Enforcing Fair Odds

[So, it's just Dan this time.] Ignis shrugged. Her lane opponent for the next round was none other than the enemy Jungler, defending the lane all alone.

[I was planning to blast that Chinese brat to pieces, but he had to stand me up like this. Damn, who am I supposed to vent this anger on!?]

And so, Ignis unleashed her fury on the enemy minions. She pushed the swordsmen to the backline with Fearless Charge, then exploded on the entire enemy squad with the shield from War Cry. This was a different farming routine, less optimized but more aggressive.

With this method, the bowmen didn't get a taste of her Fearless Charge, so they survived the shield explosion with moderate HP. That slowed down the farming overall speed, but it opened doors to new types of plays.

By pushing the entire enemy wave to the backline and clearing out the frontline, the bowmen were now wide open to be assaulted by Ignis's entire army. In other words, with this aggressive approach, Ignis penetrated the enemy's defenses and was about to destroy them from point-blank!

[That should do it.] Ignis cut down the last swordsman. Now, only the enemy bowmen remained. [I don't care about these scrubs. Time to get to the main dish.]

Ignis turned her back on the enemy bowmen and sprinted at Dan. The kid was still in the middle of attacking Ignis's advancing minions, so it took him a moment to notice her intentions.

"Oh snap!" Dan jumped. "She's coming at me!"

"Run," Howard advised immediately. "She must be out for blood. You won't last long against her when she gets like this."

"Haha, as if I'd last long against her any other day. Your sis is a beast." Dan chuckled nervously. He braced for impact and began his retreat.

[That was rather a speedy shot-call.] Jin commented. [As I thought, the captain here is a league above the rest. He's always quick to issue defensive orders to everybody, although he plays a little too safe on occasions. There are many similarities with Cato's shot-calling too, but at least it's not as turtly. Is this the west's meta?]

Out of all the players on this team, the captain was the only one who seemed somewhat reliable. Compared to him, the Jungler defending Jin's lane right now was a sad excuse of a clown. Jin had to pray for this guy to not screw everything up...

"Please make sure you don't die," Jin implored.

"Haha, are you worried about little ol' me?" Dan smiled. "I'm so moved, man. It's a shame you gonna be our opponent later down the line. You seem like a cool dude."

"Hrm." Jin didn't respond to that praise, for it was completely off the mark.

Normally, he couldn't care less about what happens to a weak player like Average. However, the guy was tasked with defending Jin's lane right now, so his actions might have consequences for Jin as well.

[I can't have him die.] Jin thought. [It'll give Ignis an edge.]

That woman was already a difficult opponent to deal with. So, if she gets ahead in exp and gold, it'll become nigh impossible for Jin to catch up.

[Maybe I made mistake.] Jin thought. [I shouldn't have asked this clown to defend the lane. As absurd as it sounds, it might have been better to just let Ignis push one wave for free. I would have lost a lot of tower HP, but it's still better than feeding Ignis.]

That's how little faith Jin had in Average. It was a sad mentality that often came hand in hand with playing alongside inferior players. It was hard getting used to it.

[Rather, I don't WANT to get used to it.] Jin thought. [I want to play with teammates who can get the job done. Is that too much to ask for?]

That's why Jin absolutely had to ace this exam and join the pro scene ASAP. Alas, that useless Jungler was about to get in the way of this grand plan...

"Dang, she caught up!" Dan exclaimed. "And, she went straight for her ult!"

Ignis rolled after him, then canceled the roll into Swordwhirl. She started spinning with her giant blade, right in Dan's face!

[B-But, no problem!] Dan tried to convince himself. [The jungle is right over there. I just gotta roll toward it.]

He jumped forth and rolled on the ground. Then, he started running... slowly. Very slowly.

His Lancer didn't look serious at all about escaping from the scene. Dude was moving in slow motion.

That was the result of getting repeatedly hit by Swordwhirl. That nasty ult applied not only damage but also lowered Movement Speed and protections.

Dan's entire body was sluggish and heavy. He was fleeing from the scene as quickly as a turtle would.

By the time he got close to the jungle entrance - Ignis has already caught up amidst her spinning. And so, she continued hitting him with her Beyblade attacks.

There was no escape. Dan was like a fly caught in a spider's web.

[I really need my leap right now.] Dan nervously glanced at the cooldown on his Lunge skill. [C'mon, do something!]

For now, his only option was to continue running forward while enduring the abuse from the spinning monster. So, that's what he did.

In the process, his HP plummeted at the speed of light. He didn't buy any protections this early into the game, but his pursuer sure jacked herself up with power. And, the result spoke for itself.

[Crap, I'm actually about to die here...!] Dan gulped.

Back when he arrived in the lane, he was already at 70% HP. And now, after repeated abuse from Ignis, his HP fell all the way down to 20%. Basically, he was moments away from dying!

The entire time, his eyes darted back and forth between the road in front of him and the timer on Lunge. [This gotta be the longest cooldown in the history of cooldowns, word.]

It wasn't long yet. Soon enough, Lunge will become available and Dan just might be able to escape the scene in the nick of time.

But, will his strong opponent allow such a thing? Of course not.

[You're dead, kid!] Ignis finished spinning but her relentless assault continued. Her prey was still slowed down, so she had no problem slashing the kid from behind while giving chase.

The defenseless Lancer was already below 10% HP. One more hit and Ignis will squash the kid like a bug.

[Should I do it?] Ignis stayed her hand at the last moment. Her rush of adrenaline quieted down after her destructive urges were satisfied. Suddenly, a wave of clarity washed over her.

[Nah, let's let him live.] Ignis decided. [Dan did an alright job responding to my attack, so we can leave it at that. If his pursuer was just a little slower than me, then he probably would've gotten away. He cut it close, really.]

As she predicted, the Lancer's escape tool entered the picture a moment later. Dan kicked off the ground and jumped over the wall in front of him.

And so, Ignis lost her means of pursuing the dying prey. By granting the kid just one extra second, he successfully made his escape. Not too shabby.

[This is fine.] Ignis convinced herself. A part of her itched to get a kill, but her reason trumped over such thoughts.

"Man, you were so close," Hawk commented. "Can't believe that kid slipped away from you."

"I [let] him slip away," Ignis corrected. "I don't need an unfair advantage to beat some Chinese brat."

"Oh, I see." Hawk nodded. "Then, you don't mind if I finish the meal for you, right?"

"Hmph. Do whatever you want."

While the two of them were casually discussing the fate of their prey, the Lancer made his way through the jungle, fleeing like a hapless rabbit.

[Is she gone? Am I safe!?] Dan gulped. He didn't even have the luxury of checking behind him because doing so would slow him down.

[Okay, I'll go all the way to the back of the jungle, then I'll recall.] Dan nodded to himself. He exercised maximum caution even though he was already back in allied territory.

The jungle was a merciless place. Even though this area was technically on allied territory, there were no allied minions or any other automated defense mechanisms to save the Jungler from threats.

Dan was back in his kingdom, but this kingdom had no guards or any defense to speak of. He was all alone in the wild. The threat of death still loomed large.

"Dan, head downwards toward Mid," Howard advised. "I don't think sis continued chasing you after you jumped over the wall, so the only one you have to look out for is-"

『An ally has been killed!』

It was good advice, but it came a little too late. Just as Howard started directing Dan away from the one and only threat - that very threat sunk its teeth into Dan.

"Dang!" Dan exclaimed. "Where did this dude even come from!?"

"You can always expect him to be at the right place at the right time, that's how he plays."

The one who finished off Ignis's prey was Hawk. The Vampire turned into a giant bat and rammed straight into Dan. The crash alone dealt enough damage to strike Dan down.

It was unclear how exactly Hawk made it all the way there despite leaving Top a while ago, but it wasn't surprising either. That's the kind of plays Hawk was best known for.

He was always there, at the right place, at the right time, and usually making the right play. Hawk didn't stand out too much as a pro in any other particular area, yet he possessed the one godlike skill that every Jungler would like to have. Or, so people tended to think...

[Man, talk about lucky timing.] Hawk chuckled. [I just invaded their side to counter-jungle for a little. Didn't expect to see that brat running half-dead over here, haha. Good thing I kept tabs on Top just in case something interesting happens.]

Hawk just happened to be in enemy territory when the dying Lancer was passing by. It was all pure luck… or was it, really? Either way, for everybody else, this play probably looked like another one of Hawk's "impressive plays". But for him, it was just a "lucky situation".

[Anyway, this should redeem me in front of the owner.] Hawk glanced at Ronshfelt, who was wearing his ever-present plastic smile. It was impossible to tell what that sly fox was thinking, but at least he didn't look disappointed with the match so far.

[But, he doesn't look too interested either.] Hawk shrugged. [He only has an eye for the Korean boy, doesn't he? Oh well.]

For the better or the worse, Ronshfelt will be able to enjoy the next part of his favorite play soon enough. After all, while all this exciting action with Dan was taking place, the star of the show was already on his way back to Top.

[So, I didn't make it…] Jin frowned. He was hoping to arrive on the lane before disaster struck, but he was far too late. The situation in Top developed way too fast for anybody to respond in a timely manner.

[Ignis sure can get dangerous when she goes wild on the offense.] Jin reminded himself of that important fact.

For the average player, going all-in with extreme offense was often a recipe for disaster. Most of the time, extreme aggression clouded their judgment and made them overextend, leading them to their doom.

However, that rule didn't apply to Ignis. In her case, going wild usually empowered her.

She was like a Berserker who activated the Berserk ult, receiving a sizable stat boost. However, unlike the Berserker, Ignis retained enough of her reason to utilize her kit efficiently. That made her an A+ tier threat.

Only those who were mechanically superior to Ignis could take advantage of her wildness and strike her down while her defense was down. However, against most opponents, a wild Ignis was efficiently a powered-up version of the usual Ignis.

[And, I'll probably have to deal with this from now on.] Jin nodded to himself. [I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. Our fight until now was like a warm-up. This is where things will become difficult for real. And, I suppose I should be grateful she stayed her hand and didn't take the kill.]

Yes, Ignis [permitted] that kill to slip through her fingers. She had the kill in the bag and she probably planned to go all the way at first. However, at the last moment, Ignis stayed her hand for just a moment.

Few would've noticed the brief delay, but Jin closely watched the unfolding events with the x-ray vision. Therefore, he knew for sure: Ignis refrained from landing the killing blow.

[I'm sure she still got the assist for it, but that only evens out our positions.] Jin reasoned. [She was a little behind before recalling, so now we're on equal footing.]

Ignis deliberately avoided taking the kill to not get an unfair advantage against Jin. At least, that's how it seemed.

For a prideful player like Ignis, it made perfect sense. She saw Jin as nothing more than a cocky brat challenging adults. Therefore, she wanted to put him in his place by crushing him without any unfair advantages.

[I knew she'd be the best lane opponent for this match.] Jin nodded to himself. [As long as she holds onto her pride, she'll refrain from getting ahead. So, I'll have many chances to fight her on even ground. That's the best arrangement for showing off my skills to the audience.]

And so, Jin returned to Top Lane once more. It was time for Round 2 of the Apprentence vs. Ignis match. Who will emerge victorious in the next clash!?