The Dark Knight appeared in his Nightmare form out of thin air, right in front of Sonya!

He came over here after all!? Sonya jumped. A-And this timing, too...!

This was bad. Very bad. Exceptionally bad!

Ugh, move already! Sonya had just finished charging forward with her Draconic Rush and now commanded her avatar to start running again. Alas, the Dragonborn refused to heed her orders. C'mon! Tch, this inconvenient recovery animation...!

With great power came great responsibility, that was the best way to describe Draconic Rush. It was a great charge attack that granted invincibility to boot, but it had a needlessly long recovery animation that couldn't even be canceled into a Dodge Roll.

Thus, as the final parts of the charging animation played out, Sonya was practically rooted in place like a tree. Yes, she was right there, almost immobile, in front of the biggest threat of this game - the Dark Knight!

Naturally, the enemy didn't waste any time exploiting this temporary weakness. Memer raised his blade of darkness and swung it swiftly, unleashing a Dark Blast right in Sonya’s face!

He started off with that right away!? Sonya grit her teeth. Curses! I was hoping he'll use some basics first, considering he got me in melee range. What a pain in the neck...!

Thump. Thump. Thumpthump. Sonya heard the sound of her heartbeat echoing inside her head. This was bad. Bad. Bad. Bad!

Am I going to die here? No, forget it. That’s a pointless question that doesn’t help the situation in any shape or form. Sonya took a deep breath and exhaled. I just have to run! That's all I can do right now.

Yes, she just had to keep running away, it was that simple. Both of her escape tools were out of commission, so running away was all she could do.

There weren't any sophisticated plays for her to pull off at this point, so thinking too hard about the situation was as pointless as it was frustrating. There was a time and a place for overanalyzing things, and this wasn't one of them.

Right now, she just had to run!

"The Dark Knight is here!" Sonya informed amidst her escape.

Her teammates had probably already noticed the situation by now but none of them could lend a hand. With Cato all the way down in Bot Jungle, he couldn’t possibly make it in time to help.

I'm already below 50%. Sonya analyzed. I'll get one more roll before dying, so I have to make the most of it. If I roll straight toward the tower, then I might still make it.

The Dark Knight was breathing down on her neck. The black blade slashed her back repeatedly, dealing decent damage.

Normally, Dark Knight’s basics weren’t anything too special. However, Memer was using his Nightmare skill to buff his power. Though it didn’t make a huge difference in terms of damage output, it was enough to turn his attacks into a threat as the damage accumulated.

In addition, Nightmare accelerated Memer’s Movement Speed. That’s what allowed the normally slow Dark Knight to keep up with Sonya despite the fact he was also dishing out attacks while running.

With that said, the damage was coming in rather slowly. A lot of it was mitigated thanks to the flat defense coming from Dragonborn’s passive, Draconic Scales.

On top of that, Sonya started the game with a defensive build that increased her Max HP quite substantially. So, unlike the explosive damage of the earlier Dark Blast, the Dark Knight’s basic attacks were manageable.

At this point, the greater threat was the Berserker, who was about to catch up to Sonya at any moment. Together, these two predators will mow her down within seconds.

If only I could tell the Berserker's exact position. Sonya frowned. I could've used this data to make my next roll a lot better.

Alas, she didn’t have eyes on her back, and turning around to gather the necessary data would take too long.

Also, his leap will come online before my roll. Sonya recalled the cooldown differences between Dodge Roll and Savage Leap. Even though both players had spent their skills at about the same time, the Berserker’s Savage Leap was going to come off cooldown first.

Will he jump me as soon as he gets the chance? Or, will he wait for me to make the first move? This was yet another outguessing round between her and Blackhole.

If Sonya rolls first, then Blackhole will be able to see where she goes and target his leap accordingly. On the other hand, if Blackhole acts first, then he’ll be gambling on whether or not Sonya will manage to roll away in time.

Whoever makes the first move loses, but… Sonya didn’t have the luxury of starting a cold war here.

SLASH! The heavy blade cut through her back, eating another 4% of her HP.

She had already fallen down to 40% HP. Time was ticking.

I have to roll as soon as I’m able. There’s no other choice. There was no time to read the situation or outguess the enemy.

Alright, now! Sonya rolled the moment Dodge Roll came out of cooldown.

It was a simple roll, directed straight toward her tower area. There were no tricks, no detours.

She simply had to get back to her tower as quickly as possible. The current situation didn’t permit her any more freedom of action than that.

As expected, this roll did little for shaking the pursuers off her tail.

The Dark Knight rolled right after her. CLANK. CLANK. The sound of his metal armor hitting the ground followed Sonya closely.

At about the same time, a loud leap resounded. It meant the Berserker took off and was about to come down crashing on Sonya as well.

There was simply no escape from the two predators.

But, I’m already at the tower. Sonya sighed in relief when she found herself inside the tower area after the roll. Now, her opponents will no longer be able to pursue her-

BAM! The Berserker crashed into the ground right beside her!

Fortunately, it wasn’t a direct hit. A point-point attack would have pinned Sonya to the ground for a second, most likely sealing her fate. However, Blackhole missed that golden opportunity to deliver the final blow.

Nevertheless, Sonya didn’t escape the attack unharmed. The heavy landing unleashed an AoE shockwave, bringing Sonya’s HP all the way down to 27%.

I’m really running low, but I’m still alive and I’ve already achieved my win condition. They can’t chase me any further.

Sonya retreated deeper into the tower area. If her pursuers had any shred of common sense, then they would not risk following her any further, not under the Turret’s watchful eye.

Alas, the persistent fellows apparently had no intention of giving up.

SLASH! A sword clipped Sonya from behind. Memer must’ve slashed her right after he finished rolling.

HACK! Blackhole drove his axe into Sonya’s shoulder from the other side.

A-Are they planning to keep on going!? Sonya grit her teeth. This was bad. Very bad. Very, very, VERY bad. I can’t die here. If I do, then...

She didn’t even dare to simulate the scenario in her head. At the bare minimum, the team would lose their Top Turret as a result.

For a hyper-aggressive team, such an immense early-game advantage will surely open the door for countless other strong plays. In fact, it wasn’t an exaggeration to claim that Sonya’s death here might seal the fate of this entire game!

I-I don’t want that kind of responsibility, thank you very much. Sweat formed on her forehead. They might be able to take the tower either way once I recall, but at least I’ll be able to defend in the next wave as long as I’m alive. So, I must survive. I simply must.

Alas, her HP already dropped below 20%. With two fearless pursuers hot on her tail, Sonya’s chances of survival were slim to none.

In fact, she would’ve been already dead if the Dark Knight had access to his ultimate right now. With her HP running this low, it was possible to execute Sonya on the spot with Gate of Sheol.

Fortunately, this gank happened just a little too early. The way the meta worked at the moment, all players were expected to hit Lv. 5 after fully finishing the current minion wave.

Of course, Junglers weren’t as bound to the same hard rule as laners because their farming paths were more dynamic. Nonetheless, the game’s exp economy was balanced enough to ensure that laners and Jungelrs both gained exp at roughly the same rate.

Therefore, normally, Junglers would also hit Lv.5 sometime after the current minion wave. Yes, normally...

Thinking of it, I haven't checked his level when he appeared. A shudder ran through Sonya upon the realization.

Amidst the chaos that ensued after Memer showed up, Sonya didn’t have the luxury to examine the details. As such, considering that the Dark Knight got ahead of the others in farm thanks to his early-game power, it was very much possible that he was already Lv. 5.

Well, nothing I can do about it now. Sonya thought. I just have to trust the balance of the exp economy and hope that he doesn’t have his-

“Death to the feeble!” A deep metallic voice resounded.

“Ah!” Sonya nearly choked from shock. It was here! Dark Knight’s ultimate, Gate of Sheol, was unleashed!

C-Cruses! Did he really hit Lv.5 so much earlier than everybody else!? Sonya grit her teeth. What is this nonsensical Jungler pick even supposed to be? It makes no sense! And yet...

Black miasma spread across the tower area, seeking to claim the lives of those who were on the verge of death. And, it just so happened that Sonya was a fitting victim for that criteria.

Countless skeletal hands grabbed her from behind. There was no escape, no dodging, and no invincibility that could convince these skeletons to stay their hands.

The cold white bones dragged Sonya into the demonic gate, and the rest was history...

『EXECUTED』

『You have been killed!』

“I messed up...” Sonya sighed deeply and dropped back on her chair. Seriously, what did even just happen here...?

The whole situation was so chaotic that her brain’s processing power couldn’t keep up with the flood of incoming data.

First, Blackhole went Berserk and assaulted her. That was inevitable, so nothing too special about that play.

But then, Memer showed up uninvited in Top, contrary to everybody’s expectations. Even Cato, who tried to “play it safe” with his outguess, ended up making the wrong prediction.

Still, even that surprising play was still within the bounds of reason for the most part. The enemy shot-caller simply chose to go for the least predictable play and it paid off.

The gank was shocking at the time, but in hindsight, it was a smart play. Ploys like that were to be expected from Stratus' shot-caller.

So yes, until that point in time, all these plays and decisions followed proper meta logic. However, it was during the chase itself that everything started to overwhelm Sonya.

Her pursuers didn’t give her a moment of rest. She was marked by two highly aggressive opponents, a fearsome duo that wasn’t supposed to ever show up in competitive games according to meta.

And, it wasn’t just the combination of their class picks that piled up the pressure. There was also their fearless attitude at the tower and the fact the Dark Knight gained access to hit ult this early into the game.

In a matter of seconds, the attackers surpassed all of Sonya’s logical expectations.

Well, what’s done is done. Sonya took a deep breath and steeled her heart before facing her teammates. As unpleasant as it was going to be, she had to properly report the details in order to keep everybody in the loop.

“As you probably already saw, the DK ganked me,” Sonya said. “He was also already Lv. 5, so he ulted me to death. That means his ult is down for a while.”

With that, she finished the brief report. Now, she was ready to receive all the criticism she deserved.

“Daaaamn!” Ronald exclaimed. “That was one heck of an aggressive gank! I like it!”

“This isn’t the time to fanboy our opponents’ plays,” William scolded. “This outcome sets us back by a lot. Sonya, how come you couldn’t escape from them? A Dragonborn should be able to do that much.”

“Sorry, my response to the gank wasn’t ideal,” Sonya admitted. “I assumed that I won’t be ganked from the jungle, as that’s what the available data suggested. So, I allowed myself to get too close to the jungle as I retreated, and the rest is history.”

“Hmph.” William left it at that but he clearly wasn’t satisfied with this answer.

“Now, now,” Cato came in to appease. “If you need to blame anybody, then blame me. I’m the one who made the wrong guess in the first place. I should’ve been there to help her out but I focused on Bot Jungle instead.”

“That’s all the more reason she should’ve been more mindful of her position,” William argued. “She knew that you won’t be there to help her out if something happened, so she should’ve been more careful.”

"That's true," Sonya admitted. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Good."

The criticism ended there but it left Sonya with a bitter feeling. Not toward William, but toward herself.

He's absolutely right. What was I doing? Sonya shook her head. Even though I claimed there wasn’t enough data to determine where the DK will gank, I still went ahead and assumed that he won’t gank Top...

Normally, Sonya was better than that. Any data about potential ganks demanded the utmost attention. Yet, this time, Sonya took it lightly without realizing it.

Is it because that Jungler pick is so dumb? Yeah, that's probably it.

Memer was not a clown but the entire circus. So, how could possibly Sonya take the guy seriously?

Sure, in her head, she understood that Memer was an opponent that should be respected like any other. And yet, she simply couldn’t bring herself to do it.

I should've put my prejudice aside. Sonya thought. I mean, I'm the one who helped Jenny flesh out that niche combo playstyle that she insisted to master. So, I should’ve known better than anybody how far a skilled player can take their favorite niche playstyle.

Even the dullest tool could be turned into a professional assassination weapon with sufficient mastery. It was up to the wielder to study the tool to the extreme and practice it tirelessly in order to draw out its full potential. Jennifer definitely achieved that level of mastery with her combo playstyle in her senior year.

Likewise, as much as I don't want to admit it, this Memer clown has also brought his own niche playstyle rather far.

It was distasteful clownery, almost a mockery for this competitive stage. Nonetheless, even this joke of a pick could sometimes work out thanks to sufficient mastery.

It was difficult to accept that because this Dark Knight pick was outright a meme, not a niche playstyle like Jennifer's combo. However, it was undeniable that Memer knew how to bring the best out of it. Thus, Sonya had no choice but to recognize that clown as a serious threat, just like any other opponent here today.

Next time, I won't make such a basic mistake. Sonya promised again, this time to herself.

With that sorted out, Sonya learned a valuable lesson from that unfortunate exchange and planned to make up for it once she revived. But, will she even get a chance to redeem herself during this game?

Following her early death and the inevitable loss of the Top Turret, the pace of this game was about to accelerate very quickly...