The trio dove deeper into the enemy side of the jungle. However, so far, there was no sign of the enemy.
"C'mon already!" Cornelia said. "I command you to show yourselves!" She checked left, then right, then left, and then right again. "Step forth so I can deliver you swift death!"
As if responding to her provocative call, a player showed up from around the corner. It was Average, the enemy Jungler. As a Lv. 1 Chronomancer, he was the easier target out of the options.
"Let us go!" Fiona charged at the prey without further ado. The man did not notice them at first, which gave them the initiative.
"Cornelia, throw your axe at him before he notices us."
"Right on it!" Ohoho! The unsuspecting prey had absolutely no idea what was going to hit him!
And indeed, the poor prey's mind was elsewhere at the moment.
Okay, so the next ward should be around here… Dan casually strolled through the jungle without a single care in the world. After all, it was the opening, the most chill part of the game. There wasn't anything to worry about, or so he thought.
BAM! An axe lunged into his shoulder outta nowhere! "What the-!?"
Then, in the very next moment: SLASH! SLASH! Razor-sharp claws tore him asunder out of the blue!
"W-What's going on-!?" Dan's brain struggled to catch up to the insane situation in front of him. The enemy Werewolf was all over him, ravaging his flesh without any mercy!
The deep cuts from Grievous Assault caused a Bleeding state, making Dan lose additional HP every second. But, the Werewolf had no intention of stopping there. Rosemary continued to tirelessly unleash her claws at Dan! SLASH! SLASH!
To make things worse, that crazy wolf woman wasn't alone. She was accompanied by two more allies, Berserker and Sage!
"The heck they're all doing here!?" Dan cried out. A-Anyway, I gotta scram! Like, fast!
Except, he didn't have any escape tools at the ready! He already used his one skill point to unlock Chronostatis, the class's primary framing tool! Dang it!
Both Time Portal and Haste could've really helped him right now, but Dan never imagined he'd need these skills so early into the game…!
Amidst the panic, Dan's first instinct was to roll away ASAP! So, he did exactly that.
Fortunately, the enemy started attacking him as soon as he popped around the jungle wall. It meant he could easily head back the way he came from and try to lose the attackers amidst the thick walls of the jungle.
Thus, Dan rolled out of the enemy's view. Or, at least, that was the intention.
He executed the roll itself without any problem, but he forgot one important detail. Even though he rolled away, there was an axe still stuck in his shoulder. Said axe was connected to the Berserker via a chain.
"Oh, shi-! GAH!" WHISH! The enemy abruptly reeled in the axe, dragging Dan along with it!
The situation was turning from bad to worse. The chain pulled Dan out of the denser parts of the jungle, to a region that could best be described as an open area. Nuuuuuuuu!
Dan found himself surrounded by three enemies: Werewolf, Berserker, and Sage. Needless to say, his chances of making it out alive weren't looking so hot right now…
Weeeeelp. If I can't run, then might as well fight back! Dan cast Chronostasis right between the Berserker and the Sage. These amateurs didn't keep enough space between each other, so Dan was gonna smack them both!
But, it turned out these girls were less scrubby than Dan gave them credit for. They noticed the spinning magical gears and sidestepped the attack in opposite directions.
Dang, maybe I should've targeted only one of them after all… Dan grimaced. He cast that AoE spell smack in the middle, so it only took the enemies a step and a half to get outta range. That was more than doable on reaction against this slowpoke of a spell, even for amateurs.
Okay, so what now? Dan laughed dryly. Am I basically screwed?
It turned out that yes, indeed, he was.
『You have been killed!』
"Weeeeelp." There was literally nothing he could do about this situation. He was surrounded from all sides by these mad girls. It was the most absurd form of early aggression he had ever seen in his life, and that said a lot considering he played many games with Yuel.
"That just happened." Dan shook his head. "Dunno what to even say about this. I think you better run for your life, Roi, They might be coming after you next."
"Yeah, I can see them diving deeper after that crazy stunt, lol." Roi laughed at the absurdity of what he just witnessed. These chicks be crazy! "I betcha they're gonna go after my Wraith Camp. It's robbery in broad daylight, man!"
"Word. That was a crazy play." Dan nodded. "Like, nobody does that shit right at the opening game, right? What the actual heck."
"... it was definitely an unconventional play," Howard commented with an obvious hint of irritation in his tone. But, he wasn't angry at Dan for failing to deflect that surprise attack. No, Howard was more frustrated with himself for letting something like that happen under his watch.
The opening isn't something we've practiced that much, to be honest. Howard realized. It's the most autopilot part of the game, so I didn't think there was much to cover there. But, looks like there are some improvements to be made. Roi and Dan should've stuck closer together to avoid things like that.
The Valkyries probably noticed this while researching StormBlitz. This whole thing was probably the work of the Landberht Princess herself. What a pesky opponent.
This is the kind of gamble I would've expected somebody like Yuel to go for. I better be ready for anything in this game.
The Valkyries as a whole weren't a particularly amazing team, but the Landberht Princess showed a lot of promise. She was the only one who consistently performed well in the Leo scrim, and apparently, she was also a solid tactician.
I'm starting to think that maybe all that media coverage she's been receiving is well-deserved. From what they wrote, she's been playing Mancers for less than a year, yet she's already at this level. Is this what they call a "genius"?
For a moment there, just a brief moment, Howard felt like a small fry. Even though he was unquestionably one of the best players in the region and should have no problem getting into the pro scene in a couple of years, it felt like there were too many players even in this region who were inherently more gifted than him.
Frankly, it was annoying. It's like these brats were using speed hacks to catch up. They had less experience, yet they nearly caught up to Howard's skill.
First, there were Yuel and Lars. They had fewer years of experience compared to Howard and Ellen, yet both sides were nearly even in battle. And, now there was this Landberht Princess who boasted incredible skill with virtually zero experience.
The existence of talented players like these made Howard's future look a little uncertain. He will surely get into the pro scene without any problem, but how far will he be able to climb there? How many more "prodigies" will be waiting for him there? Could it be that A-League was filled to the brim with obstacles like these?
Well, that's far in the future. For now, everybody I'm fighting is a fellow middle schooler. Howard reminded himself. Maybe these guys are just fast learners. They might fall off later down the line, just as early-game classes lose their edge in the late-game.
That's what he always had to tell himself to keep his confidence afloat. Even though it looked as if a bunch of amateurs was catching up with him at lightning speed, Howard wanted to believe that their innate talent would only carry them so far.
And, to make sure they never reach me, I have to keep beating them. Howard asserted. So, it doesn't matter how much talent you are packing, princess. You will not get any wins from me.
To live up to that promise, Howard switched gears in his mind. Before, he only told himself to not underestimate the Valkyries. Now, he was fully focused on taking them down, thoroughly and mercilessly.
"Roi, I agree with Dan's assessment," Howard said. "They'll come for you blue buff."
"Yep, figured as much." Roi nodded. "These chicks are fierce, lol. So, what do I do in situations like this, again? I feel like I haven't been in this kinda scenario like ever."
"True, it's a peculiar situation."
Against a normal invade that targeted the Wraith Camp, the obvious response was to retreat. Such invades normally happened around the time minions were arriving, so going to the lane was the most efficient line of play.
However, this situation was different. The enemy's gank occurred way before the buff camps even spawned, so Roi had plenty of time to burn.
On paper, there should be enough time for him to farm either the Hyena Camp or the Wolf Camp, both of which spawned before the buff camps did. But, would he be able to farm these camps efficiently all by himself?
I'm sure a Viking can at least clear the Hyena Camp, but how much HP will that cost him? Probably too much.
Even Howard wasn't 100% savvy about such specifics. After all, no Viking would normally try to solo a jungle camp at Lv. 1.
But, to maintain high morale in the team, Howard acted confident. "The hyenas and wolves are too much for you to handle alone at Lv. 1," he claimed. "So, go straight to lane."
"Yep, figured it'll be something like that." Roi shrugged. "Okay, I'm off then."
"Since you have time until minions arrive, go enter the lane from behind." Howard drew a path on the mini-map that went from Roi's current location all the way to the far back of the lane, way behind the Top Turret. "No point entering the lane directly from the jungle."
"Oh, true that." Roi nodded. "Don't wanna run into these mad girls, lol."
And so, Roi followed the path Howard drew. It felt like a very weak play to be honest, but better safe than sorry.
As expected, the enemy trio didn't stop at killing Dan. They invaded deeper into StormBlitz's territory, setting their eyes on Roi's Wraith Camp. It was daylight robbery!
Not only were the Valkyries going to get a bunch of gold and exp from all of these shenanigans, but they also threw StormBlitz's opening completely off the rails for Top Lane.
Basically, things were chaotic as heck, lol. Yuel would probably be proud if he saw this mad aggressive opening. And, as it happened, Yuel did in fact see this play, right from the audience.
So, this type of early invade works against Howard, huh. Yuel watched the turn of events with a complicated expression. I was planning to try something similar in our rematch, but Fiona beat me to it.
In a way, it was nice to get a confirmation that a hyper-aggressive play like that could catch Howard off guard. Yuel analyzed Howard's StormBlitza a lot and also concluded that Howard's defense was uncharacteristically sloppy in the very opening of the game. As such, one of the many anti-Howard strategies he came up with was to strike hard during the very opening.
Unfortunately, the Valkyries pulled this trick first. Therefore, while it verified Yuel's thesis, it also meant Howard would be on guard against it next time.
So, that's one anti-Howard tactic to delete from the list. Yuel sighed. It was already hard enough to come up with tactics to defeat Howard, so he'd really appreciate it if random teams didn't swoop in to steal his ideas.
Unlike him, his scouting partner was excited through the roof about this play. "It was such a marvelous play!" Vincent made noise. "It is almost unbelievable that a neophyte team like the Valkyries managed to expose such a crack in Aegis's absolute defense! This proves that the title of the 'Landberht Princess' is not just for show!"
"You know, I actually had the same idea myself..." Yuel grumped. "Now that the Valkyries showed this trick to everyone, it means it won't work again."
"Indeed, that sounds correct." Vincent nodded. "Surely, Aegis will study every facet of this opening to be 1000% ready for it next time."
"Yes. Knowing the guy, this is exactly what he's going to do. Sigh..."
"I must say," Vincent continued. "I'm starting to think it's a shame you didn't tell the others to come here as well. I'm sure they would've enjoyed this show!"
"Perhaps, but we don't have the time to go and watch every scrim," Yuel argued. "Our team is severely lacking in experience, so we have to utilize every free moment to practice. Honestly, I almost skipped this scrim myself."
"It's not good to lie to yourself, Chessmaster." Vincent smiled meaningfully. "Hell would freeze over before you ever miss one of StormBlitz's scrimmages!"
"Hmph. Maybe so."
Even though it was easy enough to purchase a replay of the entire match after the fact, Yuel wanted to be physically present during StormBlitz's scrims. He believed there were certain things he could only fully grasp in real-time when he didn't have the ability to freeze or rewind the footage to analyze it extensively.
Because of that, Yuel sacrificed precious practice time to go and watch StormBlitz's scrims. Lars insisted on tagging along, but Yuel kept the goof at bay with one simple counterargument: "Don't you have a class you should be working on? Do you really think you have any spare time to burn?"
On the other hand, there was no problem in having Vincent tag along. In fact, it was more accurate to say that Yuel was the one tagging along here, as Vincent was the team's main scout.
Yes, the reporter wannabe volunteered to go and watch every single scrimmage in the region. Honestly, it was an overkill. Vincent was also a key part of the team, so he had to practice as well. He didn't have the option to burn all his free time on scouting opponents.
With that said, the guy was very diligent at the craft. He always returned with many important observations, some of which could only be caught in real time. As such, Yuel compromised and allowed Vincent to attend every scrim that had medium or higher priority.
Naturally, the most relevant scrims were the ones that involved the region's powerhouses: StormBlitz, Leopards, and Taurus. These big three were the main threats for Stratus this year, so observing their plays from up close was arguably worth it, even at the expense of Vincent's practice time.
And, as it turned out, this particular scrim might even turn into a must-watch. Perhaps it will not be a one-sided stomping like everybody was expecting...
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The Valkyries started the game on a strong note. They caught the enemy off-guard with a hyper-early attack and killed Average, the enemy Jungler. This achievement opened the door to multiple benefits.
First, the trio dived deeper into enemy territory and stole the enemy's Wraith Camp. "Andria, take this buff and return to the lane," Fiona instructed. "Cornelia, let us clear the nearby wolves as well."
"Gladly!" Cornelia followed the plan with great enthusiasm. After all, she and her allies had just successfully punished that Average plebeian for opposing Cornelia's rule. Now, she was also going to collect taxes from the enemy's lands, as punishment for the whole ordeal. This was very much in line with how a noble lady should carry herself, ohoho!
And so, the two nobles made quick work of the enemy's Wolf Camp. After that, Cornelia headed to Top Lane, her mainland.
Considering the location she was coming from, she had no choice but to pass through enemy territory as she entered the lane. Nonetheless, she strode proudly through it without a care in the world.
Hmph. Try to lay a finger on me if you dare. Cornelia lifted her chin. I'm already a level ahead of you, almost two. You will not dare.
Indeed, CleanHitter didn't approach her. That peasant knew his place and allowed the noble to pass through his territory without punishing her for it.
Truth be told, the man was very eager to strike this arrogant intruder. However, he was told to stay his hand.
"Are you SURE this is alright, man?" Roi asked again. "This chick is totally acting cheeky! We gotta punish her, right?"
"Yes, and we will," Howard reassured. "But, now is not the time. She's almost two levels ahead of you, and you know how much levels matter this early."
"Yeah, you're right..." Roi conceded. "But, I'm totally going to get back at her for all this! I'll avenge my bro, ain't nobody gonna stop me!"
"It'd be best if you let it go for now," Howard advised. "The last thing we need right now is somebody acting recklessly and getting killed as well."
"Yep, true that."
"So, before you do literally anything, stop to think for a moment about how the enemy's shot-caller might exploit it. To put it simply, think of her as mini-Yuel who is always out there, trying to find an exploit in anything you do."
"Dang, she's that good?"
"It's hard to tell, so better to assume the worst," Howard said. "At the very least, that early attack she launched is very reminiscent of Yuel's shenanigans."
"Yeah, true." Roi nodded. "Giving me flashbacks, lol."
"As it should. So, operate under the assumption that if you do anything careless, their shot-caller might punish you hard for it."
"Alrighty, noted."
With that said, Howard himself also had mixed feelings about that turn of events. I hope there aren't any scouts from Utopia here today. If they see us messing up like this against an amateur team, it might be reason enough to disqualify me on the spot.
According to the Utopia representative, leading StormBlitz to victory this year should automatically grant Howard a ticket to their team. But, surely, it was just as important for the team to "look good" while taking the crown. In other words, embarrassing mess-ups like this will be frowned upon.
We have to wrap up this game cleanly without any more mistakes. Howard asserted. But, that early momentum they built isn't anything to sneeze at. I can already see that their Jungler is taking full advantage of it.
After stealing the Wolf Camp, a ward showed that Rosemary headed to the Hyena Camp next. She was fully intent on stealing all the available camps in Top Jungle, quite the bold "princess" she was.
And, that wasn't the end of Rosemary's expedition. After sweeping the hyenas, she already set her sights on the next target.
"Andria," Fiona called out. "Let us clear the griffins."
"Your wish is my command, milady." Andria bowed theatrically and joined the queen at the Griffin Camp in Top Jungle. This was the only camp at the moment that Fiona could not efficiently clear by herself.
After the Overlord and the Dragon, the griffins were the strongest creeps in the jungle. As such, to properly dispatch them, it was best to team up and also activate a couple of skills.
"AWOOOOOOO!" Fiona's Werewolf howled across the area. The skill revealed all enemies in the vicinity, but that was just a secondary effect. The main benefit of Chilling Howl was the buff it granted, which temporarily empowered Fiona's basic attacks and granted them Lifesteal.
In addition to using Chilling Howl, Fiona also used Grievous Assault. She leapt at the nearby Griffin and assaulted it four times in succession with her razor-sharp claws.
Each slash counted as a basic attack despite coming from a skill, which meant the benefits from Chilling Howl were in full effect. Together with the buffs, this Grievous Assault reduced the griffin to a mere 20% in one fell swoop. From there, it was just a matter of landing two more quick basic attacks to seal the deal.
This quick progress might have made it look as if the Griffin Camp was a fast clear, but that was not the case. After all, there were two griffins in this camp. Fiona's assault only handled one of them.
As for the other griffin, here Fiona had to employ Andria's help. The Sage cast a fireball that erased 30% of the griffin's HP. After that, Fiona and Andria ganged up on the legendary beast with basic attacks. This was the unfortunate part of this clear that was impossible to speed up, at least not to Fiona's knowledge.
"Thank you for the help," Fiona said.
"You may call upon my services at any time, Your Majesty." On that note, Andria returned to Mid. On the other hand, there was no lane for Fiona to return to, therefore she had to carefully decide on her next destination.
There were two attractive options. She could either rotate toward Bot Jungle to target the other Griffin Camp, or she could return to her side of the jungle and clean up all the camps she skipped on during the opening.
After running a quick calculation in her head, Fiona concluded it was best to sweep through Top Jungle first. The biggest consideration was the fact the Wraith Camp was still online on Fiona's side. This camp provided decent farm and a buff to boot, which together were more valuable than the Griffin Camp.
Furthermore, heading to the Wraith Camp would put her closer to Top. In other words, she would be in a position to gank the lane if an opportunity presents itself.
Better yet, the enemy would be completely unaware of that fact. After all, the Valkyries struck Average down before he placed his wards, so it was safe to assume the majority of Top Jungle was currently unwarded.
Thus, the only outside party who could monitor Fiona's movements in detail was the audience. In particular, Yuel and Vincent.
"Oh, so she chose to head to Top!" Vincent exclaimed. "Interesting, interesting indeed! What is your take on this, Chessmaster?"
"It's a solid decision," Yuel said. "This will net her more exp and gold in total than going after the griffins, not to mention the buff. Also, bonus points if she has any plans of ganking Top, which I feel she does."
Based on the games thus far, it was apparent Fiona was a pragmatic Jungler. She almost always made the right call for her rotations, prioritizing efficiency above everything else. In fact, her jungling was so well optimized it was hard to believe she had less than a year of experience.
She might very well be the best Jungler in the region right now. Yuel thought. I'd say the only one who gives her real competition is Winner. And, maybe StormMonster too, but he hasn't been on the stage ever since our scrim, and neither has the rest of the triangle for that matter.
As unfortunate as it was to admit, Stratus' Junglers didn't measure up at all. One was a memer and the other was an unreliable sleepyhead, though she has been getting much better in that department ever since the Leo scrimmage.
Nia has potential but she needs more polish. She's too inconsistent right now. Yuel criticized. So yes, all in all, I'd say that probably makes Fiona the best Jungler in this region, surprisingly enough.
Vincent seemed to agree on the matter. He has been singing praises to Fiona's performance ever since her debut.
"She is indeed the Pragmatic Scheduler, just as I thought!" He already dabbed her such based on the Leo scrim, and now he was more convinced than ever she deserved the title!
In the same way the Landberht Princess subjected herself to an inhumanly packed daily routine, she also knew no rest as the Jungler. She rotated nonstop from one objective to another with maximum efficiency. There were no breaks, no rests. It's almost as if she was allergic to the mere idea of having any "dead time" in her life.
Even now, as she rotated through the camps in Top Jungle, Rosemary was surely thinking about how there'd be some dead time on the way to Bot Jungle. Therefore, it was almost certain she'd try to pick up a fight in Top if the enemy gave her even the slightest of opportunities!
She's like a living example of a textbook Jungler. Yuel thought. She doesn't do anything too special most of the time, but each of her plays is polished and well-timed. She's like a meta incarnate.
This efficient meta playstyle was very reminiscent of Fiona's approach to chess. She was the type of theory player who studied countless openings and arrangements, allowing her to swiftly defuse complicated board positions.
Back in elementary school, Yuel considered himself a fairly strong theory player as well. But, he didn't hold a candle to the renowned Landberht Princess. When he had to face her on the stage, he came to realize just how much ahead of him the girl was.
Is she going to be the same way in Classmancers, too? Yuel wondered. Can she really pick up the game's theory so quickly and reach a competitive level? I've worked hard for two years to get here, and yet this girl...
Perhaps Fiona was really one of the very few people out there who actually deserved to be called a "genius". Yuel generally frowned about how thoughtlessly others threw this term around, but it felt fitting for somebody like Fiona who always found a way to excel no matter which sport she dabbled in.
With Fiona on board, maybe the Valkyries will end up being another team we'll have to look out for at the regionals.
And indeed, they have been playing a very solid game thus far. There was Fiona, who zigzagged from one corner of the jungle to the other with efficient scheduling, but the other members also fared decently in their respective lanes.
In particular, the most interesting lane was Mid, where Julia played...
If you're enjoying the story, please review it and vote for it. つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
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