Peek-A-Boo Bait

[Dang it, not again!] Lars pouted. Another one of his laser beams failed to reach Trever. His timing should've spot-on, but Trever still got outta range in the last microsecond. What a mad lad.

"Phew, close!" Trever exhaled in relief. That laser beam nearly grazed him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Aron asked. "Your stunt looks needlessly risky."

"Well, tell me, genius, how else you suggest I drag that Turret over here? That kid joined the dark side, I'm telling ya. He became one of these cheap turtling Elf players. Absolutely disgusting."

"So, your idea is to play a risky peek-a-boo against him?"

"Don't worry, I got this!" Trever claimed. "I've used this strat on a bunch of cheap Elves. It always gets to them eventually. These turtling bastards are always thirsty for getting some hits in. They can't resist it when you tempt them over and over like this."

"To me, it looks like you're asking to be shot," Aron frowned.

"Don't worry, he won't hit. Trust me, I'm a pro Elf-slayer."

"If you say so," Aron wasn't convinced in the slightest but he went along with it for now. Trever might be an idiot, but he usually knew what he was doing when it came to Classmancers, especially to 1v1s. It was safe to leave this one to him. Probably.

Meanwhile, Aron continued his rotation toward Bot. Hopefully, by the time he gets there, he'll have a juicy target to gank.

[Dang, dude is good.] Lars clicked his tongue. While he was whiffing shots left and right, Trever has been sneaking shots on Lars's minions. By now, half of Lars's army has vanished without a trace, while Trever's remained almost entirely healthy. This was going south fast.

[Okay, looks like we're playing that kind of game.] Lars smirked. This was a challenge and Lars gonna accept it without batting an eye. He gonna find a way to land shots on this professionally trained Elf-killer!

[Okay, just as he gets closer, I also step in and then...!] ZAP! Lars fired a laser beam. This one gotta reach for sure!

... but, it whiffed. The laser beam vanished into thin air right before grazing Trever. So close, yet so far. Gah!!!

[Getting hotter.] Trever smiled nervously. A drop of sweat formed on his forehead after seeing that shot. It was too close to comfort. Trever was so surprised he forgot to take advantage of Lar's whiff and didn't shoot any minions this time.

Lars was catching on. But of course, leave it to Lars to figure a counter in the heat of battle. This was the first time Trever used this baiting strat against Lars's Elf, and it might even be the first time the kid comes across such an Elf-counter play. Nevertheless, he already found the answer.

[He's only going to get faster from here on.] Trever predicted. [Which means, I gotta play it safer.]

[Okay, he's about to do his thing again.] Lars carefully watched the movements of Trever's legs. As soon as he sees a twitch, he gonna go for it!

[Okay, there!] Lars took a step forward and fired a laser beam. This time, it had to hit! Yet, it didn't...

"What the...?" Lars mumbled. [What gives!? I totally had him, yo! The game gotta be acting up or something.]

[Phew, still safe.] Trever exhaled in relief. This time, he only took a half-step forward before immediately retreating. That little trick threw off Lars's timing just enough.

[Oh, right. Almost forgot to shoot the minion.] Trever fired at the last enemy swordsman left standing. He had to deliver at least one shot on enemy minions every time Lars whiffed a shot. Doing so put Lars on a timer. The moment the kid loses his entire army, he'll also lose this golden opportunity to get "easy shots" on Trever, as he'd have to retreat.

Lars surely knew that, so it put pressure on him. The kid was going to snap any moment now. Any moment.

"Man, this dude over there, I'm tellin' ya" Lars grinned awkwardly. This was one heck of a high-level challenge. It was hard to tell for sure from this distance, but Trever probably employed some tricks to throw off Lars's timing and sense of distance. So, even though at first glance it looked like Lars had many golden opportunities to land easy shots, Trever made sure that wasn't the case.

To make things worse, Lars's minion wave was running out of gas. The last swordsman was about to fall, then the entire enemy wave will run over his bowmen. This ain't looking swell.

[Do I just ignore his derpy distractions and focus on farming?] That was an option. Lars has barely attacked enemy minions during this wave, so the enemy's army was still big and healthy. He gotta start clearing them eventually. The earlier he starts, the better.

However, doing so meant giving up on this juicy opportunity to score a bunch of hits on Trever. Gah, this was such a tough dilemma!

If Lars is lucky enough, he'll need like three crits to smack Trever outta existence. And then, he'll finally be able to take over the lane! He had to pull it off somehow...!

[Well then, if ya gonna keep running back and forth like some sneaky cat, I just gonna go come at ya!] Lars started moving forward. But, he moved slow. Like, painfully slow. So slow that he almost couldn't tell whether he was really advancing or not.

Such was the payoff for the amazing range during Elven Sight. The skill granted the ability to snipe people across half the lane and first-person view for extra accuracy, but the Elf's movement became like that of an injured turtle. The slowdown on this thing was like 80%, no kidding.

Fortunately, just a couple of steps should be good enough. That should eliminate the small extra distance his laser beams failed to cross. And now, he gonna shoot! This time it gonna hit for sure!

[You ain't hitting me with that shit.] Trever stepped away from the shot and made it whiff. [Nice thinking there, but you ain't gonna close the distance between us when you're moving like a brick stuck in mud. I see your every move!]

[Dang, I'm too slow.] Lars twisted his lips. [What do?]

The idea of closing the distance was good, but it didn't quite work. Trever easily reacted to the slow movement and slightly retreated to maintain the same distance. There was no doubt this dude trained for years in order perfect this anti-Elf technique.

Meanwhile, Lars was just scrubbing it out here in the field. It was the first time an opponent used such a bold technique against his Elf. So, he was practically figuring things out on the fly.

But, no problem! He still had his range. He just had to make Trever misstep somehow. Ezpz.

[If ya gonna backpedal all day, I'mma just snipe yo bois.] Trever shifted his focus to the minion wave and fired at the bowmen in the back. Zap! The laser beam exploded hard in the bowman's face. A critical hit! Deleted that bowman from existence.

[Not gonna keep trying? Smart.] Trever was deeply impressed. If this were the Lars from a few months ago, that kid would have kept attacking for sure. After all, Lars always played like a beast hungering for kills.

But, today's Lars was patient and had some actual decision-making going for him. It seemed the brat was growing up to be a fine man.

[I raised that boy.] Trever felt proud. After all, he has spent more time training with Lars in the club than anybody else. They and Taison used to play 1v1v1 for hours. Good times.

[Heh, this sure makes things more interesting.] Trever grinned. Lars was supposed to chase Trever like a fool and get baited toward the jungle, but the brat decided to play smart today. That threw a wrench in Trever's plans.

But, that's how things gotta be! Where's the fun when there's no challenge, right? If Lars even dared to dream about getting anywhere in the regionals this year, he better be able to do at least this much.

Now, the ball was in Trever's court again. How should he respond to Lars's counter? For this bait tactic to work, he had to convince Lars to advance as close as possible toward the jungle. And, for that, he had to put himself within Lars's attack range in a convincing manner, even more convincing than before.

"Telling you right now," Trever turned to Aron. "Dragging this turtle all the way to the jungle might be asking for too much. I can get him to the entrance at best."

"Got it," Aron nodded. "I'll get closer then."

"Okay then, let's get this little party started!" Trever grinned. This was a do-or-die. A single misstep will cost him dearly, possibly his life.

[On second thought, maybe I should give up on this? With all said and done, it's Lars I'm dealing with.] Trever gulped. A shiver danced on his skin. [Nah, I ain't no quitter. In for a penny, in for a pound. Let's settle this!]

Trever charged in! He ran straight at Lars, who was currently busy sniping the bowmen.

"Coming from the front door!?" Lars jumped. His first-person field of view was focused on the minions, so he only saw Trever's figure at the very corner of the screen. And, that figure suddenly grew bigger!

[I see you're finally done with 'em tricks.] Lars smiled dangerously. [Okay, let's settle this!]

Lars shifted his aim toward the incoming enemy. From this range, he gonna hit Trever for sure. There was no way dude could step outa range at the last moment this time, he invaded too far for that. It was over, yooooooooo!

Zap! A laser beam darted at Trever! It gonna hit for sure!

[No dice, kid.] Trever saw it coming and rolled aside.

[Dang it! You're good, but...!] Lars immediately shifted his aim ahead of the rolling Pirate. He just gotta snipe Trever the moment the dude recovers from the roll! Yeah, right there! Zip zap zup!

[You and your damn aimbot...!] Trever backpedaled as quickly as humanly possible upon recovering, but it was to no avail. Lars's aim was pitch-perfect, especially with the first-person view of Elven Sight. It was undodgeable.

Whish! 15% HP gone. Luckily, it wasn't a critical hit. One of those bad boys would wreck Trever in one hit. Phew, safe. Still, this was a terrible situation for him to fight in.

Nevertheless, Trever had to press on. He gonna swim through this disadvantageous current and emerge victorious! It sucked he couldn't fight Lars head-on in a fair duel, but that's what you get when fighting a long-ranged turtle. Gotta play dirty and lure them to their deaths with a little bit of trickery.

[Not my favorite playstyle, but it not my fault.] Trever shrugged. [Blame yourself for playing that disgusting Elf. I gonna mop the floor with your Elf!]

Trever braced himself and started... retreating! Yeah, that's right. Retreating right in the enemy's face was the ingenious plan for beating this pesky Elf. It sounded dumb, but it was a legit tactic.

By getting this close, Trever forced Lars to pay attention to him and ignited the flames of battle. Naturally, Lars took the bait and immediately switched gears into combat mode. There was no doubt the brat will keep firing at Trever.

And, once the target gets slightly out of range, Lars will step forward. Just like that, one step at a time to keep Terver within range. These slow steps will add up and before long Lars will find himself in front of the jungle! That was the brilliant bait plan.

"Ya ain't getting away, yo!" Lars fired at the fleeing target. Whish! The laser beam cut through empty air. "Dang it, yo! Stop moving so much, dude!"

Even with Lars's 200% accuracy, it was difficult to land consistent hits on a top-level juker like Trever. Dude was zig-zagging like a fly on steroids.

[Heh, been a while since I fought a dude who can dodge shots like that.] Lars grinned. This was the epitome of high-level combat right there! Few opponents gave a hard time to Lars's flawless aiming, but Trever was definitely one of them. A worthy opponent, no doubt.

[But, I ain't gonna let you keep doing that all day!] Lars shifted his aim at the last moment. [If ya always gonna switch directions once you hear the shot, I'mma just adjust my aim to that!]

Instead of predicting where Trever was going to be in the next moment, Lars estimated where Trever will end up after switching directions at the last moment. In other words, he predicted the prediction Trever was gonna make! Prediction-ception, let's gooooo! ZAP!

[Should be about now.] Trever didn't change his direction this time. He kept running straight along the predictable route. Normally, that'd be the silly thing to do. However, against a highly skilled opponent like Lars... Whish! The laser beam flew right past him. It missed..

"Heh, read you like a book, kid," Trever smirked. They have fought each other enough for Trever to get a good feel for Lars's quirks. The kid was always quick to adjust and start predicting his prey's juking, it usually worked well for him. But, that meant all Trever had to do was predict the prediction Lars was gonna make about his own prediction! The outplays were real!

"Yo freakin'...!" Lars returned to shooting along the predictable straight line. Whish! Another miss!

[Too predictable, kid.] Trever snickered. [You gotta mix things up better.]

[So, we're playing that game, huh.] Lars nodded. [Okay, you're on!]

So, what was coming next? Straight or direction change? Well, surely Trever won't keep running in a straight line thrice in a row, right? Then, it had to be a direction change!

Zap! Missed. Trever kept running in a straight line for the third time. What an absolute mad lad! The poker mind games were real.

"Okay, then next I'll- Whoa! Craaaap!" Before Lars realized, enemy minions swarmed him! The little dudes got mad at how Lars hit Trever a few seconds ago and came seeking revenge. This ain't good, yo! The bowmen already landed a few shots on him and the swordsmen were about to ram him as well!

Fortunately, Lars came prepared. He rolled away from the minions in the direction of his prey. Then, he activated Camouflage, a Utility Skill he bought back when he returned to base.

A layer of fog veiled his body for a moment and the minions forgot he ever existed. It was the same effect as in all these stealth games, in which the guards completely forgot the player exists once he leaves their field of view.

Since Lars also rolled outside the minions' aggro range against players, they didn't resume targeting him. Instead, the little dudes marched toward his tower.

[Okay, back to shooting Trever!] Lars had to give up on his Elven Sight stance for the sake of executing that Dodge Roll, but that didn't mean he was going to give up on the chase, far from it.

He has already brought Trever down to 70%, so he had a huge life lead. Not to mention, he also had the threat of critical hits on his side. So, no chance Trever gonna win against these odds!

[Let's see ya try winning this!] Lars went all in!

[Good shit.] Trever nodded as he turned around to assess the situation. An Elf without Eleven Sight was just a subpar Carry. Trever could easily contest an Elf like that.

But, he wasn't going to. After all, he'd still have to deal with Lars here. Even without Elven Sight, this brat was going to pose a challenge for sure.

[I mean, I'm sure I can beat him no problem.] Trever nodded to himself. [But, let's just go for the guaranteed kill instead of risking it on something unexpected. This kid has gotten lucky against me before, so anything is possible.]

And so, Trever kept running toward the jungle. His bait tactic was about to work out. Lars was already halfway there. Just a little more and Aron will be in a position to jump him!

[Sorry, but it's over for ya, turtle boy!]