You have killed an enemy!

  FIRST BLOOD!

  “Phew,” Nia breathed in relief. That was a little scary but it was over; she got that Knight. Hmph, that’s what you get f to ter-pick me.

  Okay, what’s ? She had the entire map to herself so she could do whatever she wanted right now. What was the best py in this sort of situation?

  In Nia’s experieaking the red buff was generally a helpful move. Therefore, she headed toward the Ogre Camp at the bottom of the map. She made quick work of the Ogres there with the help of Smite auro o clear the ining wave.

  That guy should still be dead. Nia double-checked and tripe-checked the status s to make sure the Knight still had a respawn ter on him. Ok, he’s still out. Let’s push for now.

  With her buffed attack power, Nia took out the enemy minions in a blink of an eye. With nobody to threaten her, she rotated around the enemy minions to strike them from behind for extra damage. The small fry fell oer another like flies.

  Almost all her minions survived the csh so this was a great opportunity to push hard. However, Nia decided against it. Instead, she left her minions behind ao farm the Wraith Camp on her side of the map.

  Better not risk it. Just as she thought that, the enemy Knight returo the o defend his Golem. Had Nia iogether with her minions, the Knight would have caught her there and would have ended her whole career. Scary.

  Phew. Bullet dodged. Nia sighed in relief while casually murdering the wraiths. There was nobody around to seriously threaten her so there was nothing to be wary of.

  With that said, her HP dropped to 40% from all the ret fights she participated in. This was a no-no. She couldn’t return to the ne in such a bad shape so she recalled back to the base.

  By the time she returo the was time for another minion wave to csh.

  She’s pyi so far. Yuel o himself while spectating the match from his tablet. A little too safe to my taste but det heless.

  Instead of rushing to push the Golem, Nia chose the safe approach of seg both red and blue buffs. There were tless pyers in Duel who overextended as soon as they scored the first kill so Nia’s cautious decision was a smart ohough, maybe she was just too cautious for her own good in general. That might be a pystyle weakness but it was too early to judge.

  Iime, on Vi’s s, the minion waves already cshed at the ter of the map. Nia has just returned from the base with full HP. Now, how will she fight from this advantageous position?

  Thanks to her kill and the extra farming, she made up for all the exp she lost during the ning phase. In fact, she got ahead of Vi by now. On top of that, she had both the red and the blue buff. So, the power and cooldown of her skills were enhanced. She had the high ground in every way imaginable so she could go for another kill attempt.

  Of course, Vi uood that too. Hence, he didn’t advao the frontline like before. Instead, he cautiously ha the edge of the frontline and waited to see what move Nia will make.

  But, nothing of note was happening. Nia didn’t leave her Golem area to clear minions and she didn’t go into stealth to sneak up to Vi. So, it didn’t look like she nning to aggress on him any time soon.

  She's not going to take advantage of her buffs? Yuel wondered. Even though Nia went out of her way to get both buffs, it didn't seem like she was going to capitalize on them. She kept pyed defensively, just like before she got the buffs.

  So, he's not going tetting revenge. Nia twisted her lips. She hoped the Knight would be mad and do everything in his power to get a kill on her. Lots of pyers she fought in Duel were simple like that. Punishing them for such overextension and taking the game right there was the most fun; free victory.

  Unfortunately, this Knight was cautious. He saw Nia as a threat, probably because she had the red buff. In other words, as long as she maintaihis kind of advahe Knight actively registered her as a "threat" and paid attention to her. He must have been ily staring even at the slightest twitch she made. Scary.

  "Brr," Nia gnced around to make sure nobody else was watg her. Whether it was ihe game or outside of it, being stared was irking. She had to erase her presenew.

  "Oh? What's this?" Viilted his head. For some reason, Nia retreated back tolem area. "Is she luring me in?"

  "Maybe she's taking precaution," Yuel said. "Her red buff should be running out soon."

  "Oh, so we'll be back to square ohen," Vi nodded. "Alrighty, I see how it is. She's going to keep turtling then."

  "So it seems," Yuel didn't like that. Even though that i was much due to Vi's carelessness, Nia successfully scored one kill off him. She should've taken full advantage of that momentum because she might not get a ce to gee another one. Vi was more vigint now and won't fall for the same trick again.

  I guess this is going to be a fatigue match. Vi smiled wryly as Nia executed her favorite tactic again. She tossed a Smoke Bomb on him to aggro the minions toward herself, theo the Golem area to lure them to their death.

  Even though Rogue was a dangerous assassin, the way Nia ying made that fact irrelevant. Her job boiled down t minions toward her side of the ne and swiftly taking care of them. It was an iing way to take advantage of stealth meic but it made her e across as a rather harmless oppo, quite the opposite of what an assassin pyer should aspire to be.

  All Vi had to do was deal with the leftover minions after Nia finishes her routi was a tad tedious to kill all these minions on his own but, at least, he got the exp advahis way. He just had to optimize his farming during these situations to eventually out-level Nia and then dive under her Golem.

  While the enemy minions were busy shooting at his minions, Vi snuck up to them from behind and struck them down. It was the Secret Ninja Art! He ying like the real assassin here!

  Until now, Vi has been farming the minions cautiously because he thought Nia might un attack at him at any moment. However, at this point, it was clear this “assassin” wasn't going to lift a finger. She was like air and there was o pay much attention to her. Vi just had to focus on the minions and optimize his farming.

  As expected, the entire exge ended without much a. Both sides finished clearing minions and awaited the wave. Nia's red buff was already gone, which made her even less of a threat. At this point, there was definitely nothing to worry about. At this rate, Vi will have this one in the bag without even doing anything.

  The wave arrived and Vi already prepared for it by advang to the front. He po strike the enemy minions as soon as they focus their attention on his Dark Army of Evil. He was going to sacrifice his little demons for the sake of outvaluing his oppo! Muhahaha! Their deaths won't be wasted!

  He advanced! Nia ched her troller. This was the moment. Has she erased her presenough to pull this off? It was scary not knowing for sure but she had to give it a shot.

  As usual, Nia started off by dumping a Smoke Bomb on Vi and his minions. That made the minioure on a long jouro seek revenge for their master. And, Nia was the target of their malice. Scary.

  However, as long as she had Stealth, she could erase her presence against anybody; even bots couldn't find her. She was like a professional ninja. Nin nin.

  Alrighty, she's at it again, Vi smiled wryly as the familiar smoke obstructed his field of view. At this point, he didn't even care about the fact he couldn't see his surroundings for a brief moment. After going through this routine so many times, he could tell exactly what was going on out there by using his third eye.

  Surely, Nia was retreating toward her Golem and Vi's minions were chasing her. He also vehrough the smoke toward the enemy side of the ne so he could farm the enemy minions as soon as possible.

  He's advang? Yuel wondered. It made sehat Vi wao start farming as soon as possible but it felt a little careless. After all, defensive or not, a Rogue was still a Rogue. It was a dangerous assassin that could kill even a bruiser from close quarters uhe right circumstances. Hopefully, this wasn’t the beginning of another unfortunate i...

  Alrighty, out of the smoke. Vi reached the light and could see the ne again. As expected, his minions have already reached the enemy Golem. And, as always, Nia went into stealth to deflect attention away from herself right before the minions got to her.

  Nothing new was happening here so Vi simply proceeded with his pn. He snuck up to the enemy minions and hacked away at the unsuspeg foes. It was the easiest ning of his life. He didn’t even really have to test with-

  SLASH

  "Eh!?" Vi blihat wasn't the sound of his basic attao, that ssh came from somewhere else. It came from behind!

  SLASH

  "Wha!?" Vi jumped. It was impossible! Unfathomable! Nia was right behind him, driving her dagger through him!

  "W-When!?" Viurned around in a hurry. This couldn't be! What was this Phenomenon Intervention!? Nia was supposed to be all the way back at her Golem right now, clearing minions like always. How could she be all the way out here!? It was First Css Magecraft!

  Wait, was this even really BckFlower attag him!? Maybe this was her secret evil twin, WhiteFlower! Yes, that expined everything! Nia had a taited in the shadows this eime and snuck up to Vi while he had all his attention trate on her! What a ploy!

  SLASH

  Anyway, real talk, this is pretty damn bad! Vi gulped. First, he had to hide his back from this mysterious assaulter. Whether this attacker was BckFlower, WhiteFlower rayFlower, it was still a Rogue. Therefore, the damage from behind was devastating. He fell down all the way to 60% HP before he even got a ce to blink!

  I-It's okay, I turn this around. Vi ched his mouse. No matter what kind of magecraft or tricky you use, you shall not take down the Demoniight! No mere assassin topple a knight!

  Vi was the bruiser so he had a natural adva close-quarters. Rogue's damage was high but it was a squishy css. If Vi just turns around and nds a couple of good hits, he'll turire situation around.

  Therefore, to start off this Battle narok, he opened an attack with Shield Bash! As, it gloriously missed! The enemy rolled away in the nick of time to dodge it.

  A marvelous dodge! As expected from a sneaky assassin! However, this was only the first taste. Now es the coup de grace!

  Vi followed up with Bde Swing, the skill with the most inal name iire game! It did exactly what it said oin: a sword ssh! What a surprise!

  The ssh ected and took a little over 10% HP of the mysterious enemy. Holy, Vi expected it to do way mainst a Rogue.

  Oh, it must be Muramasa doing its work. The cursed bde of the jealous bcksmith, infused with the desire to acquire anything and everything from his oppos!

  The few surprise attacks the enemy unleashed at the beginning of the fight were crucial. They stole some of Vi's defenses and transferred them over to the assaulter. This was such a nasty setup. Not only it made Vi more vulnerable to ining attacks but it also made the Rogue tahan it should ever be.

  Vi hasn’t built much power yet so even a little bit of extra defense was super effective against his attacks. Darn, this was a disaster! A tragedy! Historians will be hard-pressed to find a more disastrous event in humanity’s entire history!

  I have to get out of here. Now. Vi rolled away toward the jungle. Sihe enemy has already spent their Dodge Roll, she won’t be able to close the distance right away. So, if he just mounts Sleipnir fast enough- STAB!

  “Excuse ma!?” Vi jumped. The predator was already right behind him! And, her bde was digging deep into his back, deliveriy damage! Unbelievable! How did she always appear behind him like this? Did this mysterious assaulter possess the ability to stick the enemy’s back like a glue!? It must have been a ghost! A phantom! A stalker from the depths of the abyss!

  Well, in truth, Vi heard the swift dashing sound so he khat was the work ue’s Phantom Strike. The enemy blinked right after him and delivered a heavy blow, as well as stunned him because it was an attack from behind.

  I don’t feel so good. Vi gulped. He was already down to 25% HP. It oio summon Sleipnir in this situation and he didn't have any other escape tools at his disposal. On top of that, this heavy Knight had no ce of outrunning the nimble Rogue. It was over.

  In a st-ditch effort, Viurned around and attacked the ghostly assaint. He had no ce of getting away so he might as well get some damage in. Unfortunately, this mentality was a lot more useful in the MOBA mode than in 1v1 so it didn’t do much for him...

  You have been killed!

  “Welp,” Vihrew his back backward. “That was iing indeed. I still have no idea what attacked me. Was it a doppelganger? A shadow e!?”

  “Huh? What are you on about?” Kai raised an eyebrow. “Who else could it be? Nia just did you in.”

  “No, no, no. That’s impossible.”

  “Huh?”

  “She wasn’t there. At least, she wasn’t supposed to be there,” Vi insisted. “Wasn’t she clearing the minions at the Golem?”

  “No,” Yuel said matter-of-factly. “She went into stealth as usual to deflect the aggro but then she snuck up to you while still ih. Did you even check whether she was really at the Golem?”

  “I thought I did...” A jolt ran through Vi. He checked Nia’s positiht before he charged ahead, right? He saw her clearing minions at the Golem area, right?”

  Actually, maybe he didn’t look. He got so used to that trite routihat he just charged in. After all, there was no doubt in his mind that things will py out exactly the same way as before. So, he just went along with it as if that was the case.

  That’s so not like me. Vi smiled wryly. How did his Information Bckhole fail him during such a critical moment? He was supposed to be capable of all the information that existed in this world and even to get a glimpse of the records of Akasha! A, he missed something so simple that was happening right under his was unreal.

  Worst of all, this wasn’t the first time. His previous death was just as embarrassing. This was the sed time he failed to sider the possibility of Nia sneaking up to him.

  What was wrong? Did his Information Bckhole not work today? Or, maybe...

  “Are you doing this on purpose?” Yuel asked.

  “Not at all,” Vi cimed. “There’s something supernatural going on here. I haven't dised its true nature yet but my senses are tig as the Arbiter of Talents. That girl got ‘something’.”

  “Is that so,” Yuel rolled his eyes. As far as he was ed, all that happened both times was Vi l his guard for no good reason and paying dearly for it.

  Yuel has seen simir sarios before so it’s not like he was ning Vi per se. There was a vicious fox in StormBlitz whose specialty was to train the oppoo get used to a certain routihen, she subverted things at the most critical moment to pull the rug from uhem. It felt simir to how Nia ying.

  Except, the way Nia did things didn’t look nearly as impressive as Ellen’s tricky. Not to mention, Vi should have been the cautious and observant type who wouldn’t fall for such basic tactics. Even Ellen surely would have had trouble trig him like that.

  As such, frankly, these two deaths felt like iional feeding. However, Vi seemed bewildered by these developments as well. So, unless he was an Oscar-winning actor, he clearly didn’t io die during any of these is.

  “I wonder,” Viuro the others. “Was I the only one surprised by that ambush?”

  “That came outta nowhere for me too,” Lars admitted. “Dude just popped outta thin air, yo!”

  “No kidding,” Luke nodded. “I bet the girl was all like ‘You’ll never see it ing~’ while sneaking up to you.”

  “I agree,” Kai nodded. “It was ued. Though, I would’ve dealt with it way better than Vi did.”

  Wait, nobody expected something like this to happen? Yuel frowo him, it was obvious that Vi should tread carefully because Nia might un attack at any moment. Especially, sidering she has already pulled a fast one on him st time. He should’ve been on maximum alert.

  Therefore, the moment Vi came out of the smoke and Nia was nowhere in sight, it souhe arm in Yuel’s head. He had a feeling Nia was about to try something. Everybody else should’ve seen that as well yet they were ag oblivious. Why? How e?

  After this sed death, the match was as good as decided. Vi's respawn tdown was much lohis time around, so Nia had all the time in the world to capitalize on this opportunity. She had enough time to take the red buff, push Vi's Golem, destroy it, and even bring her minions to his Colossus before he revived to defend.

  After Vi’s Golem fell, Nia’s minions gained heavier armor and fming ons. With this empowered army, she had no trouble pushing through the uping enemy waves and take down the Colossus.

  DEFEAT

  “Welp,” Vi smiled wryly. “That was sure iing.”

  With that, the first part of Nia’s exam was over.