Damn, what do I do? Zeph grimaced at the situation looming in front of him. He had plenty of experience playing against cheap Dark Knights in Ranked, but Chessmaster was on a whole different level. There was no catching this guy stumbling. Then, how the fuck do I win this!?

Usually, he’d bait out Dark Blasts with Draconic Charge. Some opponents aimed at him during the startup animation, so he learned to space them out properly. Sometimes he even baited them and dodge-rolled their blasts, then went for Draconic Rush.

Other opponents tried to hit him while he was recovering from Draconic Rush, but they were always too slow. Zeph always dodge-rolled their asses. Ez.

Most Dark Knight opponents realized that all their attempts were futile. So, the best move for them was not playing. They usually stopped contesting his Draconic Rush and let him run loose. This game plan was supposed to be bulletproof.

But, Chessmaster proved there was a gaping hole in it. With precise timing, it was possible to land Dark Blast on Zeph before he regained the ability to roll. He always assumed that was impossible since none of his opponents ever exploited it consistently. But, turned out it was possible to perfectly time this counter.

Everything Zeph believed in came crashing down. It rendered his entire matchup knowledge null and void. There was still a chance that the second hit was a fluke as well, but Zeph didn’t dare to test it. He has already lost 30% HP. Another 15% would hurt way too much.

So, what were his alternatives? How could he charge in and strike the enemy minions without getting hit by Dark Blast? There had to be some way to deal with this shit.

In the first place, why do I have to make the first move? Zeph realized a simple fact. Man, I got way too triggered by that DK pick.

That Dark Knight pick was insulting enough to tilt. Chessmaster must’ve thought he could mop the floor with Zeph. It was so tempting to lunge on that bastard and tear his to shreds! But, Zeph had to be smarter than that. Recklessness wasn’t going to help him win.

Yeah, no reason for me to move first. Zeph concluded. I'll just wait for him to shoot, then I'll charge through it. Ez life.

This was the more careful tactic he employed against good Dark Knight players. The tilt made him forget all about it. Also, it’s been a while since he last fought a decent Dark Knight. The class has mostly died out at higher ranks.

Dark Blast was a relatively reactable attack and Zeph had plenty of experience playing against that broken shit. So, he should be able to pull off this plan no problem.

Okay, let’s do this shit. Zeph collected himself. The next minion wave arrived, but he didn't charge at them. Instead, he carefully eyed the Dark Knight, to not miss even a single twitch. He was waiting for the moment black magic starts forming around the Dark Knight. It’ll be the cue. He won't miss it.

Is he waiting for me to make the first move? Yuel wondered. He's adapting fast. This is definitely a matchup he’s more experienced with. That's nice. It's more interesting this way.

The enemy's plan was probably something along these lines: wait for Yuel to start casting Dark Blast, then charge into it with Draconic Rush. That’ll allow DragonMaster to bypass the damage while slowing down the blast and preventing it from reaching the bowmen.

Dark Blast’s casting animation was relatively slow, so mechanically skilled players could react to it. DragonMaster seemed to be decently skilled, so there was a chance he could pull it off.

Okay, I can play with that. Yuel activated a skill. Dark energy gathered around him.

There it is! Zeph grinned. Patience prevailed! Black miasma began to form around the Dark Knight. It was impossible to cancel Dark Blast once it started, so there was no turning back now. This was the cue!

Zeph booted Draconic Rush and charged forth. He was going to crash into that Dark Blast head first! At least, that was the plan...

Got you. Yuel smirked. He indeed activated a skill, but it wasn’t Dark Blast. It was Nightmare, a feint! The startup animations for both skills started with dark magic forming around the Dark Knight, so it wasn’t easy to tell them apart at a glance. Especially, not when the opponent was eagerly waiting for Dark Blast and wasn’t even considering Nightmare.

Even though Dark Blast was “reactable” for skilled players, the “reaction” was still rooted in guessing. The opponent had to actively expect the Dark Blast and intently observe Yuel’s movements with that expectation in mind. It was necessary to spot the earliest hint of Dark Blast’s startup, or else it’d be too late.

That’s why it was so easy to fake DragonMaster with Nightmare. Under normal circumstances, nobody would say the two skills had similar animations. However, at the time, DragonMaster was eagerly waiting for a Dark Blast. It was the only skill he was expecting. He was 100% concentrated on it. So, even the smallest similarity to Dark Blast’s animation was enough to make him act.

Yuel fired a delayed Dark Blast at the baited Draconic Rush. same as before. The black slash sliced through DragonMaster right as he finished charing in. Clean hit.

“What is even...” Zeph shuddered. Why in the world would a Dark Knight activate Nightmare in that situation? There was absolutely no reason to. “Did I just get baited? You gotta be shitting me...”

Zeph used such a sophisticated tactic, but Chessmaster countered it in an instant. It was absurd. Impossible. Was that bastard some kind of mind reader? How was any of this even possible...

“Ah, right. Gotta retreat,” Zeph shook his head. No matter how unbelievable this situation was, he had to keep it together. He unleashed Draconic Flame on the enemy bowmen, then rolled the heck outta there.

Phew, just in time. Zeph sighed in relief. The Dark Knight almost clobbered him. It was a close one. This was no time to space out.

Man, what the heck. I just can’t beat this guy 1-on-1. Nothing works. A shiver ran through his spine. Everything he tried backfired on his ass. Chessmaster gotta be some sort of genius. There was no beating this mad lad.

Is this the level of the competitive scene here? Zeph shuddered. Maybe he had it backwards all along. Maybe Chessmaster wasn’t that special. Maybe it was Zeph himself who royally sucked.

Nah, no way. C’mon, I’m Diamond II. I’m a good player. Zeph tried to reassure himself. His rank was actually among the best on the team, second only to the captain’s almighty Challenger V. There’s no way Zeph was a scrub. It’s Chessmaster who was that good.

Well, no wonder he’s strong. That’s how good ya gotta be if you wanna play on StormBlitz. Supposedly, StormBlitz’s entrance exam was some real bullshit. Even Jaiden didn’t make it in.

And, I know for sure that Jaiden is one heck of a player, so... Zeph had no choice but to accept this reality. In a 1v1 situation, he had no chance against Chessmaster. That’s probably what Chessmaster thought as well, hence his disrespectful Dark Knight pick. As frustrating as it was to admit, Chessmaster had the right to pick Dark Knight against Zeph. The skill gap between them was too much.

I give up. Zeph sighed. Yep, can’t do this shit. He was out of ideas and there was no point coming up with anything new, since Chessmaster will see through it in an instant. Chessmaster probably knew all the anti-Dark Knight countermeasures anyway, as well as how to shut them down. It was pointless to try anything sophisticated.

I’ll just go back to the basics. There’s only one surefire way to counter DK. Zeph couldn’t win this fight by himself, so why fight alone?

“Hey, Dylan, my guy,” Zeph called out. “This DK over here is giving me some trouble. When can you gank?”

“Gimme like a minute,” Dylan said. “Gotta get to Lv.5 first, then I’ll be ready to bring some damage.”

“Sounds good,” Zeph nodded. “I’ll lure him in the next wave, so be ready.”

“Gotcha.”

Okay, this should work. Zeph thought. He couldn’t beat that Dark Knight by himself, but it didn’t mean he had to surrender the lane. If 1v1 was impossible, he just had to turn it into a 2v1. Ez solution.

No matter how godlike Chessmaster was, he won’t beat both of them at once. They’ll end that bastard’s whole career! Zeph just had to be patient for now. With the next wave, his counterattack will begin!

Here it is. Zeph grinned. The time has come. The next wave was approaching and Dylan was on his way to Top. Good, good.

Once the wave arrived, Zeph took a passive stance. He didn’t advance to the frontline like before. Instead, he was chilling in the back. He had enough of these nasty Dark Blasts that ate 15% HP per hit. Shit was broken beyond repair. Ain’t gonna let him hit me again. No chance.

He changed his approach again. Yuel nodded in satisfaction. He picked Dark Knight with the intention of thoroughly crushing the opposition, but it won’t be any fun if DragonMaster doesn’t put on a fight. There was only value in winning when both sides adapted and struggled to the bitter end. Any less than that won’t count as true competitive experience.

He’s probably inviting me to get ganked. Yuel deduced. A ward revealed the enemy Vampire heading toward Top, so a gank might be on its way. DragonMaster was probably baiting Yuel into overextending and exposing his back to the Vampire. Getting hit by Vampire’s ult meant death in this situation.

Their Vampire is Lv.5, but the Dragonborn is still Lv.4. Yuel assessed the situation. He was holding the upper hand in lane, which made it harder for his opponent to farm efficiently. DragonMaster was still a few minions away from Lv.5. In other words, he couldn’t transform into a dragon yet.

Okay, I’ll play along with this. Yuel nodded. “Nia, are you good to start ganking?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Nia answered. “I’m about to hit Lv.5 and I think I’ve erased my presence pretty well.”

“Perfect,” Yuel said. “Then, come over here. I need you to do me a little favor...”

After he laid out the details of his plan, Yuel advanced along the lane together with his minions. In other words, he was playing right into the enemy’s trap. There was no doubt that the Vampire will appear behind him any moment now. There was little Yuel could do about that. But, it’ll be fine.

“Heh. Hah. Haha!” Zeph laughed at his foolish foe. Seriously? That’s all it took to bait him? And here I thought the guy was some sort of genius. Turns out he’s just a basic scrub. We gonna rek him REAL good!

“He’s coming at me,” Zeph reported.

“Gotcha!” Dylan circled around the unsuspecting Dark Knight and activated Night Hunt. He transformed into a giant bat and darted toward his prey!

“Got his ass!” Dylan rammed into the Dark Knight and dug his fangs into the victim’s neck. The intense bite paralyzed the Dark Knight. The guy became a tasty snack for the big bat.

“You rock!” Zeph rushed to the scene. The tables have turned. Chessmaster was acting as the aggressor until a few moments ago, but now it was Zeph’s turn! “Game over, fam!”

Zeph couldn’t win this fight alone. But, together with Dylan, it was a walk in the park. Dylan was holding Chessmaster in place, while Zeph was unleashing a flurry of slashes on that cocky bastard!

“The Dragonborn is here,” Yuel reported matter-of-factly. Even though the situation looked like a total disaster, he was in control of the situation. His opponents were as predictable as he expected, so everything was going according to plan.

“Coming,” Nia entered the lane in stealth. Her target was none other than the overextending Dragonborn. The guy dared to set foot on the frontline with just 60% HP, before even reaching Lv.5. He was practically begging to be killed.

But, the guy himself probably didn’t realize any of that. He continued attacking Yuel without a single care in the world.

“Haha! You’re dead, fucker- wha!?” Zeph swallowed his words. Something slashed him from behind. It was impossible, but it happened.

This should’ve been a 1v2 situation. There should’ve been only three players here. Nonetheless, an unexpected fourth player appeared. An intruder that came outta left field. A stealthy assassin who crept right behind Zeph’s back!

“S-Stop! Noooooooo!” Zeph’s cries fell on deaf ears. The assassin had no mercy to spare. The Ninja wrapped her arms around him and prepared to launch into the air.

W-Wait! I can break out of it! Zeph’s instincts as a Dragonborn main kicked in. Transforming into a dragon cleansed all CC, including the grab of Izuna Drop. Yes! That was his ticket out! He just had to use his ult... oh.

I’m not Lv.5 yet. Heh. Haha. Fuck. Zeph smacked his forehead. He messed up bad. Like, real bad. The tilt got him. He was too eager to unleash vengeance on the Chessmaster. If he was his usual self, he would have remembered that his top priority should’ve been hitting Lv.5. Also, he would’ve considered the possibility of an enemy gank and played around it.

Damn. I’m screwed. Zeph sighed in defeat while the ninja was taking him on a tour through the sky They traveled high, then crashed into the ground like a meteor. Over 35% HP vanished in an instant.

His Draconic Scales mitigated some damage, but it was a negligible amount. Against a single mighty strike, deducting a flat amount didn’t change anything. If only Draonic Scales provided percentage-based damage reduction... Damn it all.

“Holy fuck, a counter gank!?” Dylan’s loud voice brought Zeph back to earth. “Damn, you better scram, bro.”

“R-Right!” Zeph shook his head. This was no time to sit here and complain. If he had the time to rant, he also had the time to run the heck outta here!

That Izuna Drop was a lot of damage, but it wasn’t over for him yet. He still had a little over 20% HP. He could still make it out of here alive! He recovered from the stagger that followed the crash and broke into a dash.

SLASH! A dagger cut through his chest as soon as he set out. That damn Ninja attacked him right as he recovered! She was a ruthless assassin.

Thankfully, Draconic Scales reduced the incoming damage from her strikes, and this time it was actually helpful. The damn Ninja won’t be taking Zeph down so easily. He’ll survive through this shit and get outta here!

"Death to the feeble!" A metallic voice resounded throughout the area. It froze Zeph’s blood.

“No way...” Zeph could only mumble. He knew exactly what was about to happen. What’s my HP, again? Oh yes, it’s below 20%. Haha. It’s over.

“Goddamit!” Zeph crashed into the table with his forehead. He didn’t want to watch that shit.

Nevertheless, the system voice made sure to deliver the depressing news right into his ear.

『EXECUTED』

『FIRST BLOOD!』

"Dyl, you better get outta there..." Zeph mumbled under his breath.

"Well duh, I'm already out," Dylan said. "That was one awkward gank."

"Yeah..." Zeph's words trailed off. His mind short-circuited. He couldn't form coherent thoughts. Or rather, he didn’t feel like thinking about anything.

His entire laning experience this game was one disaster after another. The skill gap between him and Chessmaster was too much. He felt like an ant challenging a dragon. Chessmaster thoroughly and utterly destroyed him, in both body and mind.

Is everybody in StormBlitz at that level? Zeph wondered. Man, good thing we aren’t scrimmaging with them this year, haha... He produced a hollow laugh as he slumped on his chair. Hopefully, the other lanes were doing better. If not, this game gonna be a wrap...