Vi’s first exge with TheTheorist in the ne was very passive, but heless unpleasant.

  I feel like a b rat. Vi smiled wryly. The all-seeing Theorist is disseg me at this very moment, I feel it in my bones.

  At first, Theorist stayed at the bad watched how Vi will behave. Yes, she just stood there, menagly.

  Surely, her eyes recorded every twitch Vi made, and she stored all that data on her mental hard drive.

  She traded some precious ne advantage for the sake of gaining more information. Such dedication to the craft! Vi nodded repeatedly.

  As a fellow informatiohusiast, he knew all about making sacrifices for the sake of uanding his foe better. In fact, Vi would’ve gdly dohe same uher circumstances.

  However, right now, he was the one holding a slight advantage due to their css matchup. Therefore, Vi was obligated to utilize this advantage, or else a certain Chessmaster will chew him out.

  Besides, the records of Akasha cim that Theorist will fully respect this advantage. Vi nodded. And ihus far, she's exactly the kind of pyer I imagined her to be. And, naturally, I’m sure she profiled me down as well. I wonder, how predictable was in her eyes?

  Today's battle in Top Lane will be decided via a csh of information. It was going to be very different from when he faced Taurus’ brutes.

  Very well. Vi nodded dramatically. The us begin this intellectual battle! Whoever discovers the other's weakness first - shall reign supreme!

  But, that was easier said than dohey were both pyers with robust theoretical knowledge, so they knew how to minimize risks.

  Theorist advaoward Vi's minion wave and unleashed palm strikes at his swordsmen, but she sooreated back to her territory. Iheorist uood all too well that she was extending into eerritory, and that it was mandatory for her to retreat ASAP.

  It’s such a tragic tale! Vi shook his head. My partner has just arrived and she already vanished, before I even had the ce to dah her!

  Despite how unrealistic it sounded, Vi was hoping to quickly clear out the enemy minions and then strike Theorist at least once or twice. As, the woman escaped his jurisdi.

  Alright, this is enough for now. Sonya backpedaled after taking out one of the swordsmen. The rest wait. It's more important to secure a safe position first.

  And so, she left the danger zone in haste before Bckhole turned on her. As expected, the all-rounder didn't seize this brief opportunity to assault her, despite the fact he was holding the ne adva the moment.

  Good. This makes things much easier for me. Sonya retreated to safety and activated Chakra Bullet, switg her basic attacks from melee ted. She only had seven shots of this handy tool before her chakra runs out, but she had to make do with that for now.

  WHISH! WHISH! The Monk thrust her palm through empty air, geing a wind bst with each strike. The bsts rammed into the ining swordsmen, dealiy damage.

  Every shot of Chakra Bullet cost Sonya 1 Chakra, but in exge, these shots were just as strong as her melee basic attacks. Thanks to that, she fell the injured swordsmen in but a couple of hits, and then she spent the rest of her Chakra on the bowmen.

  Unfortunately, even with this handy tool, it was impossible to clear the entire enemy wave before they reached the tower area. Two bowmen invaded and started shooting Sonya's Turret.

  Mhm. Sonya his is about how I expected this to go down.

  She struck the bowmen with melee attacks, driving her palms into their stomachs and chests. In a matter of seds, she cleared out all the intruders, rgely thanks to the support fire from her tower.

  Unfortunately, Sonya gained less farm ihe tower area, but at least she secured both st-hits on the bowmen. heless, this oute still put her a little behind her ne oppo in terms of farm, and this gap might grow even bigger in the uping waves.

  With that, the first wave came to an end. Even though Bckhole's minions bravely invaded Sonya's area, their aayed far in the bad didn't press his advantage.

  Reasonable decision. I’d do the same. Sonya nodded in approval as she activated Meditation near her tower. Her Monk sat down and began rec Chakra.

  The mediation also granted Sonya a slight HP5, even though it wasn't necessary for this particur situation. After all, she didn’t allow anybody to y a single finger on her.

  Alright, I'm ready. Her Chakra finished recharging right as the new wave arrived, so it was time to stand up.

  So, given all the data I have thus far, what's the optimal approach against this particur oppo? Sonya pondered. I simply maintain the current status quo a him get away with a minimal ne advantage in every wave, that'll be the easiest way out.

  With every level, Monk's maximum Chakra will increase, granting Sonya more ammunition of Chakra Bullets per wave. Therefore, even if she tinues pying as passively as she did in the first wave, she’ll gradually shrink the advantage Bckhole gains per wave.

  Eventually, she should reach equilibrium, at which point she’ll be able to pete with the Spellbde on even ground. And, she'll be able to achieve all that without exerting much effort or taking any risks. All she had to do was to repeat the same simple routine from the first wave.

  If I reach that point without act, then it'll t as my win. Sonya reasoned. Spellbde is also a te-game css, but nowhere near as hyper te-game as Monk.

  Late-game Monk was one of the most dangerous csses in the game. In particur, when it was built purely for offehen it could one-shot even te-game tanks with its ult.

  But, I ’t build too much power, not with our current line-up. Their Support was a mage, and one who selfishly built power to boot. This meant only Sonya and Cato will have notable tao them ie-game.

  Of course, as the Jungler, Cato couldn't build enough defeo serve as a frontliner in team fights. Therefore, that'll have to be Sonya's job.

  Still, even Monk’s bruiser build scales very nicely ie-game. Sonya thought. So, all I really o achieve in this game is to reach the te-game safely.

  For that win dition, it was more than enough to py passively against Bckhole. But, was that really the right thing to do? Shouldn't she try to test her oppo a little more than that?

  After all, it's not like I'm pying against StormBlitz’s Top Laner. Bckhole is just an average pyer from an average team.

  Usually, Sonya wasn't too ied in testing others via strength, very mulike William and Ronald. heless, she still had her pride, both as a representative of the Leopards and as a pyer who worked hard in order to get into the first-string.

  "You have to set an example for other teams." Coach hammered this line a lot. "High-level petition isn't just about winning. It’s also about achieving the result with dignity and fidence."

  As, Sonya's current passive game pn idea was the exact opposite of that. She found the game pn attractive specifically because it avoided fronting Bckhole, which meant she’ll be able to minimize risks to zero. As such, there was no “dignity” or “fidence” ao be found there.

  "Keep doing what you're doing." Cato whispered into her ear through private unication, as if reading her mind.

  "So, you’re saying I should keep trading farm every wave in exge for minimizing risks?"

  "Yes, I say that's for the best. o take any risks if you avoid them. Focus oe-game. You’re a Monk, after all"

  Cato's words echoed Sonya's own thoughts, which gave her a stronger footing. Whehe two of them agreed on something like this, it was usually the right py.

  "Alright, then that'll be my game pn for the foreseeable future. Just don't pin ter about how I'm underleveled pared to their Spellbde."

  "Even underleveled, a Monk is still worth more than a Spellbde ie-game."

  "Fair enough."

  That’s all Sonya o hear. The captain himself was askio py like this, so there was no reason to refuse.

  In case Coapins about my approach ter, then I'll just tell him the captain approved it. Sonya smiled to herself. It's veo have somebody I pass the bme on.

  With the issue out of the way, Sonya proceeded to tackle the minion wave in the same exact fashion as before. She briefly advao the frontline in order to strike the enemy swordsmen, and thereated while firing Chakra Bullets.

  This time, only 1.5 bowmen made it into her tower area. There was ohy bowman and one half-dead bowman. Therefore, 1.5 bowmen.

  Thanks to the Turret’s giant bolts, it didn't take long to clear out the invaders a the uation. Then, it was time for Sonya to meditate again. Everything pyed out exactly like st time, all acc to pn.

  The first time, 2 healthy bowmen invaded her area, but this time only 1.5 bowmen did. And, once Sonya hits Lv. 4 and gains access to even more Chakra Bullets, then she’ll be able to reduce the invaders’ health even further. Therefore, eventually, this routine will allow her to py on even ground with the Spellbde.

  With all that sidered, it was definitely a viable strategy. But, was that really the right way to py this ning phase? Shouldn’t Sonya try to take a little more initiative as a pyer representing the Leopards?

  Pying cautiously has always been Sonya's pystyle, but the curreuation really took the cake, even for her. Even though she pyed defensively in the previous scrimmages, she was nowhere near as cautious against these oppos.

  The threat level was very different. Sonya thought. Based oa, Stratus have proven themselves to be a far more dangerous team, so I have to tread more carefully here. But, this just feels wrong, somehow.

  What kind of impression did Sonya’s pys give to the audience? Most likely, she came across as a “yer” who was getting pushed around by Bckhole.

  Holy, she didn’t particurly care about her own image in that regard. She wasn’t like Wilim or Ronald who cared so dearly about “looking good”. After all, achieving victory wasn’t always going to be a pretty process.

  What actually troubled Sonya was the reputation her pys were giving to the Leopards as a team. Was her duct worthy of the regional champions?

  "Good job," Cato praised her out of the blue as if to ter her worries.

  "Is that supposed to be sarcasm?" Sonya made a face. Her current game pn literally revolved around "doing nothing", so what exactly raiseworthy about it? It was the easiest pystyle ever.

  "You only think this is easy because yood at it,” Cato said. “Imagine if I asked Ronald to py like this."

  "He’d throw a tantrum, no doubt."

  "Exactly. So, thank you for being such a good obedient soldier. You’re doing a great job serving your team~"

  "Huh, sure." Sonya made a face. I ever tell where siy starts and ends with this guy.

  But, despite how it sounded, Cato actually meant every word he said.

  Good, good. He nodded in satisfa. She's on the right track.

  As a chess pie the board, Sonya was faithfully following Cato's script. It was always a pleasure to work with obedient pieces like that~

  As usual, she needs just a little push and she’s good to go. Cato nodded. Seriously, such a worrywart~ I always tell her to be more fident about the way she pys, but my dear secretary has this bad habit of sed-guessing herself as soon as the match starts. Sigh.

  This wasn’t the first time this happened, and it surely won’t be the st. Sonya was a cute overthinker like that~

  Whenever she starts frowning like that during the first wave, I already tell something is wrong. Cato learhat through bitter experience.

  Every on a while, especially during important matches, Sonya's performance dropped signifitly after the first wave. As uncharacteristic as it sounded, she suffered from a severe pse of tration during these games.

  Apparently, her busy brain worked overtime during these games. She tried way too hard to analyze tons of data all at once, and she also found herself mulling over philosophical questions that were harder to ahan it was to find the meaning of life itself. Truly, such a disaster.

  To prevent such issues from ever again, ade sure to always closely watch Sonya's body nguage after the first wave. If she looked rexed, then it was good. Oher hand, if she was tense and frowning, then Cato had to step in and say something.

  Usually, a generic pep talk was more than enough to remedy the issue. Yes, it was that simple. With just a little iion to boost fidence, Sonya was ba trad performed like the reliable chess piece she always was.

  I’m not sure what exactly my secretary was so worried about, but her game pn is golden. Cato thought. Sure, some may call it a zy solution for this matchup, but I don’t. It's simple and effit, as any good tactic should be.

  Besides, this fell uhe "easier said than done" category. Sonya would have no problem maintaining this routine against a bot, but human oppos had this one pesky little fun called "adaptation".

  I don't know if Bckhole is pnning to do about this routine, but I'm sure Yuel won't take it lying down. He'll e up with something for sure, and it'll be up to me to thwart his pns.

  And so, the simple routine tinued for now. Sonya pyed it safe by advang just a little, after which she immediately retreated back to her tower. Essentially, she was surrendering ne trol in exge for ability.

  On his end, Bckhole didn’t seize any of these opportunities in order to push. He delivered his bowmen to the tower every time, but he didn’t dare to step in any further.

  At a g looked like a most generic bad-forth between two fighters who didn't want to overit to anything. However, behind the ses, the strategists of both sides were carefully watg every move the Top Laners made.

  The first three cshes were just a prelude. The real fight was still ahead of them...

  DarkestCymore