Finally, an opening revealed itself in Appretence's uncrackable defense. So, with a burning desire to strike down her nemesis, Nia headed off to Bot! This time, she was going to take down that cocky Korean guy!
[Oh, wait. But I better inform everybody about this plan.] She realized along the way.
Back during her first gank on Apprentece, Nia failed to properly communicate her arrival to Ben and it cost her dearly. So, she had to do things properly this time.
"I'm ganking Bot," Nia announced. For a moment there, even she was surprised by how strongly her tone came across. She wasn't asking for permission or leaving anything open for debate. No, she stated an absolute fact.
"Eh, I mean, if it's alright with everybody..." she added.
"Did you finally spot a good opportunity?" Yuel asked.
"Yes." Nia nodded confidently at first, but then she realized she'd surely be held accountable if anything went south. "Eh, well, I think I found something. At least, this looks way better than previous opportunities."
"Is that so." Yuel knotted his brows. [Honestly, I don't see much difference. Apprentece seems to be playing as boldly as usual, but so far that never converted into a true opening. But, maybe Nia sees something I don't. Her game sense is abnormally sharp for these things.]
Though it wasn't immediately apparent, Nia owned much of her success as a ganker to her heightened game sense. She was exceptionally good at spotting when the enemy's guard was down. She incorporated all sorts of small tells into her analysis to deliver her sneaky ganks.
It was easy to just call her a "Vanishing Phantom" and pretend like her impressive results only came from the fact she was "hard to notice". But in truth, Nia's playstyle was more intricate than that. Yuel only realized that after coaching the girl on a regular basis.
Nia was indeed good at lying low to the point her opponents forgot to factor in her presence. However, that wasn't something that was going to happen right at the start of the game. Her vanishing act was a gradual process that took an indeterminate amount of time.
In every game, it was up to Nia to tell when she had finished "erasing her presence", as she called it. But, how could she even tell? There weren't any clear in-game indications for something like that. It was all psychological.
[I, for one, can't tell when it's time.] Yuel admitted. [That's why I always have to trust her judgment on that. And, the one time I went against her judgment in this game, there were consequences.]
The first time Yuel asked Nia to gank Apprentece in Top, he was met with resistance. Nia claimed she didn't feel like she "erased her presence" at the time, so it didn't make sense to her to try sneaking up on an enemy just yet.
Yuel considered that input but ultimately chose to ignore it. He assumed that even if Nia was correct, it wouldn't change the fact that she'd be able to deliver a strong gank on Apprentece considering the guy's bold overextension.
[But, I ended up being wrong. Badly so.] Yuel frowned. [Nia's analysis was correct in that situation. It's actually pretty impressive.]
That's why for the second gank Yuel made sure to first reach a consensus with Nia. The girl resisted the idea at first as she often did, but in the end, Yuel managed to convince her that the risks weren't as high as she feared. If he failed to convince her then he was planning to give up on the idea altogether to avoid further tragedies.
That consensual gank was indeed far more effective than the first. Nia successfully erased her presence even against Apprentece and managed to surprise him. Alas, her execution was stiff because she was too worried about her low HP, a factor Yuel failed to take into account.
In the end, the outcome of that gank was unfortunate but it was definitely a good opportunity. Therefore, it seemed that when Yuel and Nia's analyses reached an agreement, there was a real possibility of striking Apprentece down.
[This time, she's the one taking the initiative.] Yuel thought. [She analyzed the situation and somehow determined that this was the right moment. This goes beyond even my analysis.]
If he couldn't understand all the reasonings behind it, could Yuel really approve of this play?
[Ironic.] Yuel smiled wryly. [Isn't this the exact same dilemma others have to deal with whenever I come up with a plan? I know better than anybody how difficult it is to convince others in these situations.]
Yuel was getting better at this through repetition, but Nia didn't have the same amount of experience. Not to mention, her analysis usually only revolved around her own playstyle, so she rarely had the need to convince others of anything.
[And, I rarely ever pressed her too hard to explain her reasoning to me in the past.] Yuel frowned. [I suppose I reap what I sow. I should've questioned her more often to understand her reasoning process.]
Alas, it was too late to start that now. Nia wanted to gank Bot, right here and now. There was no time to bombard her with questions and try to draw out a satisfying answer from her. In fact, attempting that would only distract her from the play and will ruin its chances of success.
In other words, Yuel had to make this decision based on nothing but his trust in Nia. So, the real question was: how much did he trust Nia on these things?
[I… tentatively trust her.] Yuel thought. [But in this particular game, she really impressed me with how sharp her intuition can get. And besides, she's showing a great amount of incentive to go up against an opponent that she openly admits is "scary". That's a first.]
Nia was abnormally motivated to hunt down Apprentece. This scaredy-cat, who usually gave up at the first sight of a "scary" enemy, was now volunteering to fight the scariest monster in the region.
[Regardless of my reasoning, I feel compelled to respond to her feelings in kind.] Yuel decided. "Okay, you can gank Bot. Lars, did you catch all that?"
"Yep, loud and clear. But, I dunno about this…" Lars twisted his lips. "I really wanted to 1v1 this dude and stuff."
"You're already dueling him and it's not exactly going well, is it?"
"Yeaaaah, welp. Dude's clearing speed is too dang high, yo!"
"Yes, it sure is," Yuel agreed. "You might've still had a fighting chance if you didn't hit him earlier, but now he's dominating the lane."
"Hey, it wasn't on purpose, okay?" Lars pouted. "Like, I tried my best to avoid the dude, I really did. But, he just pulled that Korean magic of his and stepped into my shot outta nowhere! It was sick, yo! And annoying, too."
"I see. I figured it was something along those lines, or that you missed."
"I never miss, yo! 200% accuracy, believe it!"
"Right, right." Yuel rolled his eyes. "Anyway, now that the situation has turned out like this, there isn't much you can do there by yourself. By the time you finish fending off his push, Apprentece will already retreat."
"Yeah, true dat." Lars pouted. "Dang, there goes my chance to duel this pro for realz…" [If only I trained dat Elf more, dang it…]
Yuel insisted time and again that Lars should focus exclusively on the Elf, even at the expensive and turning rusty with Trickshooter and Gunslinger. But of course, Lars couldn't possibly allow that. These were his main classes, yo! He had to keep them polished like a master swordsman keeps his blades in shape!
[But, maybe it was really the wrong move.] Lars frowned. [Because of this, I didn't even get to practice the quick-scoping tech properly. That thing alone gonna take weeks to master…]
As much as he would've wanted to deny it, Lars was definitely underprepared here today. He got this golden opportunity to fight an insanely strong dude, but his skill with Elf wasn't up to the challenge.
"Yep, I guess I missed this chance alright." Lars sighed.
"Perhaps you missed the chance to duel him," Yuel said. "But, you still have a chance to score a kill on him by cooperating with Nia. That'll be a huge achievement for us." [Even though it probably won't salvage the game...]
"Wait, we haven't scored any kills on this dude yet, right?" Lars realized this after checking the KDA. "Alrighty then, we totally gotta mop this Korean pro at least once! We're also pros, ya know? Gotta prove it to him!"
"I agree." Yuel nodded. "We must get at least one kill on him, or else it'll leave a sour taste."
Apprentece has been dominating this entire game from the very beginning. Ben was unable to stand up to the guy at all and Nia failed to kill him twice. Likewise, Kai couldn't get anything going against him in Mid either, she ultimately only wasted MP on trying.
It was undeniable that, at the moment, it looked as if Apprentece stood head and shoulder above the entirety of Stratus. He was like an untouchable god far above the realm of mere mortals.
That's definitely not the kind of impression Yuel wanted to end this game with. This sort of thing might become a mental trauma that'll stick with the team all the way into the regionals. And, it seemed like Lars reached the same conclusion.
"Okay, I gotcha!" Lars said. "C'mon, Nia! Let's cook up this Korean dude real gud!"
"On my way!"
They wasted a little bit of precious time before finally agreeing, but fortunately, this didn't delay Nia at all. The entire time, she had been advancing toward Bot as if the decision had already been made.
[Would she have given up if we disagreed with the gank?] Yuel wondered. [Well, no use worrying about that now. Let's see if Nia's analysis is on point in this situation.]
And so, a gank was about to strike Bot. Will Nia finally be able to take down this Korean monster!?
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"My, aren't you overextending a little too much there?" Cato asked.
"No problem," Jin reassured. "I retreat soon."
"What do you mean 'soon'?" Cato raised an eyebrow. "You should've retreated a long time ago. Gunz can root you inside the tower area with his ult."
"It's a little dangerous but no problem. I'll retreat when few minions left."
Elf's ult was indeed a threat worth considering, but it didn't faze Jin. The skill's only function was to root an enemy in place. This was indeed a potent weapon under the tower, but overall not that dangerous as long as Jin had minions to tank tower shots. And, he sure had plenty of those.
[There's nothing Elf can do in this situation to stump me.] Jin thought. [It's a free push.]
WHISH! He unleashed his scourge on the enemy tower, dealing hefty damage. Meanwhile, Gunz was busy taking out the minions one by one. This will keep him occupied for a while.
[But, it's not like Cato's concern is entirely unreasonable.] Jin admitted. [Honestly, I also wasn't planning to dive at first. But, Gunz forced my hand. I can't just retreat after being shot like that.]
The way Gunz jumped over Jin's Scourge and counterattacked was nothing short of insulting. It ruined the entire image of Jin "dominating" the lane, which was the main point of rotating over here in the first place.
[Now, I'm forced to push in order to erase that event from everybody's minds.] Jin clicked his tongue. [If I delete more than 50% of the tower's HP, then surely everybody's attention will shift toward this success.]
And so, Jin continued lashing at the tower with his scourge. He was confident that the Elf in front of him was the only threat around, so there wasn't much to worry about.
However, just then, Sonya's internal clock went off. "I haven't seen Vanishing in the last 20 seconds," she delivered her periodic report. "Last I saw, Vanishing left Mid to enter Top Jungle, but I haven't seen her show up anywhere over there."
It was the standard pointless report that Sonya had delivered countless times this game. Every single instance like this felt like a waste of breath. After all, Jin wasn't some amateur, so he always kept a close eye on the mini-map, especially on the position of the enemy Jungler.
Nonetheless, this once, Sonya's report gave him pause.
[Their Jungler hadn't shown up in Top Jungle at all after that?] Jin frowned. [I didn't realize it.]
Back when Jin was on his way to Bot, he clearly saw Vanishing leaving Mid by entering Top Jungle. So, he was certain that the girl's plan was to farm Top Jungle next.
After that, Jin became busy with the situation in Bot, which demanded much of his attention. So, this entire time, he hadn't had the opportunity to stop to think about Vanishing's location. At the back of his head, the obvious answer was that "she was in Top Jungle", therefore Jin didn't spare much more thought to the matter. But, perhaps he was wrong in doing so.
Vanishing was a low-profile Jungler, the type who was good at concealing her location by dodging wards. It seemed like this sort of playstyle came naturally to some players, as exhibited by some players Jin encountered back in Korea.
Yes, Jin did play a few opponents like that in the past. That's why, unlike the Leopards, Jin wasn't too concerned about Vanishing's "peculiar ability". This was a rare playstyle that some players had an affinity with, that's all.
Back in Korea, players like this caused no shortage of trouble for their opponents. In particular, in one of Jin's evaluation exams, his entire team was terrorized by one extremely crafty player like that. That guy single-handedly destroyed his opponents' evaluation scores with his oppressing performance. Jin was the only one who came out relatively unscratched because he did his research in advance.
[I did a fair share of studying to make sure I could handle rare players like that at any time.] Jin thought. [This Drow is obviously nowhere near the same skill level as that guy, but if her playstyle shares the same essence, then I'm sure she'll strike soon.]
A slight shiver ran through Jin. The possibility of being hit by Drow's ult in this position didn't amuse him in the slightest.
[Jen-jang! In this position, I might actually die from an attack like this...!] Jin gritted his teeth. [I can't let that happen.] He activated Last Stand, yelling loudly at his minions.
Frankly, it was wasteful to activate the ult this late into the push, as some of his minions were already dead. To make things worse, if nobody ganks him in the end, then Jin will end up looking like a clown.
Nonetheless, Jin deemed this a necessary precaution. He couldn't let some lowly Western player gank him to death, especially not in front of an audience.
[Do I roll right away? Yes, that should be optimal.] Jin determined. [The earlier I roll, the earlier the Dodge Roll will come off cooldown again.]
And so, Jin turned around and immediately rolled out of the tower area. Yes, even though there weren't any decisive signs of the ganker yet, Jin had spent both his ult and his roll.
And, he was right to do so. As soon as he started rolling - darkness erupted in the area! It was Drow's ult!
WHOOSH! A repelling dark force exploded right in Jin's face! Was he too late in his evacuation...!?
If you're enjoying the story, please review it and vote for it. つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
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