After a somewhat rocky start, AbsoluteWinner finally started showing off his sick spag skills! But…

  Ty this game. Lars took a step bad reevaluated his surroundings. Maybe you didn’t know, but I’m an FPS pro, yo!

  Pying petitive shooters taught Lars all about judging distances and optimizing his reach. So, even against Winner’s impressive spag, Lars was fident he could keep up…!

  Let’s see how you deal with me now, dude! Lars stepped in but only slightly. He didn’t hurry to chase down his backpedaling oppo.

  He’s waiting for me to overextend, I feel it. But, I ain’t gonna fall for that again!

  And so, instead of charging in like a bull, Lars advanced cautiously this time.

  Likewise, Winner proceeded with simir caution, not hurrying to close the gap between them. As a result, the two of them walked bad forth around the ne, maintaining ideal spag the eime.

  He adjusted well. William thought. This is good. I wouldn't have it any other way. A pyer who is seriously peting for the No. 2 spot should at least be this good. With that said, the way he pys Pirate is a little odd.

  Pirate was an unventional marksman in most situations. It was a ranged css like all marksmen, but it also had the option to switelee on.

  Switg to the cutss meant trading Attack Range in exge for more Attack Speed. It wasn’t always an easy trade to justify, but there were times when it worked extremely well.

  In particur, it was the Pirate’s preferred on when pushing an undefeower. Attack Range didn’t matter so long as there weren’t any obstacles, so using the cutss was the optimal py.

  As for duels, it was a little more plicated than that. For example, against melee oppos, it was usually smarter to stick to using the pistol in order to maintain space trol.

  However, against a fellow marksman, there were times when it was better to force the battle into close quarters and use the cutss. In particur, Droid was a rather anemic marksman, so Gunz should’ve been trying his best to get closer.

  But, he doesn't even try. William frowned. Is he uimating me? Maybe he’s implying he beat me even without that advantage?

  Of course, there were many other possible expnations as well. For example, maybe Gunz wasn't too profit with the melee stance. After all, his name was “Gunz”, which likely referred to "guns". Perhaps he was only skilled at shooting, but not so much at sword swinging.

  Hmph. I really hope that's not the case. William scoffed. A pyer who picks Pirate but 't properly swing his sword has nht to tend for the No. 2 spot. So, I'll just assume he's wary of my drones.

  And so, their tango went on. They tinued keeping each other at bay, barely getting any good opportuo shoot.

  The few times one of them went for a shot, it almost always ended with the target dodging the attack. After all, it was that much easier to sidestep ining bullets from maximum range.

  Not to mention, every now and then, it ossible to easily backstep the ining shot. Gunz hasn’t tried that yet, but William abused that fact 24/7.

  This fight is sure dragging on. William frowned. I thought I'd turables on him by now, but he's not giving me any good opportunities.

  Gunz's spag was good, very good. Ever sihe guy stopped charging in like a bull, it became almost impossible to crack him.

  Of course, Gunz’s spag was still nowhere near William's level, but it was good enough to make it difficult to capitalize on it. The margin of error in Gunz's performance was too small to properly exploit.

  I see he be more than just a power pyer when he wants to be. William cluded. This might turn out to be harder than I expected.

  In tennis, there were some kids who were blessed with natural gifts such as strength, height, flexibility, and speed. They were the lucky ones who had the ake it big in the petitive se.

  However, sometimes, these kids’ ialents actually hampered their growth. Instead of polishing their fuals, these brats relied on their ialents to carry them.

  For example, a strong and tall pyer would often focus on delivering powerful serves and smashes in order to domihe match. And, if they were gifted enough, then a basic pystyle like this would actually work just fine against the majority of their oppos, at least at first.

  But eventually, they’d run into a wall. They’ll reach a level of petition where oppos deal with their smashes or serves, making these ons not nearly as threatening as before.

  At that point, the pyer iion would have to be able to do more than just serve and smash hard. They’d have to actually hit good groundstrokes, be able to return the enemy strokes, and so forth. In other words, they’d have to make solid fual pys in order to sore points than their oppo.

  But, if all this pyer ever practiced was serves and smashes, then how would they be able to execute the required fual pys? Most likely, they wouldn’t. And then, they’ll lose the matd feel salty about it.

  William has seen many rising stars like this who hit a wall and ultimately quit the sport. Such pyers were carried hard by their talents early on, so they felt like the kings of the world. But then, somebody came around to kick them off the high horse.

  At that point, the talented pyer stopped feeling like a king. They were reduced to the level of a oner and had to work on the same fuals that everybody else had to polish.

  Unfortunately, at that point, these brats were already too spoiled by their earlier success. At first, they put in minimal effort in order to reap huge gains, but now they actually had to work hard to improve just a little bit more; it was disheartening.

  For the talentless oner, slow and steady improvement was the norm. However, for these former kings that were dethroned, such a slow path didn’t seem appealing in the slightest. Thus, most of them failed to adjust, tio lose matches, aually quit.

  It’s not their fault, at least irely. Wilim thought. Those who are born talented are bound to rely oalent.

  It was human nature to py to one's strengths. This idea held true in both tennis and Cssmancers.

  For example, simir to Gunz, Ronald was also blessed with fast rea speed. Therefore, the brat often relied on it in fights, to the point it became one of his faults.

  That whippersried to temple all his oppos via sheer meical strength while paying minimal attention to fuals like spag. As a result, against strong oppos like yours truly, that brat flopped hard in duels.

  I imagined Gunz would be the same way, but it seems I was wrong.

  Gunz definitely relied a lot on his meical skill, but he carried himself as a veteran pyer pared to Ronald. The guy khat his impressive talent will carry him far, but he also khat sheer talent would eventually hit a wall.

  Perhaps, Gunz already hit such a wall before, so that’s why he focused on fuals as well. He was one of these irregur cases, a talented pyer who hit a wall but was willing to work hard to overe it.

  I suppose this is somebody who is worth being called a true genius. William admitted. The ability to keep w hard on fuals is a talent in its ht, ohat Gunz was blessed with on top of his already impressive skill. Really, it feels like this guy got it all.

  The adaptation was real. The moment Gunz realized that William ag him out, the guy tightened his spag in response. He stopped relying on sheer meical skill and used fuals to bat fuals, while at the same time using his ialent to make his fuals sharp enough to pete with Wilim’s.

  Is this the kind of pyer Ron will bee in a year or two? William wondered. If so, then all the more reason I have to win this fight, no matter what.

  But, just as he decided that, Gunz suddenly disengaged from bat. Time .

  Hmph. Yes, this is a good time for him to pull back. William g the mini-map, searg for Ronald's location.

  As expected, the younger brother was already halfway back to the ne. However, he was traversing through the jungle instead of heading straight to the ne, per William’s request.

  “You take your time returning to the ne,” William said back then. “Their Support is likely heading to Mid, so maybe they’ll want your help over there.”

  It was a sensible argument, but in truth, all Wilim wanted was to postpohe arrival of the third wheel. He wao tihis duel for as long as it was necessary in order for it to reach a satisfactory clusion.

  ving Ronald took no effort at all, as the kid probably uood the iions of his older brother. However, Cato normally wouldn't approve of such a suboptimal py, so William had to prepare an excuse.

  Traveling to Bot through the jungle cost just a little bit of extra time, but it pced Ronald in a far more flexible position. He was right between Mid and Bot, so he could rotate to either a moment's notice.

  Given that Chessmaster was likely rotating to Mid right now, it was a solid idea to have Ronald on standby over there. ade nument against this, so that's why Ronald casually strolled around Bot Jungle.

  Good, take your time. William thought. I'm not done here yet.

  He was down to 60% HP, but it was just a flesh wound. Meanwhile, his oppo was at 80% HP.

  I lost the first set, I admit. But, that fight was too close to be called "decisive"; it was anybody’s game. William asserted. It just took me some time to adjust, that's all. If we tinue fighting for a little longer, I'm sure I win.

  Hanging around 60% HP was a little dangerous but it wasn't a risk William couldn't manage. Even from this disadvantageous position, he was sure he could make a eback against Gunz.

  "Ron, o e here," William said. "Rotate to Mid or whatever."

  "Oh, you gonna keep fighting this dude!?" Ronald grinned iement. "Okay, gotcha! Go get him, bro!"

  "Hold on a minute," Cato interjected. "What is this talk about tinuing the fight? I thought it was already decided."

  "Not even close," William asserted. "We're just getting started."

  "My, I had no idea a duel only begins after you’ve lost nearly half your HP."

  "It took me a little bit of time to adapt to him, that's all."

  "A little bit of time and 40% of your HP. And, he still got his Kraken and everything."

  “We both avoided using our skills this time,” William said. “It was a raw test of skill.”

  “And, you lost~”

  “Hmph. I don’t see it that way.”

  “Oh my, is that so?” Cato tilted his head. “Then, how do you expin that 20% HP difference?”

  “He has a better ‘early-game’ thahat’s all. It’s hardly unon. I’m the type who takes his time to adapt. But once I do, I win. Or at least, I fight him on equal footing.”

  “My, are you not going to cim you’ll win for sure? That’s rare.”

  “I have to give credit where credit is due,” William admitted. “If we keep peting with just raw meical skill, then Gunz might win.”

  “Might win”, huh. iled impishly. Don’t you realize it? The fact a prideful pyer like you admits there’s a ce, it’s as good as already admitti~

  It was amusing to watch William hold onto his pride so dearly despite the obvious oute of the duel. This guy was as stubborn as a bull~

  “So,” Cato said. “If I uand you correctly, then you’re saying your fight won’t be a raw test of strength?”

  “Yes. If this were a Duel match, then I would’ve given it a few more shots. But, I don’t have that kind of luxury here.”

  “Indeed, you don’t. You’re the team’s Carry, after all. Any misfortuhat befalls you will impact the eeam~”

  “Yes, I know the basics of how this game mode works, thank you for your .”

  “If you know that much, then you should also know that what you’re doing is quite dangerous and ineffit.”

  “Why, exactly?” William demanded. “It’s just a 1v1 between fellow marksmen. It’s as dangerous for me as it is for him.”

  “Except, right now, you’re the oh the HP disadvantage.”

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” William snarked. "Look, if you're implying this fight is already decided, then you're straight-up wrong. So, just sit bad keep colleg your precious data.”

  “My, how forceful.”

  “I o trate here, so I got no time for your roundabout nonsense. Besides, you also want to know how I measure up to Gunz, right? This duel will give all of us important information, so just let me do my thing in peace."

  "I’m just pointing out that you're ly in a good shape."

  "Yes, I do happen to know how to read a health bar, thank you very much."

  Somebody is salty here~ iled impishly. He must be getting a little frustrated with this fight. Good, good~ The faster he aowledges that his demotion was well-deserved and that he’s now the region’s No.3, the faster we move away from these useless duels and focus on actual strategy.

  “So, you want to keep going?” Cato asked again. “No matter what?”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying.”

  “Iing. Before you jump in, I would’ve expected you to at least ask me where their Jungler is.”

  “Why do I have to ask you?”

  “Oh, then are you saying you know where she is right now?”

  “That’s….” William was caught off-guard for a moment there. At first, he was vinced he had no reason to worry about the enemy Jungler, but now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

  Did I see her anywhere retly? William wondered. I have a feeling I did, but I ’t remember the specifics for some reason. Hmm.

  “If I recall,” William spoke carefully. “A ward revealed her in Top Ju too long ago.”

  “It was about 20 seds ago, but yes, it did happen,” Cato said. “One of my many wards caught a glimpse of her, just as pnned.”

  “Hmph. I’d be more surprised if your wards couldn’t track her down, sidering how many of them you’ve pced around. You pretty much lit up their entire jungle.”

  “It’s just a little bit of precaution, that’s all.” iled meaningfully. “She’s a pretty elusive pyer, so I’m making sure I keep an eye on her.”

  “Seems a bit excessive, if you ask me.”

  “Oh, don’t you remember? We agreed that I’ll be supervising Vanishing when we py in this formation.”

  “Yes, we did say that, but I didn’t expect you to do this much.”

  Cato decorated the entire enemy jungle as if it was time for Christmas. There were circles of lights across the entire map, making sure that not even a fly will be able to slip by unnoticed.

  This excessive warding surely hurt Cato’s build a lot, but he didn’t seem to mind. The precaution of this guy was something else. This couldn’t possibly be a healthy solution to dealing with Vanishing.

  “Whatever.” William shrugged. “So, where is she now?”

  “A little hard to say for sure, actually,” itted. “I caught a glimpse of her about 10 seds ago in Top Jungle, but that’s the st time I saw her. None of my wards revealed her sihen, which either means she returo base or that she’s taking a really weird route through the jungle.”

  “I doubt she rotated from Top to Bot in just 10 seds. Besides, even if she tried to, then I’m sure your excessive wards would’ve revealed her.”

  “Unless she rotated ih.”

  “That sounds like paranoia level of overthinking. How would she even do that without knowing where exactly you pced your wards?”

  “True, true. It’s very unlikely.” Cato had to admit defeat here. After all, he set up security cameras all across the enemy juo stantly monitor this phantom Jungler. So, even if Vanishing used stealth to sneak past some of the cameras, she’d eventually have to show up on other cameras once she leaves stealth mode.

  Well, this is enough testing, I suppose. Cato cluded. Will is still paying at least some attention to their Jungler, which means he isn’t absorbed in the duel to the point of ing caution. That’s all I o know.

  “Alright,” Cato gave permission. “You keep fighting Gunz. Just try not to die, pretty please.”

  “Hmph. I’d like to believe I know how this game works and that dying is bad.”

  “Of course, of course.” iled impishly. With all that said, in the long run, maybe it’ll be better if he dies at least once against Gunz? His pride will shatter nicely~ It should make him much more obedient going forward.

  But, that was too cruel and dangerous to wish for, especially in this match. A crushi like this might throw William off his game for a couple of games, which won’t bode well for the team.

  Besides, it’s not like it’s set in stohat Gunz is strohan Will. Cato thought. He’s not pying Shooter or Slinger, so who knows how this fight will go? It’ll sure be iing to watch~

  Just as William said, Cato was very muterested ie of this duel. This was more than just a csh between two pyers, it was a test of power betweeeams’ twest warriors!

  It’s as if the two teams were paring the strengths of their respective Queen pieces. The oute of this duel will determine who owhe stro pie the game.

  Unfortunately, for now, it looks like that piece belongs to the enemy, just as Sonya predicted. iled wryly. He was half-expeg this oute but he still wao be surprised for the better.

  Well, maybe this is a fitting handicap for me. My team has much stronger pieces overall, so Yuel, you have the stro piece. Besides, I'm sure Matt hahat piece of yours just fine.

  William erhaps the stro fighter of the team at rge, but he rideful fighter who always sought to prove his domihat kind of mentality might bee his downfall against a beast like Gunz.

  Oher hand, Matthew didn't care about such a battle of egos, so he should be able to fend Gunz off quite well. He probably won't "win" any fights per se, but he also won't "lose" aher.

  Then again, the "stro pyer" hasn't eve foot oage yet. iled impishly. It'd sure be fun to watch the Emperor tear Gunz apart~ Ah, I already imagine despair spreading through Stratus as they watch their stro fighter get crushed to bits~

  But, that won't happen, not today. Bringing Jin to the stage meant admitti with their current lineup, which was inexcusable for the regional champions. They'll definitely crush Stratus today, Cato will personally make sure of it.

  And, to achieve that, it was important to first learn as much as possible about the enemy pieces. Therefore, as much as Cato wao object to this duel, he had to cede that there was much worth iing William face Gunz once more.

  Besides, this means I put the younger brother to some good use in Mid. Cato nodded. “Ronald, e over to Mid.”

  “Oh, Matt needs my help? Okay, I’m on my way!”

  And so, the stage was set. Ronald will help up in Mid against Yuel’s ining rotation, which will give William one more ce to duel Gunz.

  So, who’ll be the oo cim the title of the region’s No. 2!?

  DarkestCymore