"Don't do anything stupid while I’m away," William warned his younger brother on his way out of the ne. "I know you probably want to challehat DK, but don't."

  "Of course not, bro~" Ronald promised but his eyes glinted like those of a hungry beast. He clearly wao challehe powerful oppo in front of him.

  That quirk of his is such a double-edged sword. William sighed.

  On one hand, the more eager Ronald was to fight, the greater his prew. Oher hand, that very same eagerness sometimes pushed him toward itting terrible mistakes.

  Well, I’ll just have to trust him to py it safe. William shrugged. He got burned multiple times in the previous game, so I’m sure that taught him a lesson or two. Probably.

  William departed from the h that doubt still at the back of his mind. Now, will his brother live up to his trust...?

  Okay, bro is out! Ronald griime to tackle this DK!

  This was an awesome opportunity to have some fun, so there was no way ihat Ronald would miss it! Memer himself wasn't that strong of a pyer, but his prew tenfold with DK. So finally, a worthy oppo! Their battle will be legendary!

  At least, that's what I’d LIKE to do. Ronald stopped himself. I probably gotta keep these thoughts to myself for now. These guys proved they're pretty det, so that ges everything.

  Until the previous game happened, Ronald saw Stratus as a weaklihat he could stomp with his eyes closed. This was in lih how the previous scrims pyed out, where all oppos were F-tier at best.

  It seemed like all these b experiences made Ronald develop a bad habit. He stopped registering his oppos as a real threat and started messing around to eain himself. That occasionally caused him to overextend and mess up, but frankly, he didn’t care.

  I mean, those teams were just BAD. I don’t even remember their names. Ronald shook his head. But, Stratus seems to be different. These bruhs know what's up, so I gotta respect them. At least a little. A tiny bit.

  And so, Ronald stayed his hand and didn’t challehat juicy DK. As much as he wao duke it out with a Dark Knight, it was easy to see how risky and unnecessary it was.

  I better focus oroying my actual ne oppo once he returns. It should be happening during this wave, right? Let's wait.

  Like a predator lying in wait for easy prey, Ronald stayed at the bad monitored the ining minion wave. As expected, InformationBckhole was leading that gang. Respawn timers were super short in the early-game, so bruh was already ba ission.

  "I have arrived," Vi announced. "You're relieved of your duty, Meme Jedi. Thank you very much for your support."

  "No problem, man." Luke headed to the exit. "It's partially my fault you ended up like that, so no biggie."

  "I do not believe any of the bme lies with you, but I suppose we shall discuss this in further detail during the iable match review."

  "Oh yeah, that shit. Fun…" Luke shuddered at the mere mention of it. The previous scrim review was so long and exhausting, and that was for a match that they vingly WON. So, how bad will this scrim’s review be? Oh boy…

  Luke shook his head super hard to dispel the depressing thoughts. Instead of thinking about that dystopian future, he focused on heading deeper into the jungle.

  Meanwhile, Vi stayed behind to front AbsoluteChallehis was the first time they directly faced ea a 1v1.

  "Vi," Yuel called out. "You remember what kind of pyer Challenger is when he pys Tht?"

  "But of course I remember!" Vi nodded. "The information is engraved into my memory! To summarize: he is an aggressive beast, ohat stantly seeks opportuo assault his foes."

  "Right. So, make sure to exercise caution."

  "That I will. Besides, I'm gging behind my foe by almost two levels now. I know my pce."

  Vi was like a harmless sheep while his oppo was a vicious wolf. It wasn’t a test at all.

  Any form of frontal frontation would lead to Vi’s immediate demise, so he had to avoid that at all costs. Therefore, when the enemy minions arrived, Vi refrained from using Shield Bash.

  The cssic farming routine for Knight was to push the enemy frontlioward the bae with Shield Bash, then slice through both the swordsmen and the bowmen with one Bde Swing. But, as effective as the method was, it harbored some risks.

  Against an oppo of this caliber, I simply ot throw away my escape tool like this. Vihought. Shield Bash is my only way out in case something goes awry, so I must keep it safe for a rainy day.

  And so, Vi had to rely on his basic attacks for farming this wave. He sshed away at the enemy frontline while standing on the opposite side of his oppo. The minions practically formed a wall betweewo of them, a wall that Challenger would have to wiggle his way through in order to reach Vi.

  Naturally, the oppo uood the situation as well.

  So, that's how you gonna py. Ronald nodded. It’s me but uandable. Ying behind and you don't wanna mess with a scary guy like me. Yep, makes sense.

  With that said, this positioning was a little annoying. It’d be difficult to sneak past all these swordsmen to get to Bckhole. That guy barricaded himself pretty well.

  But, he gonna pay dearly for pying like that, doesn't he realize that? Well, I guess I hafta teach him then.

  Ronald approached the minion wave, but not with the iion to cut through it. Instead, he headed deeper into the enemy formation, toward the bowmen. These squishy archers were the top priority targets, this was the 101 of ning knowledge.

  Bruh, if you don't have the balls to extend a little and target my bowmen too, then this gonna be a very one-sided battle. On that note, Ronald started slig and dig the bowmen. Each of his sshes was faster than the previous, soon turning into a lightning-fast flurry!

  His oppo clearly saw this turn of events. So, how was the guy going to respond?

  Suwavering fidence. Vi nodded with respect. As expected from one of the Absolute Duo! But, I suspect you did not think this ohrough, good sir.

  Targeting the bowmen was the cssic approach but it also freed the entire space ahead of Vi. He no longer had to be wary of ining attacks, so he was free to proceed toward the enemy bowmen as well. Eye for aooth for a tooth.

  What’s eveer, Vi was now free to unleash his Shield Bash + Bde Swing bo with minimal risks. His oppo ositioned behind him, so going forward to create some distance was actually safer for now.

  I’m aware that I’ve just said that it's dangerous to carelessly waste away the Shield Bash, but the reality is that I must catch up to this Berserker ASAP. Vi corrected the previous ents he made about the situation, to make sure that the viewers at home were up to date.

  Vi died at the start of the game, so he had some catg up to do here. The gap in exp and gold wasn’t going to magically disappear by itself. If anything, there was a ce that Challenger will only further expand the gap if Vi stays too passive.

  I must fight back whehere’s a ce. Vi cluded. I ot allow myself to be outdone in the farmiment so easily. Knight stands at the top of the meta for a reason. This heroic css shall not yield to a barbarian vilin like a Berserker!

  With Challeemporarily out of the picture, this was a golden opportunity to catch up. It was uhat the Leopards would give Vi many sweet opportunities like this, so he had to grab whatever was in front of him!

  And so, he raised his shield and charged forth! WHAM! He rammed into the swordsmen and pushed them to the back, right o their led peers.

  , Bde Swing. WHISH! He unleashed a dark ssh that sliced through the entire enemy wave! The demonic overlord skin he was wearing made his attacks look as terrifying as that of a Dark Knight!

  I just wish the damage was at least half as good as a Dark Knight's. Vi mented.

  Unlike Luke’s amazing Dark Bst which elimihe previous minion wave in one fell swoop, Vi’s 2-hit bo only shaved off about 50% HP from the swordsmen and 30% from the bowmen. It was a far cry from an instant kill move.

  But, it is what is. Vi raised his bde to follow up with further attacks. As long as my nemesis stays oher side of the ne, I’ll have more than enough time to- NANI!?

  Two axes.

  Raised over his head.

  AND ABOUT TO CRASH ON HIM!!!

  I-I must roll! Vi’s body reacted faster than his dazed brain. He pressed Shift in order to roll to… which side? What was the best dire to roll in??? He had no idea. Anything and everything about the situation caught him off-guard!

  His brain short-circuited while trying to process this ued situation, so his instincts had to take over instead. And, what did they whisper to him? “Roll as far as humanly possible from this dangerous barbarian!”

  And so, Viurned away from the Berserker in a haste and rolled forth! But, it was futile resistance. Against a Barbarian Sm that was charged to its absolute limit, such a te Dodge Roll was insuffit.

  BAM! The shockwave caught up to Vi and stunned him!

  “Yabai!” Vi excimed. “How could this happen!?”

  Just a few moments ago, Vi agreed with Yuel about the importance of being cautious against the aggressive beast that was Challenger. A, Vi still found himself in this unfortuuation somehow.

  I have failed you, Chessmaster! No, I have failed ALL of you! Vi apologized to the eeam. As, there is no time frets. I must form an evacuation pn at once! But, I e up with something good by myself?

  “O great Chessmaster, grant me your wisdom! I’m in quite the pickle over here!”

  “How did you mao…” Yuel sighed. It seemed like his warning fell on deaf ears. I didn’t expect such carelessness from Vi. Did the Berserker pull some tri him? Anyway, as for his current predit…

  It was a difficult position. Vi was stunned by the fully-charged Barbarian Sm, so he was now at the total mercy of the Berserker’s lightning-fast strikes. WHISH! WHISH! WHISHWHISH! Vi couldn’t do anything but watch his HP plummet.

  But of course, the enemy’s aggressive move didn’t e without a cost. Attag Vi meant incurring the wrath of his minions.

  The loyal soldiers shifted their focus onto Challenger and assaulted the guy. But, he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. It seemed like he believed that this was a 100% favorable exge for him. But, was that really the case?

  For now, Vi couldn’t retaliate, so Challenger definitely had the upper hand. But, soon enough, the stun will expire. What will be Vi’s best move from that position?

  He’s going to lose a good k of HP but he won’t be anywhere close to dying. Yuel ran the calcutions in a split sed. He had studied tless positions like this, so it was easy enough to give a rough estimation of the damage.

  “Once your stun ends, use your taunt on him areat,” Yuel advised. “Since he’s already being so aggressive, make him overextend some more.”

  “Ihat does sound like a fine suggestion!” Vi rongly.

  Shortly, the stun effect wore off and Vi could move once more! His immediate instinct was to turn around and make a break for it, but Chessmaster bestoerior strategy upon him.

  Your arrogance shall cost you dearly, o Challenger! Vi activated Honorable Duel. Normally, the Knight would yell “Let us fight honorably!” but Vi’s skin had a slightly different fvor.

  “Let us clude this mortal battle is of hell!” A demonic roar resounded across the area. There was no hint of honor or valor in that shout. It ure demonic terror.

  This voice pack art of the “Demoniight” skin. Vi bought it during the oldie “The Thousand-Year War of Angels and Demo.

  Clearly, the iment was well worth it! With this demonic armor and intimidating voice, Vi instilled absolute terror in his foes! They shall tremble at the mere sound of Honorable Duel being cast!

  Or at least, that’s how it pyed out in Vi’s head. Iy, things pyed out a little differently...

  DarkestCymore