A Second Chance

["Dan, jump out of there!"] That timely order saved the team's Jungler in the nick of time. If not for that warning, then Hawk would have surely killed Average.

[It was an impressive read.] Jin had to give credit where it was due. [Even I didn't read the situation that far ahead. Hawk must've been sitting on that "plan B" for quite some time.]

It was quite unexpected. Jin was certain the enemy will prioritize him above anything else, but Hawk was quick to shift gears and target the Jungler who came there to help Jin.

[If Average died there, then it would have been my fault.] Jin reasoned.

Even if nobody else directly associated that mistake with him, Jin would have still treated it as his fault. That lane situation was his problem, and the Jungler only rotated there to help.

[I accepted the help, so it was partially my responsibility to look out for him. So, the moment I safely got away, I should've properly considered how dangerous the situation was. I should've been the one to tell him to run away.]

Alas, Jin failed at this job as a teammate. It was rather frustrating.

Of course, he didn't particularly care about Average. This was purely about Jin's personal skill as a player. Being a "good teammate" was part of what made somebody good at Classmancers, and Jin completely blundered back there.

[I'm sure I would've realized Hawk's intentions as well if I had a few more seconds.][But, it would have been too late at that point...]

Against pros, fast decision-making was crucial. Falling behind by even a single second could make all the difference between life and death.

[I was at the scene, yet I missed it. But, the captain didn't.] Jin thought. [Even though he's all the way on the other side of the lane, Aegis still managed to issue such a timely call. And, the Jungler responded instantly, without asking any questions. I had to admit, when it comes to defense, this team can really deliver results.]

A perfectly timed shot-call like that was impressive, even by Jin's standards. There was no doubt that, out of everybody in StormBlitz, the captain was the closest one to pro level.

Under Aegis's lead, StormBlitz's defense was good enough to fend off pros. As such, this team will surely be a formidable opponent for the Leopards this year.

[But, that's not my business.] Jin pushed such thoughts to the back of his head. [I'm here today in order to graduate from that mediocre competition. I have to get into the pro scene as soon as possible. It must be done.]

His thoughts were growing frantic. At the back of his head, Jin already realized the truth: he butchered his last chance to leave a good impression.

The way he cleared Ignis's minions from disadvantage was good, but then Ignis turned the tables on him. On top of that, he chose a bad direction to escape to, which allowed Hawk to easily block his path. That whole scene was bound to leave a bad impression on the audience.

[And, I also have to recall now.] Jin frowned as he looked at his remaining HP. The entire exchange brought this health dangerously low. So, even though he escaped alive, he surrendered a lot of lane control to his opponent.

The next minion wave was about to arrive, and Jin wouldn't be there to greet it. In other words, Ignis will get a free opportunity to push his tower.

[I'll have to ride back to lane with my ult.] Jin concluded. That was the only thing he could do in order to not lose his entire tower.

Alas, the enemy had every intention to make it as difficult as possible for him.

"Hey Hawk," Ignis started. "Since you failed to catch any of the kids, you better stay here and help me push."

"Sure." Hawk shrugged and flew over the jungle wall once more. In retrospect, he did nothing but waste his time when he tried to chase Average across the wall. His ult was utterly wasted here.

With nothing better to do, Hawk had no objections to helping Ignis on lane. With the enemy Top Laner forced to retreat, this was a great opportunity for them to demolish the tower.

When the next minion wave arrived, the two of them swept through it and gained overwhelming lane control. If the enemy team doesn't make a move here, then the Top Turret would be lost.

"Average," Jin called out. "Can you please defend Top? I try to get back as soon as possible."

"No problem," Average agreed. "I was already on my way there anyway." True to his words, he was in the middle of rotating to the Top Turret from the back of the jungle. "And I already told ya, the name's Dan."

"Right. Thanks, Dan."

"You welcome!"

Thanks to Average's efforts, the worst-case scenario was averted. The enemy failed to demolish the Top Turret, but they still reduced its HP to 60% by the time Jin return. This outcome definitely didn't give him any credit points.

[Still, this is a hundred times better than losing the whole tower.] Jin thought.

If not for Average, the examiners would have probably disqualified Jin on the spot for losing his tower before mid-game. It was fortunate that even a subpar player like Average wasn't entirely useless when fighting pros.

The match shortly transitioned into mid-game, the team-fighting phase. As estimated, Jin didn't get any more opportunities to show off his skill.

The Sweepers stuck together as they conducted their operations. As such, there were no more chances to strike any isolated targets.

[Actually, that's not entirely true.] Jin thought. [I spot Esmeralda alone every now and then. But, I suspect these are all baits.]

Esmeralda wasn't a typical player, so her plays shouldn't be analyzed by normal logic. She was arguably a weak player, yet a very shrewd one.

When it came to Esmeralda's plays, it was impossible to tell what was a misplay and what was bait. She was a great actress if nothing else.

[I can probably defeat her if I get a proper chance to fight. But, I don't want to risk it.]

Many fools underestimated Esmeralda in the past, flying right into her spider web like careless flies. Jin had seen countless examples of such victims when he analyzed the Sweepers' footage.

[I'm not going to join their ranks.] Jin had no intention of being misled by this witch.

Still, time and again, Esmeralda tried to bait people into thinking she was isolated. Thankfully, nobody in StormBlitz fell for it, and neither did Jin.

[Looks like I'm not getting any more duel opportunities this match, after all.] Jin had no choice but to come to terms with that fact. [In that case, I'll have to prove my worth in team fights, as hard as that sounds.]

It was going to be harsh, but not impossible. At least, that's what Jin told himself in order to keep moving forward.

[Remember, it's all over the moment you lose your motivation.] Jin reminded himself. [As long as there's a chance - I have to keep trying.]

And so, Jin forfeited any delusions about finding a duel opportunity. Instead, he focused on cooperating with the rest of the team.

He tried his best to find 2v2 situations, which was as close as he could get to a 1v1. Unfortunately, StormBlitz was too defensive of a team for that.

Under Aegis's leadership, everybody's positions were carefully arranged and monitored across the entire map. The team was at a disadvantage in terms of map control, and they were weaker than the Sweepers in general, so Aegis apparently intended to drag the game out via turtling.

[This organized defense is solid.] Jin admitted. [But, is there really any hope of winning like this? Against pros, I don't see how this approach is ever going to pay off.]

With that said, Jin kept his skepticism to himself. As an outsider who joined this well-organized team for the first time, he was in no position to criticize their questionable philosophies.

Instead of bickering with his teammates and getting on the captain's bad side, Jin focused on cooperating with the team to the best of his ability. As unfortunate as it was, he had to borrow their help to get anything done at this stage of the game. Alas…

[This isn't going anywhere.] Jin shook his head. Despite his best efforts, the team didn't perform well. That was only natural, given his lack of experience playing with them.

No matter how well oiled of a machine StormBlitz was, a single clunky gear could throw the entire system awry. And, in this case, Jin happened to be that defective gear. He was a foreign element in this system, so no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't achieve perfect harmony with his unfamiliar teammates.

On his end, Jin did his best to follow up on the team's defensive tactics. Despite his disagreement with the captain's approach, he adjusted to StormBlitz's game plan for the most part.

But, that's as far as he went. He merely played along with the team's strategy, which was flawed from its inception.

[We're not going to win by defending all day, not against pros.] Jin ranted internally.

Unfortunately, he was in the minority here. All his teammates were on board with this defensive strategy. Therefore, there was no way he'll be able to sway their opinions on the matter in the heat of battle. And, attempting to do so might even backfire at him.

[They're decent players on defense for the most part, but I'm not sure how good they are on the offense.] Jin thought. [And, judging by how adamant they are about defending, I better assume the worst about their offensive capabilities.]

With all of that in mind, Jin had no choice but to continue following the defensive game plan. He joined in during the 2v2 and 3v3 fights as much as possible, trying to earn as many credit points as possible during combat.

Alas, that was easier said than done. With his teammates constantly dragging him down, Jin often found himself covering for their mistakes or rescuing them from trouble. He had no time to put on an impressive performance to earn any favors with the crowd.

Eventually, after a long struggle that last over 30 minutes, StormBlitz's Colossus finally crumbled.

『DEFEAT』

It was a predictable conclusion. Nobody even entertained the possibility that this game would end in any other way.

[It's not possible, not with this level gap.] Jin thought. With such low-level teammates, he had no hope of ever besting pro players, not even western ones.

[As I thought, duels are my best chance to prove my worth.] Jin reasoned. [ I need another game. Next time, I'll go even harder on the offense early on.]

On that note, the first game concluded.

"Bravo, bravo!" Ronshfelt clapped repeatedly, with the usual plastic smile on his face. "That was a marvelous performance from the Chinese Wonderboy! Frankly, I'm deeply impressed. Yes, very, very, impressed!"

The old man hyped up Jin's performance and praised it to no end, but that wasn't proof of anything. It seemed Ronshfelt always hyped up anything that moved. His opinions were often exaggerated, so it was hard to take him seriously.

[The ones I really have to impress are the Sweepers and their coach.] Jin thought. [Still, impressing this old man is important too. He is the owner of the team, after all.]

"So, how was he?" Ronshfelt directed the question to Ignis and Hawk. "You two fought the Wonderboy the most, so what do you have to say?"

"Hah." Ignis crossed her arms and lifted his chin. "He's a total scrub. It wasn't a challenge at all."

[Say WHAT!?] Jin almost exploded. [There's no way that's true! I gave her a good fight. She has to evaluate me higher than that…!]

But no, Ignis continued protecting her ego, claiming that Jin was just a cocky brat who chewed more than he could bite. According to her, she stomped Jin without breaking a sweat. Such blatant lies!

"With that said," Ignis continued. "I can kinda see what's all the fuss about. For a kid, he's not half-bad. Like, he's almost as good as my dear Wardy, so that's not too shabby."

["Almost" as good?] Jin threw a glance at StormBlitz's captain, who was listening to the analysis with visible amusement. [I'll admit this guy is cut above the rest within his team. But, is he better than me? Definitely not.]

That was surely Ignis's bias as a sister speaking for her. In fact, her entire analysis reeked of unparallel bias.

Most likely, this proud woman hated how Jin forced her into uncomfortable situations during the game. So, she was getting back at him by downplaying him in front of Ronshfelt. So mature...

To add insult to injury, Hawk's opinion reeked of similar bias.

"The kid is pretty good at fighting," Hawk said. "But, he's way too cocky. I caught him overextending way too many times."

"True, true," Ronshfelt agreed with everything he was fed without objecting. Did this geezer have no opinion of his own? He just smiled and nodded at everything, even as the two pros blatantly lied in his face.

"But hey." Ignis grinned. "I'm down for another mock game. I bet it wasn't clear enough how big of a gap there is between us and the kid, so we can do one more."

"Yeah," Hawk agreed. "I mean, we were mostly testing the waters against each other in the first game. So, in Game 2, we can show off how much we've learned and adapted."

"Oh! I see, I see." Ronshfelt nodded in agreement, as he always did.

[Wait, why are they helping me out all of a sudden?] Jin was taken aback. [They were salty enough to unjustly bash me in front of the team owner, but now they're asking to give me another chance? What's their agenda?]

Ignis and Hawk didn't come across as the types to help Jin in any way. On the contrary, so far, they have been doing everything in their powers to sabotage him.

So, they probably sought revenge. They believed that, in the second game, they'll be able to run all over Jin.

And, unfortunately, that was very much possible, given how well they adapted to his Korean Cancel throughout the game. So, for Game 2, Jin won't have that element of surprise anymore.

[But, a second game is a great chance for me too.] Jin thought. [I'll have more opportunities to duel and show what I can do when I'm not dragged down by mediocre players. So, regardless of their real intentions, their request plays in my favor.]

The suggestion to hold a second game excited Ronshfelt. So, without further ado, he asked for everybody's opinions.

"I think that's only fair," IronWall said. "Adaptation is one of the most important qualities of a pro player, so we better test that, too."

"It's, in fact, the [most] important quality~" Esmeralda interjected as she winked toward Jin. "I'm sure Jinjin can show us an even more spectacular performance in the second match, am I right?"

"Definitely," Jin responded without hesitation. He had been waiting for a good opportunity to insert himself into this conversation, and finally, Esmeralda gave him that chance. [Is she helping me out? I have no idea what she's thinking. She's as weird as her playstyle.]

"Good, good." Ronshfelt nodded, smiling as usual. "So, everybody agrees to a rematch, yes?"

"I'll never refuse an opportunity to scrim with pros," Howard said.

"Very good, very good." Ronshfelt clasped both hands together. "Looks like both sides are on the same page, how wonderful! Well then, Berny, what do you say?" He addressed the Sweepers' coach. "Can they get another round?"

"Alright." The stoic coach replied without letting his feelings show. Did he actually want to see another game? Or, has he already lost interest in Jin at this point? It was impossible to tell.

[Out of everybody here, this coach will probably have the biggest say in whether I passed the exam.] Jin reasoned.

While Ronshfelt was higher on the food chain, it was clear the guy didn't know left from right when it came to Classmancers. Therefore, the coach's opinion will probably decide Ronshfelt's opinion as well.

"This is a good sign," Rodriguez whispered to Jin. "Bern is very peculiar about his players' time. So, he wouldn't let them play again unless he wanted to see more of your performance."

"I see." Jin nodded.

As it turned out, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Even though Jin put on a mediocre performance in the first game, he now had another chance to prove himself. This was a rare opportunity, something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Back in Korea, there were many times when a single failure could doom the entire career of the player. Coaches demoted players without mercy over a single mistake, forcing them to practice with the "less accomplished" players.

Since nobody expected anything from that "failure" group, the coaching they received was less professional as well. It was like falling into Bronze rank and trying to crawl your way out while being surrounded by terrible players who only drag you down. It was a terrifying hellhole.

The fear of falling into that group was perhaps the strongest motivator for everybody to do their best during practice and exams. Jin experienced a fair share of such terror as well. Every time he got demoted over a mistake, he had to pray he won't fall to the very bottom.

Fortunately, the western was more lenient when it came to such matters. That's why the pros granted Jin another opportunity without dissing him for his mistakes. This was perhaps the first time he was thankful for the western scene being more lax and forgiving.

[I can still make it.] Jin asserted. [In this second game, I'll make the necessary impact to convince them I can play at "pro-level" in this scene!]