=== StormBlitz ====

  Aegis (Support) - Druid

  Athena (Carry) - Elf

  Adapting (Mid) - Aeromancer

  Average (Jungler) - Lancer

  Appreop) - Knight

  === Sweepers ===

  IronWall (Support) - ancer

  Argus (Carry) - Gunslinger

  Esmeralda (Mid) - Warlock

  MegaHawk (Jungler) - Vampire

  Ignis (Top) - Warrior

  Our lineup is overly defensive. Jin thought as he examihe final picks. StormBlitz had Padin, Elf, and Aeromahese were all csses known for their defeential. As I thought, they’re a hyper defeeam.

  Jin didn't only research his foes. He was told ahead of time he'll be pying alongside StormBlitz, so he researched his potential teammates as well. It was useful information to have, both for today’s matd for their iable csh at the regional.

  The enemy of my enemy is a friend this time. Jin reasoned. I'll have to make sure they don't fall behind, or else they'll drag me down with them.

  Even though this was an exam intended for Jin alone, he had to pay at least some attention to the baggage that was StormBlitz. No matter how well Jin pys he won't be able to carry aire game by himself, not against pro pyers. As such, it was necessary to know what this team cked in order to fill in the gaps.

  All of them will focus on defense, so I'll have to go with a mgressive build. Jin cluded based on the information at hand.

  "Just so we're on the same page," Howard suddenly spoke up. "In case you're not aware, our team generally prefers to py defensively. So, keep that in mind when you build items."

  Did he just read my thoughts? Jin knotted his brows. "Yes, I figured you py defense. So, I pn to build power to pensate for weak offense."

  "pensate?" Howard blinked. "No, no. You got it all wrong. You see, this isn't a ‘weakness’ in our formation. That’s just our pystyle. We focus on defense and win ie-game."

  "I uand that," Jin said. "But, if nobody builds some offense early on, the team will lose both early and middle game."

  "We just have to defend well enough to prevent that from happening," Howard said pinly. "As long as we maintain solid defense, we don’t have to worry. We'll safely reach the te-game and then turables on our oppos."

  I feel like I've heard these exact same words before... Jin made a face. "Is this a popur strategy in the west?"

  "Hmm. No, I wouldn't say so. At least, I'm not aware of pros fav defense over offense in particur."

  "Is that so." Jin didn't have any statistics to back up either cim so he left it at that. But, it's peculiar. The captains of the twest regional teams are hellbent on defense. Is that just a ce...?

  "Alright, I uand," Jin said. "I'll keep my build banced."

  "Thanks."

  "But, I want to start with power. I to pete with Warrior."

  "Alright, you do you."

  And so, Jin got the green light to open this game with a mgressive build. Then again, he would've gone for that build even if his teammates objected. heless, it was more effit to stay on their good side. All of them were together here in this difficult match, so they'll have to cooperate to grasp victory.

  At the very least, their defense should be able to slow down the pros a little. That'll give me more time to make strong pys that leave an impression.

  After finishing his preparations, Jin headed into the jungle alongside Average, the Jungler.

  The team captain briefly introduced Jin to everybody, including their real names, but Jin couldn't be bothered to remember that many once. Besides, none of these pyers seemed like they'll leave much of an impression on him, so there was no reason to remember their names.

  It was that much easier to address everybody by their IGN sihose were always visible in-game. So, the Jungler was just called “Average”, no other name.

  "Heya, what's up?" Average saluted with a smile. He seemed like the chatterbox type.

  "Hm." Jin frowned.

  A professional match was no pce for idle chatter, that should be known to anybody. Ahis Average guy seemed like he nning to strike some casual versation. His eyes were filled with curiosity, no doubt regarding Jin’s background.

  I'd like to ignore him but I don't know how he'll react if I give him the cold shoulder. The captain and the Jungler are the two people I have to stay on good terms with, so I suppose I'll have to eain this guy a little.

  "Hey," Jin responded weakly.

  "Say, I was w," Average tihe versation as if it was the most natural thing to do. "How the heck did you mao grab a cool niame like Apprentice? Aren't there tons of pyers who'd grab if it was avaible? Like, I'd uand it if it was TheApprentice or Apprentice69, but just Apprentice? Wild."

  "Please, Danny," Athena interjected. "I think you better learn how to read."

  "Say what?"

  "Look carefully at the letters. Does it really say 'Apprentice'?"

  "Pretty dang sure it does. It’s Apprent... Apprentehe heck is that!? It got 'e' instead of 'i'! I feel so robbed, WTF. What's the deal with that?"

  "It’s simir on purpose," Jin delivered his usual expnation, the ohat made him sound smart. "Humans don't read words letter by letter. They see the beginning and ending of a word and usually assume what entire word is. So, I used that to make the name look like Apprentice."

  "Damn, son. That's some 200 IQ strat right there! So, the mind games start all the way at the sele s, huh."

  "Sure." Jin simply nodded without asking to eborate on that nonsense. After all, the first rule of dealing with chatterboxes was by unig as little as possible, to not give them any topics to tto.

  On top of that, his IGN was oopic he definitely didn't want to linger on. The more he had to talk about it, the more awkward the whole thing would bee. After all, the "smart" expnation he gave regarding his name was just that, a "smart" expnation he prepared in advahe real story behind it was far more embarrassing.

  "Alrighty, we're done here," Average announced as they finished clearing the wraiths and wolves. "Seeya! Don't hesitate to call if you need help."

  "Sure." Jin nodded. You're the Jungler, so of course I'll use your services. You exist to help the ners, so I'm gd you uand that much, at least.

  All in all, the first tact with this chatter-box was a success. Jin ehe versation without ing across as rude or ung.

  That was a good start. For now, the Jungler was very much willing to cooperate.

  So, it begins. Jin stepped into Top Lane. His minions had just arrived, and so did Ignis. She a mana buff and already at Lv.2, just like Jin.

  It was good. They started off on equal footing. From here, it to Jin to prove his individual skill in ne.

  Top Lane was usually the most uful part of the map. It was subject to fewer ganks because the csses there were tanks or bruisers, making them unappealing targets for assassination.

  As a result, the majority of the ning process ure 1v1 test betweewo ners. It was almost like pying Duel mode within the rger MOBA mode.

  That's why this is the best role for me to py during this test. Jin reasoned.

  Across his many years of practig Cssmancers, Jin had a fair share of experience pying alongside inferior pyers. His clusion was that the best way to carry a weaker team was by pying Top or Jungler because Mid and Carry were tile for the task.

  So, as long as Jiop, his weak team won’t be too much of a baggage. That logic applied to the current game alongside StormBlitz, and it also applied to when Jin pyed with the Leopards. Whehe team was untrustworthy, it was best to py Top.

  However, his ne oppo looked at it differently.

  You made a grave mistake pig Top, kid. Ignis grinned. Nobody will save you here. I'm free to crush you whenever I feel like it.

  The poor boy was like a ered mouse. There was nowhere for him to escape here.

  Well, for now, let's see if you even know how to farm. Ignis didn't attack the enemy swordsmen. Instead, she ran past the frontline and reached the bowmen in the back.

  And, as she passed by the swordsmen, she saw the Knight heading in the opposite dire. Both of them broke past each other’s frontlines while ign the swordsmen. Why? Because that was the superior tactic for their csses, especially in this matchup.

  So, he knows the basics of high-level py, at least. Ignis hat's a start.

  Among intermediate-level pyers, it was more on to see Knights and Warriors charge through the front gate. They usually pushed the swordsmen toward the bae, then fihe job there.

  However, in most cases, starting from the bae was actually the superih-level approach. Even the ese kid seemed to uand that much.

  So, we had the same idea. Jin nodded in approval as he watched Ignis head in the opposite dire. It was only natural for a pro to capitalize on the best farmihod in this matchup. Finally, I get to have a high-level match here. It's been a while since I faced anybody orth my time.

  Jin and Ignis circled around each other's baes. From these positions, they were ready to push the unsuspeg bowmen all the way to the frontline.

  Knight had Shield Bash whereas Warrior had Fearless Charge. Both skills involved charging forward and pushing all enemies along the way.

  And so, Jin and Ignis booted their skill at about the same time. They knocked all the bowmen toward the heart of the battlefield.

  As a result, the ter of the urned into a messy crowd. But, that’s exactly what Jin wanted.

  After Shield Bash, he followed up with Bde Swing, slig through the entire enemy squad. The bde spared nobody, her the swordsmen nor the bowmen.

  The blow wasn't enough to kill but it suffitly ihe enemy forces, bringing some of them down to 50% HP. From there, Jin simply had to cut down the enemies one by one.

  Unlike Jin's bo of Shield Bash into Bde Swing, Ignis didn't have a direct follow-up for her Fearless Charge. This bo was one of the main reasons Knight was sidered a "better Warrior", for it was su important ning tool.

  heless, experienced Warriors knew how to pensate for that differen burst damage. And, even as a low-ranking pro, Ignis ko do that much.

  Soon after she pushed the bowmen toward the swordsmen- BAM! Her entire body exploded! Jin's whole squad was caught up in the powerful explosion!

  Su over-the-top skin effect. Jin shook his head in disapproval at the rge explosion. I'm pretty sure this one is banned in official matches.

  It looked as if a bomb just went off, but in truth, it was just Warrior’s shield from the War Cry skill. Ohe shield expired - it exploded a AoE damage around the Warrior.

  The damage roportional to the pertage of the shield’s remainih. Sinobody has damaged Ignis' shield during this entire exge, the shield exploded with maximum power.

  The damage wasn't anything special by itself. However, when bined with the damage of Ignis's Fearless Charge, her total damage rivaled Jin's output. And so, the two of them still remained on equal footing even after this first exge.

  But, the round wasn’t over yet. , they had to finish off the minions in front of them as effitly as possible. And, to gain an advantage during circumstances like this, Knight had its trusty passive.

  The Chivalry passive boosted the defense of nearby allied minions, making them harder to kill. Therefore, when starting from equal footing ohis passive should have tilted the odds in the Knight’s favor.

  But, it just so happehat his oppo was Warrior who had the Battle Thirst passive. The skill buffed the Warrior’s Attack Power based on the number of nearby enemies. So, while Jiire army was alive and kig, Ignis’s basic attacks hit pretty hard.

  The two passives almost celed each other out. Knight’s Chivalry was still the superior passive because it buffed ead every minion, unlike Warrior’s selfish Battle Thirst. Ahe e of this round was a draw.

  As expected, even with buildira early power, it’s not enough to outclear a pro-level Warrior. Jin nodded in satisfa. This is good. It's been a while since I got to faebody of this level in ne. I'm gd to see that being a B-Leaguer means something in the west too.

  B-League was the level at which a pyer was sidered a "real pro". Below that, in C-League, the "pro pyers" were more like "aspiring pros”. They were pretty muewbies who were trying to climb their way into the real leagues.

  Thankfully, Ignis was a B-Leaguer so she should be above such amateurism. Her farming retty much fwless even with a rather niche css like Warrior. She kly how to time her shield so it'd explode the moment she grouped up the minions. It was fast and accurate execution.

  But, that's just the basics. Jin thought. In Korea, even C-Leaguer are held to a standard like this. The real question is, how is she going to py from here?

  The farming raded in a draw, with both sides eliminating each other’s armies. And so, only Jin and Ignis remained in the ne.

  The minion wave was already on its way, but it'll take a while before it arrives. In other words, this ure 1v1 situation at the moment.

  What's more, each of them was currently extending a little into eerritory. That was the result of the farming teique they used to optimize their clear times. By starting from the bae, they iably fiheir farming on the enemy side of the ne.

  Of course, they were sure to stick close enough to the ter for it to not t as aension. But, it didn’t ge the fact they were currently standing in each other’s territory. In other words, they had no choice but to run into each other as they switch sides.

  I'd rather avoid fighting this early if I help it. Jin cautiously circled around his oppo. His pn was to peacefully return to his territory without any unnecessary cshes.

  Early-game fights are more pro because we have low HP and defense. So, surely you agree we shouldn’t gamble here, right? He directed the question at his ne oppo, who was eagerly watg his every move.

  Ignis was like a hawk watg her prey. It almost felt like she nning to initiate bat right here and now, despite how unprofessional it was.

  What's wrong, kid? Ignis grioo scared to fight early on? Then, I'll strike first!

  Fighting early was dangerous, but that's exactly what made it so exg! The liween success and failure was so thin it made the heart race!

  Batting an eye for just a moment could prove fatal here. Every sed, every millised, ted. It was the epitome of how intense duels should be like!

  Alrighty, let's pretend I also pn to walk aeacefully. Ignis moved toward her side of the hout starting anythi.

  heless, she kept a close wat the brat from the er of her eye. In addition, she ehey were close enough to each other as they passed by.

  And, the moment their positions aligned horizontally - Ignis went for it! She Dodge Rolled to close the distan an instant, then swung her giant bde at the enemy!

  She's really going for it!? Jin gulped.

  And so, an early brawl broke out! Will Jin be able to fend off this early-game berserker woman!?

  DarkestCymore