The Burden of the Selfish Support

"I'm not gonna lose this race...!" Ronald unleashed Icicle Rain on the enemy wave. Thanks to the Attack Power he built early on, the icicles dealt sizable damage that was unexpected for a Support.

On top of that, the attack perfectly hit the entire enemy wave. The AoE was just barely big enough to cover all the minions at once, so it had to be placed carefully. But of course, for Ronald, things like that were ezpz.

"Yes! Clean hit!" Ronald grinned in satisfaction and threw a glance at his brother. He was like an excited puppy expecting to be petted.

"Hmph. You ought to be able to do this much to play on the Leopards."

"Haha. Yep, I sure gotta be able to, and I'm able to! That clearly makes me the 2nd best player on the team!"

"Are you trying to ruffle people's feathers here?"

"Nah, I'm just saying, bro. Me and you are the strongest bros on this team. So, we totally gonna wreck Gunz. Ezpz!"

[Is he trying to reassure me?] William smiled thinly. "Well, at least I know I can defeat Gunz. As for you, that remains to be seen."

"Whoa, the shade. Let's switch chairs and I'mma show you how I rek that guy real quick."

"No."

"Geh. Formation C when???"

"What's that, again?" William asked.

"It's like formation B but we swap roles! We've been playing like that every now and then, remember?"

"Oh yes, in Ranked. Competitive games are a whole different story."

"But, formation C totally gonna work here too, I'm sure!"

"You're 'sure' about many things and many of them turn out to be wrong."

"No, no. This time I'm like SUPER sure, bro. Let's just switch chairs for a moment and I'mma show you how I destroy Gunz."

"No."

"Dang, so unfair!" Ronald waved an angry fist.

Seriously, why did they have to play formation B today, of all things? It was the formation in which Ronald didn't get to exert his power at all.

Building power on a Support was cool and all, but it didn't compare to playing Top or Carry. Ronald could only entertain himself during the early-game with this setup, only until everybody's damage scaling left him in the dust; such was the fate of a Support.

"For the protocol," Cato interjected. "Formation C doesn't exist."

"Lies and deceit!" Ronald insisted. "It's like formation B, but with bro and I swapping roles."

"I know what you're talking about. I'm just saying it's not real."

"What do you mean 'not real'? Are you saying I dreamed that shit? What about all the times we played it during club practice?"

"What about them? Every single time, you had to beg Will nonstop to let you play Carry until he submitted," Cato said. "It was just a headache for everybody, really."

"Hey, it still means the formation is totally real, though!" Ronald didn't even bother denying any of the accusations.

Sure, for now, "formation C" was just a term Ronald coined himself. But, one day, he shall turn it into reality!

Like, real talk. There was no reason why bro should waste his precious time and energy dealing with some scrubs. Ronald was more than enough for the job.

[Like, playing Carry is where I'm at my strongest!] Ronald proclaimed. [If I play Carry, I can destroy Gunz real quick. And, since everybody knows that bro is better than me, then me beating Gunz would count as bro beating Gunz! Ezpz math.]

Alas, nobody was going to give Ronald this chance. Bro insisted to resolve things with his own two hands.

[Well, that's okay too.] Ronald shrugged. [Bro gonna wreck Gunz this game, I feel it. Then, he'll be the 2nd strongest! And, I'mma become the 3rd strongest real soon, too. After that, we can aim for that juicy No. 1 spot!]

Even Ronald had to admit that taking the 1st spot on that list was probably a pipe dream for now. Like, real talk, Jin was just a beast. Bruh was a real pro in every possible facet of the game.

But, that didn't mean the guy was completely unbeatable. With enough time and determination, anything was achievable!

"You're slipping into dreamland again," William criticized. "Focus on the battle in front of you first."

"Yeah, of course. I'm like 500% concentrated on it, bro!"

"Well, looks like it's not enough, seeing as you've just missed that bowman over there."

"Oh, whoopsie." Ronald's Icicle Rain failed to cover the area perfectly.

One of the bowmen remained just slightly outside the AoE, completely avoiding the damage. The spell's AoE was just barely big enough to hit the entire wave at once, so even the smallest lapse in concentration was fatal.

"No problem!" Ronald proclaimed. "Next time, I gonna hit them all for sure! 500%!"

"Yes, you will. Because if you don't, we're going to lose the lane and it's going to be your fault."

"Haha, no pressure at all!"

William's criticism was harsh but well-deserved in this situation.

Normally, it wasn't the end of the world when the Support failed to hit one minion because the damage wasn't going to be anything to write home about anyway. But, Ronald's supporting was different.

The brat intentionally built power in order to dish out damage early on. It was a questionable investment but it had a chance of paying off. In order for that to happen, Ronald had to regularly dish out damage and help William win the farming race.

"Keep in mind," William said. "I'm only approving of your Selfish Support build right now because you've proven it to be at least somewhat useful. But, if I ever deem it a hindrance…"

"Don't worry, bro!" Ronald reassured. "I'mma show them that Selfish Support is actually the real meta!"

"I doubt you will. But, if you achieve even half of that, then it's good enough."

As irregular as this arrangement was, Ronald did practically function like another damage-dealer on lane during the early-game. This relieved some pressure from William, which wasn't too bad.

With Ronald's damage helping to contest the lane early, it became easier to pick a late-game class like Seraph and still have an easy time in the lane in the early-game. So, even though Selfish Support was suboptimal as far as meta was concerned, it nonetheless offered a nice quality of life improvement for William.

However, this entire premise was riding on Ronald's ability to keep delivering that early-game damage. He had to play almost optimally to make any of this count.

As such, it was absolutely mandatory for him to hit all the minions with his Icicle Rain. It was a bare minimum requirement for his power build to be considered viable.

[We're going to pay for this one mess-up.] William reasoned, and he was correct. The enemy didn't miss this opportunity to push harder than usual.

Gunz shot down all three bowmen while Chessmaster blasted the frontline with Splash. They went harder than unusual, clearly planning to aggress this round.

"Retreat a little," William ordered. "They might be coming after you."

"Yep, I see they're dialing up the aggression in this round."

"It's because you failed to hit that bowman," William explained. "They know they'll win this round, so they feel confident about going all out."

"Dang, you really think it's all because I missed that one bruh?"

"Yes. They're the kind of players who don't miss opportunities like this."

Perhaps Gunz wasn't smart enough to notice an opening like this, but Chessmaster definitely saw it. The previous game proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chessmaster was the type of tactician who excelled at taking advantage of the enemy's weaknesses.

[Even though Gunz is my main target, it's impossible to ignore Chess.] William thought.

Gunz was a raw "power player" who overwhelmed his opponents through sheer technical play, Meanwhile, Chessmaster was the brains, the one who created the perfect opportunities for Gunz to shine on the battlefield.

As such, it was nearly impossible to simply "defeat Gunz". After all, almost at all times, Chessmaster stood behind his partner and advised the guy about the next best move.

"Every time we make a mistake, Chess is going to capitalize on it," William explained. "That's the mentality we should be playing with. So, every time you miss a shot, expect a penalty."

"Dang, that's a harsh condition. So basically, you're saying I gotta play this game with a perfect score, or else we gonna fail."

"Yes, that's how you should think of it," William said. [Well, I don't think things are THAT bad, but it's always better to exaggerate when it comes to Ron. If I say anything wishy-washy, then it's going to go in one ear and out of the other.]

The more extreme and exaggerated things sounded, the more motivated Ronald was to do his best. And, for better or worse, Ronald's performance strongly depended on his mental state. At his highest he was impressive, but at his lowest, he messed up left and right.

[Just like he did during game start.] William thought. [We should've scared him more before the game started, to make sure he won't pull that shit. I'll remember that for the next game.]

As expected, Gunz and Chessmaster took advantage of Ronald's small misstep and pushed forth.

No, this wasn't just a push. Those two were clearly aiming to inflict damage, if not outright score a kill. And, their target was none other than Ronald, who was slow to retreat...