Jaiden and Rio returned to base. The plan was to gear up and head straight to Bot in order to help Raymond defend, but something was odd.

“Hey look, they’re spreading themselves thin,” Jaiden pointed out. “They got lone pushers everywhere except in Bot.”

In Bot Lane, Gunz and LegendaryMemer were pushing together. They rotated to the lane shortly after taking the Dragon and continued working together there. This was the right way to do things.

On the other hand, in Top, Chessmaster was defending alone. Likewise, in Mid, Beat was pushing the lane all by herself.

It was a dangerous formation for the mid-game. During such a critical stage of the game, when a single misplay could cost the entire game, Stratus was spreading itself very thin. These guys were a cocky bunch.

“Is it just me, or they’re pressing their advantage a little too much?” Jaiden asked. “I know this is a 3v4 situation and all, but c’mon. They can’t just push like that and pretend there won’t be any consequences.”

“You’re right, it’s a risky formation,” Raymond agreed. “And honestly, it’s quite troublesome for us. Especially, the Sorcerer pushing Mid is a problem. She’ll take the Mid Turret soon.”

“We can’t let her get away with this,” Jaiden insisted. “It’s robbery in broad daylight!”

“Yes, it is. But, I say let her be,” Raymond said. “If one tower is all we have to pay to pull through a 3v4 situation, then so be it. We’re lacking in manpower, so we have no choice but to concede something to the enemy. Let’s minimize risks and focus on defense until the rest of the team revives.”

“I don’t like that,” Jaiden argued. “We gotta punish stuff like that. If we pass on opportunities like this, they’ll steal all our map control. Especially, that cocky Sorcerer in Mid is pushing her luck.”

“It’s a valid concern. But, intercepting the Sorcerer means taking a risk, and we’re in no position to take risks.”

“C’mon, what risk?” Jaiden asked. “The enemy is scattered all over the place. The Slinger and Knight are in Bot, so you’re keeping an eye on them. And, their Aqua is all the way up in Top, he isn’t gonna get to Mid in time to try anything. I don’t see any danger.”

“I agree,” Raymond said. “They probably won’t be able to you gank there. But, aren’t you forgetting the main threat in this entire idea?”

“Main threat?” Jaiden cocked his head. “I can’t say anything comes to mind.”

“The Sorcerer herself,” Rio provided the answer.

“Exactly.” Raymond nodded. “You’ll have to confront the Sorcerer, that’s the risk.”

“Oh, that’s it?” Jaiden smiled confidently. “No problem. She’s not going to kill me if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“She did kill Nash,” Rio pointed out.

“Yeah, but only because Nash done goofed,”

“It was just a little accident!” Nash jumped to defend himself. “Next time, I’mma kill her no problem! And, that Memer Knight too, for good measure!”

“Yeah, anyway,” Jaiden continued. “I won’t make that kind of mistake. She won’t have a chance to pull her resonance shtick on me.”

“But, if she does, you’ll die,” Raymond pointed out. “It’s risky.”

“C’mon, you guys worry too much. It’s not like I’m planning to seriously fight her or anything. I just wanna scare her away so she stops pushing Mid. Besides, she’s been playing pretty defensively the entire game, right? I’m sure she’ll retreat the moment she sees me.”

“Yeah, she’s been playing defensively for sure,” Nash agreed. “EXCEPT AGAINST ME! Gaaaaaah! How did I die there!?”

“Regardless, I still think it’s a bad idea,” Raymond insisted.

“Well, too bad.” Jaiden smiled mischievously. “Because I’m already on my way to the Mid tower!”

While they were discussing things, Jaiden slowly but surely advanced toward Mid Lane. He was sure he’d convince Raymond in no time, but the captain was stubborn.

I guess Raymond is still Raymond after all. Jaiden smiled wryly.

Even though Raymond was showing more initiative than usual this game, at his core he was still a player who favored defense and wanted to minimize risks at every turn. But, it’s fine. Nobody could pull a full 180 in their playstyle after a single day.

It’s okay. I just gotta prove to him it works. Jaiden nodded to himself. Rotating to Mid isn’t dangerous or anything. Here, I’ll show you.

Aside from Beat, nobody else from the enemy team was even close to Mid. Therefore, Jaiden will have plenty of time to retreat if any of them decides to rotate for a gank.

And, if the Beat herself chooses to fight, then Jaiden will just stomp her ezpz. She was the weakest link in the enemy’s team, so she didn’t pose a threat.

Then again, there’s no way she gonna fight back. Jaiden was convinced. Pretty sure Rio and I taught her a lesson in the last two games. The only reason she fought back against Nash was that he got cocky and overextended. That won’t happen to me.

Unwavering in his beliefs, Jaiden pressed on toward Mid Lane, ignoring Raymond’s objections.

“Look at this kid disrespecting the cap.” Zeph shook his head. “You better not get your ass killed, boy.”

“I’ll be fine.” Jaiden sighed. It was tiresome to repeat the same lines over and over. Why couldn’t they just take his word for it?

“Just make sure you retreat if she starts a fight,” Raymond warned again. “We can’t let them get any more kills, no matter what. Even if you think you’re stronger than her, just pull out and don’t contest her. Better safe than sorry.”

“Got it, got it.” Jaiden sighed again. Yeah, I’ll pull out… after I give her some proper beating! Heh.

Honestly, the enemy’s bold scattered formation was a little irking. These guys were borderline cocky. It’s as if they really believed that entrusting Mid Lane to Beat was a good idea.

In what world, exactly? Jaiden disagreed. That girl is trash. I thought I’ve proven that enough times today, but I guess they need another reminder. Begone, thot!

Jaiden eventually arrived in Mid Lane, but he didn’t make it on time to save Mid Turret.

Dang, this sucks but oh well. He shrugged. At least I won’t let her push any farther.

Unbeknown to Jaiden, his arrival here has long been calculated by the boy with the Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception.

“He’s really here, huh.” Kai smiled wryly. So, you underestimate me this much, huh. I SO wanna kick your ass!

But, achieving victory as a team was more important than Kai’s personal vendetta. So, she couldn’t keep putting herself first.

“Lars, are you ready?” Kai asked.

“Whenever you are!”

“Then, let’s go!” Kai placed her Checkpoint Ward near the enemy. This one small item was the secret weapon of the entire plan. With its help, they’ll tear Renegade to shreds!

“Hm? Did she just place something?” Jaiden wondered. A ward? I guess she wants to keep the lane warded after she leaves. Fair enough.

But, surprisingly enough, Beat didn’t retreat even after placing the ward. She just stood there, as if planning to take on him.

You still haven’t learned your lesson? Jaiden scoffed. Okay then, looks like the third time is the charm. I’ll properly destroy you this time!

But, as he was about to open an attack, the sound of teleportation resounded nearby.

Someone appeared out of thin air. It was a guy, but not just any guy. It was the last person Jaiden wanted to face this game.

You gotta be kidding me... Jaiden gulped.

The beast stood before him. It was the unkillable monster that ravaged everybody in its path. It was Gunz!

“G-Guys? I think I messed up big time, haha...” All blood draining from his face and shivers overtook him. His body temperature must’ve dropped at least by half.

Checkpoint Ward + Teleport, the classic gimmick combo. Given the costs of the wards and the utility skill, this was undoubtedly a money sink. However, when utilized efficiently, it became one of the most broken combos in the entire game!

I’m an idiot. I should’ve thought of that. Jaiden wished he could go back in time and smack his dumber younger self from a minute ago.

“I’ll be fine.” Who spouted that nonsense, again? What a clown that scrub was, haha...

Most insulting, Jaiden turned out to be completely off the mark with his criticism of Beat’s actions. He assumed the girl failed to learn her lesson and was foolishly solo-pushing, but it was the other way around. She was solo-pushing because she learned her lesson.

“Well played,” Jaiden admitted.

Beat took advantage of the fact she was often targeted and placed herself as bait in plain sight. Before, she came across as a prideful player who thought she owned the world just because she was the “captain”. But, in this one play, she was fine with reducing herself to a mere bait for the sake of the team. It was applaudable.

Yep, you caught me. Jaiden hung his head. But, that doesn’t mean I gonna go down without a fight!

“Let’s escape!” Rio cast Godspeed, buffing himself and Jaiden.

“Whoa!?” Jaiden jumped. “When did you get here!?”

“I was here all along,” Rio said. “I had a feeling I should follow you.”

“Damn, I didn’t even notice...” Jaiden cracked a dry laugh. Rio was good at keeping a low profile, but Jaiden should've at least noticed the guy following him from behind.

Dang, looks like I was so tunnel-visioned about coming here that I didn’t even notice my surroundings. Yeah, I sure messed up big time. The enemy knew exactly what they were doing with this bait.

But, with Rio here, the situation was still salvageable. With the Movement Speed buff from Godspeed, Jaiden and Rio could quickly evacuate the premises- BAM! CRITICAL HIT!

“Already!?” Jaiden jumped. Gunz had just arrived on the lane, but he wasted no time in spinning the hammer of his revolver and initiating a deadly barrage.

“C’mon, run!” Jaiden dashed forth.

“I’m already running.” Rio was actually way ahead. He had been following Jaiden from a distance the entire time, so he was way closer to allied territory.

Ever the cautious type, heh. Jaiden smiled. That’s good. Even if I don’t make it, at least Rio will.

BAM. Another headshot. Another critical hit.

Each hit erased 20% of Jaiden’s HP. Gunslinger was a monster like that during the late-game. Jaiden was already down to 60% within two hits. And, the shots were still coming!

This is dangerous as heck, but I might be able to get away! Jaiden’s heart raced.

The jungle entrance was right in front of him. Once he steps into the jungle and maneuvers around the corner, Gunz will no longer be able to barrage him. He only had to go a little bit farther! Just a little more and Jaiden will break free!

“I’ll pull him back!” Kai warned as she summoned a Magia Orb behind Renegade and immediately canceled into Dimensional Collapse. The black orb collapsed inwards, pulling Renegade toward the center of the dimensional distortion.

“Oh!” Lars didn’t have the time to respond with proper words, but he heard Kai loud and clear. It was a critical piece of information. A pull CC meant that Lars couldn’t carelessly fire his next shot. He had to account for the gravitational pull of the orb and all that.

Could he accurately land a headshot even under these circumstances, with the enemy being pulled backward? And, to do so despite the heavy recoil of Fan the Hammer?

Okay, so dude was running over there and the orb is over here, so….! Lars adjusted his aim in the middle of deconstructing the situation. I just gotta shoot somewhere around here! No, wait. Lower!

Lars lowered his aim a little in the last split-second. He gave up on the headshot in exchange for increasing his chances of hitting the target. This scenario was way too specific and complex, even for a fanatic of mechanical skill.

I better practice this setup later. Lars nodded to himself.

Even though landing a headshot in this situation would have been one of the coolest stunts ever, it was far more important to just land a hit, any hit, on the fleeing enemy. Dude was getting dangerously close to the jungle, so he had to be shot down ASAP.

Dude might get away at this rate. Lars thought. Gotta make every shot count, yo!

“Gah!?” Jaiden groaned as a dark force pulled him back.

His poor Pirate was working his legs to the bone, dashing forward nonstop to escape this predicament. But, now came some simple CC that erased over half of his progress in a single second. Awesome.

Dang it! Gotta be the Sorcerer’s pull. Jaiden reasoned. Well, at least it should throw off Gunz’s aim a little. This isn’t over yet-

BAM. Another gunshot. It should’ve whiffed by all means and accounts, but it effortlessly hit home.

“What the…?” Jaiden was speechless. That bullet literally came at him the moment the pull ended. Meaning, Gunz fired it a little before that, and he did so with scary accuracy.

Dealing with the recoil of Fan the Hammer was already a huge pain in itself, Jaiden knew that all too well as a Gunslinger player himself. But, on top of that, Gunz also had to account for the pull CC of Sorcerer’s Dimensional Collapse. That was way too hard. Only pros had a chance to pull something like this off.

And yet, Gunz did it as if it was only natural and Jaiden’s HP dropped by 10%. It wasn’t a headshot, but it was still a hit. Even under these insanely difficult circumstances, Gunz nailed the shot!

“What a guy, haha...” Jaiden couldn’t help but laugh. His rivals outclassed him in every way possible.

Gunz was a beast with superhuman skill who could easily wreck Jaiden, whereas Chessmaster was a genius strategist who probably led Jaiden into this trap in the first place. The two ex-StormBlitz players exhibited skill that far surpassed Jaiden’s wildest imagination.

I’m not at their level, not even close. Jaiden had to come to terms with that fact. Even a year later, Jaiden still hasn’t closed the gap between him and the two StormBlitz candidates who got into that prestigious team. These two definitely deserved to pass the entrance exam more than Jaiden, no question about it. Such was the bitter truth of the matter.

But, that doesn’t mean I just gonna go down without a fight! The pull of Dimensional Collapse came to an end, but Jaiden didn’t resume running. There was no point. After being pulled all the way back here, his chances of escaping alive by simply running were slim to none. He had no choice but to be ballsy and obstruct his opponents.

Therefore, he stood his ground and booted his ult. “RELEASE THE-”

BAM! An immediate headshot. The Pirate didn’t even have the opportunity to finish his sentence as Jaiden fell down to 25% HP. Nonetheless, he was very much alive!

“- KRAKEN!” This was Jaiden’s only ticket out. If this Kraken properly does its job and slams Gunz down, Jaiden should be able to get away alive.

Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking. Right when the sea monster erupted from the ground, Gunz used Combat Roll to roll aside directly from his Fan the Hammer stance. He dodged the Kraken in the nick of time.

Dang! Well, at least it should slow down his shooting... right? Jaiden cracked a weak laugh. No, it’s Gunz we’re talking about. This mad lad can headshot people right after rolling, I’ve seen him do that.

It was a cool stunt that few could reliably pool off, but Gunz definitely could. So, there was no question about it. A headshot was 100% coming right after the roll, and it’ll come with the added benefit of a Cripple effect.

You’re really something else. Jaiden tipped his hat in front of Gunz. But, can you recover from a roll and headshot somebody who is also rolling!?

Jaiden rolled toward the jungle entrance before Gunz recovered. This Dodge Roll was the lifeline he was saving for the most critical moment of the chase, which happened to be right now. I’m toast if I let him cripple me! Can’t let that happen.

“Crap!” Lars already mentally prepared himself for landing a headshot on the fleeing opponent, but dude suddenly rolled! Yo, this persistence! That’s how it gotta be!

Renegade was an awesome opponent. Even in the face of such a helpless situation, dude kept struggling to the bitter end with every trick he could pull. The guy deserved nothing but respect.

But I’m sorry, we gotta win this one! Lars adjusted his aim at the last second. He had to make every shot count.

Could he land a headshot on a rolling opponent? Normally, yes. It was hard but doable.

However, Lars was in the middle of recovering from a roll himself. So, could he really adjust his aim at the last moment to land a headshot on a rolling opponent?

It was possible but too unreliable. He was far more likely to miss the target altogether if he tried too hard to go for the head.

Therefore, Lars had to compromise. Rather than taking a risk, he settled on simply hitting Renegade’s rolling body, headshot or otherwise.

BAM. Hit.

“Seriously!? Haha, this guy is a riot!” Jaiden couldn’t help but laugh in the face of this dreadful skill. Gunz was nailing the kind of shots that Jaiden didn’t even believe were possible for a middle-schooler. That guy was playing on a whole different level.

Nonetheless, despite being chased by a literal monster, Jaiden made it! The jungle wall was right in front of him! And, he still had 15% HP left, too!

By the time Gunz fires his next shot, Jaiden will already make it around the corner. Then, nobody will be able to stop him anymore!

THUD. A knocking sound. It almost sounded like a ball being kicked.

What the…? Jaiden couldn’t see what was going on behind him. But, realistically, there was only one skill that could produce such a sound in this situation.

“Dang! I gotta juke that-” It was too late. A black orb crashed into him from behind.

『You have been killed!』

Right, it was a 2-on-1, I forgot. Jaiden hung his head.

He only considered Gunz as a real threat in this entire situation, so he completely forgot about the existence of the third party. Beat was also there, and she had one of the nastiest long-ranged spell setups in the game.

You got me. Well played. Jaiden accepted his fate. He didn’t have any criticism to shoot at Beat this time. That Magia Orb + Repelling Force setup was on point.

The timing was nasty, too. The magical orb hit him right as he finished rolling, without giving him a chance to juke anything.

I guess, in the end, I was the one who underestimated my opponent. Jaiden smiled wryly. Beat is... alright. She’s not amazing and I definitely don’t see her as captain material, but she knows a thing or two. Yeah, she’s fine.

With that realization in his final moments, Jaiden perished.

Next time, I’ll do things properly. Jaiden thought. I’ll gather the Invincible Triangle and make sure we steamroll all these guys. It was dumb of me to go here alone, no matter how safe it seemed.

Next time, no more underestimating. This year’s Stratus was filled to the brim with tough opponents who all deserved respect. Some were stronger than others, but they were all decent. Therefore, Jaiden had to take them seriously and challenge them with the best weapon at his disposal, the Invincible Triangle.

But, will he even get another chance to do that in this game? His death turned the situation into a 2v4. And, with the marksman and mage already grouped up in Mid, a powerful push was incoming...