As a new minion wave arrived, Vi set his pn into motion. Once again, the pn was to quickly bst through the enemy army and then take on the enemy ander herself.

  As usual, he started off with the Aere + Aero Slibo. He pushed the enemy swordsmen back to the rear, then advao ssh through them.

  Like before, the enemy ander paid o Vi’s transgressions. Theorist didn’t front him oopid simply let her soldiers perish otlefield. Such heartlessness.

  Instead of aiding her subordiheorist waltzed into Vi's side of the ne and smmed his minions. Eye for aooth for a tooth.

  So far, so good. Vi nodded in satisfa. And now, this is where the show begins for real!

  He eled the power of pyro into his dark bde, turning it into a demonic tool of destru! While his ne oppo wasn't watg, Vi nning to tear through her entire army and assault her!

  However, unbeknown to him, somebody was watg the se at the time.

  "I believe it's about time for them to get a little frustrated," Cato said. "They'll probably try something again in this wave or the ."

  "Yes, sounds reasonable," Sonya agreed. "I'll bait him into it."

  "That's really unnecessary."

  "I disagree. It'd be a waste to not bait an eager oppo into overextending. That's just on sense fame theory."

  "Well, you do you." Cato sighed in resignation. It was a bit too tiresome tue with Sonya wheopivolved game theory. As usual, our Ms. Sticker-to-the-Rules has to py by the book. Well, not that I dislike it or anything.

  In order to ba Cato's extremely defensive pystyle, it wasn't so bad to run into rebels every now and then. For example, there was William who frequently disagreed on matters ing his offense, and there was Sonya who occasionally challeo's shot-calls and analysis. These were mildly irritating, yet very insightful, iions.

  Oh, and then there was Ronald who was disagreeable in every way imaginable. Seriously, this team had so many rebels…

  Really, only Matt respects my authority and agrees with everything I say. Sob sob. Cato preteo be sad about it, even though this was a big part of what made it fun to and a team.

  Figuring out how to submit these strong soldiers to his and and use them effitly was more challenging and rewarding than moving faceless chess pieces. And, from Cato’s experie was sometimes better to leave these human pieces to their own devices ahem do as they wished, even if he disagreed with their pns.

  This way, every time they fail, I say “I told you!” and make them a little more obedient for ime~ iled impishly. After they fail enough times, they’ll have no choice but to submit to my supreme overlord wisdom, muhahaha!

  With that said, Cato had no iion of letting Sonya it any grave mistake if he could help it. They were far too early into the game for making any big mistakes, and today's match was far too important to gamble on.

  As such, Cato did what he had to do in order to thwart the enemy's potential aggression.

  It should be around here. He headed toward Top and made sure to pass through a couple of checkpoints he marked on the mini-map.

  The st time he rotated to Top through this route, it caused Bckhole to retreat right away. As such, it was safe to say there was a ward or two around these parts.

  Bingo! iled as he watched the enemy’s movements. Bye-bye, Bckhole. Until ime~

  The trick worked like a charm once again. The enemy started retreating without further ado.

  "Dios mio! Once again, my pns have been foiled!" Vi announced. "The Rook is eyeing this file once more, ready to strike me down!"

  So, Cato is at it again. Yuel somehow mao uand what Vialked about, despite the peculiar phrasing. "It goes without saying, but you better retreat."

  "Yes, of course." Vi nodded. "I shall not allow our foes to draw First Blood! Nay, I say!"

  As unfortunate as it was, he couldn't initiate a proper attack this time either. The Pyro Bde he activated was almost wasted, only helping him strike down some minions at a faster pace. Frankly, it was terrible value for his MP iment.

  Regardless, Vi fled from the se as if his life depended on it. However, the assaint he was cautious of didn't even show up in the end.

  "It appears the phantom ganker refuses to honor us with his appearance again. Hmm. Curious.”

  It was almost exactly the same pattern as st time. Theorist acted more vulnerable than ever, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to strike! But then, the Rook made his presenown and disced the entire pn.

  “I must fess, the Records of Akasha only reveal facts, not theories,” Vi said. “heless, I must say I find Rook's as quite suspicious. It appears he opted to take the same exact jungle route as st time, despite being pinly aware of the vision we have in these parts. All of this is quite odd indeed, as the true nature of Rook’s grand chess strategy remains veiled in mystery."

  "Actually, what you just said makes it pretty clear," Yuel pointed out. "He wouldn't have taken the same route twice if he was really pnning to gank the ne."

  "I see, I see! In other words, it hantom gank."

  "So it seems."

  Rotating without actually ganking, it was a form of remote intimidation that Yuel was all too familiar with. As a pyer without scary meical skill, he often had to rely on tricks like that as a Jungler, and even as a Support. It sychological trick that created a sense of "lose-lose" for the target.

  After seeing that Rook was nearby, what were Vi's options, really? He could retreat from the se as he did, which meant giving up his offense in exge for safety. Or, he could stay in ne and push the offe the very high risk of being gao death.

  her oute was favorable, therefore it became a "lose-lose" situatioreating was bad, but staying around was even worse. There was simply no winning against this check.

  Essentially, it created an unsolvable dilemma, that’s why remote intimidation worked wonders. And, as a fellow theoretical pyer, it wasn't surprising to see Cato utilizing tactics like these.

  "It seems they won’t let you that attack so easily," Yuel cluded.

  "I cur." Vi nodded. "Then, what shall I do? Should I give up on my early-game advantage and py by the rules for now?"

  "No, that'd be a waste," Yuel argued. "You have to take trol of the early-game against a Monk, that's the css's only real weakness. If you don't capitalize on your advantage now, then you won't get another ce ter. So, you must hiheorist as much as possible because a te-game Monk means trouble."

  "With all due respect, Spellbde is also a te-game css."

  "True, but it doesn't pose nearly as much of a threat by design. It 't one-shot a tank, it?"

  "Fair enough." Vi ceded on that point. As strong as Spellbde was ie-game, it didn't have access to a deadly tool that could rival Monk's te-game Asura Strike. It was a tool of pure destru that could wipe out anybody within seds.

  "Then, what shall I do?" Vi asked again. "Do I request reinforts?"

  "That's the only option I think of."

  The enemy has been tering Vi by adding another piece to the fray, but Vi also had the option to do the same. He could ter them back by summoning an ally of his own, to cel out Theorist’s backup. And, the most logical didate for this role was her than their own Jungler.

  "Nia, were you listening?" Yuel asked.

  "Gufu!?" Nia jumped in her seat, like a snoozing student caught by their teacher.

  "Vi needs help in Top.”

  "Oh, that sucks. Someoer help him."

  "Yes, and we were thinking about you."

  "Me? Eh..."

  "Is your 'stealth' not ready yet?"

  "Um, is it?"

  "I'm asking you..." Yuel made a face. "You're already Lv. 5. That's usually far enough into the game."

  "Oh, I'm already Lv. 5?" Nia firmed by cheg her own level on the s. “Huh, yeah, I guess I am.”

  "So, are you ready?"

  "Eh, maybe...?"

  "That sounds vague."

  It was odd. Nia usually had no trouble stating whether she finished “erasing her presence”, so to speak. A, Yuel failed to get a proper answer out of her.

  Is she still sleepy? Yuel closely examihe girl’s face. Hmm. It’s hard to say. She always looks half asleep since most of her face is covered by that bck spaghetti hair.

  With that said, there were a couple more hints scattered here and there based. Yuel could analyze other avenues, such as Nia’s performahus far in the game.

  For the most part, the girl was doing her regur jungle routines. But, every now and then, Yuel spotted her wandering around aimlessly after rotating to a camp that hasn’t respawned yet.

  Well, she's ly pro-level material when it es to optimizing jungle routes, but normally she does far better than this. At the very least, she knows how to look at the respawn timers and adjust rotations accly. But, this game...

  This was clear evidehat Nia wasn't in top shape. Most likely, her sleepiness hasn’t fully worn out yet. So, maybe an a-packed py was exactly what she needed.

  "Nia, you rotate to Top on the wave?"

  "Hm..." Nia twisted her lips, unsure how to respond. Her eyelids and head were heavy, almost making her submit to slumber.

  However, at the same time, Nia was also aware she ying on a big stage watched by many people. This scary fact spped her awake every time she dared to doze off, but even this pressure failed to wake her up entirely.

  In the end, she was stu limbo, going bad forth between sleepiness and alertness. As a result, her mind was covered in a haze.

  Was she ready to gank any nes? Did she erase her presenough from the enemy's minds? She couldn't even begin to tell.

  "Worry not, o Vanishing Phantom," Vi spoke up. "Even as the Slumber Realm is dragging you into its warm embrad casts haze upon your reasoning, it is all but a fleeting illusion! Shall you choose to reject the temptation and ahe call, surely the haze will clear up and you, once again, shall bee the phantom you were always meant to be!

  "Eh...?" Nia titled her head.

  "In short," Yuel transted. "He's saying you should shoot for it, even if you're not sure. Who knows, the process might help wake you up. I actually agree with him for a ge."

  "But, what if I fail...?"

  "Then it will be nothing but a fleeting moment of embarrassment," Vi said. "However, if you quer your sleepiness here and now, you shall transform into an almighty phantom who'll domihis game!"

  "Almighty? Sounds nice..."

  For a moment, Nia imagined herself as a hazy shadowy figure. She emerged from the darkness and stabbed every oppo in turn with her kunai.

  "Ok, I'll try." Nia nodded.

  This mental image, that of a phantom sying the Leopards, was already clearing up the haze in her mind. She was still a far cry from being fully alert, but her tration started ing back to her.

  And so, she headed toward Top during the minion wave. However...

  "Abort operation!" Vi signaled. "The enemy is retreating!"

  "Ok..." Nia's shoulders slumped. All her newfound energy sunk into a bottomless pit, vanishing without a trace.

  It was an unfortuurn of events, ohat baffled even the great Chessmaster.

  Did they spot her rotation? Yuel wondered. From all the way over there? That’s very early.

  Under normal circumstances, spotting a Jungler's rotation from that distance was nothing out of the ordinary. However, this was Nia. The girl's greatest talent was her ability to rotate to nes ued. It was the one big thing she had going for her that made up for her tless shortings.

  "Let's try this again," Yuel said. "In the wave after the , rotate to Top with the same timing."

  "Ok."

  Nia went to farm in Bot Jungle for one wave, theated back to Top again. She was already Lv. 7 at this point, yet her Inazuma Drop didn’t see the day of light.

  And, the enemy had no iion of giving her a single opportunity to use it.

  "Sonya, retreat," Cato called out. "Their Jungler is ing after you."

  "Yes, I see that." Sonya has already started backpedaling.

  "My, you actually saw Vanishing’s rotation ing?”

  “Yes. And, I saw it st time too, just like I said.”

  “That's surprising. I thought Vanishing was all about being stealthy."

  "I’m irely sure, but I have the distinct impression it's a little hard to be 'stealthy' wheire jungle is covered with wards."

  "Ehe."

  "Don't you 'ehe' me." Sonya made a face. "Just how much gold do you think you wasted on all of this? And, you even made me help out with this nonsense. Our bank ats are in the red because of this, you know?”

  "Now, now, o be melodramatic," Cato reassured. "This is all for your sake, to keep you safe."

  "More like, to satisfy your curiosity." Sonya rolled her eyes

  "Please, as if you're not curious as well." iled impishly. "I know you. You also want to test out this 'vanishing' act the girl pulled against Taurus, to see whether she really slip past wards."

  "No, I've been saying it's hogwash from the start. The pyers in Taurus just weren't attentive enough, that's all."

  "Perhaps. Either way, so far, she is rather disappointing." Cated. "We spent so much time discussing who'll be in charge of supervising her in every lineup, but maybe it was unnecessary, after all.

  "You only bme yourself for hyping her up too much."

  "Heh, I guess so."

  Thus far, thwarting VanishingFlower's rotations was nothing more than a child's py. The wards caught her every siime, so everybody saw her ing from a mile away. And so, the entire operation ended up being nothing more than a money sink, much to Sonya's disdain.

  Then again, troubling my secretary with gold issues is fun in its ht~ Cato soled himself with that as he tinued warning the team about every ining gank, just in case.

  Admittedly, Vanishing was quite stubborn, if nothing else. She tried time and again to find a route that wasn't under Cato's supervision.

  However, such a route simply did . Cato's gaze covered the entire map. Not even an ant could slip by ued.

  And so, every time Vanishing tried to rotate to Top, the Leopards responded immediately.

  "Once again, abort operation!" Vi called out. "The enemy is making a hasty retreat!"

  "Again...?" Nia's head slumped. Rather than waking her up, all these repeated failures drew her close and closer to slumber instead. This isn't fun...

  "O Vanishing Phantom," Vi started. "May I inquire as to whether your Stealth Mode is turned on?"

  "I think so...?" Nia answered the question with a question. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's not."

  Her repeated failures to gank Top implied she hasn’t fully erased her prese. Or, maybe the enemy was just that good and could see through her stealth? Scary.

  "Either you're not ready," Yuel said. "Or, perhaps the enemy warded Top Jungle like crazy. Holy, I wouldn't put it past their captain."

  Cato was the very definition of an irregur pyer. The same way he obsessively used pawns to erect absolute defense in chess, he also seemed to enjoy infting his team’s defense in Cssmancers.

  Therefore, it was very much possible he resorted to excessive warding in order to catia's rotations. If so, then no matter how stealthy Nia was, she had no hope of slipping past the tight security. She'd have to be a real phantom to pull off something like that, which she definitely wasn’t, no matter how much Vi called her that.

  Well, at least her rotations areirely useless. Yuel thought. If nothing else, they apply some remote intimidation.

  Every time Nia attempted to rotate, the eop Laner retreated early, losing on more exp than usual. It was a small advantage per wave but it piled up over time, making Vi outlevel Theorist by a det margin.

  But, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Yuel thought. Uo's calcuted remote intimidation, Nia's is cruder. She misses on a det k of exp by hurrying to Top Jungle every time.

  It remaio be seen which team will truly be the most from these routines in the end. But, for now, it was clear Nia had no ce of catg Theorist off-guard. As such, she'll have to search for a victim elsewhere.

  So, where could she target? Bot? Mid?

  In Bot, AbsoluteChallenger has just recalled to base due to running low on MP. This created a great opportunity for Lars to duke it out with Winner in a fair 1v1, which Yuel probably shouldn’t interrupt with a gank from Nia. Surely, Lars won’t appreciate any such “unfair” intervention for the muticipated duel.

  Therefore, the only other ne Nia could gank was Mid. And, it just so happehat Yuel was already on his way over there himself.

  I ie Nia into this rotation somehow? He wohere wasn’t an obvious answer quite yet, but the gears in his brain were already turning.

  At the time, he had no idea that the uping operation in Mid was about to decide the fate of the entire game…

  DarkestCymore