"Don''t tell me you''re a fan of ours?" MystiCat asked, his toneced with confident certainty. Only a fan would study their ystyle so thoroughly.


    Juniper pressed her lips together and didn''t answer. "What level is your ount?"


    MystiCat smiled, trying again. "From your insights, you must be a veteran yer. How about we give you an autographed photo if we win this match?"


    Juniper finally parted her pink lips and spoke slowly, "Especially you. You always charge in headfirst. You''re the one who ends up on low health and has to recall to base the most."


    His weak spot urately pinpointed, MystiCat''s smile vanished. Who was this girl? How did she know so much?!


    "Recalling to heal takes time," Juniper continued, her voice level, "which means the team is always a man down during fights."


    She nced at the time. Less than twenty minutes until the match. "Let me give you some advice: y defensively, farm up, and it wouldn''t hurt to set an ambush from the bushes once in a while."


    MystiCat was just too impulsive. He saw an opponent and immediately wanted to brawl until their health bar was empty, but more often than not, he''d walk right into a trap.


    Afterying out her simple instructions, Juniper turned and left the hallway without waiting for a response, leaving the five members of Neverfall Navigators staring at each other in bewilderment.


    "I think the girl has a point," yer Three said. "So, are we going to adjust our strategy based on what she said?"


    "I''d advise against it," yer Two chimed in immediately. "We''ve been practicing our current strategy for so long. If we suddenly change it, what if we lose our rhythm mid-game?"


    The others remained silent, their eyes fixed on their captain, yer Five, MystiCat. He thought for a moment before making a decision. No changes. A teenage girl''s advice might not be what was best for them.


    "Alright, get ready. It''s time to go on stage," MystiCat said, pping his hands to rally the team. "Remember why we started. Don''t let our country and Demon down."


    "Let''s do this!" the others echoed.


    ...


    Down in the arena, Juniper had just returned to her seat when the event manager approached with a dessert.


    “Ms. Payne, your dessert,” he said softly. “It might be a bit rich, but we''ll be bringing you a lemonade shortly."


    "Thank you." Juniper nced at the


    Ene


    cake. It was mango, her favorite. Shanley had clearly put some thought into this. Tsk. Kissing him this morning was definitely worth it.


    "Only ten minutes remain until the start of the match!" the announcer''s voice boomed. “And now, I will introduce thepeting members of our two teams!"


    First up were the Shadow Titans, followed by the Neverfall Navigators. As the home team with a massive fanbase, their introduction was met with thunderous cheers


    “Next, we will read the rules of thepetition..."


    After the formalities, both teams took their seats. The match would be a best-of-five series. The duration would depend on the teams'' performance, but since a spot in the finals was on the line, both sides. would surely give it their all This wasn''t going to be a short match.


    The countdown finished. The game officially began.


    Neverfall Navigators stuck to their original n, and it immediately backfired. yer One nearly gave away first blood.


    Watching from her seat, Juniper pinched the bridge of her nose. That blockhead, MystiCat! She really wanted to kick some sense into him.


    Ten minutester, the Shadow Titans were on the fierce offensive, exploiting


    Neverfall Navigators'' weaknesses to secure the first kill.


    Not only that, but Neverfall Navigators lost numerous minions, and the health of the towers in all threenes had taken significant damage.