Jin's Next Destination

[Splendid, splendid~] Cato nodded in approval at Jin's performance in Mid. [Though you're an unruly piece at times, I'm glad to see that you're nonetheless a loyal minion of mine, muhahaha!]

Not only did Jin reclaim lane control in an instant, but he also forced Beat to burn all her MP. Essentially, he kicked her out of the lane without even fighting her directly.

In response, Vanishing showed up to defend the lane. She entered the lane right after Beat left, which implied she had been loitering around the lane the entire time, looking for an opportunity to gank. This proved just how dangerous Jin's stunt actually was. It was a miracle that he got away with just a scratch.

[Not only did he kick Beat out, but he also chained Vanishing to Mid.] Cato smiled impishly. [Ah, how beautiful~ Step by step, we're cornering them. It must be quite suffocating, isn't it, Yuel~?]

The Leopards were already assured of winning this game, but Cato wanted to drive the point home even harder. After all, for the regional champions, it was disgraceful that they failed to secure victory by their own power. They weren't supposed to rely on Jin against anybody from this region, not even StormBlitz.

Alas, Stratus forced their hand. So, since Jin was already here, he should deliver a slow and painful death~

"Jin, do you mind rotating to Bot next? Pretty please?"

"Do I have to?"

"It'll be a huge help if you do," Cato said. "Mid-game is right around the corner, so it'll be awesome if we start it with lane advantage across the entire map."

"At this rate, we might lose Top because I'm not there."

"Don't worry, Will can handle Top while you're away. Right, Will?"

"I'm on it," William reported on his way to Top. [Sigh. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this arrangement but it should be more optimal for the team overall.]

In a way, Jin was taking Willaim's role as the Jungler by rotating between lanes. What's more, he also replaced the laners over there and even did a better job than them.

[It's almost like he's playing the entire game by himself.] Jin thought. [Cato is playing make-believe here if he thinks he's controlling Jin in any shape or form.]

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this entire game was in Jin's palm. He could single-handedly steer the game in any direction he wanted.

[So, I'm surprised he even bothered to rotate to Mid. Normally in a situation like this, he'd just keep pushing Top and try to win ASAP.]

Perhaps the fact this was an official game made Jin play more cautiously than usual. There was that whole talk about him being scouted to the pro league if he could lead the team to victory at the nationals, so maybe that's why he was a tad more cooperative than usual.

Either that or even Jin started recognizing Startus as a threat.

[Nah, I doubt it.] William shrugged. [He barely recognizes anybody's potential in our team, so I doubt he cares about anybody from Stratus. Though, he almost got killed once in this game.]

Vanishing's ballsy gank in Top almost became Jin's undoing. If that girl just played a little better, she should've been able to score a kill.

[I would've gotten that kill in her shoes.] William asserted. [Then again, I doubt I would've been willing to go for such a risky gank in the first place.]

That gank was crazy and reckless by any measure. It was the very definition of insanity. But, perhaps that's the kind of extreme measures needed to topple the cocky Korean player.

[If they're willing to play so wildly, then maybe they'll achieve something in Bot.] William thought. [At least, it'll be mildly interesting to see Gunz go up against Jin, though I'm not expecting much.]

Gunz was mechanically skilled and he had experience, but that's all there was to it. In the end, he was roughly around William's level. And as frustrating as it was to admit, William didn't quite measure up to Jin, at least not yet.

Either way, Gunz was Stratus' strongest fighter, therefore he had the highest chance of giving Jin some trouble. And, this also happened to be Cato's line of reasoning as well.

"Their Support is low on MP," Cato said. "So, I'm sure he'll recall as soon as we do. That'll leave Gunz alone in the lane."

"And?" Jin tilted his head. "So what?" 

"It means it'll be a 1v1 between the two of you, the long-awaited showdown!" 

"Showdown? Who waited for it?"

"My, are you not interested in testing your mettle against Gunz, Stratus' finest warrior?" 

"Not really," Jin said. "He didn't leave much impression."

"My, you're such a tough customer." Cato smiled wryly. "Anyway, defeating Gunz should be a huge psychological blow to the enemy, don't you think?"

"Hmm. True," Jin agreed. This argument made the proposal more attractive. [If I crush Gunz, then maybe it'll restore the Leopards' reputation at least a little. I'm sure that for some people my evaluation is partially tied to this team's reputation, so I can't let the team have a bad name.]

Back in Korea, Jin participated in a handful of scrims in which his evaluation suffered due to his teammates' shabby performance. The judges couldn't see Jin's true worth because of the team's terrible defeat.

So surely, some of the scouts over here had the same mindset. Therefore, destroying Gunz should be beneficial both for the team and for Jin himself.

"Fine. I'll rotate," Jin said.

"Thank you kindly." 

And so, Jin left Mid and headed to Bot next. Meanwhile, William cleaned up the minions in Top, ensuring that the lane control over there would persist without any problems.

[Good.] Jin nodded in satisfaction. [It'll reflect poorly on me if something happens in Top while I'm away, even though leaving the lane wasn't even my idea.]

With that worry out of the way, Jin continued his rotation to Bot. At around the same time, the Bot duo of Cato and Matthew began recalling early before Jin even arrived in the lane. This was a good call by Cato for once. This move convinced the enemy Support to recall early as well.

By the time Jin arrived in Bot, only Gunz remained there. It was a pure 1v1, just as Cato promised.

[The stage is set.] Jin thought. [I'll destroy this guy here and now.]

It was a widespread belief that Gunz's mechanical skill was cut above the rest in Stratus and in the region as a whole. Essentially, he was Stratus' ace and supposedly the "2nd strongest" middle schooler in the region. Therefore, crushing this guy will show everybody how far above the competition Jin was.

[Nothing personal Gunz, but I have to trample all over you to boost my reputation.] Jin readied his weapon as the next minion wave was about to arrive. Little did he know that the enemy also considered this 1v1 a great opportunity, as absurd as that sounded.

"So, he really rotated." Yuel nodded. "I leave this one to you, Lars."

"No problem, yo!" Lars grinned. "Hehe! Real excited to fight this Chinese pro!" 

"He's Korean."

"Oh, right, that. Welp, all them Asain players are real pros, so it's all the same, right?" 

"I have the feeling he'd get mad at you if you told him that in person."

"Heh, yeah, maybe." Lars smiled wryly. "So yeah, Korean it is. Actually, now that I think about it, Korea has the better pros, right?" 

"Both Korea and China are at the top of the competition right now," Yuel reminded. "But, as far as the world championship goes, Korea has a slight edge."

"Yeah, I remember watching them win some cool stuff like that last year. Dudes mean some serious business, yo!" 

"Yes, so be careful," Yuel warned. "Apprentece might not be a pro, but he nonetheless practiced in a Korean environment. I remember reading how the esports scene over there is hardcore. Some of their training regimes are borderline insanity."

"Wait, they practice even more than the two of us!?" 

"I can't say for sure," Yuel said. "But it's probably safe to imagine that most people over there practice about as much as we do. Over here, people call us tryhards for training so much, but in Korea, that's probably the norm." 

"Dang, for real? Sounds like a pretty cool place, yo!"

"I'm sure many would disagree with that sentiment," Yuel pointed out. "But I agree, it's a great environment for nurturing pro players." 

Apprentece wasn't a pro yet but his skill was a byproduct of that harsh Korean environment. Thus far, he was living up to the reputation.

[Still, we have to take on him if we want any chance of winning.] Yuel thought. [The only one among us who has any chance of competing against this powerhouse alone is Lars.]

And so, Yuel recalled from the lane despite being aware that Apprentece might show up over there soon. There was a lot of precious data to be gained from watching how Lars fares against Apprentece in a 1v1. The outcome of this fight will be an important reference for deciding how to deal with Apprentece in the future.

It was the ultimate final showdown in terms of duels. If Winner was the "final boss", then Apprentece was the "secret final boss". This was the last wall Lars had to overcome in order to crown himself as the strongest fighter in the region.

Unfortunately, even if Lars wins here, the game as a whole was probably unsalvageable at this point. However, that didn't bother Yuel too much at this point.

[This is a practice match, first and firstmost.] Yuel reminded himself. [Winning is important, but learning and improving are even more important. So, go get him, Lars! Show that we have the power to fight against this Korean representative.]

Did Lars have any chance of measuring up to the Korean prodigy? Or, was he fated to fall short like everybody else before him? Find out next time on Korean Pro Z!