The rhythm of Howard’s team completely changed. At first glance, it seemed as if each individual member became stronger, by patching out the weaknesses Yuel had been exploiting until now. However, in truth, the huge change was caused by just one person.

“Mark, go meet Gil, the Warlock, in the jungle.” Howard said.

“Huh?” Mark checked the mini-map with a puzzled expression. Gilbert, the team’s Warlock, was on his way to Bot Lane in order to help pushing. What’s the point of leaving that very same lane just meet him halfway there?

Not to mention, Mark hasn’t even finished clearing the minion wave yet. It felt like a terrible time to leave the lane. Was it some kind of test? “Shouldn’t I push the lane until he arrives? It sounds like a waste to go all the way to meet him. Besides, there are still minions here.”

“Just to be on the safe side.” Howard said. “With the Ranger and Lionfolk, the enemy team effectively has two junglers, so we can’t let our guard down. If you don’t stick together, one of you may be picked off. You don’t wanna feed them any more, do you?”

“O-Of course not!” Mark gulped. Questioning Howard’s order was yet another error for the huge pile he already accumulated, he was totally blowing this exam. Damn!

“Heh, don’t worry about it.” Howard patted Mark’s shoulder. “You’re right, I’m being pretty cautious here. But, our next wave already spawned, so it can deal with the remaining minions without letting them damage the Golem. Even if you don’t stay on lane, the Golem will be safe for a while. Besides, the plan is to push hard with the next wave anyway, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mark nodded. Phew, what a relief. It didn’t seem like Howard was angry with him at all. “I thought I’ll farm the Hyena Camp while waiting for the Warlock, but guess that’s still too risky.”

“That’s actually a great idea! Once you meet up with Gil, you two should do the camp together. Good thinking there!”

“T-Thanks!” Mark clenched his mouse. Hell yeah! He finally scored some points! He still had a chance to make a comeback in this exam! WIth renewed determination, he headed into the jungle to rendezvous with Gilbert.

“Hey! The Ranger is here!” Mark exclaimed. Just as he arrived at his destination, he spotted the Ranger trying to gank the Warlock. With how fed the Ranger was by now, he was going to wreck the Warlock in 1v1 without breaking a sweat. But, thanks to Mark arriving on the scene, the situation changed into a 2v1! They had a chance to turn the tables on that pesky Ranger!

『You have killed an enemy!』

“Yeah! Eat that!” Mark clenched his fist and grinned. They took down that damn Ranger! Mark finally scored his first kill this game!

“Good play, keep it going!” Howard said.

“Yeah! We can do it!” Mark was on fire. With this kill, the tides began turning in their favor! The irritating Ranger wasn’t there to defend Bot anymore, so it was a great chance to push hard! Making a comeback wasn’t impossibile! This exam wasn’t lost for him yet!

“Good call there.” Gilbert said.

“Yeah...” Howard was deep in thought. He didn’t actually expect anybody to try ganking Gilbert with such perfect timing. His advice for Mark was merely a “just in case”, yet it resulted in getting a kill on Trever.

“Roi, you’ve been holding onto that Sentry Ward like it’s your baby.” Howard said. “Use it already.”

“Oh, totally forgot about it, lol!” Roi laughed. “Our side looks pretty warded, though. Man, you do such a good work that there’s nowhere for me to put it, lol.”

“Then place it here.” Howard pinged on the map.

“Here? Eh? You sure?”

“You already bought it, so may as well use it. Or what, you’re so rich that you can toss money away?”

“That’s fair. Okay, here goes... oh!?” Roi’s eyes went wide after he placed his Sentry Ward. “Lol, they actually had a Ward here! I’mma get rid of it. Good guess there, man.”

“Yeah, haha...” Howard faked a smile. He knew it was possible for a niche Ward to be placed there, but he didn’t really expect it to be there. The enemy Druid must had placed it there to get vision on fleeing targets, so that he could pull them with Nature’s Grasp. With that enemy Ward gone, yet another one of the team’s weaknesses was dealt with.

In this fashion, Howard kept tweaking the plays of his teammates. He advised against risky rotations, gave timely retreat orders and determined which jungle camps were safe to clear. As a result, the team’s defense was strongly reinforced and the enemy failed to push, gradually losing the momentum they maintained until now.

『An enemy Turret has been destroyed!』

“Lol, I took Mid so easily! Where are these guys even at, lol!” Roi laughed as he demolished the enemy Turret. He originally planned to rotate to Bot, but Howard advised to keep pushing Mid. For some reason, nobody came in time to stop him.

“They all went Bot.” Gilbert pointed out. “Good thing you didn’t rotate there.”

“Lol, true that. Man, Howard you’re on fire today! You’re usually such a worrywart, but today we’re actually scoring big thanks to you!”

“Heh, maybe now you’ll learn to respect me a little.” Howard smirked, but then averted his eyes. The whole team was excited about turning the tables thanks to Howard’s advice. Of course, he was also happy that his shot-calls were effective.

However, he had conflicted feelings about it. His advice worked well, too well. Things usually didn’t turn out like this just from Howard’s advice. He understood better than anybody why it was happening this game and what it meant.

Nevertheless, he had no choice but to keep providing his team with that flawless defense. When they were about to make a risky play, he proposed a safer alternative. When they found themselves in a sticky situations, he immediately arrived for the rescue. He left no openings.

“You see his in-game name?” Aron asked Yuel. “He decided to call himself ‘Aegis’, the shield of gods. Just like you find weaknesses in your opponents to organize a strong offense, he finds the weaknesses of his teammates to put on a strong defense. It’s like he puts an impenetrable shield in front of his whole team, therefore ‘Aegis’.”

“An impenetrable shield...” Yuel bit his lip. Indeed, every offense he attempted was shut down, he couldn’t pierce through enemy defenses anymore. They truly were protected by Aegis, the shield of gods.

Howard patched out each and every hole Yuel spotted in the enemy’s formation. It was impossible to pierce through anymore. The harder Yuel’s tried to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses, the harder his team was punished by defensive counterplay.

“The Pirate is going for the Hyena Camp.” Yuel said. “Trever, can you gank him?”

“Hmm. Are ya sure, bro?” Trever cocked his head.

“Eh? Ah, well...” Yuel stumbled over his words. Was he sure? Really? Was the Pirate really heading to the Hyena Camp? According to Yuel’s analysis, that must had been the case, but...

“They destroyed all our Wards there, so we can’t see shit.” Trever shrugged. “If I get there and Pirate rotates to Mid meanwhile, you guys will have to fight 4v5.”

“You’re right...” Yuel bit his lip.

“I mean, if you have a good reason to believe the Pirate is going after the camp, I can give it a shot.”

“Forget it.” Yuel shook his head. “Let’s focus on Mid then.”

Doubt was seeded among his teammates. Even though Aron told them to follow Yuel’s tactics, they started questioning Yuel’s shot-calls. It wasn’t surprising, considering his suggestions led them into misplays, time after time after time.

At this point, even Yuel lost faith in his own analysis. What’s the point? Every weakness he discovered was covered up by Howard. Yuel was battling an invisible enemy, on a chessboard that existed on an invisible higher plane.

The “Paladin” playing on the map and the “Aegis” who provided absolute defense - they were two entirely different enemies. The Paladin could be analyzed by watching the map, but how was Yuel supposed to overcome an invisible chess opponent like Aegis? Yuel had no way to investigate what weaknesses Aegis had as a player, there’s no way to win against such an elusive opponent.

Is he trying to play god? Yuel bit his lip. All players were flawed, that’s what made team sports interesting. Finding said flaws and exploiting them was Yuel’s forte.

However, against Aegis, that didn’t work. Under Howard’s leadership, all his teammates became “flawless” players. They left no holes in their formation, there wasn’t anything for Yuel to exploit. In order to get to them, Yuel first had to defeat Aegis on the chessboard.

I thought I left this frustration behind when I quit the chess club. Yuel’s hands become sweaty. This agonizing feeling was familiar, it was the same as when he played chess against a superior opponent. There weren’t any weak spots to strike, the enemy was simply stronger, that’s all.

The more he insisted on striking the enemy’s weaknesses, the harder his team got outplayed by Howard’s defense. His shot-calls were clearly dragging the team down at this point. Therefore, it was best to just shut his mouth and let his teammates do their job.

Yuel fell silent and reverted back into being merely an alright by-the-book Support. He warded, set up basic ganks and helped in team fights, but that’s all. HIs sophisticated offensive tactics were unnecessary, and that’s fine. His team still maintained the lane advantage in Mid and Bot. It’s fine, they could win as long as he didn’t suggest any ideas that backfired. Right, it’s fine.

“So, that’s your solution? Running away?” Aron fronwed.

“That’s...” Yuel averted his eyes. “That’s the safest strategy. We gained the advantage in the early game, so we can let it carry us to victory. My shot-calls just get in the way right now.”

“Then, let me ask you this: what would you do if this were a real match? We only gained the early game advantage because Howard didn’t play seriously from the beginning. What would you do if we didn’t have that advantage?”

“I... I don’t know.” Yuel bit his lip. What was Aron expecting of him? How was Yuel supposed to beat something like Aegis? It was an impregnatable shield, all enemy players had perfect defense and didn’t even feel like flawed humans anymore. Honestly? It was terrifying. He couldn’t fight against something like that.

“So, you’d throw the match?” Aron eyed Yuel intently. “You’d give up because you’re too scared to face your opponent? Is that your answer as somebody who’s striving to become a competitive player?”

“That’s...” Yuel hung his head. That’s right, he was aiming to become a competitive player, even a pro eventually. Didn’t he seek the competitive scene to play this team sport on the highest level? To play against the strongest opponents?

Yet, he caved in. He couldn’t beat Aegis, so he gave up. All his tactics were torn asunder by the enemy’s absolute defense, it was frustrating, painful and demoralizing. He felt like he was trying to pierce through Howard’s iron defenses with nothing but a twig in his hands. And yet...!

“I... I want to win against him!” Yuel gritted his teeth. “I want to break through Aegis and defeat him! But, it’ll cost us the game if I fail.”

“Forget about winning this rigged match. Forget about the exam.” Aron said. “Pretend this is an official match and we didn’t get any early game advantage. Everything is riding on your ability to defeat Aegis.”

“I want to face him, really. But, is that fine with all of you?” Yuel scanned his teammates. “We may lose because of me. Is that really fine?”

“Heh, no worry, bro.” Trever grinned and smacked Yuel on the back. “Just between you and me, we all wanna see somebody break through that damn ‘Aegis’ at least once. Can you imagine how it feels practicing against that shit everyday? We wanna wreck him, yo!”

The rest of the team was on the same wavelength.

“Yeah, I’m down with that. You’ve been doing a great job earlier, so you may actually pull this off.”

“Agreed. Let’s show Howard that his defense isn’t as perfect as he thinks.”

“And there you have it.” Aron wore a faint smile, which was eerily uncharacteristic. Or rather, it was a smirk. Just like the rest of the team, he definitely wished to see Aegis broken through. “None of us expects a rookie to succeed against Aegis on the first try, but you’ll never get anywhere without trying. A competitive player isn’t somebody who only fights in matches he can win. A true competitive player knows how to grit his teeth and struggle through frustrating matches, grasping at anything he can for the smallest chance of attaining victory. You’ll do well to remember that.”

“And we’re all competitive players like that!” Trever added with a smile. “You can trust us to pick up the slack whenever you fail!”

“Hey, don’t encourage him to make mistakes.”

“And you stop making him shit his pants from all that pressure, okay?”

“Thank you.” Yuel regained his smile. Despite how poorly he was faring, he had the support of his whole team. No matter how badly things would turn out, he wanted to play this match without any regrets. He wanted to face Aegis and win! “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do the best I can.”

“That’s the spirit.” Aron nodded. “Everybody, keep following Yuel’s suggestions to the best of your ability. Keep in mind that the enemy may counter them, so use your own brains as well.”

“Roger.”

“Got it.”

“Aye aye, cap.” Trever shrugged with a smile, then leaned toward Yuel. “Just between you and me, I think Aron really likes you.”

“Hm? Likes? Me?” Yuel raised an eyebrow. No way that was true, considering how harsh and imposing Aron was.

“Heh, you just gotta know the guy. The harsher he is with ya, the more he likes ya. He’s a natural sadist, I’m telling ya. Haha.”

“Haha...” Yuel pretended to laugh along, unsure what to make of this information. He should had been glad that he (probably) made a positive impression on the key examiner, but that didn’t matter right now. All Yuel cared about was defeating Aegis.

Once again, he began analyzing his enemies in-depth, seeking weaknesses his team could exploit. However, unlike before, he didn’t jump at every opportunity that presented itself. He formed countless attack plans with lightning speed, only to drop 90% of them without sharing with anybody. He wasn’t running away, though.

Against an opponent who could strengthen the defenses of the whole team, Yuel had to be more cautious. Whenever Yuel discovered a hole in the enemy defense which seemed too obvious, Howard most likely covered it up by now. Pursuing that angle would only lead to Yuel’s team getting outplayed

Therefore, he focused on the more complicated and advanced plays. He struck the enemy from unexpected angles, leaving little room for counters. Even when he failed arranging the optimal scenario due to Howard’s interference, his team wasn’t punished much by the outcome.

“Trever, the Warlock is rotating to Bot. Try cutting him off.” Yuel drew the most likely route on the mini-map. “But, don’t spend your mount to get there faster. There’s a chance you’ll have to retreat.”

“Roger!” Trever dashed toward the destination, ready to score an easy kill. However, when he finally caught up with the Warlock, the enemy Pirate was also there. It was a 1v2 situation.

“Haha, we got him!” Mark laughed. “Let’s finish him off!”

“Agreed.” Gilbert nodded. “With this kill, we can start turning things around.”

The Pirate and Warlock rushed at Trever, confident that they’d take him out. The ganker become the ganked, it was a delicious development, all thanks to Howard’s suggestion!

“Geh, so there were really two of them.” Trever clicked his tongue. Despite outleveling his enemies by two levels, he couldn’t 1v2 them. He summoned a wolf mount and rode away. “Catch me if you can!”

“Heh, look at him running!” Mark grinned. “Let’s chase! We can finish him off!”

“Sounds good.” Gilbert nodded. “Looks like we can catch up to him if we cut through the middle of the jungle. He chose a terrible escape route.”

Or did he? Howard frowned as he scanned the mini-map. Trever wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had more than enough experience to avoid such basic mistakes. Was he so surprised by the 2v1 situation that he made a wrong turn while escaping?

Actually, why wasn’t the mount on cooldown? It means he didn’t use it to get faster to Gilbert. It’s as if he kept it in case he’d have to escape. None of that sat right with Howard. And, if that wasn’t corcerning enough, the enemy Lionfolk and Druid were currently missing from the mini-map. Judging by the areas where Howard’s team didn’t have vision, and considering Trever’s escape path...

Am I overthinking this? Getting a kill on Trever will allow us to turn things around, but... Howard hesitated. His team thirsted for this important kill. If Howard’s suspicion was just a false alarm, telling Mark and Gilbert to retreat would make his team give up on a game-changing play.

Damn. It’s driving me nuts! Anything is possible as long as it’s that rookie! Unlike everybody else on the team, Howard didn’t rejoice much when the enemy got outplayed by his defensive tactics. For that kind of outplay to happen, the enemy had to target the exact same weaknesses Howard noticed and covered up. This usually happened only a handful of times in a match, but here it was a consistent routine.

Time and again, that damn rookie found one of the holes Howard patched. Even though Howard always came on top as a result, he didn’t feel like he dominated the mental battle against Yuel. On the contrary, he was pressured and couldn’t let his guard down for even a second. The moment he relaxed and opened the tiniest gap in his team’s defense - Yuel was going to immediately sneak an attack through that gap.

Dammit! Better safe than sorry! Howard refused to be defeated by some rookie. He played Classmancers more than anybody here, he even trained with his sis’ pro buddies. His defense was absolute, there was no way some newcomer would be able to pierce through it! “Mark! Gil! Retreat! There’s a good chance you’re running into a trap!”

“But we almost caught up to him.” Mark insisted. “Just a little more and we can turn things around-”

“Do you wanna get killed and feed them even more than you already have!?” Howard shot a glare at Mark.

“Ugh, got it.” Mark hung his head and retreated. Gilbert didn’t raise any objections and quietly retreated as well. With that, a potential disaster was prevented.

“Sorry, my bad.” Howard noticed that Mark was shaken by his earlier outburst. “I got a little heated up because there was no time to explain. They probably planned to ambush you at the Dragon with two more members, the Lionfolk and Druid are missing right now. It sucks that we gotta let them have the Dragon, but we gotta defend our lanes first. Don’t worry, there will surely be another opportunity for a comeback. You’ve been doing a great job so far, so just keep it up”

“Alright, we’ll get him next time!” Mark nodded.

“That’s the spirit!” Howard secretly sighed. Ruining a teammate’s moral was the last thing he needed at such a difficult part of the match. He felt his concentration slipping away, restlessly providing his team with defense gradually wore him out. Just when he thought he was finally going to catch a breather because the attacks slowed down, the enemy delivered a tricker attack than ever.

Heh, I don’t even remember the last time I had to work this hard on the defense. Howard smiled wryly. He didn’t want to lose, not to this irritating rookie. Countering so many perfectly timed attacks was taxing, but it was also fun, in its own way. It was a direct challenge for Aegis, on a scope he had never experienced before. He wanted to win this, no matter what!

So they didn’t bite. Yuel sighed when he saw the Pirate and Warlock halting their chase. The plan was to lure them toward the Dragon, where Yuel and Aron waited to ambush them. But, as expected, Aegis didn’t fall for this trap.

However, that’s fine. Once Trever arrived, the three of them killed the Dragon without being contested. Even though the ambush strategy didn’t come to fruition, they still secured an important objective. They wasted some time, due to Trever going the long way for that gank, but otherwise they didn’t lose much. They made a slightly inefficient play, but they weren’t “outplayed”.

In this fashion, Yuel kept fearlessly challenging Howard over and over. He promised himself that, by the end of this match, he’d break through Aegis’s defense.