, it's still better than sitting here and defending all day, so I'm in."

"It appears that a unanimous agreement has been reached." Vincent nodded. "Very well! I shall support this decision with every fiber of my existence! In order to back up this ultimate offense, I shall transform into a wall of unbreakable defense!"

"Then, let's start," Yuel said. "They're rotating to push Top, so this is our chance."

"Alright, I'm on it." Kai purchased a Checkpoint Ward and went to clear the incoming minions in Bot. Meanwhile, Yuel and Lars purchased Teleport and rotated to defend Top.

The preparations were set. The pieces were on their way to their designated positions. And soon, the game's final offense will begin!