The "Esmeralda Strat"

They played two more games but Fiona came on top every single time. Cato was never at her level in the first place, but his performance was even duller than usual today. It seemed that being the captain of the Leopards truly took its toll on him.

Two hours flew before anybody noticed. It was time to wrap up the chess games.

"Well then..." Cato pushed himself off the sofa, a simple action that felt like it required too much effort at the moment. His body felt like lead, heavy and stiff.

[She completely mopped me.] Cato admitted, if only to himself. [Looks like I've really lost my touch. I better resume my regular practice, or else she's going to run all over me every time.]

"If you are not too tired," Fiona started. "May I trouble you with a few duels in Classmancers?"

"Oh, that again?" Cato smiled impishly. "Last time, things didn't go that well for you~"

"As they say, failure is the best teacher. It is important for me to test my mettle against a competitive player from our scene, especially against somebody who plays for the strongest team in the region. I believe it is not too much to ask, considering I always honor your match requests."

"That's right!" Karen tuned in. "Sis always crams your chess games into her packed schedule, so you got no right to refuse here."

"My, such pressure." Cato smiled wryly. "It's not like I had any intention of refusing in the first place. With that said, I do need a little break. My brain is a little fried at the moment, haha."

"Very well." Fiona nodded. "Do you want coffee, perhaps?"

"Coffee, huh. Let's see..." Cato counted how many hours have passed since the last time he ingested caffeine. Though it was a very helpful substance, it wasn't good to overdose on it.

[I last drank coffee before the club meeting, so at least three hours ago.] Cato nodded to himself. "Yeah, a good time for coffee."

"Very well." Fiona called a maid and requested coffee for Cato and Karen, as well as tea for herself.

Yes, she indeed called a maid. This huge mansion wasn't just for show. It even had maids and butlers working here, as well as private guards and whatnot. Truly, it was like a mansion straight out of a movie.

[I wish I also had somebody serving me everything like that.] Cato grumped. [Maybe one day, once I become the overlord of the world, I'll have such privilege... Yeah, right.]

The trio consumed their drinks of choice while engaging in chit-chat. Half an hour later, break time was over.

"Shall we begin?" Fiona asked as they reached the computers room.

"Whenever you're ready to take these Ls." Cato smiled at her.

"Hah, look at this guy going." Karen crossed her arms. "Just so you know, sis has been practicing reaaaaal hard. She's WAY better than you now!"

"We'll see about that."

"Also hey, lemme play too!" Karen requested with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Let's do a 1v1v1."

"Hell no." Cato shot that idea on the spot. "You're going to team up with your sister against me."

"Who? Me? Naaaaah." Karen innocently rolled her eyes.

"You were totally planning that, huh." Cato gave her a look.

"Do not worry, Karen," Fiona reassured. "It has been a couple of months since we last sparred. I am no longer at the level I was back then."

"Yeah, that's true, sis." Karen nodded. "You're a total pro now! Cato boy, you better watch your ass here~"

"Karen, language."

"Whoopsie, hehe~"

The entire exchange ended with them smiling meaningfully at each other. It seemed they both agreed that Fiona improved substantially since the last time she faced Cato in a duel.

[I destroyed her quite decisively last time.] Cato thought. [It was crushing enough to discourage her from asking for any further spars for a while. So, she must be rather confident about her progress.]

How much could a player improve in just a couple of months? When it came to Fiona Landberht, any amount would be believable.

Not to mention, she was practically a newbie the last time they played. Talented new players usually improved at an amazing rate, so there was that.

"Alright, let's see what you got." Cato scanned the game's QR code with his phone, granting him an easy login with his account.

"As a fellow Jungler," Fiona said. "I will be thankful if you pick a Jungler class. No need to hold back against me."

"Well, if you're sure." Cato went for Vampire, one of his favorites. It was the ideal class for testing the waters because it had tools to deal with practically any situation. No matter what Fiona brings to the table, Cato was confident he'll be able to get out of any trouble.

[Besides, she deserves to be bullied a little~] Cato smirked. [I can't quite get my revenge on her in chess, so Mancers will have to suffice.]

The duel began. Fiona picked Lionfolk, a class she often went for against Cato. It must've been one of her favorites.

[Quite fitting for this lioness, if you ask me.] Cato nodded to himself. [But, right now, she's just a cub.]

And so, the laning phase began. However, for the most part, their exchanges were minimal.

They threw a few hits at each other, but overall they focused on clearing minions as efficiently as possible. They respected each other's tools and didn't overextend.

[Her farming got cleaner.] Cato thought. [She has pretty much mastered last-hitting. I remember she missed on a lot of farm the last time we played, but now she gets all last-hits even when I try to distract her.]

The last time they played, things went incredibly smoothly for Cato. He simply triumphed over Fiona in the laning phase, getting far ahead in farm thanks to his trained last-hitting skills. From there, it was simply a question of getting ahead in level and gold, then crushing Fiona via raw stat advantage.

But, not this time. Fiona has clearly done her homework. She realized her farming was lacking, so she made sure to remedy that problem.

[She's also ignoring my harassment more now.] Cato frowned.

As Vampire, his basic attacks had a longer reach. So, he neutrally took advantage of that to harass his lane opponent as much as possible. That was a big part of what made Vampire fun in 1v1~

Normally, such harassment was very distracting for the enemy. It frustrated them, making them want to retaliate against the offender, or at least change something, ANYTHING, about that annoying situation. And, more often than not, that pushed them toward committing a bunch of mistakes~

Even Fiona wasn't immune to this at first, for there was a sore loser hiding underneath her stone-cold expression. No matter how "rationally" she tried to deal with Cato's harassment, there was always a breaking point, even for her. And, beyond that breaking point was where Cato usually struck his opponents down~

[But, looks like we got a real fight on our hands this time.] Cato concluded.

There were no signs of Fiona caving in. She played calmly while Cato's harassment struck her time and again. Not only did the harassment fail to tempt her into mounting a counterattack, but she even dodged many of Cato's attacks. There was no sign of her being triggered by this routine.

[Good, good.] Cato nodded. [It's not fun when a toy breaks too easily~ Struggle with all your strength, struggle until the very end. I want to have fun breaking you apart~]

Fiona was a mentally strong girl, or at least that's what her persona convinced everybody of. In chess, she never showed any signs of caving under pressure, save for a few very rare occasions. And, the same mental strength extended to Classmancers as well.

[That's how it should be.] Cato smiled in delight. [It won't be fun breaking her apart unless she comes across as strong as she does in chess.]

Eventually, the duel transitioned into mid-game, with both sides finishing half of their builds.

[My, that's quite the aggressive game plan you got there.] Cato smiled as he examined Fiona's build. It concentrated mostly on power, leaving little room for protections.

[Is she building like that because I play Vampire?]

Vampire was a sneaky class whose entire kit was great for getting out of trouble. As such, it was difficult to lock a Vampire in place and pummel him to death.

Therefore, the more DPS Fiona had, the easier it'd be for her to deliver a lot of damage on Cato before he uses any of his escape tools. At least, that's probably what she was thinking.

[Well, she isn't exactly wrong.] Cato thought. [There is some merit to the way she's building her Lion. Question is, does she have enough skill to see that aggressive game plan through?]

Their inevitable clash was drawing nearer and nearer. No matter how peaceful they were trying to act on lane, it was inevitable for them to start dueling at some point. After all, the name of this game mode was none other than "Duel".

Not to mention, lane control was never born out of thin air. They had to establish it with their own two hands.

[But, you'll be the one coming at me.] Cato smirked. [If you don't, I'll suck out your blood little by little, one drop at a time. I'm a very patient vampire~]

Cato advanced toward the middle of the lane, fired a few bats at Fiona, and then immediately backed away. This was the legendary "Esmeralda Strat". At least, that's how Cato and Matthew jokingly called this ultimate form of harassment, which was passed to them by their former mentor.

["Just tickle them a little, then back away."] That's how the woman described this harassment strategy. That was certainly an interesting way to phrase it, but it made perfect sense for somebody with a charmingly sadistic personality like hers. That woman must've treated all her opponents as cute little animals to be tamed.

[Unfortunately, I have to tame a whole lioness here.] Cato smiled wryly. [Then again, I find that extra interesting in its own way.]

The "Esmeralda Strat" was very effective. By repeatedly going in and out, Cato reduced Fiona's HP all the way down to 70% She was starting to approach dangerous HP levels, especially for somebody who built as few protections as she did.

[Maybe I should go on the offensive now?] Cato wondered for a moment, then perished the thought.

There was no need for any drastic measures quite yet. As long as he keeps harassing Fiona like this, he'll win the fight in the long run. So, there was no reason to take any unnecessary risks here.

Even against a player who was clearly below his level, Cato preferred to win slowly but surely. After all, it'll be far too embarrassing for him to lose this fight due to rashness.

And so, the "Esmeralda Strat" continued. Poke, retreat, poke, retreat. A simple, effective tactic.

[I'm still waiting for her to properly respond. Will she get frustrated enough to open an attack soon?]

Most opponents Cato faced in Duel fell for these types of traps. This poking tactic was great for pushing people's buttons~

Therefore, at some point, the opponents threw caution to the wind and chose to aggress on Cato. But, little did they know Cato especially trained himself to counter such reckless aggression.

For the better or the worse, Fiona didn't fall for that trap. At least, not so far.

[Judging by the way she's playing now, she'll probably only aggress if she gains sufficient advantage. Otherwise, she'll keep playing it safe.]

And indeed, once Fiona's HP dropped to 40%, she retreated from the battlefield and recalled. Cato could try pursuing her with his ult, but why risk it? It was easier to just keep pushing the lane while the enemy was absent.

[I'll just slowly strangle you to death.] Cato found himself snickering at the thought. [I wonder, what kind of expression is she wearing right now? Is that beautiful stoic face of hers filled with any agony yet~?]

The mere idea that his tactics were causing distress to Ms. Perfect filled him with great joy. It was sweet, sweet revenge for all these years.

Until now, there was not a single thing in which Cato surpassed Fiona. The queen flawlessly conquered any field she tried her hand in. Even in academics, her scores were always superior to Cato's.

But, Classmancers was an exception to that rule. Cato started playing it long before Fiona did, and the girl wasn't even an avid gamer in the first place. As such, it was only natural for Cato to be superior here.

Finally, there was one thing in which he surpassed Fiona! At long last, after all these years of losing to the queen in everything, Cato will have his vengeance!