The third and final round of the entry exam was announced. If not for Taison and Gregory cheating their way through the first rounds, Yuel and Lars could had already passed the whole exam by now. As, they and Julia had to survive yet another round in order to be pass.

  “Rejoice.” Hrinned. “I round, we’re letting you py some Cssmancers. ‘About damn time’, right? Haha.”

  “Heh, really about damn time.” Lars nodded. “Bring it on, yo!”

  “You’re too loud.” Yuel retorted. However, despite his calm facade, Yuel shared Lars’s enthusiasm. Bring it on, yo! ...he wasn’t the type to go so gang-ho, but right now he had the urge to blurt such silly words as well.

  After all, this was going to be the first time they’d test themselves against other strong pyers. They were about to fight face-to-face with others who aimed for the petitive se. It was time to see how strong they had grown throughout summer break. How much stronger would their oppos be pared Ptinum division in Ranked? He couldn't wait!

  “You’ll be randomly divided into pairs.” Howard expined. “In each pair, the two pyers will be pying against each other in the 5v5 draft mode, just like how it’s done in Ranked and petitive matches. Aim for the win, but keep in mind that winning doesn’t guarantee anything on its own. You’ll be pying with members from our club on the same team and we’re going to closely monitor your performance. We’ll grade you for every little thing you do, so no pressure, haha. The top three pyers will pass the exam.”

  Due to the rge amount of remaining didates, the third round was scheduled to take pce over a couple of days. Yuel was scheduled for the first day, whereas Lars and Julia were scheduled for the sed day.

  Before long, Yuel’s turn came around.

  “Wele.” The club’s captain, Aron, greeted him.

  “H-Hi.” Yuel gulped. Sweat formed on his forehead. He was invited into a room with four uppercssmen, one of which was the very captain of the Cssmancers club. All of them were going to monitor his performance, like predators eying a defenseless prey. Each move was going to be analyzed, every twitch was going to be judged. Gulp.

  “Rex, we don’t bite.” A cheery guy threw Yuel a smile. “You’re pying Support, right? I’m your ne partrever.” He jumped from the chair and shook Yuel’s hand. “ o meetcha!”

  “Likewise.” Yuel’s trembling stopped. Something about Trever’s demeanor was oddly rexing.

  “If you’re ready, let’s begin.” Aron said. “We’ll be pying in the draft format, the way it’s done in Ranked and official matches. Any experieh that?”

  “I’m Ptinum II.” Yuel stated boldly.

  “Wow! That’s sick!” Trever jumped, nearly falling off his chair.

  “That’s indeed rare.” Aron nodded. “Not many e to middle school with that level of experience. In fact, that’s why the first two rou. I remember you questiohe first round, right? Long story short, it helps us discover inexperienced pyers with potential.”

  “I see.” Yuel nodded. It didn’t even cross his mind that he and his friends were “irregurs”, or that applying to the Cssmancers club without experience was more on. Though, thinking ba it, that should had been obvious, sidering how few kids took Cssmancers seriously in grade school.

  Yuel sat down where he was instructed, sandwiched between Aron and Trever. The rest of the team briefly greeted him as well, but it was clear Aron and Trever were going to be responsible for monit and grading him. Gulp. No, rex. Breathe.

  “Alright, we’re starting.” Aron announced as he finished inviting everybody to a atch. The eeam had a simir lineup: one examinee and four club members. In order keep the exam as fair as possible, Yuel wasn’t given any information about the enemy examinee. He only overheard that the guy’s name was Mark, but that’s all.

  “We’re starting the banning phase.” Aron turo Yuel. “Who do you reend banning?”

  Obviously, this wasn’t Aron asking for advice. The test had already started and this was the first questions. However, Yuel didn't feel much pressure. He was always responsible for deg the bans for the team when they pyed Ranked, so he was fident about this.

  “Do I have any information about the eeam?” Yuel asked. “I know you said this is supposed to be a blind match to keep everything fair, but I at least know what to expect from the enemy’s level? Are they Gold? Ptinum? Or, maybe Diamond?”

  “You’re saying your ban choices will ge depending on the ranks of your oppos?” Aron asked.

  “Of course, the meta varies across ranks. The difference are more subtle on higher ranks, but they’re still there.”

  “ow.” Trever nodded repeatedly, wearing an amused smile. ”You’re really taking this stuff super uber seriously, kid.”

  Who are you calling ‘kid’? You’re only two years older tha most. Yuel pouted.

  “And that’s how it should be.” Aron shot a gre at Trever. “Smart banning and css sele go a long way, you’re about the only one who never bothers with it. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t i our rookies with your stupidity.”

  “Haha, I got scolded~” Trever rolled his eyes and scratched his head. “I dunno, man. Just gimme something I py and I’mma wreck these guys!”

  “You’re a lost cause.” Aron sighed.

  Oh, he’s just like Lars. Yuel finally realized why Trever’s goofy demeanor helped him rex. Lars went about draftily the same way: “You decide what we py and I’mma smash these dudes, yo!”. And so, drafting became Yuel’s responsibility in their party. Trever pyed Carry as well, so there must had been some unwritten rule saying that strong Carries had to be idiots.

  “Ba topic.” Aron said. “You may assume the eeam has a bination of Ptinum and Diamond pyers.”

  “And that they’re a full team premade, correct?”

  “Yes, that’s fair.”

  “Whoa, even that matters?” Trever made a face.

  “Of course it matters.” Yuel answered. “I o be wary of different types of strategies, depending on hahe eeam is. Premades of duo and trio tend to pick specific csses which synergize with each other, because they want to execute bos together. Oher hand, full team premades generally go for mlobal team strategies. I have to ban accly for each case.”

  “Ugh! My brain! It’s fried!” Trever dramatically held his head.

  “Ighat idiot. You have the right mi” Aron said. “So, who are we banning?”

  “Since we’re banning first, there’s only oion really.” Yuel said. “Ban Shadow Walker.”

  “Haha, didn’t see that one ing.” Trever ughed.

  “A good start.” Aron noded and banned Shadow Walker. It was currently the only tier S css in the game, so it was an instant ban in effectively every match.

  The banning proceeded smoothly, with Yuel shutting down strong options for the eeam. He gathered all the drafting experience he accumuted throughout the summer and unleashed it on the eeam.

  “They seem to going for an early game p.” Yuel expined. “They haven’t picked Top yet, so I sider banning Dark Knight and Viking.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Also, I’ll go with Druid to pensate fer’s shortings. The shield will allow him to py mgressively and the ult will help him push. And, not to mention the ‘pull into trap’ bo.”

  “Makes sense. Not bad.” Aron nodded for the huh time. So far, he didn’t have a single word of obje against Yuel’s draft choices. In fact, he even picked up some hings by listening to Yuel’s ih expnations. Holy, it was hard to tell who was the examiner and who was the examinee right now.

  “Pft, poor Aron.” Trever chuckled. “Taking jabs at people is about the only thing he enjoys in life, but you totally shut him up, kid.”

  “I don’t take jabs at people for fun, you know.” Aron frowned. “I point out my teammates’ mistakes so they correct them, that’s what a captain does. It just so happens that you’re one big walking mistake.”

  “Ouch, rude. Haha.”

  Once drafting was over, the match began. Yuel pyed Druid Support in Bot Laogether with Trever, who pyed Ranger Carry. Aron pyed Lionfolk, a humanoid lion, as a Juhe three of them started off in the same portion of the juo clear some jungle camps, the separate ways. Yuel and Trever headed to Bot Lane, whereas Aroo Top Jungle.

  Yuel id low during the first couple of minutes. He closely observed both his ne partner and his ne oppos: Pirate and Padin. Both his allies and enemies were likely in the Diamond division, if not higher. Sihis match doubled as a test, he didn’t want to pull anything rush before properly assessing everybody’s skill.

  He only warded around and helped Trever clearing minions. Whehe enemy Padin aggressed on Trever by sileng him with Justice Strike, Yuel tered by casting Gaia’s Prote on Trever. The spell provided Trever with a temporary, but sizable, shield. It soaked a lot of the damage dealt by the enemy Pirate, rendering the aggression void..

  As the enemies were forced to first chip away at Gaia’s Prote to actually damage Trever, the battle became unfavorable for them and they disengaged. In this manner, Yuel forze the enemy's progress on the ne.

  However, Trever took these situations a step further. While his shield was still oepped into the frontline and oppress his ne oppos. There was o worry about being a squishy, because Gaia’s Prote soaked all the damage for him.

  I didn’t eveo say anything. He’s good. Yuel o himself. Bossing a senior around was going to be awkward, but Trever spared Yuel from that. Trever kly how to take advantage of Gaia’s Prote. He approached close enough to harass the enemies, but also stayed far enough away to quickly flee ohe shield ended.

  The enemy Pirate never dealt well with such aggression. Wherever went on the offehe Pirate haphazardly shot at him instead of retreating, a fatal mistake. Trever had a clear advantage while the shield was on, so the Pirate got boxed hard.

  Even though Trever didn’t showcase any godlike meical skill like Lars, he was definitely a strong Carry pyer. His decisions were swift and his moves brimmed with fideelling of his vast experience. Despite how absurdly strong Lars was in fights, there was a good ce Trever could hold his ground against that meical god. Perhaps Trever would even win, sidering the rge gap in experiend deaking skills.

  “Do you py Carry on the main team?” Yuel asked.

  “Heh, impressed?” Trever grinned. “I used to be the main Carry, but now I’m just a substitute.”

  “Really?” Yuel blinked. “Someone of your skill doesn’t cut it to be a starter?”

  “Haha, you sure know how to ftter your seniors, kiddo! I like ya!” Trever smacked Yuel on back.

  “Ugh...”

  “But yeah, turned out I don’t quite cut it. Seems like everybody think I’m no match for oddess.”

  “Goddess?”

  “Heh, you’ll see if you get into the club.” Trever smiled wryly. “But yeah, what I say? All these scums stole the roles I py, so I’m just a substitute now. Hoys crazy Support and Aron is the boss, so he gets to py Jungler even though he sucks-”

  An enemy has been killed!

  “Who you said sucks?” Aron asked.

  “Haha, nice kill, bro.”

  “If you want to be a starter again, you better stop fooling around and practie role seriously. There’s a mountain of problems with how you py each role.”

  “Yeah, yeah. But hey, at least Yuel here appreciates my skill, right?”

  “I’m having sed thoughts after hearing this versation.” Yuel said.

  “Geh! Damn you, Aron! Don’t ruin my image in front of the newbie!” Trever waved an angry fist. “Here, I’mma show you what I do! Don’t fall off your chairs from shock! Quick gimme a shield!”

  “Here you go.”

  “Okay, let’s go!” Trever dashed toward the enemy Pirate. He wasn’t going to just harass the ehis time, he went straight for the kill! The Pirate was slow iing to this overwhelming aggression and got trashed.

  However, Trever failed to finish the job. The Padin did araordinary job proteg his partner. He stepped iween the fleeing Pirate and Trever, body blog arrows and drawing Trever away.

  “Gah! Damn you too, Howard!” Trever waved a fist at the Padin on the monitor.

  “No problem, I’ll pull him back.” Yuel expected the Padin’s interference, so he positioned himself just right for using Nature’s Grasp. Braretched from the Druid’s arm and darted toward the fleeing Pirate.

  Nature’s Grasp was a narrow skill shot, which was difficult to firm amidst chaotic a. However, this Pirate’s sloppy movements were easy to predict. Yuel had thhly destructed the Pirate’s pystyle by now, so nding Nature’s Grasp ossible via predi.

  The branches were aimed a bit ahead of the running Pirate, to where he was going to be in just a sed. It was definitely going to hit. The Pirate ran straight toward the ining branches-

  “What!?” Yuel couldn’t believe his eyes. His perfect shot... it was blocked?! For some reason the Padin was right there, with his Divine Shield active. Why? How? When did he evehere!?

  Nature’s Grasp could pass through most obstacles, even walls, but it still ted as a “skill shot” for the Padin’s Divine Shield. Therefore, it was stopped it in its tracks o rammed into Divine Shield. Yuel was shut down.

  So, this is Howard. Yuel bit his lip. Based on what Trever blurted, Howard was the team’s main Support pyer. In other words, he was the rival Yuel had to surpass in order to get a spot on the main team. And, he was strong, Very strong.

  If that’s the level expected from club members, Yuel couldn’t only py by the book to passing the exam. Putting on a “det Support” performance by pying safe wasn’t necessarily going to cut it. This wasn’t the time to lollygag.

  “Fet the Pirate for now, let’s wear out the Padin first.” Yuel suggested. “Just go full damage on the Padin whenever you .”

  “Fog the tank? I’m not so sure about that.” Trever cocked his head.

  “Suppose you draw away the Padin, what’s ?” Aron asked in a businesslike tone. He turned Yuel’s suggestion into a test question without batting an eye.

  Giving the wrong answer would cost Yuel dearly, but he had to trust his analysis. This wasn’t just an exam, it was also a match for all is and purposes. Right, it was a match. Just a mato reason to be nervous. all. None!

  “Alright.” Yuel took a deep breath. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that Padin is Howard and he’s a starter oeam.”

  “You shouldn’t know this, but I suppose it ’t be helped when there’s a bubbling idiot oeam.” Aron made a face as he eyed Trever. “Alright, let’s say you have this information. What’s ?”

  “Howard is good enough to be a starter, so it’s hard to pete against his supp head on.” Yuel expined. “However, that Pirate is the other examinee, right? I believe his name was Mark.”

  “Why do you think so?”

  “He’s kind of sloppy. I’ve been watg the whole eeam, and, out of everybody, only the Pirate doesn’t strike me as a high level pyer. Hard to believe somebody like him got into such a serious club.”

  “Hmm, you’re using a lot of metagaming that’s based on knowledge you’re not supposed to have. Not sure how to feel about it.” Aron frowned. “It’s precisely because of things like this that we wao keep the informatio.”

  “Ah, that’s...” Yuel gulped. He blurted all his findings without thinking things through, like aed child who wao show off to his parents. “N-No problem. I figured everything based on what I’ve observed throughout the match. If this were Ranked, I’d say ihat the Pirate feels like a Silver pyer who got matched with Diamonds.”

  “Alright, fair enough.” Aron nodded. “Then, what’s your pn?”

  “While Trever has a shield, he safely harras the Padin and wear him out. Once we drive away the ‘Diamond rank’ Padin, the ‘Silver rank’ Pirate will be left alone on the hat’ll create a great opportunity to finish him off, sidering the skill difference I’ve observed between the Pirate and Trever.”

  “Iing. It’s not ventional, but it has some thought behind it. You’re free to try it, but keep in mind: we’ll deduct points if this doesn’t work out. Willing to take the risk?”

  “Yes, please.” There wasn’t a speck of hesitation in Yuel’s eyes.

  “Very well. Py along with it.”

  “Roger!” Trever saluted with a grin. After listening to Yuel’s ving analysis of the situation, especially the part where his skill was super duper highly evaluated, Trever found himself excited about this py. “This kid sure knows how talent, I like it!”

  As instructed, Trever prioritized attag the Padin, Howard, whenever he had the ce. To not be too obvious about it, he first shot the Pirate and that ‘naturally’ lured Howard toward the frontlihen, he barraged Howard without rest while wearing a crazed grin. Ha! That’s what you deserve fetting in the way of my kill, bro!

  When struough times, even a tank was bound to crumble. At 10% HP, without potions or healing skills, Howard was forced to leave. He and the Pirate first retreated back to their Turret, then Howard teleported back to base.

  “Now, please pce a bear trap at the entrao the jungle, right here.” Yuel pinged on the mini-map.

  “There?” Trever cocked his head. “I don’t see anybody ganking us from there anytime soon, kid. I didn’t level Bear Trap to Lv.2, so I only pe trap at a time. The trap that’s pced right now should protect us way better.”

  “It’s not for defe’s for offehe Pirate will soon pass through here on his way to the Hyena Camp, so the trap will stun him. That’s when you finish him off.”

  “What makes you believe he’ll go into the jungle any time soon?” Aron took a peek at Yuel’s s to assess the situation. “From what I tell, he’s already running low oh. Once he fihe wave, it’ll be a good time for him to return to base. Why are you so vinced he’ll take the risk to clear hyenas afterwards? It’s not a camp with particurly high rewards.”

  “He... well...” Yuel stumbled over his words. He was fident in his reasoning, but he struggled to expin it. If the pn to drive away the Padin was sidered “unventional”, then this one was ht “random”. He couldn’t expin it with something straightoward like “differen skill level”.

  He had to think back. Why was the Pirate going to head into the juhrough that entrance? How did Yuel reach this clusion in the first pce? The answer was oip of his tongue, but he failed to draw it out.

  “He’ll go there, I’m sure. Because... Err...” Yuel begaing. The curious gazes locked on him forced him to remember a dreadful fact: this was an exam! He wasn’t going to get away with pys only he uood, every twitch he made was going to be questioned. And, if he couldn’t answer properly, that’d reflect poorly on his evaluation. It might even cost him the ce to join the club! “A-Actually, nevermind. I-”

  “It’s okay. Rex, kid.” Trever patted Yuel’s back. “Here, I pced the trap where you want. Don’t pay attention to that scary demon on your left, haha.”

  “Oh... thanks.” Yuel was dumbfounded. It was so ued, he didn’t even know what to say. All this time he felt awkward asking seniors to follow his pns, but apparently Trever didn’t mind that much. That helped Yuel rex.

  “Why did you agree?” Aron turo interrogate Trever. “Uhere’s a very ving reason to pce the trap all the way out there, you’re right in your assessment - it’s be waste of the trap.”

  “I know, I know.” Trever nodded. “But hey, it’s not like anybody gonna gank us from behind anytime soon anyway.”

  “You’re right, it’s not a risky py. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a good py.”

  “Well, hasn’t this kid beey smart so far? I’m sure he has a good reason fgesting this move.” Trever shrugged. “You’re just stressing the shit outta him with all your questions. May as well ask him why he’s breathing and what’s the meaning of life.”

  “Hmm, I see.” Aron frowned and turo Yuel. “Sorry if I came off too forceful. It’s just that many of your decisions are difficult to evaluate, so it’s not immediately clear where you’re ing from. I don’t meant to pin, but you’re oough examio grade.”

  “It’s alright, you’re just doing your job.” Yuel said. “It’s my fault for not being able to provide a satisfying expnation. I just always think a few steps ahead, my chess teacher beat that mentality into me. The moment I e to a ving clusion, I move on to analyze other things.”

  “So, once you’ve vinced yourself of something, you no longer find ao recall what vinced you in the first pce? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Yes, something like that. I know it sounds a bit silly, but that’s how it is for me.” Yuel smiled wryly, thinking ba all the times this habit caused unication problems with other kids. “I feel the expnation oip of my tongue, I just ’t draw it out.”

  “Hmm, iing. I take it you’re used to having others follow your instrus without asking too many questions?”

  “Yes, you could say that. I’ve been pying with friends who trust my strategies, so they generally do as I ask...” Yuel fell quiet. Lars and Julia always uionably followed Yuel’s advice, so became used to not expining anything. Now, that he was surrounded by a team of strangers, that habit fired back.

  “I see.” Aron said. “Work on fixing that habit, especially if you pn to be a shot caller for the team.”

  “Bleh, here es the nitpicker again.” Trever made a face. “Give the kid a break already.”

  “It’s fine.” Yuel said. “Aron is right, it’s hard to get others to cooperate when I ’t vihem with a good reason. I o work on that.”

  “See?” Aron turo Trever. “Not everybody is a delicate flower like you. This rookie here is already a more mature pyer than you.”

  Trever pnned shooting a snarky retort, but a metallic sound interrupted him. That was the sound of his bear trap going off. The Pirate tried going into the jungle and got trapped, just as Yuel predicted.

  “Hey! The kid was actually right!” Trever darted toward the trapped Pirate, like a predator leaping on a defenseless prey. Getting caught irap stuhe Pirate, lowered his defense and buffed Trever’s attack speed. Therefore, Trever barraged the Pirate without fearialiation.

  An enemy has been killed!

  “Heh, easy!” Trever grinned. “Good call there, rookie!”

  Did he just promote me from “kid to “rookie”? Yuel made a face.

  “So it worked.” Aron stared at Yuel’s s with a plicated expression. “Just w, have you perhaps recalled your reasons for making this py?”

  “Actually, I’ve just remembered the gist of it.” Yuel said. After he watched his pn py out in a, he finally mao restruct his earlier dedus. Or, perhaps he already khe expnation this whole time, but was afraid to share it before it roven correct. Either way, he no longer felt aal blocks, so he was ready to y out his reasoning.

  At the basis of his reasoning stood major assumption: the Pirate was going to clear the Hyena Camp instead of returning to base. Yuel deduced so after closely watg how the Pirate behaved while running low on HP. Three out of three times, instead of returning to base, the Pirate first cleared the nearby Hyena Camp. Yuel saw it ead every time, because he always rehe Ward hat camp.

  Thus, it became clear that the pyer pying Pirate hated losing farm. When it came to base stats, Pirate was inferior to other Carry csses and had to make up for it by earning gold faster with his passive, Plunder. As such, maximizing gold ine was very important for Pirate pyers. However, sometimes, this a mentality turned into a habit, and habits could be exploited.

  In addition, that Pirate was most likely the examinee. In other words, he wasn’t a very experienced pyer, his sloppy pys attested to that. Therefore, there was no ce he’d sider the possibility he ied on with a Ward, or that a bear trap awaited him along his favorite jungle route.

  “The ‘gist of it’ my ass. You gave us a full lecture here, haha!” Trever ughed. “No wonder you wao wipe all that crap outta your brain, even a superputer ’t hold that much data, I’m telln’ ya. Well anyway, I hope that’s enough ‘reasons’ for ya, Mr. Expin-the-Universe.”

  “It’s alright.” Aron said.

  “Bleh, will it kill ya to give a little pliment sometimes?”

  “The pn pyed out well, but the reasoning is a tad shallow. There aren’t any logical fws in the reasoning itself, but her does it feel decisive. At the very least, I wouldn’t gamble on it.”

  “It’s not a fluke, if that’s what you’re implying.” Yuel argued. “But, I uand where you’re ing from. Many of my arguments don’t sound very ving on paper. Therefore, let me vince you through results.”

  He felt way more rexed and fident now. So what if this was an exam? So what if his oppos were petitive Diamond pyers? His usual analysis and tactics worked just as well as ever. He could do it, there was no reason to stop here.

  “The Pirate respawned by now.” Yuel announced. “And, he’ll definitely pass through the Hyena Camp on his way to ne.” He expined as he pced a Ward deep ihe Hyena Camp. It was an ineffit warding spot, as walls blocked most of the Ward’s vision and not much of the enemy jungle was exposed. However, the rovided full vision of what was going on ihe Hyena Camp itself, down to the position of eadividual hyena.

  “Please pce your trap he wall here.” Yuel pinged on the map, marking the wall separatiween the ne and the Hyena Camp.

  “Roger.” Trever nodded and pced a bear trap right beside the wall. “Hehe, let’s see what gonna happen.”

  As Yuel predicted, the Pirate rushed to the Hyena Camp before heading to wasn’t a bad py per se, since Howard was already on the ne, dealing with minions. However, it redictable py, and Yuel was going to exploit said predictability in order to turn the py into a fatal mistake.

  Ohe Pirate started fighting the hyenas, Yuel approached the jungle wall and took aim. He activated Nature’s Grasp, shooting his brahrough the wall. The unsuspeg Pirate’s exact position was revealed by Yuel’s Ward, so he was like a sitting duck.

  “Got him.” Yuel announced as he pulled the Pirate toward himself through the wall. The bear trap Yuel asked to prepare id right at his feet, and the Pirate was forcibly shoved into it. For the sed time in three mihe Pirate found himself trapped, uo retaliate in any way. It was over.

  An enemy has been killed!

  Howard arrived on the se to rescue his partner, but he didn’t make it. To be more precise, he couldn’t possibly make it. Padin didn’t have any way to support allies from afar except for Justice Strike, which Yuel tactically baited out of Howard a few seds earlier. As a fellow Support main and an avid Padin fan, Yuel kly what weakhe Padin had and how to exploit them.

  This py impressed Aron more than the previous one, but still not enough to make him cough up a praise. Getting on Aron’s good side was crucial for passing the exam, so Yuel wasn’t going to hold back. He was going to do everything in his power to secure victory.

  “Heh, this Druid really did it this time.”

  Little did Yuel know at the time, that his bold pys grabbed the attention of his worst nemesis. The third and final round of the exam was just about to begin for real.