บท 414: The Early-Game Thrown Into Disarray

"Phew, made it!" Ronald finally escaped to safety. "Thanks, bro! Totally saved my ass back there, haha."

"Hmph." Willaim scuffed. "Next time, how about you avoid doing stupid stuff like overextending against dangerous opponents? You've lost almost all your HP for nothing."

"Hey, not for nothing!" Ronald objected. "I did place the ward in the end. Just look over there."

Indeed, as he was saying, there was a ward placed in the area from which he had barely escaped alive.

"Huh." William made a face. "When did you even have the time to place it?"

"Hehe! I saw the danger coming, so I jammed in that bad boi right before I bolted. Totally a pro move, isn't it?"

"What are you so proud of?" Cato criticized. "Half of the ward's vision is blocked by a wall."

"Well EXCUSE ME, I was kinda in a hurry. These bruhs were trying to murder my ass, you know?"

"Yes, because you weren't supposed to be all the way over there in the first place."

"Oh c'mon." Ronald shrugged. "Sure, it was a little dangerous for a moment there, but nothing bad happened in the end, right? Get off my case already."

"Nothing bad happened? Really? Nothing?"

"Well, I'm still alive and kicking, ya know?"

"Yes, but you seem to be forgetting that you're running extremely low on HP," Cato reminded. "The DK can kill you with one blast, so you're pretty much obligated to recall."

"Yeaaaah, I guess I better evacuate, huh." Ronald awkwardly scratched his head. "But bro, is this really okay? Can you guys clear the ogres fine without me?"

"Nothing about this is 'okay' by any stretch of the imagination," William said. "But, we'll have to manage."

"Yeah, I figured it might be a little rough." Ronald nodded.

Seraph was a hella weak bruh in the early-game, and Sorcerer was awful at Lv. 1 without access to at least two spells. So, the two of them were gonna struggle against the Ogre Camp for sure. They definitely needed Ronald to help them out with his amazing power build!

"Okay, no problem!" Ronald announced. "I'mma stay to help you bruhs with the ogres, then I'll recall after that."

"No, you recall now, young man," Cato ordered. "Thanks to your recklessness, the chances of an early invasion have skyrocketed. If you stay to farm the ogres, they'll target and kill you first."

"C'mon, it'll be fine!" Ronald insisted. "If they show up, I'mma just retreat. If they don't, we'll get to clear the camp real fast."

"Go back to base," William ordered as well. "You're just putting yourself in danger here for no reason. Heal up and return to help me in the lane."

"Gotcha, bro!" Ronald followed his brother's orders without voicing a single rebuttal. He began recalling right away like a good kid.

[I wish he also listened like this to me, the CAPTAIN.] Cato grumped. [Well, whatever. As long as he's gone, that's one thing less to worry about. Now, the remaining question is...]

"Matt, Will. What do you want to do?" Cato asked.

"What a drag..." Matthew muttered. He had a very good reason to be upset about this development because Sorcerer had to be at least Lv. 2 to be relevant.

He had to unlock the Magia Orb spell in order to place an orb on the field, and then he also needed one more spell that interacted with the orb in a meaningful way. Until that point, Sorcerer was extremely weak and vulnerable.

Normally, farming the Ogre Camp at game start was enough to bump the Mid Laner to Lv. 2. So, by the time the Sorcerer made it to the lane, he was already equipped for the laning phase.

Alas, it seemed unlikely they'll be able to clear the Ogre Camp at this rate...

"I don't really like this idea, but I can level up my 3 first," Matthew suggested. "Then, we can try clearing the ogres if the enemy doesn't invade."

Normally, Repelling Force was the last spell a Sorcerer would like to level up. It was rather costly in terms of MP and it wasn't used as often for wave clearing, therefore leveling up Magia Orb and Dimensional Collapse usually took priority.

However, in a situation where the Sorcerer had to farm by using only one spell, then Repelling Force was the only real option. Unlike Dimensional Collapse, Repelling Force didn't require a Magia Orb to be present on the field, therefore it could be used as a simple burst damage spell.

"A good idea but I doubt they'll let us clear the ogres," William said. "We could farm the hyenas or wolves instead, but I doubt it'll be efficient."

"Yeah, I don't think so either," Matthew agreed. "Not with our classes, anyway."

"Yep, it doesn't sound too great," Cato also agreed after running a quick calculation. "It won't be enough to level you up, and you won't be able to clear the camps fast enough to justify the rewards. So, if you're not farming ogres, then I believe it's best for you to head straight to your lanes. Is my analysis on point, my secretary?"

"Who's your secretary?" Sonya hated herself for even responding to this. "But yes, you're right. It should be optimal to simply go to lane in this situation."

"Figured." William nodded. "So, we're at the mercy of our opponents' decision."

"So it seems." Cato frowned. "I'd like to thank you for this once again, Ronald. You set us up for a great opening position."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time." Ronald pouted. "I know, I messed up a little. Now, can you stop droning about it already? It's not like it's the end of the world, ya know? We'll turn this around. Ez!"

"My, the sheer amount of unfounded confidence you have never ceased to amaze me. Where is this guy drawing all that confidence from, Will?"

"I wish I knew."

"Right?" Cato smiled dryly. [Then again, Will can get stubborn like that sometimes, too. Seriously, these brothers must've been injected with some overconfidence genes when they were born.]

Cato could only sigh. This unfortunate development was completely outside his control, yet he was the one responsible for clearing up the mess. Not just as the team's captain, but also as the strategist who was supposed to lead the team to victory against Yuel's ploys.

It's like he was holding a chess match against Yuel but some of his pieces moved on their own against Cato's will. He had no direct control over the pieces' actions, yet he was responsible for the outcome all the same.

[Making dumb mistakes during the mid-game is one thing, but making a critical mistake like this in the very opening? That's a whole new level. Sigh.]

The opening of every game was supposed to be the easiest part, composed of nothing but textbook meta moves. It was the most well-researched and organized phase of the game, one where surprises and mistakes were almost unheard of on the competitive level.

[I can rotate to Bot to help them farm, but that'll only sprawl the opening even more out of control.] Cato reasoned. [Besides, that'll mean leaving Sonya alone over here. She can't clear the wraiths on her own that well, so either way, one side of the map will be screwed.]

There was simply no solution for this awkward situation, no matter how much Cato thought about it. Though, that was a given, considering Sonya didn't suggest any alternatives either. If even TheTheorist couldn't come up with a good play for this situation, then such a play most likely didn't exist.

[What a start.] Cato shook his head. [This was supposed to be the game where we convincingly crush Stratus, but look at us now. I'm sure the other teams in the audience are turning us into a laughingstock at this very moment. Sigh. So much for being the "regional champions". THANK YOU, RONALD.]

"I think you should let it go," Matthew whispered via private communication. "There's nothing you can do about it now."

"Yes, you're right. Thanks. For a moment there, salt was getting the best of me."

Matthew was right. There was no point crying over spilled milk. The game had just started, so Cato still had plenty of time to turn things around.

[I'll just have to return the favor in kind.] Cato asserted. [In fact, wouldn't it make us look even more impressive if we stomp Stratus after starting off on the wrong foot? Yes, that's it! I should use this early failure to my advantage! My, I'm such a genius, muhahaha!]

Cato cackled internally but the smugness was visible to everybody.

[Welp, looks like he got over it.] Matthew smiled wryly. [Phew, that was a close one. When Cato becomes salty, things often go to hell. It looks like I'll have to keep an eye on him. What a drag...]

Truly, Ronald caused countless problems for the team with his "innocent" reckless play. Will the Leopards even be able to recover from this bad start? Or, will Stratus' hyper-aggressive lineup run all over them...?