Looks like I haven't accomplished my mission. Yuel concluded after seeing that Nia’s expression was still tense. I thought that what I told her was very reassuring, but maybe I should’ve sugar-coated it more? Or, maybe I should've praised her more? I can't tell...

"Dude," Lars interjected. "Why can't ya just be more straightforward there?"

"What do you mean?" Yuel asked.

"Like, I know ya like keeping things as ‘objective’ as possible and whatnot. But, doncha see Nia is still nervous and stuff?"

"Yes, I do see that."

"Then, why not just address that problem directly?"

"How, exactly?"

"Easy, yo! Like this." Lars cleared his throat. "Hey, Nia, awesome gank there!"

"Eh? Um, thanks?" Nia was taken aback for a moment.

"You totally gave these dudes a run for their money, didncha? They didn't see that gank coming at all!"

"Yeah, they sure didn't."

"So, how did it feel putting the champs on the spot like that?"

"It was... pretty cool, actually." Nia shivered for a moment as she thought back on that situation with this new perspective. Her heart pounded as she remembered the rush of adrenaline she experienced at that moment.

Thinking about it, Stratus was playing against the regional champions here. And, according to Yuel's evaluation, Nia was actually applying pressure on these top dogs the entire game.

On top of that, Nia successfully delivered a gank that these champions failed to foresee. Sure, it was a rash gank that didn't achieve all that much in the end, but it nonetheless went through the champions' defenses and spooked them hard.

In other words, Nia was actually capable of stumping the best players in the region. Wasn't that kind of amazing!?

"Ya totally made them sweat, yo!" Lars dialed up the positivity. "So yeah, like Yuel said, no need to rush anything. You proved you can totally bust through their defenses like a pro. So, relax, yo. You're doing fine."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks." Nia took a deep breath. At long last, her tense expression vanished completely. One could even rename her VanishingAnexity.

"Welp, that's that." Lars nodded in satisfaction. "This is how I meant ya should do it, dude."

"I see..." Yuel sighed in resignation. "Unfortunately, I can't hype things up like this.”

"Nah, ya totally can,” Lars insisted. “Like, did I even say anything wrong there? I bet you agree with most of it."

"... I suppose I do, to an extent."

Lars painted Nia's achievements in an overwhelmingly positive light, but he didn't say anything wrong per se. There was no denying that Nia was indeed performing well against the regional champions.

The main difference here was that Lars glossed over all of Nia's faults when he delivered his narrative. He didn't blame the girl for rushing her gank or anything of the sort. Instead, he concluded his hype speech with the message "There's no need to rush", which delivered the same message overall but with much less hostility.

That's the one thing I always struggle to do. Yuel criticized himself. If I see a problem or a mistake, I just have to point it out. Otherwise, it'll keep eating away at me.

As somebody who excelled at finding others' faults, it was impossible for Yuel to stop himself from pointing fingers at others’ issues. This talent was like a blessing and a curse at the same time.

I'll keep in mind that this is one way to approach such problems. Yuel took a mental note. Then again, I doubt I can execute such a fervent speech in practice...

"Anyway, dude," Lars said. "I'mma be real, the main reason I butted in was because that stuff was distracting you. I really need ya over here right now. These dudes be planning something again."

"Got it." Yuel put the topic of Nia aside and focused on the lane in front of them. As much as he wanted to mull over other problems the team was facing, there was simply no luxury to do so, not against Rook and Merlin.

"They decided to advance all of a sudden," Lars said.

"Yes, they sure did."

"So, whatcha say? Do we hit 'em?"

"Hmm." Yuel carefully examined the lane and the mini-map.

"C’mon, dude,” Lars pleaded. “Please tell me we gonna attack them. I've been waiting to go ham on these dudes for so long!"

"It's not that simple."

Every move Rook and Merlin made was carefully calculated. That came as no surprise, considering Rook was Cato himself. The team’s shot-caller was naturally capable of coming up with solid shot-calls for himself.

On top of that, Merlin seemed like a very cooperative partner. The two of them were in sync on most of their moves, as if they were on the same wavelength.

Winner and Challenger cooperated very well too, but this is different. Yuel thought. I can't sense any friction between them all.

For example, Winner and Challenger were very powerful when they perfectly coordinated their attacks. However, they couldn’t maintain that level of coordination at all times. Occasionally, those two seemed to bicker and fall out of sync.

Thanks to that, despite how strong the “Absolute Duo” was, Yuel found ways to exploit their problems and turn the tables on them. But, the same couldn't be done against Rook and Merlin.

Merlin is a peculiar Carry. Yuel thought. Most of the Carries I’ve come across have very assertive playstyles, but not him.

Merlin wasn't the type who wanted to charge forth and demolish everything that stood in his way, which was how most players acted in that role. Instead, he had no problem taking it easy and following Cato’s script.

The best example Yuel knew of such a duo dynamic was Howard and Ellen. These two were in sync on almost everything, therefore Ellen didn’t come across as a very assertive Carry.

But, Ellen still had her own ideas from time to time, and she coaxed Howard into allowing her to execute these crafty schemes. So, even though these two agreed on everything 95% of the time, there was still 5% of freedom left for Ellen to enforce her own will.

On the other hand, in Merlin’s case, the level of freedom seemed like a flat 0%. He didn’t seem to craft any elaborate schemes, therefore it was impossible to properly outplay him. The guy simply didn’t care for taking the initiative ever.

They're almost like a puppet and a puppeteer. Though, maybe I'm not giving Merlin enough credit here. Yuel thought. I suspect he's not mindlessly following orders. His playstyle is probably just similar to Cato's. It's like these two are made from the same mold.

That much was already evident from the way Merlin played in Mid. Even though he was alone there, he didn't exhibit much assertiveness over there, either. He played it very safe and calculated, always trying to avoid taking risks.

The only real difference between that and Merlin’s performance in Bot was that Cato occasionally dragged Merlin into more elaborate schemes here. For example, like this suspiciously bold play that was happening at this very moment, with Rook and Merlin uncharacteristically advancing toward the frontline.

I'm sure that part of the reason they're not afraid to approach is that they know Nia has just left Top. So, at the very least, there's no chance of Bot being ganked any time soon.

Like the rest of the Leopards, Rook and Merlin were always on guard against the possibility of being ganked by Nia. Whenever Nia entered Bot Jungle, the duo immediately fortified their defenses and turned Bot into an unattractive lane to gank.

This method was effective at discouraging Nia from trying anything in Bot, but there was a cost to this solution. Being overly cautious often came at the expense of slowing down their farming speed. Yuel and Lars often used these opportunities to push harder and improve their lane control.

That’s the main reason why, despite Nia’s lack of impressive achievements in this game, Yuel had a positive evaluation of her performance. Her mere presence piled pressure on the enemy, making them sacrifice their farm in exchange for improving their defense. This made Yuel and Lars’s lives much easier in the lane, and it brought similar benefits to other lanes as well.

But, when it’s 100% guaranteed that Nia is away, then these two have no problem being a little more assertive. Yuel carefully analyzed the advancing enemies. But, being aggressive isn’t in their nature in the first place, so this is definitely bait of some sort. The question is, what are they trying to achieve here...?