As the first game of the scrimmage began, Kai and Vi headed to Bot after clearing the Ord Wolf camps. Their ne oppos were TheLegend and TheMyth, a Pirate and a Lumimancer with matg names.

  That bastard said he ying Carry, right? Kai gred at the Pirate. TheLegend, huh. Yeah, the name checks out. I'll make sure he'll bee one hell of a legend by the time I’m doh him. It gonna be a legend about the greatest loser that ever lived.

  Just thinking back about their brief exge was enough to rile her up. Who the hell that scumbag thought he was!? He knew nothing about Kai, yet he disregarded her as trash just for being a girl. Boys like that were the worst kind of filth. SHE'LL MURDER HIS ASS!

  "Whoa, Beat," Vi called out. "Where are you going? That's dangerous."

  "Just shut up and support me," Kai advaoward the frontline instead of clearing the minions. She was going to get an early start on that bastard and reap him apart!

  "W-Wait!" Vi hurried after her. It all happened so suddenly, that he found himself too far away for providing proper support.

  Not good. Her Pheromone Buster is ag up! Vi’s forehead begaing. Kai’s unstoppable aggression might lead to an early kill, but it’ll more likely lead to her owh instead. I have to do something about it! But, what?

  "Heh, the hell?" Brueered. "She's ing at me herself? Is she asking to die or somethin’? Haha."

  The moment, without any warning, something appeared behind him. He couldn't see it, but he khat metallic sound. It was an Iron Maiden!

  "Oh crap!" Bruce rolled aside by instinct. He fought enough Impalers to know what was i.

  "Shit," Kai cursed as she fired her spear. It was going to whiff, she could already tell. The enemy rolled aside the moment she started the throw animation. Damn it! The only good news was that the Pirate didn’t roll toward Kai. A close-quarters fight against a Pirate would’ve bee an issue. Still, this was far from a favorable development.

  "Hah! Get cucked!" Bruce grinned as if he just wotery. "You saw that shit? Dodging oion like a pro!"

  "Yeah, sick," Bryan, the Suppave his approval. "Though, you could've rolled at her and fought at cle. That way, you would’ve ended her whole career."

  "Huh, I guess I could do that. But hey, ain’t it amazing I dodge oion like that? Ya gotta be a pro to roll like that!"

  "Yeah, of course," Bryan agreed relutly. He had to agree, for he knew what'd happen if he didn’t. "So, what we do we do ?"

  "Gon some revenge, obviously!" Bruce turned his back to the enemy and activated Backfire on. BAM! He closed the distao the Impaler in an instant!

  "Whoa, man!" Bryan excimed. "At least gimme a warning or something! Dang it." It gonna be "my fault" if you die, ain't it? Sigh.

  Bryan gave chase because he had no choice. He had to do what he could to prevent Bruce from dying. Well, not like there should be anything to worry about. Bruce could definitely hold his own against some chick who preteo py games.

  "Haha, die, bitch!" Bruce drew out his cutss and sshed at the Impaler from point-bnk!

  Damn, I 't get away in time...! Kai started backpedaling as soon as she saw the startup for Backfire on, but she wasn't fast enough. At this point, there was no choice but to roll away to create some distance.

  "Shit!" Bruce whiffed the attack. "e here, you pussy!"

  The insult must’ve reached the enemy somehow, because she immediately turned around and hurled a spear at him!

  "Whoa! Damn!" Bruce jumped. Where did that shit e from!? He was sure the girl will keep running away like the pussy she was. This wasn’t in the pns! Fuuuuu!

  The spear impaled his shoulder. Damn, no way. That bitch actually he first hit on him! This shit ain't gonna stand!

  "You wanna fight, eh? Eh!?" Bruce switched back to his pistol and fired. He gonna teach that bitch what it meant to mess with TheLegend!

  Bam! hit! Smacked that bitch right in the chest.

  Whish! Another spear came flying at him right then!

  "Fu-!" The moment his brain figured he gotta dodge, it was already too te. The spear pierced his left arm.

  "Oh, yeah? That’s how it gonna be, eh!?" Bruce's face torted. "Ty this game!"

  He fired back as soon as he recovered from the animation of the previous shot. Bam! Another hit, square iomach!

  Whish! Another spear back at him!

  Fuck! Take this!

  Bam! Whish! Bam! Whish!

  They're like mad dogs. Vi shuddered. It was wild. The two madmen barely moved around. Only their hands were busy, ung oack after another without rest.

  There was no tactid no elegan this exge of blows. They merely unleashed their a each other. It was an unsightly, low-level duel.

  Is this the level you want to py on? Vi felt sad. heless, if things keep going like this, Kai should be able to win.

  Impaler’s early-game was strong thanks to its passive, Deep Wounds. It made Impaler’s basic attacks reduce the target’s Physical Defense by a ft amount, allowing the Impaler to deal higher damage over time by stag these debuffs. So, in an ongoing exge of blows, Kai should be able to overtake a Pirate at this early stage of the game.

  Indeed, you might overtake this foe. But, only thanks to some numbers. Vihought. It won't prove anything about your skill as a pyer. Is that what you want?

  This was all the fault of that accursed Pheromone Buster ability that possessed her. It poisoned her mind and made her fet her elegant bat teique, her almighty Rhythm Reader.

  Of course, the enemy also deserved some credit here. It was TheLegend’s Fury Inducer ability that ed Beat’s mind. Iionally or not, the guy was a natural at fueling his oppos’ ahis talent was definitely a double-edged sword, but this time it worked in the enemy's favor.

  Beat always had impaired judgment wheered this moody mode. But, the Fury Inducer pushed her a step further, turning her into nothing more than a beast who only knew how to recklessly attack.

  Still, with all said and done, Beat was going to take the fight at this rate. Unfortunately, the situation wasn't so simple. As the two mad dogs cshed, they drew the i of nearby minions. The little soldiers won't let this stand. Each side sought revenge for their captain.

  If the minions join the fray, this fight will most certainly end in a double KO. The power advantage Kai had will be overwritten by the extra damage from minions. That’s how scary the soldiers were during the early game.

  And, as it happens, my clearing speed is too slow to do anything about this. Vi advao the front and unleashed Icicle Rain on the enemy minions, but that barely bothered them. The enemy army had every iion to keep hunting Kai down.

  If I at least had Cryo-Freeze... As, the game has just started. Vi was only Lv.2, so there was no hope of using his ult. The only other spell he had was Ice Wall, but it won't stall the enemy enough.

  So, what do I do? A shiver ran across his skin.

  This was this team's first petitive match, the first time they set foot upon a grand stage like this. They had to prove their worth, here and now. It was imperative for them to start this on the right foot. If they mess up so early, they might lose morale for the rest of the day! It'll be doomsday! The Armageddon! The SUPER DUPER BIG FAIL apocalypse!

  So, what do I do!? I have to keep her alive somehow! If only he knew ahead of time that Kai will aggress like this, then he would have leveled his Ice Coffin instead of Ice Wall. Normally, it was less useful at the very start of the game, so he left it for Lv.3. But, for this heated early battle, Ice Coffin would have been a game-ger.

  As, as always, the solo ductor told Vi nothing about her pns. The team helped her calm down before the game and that therapy should’ve worked. But, as soon as the game started, this situation happened. Bst it all!

  Yo, these minions are bad news. Bryan calmly analyzed the situation. While Bruce was locked in a hectic fight with that Impaler chick, the minions were making their way into the fray. At this rate, the two aggressive dumbasses gonheir asses whooped by the minions, haha!

  Jokes aside, this was bad. Bruce ying dumb right now, but he gonna bme Bryan if something happens. That's how shit always went. The Carry always bmed the Support for stuff.

  Seriously, this role was the worst. Bryan only pyed this shit because it was the only spot left oeam. Nobody wao touch this garbage, so Bryan volunteered. Or, rather, retty much forced to volunteer for it, sihat’s what Bruce always made him py anyway.

  Is it too te to ge roles? Bryan smiled wryly. Welp, what's done was done. He just had to keep doing what he always did. Meaning, keeping Bruce happy. Or, else...

  I'd clear these minions if I had the attack power for it. Bryan sighed. This damn role, I’m tellin’ ya. It’s always so weak and crap. How do people main Support? They gotta be legit insane.

  Still, a man gotta do what a man gotta do. Bryan signed up for this shit, so he gotta see it through.

  The top priority was to keep Bruce alive. More than anything, Bruce hated dying, that’s something Bryan learned after years of experience. So, no matter what had to be done, even if Bryan had to put his own ne the line, he had to make sure Bruce walks outta this alive.

  Guess I gotta do one of ‘em suicide moves, heh. Bryan smiled wryly. Seriously, sometimes this role was the worst. But, he has been telling that himself for over two years now, so it became the norm. Sigh. Here goes nothing!

  Bryan activated Fsh and blinked forward, right into eerritory.

  “Wha-!?” Vi couldn’t process the information in front of him. The Lumimancer? What was he doing all the way over here!? What was the pn? How should Vi respond?

  “What’s up, fam?” Bryan fired a ball of light at the ahen rolled the heck outta there.

  “Wha...?” Vi blihe Lumimancer left as abruptly as he arrived. What was the big idea here? Did he e here just to shoot one basic attack at Vi?

  Oh, he came to aggro the minions! It finally hit him when all allied minions started fog their fire on the Lumimahat Lumimancer blinked in just to get a hit on Vi and grab the minions’ attention! The minions prioritized nearby offenders first, so they fot all about the Pirate and focused on the Lumimancer first.

  What a bizarre py! He must have practiced this art for years to master it!

  Now, just to pray I don’t die from this shit. Bryan chuckled nervously. Oime out of five, this sort of self-sacrificial py would lead to his doom. It better not be one of those...

  All enemy minions focused their fire on Bryan because he was the closest offehey fot all about Brud chased Bryan instead. In that sehe py was a success. It increased Bruce’s ces of winning the duel, without Bryan having to directly butt into it. Most importantly, it boosted Bruce’s ces of survival. pared to that, Bryan’s survival could be damned.

  This is a disaster...! Vi sweated bullets. With the Lumiancer distrag all allied minions, only the enemy minions were free to assault the duelists. In other words, Kai was in a pinch! At this rate, her demise was iable!

  Wait, perhaps I could try this aggro trick too. I only o intercept the minions and hit one of our foes. Vi looked around. Not good. I won't make it in time. They're all too far away! Aire eternity stands between us!

  It was hopeless! A disaster! The end of the world! There was no esg from this Ragnarok!

  But, I 't Kai die here! What do I do!? Vi's heart pounded. With each beat, the little vilins took oep close toward Kai. They were almost there...!

  Vi's eye naturally id on his kit. ht! The Ice Wall! He still hasn't used it. That was the solution!

  I just o build a wall! Vi carefully aimed at the Ice Wall. His hand was shaking. He felt drops of sweat dripping down his forehead. It was like Mission Improbable. He was the only one who could salvage the situation. Failure to do so meant Game Over.

  T-There! Vi pced the wall. As, it appeared far from where he inteo pce it. B-Bsphemy! The devil must have struck my hand right before I clicked!

  Instead of creating a divider between Kai and her foes, the clumsily-pced Ice Wall only stood between Kai and TheLegend. It didn’t stop, let alone slow, the ining minions. The army was still marg!

  "Wha-!?" Kai jumped when her spear crashed into an ice wall and fell on the ground. "Hey! What's that for!?"

  "Ah, err, yeah, about that..." Words refused to roll on Vi’s tongue for some reason. Whoopsie-daisy. He messed up big time.

  Nay! This was no time to cry over spilled milk. He had to warn Kai before it was too te!

  "The minions! They're ing!"

  "Huh? So what? Our minions are ing too... oh." Kai realized that something was off. For some reason, instead of targeting the Pirate, her minions were heading in the opposite dire. They won't be providing her with backup any time soon.

  "Got it," Kai turned around and dashed from the area.

  "Bitch, you running away?" Brueered. "Yeah, run baa, girl." He circled around the ice wall and gave chase, but soon gave up. That scaredy-cat was already at her Turret. Lame shit.

  "Hey B," Bruce called out. "Whatcha doing over there? You should've nded me a hand to finish off that bitch. And, when the hell did you lose so much HP? an. Focus."

  "I was luring the minions away from you," Bryan made a face.

  "Oh, that's cool. Thanks, champ."

  "You're wele."

  "But damn, I lost tons of HP," Bruce realized that obvious fact just now. "Let's scram."

  "Already on it."

  The two retreated from the area.

  "Heh, this whole thing turned out kinda me, but we got this shit," Bruce reassured. "That chick ain't nothin'. I mop the floor with her with my eyes closed."

  "Yeah, you gonna kick that ass ime," Bryan nodded. "She seems basic as fuck. We just gotta be ready for the ime she charges in like a Bronze pyer. Then, we gonna whoop her ez."

  "Yeah, exactly. You know it."

  The first csh in Bot cluded on this note. Even though both sides lost a lot of HP, Brud Bryan were fident that, ime, they'll win no problem. That Impaler just caught them a little off guard this time, that’s all. They’ll be ready for her Bronze-ass pys ime. That chick was dead meat!

  DarkestCymore