Crumbling Apart After One Misplay

『An allied Turret has been destroyed!』

[I messed up.] Jin grit his teeth. [This has to be my biggest misplay today.]

It was such a blunder. Why didn't he consider the possibility of Hawk invading the lane while it was undefended!?

[No, I did consider that.] Jin remembered. [But, I didn't see any signs of Hawk targeting Top. He must've set this plan in motion quite a while ago, while I was still wrestling with Ignis. Damn.]

In retrospect, this should've been such a predictable play. A Jungler Beastmaster could only justify this off-meta pick by exploiting opportunities like this. For him, an undefended lane was like a gold mine,

But, Jin didn't pay it enough heed. At a glance, it seemed unlikely for Hawk to make it all the way to Top in time.

[Though, I did consider what will happen if he shows up right as I leave.] Jin had all possibilities covered in his head, that's what he thought at the time. [I concluded that, by himself, Hawk won't be able to erase more than 30% of the tower's HP.]

Jin treated that possibility as an unavoidable price he had to pay in exchange for driving Ignis out of the lane. It would have been an unfortunate outcome that'd certainly make Jin lose some credit points, but it wasn't so bad.

[But, all of that assuming Hawk will push alone, which he didn't...]

That's where all of Jin's analysis crumbled apart. Ignis played him for a fiddle back then. She probably escaped into the jungle after Jin saw the start of her Recall animation.

Jin was busy retreating from the lane at the time, so he couldn't watch the entire Recall animation through. At some point, he had to turn his back to the enemy, and Ignis exploited that moment to roll into the jungle.

Jin couldn't see what was happening behind him, and neither could he hear Ignis's movements from that distance, so he had no way of knowing what she actually did. All he knew was that, when he turned around again, Ignis was already gone.

[I did think she finished recalling a little too fast.] Jin remembered. [But, I didn't take it seriously enough. I was sure she recalled to base.]

Alas, it was just an elaborate trick. In truth, Ignis was hiding in the shadows the entire time, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

[She played me for a fool.] Jin grimaced. [I wasn't ready for such a gimmick, especially not from her. In fact, I have a hard time believing she came up with that herself. I am sure Hawk played a big role in the planning process.]

Regardless, none of that mattered now. The fact remained that Jin lost his tower five minutes into the game

To make it worse, he let that disaster happen against a hyper early-game class like Orc. That was as good as dooming the entire game for good.

[They got me good.] Jin sighed in defeat. [Now, I understand why they asked the owner to give me another chance. They were planning to drag my reputation through mud all along.]

In a way, it was impressive that a middle schooler like him managed to trigger pros to this extent. That stood testament to how skilled he was. Perhaps, he'll be able to use this argument to earn himself some credit points.

[But, I'm not satisfied with this.] Jin thought. [I don't want to just be a "middle schooler who can trigger pros". I want to properly defeat them, to show that I'm their equal.]

But maybe, just maybe, Jin was shooting too high here. Even though the western competitive scene was nothing compared to Korea's, the pros here were still pros. They possessed more than double the experience Jin had, so it was only natural they'll be able to defeat him once they got serious.

[But, I don't think I'm THAT far from their skill level. Besides, they're B-Leaguers. If I become a pro, I'd have to start from C-League like everybody else, so the entry bar should be lower than this.]

And so, Jin continued holding onto hope as he fought hard to overturn the desperate situation he created with his misplay.

With Jin's Top Turret gone, Ignis had the leeway to rotate out of the lane as she pleased. And, an early-game Orc with the freedom to rotate applied immense pressure on the rest of the map.

Everybody in StormBlitz had to carefully consider their moves ten times over. A single misstep could cost them their lives.

[There's not much I can do to remedy this situation. Especially, not with this team.] Jin thought back on the peers he used to play with back in Korea.

It'd be a stretch to call them "friends", as all of them were rivals competing for their positions in the club. But, precisely because they were all molded together within the same harsh environment, they were all extremely trustworthy companions in battle.

Everybody there fought as if their lives were on the line, drawing out 120% of their power at all times. With teammates like that, defeating the Sweepers would have been a very real possibility.

[It's hopeless.] Jin sighed in defeat. [I can't organize a single good attack with this team. For once, I have to agree with the captain that playing defense is the best move here.]

Of course, even on the defense, Jin was a great help to this subpar team. No matter how well-trained the players were in the arts of defense, the skill gap between them and the pros made that almost irrelevant.

[Though, the captain's shot-calls are often on point.] Jin admitted. [Most likely, even I would have missed some of these openings if I were the shot-caller. But, his high-level calls are wasted on a team that can't compete with pros in the slightest.]

Even when the captain discovered a potential hole in the team's formation and asked his teammates to cover it, the result wasn't always on point. Sometimes, the pros launched the predictable attack regardless and got away with it.

That shouldn't happen, not in a real game. A predictable attack should be swiftly countered.

So, it was truly embarrassing. The superb shot-calls should have turned the team's defense into impenetrable, yet the soldiers couldn't live up to the expectations. Even if they deflected some hits, they could never launch a proper counterattack to capitalize on their advantage.

[I can't let that stand.] Jin asserted. Even if the rest of the team was too weak to take advantage of their defensive moves, then Jin definitely wasn't.

"I blink in and throw Hawk here," Jin informed as he hurled his axe at Hawk, landing a perfect shot. Next, he blinked in and tackled the guy with Takedown, tossing Hawk into the Golem's range.

"My, nice moves there~" The Ranger, who was Jin's partner on the defense, followed up on his play with Wolf Companion.

A white wolf emerged out of thin air and pinned Hawk to the ground, right inside the Golem's area. Needless to say, it was the end for him.

『An enemy has been killed!』

Athena was the one who actually scored the kill, but surely everybody will appreciate Jin's assertive play that made it possible in the first place. That should earn him some credit points, even though it probably didn't look nearly as impressive as the times he went neck-to-neck with Ignis.

Alas, that's the kind of breadcrumbs Jin had to collect right now. It was impossible to launch any decisive attacks on the enemy, so Jin had to search for the rare opportunities in which he could turn the tables on the assailants.

Even then, he still often found himself at the mercy of his teammates. These subpar players had to be able to follow up on Jin's quick counterattacks, which didn't always go well.

[Though I have to admit, Athena does a passable job at that.] Jin thought. [She's the fastest one to adapt to my plays. She's even better than the captain at this.]

Athena was an oddball player. She didn't come across as particularly talented, yet she delivered impressive results every now and then.

Her playstyle was rather flexible. She was good at adapting to both her allies and her opponents, which wasn't a trivial trait for players at this level.

Compared to her, Average and Adapting weren't nearly as good. They responded too slowly to Jin's plays, and from there the entire counterattack fell apart.

Though, to Adapting's defense, the guy was at least good at adapting to the enemy's movements. Without that, his IGN would have been a total lie.

At the bare minimum, Adapting knew how to respond to the enemy's advances in an efficient manner. Though the guy's mediocre skill hampered his ability to properly counterattack, at least his foundation was solid. So, at the very least, he wasn't entirely useless as a defense companion.

[I wonder, when did I start paying so much attention to all these players?] Jin frowned.

Perhaps somewhere, at the far back of his head, Jin had already come to terms with the fact he probably won't pass today's exam. This second game was most likely the last chance to prove himself today, and he royally blew it.

As such, Jin will most likely have to keep playing as part of the Leopards for a while longer. If so, then StormBlitz, his current allies, will become his greatest rivals at the regionals.

The moment that realization sunk in, the gears in his brain started turning on their own. He started paying closer attention to the strengths and weaknesses of each teammate, deconstructing their efficiency at attacking, defending, and adapting.

[As it stands, I do not see myself losing to them.] Jin asserted. [They're about as good as the Leopards, so it might be a close match if I don't participate. But, with me there, the Leopards would win with ease.]

StormBlitz wasn't a threat, not at their current state. Most of their players had a solid foundation and could perhaps develop into good players with time, but for now, they were nothing special. That was the only relief Jin had in this otherwise depressing situation.

『DEFEAT』

The outcome was all but expected. From the moment Jin allowed Ignis and Hawk to parade on his lane and destroy his tower, there were no opportunities for a comeback, not with such an inferior team.

Allowing a hyper-aggressive class like Orc to gain early momentum was one of the worst mistakes a team could commit. In the hands of a skilled player, Orc was practically unstoppable when it had early momentum.

[And, it will be considered my fault.] Jin accepted the blame. [I should've heeded the captain's advice and waited a bit longer before bringing my ult to battle.]

Even though Ignis thoroughly dominated the lane at the time, Jin's ult served as a gatekeeper of sorts. As long as his ult was available, Ignis couldn't push the lane too freely. She constantly had to respect the possibility of being surrounded by a gang of strong vikings who'll rend her asunder.

Therefore, the moment Jin spent his ult, he opened the gates wide open. He granted Ignis free entrance to his side of the lane.

Once there was nothing to stop her, Ignis blasted through the lane with Hawk's help. From there onward, she became unstoppable and steamrolled the entire game.

[I feel she was trying harder than usual to wrap things up.] Jin thought. [It's almost like she was rubbing my mistake in my face. I'm sure the bystanders would attribute her snowballing to my mistake, which would make me look even worse.]

Intentionally or not, but thanks to Ignis's great efforts, Jin's score for this exam was going to be beyond terrible...