“Hey Nash!” Jaiden called out. “Fet that Viking guy. He’s already dead. Go chase the girl.”

  “Wait, I just gonhis kill real quick.” Nash thrust his hrough the Viking’s back. I’m the one who initiated this gank, so of course, I gotta be the one who gets the kill!

  “Fet the kill,” Jaiden said. “If you don’t chase the Sorcerer, she gon away.”

  “Nuuuu, but my kill!”

  “Are you five or something?” Rio made face. “I’m pretty sure they cover this kind of math in kindergarten, but in case you didn’t know: two is more than one. Meaning, two kills are better than one.”

  “What the-? Of course I know that!”

  “Then a it.”.

  “Yeah, an,” Jaiden urged as well.

  “Tch, fine.” Nash grumped as he shifted his focus toward the Sorcerer in the distance.

  Sorcerer didn't have any escape tools, and Nash’s Sweep slowed her down whearted this gank. So, that chick hasn’t gotten too far away yet.

  But, Jai and Rio got a point. Nash agreed. If I spend any more time on this 100% dead Viking, I won’t be able to catch up to the chick. I better get there pronto!

  And so, Nash broke into a run! This sudden a naturally armed the enemy.

  “Nani!? Impossible!” Vi excimed. The Lancer ceased attag a straight ahead, heading in Kai’s dire! “Beat, watch out! The Lancer is hot on your trail!”

  “Got it,” Kai answered. It was good to know, but there wasn’t much she could do with this information. She didn’t have any escape tools or any immediate CC that could slow down the pursuer. I only got my orbs and ult. And, none of them is going to make it easier to escape.

  All Kai could do was tinue running. She basically had to pray that the Lancer won’t be able to catch up to her. As, her prayers fell on deaf ears...

  Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. It was the sound of metallic boots hitting against the ground.

  Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Quick steps, much faster than Kai’s. Even after the slowdown from Lancer’s Sweep wore off, Kai’s legs couldn’t pete with the speed of this pursuer.

  Stomp. Stomp. STOMP. The metallic sounds drew closer. The predator was about to reach for her back. Even though Vi fought so hard to keep all three e bay, one speed monster slipped by and was about to murder Kai from behind.

  He’s already so close!? Kai grit her teeth. A shudder ran through her.

  It was StormMonster, or “Storm Chaser” as Vi beled him. A predator who never let his prey escape alive. He was the kind of guy who’d chase his target to the ends of the earth.

  Until now, Kai thought this was one of Vi’s typical exaggerations. She has never had the opportunity to be chased down by StormMonster until now.

  Now I see what’s the hype all about. Kai gulped. This pressure is something else.

  StormMonser was the ultimate predator, fast and oppressive. His mere presence piled boundless pressure on Kai’s back. It felt like a wild bear was chasing her down. And, the moment that beast catches up, he’ll tear Kai apart on the spot.

  STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. The metallic sounds grew louder. StormMonster was already here! The metallic sounds were chasing Kai down along with the pursuer.

  And then - silehe metallic sounds stopped without notice, indig that the Lancer wasn’t chasing any longer.

  But, it’s not like he gave up. It was the calm before the storm.

  He’s attag! Kai rolled forward without thinking twice. She couldn’t let that monster reach her, no matter what!

  WHISH. The sound of a spear cutting through empty air. As expected, the pursuer unched an attack. But, thanks to Kai’s speedy respohe thrust missed its target.

  “Oh? You dodge that?” Nash blinked for a moment, but then his lips curved into a grin. “Iing! Looks like I gotta take this seriously then. Thanks for wasting your roll!”

  “GAE-” the Lancer shouted loudly.

  “Ah!” Kai choked. A chill ran through her body.

  Lancer’s ultimate attack was ing and Kai didn’t have access to her Dodge Roll. She has just wasted it on dodging a simple basic attack, instead of saving it against this much greater threat. What a blunder!

  It’s over. Kai grit her teeth and hung her head. The best she could dht now was to run in zigzags, in hope of juking the ult ing at her from behind. As, against a pyer with a half-det aim, it robably futile.

  That Gae Bolg was going to run right through her. It was the end. All of Vi’s efforts to rescue her were in vain. Kai couldn’t get away after all.

  Well, at least Vince should be able to get alive just fine-

  An ally has been killed!

  “Eh!?” Kai froze. “What?”

  “-BOLG!” Nash lunged forth. Time to this up! I got your patterns down, girl!

  That chick has been doing a det job at zigzagging from side to side as she ran, but Nash figured her moves by now. He kly where to aim his almighty spear!

  WHOOSH. The demonic spear cut through the air, leaving a trail of energy behind. It ersonic thrust that traveled across a long distan an instant, lethally striking the first target it hit. As, this time, the spear pierced through nothing but empty air...

  “What the-!? You stop!? Just like that!?” Nash was certain he figured the girl’s ez jukes, but then she suddenly hit him with this ued “no-mixup” mixup. Of all things, he didn’t expect her to suddenly freeze in pce like this. “Damn, now I’m mad. You’re SO dead!”

  “Ah!” Kai jumped in her seat. A nce shht at her. She tried to move away from it, but it dug into her shoulder heless. It wasn’t the Gae Bolg, but it was strong enough to shook her out of the daze.

  Damn, I o focus! Kai shook her head.

  The annou of Vi’s death fazed her for a moment. Before she realized it, the Gae Bolg was over and doh. The Lancer was right in front of her and he was furious.

  WHISH! Ohrust. WHISH! Ahrust. WHOOSH! A third thrust.

  The Lancer relentlessly shot his spear at Kai. No matter how hard she tried, she failed to create enough distao avoid the mid-ranged barrage. In a matter of seds, her HP plummeted below 50%. The end was nigh.

  “Sorry, captain,” Vi apologized. “Looks like I failed you.”

  “Failed me”? Kai didn’t even have the spare time to respond out loud, for she had to trate 100% on dodging the ining thrusts. Dodging a siack from that Lancer demanded all her spare brain juices. The motacked relentlessly, fident in ead every strike.

  It’s only thanks to Vihat I’m still alive. Kai thought. If he didn’t CC the Lancer as soon as the gank started, I would’ve been dead by now. And, if he didn’t keep the Lancer occupied after that, I couldn’t have escaped this far.

  So, did Vi fail her? Not at all. If anything, it was foolish of him to put himself at risk for the sake of somebody like Kai.

  I really don’t deserve it. She has been dragging the team down for the past three games. There was absolutely no reason for anybody to sacrifice themselves to prolong her life.

  Her Sorcerer erhaps more valuable for the team than Vi’s Viking when it came to fending off enemy pushes. But other than that, there was no reason for Vio sacrifice himself to save Kai.

  Ahat fool insisted he wao save the “captain”. Kai partially deserved that title during the first couple of games, but not anymore. In the previous two games, she did nothing but drag the team down.

  I’m just not good enough. Kai cluded. Fighting against Renegade and his gang made Kai realize the extent of her ability. She wasn’t nearly as good as she thought.

  Before the scrimmage, Kai talked all big about winning the regionals, but she clearly wasn’t prepared for this level. Unlike her, Yuel and Lars kly how serious the petitive se was, that’s why they traiill exhaustion every day.

  Meanwhile, somewhere in her heart, Kai was uimating the petitive se. She believed that as long as the club practiced hard, they’ll automatically get far at the regionals.

  Also, Kai was one of the best pyers in the club, sed only to Yuel and Lars. As such, she believed she was one of the best pyers in the region. And, she even started training hard on a daily basis, so of course, she was going to make it big in the petitive se as well, right?

  Arrogant and hat’s all she was. On the petitive se, everybody was skilled and everybody put in the effort. Kai wasn’t special in any way. Just because she was a little skilled and trained a little hard, it wasn’t enough to make her into a pro who could easily crush all the petition. There were many petitive pyers on the same level as her and even stronger.

  For example, as much as she hated Renegade's guts, the guy obviously trained hard with his peers. Their powerful triangle formation wouldn’t be possible without lots of blood, sweat, and tears.

  Simirly, Nirvana seemed like an ily talented pyer who further polished his skill through hard work. His sharp deaking and fwless execution all stood testament to his efforts.

  And, this StormMonster guy chasing her was the same. He must’ve spent hours upon hours polishing his chasing teique to nigh perfe. He kly which targets to focus on, which items to build, how to apply pressure, and so forth. As a result, nobody could escape alive from this monster.

  And, just like that, ead every pyer on this stage today had a story behind them. They all had the skill, they all trained hard, and they all sought victory as much as Kai did.

  That’s why Kai failed to stand out among this petitive crowd. There lenty of fish in the petitive sea and she was just one of them. She was strohan some but weaker than others. And so, she won some fights and lost others. It was only natural.

  Just because she hated the guts of a particur oppo, it didn’t mean she’d suddenly gain a magical power to crush that scumbag. She was strong enough to stomp a loser like TheLegend, but Renegade was airely differe. That bastard wasn’t an oppo Kai could sistently beat, not even in a 1v1.

  But, does that mean he’s necessarily strohan me? Hell no. Kai was vinced. I’m sure if we fight 10 times, I go at least 5-5 against him. No, even 6-4. Heck, 7-3 is possible too, I’m sure.

  It just so happehat the two fights Kai has picked against Renegade so far took a turn for the worse. And, most of it was due to Kai losing her cool in the middle of battle. So, she could’ve won if she just pyed like her usual self.

  And, the same applied to the current situation against StormMonster. Sure, the guy was a savage predator whose hunting teique was hoo unparalleled levels. It’ll be tremendously hard, nigh impossible, to slip away from him.

  But, that was no reason to give up. Kai had to retain her cool and figure a way to survive against these impossible odds. Nothing was decided yet. She was alive, therefore she’ll struggle to the bitter end!

  “Did we e here today to lose? Nay, I say! We came to seize victory!” Vi was right for ohe team came here today to win. They were supposed to make an impressive debut that’ll make people fet how Stratus was once called the “worst team”.

  Kai’s personal defeats didn’t matter. It was all about winning as a team. Even if she trips and falls a huimes, everything will be alright as long as she stands up every time and ultimately helps the team win.

  This isn’t the time to act like a weakling! Kai scolded herself. The one is ing!

  WHISH! A spear came flying at her, but she sidestepped it in the nick of time.

  I kinda follow the rhythm of his attacks. Kai realized. Her sharp senses were gradually returning. Even against this invincible predator, Kai was able to read the attack pattern and dodge in a timely fashion.

  “Damn, this girl...!” Nash cursed. “Then, how about this!?” He drew closer to his prey but he didn’t attack right away. Instead, he deyed his attack just a little, to see how Beat reacts.

  Now! Kai turo the right based on her predi. However, the WHISH sound effect didn’t py. It only resounded a sed ter.

  A deyed attack!? Kai instinctively rolled to the side.

  WHISH! The spear came dangerously close to hitting her, but it failed to graze her. She just barely escaped damage this time.

  Phew, made it. Kai breathed in relief. But, how long I keep this up?

  She could read the oppo’s attack pattern to some degree and prolong her life somewhat, but she couldn’t dodge everything against an oppo smart enough to mix in deyed attacks. On top of that, she couldn’t ter-attack because her basics were weak. The risk simply wasn’t worth it.

  So, all I do is run after all? Kai grimaced.

  Yuel was on the way to provide aid, but he was still too far away. And, to make things worse, the Lancer ered Kai long before she reached the Golem area. In short, she was in a terrible position.

  I keep running toward the Golem, but this damn bastard will catch up in no time. Kai frowned. No matter what I do, I doubt I escape from this guy alive.

  This wasn’t just her being pessimistic; it was a fact. StormMonster was at his stro when he was chasing, that’s what everybody testified. And, Kai also experiehat first-hand moments ago.

  There was no escape. Kai was already down to 40% HP. She won’t st long if StormMonster catches up to her and starts drilling her with his nce.

  But, there was ohod that sorta worked against this guy. Kai recalled. Even Luke pulled it off somehow, so it might wain.

  So far, only ohod worked against StormMonster’s chasing teique. Earlier today, Lars and Luke chose to stand their ground and front StormMonster instead of running away from him. Thanks to that, they proloheir lives and Luke even survived the entire enter.

  I gotta fight. Kai gulped. Is that even realistic?

  She was a mage fag a bruiser. StormMonster was at 60% HP after eating a couple of tower shots, but a bruiser’s 60% HP was worth quite a lot, much more than that of a mage. And, if that’s not enough, Kai only had 40% HP, which was evehan that. The HP gap was HUGE.

  While StormMonster only o nd a couple of hits on her, Kai would have to keep barraging him with basics for an hour in order to score a kill. This matchup was as uneven as it could get.

  But, I have more than just my basics. Kai reasoned.

  A mage wasn’t desigo rely on basic attacks in the first pce, it was all about the spells. And, at this stage of the game, Kai has already stacked a lot of cooldowion in her build. As a result, her Magia Orb had an incredibly low cooldown. It needed just a couple of seds to recharge, almost being a rept for her basic attacks.

  Unfortunately, the orbs formed slowly, so it was difficult to hit a moving target with them. And, their damage wasn’t even that amazing in the first pce. Their main purpose was to set up Sorcerer’s other spells.

  For example, Dimensional Colpse was out of cooldown. So, for example, Kai could pce a Magia Orb at the distahen pull StormMonster far away from herself. After that, maybe she’d get an opportunity to escape?

  No, that’s naive. Kai shook her head. He’s too fast on his feet. He’ll catch up in no time. Then, what else I do? She ched her mouse.

  It felt like depression was about to cim her once more. After she finally lit up her fighting spirit, the enemy’s strength was about to blow it out.

  Repelling Force is still on cooldown, so I only got my ult left. But, I don’t have any orbs to blow up... yet.

  Resonance Ignition was undoubtedly Sorcerer's scariest tool, capable of deliveriating burst damage in an instant. However, to deal truly massive damage, it required an eborate setup.

  First, the skill required multiple Magia Orbs on the field in order to blow them up. On top of that, to dial up the damage from “det” to “amazing”, the target had to be caught up ierse of the orbs’ explosions.

  The explosion of a single orb wouldn’t deal that much damage to the Lancer. It’d probably erase somewhere between 5% to 7% of his HP. However, the Sorcerer could maintain up to 3 Magia Orbs on the field at the same time, so that was the upper limit on the damage of Resonance Ignition. And, this limit was far greater than the sum of the orbs’ individual damage.

  The “resonance” part of Resonance Ignition wasn’t there just to sound cool. By blowing up multiple orbs and making their explosions overp, it ossible to gee a resonance effect that amplified the damage of all the interseg explosions. And, it was a HUGE amplifier.

  A resoween two orbs resulted in quadruple damage in total. And, a resoween all three orbs dealt 9 times the damage of a single orb’s explosion!

  It might even be enough to kill! Kai couldn’t do the math as fast as Yuel, so she had to trust her intuition here. She had more than enough experience pying Sorcerer and unleashiating Resonance Ignitions on her foes, so she knew how absurd the damage could get when optimized.

  Her intuition whispered to her: “It result in a kill.” If she sets up three Magia Orbs and causes resoh all three - she’ll kill StormMonster. Kai had a ce to win this!

  It’ll be extremely difficult and risky, but there was no other optio for her. It was impossible to escape from StormMonster and she didn’t have any other dangerous tools at her disposal. Therefore, she had to trust her skill a everything on a triple resonance!

  What are my odds, I wonder? Kai smiled wryly. If she attempted this challeen times in a row, she’d probably only nail it ohat’s like a 10% ce. These were depressingly low odds.

  But, having low odds was no reason to turn her ba the challenge. After all, this oempt, right here and now, could very well be that one successful try out of ten! Just the way Kai lost twi a row tade even though they weren’t that far apart in skill, so did Kai have a ce to pull off a less likely py like this.

  There was ainty to be found anywhere on this petitive stage. Everybody here was high level, so there were no guarantees about anything. Nobody had a 100% success ce against oppos of the same level. And, on the flip side, it also meant that a 100% failure did either.

  Let’s do it. Kai summohe first Magia Orb. She’ll do it! She’ll grasp that 10% d unleashed the devastating triple reso was too early to give up on her life! She’ll struggle to the bitter end!

  DarkestCymore