He Can't Beat His Opponents?

The day was finally here. In the locker, the Stars were hyping themselves before the game. The coach called for a huddle and everyone joined heads. “It’s time for us to put our training to the test. Let’s show them that our training was not all in vain. We are here to represent our team, our fans, our friends, and especially our village. Our sponsor will be in the bleachers cheering for us; our owner will be in the bleachers cheering for us; even members of Siraco’s council will be in the bleachers cheering for us. I also understand that some of us even invited family, friends, neighbors, partners to come watch us play.

Now, it may seem like bad luck for us to be paired against the region’s top contender in our first game, but I say that we are fortunate to have that happen. Why? Because if we manage to beat them, think about what that will do to our reputation as a young team. And if we get beaten—well, it won’t damage the team’s reputation beyond repair. In fact, that’s what everyone in those stands bar our supporters are expecting. But we are here to prove them wrong. We are here to win!”

“Woo-woo!” barked Jerry.

“Hell yeah! We ain’t taking any of ‘em alive!” growled Toby.

“You boys better deliver on your promise of reaching the finals,” said Lira with a smug smile.

“Of course we damn will!” replied back Toby hotly.

“I’ll be counting on you boys to conquer our dream,” said the coach.

“You can count on us, coach,” replied Kody confidently “Right, Max?” he said, turning to Daniel.

Daniel was too lost in thought to hear his friend. It took a shoulder shake from Kody to finally bring him back. “Huh? Sorry? What?” he said, looking around in a panic. His eyes met Kody’s and Daniel quickly nodded his head and said, “Yeah, of course!” Although he hadn’t really paid attention to what his friend had said.

“Alright! Go get‘em boys!” shouted the coach. Everyone replied back with a shout of victory.

The players entered the court. Starting for the Stars were as followed: Streamer – Eron Donton, Igniter – Max Power, Stormer – Kody Pepper, Thunderer – Dan Dunham, Boulder – Jack Pine. Everyone cheered as they took their positions.

The atmosphere quickly changed as soon as the Ravens stepped onto the court. Silence resounded through the bleachers. The only audible sound came from the commanding footsteps that fell on the hardwood floor as the Ravens’ players took their positions. Their starting lineup truly possessed an aura like no other. Daniel and his teammates felt themselves freeze up as if they were washed over by a deadly chill. This dangerous chill even reached the Stars’ bench. That was how dangerous the aura the Ravens’ projected was.

Daniel glanced over at the Ravens’ starting Stormer and felt a wave of dread wash over him. ‘This guy is really dangerous,’ he told himself with a grimace. If Daniel had the ability to make it as a rookie in the NBA, then this guy possessed the ability of a veteran on par with the league’s hall-of-famers. He deeply wished that this comparison he made in his head was not true.

The game began and the Boulders jumped up to gain possession of the ball. Jack lost to the Ravens’ starting Boulder, but that was to be expected. The Stars quickly shuffled to form their defense. Daniel watched each of his opponents closely and carefully observed the screens that popped up next to each of them. The Streamer possessed the same skills as Eron, though many of them were at a higher level, and possessed enough magical abilities that allowed him to play both Streamer and Stormer while on the court. The Igniter had upper level fire magic, despite his skills being on par with Daniels, and appeared to be capable of switching between Igniter and Streamer. The Thunderer was of a higher caliber than Dan in both magical repertoire and skill level. And the Boulder was obviously a veteran given the skills and magic he possessed that perfectly corresponds to his physical appearance on the court.

But the one that Daniel was wary of the most was the Ravens’ Stormer. Based on what he saw before and what he’s seeing now, this guy was a versatile player capable of occupying all of the positions on court. It was clear to Daniel that this guy was the biggest threat to them and possibly the only real threat they need to worry about.

For the first quarter, the game progressed within everyone’s expectations with the Stars proving to be a capable contender against the stronger Ravens. They managed to keep the gap between them at a modest eight points. The crowd followed the same series of steps regardless of which team had the ball: cheering when a team brings the ball up-court, gasping when a block or steal occurs, holding their breath when a player takes a shot, and screaming their lungs out when a halo is scored. The first quarter ended with the following score: Stars – 16 and Ravens – 24.

When the second quarter started, everything was pretty much the same. Now, there was only three minutes left in the quarter. Daniel had his mark switched to the Ravens’ Stormer. The Stormer had his eyes turned to his team's bench. Daniel thought he saw the Ravens’ coach give some kind of signal to the Stormer, who appeared to covertly respond back with a very slight nod. ‘What’s gonna happen now?’ Daniel wondered worriedly to himself.

Suddenly, the Stormer dribbled past Daniel in one quick movement that happened like a flash of lightning. By the time Daniel could respond back, he noticed the Stormer had already reached the arc. ‘It’s as if he’s become someone completely different than before!’ said Daniel with a grimace. The Stormer stopped behind the arc and quickly took position to shoot the ball. Daniel had finally made it behind the Stormer, but the latter was too quick for him. The Stormer casted ‘Meteor Shot’ and scored the halo.

‘No way! Did he just use—?’ worried Daniel in horror.

From the bleachers, Sven had the same horrified face as Daniel’s. “The Ravens never had a guy that could use that before,” he said to himself in disbelief. “But the Stormer was able to score a halo with it like it was nothing. This is truly troublesome.”

After that halo was made, something changed about the Ravens. The players suddenly switched marks and took to positions on the court that surprised the Stars. “What the hell is happening?” wondered Kody out loud.

The Stars' possession ended just as quickly as it started. The Ravens’ defense somehow took an upgrade with this shift and stole possession of the ball without giving the Stars even a second to breathe. Now on offense, the Ravens transformed into beasts that scared even the bravest of the Stars. The elegance with which they passed the ball and the aggressiveness with which they pressured the defense put the Stars at a very huge disadvantage. The ball found the Stormer and he took a shot before Daniel or any other Stars player had time to react accordingly.

This continued on for the rest of the quarter. The Stormer continued to become the main scorer; the Igniter initiated the passes; the Streamer picked apart the Stars’ defenses; and the Boulder and Thunderer seamlessly alternated their roles from under the halo. The gap between both teams eventually settled at twenty points.

It finally dawned on Daniel what was going on. “They’re switching positions!” he warned his teammates. Of course it was obvious that the Ravens’ players had switched roles, but the main point that Daniel was trying to get across was the following: the Ravens’ plan this entire time was to get the Stars used to a certain style of gameplay before revealing their real plan to dominate the game. By having players capable of playing multiple positions at once, more fluid gameplans are possible and more variety in gameplay can be achieved. This also makes it dangerous for the opponent in two ways: a forever shifting gameplay makes it hard to predict and accurately acclimate to them in real time, therefore making any prior preparations useless and established plans are flushed down the drain; the random nature of such a style adds more pressure and strain on the opponent’s physical, mental, and psychological faculties.

‘No wonder they’re the top team in the region,’ said Daniel to himself with a hint of admiration. It all began to make more sense to him now, considering everything that he learned about them from Sven. The Ravens, with their newly established rotation, dominated the game in no time. The gap increased to a thirty point difference and continued to increase with each possession. There was no way for the Stars to come back!

A timeout was called and the Stars could finally catch their breath. “Coach, I think I know a way for us to take back control of the game, even if only for a moment,” announced Daniel. “Of course, I don’t know if it’ll be enough to stop them, but at least we’ll be able to get some points to minimize the gap.”

The coach didn’t take long to reply at all and gave the Igniter a nod of affirmation. His trust in Daniel’s word was stronger than steel given the number of times Daniel’s idea helped them through tough situations towards victory.

“First, I was thinking of a lineup change,” proposed Daniel.

“Who are you thinking?” asked the coach.

“Me, Kody, Toby, Brock, and Dan,” answered Daniel. “I’ll take Eron’s place as Streamer. Toby will play Igniter, Kody will play Stormer, and Brock will play Thunderer. Dan will switch with Jack as Boulder.”

“What crazy idea are you spouting out now?” protested Lira. “We’ve never even practiced with that lineup before!”

“But because of that, the enemy won’t know what'll hit 'em,” said Eron. “Besides, I trust Max. He’s gotten us out of trouble countless times before. I also don’t think there’s anybody here who thinks different.”

“I say we should see this through,” agreed Jack with a disarming smile.

“Grrr, fine!” relented Lira. “Just don’t cost us this game!”

“Of course,” replied Daniel with a smile.

Once the game resumed, Daniel’s plan did little damage to the Ravens, but at least the change in pace allowed them to cause some unease for their opponents through rough but innovative plays. Daniel had some experience playing point guard before in his past life, and the Streamer position wasn’t that different. His water magic was not the most advanced and he did not possess that varied of a repertoire, but he could still perform well in the position at an acceptable level.

Meanwhile, Toby’s aggressive style of play and his utilization of heavy-handed fire spells really pressured the Ravens’ defense and allowed the Stars to gain much needed points. It wasn’t long before the gap closed to an eighteen point difference. After hitting a very deep three, Toby let out a victorious roar that shook the enemy bench.

There was now only less than a minute left in the quarter. The Ravens continued to deal heavy hits to the Stars. However, the Stars fought back and managed to contain their opponents enough to stop the gap from increasing any further than twenty points. Only seconds were left on the clock when the Ravens’ took the last possession of the quarter. Their star player brought the ball up and quickly initiated a pass to the inside. The Ravens’ Thunderer caught the ball and shook off Dan with very nimble footwork. As the Thunderer proceeded to score, Kody, who quickly came to Dan’s help, threw himself at the opponent. However, the Thunderer’s body was built like a stone pillar and he possessed the strength of ten bulls. Kody collided with the Thunderer. What happened next sent a shock throughout the entire court. And the only sound that cut through this silene, besides the buzzer, was Daniel’s voice: “Kody!”