457 Exercising Caution Against AbsoluteChallenger

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm away," William warned his younger brother on his way out of the lane. "I know you probably want to challenge that DK, but don't."

"Of course not, bro~" Ronald promised but his eyes glinted like those of a hungry beast. He clearly wanted to challenge the powerful opponent in front of him.

[That quirk of his is such a double-edged sword.] William sighed.

On one hand, the more eager Ronald was to fight, the greater his power grew. On the other hand, that very same eagerness sometimes pushed him toward committing terrible mistakes.

[Well, I'll just have to trust him to play it safe.] William shrugged. [He got burned multiple times in the previous game, so I'm sure that taught him a lesson or two. Probably.]

William departed from the lane with that doubt still at the back of his mind. Now, will his brother live up to his trust...?

[Okay, bro is out!] Ronald grinned. [Time to tackle this DK!]

This was an awesome opportunity to have some fun, so there was no way in hell that Ronald would miss it! Memer himself wasn't that strong of a player, but his power grew tenfold with DK. So finally, a worthy opponent! Their battle will be legendary!

[At least, that's what I'd LIKE to do.] Ronald stopped himself. [I probably gotta keep these thoughts to myself for now. These guys proved they're pretty decent, so that changes everything.]

Until the previous game happened, Ronald saw Stratus as a weakling team that he could stomp with his eyes closed. This was in line with how the previous scrims played out, where all opponents were F-tier at best.

It seemed like all these boring experiences made Ronald develop a bad habit. He stopped registering his opponents as a real threat and started messing around to entertain himself. That occasionally caused him to overextend and mess up, but frankly, he didn't care.

[I mean, those teams were just BAD. I don't even remember their names.] Ronald shook his head. [But, Stratus seems to be different. These bruhs know what's up, so I gotta respect them. At least a little. A tiny bit.]

And so, Ronald stayed his hand and didn't challenge that juicy DK. As much as he wanted to duke it out with a Dark Knight, it was easy to see how risky and unnecessary it was.

[I better focus on destroying my actual lane opponent once he returns.][It should be happening during this next wave, right? Let's wait.]

Like a predator lying in wait for easy prey, Ronald stayed at the back and monitored the incoming minion wave. As expected, InformationBlackhole was leading that gang. Respawn timers were super short in the early-game, so bruh was already back in commission.

"I have arrived," Vincent announced. "You're relieved of your duty, Meme Jedi. Thank you very much for your support."

"No problem, man." Luke headed to the exit. "It's partially my fault you ended up like that, so no biggie."

"I do not believe any of the blame lies with you, but I suppose we shall discuss this in further detail during the inevitable match review."

"Oh yeah, that shit. Fun…" Luke shuddered at the mere mention of it. The previous scrim review was so long and exhausting, and that was for a match that they convincingly WON. So, how bad will this scrim's review be? Oh boy…

Luke shook his head super hard to dispel the depressing thoughts. Instead of thinking about that dystopian future, he focused on heading deeper into the jungle.

Meanwhile, Vincent stayed behind to confront AbsoluteChallenger. This was the first time they directly faced each in a 1v1.

"Vincent," Yuel called out. "You remember what kind of player Challenger is when he plays Top, right?"

"But of course I remember!" Vincent nodded. "The information is engraved into my memory! To summarize: he is an aggressive beast, one that constantly seeks opportunities to assault his foes."

"Right. So, make sure to exercise caution."

"That I will. Besides, I'm lagging behind my foe by almost two levels now. I know my place."

Vincent was like a harmless sheep while his opponent was a vicious wolf. It wasn't a contest at all.

Any form of frontal confrontation would lead to Vincent's immediate demise, so he had to avoid that at all costs. Therefore, when the enemy minions arrived, Vincent refrained from using Shield Bash.

The classic farming routine for Knight was to push the enemy frontline toward the backline with Shield Bash, then slice through both the swordsmen and the bowmen with one Blade Swing. But, as effective as the method was, it harbored some risks.

[Against an opponent of this caliber, I simply cannot throw away my escape tool like this.] Vincent thought[. Shield Bash is my only way out in case something goes awry, so I must keep it safe for a rainy day.]

And so, Vincent had to rely on his basic attacks for farming this wave. He slashed away at the enemy frontline while standing on the opposite side of his opponent. The minions practically formed a wall between the two of them, a wall that Challenger would have to wiggle his way through in order to reach Vincent.

Naturally, the opponent understood the situation as well.

[So, that's how you gonna play.] Ronald nodded. [It's lame but understandable. You're lagging behind and you don't wanna mess with a scary guy like me. Yep, makes sense.]

With that said, this positioning was a little annoying. It'd be difficult to sneak past all these swordsmen to get to Blackhole. That guy barricaded himself pretty well.

[But, he gonna pay dearly for playing like that, doesn't he realize that? Well, I guess I hafta teach him then.]

Ronald approached the minion wave, but not with the intention to cut through it. Instead, he headed deeper into the enemy formation, toward the bowmen. These squishy archers were the top priority targets, this was the 101 of laning knowledge.

[Bruh, if you don't have the balls to extend a little and target my bowmen too, then this gonna be a very one-sided battle.] On that note, Ronald started slicing and dicing the bowmen. Each of his slashes was faster than the previous, soon turning into a lightning-fast flurry!

His opponent clearly saw this turn of events. So, how was the guy going to respond?

[Such unwavering confidence.] Vincent nodded with respect. [As expected from one of the Absolute Duo! But, I suspect you did not think this one through, good sir.]

Targeting the bowmen was the classic approach but it also freed the entire space ahead of Vincent. He no longer had to be wary of incoming attacks, so he was free to proceed toward the enemy bowmen as well. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

What's even better, Vincent was now free to unleash his Shield Bash + Blade Swing combo with minimal risks. His opponent was positioned behind him, so going forward to create some distance was actually safer for now.

[I'm aware that I've just said that it's dangerous to carelessly waste away the Shield Bash, but the reality is that I must catch up to this Berserker ASAP.] Vincent corrected the previous comments he made about the situation, to make sure that the viewers at home were up to date.

Vincent died at the start of the game, so he had some catching up to do here. The gap in exp and gold wasn't going to magically disappear by itself. If anything, there was a chance that Challenger will only further expand the gap if Vincent stays too passive.

[I must fight back whenever there's a chance.] Vincent concluded. [I cannot allow myself to be outdone in the farming department so easily. Knight stands at the top of the meta for a reason. This heroic class shall not yield to a barbarian villain like a Berserker!]

With Challenger temporarily out of the picture, this was a golden opportunity to catch up. It was unlikely that the Leopards would give Vincent many sweet opportunities like this, so he had to grab whatever was in front of him!

And so, he raised his shield and charged forth! WHAM! He rammed into the swordsmen and pushed them to the back, right next to their long-ranged peers.

Next, Blade Swing. WHISH! He unleashed a dark slash that sliced through the entire enemy wave! The demonic overlord skin he was wearing made his attacks look as terrifying as that of a Dark Knight!

[I just wish the damage was at least half as good as a Dark Knight's.] Vincent lamented.

Unlike Luke's amazing Dark Blast which eliminated the previous minion wave in one fell swoop, Vincent's 2-hit combo only shaved off about 50% HP from the swordsmen and 30% from the bowmen. It was a far cry from an instant kill move.

[But, it is what is.] Vincent raised his blade to follow up with further attacks. [As long as my nemesis stays on the other side of the lane, I'll have more than enough time to- NANI!?]

Two axes.

Raised over his head.

AND ABOUT TO CRASH ON HIM!!!

[I-I must roll!] Vincent's body reacted faster than his dazed brain. He pressed Shift in order to roll to… which side? What was the best direction to roll in??? He had no idea. Anything and everything about the situation caught him off-guard!

His brain short-circuited while trying to process this unexpected situation, so his instincts had to take over instead. And, what did they whisper to him? ["Roll as far as humanly possible from this dangerous barbarian!"]

And so, Vincent turned away from the Berserker in a haste and rolled forth! But, it was futile resistance. Against a Barbarian Slam that was charged to its absolute limit, such a late Dodge Roll was insufficient.

BAM! The shockwave caught up to Vincent and stunned him!

"Yabai!" Vincent exclaimed. "How could this happen!?"

Just a few moments ago, Vincent agreed with Yuel about the importance of being cautious against the aggressive beast that was Challenger. And yet, Vincent still found himself in this unfortunate situation somehow.

[I have failed you, Chessmaster! No, I have failed ALL of you!] Vincent apologized to the entire team. [Alas, there is no time for regrets. I must form an evacuation plan at once! But, can I come up with something good by myself?]

"O great Chessmaster, grant me your wisdom! I'm in quite the pickle over here!"

"How did you manage to…" Yuel sighed. It seemed like his warning fell on deaf ears. [I didn't expect such carelessness from Vincent. Did the Berserker pull some trick on him? Anyway, as for his current predicament…]

It was a difficult position. Vincent was stunned by the fully-charged Barbarian Slam, so he was now at the total mercy of the Berserker's lightning-fast strikes. WHISH! WHISH! WHISHWHISH! Vincent couldn't do anything but watch his HP plummet.

But of course, the enemy's aggressive move didn't come without a cost. Attacking Vincent meant incurring the wrath of his minions.

The loyal soldiers shifted their focus onto Challenger and assaulted the guy. But, he didn't seem to care in the slightest. It seemed like he believed that this was a 100% favorable exchange for him. But, was that really the case?

For now, Vincent couldn't retaliate, so Challenger definitely had the upper hand. But, soon enough, the stun will expire. What will be Vincent's best move from that position?

[He's going to lose a good chunk of HP but he won't be anywhere close to dying.] Yuel ran the calculations in a split second. He had studied countless positions like this, so it was easy enough to give a rough estimation of the damage.

"Once your stun ends, use your taunt on him and retreat," Yuel advised. "Since he's already being so aggressive, make him overextend some more."

"Indeed, that does sound like a fine suggestion!" Vincent nodded strongly.

Shortly, the stun effect wore off and Vincent could move once more! His immediate instinct was to turn around and make a break for it, but Chessmaster bestowed a superior strategy upon him.

[Your arrogance shall cost you dearly, o Challenger!] Vincent activated Honorable Duel. Normally, the Knight would yell "Let us fight honorably!" but Vincent's skin had a slightly different flavor.

"Let us conclude this mortal battle in the pits of hell!" A demonic roar resounded across the area. There was no hint of honor or valor in that shout. It was pure demonic terror.

This voice pack was part of the "Demonic Knight" skin. Vincent bought it during the oldie "The Thousand-Year War of Angels and Demons" event.

Clearly, the investment was well worth it! With this demonic armor and intimidating voice, Vincent instilled absolute terror in his foes! They shall tremble at the mere sound of Honorable Duel being cast!

Or at least, that's how it played out in Vincent's head. In reality, things played out a little differently...