There he is, just like I thought. Jin o himself.

  As expected, Hawk showed up in the middle of the ne. Not even a sed ter, a bat was already flying toward Jin! But...

  A shallow shot. Jin didn't even try to dodge that one. He simply swung his bde, cutting the bat in half.

  A parry!? Hawk jumped. Also, is it just me, or did he dash a little forward after parrying?

  Hawk has seen tless parries throughout his career, so he could tell something was off about the way this kid moved after that successful parry.

  The Knight's attaimation got celed early following the parry, which was normal. But, on top of that, the Knight also apparently stepped forward immediately.

  Normally, it should be impossible to move again that quickly after using a parry. But, that Knight definitely jumped forward a little as soon as he parried. That had to be...

  The famous Korean Step cel. Hawk figured. Man, this kid really means business. Em was right on the money, I better take this one seriously. I got so used to fighting the other kids today that I almost let my guard down.

  Hawk flipped a swit his head. Instead of just attag quickly for the sake of attag quickly, he slowed down his shots and aimed carefully.

  Against Top Laner pros, it was necessary to fire well-aimed shots which weren't too obvious. Anything too predictable will simply get sidestepped or parried.

  Here goes! Hawk fired a proper, pro-level bat!

  I 't parry this. Jin cluded i split-sed. He stayed his hand to not slow himself down with a whiff, but it was futile. He already wasted too much time analyzing the ining shot to determine whether it could be parried.

  I might’ve been able to sidestep it, but it’s too te now.

  The bat rammed into Jin's side. It was a hit, befitting a pro Vampire pyer.

  Looks like one parry was enough to make Hawk take me seriously. Jin thought. For the better or the worse, he's not as stubborn as Ignis.

  Another bat darted toward Jin. There was no time to rest!

  I’ll have to start guessing here. Jin randomly sidestepped to the right.

  He didn’t have the necessary rea speed to reliably dodge a pro’s shot, especially not while he was on the run. Therefuessing in which dire to juke was the most he could do.

  Lucky! Jin successfully dodged the bat. His guess happeo be on point.

  Damn! Hawk cursed internally. Was it luck? Or, are you tellihis kid actually juke my shots? Nah, no way... right?

  Hawk fired another bat. And, yet again, the brat sidestepped it while running.

  This dang kid, I swear. Hawk chuckled nervously. No way a middle schooler dodge my shots like that. It gotta be blind luck!

  And, unbeknown to Hawk, his oppo was thinking the exact same thing.

  Looks like I’m lucky today. Jin thought. But, this isly a 50/50 guess. The odds are slightly in my favor.

  In theuessing in which dire to sidestep had a 50/50 ce of w. However, that only held true against robots. All humans had patterns, and Hawk was no exception.

  Good thing I checked his tendencies ahead of time. Jin o himself.

  Amidst his extensive research of the Sweepers, Jin made sure to examihe pros’ attack patterns iail. Especially, he was ied in the pyers who employed ratacks. Namely, Argus, Esmeralda, and also Hawk, who seemed to like pig ranged Junglers based on his high pick rate of Vampire, Ranger, and Drow.

  Naturally, the goal of the research was to find weako exploit iackers’ patterns. Ranged pyers were often xer because the range advantage made them feel safe. As a result, some of them didn’t have particurly polished shooting teiques.

  Unfortunately, Argus had a very high-level execution that was difficult to deal with. And, Esmeralda’s shooting patterns made little to no seo put it lightly. She didn’t seem particurly high level, yet her shots worked oddly well, even against oppos who were petent at parrying. As such, Jin couldn’t find any obvious weako exploit.

  That left Hawk, whose execution was det but a little rough around the edges. His shots liked followiain patterns, probably subsciously. Jin noticed that detail when one pro pyer juked all of Hawk’s with great success, reading the guy like a book.

  And so, after studying that match extensively, Jin was now using the same tactic as the pro who tered Hawk.

  As I thought, he likes shooting to my right during these situations. Jin sidestepped to the left in the nick of time. Thanks to his research, he juked three shots in a row.

  However, by stantly moving to the left, Jin found himself pressed against the border of the map. His shoulder grazed the outer border as he ran.

  This isn't just a random habit. He likes shooting to my right side because that pushes me away from the jungle side, making it harder for me to escape.

  But, the specifics didn't matter right now. The important part was that Jin successfully juked all three shots in a row, and finally got close enough to his foe. From here, he'll begin his terattack!

  At the time, his oppo had no idea what was ing...

  "Man, this kid, I'm telling you." Hawk shook his head as he aimed at Apprentece for the fourth time. Did he just seriously juke three of my shots in a row? That's some bull. Is he actually predig them or just reag to them? I 't even tell.

  This was starting to look insane. Hawk’s meical skill lenty passable for B-League. It wasn't anything outstanding but it got the job done.

  In fact, among all the B-Leaguer he has faced so far, only a handful of them mao juke his shots repeatedly. Hawk chalked up these situations to bad lud unusual enemy skill, so he didn't think too much of these occasions.

  A, right in front of his eyes, some middle schooler was recreating the same kind of sario. It was absurdity in the making.

  , don't tell me I have some kind of tic I haven't noticed. Hawk frowned. Well, no poiing distracted by that right now. If I haven’t noticed it until now, then there’s no way I'll figure it out on the spot here. Better focus on nding the st few shots I .

  Hawk’s prey was about to slip past him, pletely unharmed. He couldn’t allow that to e to pass.

  Igny will chew me out if I let her oppo get away unscratched, especially after I skipped on defending her ne. Hawk gulped. Alright, time to start nding them shots!

  Hawk started moving toward his distant oppo with fident strides. Despite how bad the situation looked, there was no reason for . After all, Hawk was the predator and Apprentece was the prey, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

  As, due to that very fidence, Hawk failed to anticipate what came .

  "Wait, wha-!?" As Hawk started approag his foe - a shield flew straight at him! And, the shield had a human attached to it! It was the Knight, charging forth with Shield Bash!

  Is this kid actually attag me!? Hawk couldn't keep up with this sudden turn of events. By the time he pressed to Dodge Roll - it was already too te. The shield rammed into him and stunned him on the spot!

  Unbeknown to Hawk, this was actually the enemy’s pn all along.

  Alright, let's see how far I go with this. Jin followed up on Shield Bash with Bde Swing, sshing through the defenseless stunned Vampire.

  In a matter of seds, he brought his oppo down to 80% HP. And so, the HP gap between them wasn't that big anymore. They almost stood on equal ground here. As such, it was reasoo challenge Hawk to a duel uhese circumstances.

  "Haha, this kid is bonkers!" Hawk excimed. You're totally uimating me, aren't you? No, I 't have that. I mean, I got my reputation to sider. Ro is watg, so I 't show him anything embarrassing.

  As soon as he broke out of the stun, Hawk rolled away from his blood-thirsty oppo. Apprentece was already in the middle swinging his bde a sed time, so he couldn't ge the bde's trajectory at that point. And so, Hawk successfully dodged the sed ssh.

  You're wide open! Hawk fired a bat as soon as he recovered. The pn was to hit the kid during his recovery animation, but...

  "Wait, what?" Hawk blinked in fusion. He was 100% sure he hat quick shot. I saw where he was standing and that's exactly where I shot, but...

  Somehow, the brainless bat flew right past the target and missed its mark.

  Is that his KC shenanigans at work? Hawk wohat was the only expnation for what just happehere was no way Hawk would miss su easy shot otherwise.

  Apprentece shouldn't have had enough time to recover and sidestep that shot. Hawk khat for certain, for he mained ranged Junglers and faced tless melee oppos.

  I'm starting to see why Ignis had so much trouble against this kid. Hawk smiled wryly. This KC thing sounds like a small deal on paper, but it breaks certain ventions we’re used to. I feel like it’s extra effit against us, pros, who rely so mu our accumuted experience.

  Unfortunately, this was no time to admire the kid's tech. Right after Hawk's bat whiffed, the enemy went for atack! There was for the wicked!

  So, he’s really pnning to go all the way, huh. Cocky little...! Hawk reized the Knight’s move. It wasn’t going to be another ssh. Instead, the Knight raised his ons.

  "LET US FIGHT HONORA-"

  No thanks! Hawk booted up Coffin Slumber right in the enemy's face.

  The Vampire summoned a coffin out of thin air and hid ihe coffin provided full immunity to both damage and CC, so the taunt of Honorable Duel failed to affect him. It anic button move, but it was the best he could do in this situation.

  I 't believe this little bastard forced my hand like this. Hawk clicked his tohe irritation was getting to him.

  Fortunately, Coffin Slumber gave him a moment to rex. It was time to gather his thoughts and reevaluate the situation.

  So, this brat is hel fident about his fighting skills, huh. Hawk analyzed. He’s pretty good, I gotta hand it to him. The way he moves as to things is top-tier, and that KC also messes me up all the time. Frankly, I would’ve never believed my oppo is a middle schooler if I didn’t already know.

  So, what’s ? What was Hawk’s best course of a from here? He started off this operation as the predator but Apprentece has been turning the tables, one ssh at a time.

  I still got the HP lead, but it’s not a big lead. Hawk reasoned. We’re going to be face-to-face he forces me out of the coffin. He’ll have the advantage from that range. My HP lead is barely going to be enough to pensate for that.

  Aside from HP, Hawk held two more advantages over his oppos. Namely, his two remaining skills: Hungering Horde and Night Hunt.

  Oher hand, the enemy has already spent both Shield Bash and Honorable Duel. So, Hawk actually had more options here.

  The only thiill has going for him is his ult. Hawk cluded. But, that’s only good for esg or chasing, so it won’t help him beat me in a fight.

  sidering all these factors, Hawk clearly held the upper hand overall. And, he was the pro pyer here, so of course, he’ll be able to beat Apprente a duel, right?

  That’s what I’d normally say, but I still haven’t gotten a good read of how strong this kid actually is. Hawk frowned. So far, he tered everything I threw his way. But, that’s probably just a stroke of bad luck, bined with me not being used to KC. If I keep fighting, I’m sure I take him down.

  It was a tempting situatioing the kid to a pulp would make Hawk look good after Ignis failed to do that earlier. It should also make up for all of Hawk’s earlier mess-ups.

  It may be immature of me to get this serious against a kid, but I really wanna smack this brat hard. Hawk smiled boldly. This kid is way too cocky. Somebody gotta show him his pce.

  The more Hawk thought about it, the more he was vinced - he wao tear Apprentece apart and make this brat look bad. It gonna be a sweet, sweet revenge for making Hawk look bad.

  You chose the wrong oppo, kid. Hawk snickered. Once I step out of this coffin, then you’re dead meat! Though, I gotta say, I’ve been sitting in this coffin for quite a while now…

  Apprentece should’ve forced Hawk out of the coffin by now. After all, every sed the Vampire spent ihe coffin replenished his HP. Therefore, to prevent the HP gap from growing any further, Apprentece should have been knog hard on the coffin to force Hawk out.

  A, Hawk got to spend quite a while in the coffin. He had plenty of time to sort out his swirling thoughts and even arrive at a solid clusion.

  It was good and all, but why? How e Appretence was giving him all the time in the world?

  He’s right o the coffin and he has been menagly moving around it, but he isn’t attag. Hawk frowned. I’d uand if he used this opportunity to run away, but he isn’t. He chose to stay behind, so he clearly wants to tihe fight. A, he’s allowio heal HP for free. How e?

  Hawk instinctively g the mini-map. Where did their Ju show up? If memory serves, he was somewhere in the lower parts of Top Jungle, heading upwards.

  In other words, there was a very good ce that Average was on his way to the ne.

  I see what yoing for. Hawk broke out of his coffin and fled toward the juhese kids are trying to pincer me, so I'm out."

  "Sure." Ignis made a face. "Thanks for all the amazing help."

  "Haha, soz." Hawk felt bad about this, he really did. This eation turned out to be a huge waste of time. Not only did he fail to slow down the enemy minions, but he didn't even deliver any damage on Appre was a legit shitshow.

  Looks like I have no choice but admit that this Korean kid is actually pretty det. Hawk sighed. I 't believe a middle schooler py at this level but I 't argue with facts. He's not the kind of oppo I just willy-nilly attack.

  Just Hawk was about to reach the jurand evacuate from the area food, the enemy Lancer made his appearance!

  "I'm going all in against this dude!" Average jumped high into the air and aimed his spear. "I'mma block the jurance, so you pincer him from behind!"

  "Alright." Jin followed up on the py, albeit relutly.

  If he had more time, then Jin would've advised a different course of a. But, it was too te to ge anything now. Average already jumped in.

  It's my own fault for not anticipating this. Jin sighed. I expected too much from this Jungler. I thought he'll know how to correctly adapt to the situation.

  The moment Hawk figured out the pn and started evacuating, the gank's success rate plummeted through the ground. It oio tih that pn at this point, so Average should've just called it quits.

  Unfortunately, the guy didn't get the memo. That's why he already jumped over the wall without thinking, pnning to crash on Hawk. It was an exercise in futility.

  The pn itself isn't that terrible. Jin had to admit. If he successfully scares Hawk away from that jurahen incer him and deal some good damage. But, a py like that won’t work at pro level. Especially, not against an escape artist like Hawk.

  "GAE-" the Laarted shouting while in midair. But, as Jied, Hawk smoothly reacted to the situation without being shaken.

  So, he wants to cut me off? Hawk realized in an instant. Cute idea, but it not gonna work.

  He rolled forward, sliding right into the Jurance.

  "-BOLG!" the Lancer came down crashing into the gap betweewo walls. The pn was to either crash on Hawk if he gets this far, or to block the escape path.

  However, Hawk denied both options by getting ahead of the checkpoint. His Dodge Roll carried him into the juself, far beyond the entrance.

  I'm out. Hawk retreated to his side of the juo his territory.

  With that, the enemy's pitack fell through.

  "Dang, I was so close!" Average excimed.

  "Yeah," Jin said indifferently. This whole operation was my idea, so I won’t criticize his deaking too much. Let's just pretend he did well and move on with the program. It was an “alright” py for his skill level.

  This wasn't going to be Jin's main team, so there was no point critig every little py his temporary teammates made. In fact, as long as these pyers performed at least half-detly and didn't drag Jin down, it was already a blessing.

  Besides, this Juill has another use for me. Jin thought.

  Truth to be told, he didn't expect this gank to go too smoothly in the first pce. Therefore, the gank wasn't the only reason he went through the trouble of summoning the Jungler here.

  "Since you're already here," Jin said. " you please defend the ne for one wave? I want to recall."

  "Sure thing, man." Average nodded.

  "Thank you." Jin began recalling right in the middle of the hout wasting any time.

  Ignis has already approached the ne, so she saw Jin's obvious recalling animation. But, that didn't matter. Rather than wasting time on a weak attempt to ceal his Recall, it was best to return to base as quickly as possible.

  I just hope this Jungler won't immediately lose all the ne advantage I've gained. Jin frowned. Really, pying with unreliable teammates is s...

  That’s why Jin absolutely had to pass this exam and join the pro se. He couldn't stand pying alongside amateurs who needed babysitting.

  Even though he was youhan his teammates, his skill was at least five years ahead of theirs. It ressiy.

  While Jin was gearing up in the base, Ignis made her way back to the ne, right in time for the minion wave. For now, Average will have to protect the ne all by himself from her...

  DarkestCymore