Playing the Patience Game

The laning phase continued with a dark cloud of uncertainty hovering over Nia. Every time, she managed to sneak in one shot on the Dark Knight before he unleashed Dark Blast and wiped out her entire army. Then, she had no choice but to retreat and continue firing from under tower.

The Dark Knight fearlessly invaded with his minions and ravaged the Turret with his black blade. With every wave, Nia's Turret lost a bigger and bigger chunk of HP.

[In most cases, these would be punishable overextensions.] Yuel thought. If Nia were playing a class with heavier CC or more burst, she could've given that Dark Knight a hard time. Alas, Vampire didn't have such tools until Lv.5 so Nia had to play patiently.

Surprisingly, she didn't complain about this routine. In fact, it seemed she liked playing like this. Perhaps, turtling was her preferred playstyle, seeing as she also used it against Vincent and Lars back when she dueled them.

Eventually, Nia hit Lv.5. Alas, by now, the Dark Knight was already at Lv.6 and halfway to Lv.7. On top of that, Nia's Turret was down to 40%. This was a terrible position.

Still, as bad as it was, Nia successfully reached this position without any big losses. She was Lv.5 and had full HP. What little HP she lost to stray shots from minions was healed up via Bloodthirst, Vampire's passive life-stealing. So, she was perfectly healthy but the same couldn't be said for the Dark Knight.

With great power came a great price and the Dark Knight has been slowly but surely paying it. With each Dark Blast he fired, 5% of his HP was sacrificed. In due time, he'll wear himself out. He was already down to 70% at this point.

Fortunately, the guy didn't start off with a life steal item. His only ways to recovery were either killing Nia or using potions, which he didn't seem to have on him. So, as long as Nia stays safe in the back, the Dark Knight will exhaust himself in a couple of waves. That's when Nia will get her chance to strike him down.

Unfortunately, her Turret was in danger. If things keep going on like this, her Turret will crumble in a couple of waves. Not only she'll lose the lane, but it'll also rob her of any good opportunities to kill the Dark Knight before mid-game. Something had to be done before it comes to this.

"You have to spook him a little," Yuel said. "We can't let him keep pushing the Turret without worrying about anything. Next time he invades, Night Horde him."

"Hm, I don't wanna," Nia twisted her lips. "That'll remind him I'm here."

"Yes, that's the idea. We have to remind him that you're here to defend the lane or else he'll keep doing as he pleases."

"I'm ok with that. As long as he doesn't notice me, it's good. That'll let me surprise him real good." Nia snickered.

[So, she's waiting for him to lower his guard completely and then strike.] Yuel nodded to himself. That must have been the true nature of what Vincent referred to as "Vanishing Phantom". By playing passive like this for long enough, Nia made her lane opponent lower their guard and then delivered a fatal blow.

But, how trustworthy was this technique, really? If it was up to Yuel, he wouldn't bet the entire lane on something like that. Instead, he rather poke the Dark Knight out of the tower's area.

However, Nia was the one playing and she was the most familiar with her own playstyle, so it was her call. Besides, Yuel was curious to see whether it'll work this time as well. Still, there was one issue.

"It's good and all if you want to stay low," Yuel said. "But, if you keep letting him do as he pleases, he'll take the tower out. Waiting for the right moment to deliver your strike is pointless if you're going to lose the lane before that opportunity ever arrives.

"I was planning to attack this wave." Nia tilted her head. "I think I can get him."

"You do?" Yuel raised an eyebrow. "Remember, you're not an assassin. You don't have burst."

"Yeah, but I got CC. I did something like this before. I think it'll work."

"Is that so," Yuel wondered. He didn't see the play she had in mind. The Dark Knight has already wiped out Nia's wave and she was in the middle of retreating. What could she possibly pull this time that she couldn't do before?

Yuel wanted to ask but he stayed quiet. He didn't want to distract Nia during this important moment. Soon, the answer will reveal itself on its own.

As usual, the Dark Knight followed his minions into the Turret's range. Nia didn't have enough damage output to kill all the enemy minions on their way to the Turret, so she had no choice but to allow this scenario to play out every time. The repeated successes must have fueled the Dark Knight with confidence; he didn't even think twice about invading the Turret.

[He's not paying any attention to me.] Nia was convinced. Based on how the Dark Knight didn't bother to throw a single glance in her direction this entire time, it was safe to assume she has completely erased her existence from his mind. This was the opportunity to strike!

[I can see it. That should be a kill.] Nia replayed the scenario time and again in her head. [First aggro. Then stun. Then slow down. That should be at least three Turret shots. He's dead.]

Thump. Thump. Nia's heart quickened. It should be good, right? She wasn't missing anything in her estimation? Yeah, it should be good.

[Here goes nothing.] She took a deep breath and waited for the Dark Knight to start a new swing. Now! She rolled forward!

The Dark Knight was already in the middle of swinging his blade so he couldn't stop. He successfully brought down his sword but an unexpected obstacle appeared in front of him. Nia rolled right between him and the Turret!

"Wha-!?" Yuel jumped. What kind of suicidal play was this!? [But, wait. From here she can...!]

The black blade cut through Nia and erased 15% of her HP. It packed a punch but Vampire had decent HP so it was nothing. The only thing that mattered was that the Dark Knight's attack connected. Even though unintentionally, the Dark Knight undeniably struck Nia. He laid a finger on her under the watchful eye of the Turret!

WHAM. The Turret fired a giant bolt in response. This one wasn't aimed at the minions. BAM! It crashed into the Dark Knight and deleted 15% of his HP! The guy was in deep trouble now.

And, this wasn't the end. The Turret will continue its lethal vendetta on the Dark Knight. That bully had no choice but to flee with a tail between his legs.

But, Nia didn't give him the chance. As soon as she recovered from the roll, she activated her ult, Night Hunt. She transformed into a giant bat and crashed into the Dark Knight from point-blank! This CC ability, which was normally intended for traversing some distance, was used as a point-blank insta-stun!

[Brilliant!] Yuel found himself gasping. [She caught him. The Turret is onto him and he can't move. He'll have to eat at least two more shots.]

After bumping into the Dark Knight, Nia reverted back into her Vampire form and hugged the Dark Knight tight. She sucked his blood and locked him in place. Meanwhile, the Turret fired without mercy.

BAM. Another 20% HP gone! Each shot was stronger than the previous when a Turret was focused on a player. The Dark Knight was already down to 30% HP. Combined with the ongoing damage from Night Hunt, the next turret shot will seal the deal.

The enemy minions didn't appreciate this development in the slightest and opened fire on Nia. They did everything in their power to pressure her into leaving their master alone. However, it did nothing. Nia started this fight with full HP, so even heavy fire from an entire minion wave wasn't going to be too lethal.

BAM. The third and last turret shot connected.

『You have killed an enemy!』

The Turret dealt the final blow but everything about this play was Nia's achievement. It was amazing. How did she even come up with such a play? Such a bizarre idea didn't even cross Yuel's mind in this situation. It was art in the making!

[Seems like I didn't need to use Horde in the end. Oh well.] Nia shrugged and switched her focus to the angry mob that was slashing and firing at her. Thanks to these little guys, she dropped all the way from 85% HP to 60%. That wasn't very nice of them, was it? [Time to exterminate.]

"Wait," Yuel said. "Lure them outside the tower. You'll get more farm from killing them there."

"Oh, ok," Nia ran outside the tower area and dragged all the minions with her. Then, she wiped them out one by one.

Finally, the lane was clear. Nia stood there alone. She was victorious! She sized the lane all by herself against a Dark Knight! She did it! Now, she could go ahead and take the enemy Turret-

"Their Jungler is rotating over here," Yuel warned. "You may want to recall for now."

"Ah, um, sure," Nia twisted her lips. [There goes my epic chance to push. This mode is such a pain. Even if I beat my opponent, it doesn't guarantee anything. Such rewarding. Gufu.]

Nia followed Yuel's advice and recalled to base. By the time the enemy Lancer arrived in Top, there was nobody to greet him.

"Do I just upgrade Warhammer?" Nia asked.

"Yeah, that's good enough," Yuel nodded. "That aside, may I ask how in the world you came up with that play?"

"What play?"

"The one where you rolled into the Dark Knight's swing. That was something else."

"Ah, I had to aggro him so figured I could just roll in there."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah. Figured he wasn't paying attention so I could sneak in."

[She sure makes it sound simple. But, that was far from a simple play.] Yuel still couldn't wrap his head around what just happened there. It was indeed simple but, at the same time, it had a hint of brilliance to it.

It reminded of the crazy stunts Lars occasionally pulled in the heat of the moment. However, none of Nia's actions there were partially mind-blowing or even particularly risky. She had a big life lead, so things like being hit by the Dark Knight and aggroing the entire minion wave weren't a true danger. It was a creative play but also a safe and calculated one.

[Was it a fluke?] Yuel wondered. [No, she was too confident about it for it to be a fluke. So, it had to be a tech she learned from somewhere, right? After all, she said she did something like this before.]

"I'm sure Tipmancer didn't teach you that kind of play," Yuel said. "Where did you pick it up?"

"Hm, dunno," Nia shrugged. "I just remember tying something like that before and it worked. So, I did it again. Ah, but last time I was a Drow, though."

"With Drow?" Yuel raised an eyebrow at first but then it clicked. She probably blew up the Drow's phantom right in the enemy's face in order to stun them. Another smart tower jailing play.

Did Nia really invent that play all by herself? If so, there was more to Nia than met the eye. In fact, Vincent would immediately jump on the opportunity to make up a silly name for that "ability". He'd probably call her something silly like "The Tower Jailor!"

With every passing play, Nia was shaping up to be a more and more interesting player. Even though the club initially prioritized her over other candidates for her gender, she has been exhibiting a lot of potential. Her skill was raw and unpolished at the moment, but if Yuel helps her learn the game and solidify her foundation, she might transform into a scary player.