The Lioness's Confident Aggression

The duel between Cato and Fiona continued. Cato was holding the upper hand the entire fight, but...

[She's really playing well this time.] Cato almost found himself grumping.

After recalling, Fiona soon returned to lane and contested it. But, thanks to Cato's continued harassment, the so-called "Esmeralda Strat", Fiona lost a lot of HP once more.

So, how did the girl respond? She simply recalled again, without trying any funny ideas like attacking Cato. What a shame.

In fact, Fiona repeated this routine three times in a row without batting an eye. Her perseverance as a chess player was showing itself.

[My, you think you'll get your chance if you keep playing like this?] Cato respected the fighting spirit, if nothing else.

Even when faced with such a depressing situation, the strategist in Fiona must have been whispering to her: ["As long as you preserve, you'll get your chance."] That must have been the underlying belief that motivated her to keep going despite Cato's continued harassment.

[What a tough nut to crack.] Cato smiled wryly. This was both amusing and irritating at the same time. Every time Fiona retreated, there was a slight urge to chase the girl and smite her down. And, with each recall, that itch grew stronger and stronger.

[It's almost like she's turning the tables on me psychologically.] Cato realized. Instead of being the aggravator, somehow he was the one who started feeling aggravated.

Five times. Yes, five times Fiona endured Cato's bullying, retreated, and recalled to base. This was a miserable Duel in every sense of the word. There was neither strength nor beauty to be found in how Fiona conducted herself.

And yet, her method was effective. Her unyielding fighting spirit was as delightful as it was irritating.

[C'mon, do something.] Cato ranted. [Attack me. Hit me. Surely, you aren't planning to continue like this the entire game, are you?]

His Golem was perfectly healthy while Fiona's already fell all the way down to 40%. As such, it was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt who was dominating the lane. Truly, Cato was winning in every possible aspect. He even out-leveled his opponent.

And yet, somehow, the situation almost looked even. It felt as if Fiona was properly matching Cato as an equal, as absurd as that sounded.

[But, I'm stronger!] Cato proclaimed. [Alright then, let's do it in the next wave. Once I gear up, I'll be ready to kick that princess off the high horse.]

Cato forced Fiona to retreat once more. She ran past her Golem and disappeared around the corner.

As always, Fiona made sure to recall outside Cato's field of view to keep him on his toes. It was a very textbook play.

Even when it was 90% confirmed that a player was going to recall, it was always good to make the opponent question the remaining 10%. Anything that made the opponent doubt their data had a chance to affect the course of battle, no matter how small it was.

[But of course, I know she's going to recall.] Cato ignored that mild trickery and began recalling on the spot.

Yes, he recalled right there, right in front of the enemy tower's area. Why? Because he had nothing to worry about.

[The faster I recall, the faster I can get back to lane.] It was as simple as that. There was nobody for him to fear and there was no need to hide his actions from an enemy who was on her way to recall. Therefore, Cato simply went for the fastest and most efficient recall.

A magical aura surrounded his Vampire and consumed him whole. The next moment, he was back in his base, far away from the battlefield.

Gearing up took less than a second. Cato already pre-selected everything he was going to buy while he was recalling. The moment he returned to base, the system instantly granted him all the upgrades he requested. As such, he only had to spend but a couple of seconds at the base to fully restore his MP.

[Alright, I'm ready to go.] Cato left the base. [Time to dial up my aggression a little. The end is nigh.]

Duel was a swingy mode where a single kill could decide the entire match, but only if it happened during the mid-game or later. As such, there were diminishing returns for killing Fiona during the early-game. It would have given Cato a further edge, but it wouldn't have been enough to seal the deal on the entire game. As such, going for a frontal assault was an unnecessary risk at the time.

But, now the situation was different. It was the mid-game, so killing Fiona would prove fatal.

[But first, let's make sure the wards are up and running.] Cato stopped by the Wraith Camp on his side of the jungle and cleared it, then placed a ward nearby.

After that, he headed downwards on the map, toward the Ogre Camp at the bottom.

[I'm not sure I want to waste any time clearing it right now.] Cato thought on the way. [But, I have to at least ward it. All this advantage I had in lane really made me neglect warding, haha.]

Even in Duel mode, wards played their role. While different players had different opinions regarding the wards' overall importance in Duel and how many of them should be placed, Cato firmly believed they were of utmost importance.

Vision granted information, and information was power. Therefore, the more wards - the better.

Therefore, even against a weaker opponent like Fiona, Cato made sure to buy wards whenever he recalled. It just so happened that he didn't have much need to recall thus far, seeing as Fiona didn't bother counterattacking him at all.

Nonetheless, at game start, Coto properly placed the two wards he was about to refresh. One ward near his Wraith Camp to spot counter-jungling and ganking attempts, and another ward near the Ogre Camp that was a juicy objective for both sides to contest.

But, all of that happened a while ago. Eventually, his wards expired and vanished, but Cato had no opportunity to replace them until now.

It was a little careless on his end, but it was alright. With how badly Fiona was lagging behind, she didn't even have the chance to target the Ogre Camp... or did she?

[It's... gone.] He arrived at the Ogre Camp but the only thing to greet him was an empty field. There was no sign of the big ogre nor his minions. All of them vanished without a trace.

[Did she take the red buff...?] Cato asked a dumb question. [I mean, of course she took it. Who else could do it? There aren't any secret players in this match. But, when did she...?]

Cato returned here as quickly as humanly possible. He spent minimal time at the base and went straight to the Ogre Camp after clearing the Wraith Camp.

[Maybe she took it while I was clearing the Wraiths? No, she couldn't have done it so quickly.]

In that case, when did Fiona steal this camp? There was only one logical possibility but it was hard to believe.

[Maybe she didn't recall back then...?] That was the only realistic scenario Cato could think of. Back when Fiona went around the corner to recall, maybe she decided against it in the end. It was that rare 10% chance of trickery.

[But, why wouldn't she recall? She was running low on HP.] Cato knotted his brows. It made no sense at first, but then it struck him. In fact, it struck him so hard he couldn't help but facepalm.

[It's because she saw me recalling.] Cato sighed. [What a blunder.]

Fiona must've seen Cato recalling. But, how could she see him from around the corner? It was elementary. She had a ward in lane, but not just any normal ward.

[The Golem.] Cato grumped. [I should've at least distance myself from it before recalling. What a mistake.]

A big reason why any tower was always such an important objective was that it granted vision of its surroundings. It was like a permanent ward on the lane that came free of charge. What's not to like, right?

And, it was this "free ward" that Fiona used to peek at Cato's actions at the time, And, what she saw apparently prompted her to cancel her Recall and go after the Ogre Camp instead.

[Did she even know the camp was up?] Cato wondered. He has been clearing that camp every now and then throughout the match because he had plenty of opportunities to do so.

As a result, there were many times when the Ogre Camp was on cooldown thanks to Cato's efforts. And yet, Fiona still went after that camp instead of recalling. Did she really just take a big gamble on a camp that might have been down?

[No, that doesn't sound like her.] Cato thought. [She probably placed a ward there sometime earlier.]

That was the only logical conclusion. Fiona wasn't the type of player to leave things to chance. She only followed game plans in which she had absolute confidence. Therefore, surely a ward supplied her with the necessary information for making this play, no question about it.

[So, she reached the point where she knows how to take advantage of vision.] Cato smiled wryly.

What a bitter-sweet feeling. It was both fun and depressing to watch this girl's growth. She clearly advanced much faster than any other player her age. In just a few months, she was already at this level.

[That's where dedication and proper tutoring get you.] Cato thought.

Unlike most kids who picked Classmancers for fun and giggles, Fiona got into it with a firm goal in mind: she wanted to learn how to compete at the highest level in this game. In fact, even before any of that, she first researched the competitive level of this "unknown video game" and made sure it lived up to her standards.

As pompous as it sounded, nobody had the right to criticize Fiona for this attitude. For somebody who already competed in chess, running, volleyball, and piano, it only made sense to be picky about adding another sport to the catalog. Even more so when a video game was involved, a medium not many people considered a "real sport".

But eventually, based on the data Fiona gathered and thanks to a few pushes from Cato and Karen, Fiona ultimately decided to give the game a try. Though, surely, one of the greatest motivators was the fact Yuel played the game, even if the girl would never admit to that.

Regardless, in the end, she picked up the game. But, her sights were directly set on the competitive scene. She didn't even bother with casually learning the game as any normal kid would.

But then, how [did] she study the game? By hiring tutors, of course. The Landberht family had money in spades, so hiring a couple of tutors didn't even sting their wallets.

Among said tutors was the all-familiar Rodriguez. A school club coach in the day, and a private tutor at night. Truly, a busy man he was.

Apparently, there were a few other mentors as well. Fiona claimed it was best to get as many perspectives as possible on the game, as there was never one "correct" way to learn a sport.

Among said mentors was also Esmeralda, who taught Cato and Matthew before. Though, apparently, that relationship didn't last long. It seemed Fiona's playstyle was incompatible with Esmeralda's trickery. It was such a wasted opportunity for Fiona to pass on learning some of the greatest tricks available, but Cato wasn't going to complain.

[Evidently, she's already getting very strong.] Cato thought. [She had her reservations about the game at first, but now there's no longer any question about it: she's serious about the game. And, she's getting good enough to make such strong plays.]

After stealing the Ogre Camp, it was obvious Fiona will try to mount a counterattack of some sort. Her aggressive build supplemented the attack buff, turning her into a very dangerous piece on this board.

Given Fiona's knack for strategy, it wasn't a stretch to assume she has been waiting for this moment all along. The aggressive build she was quietly building was for this very moment!

[So, she's already at a level where she can come up with such a game plan.] Cato smiled wryly.

Playing with a concrete game plan in mind was one of the biggest differences between a veteran and a beginner. Newbies usually winged it and did whatever they thought worked best for the situation at hand. On the other hand, experienced players had specific lines of play which they practiced and researched in order to optimize their performance.

And Fiona, despite the humble amount of experience under her belt, was already at a level where she had a firm grasp of how she was going to play. Truly, her growth as a competitive player was ever terrifying. It was always like that in every field she tried her hand in.

As Cato was thinking about all that, a new minion wave arrived. As expected, Fiona greeted it with a red buff in hand.

[So, how is she going to utilize it?] Cato was already bracing himself for the worst. [There's no way she worked so hard to get the buff just for fun. She surely has a master plan.]

And indeed, Fiona Landberht didn't disappoint. Before the minion waves clashed in the middle of the lane, Fiona leapt forth to assault Cato's minions by herself.

BAM! The Lionfolk crashed on the entire minion wave! The swordsmen and bowmen still haven't parted ways, so they were just close enough to each other for Fiona's Majestic Leap to hit all of them at once.

[That's quite the damage.] Cato frowned at the sight in front of him. His entire minion wave lost over half their HP from that single strike. [Even with the buff, that's a lot of damage. Just how much power did she build?]

Cato glanced over FIona's upgraded build. Same as before, she was pursuing offense more than defense. On top of that, she threw some decent cooldown reduction into the mix. Her build resembled that of a Lionfolk designed to play Jungler, rather than one designed to play Top Laner.

[Is she autopiloting a Jungler build?] Cato wondered. [Or, did she research the two options and conclude that a Jungler build was better than a Top build for Duel? Or, maybe, she believes it's more efficient against ME.]

There was no way to tell how deep the analysis of the Landberht Princess ran. Nonetheless, there was one undeniable fact Cato learned from the many years he watched Fiona's chess.

Whenever Fiona was playing fast and aggressive, it meant she felt confident about her moves because she researched them thoroughly. Therefore, the unfolding scene convinced Cato beyond a shadow of a doubt: Fiona prepared for this specific matchup.

"RAWWWR!" the Lionfolk roared loudly as she landed in the middle of the enemy formation. It was a smooth skill cancel from Majestic Leap into Mighty Roar. Fiona sure knew her stuff.

With that said, this entire play was rather risky. Being the vanguard of the assault meant drawing the attention of enemy minions.

The moment Fiona landed in the middle of the minion wave, the entire wave had its eyes on her. The minions were more than ready to gang up on her and smite her down.

But, the Mighty Roar threw a wrench in their plans. All of them lost tons of HP after her Majestic Leap, so that made them "inferior" compared to Fiona, who was healthy at 100% HP.

As a result, her Superiority passive kick in against them. It made Mighty Roar instill the entire minion wave with a sense of dread. Though the minions already raised their blades and nocked their bows, a sudden sense of dread made them lower their arms and run away in terror.

Cato's terrified swordsmen thoughtlessly ran forward along the lane, heading straight into the enemy frontline. Meanwhile, the bowmen fled back toward the tower, but Fiona didn't let them.

Her sharp claws slashed through their flesh, making them drop one by one. In a matter of seconds, Fiona wiped out Cato's entire minion wave, before he even got a chance to lift a finger.

[My, that's a strong line you prepared.] Cato smiled wryly. Though he knew the Ogre Buff was very dominant in Duel, he never faced a situation in which this buff single-handedly decided the entire outcome of the laning.

Fiona didn't just get an Attack Power boost with that buff. She supplemented it with clever plays and a strong build, which together allowed her to gain a free winning ticket here.

By studying the numbers on all the involved factors, Fiona developed this unstoppable line of play. It couldn't be countered the moment it was set in motion.

[I really took her lightly.] Cato smiled from ear to ear. [It looks like she really studied for this. Good, good~]

Finally, their positions have been reversed. Unlike in chess, where Cato was always the one to study plays that'll counter Fiona, here she was the one who had to do homework in order to beat him.

[And of course, I'm much obliged to dismiss all that effort by crushing you. You know, just the way you've been doing to me for years.] Cato smiled impishly. At long last, the ever-dominant queen was about to get a taste of her own poison!

But, while Cato was busy thinking about such things, Fiona already made her next move. Apparently, her exceptional line of play didn't end with just eliminating Cato's minion wave. It went beyond that and transitioned... into an attack!?

[My, my, my!] Cato jumped in his seat when he spotted a ball of fur rolling outward him. Right after Fiona finished taking care of the bowmen, she rolled straight toward him!

[Forcing a battle in close-quarters? How crafty of you.] Cato turned around by instinct. He knew all too well he won't be able to handle a Lionfolk from point-blank, especially not a lioness powered up by both the red buff and Mighty Roar.

Fiona's sudden attack was a bit reckless but it made perfect sense. Cato's minion wave was almost entirely gone at this point, so there was nobody to back him up. Meanwhile, Fiona's army was perfectly healthy, so they won't hesitate to strike Cato down if he lifts as much as a finger on their queen.

From every possible angle, Cato was the one losing here. Therefore, retreating was the only option. Alas, even that proved difficult against this deeply researched line of play...

"RWAAAR!" "RWAAAAR!"

Roars resounded all around the area. In a blink of an eye, countless lions surrounded the area! They were like policemen forming a blockage, and Cato found himself in the middle of it all.

[My, caging me as well?] Cato smiled wryly. [Are you really going to reveal all your cards just like this?]

Cato stopped for a moment to consider his options. There was no point running any further because the lions blocked all escape routes.

For many classes, being caged like this could prove fatal. But, not for Vampire.

Cato could bust his way through by assaulting one of the lions, something any class out there could do. But, that'd take too long and would surely lead to his demise.

Instead, Vampire had access to one trusty escape tool that worked splendidly in situations like this. Except, it was his ult, which wasn't meant to be spent on something small like this.

[But, things might get hairy if I don't escape now.] Cato pondered. [So, maybe I should-] SLASH! A vicious claw interrupted his track of thought.

"Ack!" Cato jumped. He spent but a moment to consider the situation, yet the lioness was already breathing on his neck! She ruthlessly slashed his back, going for the kill!

[My, what a pain...!] Cato rolled away. [Everything she's doing is so fast. There's literally zero hesitation in all these plays. She definitely practiced this line.]

It was like facing Fiona in chess when she knew everything about the position at hand. Each of her moves was swift and decisive. Even grandmasters would sweat against this prodigy under such circumstances.

SLASH! SLASH!

Fiona moved in for the attack like a machine without a single doubt clouding her mind. For Cato, who was still racking his brain over his options, Fiona's confident moves seemed lightning fast. The lioness was about to overwhelm him with her relentless offense...!

[The more time I spend here, the worse it'll get.] Cato concluded. "[When in doubt, go for the easiest and fastest solution." That's what Coach always says, right?]

So, Cato turned off his brain. The more time he spent thinking about the optimal counter, the more opportunities he gave Fiona to attack. It was dangerous to give this lioness any momentum, so Cato had to cut her off right here and now.

[There goes my ult.] Cato activated Night Hunt. He transformed into a giant bat and flew out of the lion prison.

And so, Cato successfully escaped The Queen's Dominion. Though he received some damage and burned his ult, that's all Fiona's reckless play managed to achieve. Ultimately, the moment Cato decided he had to flee, he got away without any trouble. He was never in any grave danger to speak of.

So, what was the point of that entire fiasco? Fiona went as far as spending her ult for this play, yet it proved pointless in the end. A desperate attempt to turn the tables, perhaps?

At the time, Cato had no idea what the Landberht Princess had in store for him...