Slogging for Victory

After Lars healed up at the base and purchased Fury Knuckles Lv.2, he returned to the lane. Next, it was Yuel's turn to recall.

"The Viking revived but it'll take him a few seconds to get to lane," Yuel informed before leaving. "So, this will be a pure 1v1 situation. If you got an opportunity, go for the kill."

"Gotcha, dude," Lars nodded and a familiar grin formed on his face. The beast was exposing its fangs with murderous intent. He was totally going to push for a kill, wasn't he? Thankfully, this was a great situation for that kind of aggressive stunt, so Yuel had no objections.

"Okay!" Lars exclaimed. "Let's rock n' roll!"

After the enemy Pyromancer finished clearing the minions, the lane became a 1v1 arena for Lars and Kai. This gonna be good!

[C'mon! Come at me, dude!] Lars used a taunt animation from the middle of the lane.

[This punk wanna go at it, huh,] Kai accepted the challenge and advanced along the lane. She had to spend Flame Wave on the minion wave, so her offensive options were restricted right now. Nevertheless, that won't stop her from crushing that guy.

"I think you better wait," Vincent advised. "I'll be back on lane in a jiffy."

"Huh? You're saying I can't win this 1v1?"

"Um, well," Vincent rolled his eyes as he searched for an appropriate answer. "Can we just call it an unnecessary risk?"

"There's no risk if I'm going to beat him."

"Yeah, that's true, but..."

"So, you ARE saying I can't win this fight. Why? Because he's a guy?"

"No no no, that got nothing to do with it. This guy is just pretty damn strong. He's the Insane Beast of the Apocalypse!"

"Sounds like a small fry."

"By what absurd standard!?" Vincent laughed in shock. Welp, there was no changing Kai's mind once she had her mind set on fighting somebody, especially when the opponent was a guy. All Vincent could do was hurry to the lane and hopefully prevent the inevitable disaster.

[Hmph,] Kai scoffed. [Taking me lightly like that. I'll show him I can beat any guy at this game!]

Kai darted straight at her enemy. She gonna run over that guy real quick- bam! Huh!? A shot pierced her shoulder!

"Eh?" Kai took a step back. She needed a moment to understand what the hell just happened.

Was she already within Gunslinger's attack range? She must have barely touched the tip of that range, yet a bullet came flying at her right away. That was some impressive zoning...

Kai originally planned to start juking once she gets closer, but this opponent had no intention of letting her get any closer. This guy was a good shooter, Kai had to hand it to him. How did Vincent call it again? "Gangnam Style Sniper" or something? Not too shabby.

As a mid-range Pyromancer, how should Kai approach here? She had to get in before she can start dishing out attacks. But, this guy gonna shoot her a few times before she even gets a chance to get close. This was bad.

[Am I seriously thinking so hard about it?] Kai frowned. She never felt such intimidation from a single opponent. Something about that instantaneous shot sent a chill down her spine. It was a zero tempo shot. There was no even time to react. To get around such shots, she'd have to dodge them before even realizing she had to dodge.

In none of her online matches, neither against Diamond players nor against Challenger players, did Kai ever encounter such precision. This will be a tough fight, she could already tell.

"What's wrong?" Lars asked. "If you ain't coming, then I gonna come at ya!" He rolled forward with Combat Roll. All-out attack, yo!

Right as he recovered, he booted Fan the Hammer. The Gunslinger spun the hammer of his revolver and took aim. A barrage was incoming!

Bam! Headshot! The first shot landed without any trouble. The enemy Pyromancer was totally fazed and didn't even move! Lars gonna take her down ez! He could even go for three headshots in a row! He was feeling it right now!

The next shot came out right away! The Pyromancer took half a step to the side in a poor attempt to dodge. It wasn't nearly enough. Bam! Another headshot! Lars had this! One more headshot and Kai gonna get stunned!

[It's so fast...!] Kai bit her lip in frustration. Reacting to these shots by sound was impossible. But, she got two samples of their beat. The third one was going to fire at the exact same timing, so she had to dodge... Now! She rolled aside!

Whish. The bullet cut through empty air.

"Wha!?" Lars exclaimed. What sick dodge, yo! He was perfectly locked on Kai, but she just barely slipped away at the last moment. She literally escaped death there.

But wait, it ain't over yet! He had two more shots left. This was no time to be impressed!

[Geh, a headshot seems rough,] Lars gave up on that and aimed for Kai's body while she was recovering. It was a shot she couldn't dodge, so it easily dug into her back. It wasn't a headshot so there was not critical damage, but it was still a decent shot.

With that momentum, Lars gonna land the final shot too! This time, it'll be a headshot! His aim was spot on, so this one gonna hit!

... or not. Kai sidestepped the shot in the last moment.

[Phew, barely made it.] Kai sighed in relief. Even though she got the timing down by now, it was incredibly difficult to dodge such fast shots. But, she somehow made it.

[Geh, seriously? But okay, she's low.] Lars chased his prey. Kai was at 20% HP while Lars was completely healthy at 100%. So, he gotta go in and get that kill!

[Damn, this is bad.] Kai turned around and booted Burning Spirit. She had to concede she had no chance right now. It's not like Kai was weaker than that guy or anything, it's just that the enemy caught her at a disadvantageous position. Therefore, this called for a tactical retreat.

"You ain't gonna get away, yo!" Lars chased and landed a shot on her back. Ez hit.

[I remember the timing for these.] Kai repeated in her head to confirm: wait, wait, dodge. There was nothing she could do about the first shot, but from now she had the timing down for all the upcoming shots. Therefore, she'll dodge everything and get away alive!

[Okay!] Lars fired again... but he missed! "What the-!? I swear, this Pyro's sidesteps are outta this world!"

"She got your pattern down," Yuel explained. "You should delay your shots to mix up the timing."

"Yeah, I was getting that feeling too," Lars waited a brief moment before firing the third bullet.

Right there! The Pyromancer moved! If Lars fired quickly like usual, he probably would have missed.

[So, that's your game.] Lars grinned. [No idea how ya doing it, but it's sick! Not gonna work on my 200% Accuracy, tho.]

Bam! Headshot!

"Wha-!?" Kai exclaimed. [Again? Did I mistime it? Or, did he delay on purpose? Either way, this is bad news.]

Kai was down to 8% HP. One more headshot will seal the deal. Alternatively, two normal shots would do. So, she absolutely had dodge all incoming shots no matter what.

[One more headshot and it's over!] Lars licked his lips. He just had to catch up to her with a roll and then he gonna be ready to deliver the finishing blow!

"The Viking might get there soon," Yuel warned. "Be ready to escape after you get the kill."

[The Viking?] Lars's brain stopped for a moment. He glanced at the corner of the jungle and saw the figure of the Viking.

If Lars dives any further into enemy territory, he might get the kill, But, then he'll have to 1v1 that Viking. It gonna be a nasty fight. He might die.

Even worse, what if he fails to get the kill after rolling? Then, this entire play gonna be a waste and he gonna find himself dead. It'll be exactly like these traps he was repeatedly running into during the selection match. Every time, he chased Ellen thinking he gonna get that sweet kill but instead he wound up dead with zero kills.

Should he chase this kill anyway? This Pyromancer has already dodged a bunch of his shots, so there's no guarantee he'll land the next shot after the roll. It'd be easy on PC, but on tablet it was iffy.

So, this play might be suicide. Geh, what was the right course of action!? Damn, if only his ult was online right now, then it'd be a guaranteed hit...

While he was racking his brain over it, his fingers came to a halt on their own. He didn't dare to chase any further.

This was a risky play. It's the kind of play that cost games. If only Lars didn't take so many risks during the selection match, he and Yuel would have been on StormBlitz's first-string right now.

So, no. He won't chase. Lars turned around retreated.

"You're giving it up?" Yuel asked.

"Y-Yeah," Lars produced a dry laugh. "That Pyro is slick, so she might dodge my next few shots. I shouldn't overextend like that with the Viking around the corner, right? Gotta play smart and stuff."

"Well, that's certainly the safer approach, but..." Yuel wasn't sure what to say.

The prey was right within Lars's grasps. One or two more shots and Lars would have gotten this kill. It's true that Kai has successfully dodged many of Lars's shots so far, but she probably wouldn't have been able to estimate the timing for Lars's shot after a roll. Therefore, chasing all the way should've been a safe bet.

However, Yuel was basing all of that on empirical evidence. He didn't know for sure how Kai managed to dodge all these shots, so maybe he was wrong about Lars's chances. Still, the risk-reward ratio heavily leaned in Lars's favor. Even in case Lars failed to get the kill, he wouldn't have had much trouble retreating because Vincent's ult was on cooldown. So, at best, Lars would have gotten a kill there and, at worst, he would have retreated without receiving much damage.

Nevertheless, Lars decided to retreat right away. The ever-hungry beast gave up on his meal just like that. What's next? Are elephants gonna rain from the sky?

Then again, maybe that's the mentality they should adopt from on: less risk, more reward. If a play might lead to disaster, they should avoid it unless they were 99% sure they were going to nail it. If they play safe like this, the enemy won't be able to exploit their aggressiveness anymore. So, in the end, perhaps Lars made the right call after all.

"Whaaaaaaat?" Vincent's jaw dropped as he arrived on the lane. "Gunz didn't go for the kill? But, the Insane Beast of the Apocalypse..."

This match was so weird. The Golden Duo was definitely as strong as he remembered them, but they were missing that spark they showed during the scrimmage with the Leopards.

In this match, Chessmaster and Gunz played very reservedly. It didn't mean they were playing bad because, despite everything, they were still holding the upper hand. Nonetheless, it felt wrong somehow.

["The Golden Duo falls into a slump!?"] Vincent came up with a clickbait title for an article that would have definitely hit over a thousand clicks if Chessmaster and Gunz were celebrities. Though, even if they were, Vincent could never bring himself to post such a thing...

[Enough, enough. Focus on the game.] Vincent shook his head. The problems of the Golden Duo weren't his concern right now. None of that changed the fact they were strong adversaries and Vincent had to do his best to beat them, even though he knew it was futile.

"That damn Gunslinger..." Kai muttered. Her eyes glinted like a polished dagger.

[There it is, the Pheromone Buster.] Vincent smiled wryly. He knew that even though Kai slipped away alive, that 1v1 must have been embarrassing for her because Gunz basically ran all over her. This girl won't let that stand.

Therefore, that triggered the Pheromone Buster! It was a special ability akin to a berserker switch. Sometimes it worked in Kai's favor by giving her great strength, but other times it blew up in her face.

Which one will it be this time? Welp, with Chessmaster's Mystical Eyes of Weakness Perception in play... This sure gonna be interesting! More scoop for Vincent to write about!

After Kai healed up at the base and returned to lane, Pheromone Buster was in full effect and it was immediately apparent. Instead of maintaining a safe distance from her enemies as a Pyromancer should, she advanced to the frontline way too often to intimidate and poke. Kai was out for blood.

"Yo," Lars grumped as he retreated from the Pyromancer's range again per Yuel's order. "This dude is pushing it. Can I just go at her?"

"Hmm," Yuel tried to process what was happening. Ever since that 1v1, the Pyromancer's game plan shifted drastically. She was no longer playing the safe spacing game Yuel praised before. Instead, Kai was advancing to the frontline as if trying to pick a fight.

What was the strategy behind it? This had to be some sort of adjustment from the enemy's side, right? After all, Yuel and Lars have been dominating the lane from early into the game, so the enemy must have switched to a more aggressive game plan.

It wasn't a bad idea to be more aggressive, but was that the entirety of the enemy's plan? Because, if so...

[They're not initiating a real fight.] This was very confusing.

The Viking closely followed the Pyromancer like a bodyguard but he didn't initiate any attacks. Any scary offense from that duo would have to start with the Viking initiating, but there were no signs of any of that coming. It felt like Kai was trying to push offense while Vincent was trying to maintain defense. There was a mismatch of interests.

Was it some sort of trap? Were the enemy trying to lure Yuel and Lars into something? Yuel couldn't tell. The Pyromancer's careless advances left multiple holes in her defense, but Yuel wasn't sure whether they should go ahead and strike those.

Was it even necessary to do anything about it? Even though the Pyromancer was intimidating them, it wasn't like these advances helped the enemy win lane control. Yuel instructed Lars to poke Kai whenever she advanced to clear minions, so she couldn't stay on the frontline for long without eating damage. So, if Kai keeps going like this, she'll eventually burn herself out.

But, that was the bare minimum. Yuel saw multiple lines of plays he could go for to exploit flaws in the enemy's formation even further and assuredly get a kill on Kai. However, he didn't bring them up. There was no reason to take unnecessary risks when they could just slowly and surely grind their enemy to dust.

"Let's keep poking her," Yuel said. "I see some ways to go in for a kill, but they might be luring us into some sort of trap. I don't see a reason to take the risk."

"Yeah, sounds smart," Lars agreed, as uncharacteristic as it was. If even Lars wasn't gung-ho about going for a kill here, then Yuel definitely had no reason to go overboard. They should just take this game slowly and beat their opponents into submission step by step.

"Tch, they always run," Kai clicked her tongue. [What a bunch of wusses.]

[That's so odd,] Vincent tilted his head. Kai had many openings in her defense while under the effect of Pheromone Buster, so Chessmaster should've made a move by now. Even though Vincent has been doing his best to cover up for Kai, he was far from boasting godlike defense like Aegis. Therefore, Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception should've discovered something by now.

"Can't you initiate already?" Kai asked.

"I can," Vincent said. "But, remember what happened last time? How do you suppose I get in their face without having the tables turned on me?"

"Git gud."

"Of course, the one and only answer to every video gaming problem," Vincent chuckled and shook his head. "I'm searching for openings. But, their formation is so tight they must be the reincarnations of legendary Roman soldiers. If you got any bright ideas, I'm all ears."

"... not really," Kai had to admit the enemy was playing solid. Her aggression didn't shake their formation at all and didn't create any openings for an initiation. The two guys just kept playing the patience game and spaced Kai out. [No balls, huh.]

In the end, the entire 2v2 match transformed into a battle of attire. Kai pushed and pushed and pushed as hard as she could, but the enemy spaced her out and poked her to oblivion. Eventually, she had to give up and return to base. Naturally, the enemy used that opportunity to push hard.

After this pattern repeated itself enough, Yuel and Lars eventually sealed the deal.

『VICTORY』

The usual message popped with fireworks and confetti to celebrate the occasion. But, it felt hollow somehow.

"We won, right?" Lars asked.

"I believe so," Yuel nodded. "Look, the message says we won, right?"

"Yeah, seems about right..."

Yes, they definitely won. They played the patience game and overpowered their opponents through counter picking and coordination. They could've gone for stronger plays but they still won, so that didn't matter, right? Right...

With this awkward feeling, the "friendly" match reached its conclusion.