Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.19 Ch.22: 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.