Kai insisted to pick Bomber for this so-called "test game". It was one of the more recent classes she had been working on, and this game was a good opportunity to try it out against high-level opponents.

I'm feeling pretty confident about it, but let's see how well it performs in practice.

After finishing the opening phase in the jungle, Kai ran into Merlin, her lane opponent. As expected, both of them were sporting the red buff, which meant their wave clearing powers should be roughly equal.

Alright, let's see what your Aero is packing. Kai opened her attack by throwing small bombs at the minions. These were Bomber’s basics attacks, which was a tool that Mid Laners rarely utilized much for wave-clearing.

In particular, it was in total contrast to Aeromancer’s wave-clearing methodology. While Kai was bombarding the minions with a frontal assault, Merlin only advanced a little in order to place his Whirlwind at the perfect spot, and then he backed off almost immediately.

He did lazily fire a couple of basics at Kai’s swordsmen, but his heart clearly wasn’t in it. For him, using basic attacks was just an optional secondary activity to pass the time.

On the other hand, for Bomber, basic attacks were actually a main ingredient in the wave clearing process. The small bombs weren’t particularly strong or fast, but they prepared the ground for Bomber’s follow-up skills.

Alright, this should be good enough. Kai nodded in satisfaction after throwing six bombs at the swordsmen. The bombs dealt negligible damage on impact, but they glued themselves to their targets without exploding. This was a part of the Bomber’s Sticky Bombs passive.

Each enemy swordsman was now wearing two Sticky Bombs, so it was time to unleash Bomber’s actual wave-clearing tool: Bouncy Bomb! Kai pulled out a huge bomb from her backpack and sent it flying toward the enemy wave!

The deadly black bomb, painted with an intimidating white skull, flew straight at the swordsmen. BOOM! EXPLOSION!

Except, it wasn’t the big bomb that actually exploded. The bomb only rammed into the swordsmen, triggering the Sticky Bombs glued to their bodies.

What’s more, the explosion didn’t actually remove the Sticky Bombs themselves. They definitely blew up once, but they remained glued to the swordsmen all the same. It was some video game magic that defined the laws of physics.

Likewise, the Bouncy Bomb didn’t vanish either after the explosion. And, as its name implied, it was a bomb that bounced around. So, even after triggering the big explosion, it continued jumping forward.

But, the distance the bomb jumped was very short, exactly as Kai intended it. So, after hitting the swordsmen once with its front half, the bomb hit them again with its backside!

BOOM! Another round of Sticky Bombs went off! Two of the three swordsmen received heavy damage in the second round.

Tch, I missed. Kai clicked her tongue. That should've blown up all the swordsmen. Oh well. Let's just chalk it up to stage pressure.

The Bouncy Bomb continued its adventure. After blowing up the swordsmen twice in a row, it continued onward for a third bounce. Unfortunately, this time, the swordsmen were no longer within the bomb’s reach.

Instead, the Bouncy Bomb rammed into the bowmen, but the damage was nothing to write home about. As long as the target wasn’t wearing any Sticky Bombs, the bomb’s bounces posed very little threat.

But, that's where the next part came in. After jumping three times, the Bouncy Bomb exploded! And, thanks to Kai’s careful aiming, the radius of the explosion was big enough to reach both the enemy swordsmen and bowmen.

BOOM! This explosion, same as the bomb’s bounces, also triggered the Sticky Bombs on the swordsmen. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! It was like fireworks all over the place.

After getting hit with so many explosions in a row, the enemy frontline turned to ashes. Well, except for one pesky swordsman who survived with 20% HP, all because the Bouncy Bomb’s second bounce failed to blow him up. So, if Kai aimed her Bouncy Bomb just a little better, this setup could’ve entirely annihilated the enemy frontline.

What’s more, the bomb’s final bounce and the explosion also hit the bowmen, bringing them down to 70% HP. It wasn’t huge damage, especially considering the bowmen were squishy, but it was still extra damage nonetheless.

With the enemy’s backline already injured, it was just a matter of time before Kai’s army emerges victorious. But first, they had to get past the pesky swordsman, who thought himself a vanguard despite being more dead than alive.

Die already. Kai threw bombs at the last-standing swordsman to fix the mistake she herself created. And so, the entire enemy frontline vanished from existence.

Kai's army took that as a sign to advance along the lane and target the enemy's bowmen next.

Alright, this should mitigate some of the damage. Kai nodded in satisfaction.

The Aeromnacer's Whirlwind was still raging about, accumulating damage on Kai’s minions via small ticks. Therefore, by making her swordsmen advance early along the lane, Kai helped them escape the danger zone earlier.

Unfortunately, the bowmen who lagged behind the swordsmen had no choice but to remain inside the raging tornado from start to end. They receive the full impact of the spell, dropping down to 40% HP over time. But, at least, Kai’s swordsmen were healthy at 70% HP.

In a way, Kai's farming achieved the exact opposite of what Merlin’s did. She demolished the enemy frontline but left the backline relatively healthy, whereas Merlin nearly destroyed her backline but barely touched her frontline.

Well, I dealt way more damage overall. Kai lifted her chin. I won this round. So, what are you gonna do about this?

She eagerly waited for Merlin's response to this overwhelming victory. But, Merlin didn't do anything about this.

The two minion forces clashed and Kai's army won by a landslide. She remained with 2 swordsmen and 3 bowmen after the exchange. Though they were gravely injured, they were very much alive and ready to push forward!

But, even then, Merlin didn't express much of an initiative. He cast an early Jet Stream and retreated back to his tower, waiting for the minions to slowly come within attack range. He clearly had no intention of stepping out to clear them faster.

Huh. Are you really gonna let us advance, just like this? Kai wondered. You’re only slowing my minions a little with this, you know.

Even for a defensive play, it was a very weak one. It would’ve made far more sense for Merlin to retreat to his tower first, and then cast Jet Stream from there.

With that setup, he could’ve started shooting the incoming minions from a greater distance. It was a textbook play, really.

What was even the point of casting it so early? Was he so concerned about his own safety?

The only reason to cast Jet Stream as early as Merlin did was to grant himself a Movement Speed buff when passing through the stream. That allowed him to retreat faster to the tower, but was that worth it? It’s not like Kai could’ve instantly closed the distance between them anyway.

A wack play. Kai summarized. Anyway, I pretty much have an entire wave here, so this can become one heck of a push. But, should I?

Honestly, this felt a little too convenient. Other than Whirlwind, the Aeromancer didn't have any other AoE spells at his disposal until Lv.5, so Merlin had no way to eliminate Kai's minions all at once right now. And, since he cast that Jet Stream early, he won’t be able to defend from a distance, either.

I'm pretty much guaranteed to get some nice damage on the tower if I follow the minions, but this is too easy. I know these guys like playing defense, but this isn’t even good defense. I can't believe that's the best the regional champions can do.

In an odd situation like this, the most natural thing to do was to check the jungle first. The areas around Mid were decently warded thanks to Kai and Yuel’s efforts, but it was impossible to cover every nook and cranny. So, a couple of blind spots existed.

Their Jungler might be hiding nearby. Kai thought. I haven't seen him anywhere in the past 10+ seconds, which means he can be anywhere right now.

Perhaps Rook was on standby at this very moment, waiting to jump Kai the moment she advances. This could easily turn into a nasty pincer attack.

Knowing these guys, they're probably up to something. Kai decided to retreat for now and not press her advantage this time.

Judging by previous scrimmages, Rook and Merlin were quite the crafty duo. They both employed bait tactics, with which they lured many unsuspecting opponents to their graves.

Quite frequently, those two coordinated their plays, just like AbsoluteWinner and AbsoluteChallenge often did. In fact, Rook and Merlin were the Leopards’ alternative Bot duo, which attested to their great synergy.

"Before you push against Merlin, always take a step back and make sure you know where Rook is." That was Yuel’s advice back when they reviewed the Leopards' games. "If you can't tell Rook’s location, then it's best to assume he is waiting to jump you. He seems to like hanging around Mid."

Kai made sure to take that advice to heart. That mentality was a bit too cautious to her taste, but an extra bit of caution was necessary on the competitive stage. She learned that the hard way in the previous scrimmage.

No way I’m giving them any easy kills, not today and not ever. Kai promised. This time, I won’t drag the team down.

Even though weeks have passed since the Taurus scrimmage, the scars of that match were still fresh in Kai’s memory. She probably won’t forget her embarrassing performance in that scrim for the rest of her life.

And so, that bitter memory convinced her to exercise extra caution, even if it meant giving on this nice opportunity to push. It was a shame, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

Thus, Kai turned around and returned to her side of the lane. And, it turned out Yuel’s advice was right on the money on this one.

“She’s not taking the bait,” Matthew informed.

“So it seems,” Cato agreed. He was lying in wait right around the jungle wall, waiting for an opportunity to jump in. Alas, his target chose to retreat instead of capitalizing on the juicy advantage she had.

“What a drag.” Matthew sighed. “Can you help me clear the minions, at least?”

“Sure thing.” Cato circled around the jungle wall and arrived in Mid. Unfortunately, Beat was already too far away to pursue, so the only work left was helping Matthew to thin out the invading minions.

Some would call this play inefficient, but it’s very important for building a solid foundation. Cato motivated himself as he clawed down the minions with his Lionfolk.

There was no denying that this play “wasted” some of his precious jungling time. For one, he was losing on jungle farm while helping out in Mid like this. But, that was a small price to pay if it meant reinforcing the team’s position in Mid.

This is the same as building a wall of pawns instead of developing other pieces. Cato smiled meaningfully. I can always gain more exp and gold later, but I can’t undo any damage to our towers; such are the rules of the game.

And so, Cato assaulted the invading minions in order, bringing each of them to the brink of death. Then, Matthew cleaned up by last-hitting.

Even though Cato was doing most of the work, these minions were ultimately under Matthew’s jurisdiction, so Matthew should be taking most of the exp. Besides, Cato was already passively stealing some of that exp just by being present in the lane, so he didn’t want to take more than was absolutely necessary.

The sooner Matt levels up his Aero, the sooner he can measure up to the Bomber. Cato reasoned. And, of course, once Matt can clear minions as fast as his opponent, then I’ll no longer need to help him out here. So, this is like a long-term investment.

“If nothing happens,” Matthew said. “I plan to play like this for the next couple of waves, so I’m counting on your support.”

“Yes, as always.” Cato nodded with a small sigh on the side. So, he has no intention of even trying contesting Beat, does he? Well, that’s a part of what I like about him~

Matthew was a very rational player, sometimes to a fault. He was strong with game theory, so he knew that Bomber held an undeniable early-game advantage against Aeromancer. As such, he had no intention of even trying to come up with a way to compete. He simply accepted that the enemy had the upper hand and moved on.

After all, why bother doing anything yourself when you can just rely on me, right? Cato smiled wryly. But, it’s all good. I prefer this passive mentality over hot-heads who think they can take on the world all by themselves, like a CERTAIN SOMEBODY from our team.

Once they finished clearing all the remaining minions, Cato took his leave.

"By the way," Cato started. "Do you think they had a ward in the direction I rotated from?”

"Didn’t seem like it."

"Alright, noted. Make sure to tell me when you feel like they spot my rotation with a ward."

"No problem. But, keep in mind that to verify for sure whether they got a ward or not, you’ll have to rotate over here many times.”

"Haha, cheeky." Cato chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll rotate as often as I can."

"Thanks."

On that note, Cato vanished into the jungle. And so, Matthew was left to confront Beat alone once again.

However, instead of dedicating all his attention to his lane opponent, Matthew set his sights on Top Lane.

Looks like he's doing well. Cato thought. InformationBlackhole, huh. I can see that oddball coming up with a nick like this. So, it must really be him...

How was Matthew supposed to feel about this unexpected reunion? Should he even feel anything at all? After all, it had been three years since that incident. It was all water under the bridge by now, or so he believed.

And yet, here I am, needlessly thinking about it. Matthew felt conflicted.

What did he really feel toward Vincent? Was it misguided hatred? Or, maybe awkward gratitude? Should he hate the guy, or thank him?

It's kinda both and kinda neither. I have no idea. Matthew's stomach turned. It's been such a long time since he had to recall the old, dark days of his life. Just trying to recollect any of the details made his body spasm as if he was having a stroke.

No good. I need to focus on the lane.

Fortunately, he mostly regained his focus by the time the next minion wave arrived. And, for this wave as well, he was going to use a very passive farming routine that’ll surely require Cato’s aid...