Bab 338: Luring the Hawk
[So, she decided to retreat.] Jin concluded from Ignis's actions.
The woman ventured into the jungle to not make her schemes too obvious. However, given her remaining HP and MP, she was certainly planning to recall. Nevertheless…
"Top missing," Jin informed just in case. "She is probably recalling but I can't know for sure."
"Got it." Adapting, the Mid Laner, replied. He's the only one who had to worry about that piece of information at the moment. If Ignis's plan was to rotate somewhere, it could only be toward Mid.
With that formality out of the way, Jin focused on his lane.
[I booted Ignis out of the lane, that's a good start. But, she's adapting to my KC. I have to press my advantage now while I have the chance.]
After clearing the enemy minions, Jin pushed onward with his army. Despite the risks, he was planning to invade deep into enemy territory and deliver a hefty blow at the enemy Turret. At least, that's how it seemed.
"Aren't you overextending a little too much?" Howard asked. "Their Jungler should still be around Top Jungle."
"Yes, he most likely heading over here," Jin reasoned as he continued charging forward.
"If you're aware of it, then why are you overextending? You remember that you're playing against pros, right?"
"Yes, I noticed we're playing against pros. That's why I'm going for a play like this."
"Say what?" Howard raised an eyebrow. "Against pros, you should be playing safer, not riskier."
"No, the opposite," Jin claimed. "When opponent is stronger, the only way to win is by taking risks with big payoff. If you play safe, you let the strong opponent remain strong."
"So, you're saying you [have] to take some risks if you want to win against them?"
"Yes. If I take a risk and it pays off, I have a chance to beat a stronger opponent."
"Is that so." Howard made a face. [That sounds like something Yuel would say. I bet those two would make good friends.]
"Alright," Howard conceded. "You do you. But, keep in mind that I advised you to retreat. So, it's not my fault if you end up dead."
"Sure," Jin responded. [What a nosy captain. It reminds me of Cato's shot-calling. It's really weak.]
Jin had no intention of turning back. Despite the danger, he pressed onward, right toward the enemy Turret area.
However, he didn't dare to step inside, that would truly be too dangerous. His primary goal here was to safely deliver his minions to the tower.
While Jin was blatantly overextending like this, a confident predator was creeping up to him.
"Look at this kid, overextending in our face like that." Hawk snickered. "It's like he's asking to be ganked."
"That damn brat." Ignis scoffed. "Looks like he's partying hard right now, thinking he 'won' just because I recalled first."
"Is that really the case?" Esmeralda tilted her head. "From the way you've been saying about Jinjin, it sounded like he's a very skilled boy."
"I only said he does a passable job in fights. I bet he sucks in everything else."
"My, but wasn't his farming solid as well?"
"Yeah, I guess it was. But, that gotta be all he's good at."
"Is that really so?" Esmeralda didn't buy that. [A cute boy who can match Igny in both laning and combat won't suddenly overextend like that. It has to be a trap of some sort. This is getting more interesting by the moment~]
As an expert at baiting opponents, Esmeralda could tell that Jinjin's "overextension" was some sort of ploy. The boy put a mark on his own back. He was baiting Hawk.
"Hawky, be careful," Esmeralda advised. "This wonderboy is planning something for you. Keep your eyes peeled."
"Excuse me? Are you seriously worried I gonna have trouble with some kid?" Hawk made a face. "C'mon, you guys. I know you like making fun of me for being new on the team, but I'm not [that] bad."
"Reminder: even Igny didn't fare so well against that wonderboy."
"Hey, no true!" Ignis butted it. "It was just a warm-up, that's all. Yeah, I was just testing the waters."
"I'm sure you were~" Esmeralda smiled sweetly.
"Next round, I'mma kick his ass!"
"Of course you will~ You're the best~"
"Yeah, you got that right!" Ignis lifted her chin.
[Alrighty, now that we're done with the ego trip...] Esmeralda returned on topic. "Hawky, I'll just say this: don't take anything for granted. Jinjin is clearly a league above the other children. So, don't assume you can run over him that easily."
"Sure, sure." Hawk shrugged. "Man, you always worry too much about everything, don't you?"
"Mommy has to worry about her children~"
Despite the advice, Hawk had every intention to open an attack on the overextending Knight. He wasn't worried about any of this in the slightest, but he couldn't entirely ignore Esmeralda's words either.
[I mean, this kid did give Ignis some trouble.] Hawk thought. [Like, she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and I bet she underestimated the kid on top of that. But still, it doesn't look good.]
With that said, Ignis was a veteran member of the team, so everybody gave her a free pass. But, they surely won't be as nice toward Hawk if he makes a similar mistake.
[I'm still on my trial period so I can't afford to do anything too stupid, not even against middle schoolers.]
As the fresh meat of the team, who only recently advanced from the Cleaners, Hawk was at a delicate moment of his career. There were countless stories out there about C-Leaguers who prematurely entered the B-League and performed poorly.
In some of these cases, the player left a terrible impression on everybody and got demoted back to C-League right away. After that, it took them years to get back to B-League again. And, that's only for those who [did] make it back. Some of them just straight up didn't.
[I definitely don't want that.] Hawk thought. [Ronshfelt is here watching, so I can't do anything stupid. This old man is always smiling and all, but I know he can be ruthless. If he doesn't like what he sees - he gonna give me the boot without batting an eye.]
Hawk absolutely wasn't allowed to mess up this gank. Therefore, given how little he knew about the extent of the target's potential, he couldn't make any assumptions.
[I better take Esmeralda's advice into consideration here. There are many things I can say about that woman, but her intuition tends to be on point. So, I'll pretend I'm about to gank a pro. Though, a real pro wouldn't overextend so obviously like this…]
Nonetheless, Hawk did his best to disregard that bias and analyze the situation as thoroughly as possible.
Data gathering was the most crucial part of the Jungler's job. It was the key to delivering the most optimal ganks possible, far more important than the Jungler's mechanical skill.
As long as the Jungler had all the right information, he could always go for the winning move. Such was Hawk's belief.
[So, he's pushing the minions into the tower.] Hawk carefully analyzed the scene, like a detective searching for evidence. [Is this kid really going to enter the tower area? No, of course not. He's not that suicidal, at least.]
The target halted before stepping into the tower area. It was both surprising and understandable at the same time. No matter how bold of a player Apprentece was, he wouldn't dare to place himself in imminent danger like that. After all, getting ganked inside the enemy's tower area was about as bad as it could possibly get.
[Looks like Esmeralda was right on the money. This kid is up to something, I see that now.]
At the very least, it was clear Apprentence wasn't blindly overextending. The kid wasn't drunk from his recent victory against Ignis.
No, Apprentece came here with a clear plan in mind. And, Hawk almost fell for the trap if not for Esmeralda's timely advice.
[Odd.] Jin thought. [I was expecting to be ganked by now. Did I overestimate how fast their Jungler can get here? Or, maybe they decided to give up on this wave? No, I doubt it.]
Jin researched everybody from the Sweepers, so he knew what kind of player Hawk was.
Despite being a newcomer to the Sweepers, there were plenty of match records from Hawk's time in the Cleaners. The guy didn't stand out when it came to mechanical skill, but he made up for it with his sharp decision-making.
As such, Hawk wasn't the kind of Jungler who instilled much fear when he launched an attack all by himself. However, he excelled at being at the right place at the right time, oftentimes doing the "right thing" considering his skill level.
[So, he was supposed to get here by now.] Jin thought. [There's no way somebody like him would let my minions push the tower for free. Getting to the scene on time is about the only impressive thing about Hawk as a player, so he should be playing to that strength. But, considering he hasn't ganked yet…]
There was only one possible explanation: Hawk saw through Jin's plan. Most likely, the predator was currently in the process of closely observing its prey from around the corner, carefully planning his line of attack.
[This puts me in an awkward spot.] Jin thought. [The entire idea behind this "overextension" was to intercept the Jungler and divert his attention from the minions.]
By presenting himself as an "easy target", Jin hoped to bait Hawk into attacking him instead of clearing the minions. And, while the two were engaged in combat, Jin's minions would deliver hefty damage on the tower.
It was a risky plan but it was a calculated risk. After all, Hawk was one of the weakest members of the Sweepers when it came to 1v1 combat.
[And, I've already confirmed I can match Ignis in combat.] Jin nodded to himself. [Ignis is one of the better duelists on their team. So, if I can handle her, I can surely handle Hawk too.]
That belief was at the core of Jin's calculated risk. He overextended in order to lure in an opponent who shouldn't pose too much of a threat in a duel. From there, all he had to do was to confront Hawk and drag the battle out.
Alas, for one reason or another, Hawk was taking his sweet time rotating to the lane. As a result, Jin's minions have already started ganging up on the Turret.
In a way, everything was going even better than expected. But, why?
[Are they underestimating me? Is that why Hawk didn't bother to rotate?] Jin wondered. [Or, maybe Ignis decided to give herself some sort of handicap? She totally seems like the type to give an advantage to somebody she underestimates, just so she can prove her superiority by beating them from a bad position.]
If any of that was true, it'd be rather sad. It'll surely make Jin's life easier during this exam, but it'll also mean that the Sweepers weren't taking him seriously so far.
Besides, all of that was conjecture at the moment. There was also the very likely possibility that Hawk planned to rotate to the lane as Jin predicted, but then stopped at the last moment for whatever reason. It was best to stay vigilant.
[Is Hawk studying my actions right now?] Jin wondered. [This isn't a bad outcome for me, but it does put me in an awkward spot.]
Jin advanced all the way here with his minions, but he never had any intention of stepping into the tower range. The plan was to retreat as soon as enemies arrive, yet there were no enemies in sight at present.
[In other words, this looks like a great opportunity for me to push. Yet here I am, standing outside the tower area like a scarecrow. I bet this doesn't look too good for the audience.]
Hopefully, the ones judging his performance in this game will understand the situation properly. That, even though there was no solid proof, it was best for Jin to act under the assumption that Hawk was nearby, biding his time.
So, assuming he's there, how will Hawk respond to this situation? Judging by how that Jungler usually played, he'll most certainly attempt to intercept Jin in the middle of the lane. That was the best way to cut off Jin, an option that only opened up for Hawk because he patiently waited before making his move.
Hawk excelled at decision-making, so he would see this as a great opportunity to strike. Jin was at 60% HP and the Sweepers probably haven't registered him as a major threat yet, so Hawk had every reason to strike.
[This is a slightly worse situation than how I envisioned my original plan.] Jin thought. [But, I can still make this work to my advantage. The question is whether I trust StormBlitz's Jungler.]
The team's Jungler, Average, was in the middle rotating to the Wolf Camp near Top Lane. In other words, he was close enough to provide Jin with assistance in case a fight breaks out. But, how useful was this guy actually going to be?
For laners, the team's Jungler was like an additional resource that was occasionally available for them. And, to use this resource efficiently, it was important to first understand its potency. Alas, that was one piece of information Jin didn't have.
[I saw a replay of StormBlitz's first scrimmage, but their opponents were too weak. So, I can't determine how Average will fare against pros. I can only judge him based on what little I saw of the previous game when I arrived, but even that information is probably far from reliable.]
Nonetheless, Jin had to use anything he could to gain information, for information was power.
Judging by the previous game between the Sweepers and StormBlitz, Average did a passable job overall. Of course, that was far from reassuring, but at least it suggested that using this Jungler won't be a complete disaster. Probably.
"Jungler, can you please rotate to Top?" Jin requested. "The enemy Jungler is going to gank me soon, so I appreciate some help."
"Sure thing, buddy!" Average replied. "By the way, the name is Dan."
"Thank you."
With that, the stage was set. Jin prepared all the pieces he needed against Hawk's most likely course of action. The ball was now in Hawk's court.
Will this Jungler pro really go for the play Jin was anticipating?
[I can cut the kid off in the middle.] Hawk invaded the lane from the jungle. "Sorry Igny, I can't clear the minions for you at the moment. I got this great opportunity to gank the kid."
"Tch." Ignis clicked her tongue as she watched her tower getting demolished. "You really think you gonna get anything good started there? I mean, brat or not, this whippersnapper even gave me a tiny bit of trouble."
"Yeah, I probably won't get a kill," Hawk admitted. "But, pretty sure I can at least kick him out of the lane."
"You better do, or else your entire rotation would be a waste."
[Nice encouragement there, teammate.] Hawk made a face, but then shook his head and concentrated on the upcoming play. That kind of treatment was nothing new, so it was fine.
Hawk hasn't had many opportunities yet to prove himself worthy of playing on this B-League team, so this was one chance to show off a little. He'll smack this Korean kid who gave Ignis trouble. That should make him look good compared to Ignis, who was a veteran on the team. It was a tiny step, but it'll nonetheless bring him a little closer to establishing himself as an adequate B-Leaguer in everybody's eyes.
[Okay, let's go!] Hawk arrived in the middle of the lane, ready for combat!
Even though he wasn't as strong of a fighter as Ignis, he had one great advantage for this fight: his ranged basic attacks as a Vampire. So, by cutting off the enemy's best escape route like this, Hawk had the opportunity to bombard the incoming opponent nonstop!
[Let's get this party started, kid!] Hawk fired a bat at the approaching Knight. And so, the fight was on!
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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