Stratus lost their third game.

  No, they didn't just lose. The enemy utterly and thhly crushed them like a bug. It was an embarrassi, even more embarrassing than the defeat they delivered to Taurus during the sed game.

  The enemy's Teleport shenanigans caught them off guard and messed up the entire flow of the game. How will they ter that gimmick? Actually, it was quite simple.

  "We just have to py safer," Yuel expio everybody. "If we don't let them gain any early advaer they buy Teleport, they'll fall behind on gold."

  It was something everybody here probably already knew. heless, Yuel said it out loud to make sure everybody heard how simple it was. They were all wearing such difficult expressions that Yuel felt the urge to i some positivity into this gloomy atmosphere.

  But, how would aionless golem like him cheer anybody up? The only way he knew how: by analyzing the game and solutions. That's all he could do.

  Normally, he'd leave the pep talk to Lars. But, there was no sign of the usual goofiness on the goof's face. He had a grim expression. The frustration of losing to the Viking robably still eating away at him. It was hard to watch.

  "It wasn't your fault," Yuel said. "It was a bad matchup for a mage. And, we both know mages aren't your forte in the first pce."

  "Yeah, yeah, I know," Lars clicked his tongue. He knew all that, yet the whole thing frustrated him to no end. Expeg himself to win that 1v1 robably asking for too much from himself, he uood that in his head. But then, why was he even pying mage in the first pce!? That's what irritated him most.

  I should've been a marksman! Lars stomped on the floor as if it were the culprit responsible for f him to py Mid. But, it wasn't the floor's fault. It was Kai who insisted to py Carry.

  But, it wasly Kai’s fault either. It was all Lars. He was the one ted this crappy deal and bowed his head like some submissive loser. What the flying fuck was he doing pying Mid in this official petitive match!?

  "Calm down," Yuel patted Lars's shoulder.

  "Geh," Lars just realized he has been pung the wall this eime. His fist turned a little reddish. He couldn't bear this. It was all his fault. He shouldn't have agreed with Yuel on this. Lars should’ve stood his ground and forced Kai to let them py Bot. In fact, he gonna demaly that, right here and now!

  "Kai, listen," Lars tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. "We gotta swites. These dudes are somethin' else. Let me and Yuel ha."

  "Huh?" Kai gave him a nasty look. "Are you saying I 't hahese guys?"

  "Well, you saw how that game went."

  “That was just a small mess up," Kai cimed. "I'll wreck these bastards ime. No problem."

  "I dunno about that. These dudes are strong," Lars insisted. His heavy tone made it clear he had no iion of bag down. "Me and Yuel gotta ha. Otherwise, we'll lose again."

  "Tch," Kai clicked her tongue. Her ched fists trembled. "We only lost in Bot because my Support wasn't good enough." She shot a gre at Vi. "I didn't want t this up but alright, let’s discuss this, shall we? Vi just stood there like a scarecrow while I was fighting. That’s why we lost. Am I right?"

  "Um, I..." Vi swallowed his words. He couldn’t find the words, a rare occurrence for the ever loud who usually spouted nonsense like a maegun. Everybody’s eyes were on him as if judging every little twitch he made.

  "You know I'm right," Kai pressured. "Their Cryo got in and froze me, but what were you doing the whole time? Pretty muothing. You didn't even warhe guy roag."

  "I-I simply didn't notice," Vi slowly regained his voice. "That Lapce pyer is not your average Support. He has the uny ability to approach his targets unnoticed and catch them off guard with CC. It is quite simir to the Vanishing Phantom, yet different at the same time. I dub it the Phantom Approacher!"

  "Cut the crap already," Kai shed. "Just admit it. You didn't want to it to the attack, so left me there aloo die."

  "N-No, I’d never!" Vi stumbled over his words. "I admit that I wasirely fident about pursuing that offense. So, I was sulting the all-knowing Chessmaster, and..."

  "And then I got wrecked, while you were standing there not doing jack shit.”

  "T-That's not..." Vi shifted his eyes away. He was very much aware of his faults in that py. He was stu analysis paralysis, rag his brain to determine what was their best line of py against the enemy’s cocky poking. While he was mulling over it and discussing it with Yuel, Kai suddenly took a and initiated an attack.

  Frankly, that sudden development threw Vi off banoment, he was calmly examining the situation from afar and analyzing his options. There was nothing urging or pressuring him. It’s like he was floating high in the clouds, looking at his surroundings from bird’s-eye view.

  Then, out of the blue, somebody grabbed his leg and pulled him down to the ground. It was such a sudden transition that it left him fused. By the time he returo his senses, it was almost too te.

  Yes, almost too te. After all, Vi did make it on the se before Kai died. He didn’t pletely fail at supp.

  "May I remind you that I did rescue you with my Aegis?” Vi wasn't even sure why he said that. It wasn’t like he was trying to justify himself or anything, but...

  "Oh yeah,” Kai said. “THANK YOU for not letting me die after abandonihere." She shook her head in disappoi and turo the others. "So, there you have it. The only reason I lost there was Vi's awful support. If we’re going to repybody in Bot, it gotta be the Support." She threw Yuel a meaningful look.

  "You wao switch with Vi?" Yuel asked.

  "Yeah, that should do it.” Kai nodded. “If you're the one supp me, I'll make quick work of these guys."

  "Hmm," Yuel sidered it for a moment. Is she seriously g she didn't do anything wrong at all? That it was all Vi's fault? Sorry, but I don’t buy it.

  Going by Kai's words alo sounded like Vi should take all the bme. And, indeed, his respoo the unfolding situation was too slow. He bore some of the bme, no doubt. But, that wasn't the entire picture.

  It was always easy to point fingers at the Support when he didn't follow up on the Carry's attack. But, there was always one important thing to ask about these sarios.

  "Kai, did you inform Vi ahead of time about your attack?" Yuel interrogated.

  "I'm... pretty sure I said something." Kai shot a gre at Vi as if to silence him.

  "How about it?" Yuel turo Vi. "Did she inform you at all?"

  "Oh, yeah, about that..." Vi nervously shifted his eyes between Kai and Yuel.

  ", don't be shy," Lars urged Vio speak up. "We're all friends here. o hide anything."

  "Kai didn't inform me," Vi admitted. "I didn't receive any heads up at all."

  "Tch," Kai turned away and clicked her tongue. She ractically admitting to her crime with that body nguage.

  "So, most of the bme lies with Kai," Yuel gave Kai a serious look. "I agree that Vi could've reacted faster. But, it would have been a huimes better if you just informed him about your pns. You’re partners on the ne. You’re supposed to discuss everything."

  "So, there ya have it," Lars ed it up. "Me and Yuel won't make that kind of mistake, so leave Bot to us."

  "No," Kai insisted even after hearing all of this.

  "But, why!?" Lars excimed. "We gotta win today! Let us py Bot and we gonna wreck ‘em dudes ezpz!"

  "I do it myself," Kai argued. She didn't want to back down from this challenge.

  There was something about that pyer, Renegade, that irked her to no end. That bastard was looking down on her in the purest sense of the word. He wasn't doing it for the ughs or to stroke his own ego. No, he just genuinely saw Kai as a piece of trash.

  Renegade was challenging her, Kai could tell it clearly. The guy was sneering at her the entire game, always dario e and fight him. And, after the game, their eyes met again oage.

  That bastard didn't smile. He didn't grin. He didn't even sneer or scoff at her. Renegade simply gave Kai a pitying look, as if she was just some bug he squashed.

  Yeah, in that bastard’s eyes, Kai was nothing more than a bug, someone who didn't belong on this petitive stage. That's all Renegade saw in Kai. It was an insult on a whole different level. Kai didn't even know how to respond to it.

  She was angry. No, furious! She wao snap that damn guy's neck! Yet, at the same time, Renegade’s attitude sent a chill down her spine. Somehow, that bastard's cocky attitude overwhelmed her.

  No, I'm not scared of that bastard. I'll prove him wrong! Kai promised. And, in order to achieve her goal, she had to remain in Bot. She'll face Renegade once more on ne. And, this time, she'll mop the floor with him so hard, that he’ll see his own miserable refle in it!

  "What if we lose again?" Lars argued back.

  "We won't," Kai responded without hesitation.

  "But, we might! Them dudes ain't no pushovers. I'm sure they'll even give me and Yuel some trouble."

  "I'll beat them game, with or without Yuel's help."

  The bad-forth went on. The others simply watched from the sideline, uo slip in a single word. It was like a r test between two lions. Nobody dared to get closer.

  It's rare to see Lars like this. Yuel thought. The goof usually maintained a positive attitude about everything, but right now he was aggressively shing back at Kai. Fortunately, his arguments didn't turn into personal attacks, aher did Kai’s.

  Despite the heated argument, it was clear both pyers respected each other’s skill. They just refused to yield on this one point, so they fought it out the only way they knew how. By yelling nonse each other like two brats...

  "Me and Yuel got the powah! We it up no problem!"

  "I beat all three of them myself. With my eyes closed, even!"

  A silly bad forth without an end in sight.

  ’t somebody do anything about this? Yuel wondered. We don’t have time for this.

  Unfortunately, nobody made a move. None of them wao be caught up in that heated battlefield.

  Vi remained on the sideline, seemingly pting whether he should say something. Luke was also far away, with an awkward smile pstered on his face. It retty clear they didn't want to get involved with any of this. Then, what about Nia?

  Hm? Where is she? Yuel looked around. It took him a few moments to find the familiar bck messy hair. In fact, that’s the only part of Nia he actually could see. The rest of her body was covered by a b.

  Did she go to sleep!? In this situation!? Yuel lost all grip oy. What the bloody hell was going on with the team!?

  "Hey, Nia," Yuel called out. "Wake up."

  "No. I sleep," Nia replied with a muffled voice from uhe b.

  "We got twames to py."

  "Good luck."

  "You're also pying in them."

  "No. I sleep."

  This girl... Yuel checked the clock. It wasn't 3 pm yet, so it was too early for the princess’s daily beauty sleep. ", get up. At least one mame."

  "No." Nia tightly held onto the b with her little hands, stopping Yuel from pulling it away.

  "It’s still early," Yuel insisted. “I’m sure you keep going.”

  "Too tired. Zero MP. Gotta recall."

  "You only pyed three games," Yuel argued.

  "Three games too many," Nia mumbled. "Pying on stage is scary. Drains all your life force. It shortened my life span by at least 10 years."

  "Really now," Yuel made a face. Though, he could somewhat rete to what Nia was saying.

  During Yuel's first scrimmage, he was so exhausted he nearly colpsed afterward. If Lars wasn't there to catch him, Yuel probably would’ve crashed into the floor and taken a nap right there on stage. An unpleasant thought for sure.

  Since Yuel became that tired during his debut, it only made sehat Nia was handling herself even worse. She wasly the paragon of energy in the first pbsp;

  So, this is as far as she goes today. Yuel o himself. It was regrettable, but he khis was bound to happen sooner or ter. In fact, it was a miracle this timid girl even mustered the ce to py on stage today. That alone made her worthy of praise.

  Not to mention, Nia put on a strong performance during the first two games. The enemy’s skill level wasn’t that high back then, but even so, everythi much smoother thanks to Nia’s sneaky kills.

  “Okay, sleep well,” Yuel said. “If possible, try to recover enough energy so you py i game.”

  “Hm, ok...” Nia gave a vague reply. It retty clear she didn’t believe that’ll happen, aher did she seem ied in making it happen.

  It’s too stressful. Nia thought. She didn’t want to be on that stage again today. Especially, she didn’t want to experienything simir to what happe game.

  That game was awful. Not only because the enemy screwed her eeam across the board, but also because Nia didn’t get to do anything. Everything happened so quickly. She couldn’t even find an opportunity to i herself into the unfolding a. What’s worse, their new oppos didn’t show any openings.

  Everybody probably thought Nia was nowhere he a ses during the early parts of the game. But, she was actually there, hiding in the shadows. For example, back when Kai was fighting the Gunslio the death, Nia was not that far away.

  “I’ll sneak in and kill that Gunslinger.” That’s what Nia thought at the time. She believed that Kai will eventually disengage from the fight and that’ll give Nia an opportunity to sneak in and deliver the finishing blow.

  As a Drow, the best way to do things was to quickly get in while stealthed, deal tons of damage with the dagger, the out. So, Nia was waiting food opportunity to do exactly that.

  But, the situation didn’t develop as she expected. Instead of retreating, Kai tinued fighting and almost got herself killed. Nia realized she shouldn’t ganked earlier, but it was too te at that point.

  But, not all was lost. The Gunslinger was still running low on HP. As long as Nia could sneak in on him, she’ll be able to get the kill.

  But, that was easier said than dohe Gunslinger always surrounded himself with other pyers, like a prime minister with his bodyguards.

  At first, only the ncer was in the way. ancer’s CC meant trouble, but it was just one bodyguard. So, Nia patiently waited food opportunity strike.

  Just as she found it, the Viking appeared out of nowhere. Together, the three of them formed a tight formation that didn’t have any openings.

  In the end, Nia gave up on the gank. She couldn’t slip past them unnoticed, she felt that in her boheir formation was impeccable.

  The Bermuda Triangle of Certain Doom. That’s how Vi called it and it rang true. If Nia dared to get any closer, she’d be sucked in and torn apart. Scary.

  Unfortunately, that triahingy wasn’t a oime stunt. Those three maintaiheir unbreakable position for the rest of the game, as if to bully Nia. They covered each other's backs. There were no openings. She couldn't slip past their defense no matter what.

  In end, Nia had no choice but to give up on ganking as a whole. So, she joihe defense efforts. She didn't get to do anything impressive there but, hopefully, her presence made a little bit of difference. Either way, it was an unpleasant experience.

  I don't want to gh that again. Nia pouted underh the b. She was hiding her sulking face from the others. The atmosphere in the room was already as bad as it could possibly get, so she didn't want to add her own frustrations to the mix.

  And, more than anything, she didn't want to bee the target of anybody's hostility. The air in the room was charged with electricity. It felt like the smallest spark could make the entire pce blow up. Scary.

  All of this stress was exhausting. She didn't want to deal with any of this. It was easier to slip away into slumber and fet all her problems.

  And so, Nia left the stage for today. The team fell into disarray after their crushi, and now they also lost their Jungler on top of that. Could they recover from this heavy blow before the game...?

  DarkestCymore