"Hey, dude. Why you're still standing there?" Nash asked. Everybody was already seated, yet Jaiden remained rooted in place like a tree.

"Just checking out our opponents," Jaiden said. It was true, but it was only one part of it.

By standing like this while everybody else was seated, he drew attention to himself. This was his way of making a declaration. "I'm here to hunt you down." He made sure to convey that message.

That aside, he felt like he’d have trouble sitting still right now. This match was like a dream come true. Jaiden actually got to stand here, on the competitive stage, despite being a junior. On top of that, he had the honor to test his mettle against Gunz and Chessmaster. It was awesome!

But, that wasn’t even the best part. Nash and Rio were right by his side on this important occasion. Together, they gonna unleash the Invincible Triangle and take this game by storm!

"Don't forget to buy Teleport as soon as you can," Jaiden reminded them of their secret plan. Though, the reminder was mainly aimed at Nash, the most likely suspect.

"Yes, mom," Nash cracked a laugh. "I'mma buy the shit outta that Teleport!"

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Rio titled his head.

"Gonna buy that shit so hard, there won't be any left for you guys!"

"Haha, that'll be a problem," Jaiden laughed. "Zeph, make sure you get that Checkpoint Ward sometime early."

"........" Zeph didn't reply. He was just sitting there, staring into empty air. The harsh defeat he suffered in the previous game was still weighing on his mind.

“Hey, earth to Zeph!” Nash called out. “Respond, respond!”

“..............”

“Yo, bruh! Are you alive over there? YOOOOOOOOO!”

“Give him a rest,” Jaiden said. “He had a rough day.”

“But, dude ain’t responding. We need him to do his part.”

“Well, yelling isn’t going to help,” Jaiden reasoned. “Hey Zeph, you hear me? Look, I get it, the previous game was real rough. But, no need to feel bad about it. You were playing against a strong opponent and he happened to adapt faster than you.”

“..........”

“But, I don’t think he’s that much better than you. He just got into your head early on, that’s all. Now, that you know exactly what things Chessmaster can counter, I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You just gotta respect his DK and play safer. He’s not like those scrubby DKs in Ranked. Chessmaster is the real deal.”

“Hmm,” Zeph finally expressed something akin to a reaction. Maybe Jaiden got a point. That DK was countering my ass every time, so I got heated up. I started thinking he’s some unbeatable pro material. I gotta try another match against him. This time, I won’t fall for his bullshit...!

“So, are ya done moping?” Nash grinned.

“Oh yeah, I’m hella done with that,” Zeph straightened his back. He’d normally say something back to that disrespectful junior, but he agreed he was acting lame until now. He gotta pull himself together. Zeph was a senior, so he had to serve as an example for the younger ones.

“So, you’re on board with the plan, right?” Jaiden confirmed.

“Yeah, I’ll get the Checkpoint Ward for you,” Zeph nodded. “Until then, I’ll play it safe. Nash, make sure you gank my lane often. Gotta keep that DK off me.”

“Aye aye, sir,” Nash saluted.

“You sure got an ambitious plan on your hands,” Raymond frowned. “Are you sure you can pull it off against opponents of this level?”

“We can always give up mid-way if things aren’t looking good,” Jaiden reassured. “It depends on how smooth the early-game goes.”

“Alright,” Raymond nodded.

Didn’t expect Cap to question it. Jaiden smiled meaningfully. Guess he’s starting to get more involved now. This should be fun. This team gonna go places!

The banning phase began.

“Anything you’d like to ban?” Raymond asked.

“Can we maybe get rid of DK?” Zeph suggested. “I rather not deal with it again.”

“C’mon bro,” Nash objected. “Don’t run away from the challenge. Go in there and kick his ass!”

“He’s right,” Jaiden nodded. “There’s no need to fear that DK. I’m sure your Dragonborn can handle him now.”

“Yeah, but...” Zeph pursed his lips. What if I mess up again? Feeding a DK is the worst thing ever. It might cost us the entire game all by itself.

“Besides, DK is a great target for our game plan,” Jaiden smirked. “I say let them have DK if they want it. It’ll be their downfall!”

“I see what you’re saying,” Zeph nodded. Dark Knight was a great prey for Jaiden’s ploy. “Alright, gotcha. Let them have DK.” I just gotta man up and tackle that bastard again. This time, I won’t lose to him so easily!

“So, any other banning suggestions?” Raymond asked again.

“Let’s get rid of the Impaler,” Jaiden suggested. “Their captain seems to fancy it, so let’s see what she can do without it.”

“Fair enough,” Raymond submitted the ban.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Oh?” Kai twitched slightly. So, you’re coming after me first. I’m honored. Yeah, very honored. So honored, I wanna crush your bones.

“Haha...” Vincent laughed nervously. A chill ran down his spine. He could sense the miasma of malice spreading from his lane partner. This game was definitely going to be something else...

It was Stratus’ turn to ban. Yuel and Kai played it safe and agreed on Shadow Walker, despite the recent nerfs that hit the class hard.

Many claimed Shadow Walker wasn't broken anymore and that it fell from S tier to A tier, or maybe even B bier. But, Yuel hadn’t reached a solid conclusion about the changes yet. There was no doubt that Shadow Walker was still a strong class, so it was better to keep it out of their enemies’ hands.

The only downside to banning Shadow Walker was that it limited Nia’s options. But, it should be fine. So far, the enemy hasn’t expressed much interest in Nia despite her many great achievements. So, they probably weren’t considering banning any of her classes.

The ball was back in Taurus’ court. It was time for their second ban.

“Suggestions?” Raymond asked.

“I’d ban Ninja,” Rio said quietly.

“Oh, almost forgot about that one,” Jaiden said. “Yeah, make Ninja go. She caused a lot of trouble last time. Can’t believe I forgot about it, haha.”

“Now that you mentioned it,” Raymond frowned. “She did give us a lot of trouble, didn’t she? Completely slipped my mind”

“Oh yeah, I remember too,” Zeph said. “She’s the one who counter-ganked me and Dyl and killed me, right? Yeah, I don’t like that Ninja in her hands.”

“Alright, then Ninja it is,” Raymond submitted the first ban.

"Bullies," Nia mumbled. There was no doubt this ban was aimed at her. Her opponents were picking up on her. Bullies.

So, they’ve finally noticed. Yuel thought.

Nia rarely participated in any of the big fights, but she often arrived at the last moment to drive the final nail into the enemy’s coffin. No matter how many times it happened, the enemy seemed to remain indifferent. It’s as if they couldn't register the threat of her existence into their minds. Truly, a Vanishing Phantom.

Alas, all good things had to come to an end. The enemy was exposed to Nia’s plays for too long. They finally set their eyes on her. She most likely won’t be able to abuse her stealth as much as before in the upcoming game.

Maybe banning Shadow Walker was a mistake. Yuel frowned. He should’ve been more careful back there. Now, Nia’s options were reduced to but one.

“So, Nia,” Yuel started. “Here’s a riddle. What should you pick instead of Ninja?”

.“Rogu-”

“No.” Yuel shut down that idea before it even formed.

“Gufu...” Nia twisted her lips. “Then, Drow.”

“Good,” Yuel approved. It was unfortunate but, at the moment, Nia only played classes with stealth. Yuel tried to make her pick other assassins as well, but she always resisted. She was as obnoxious as Luke when it came to her favorite picks. Why did Junglers always have to be so difficult? Sigh.

For now, Yuel had to let it slide. Nia still had many areas she had to improve in, so for now, it was fine to focus only on the stealth classes. Namely, Ninja, Drow, and Shadow Walker. But, not Rogue. Definitely not. That class won’t cut it against high-level opponents.

The banning phase went on. Since the enemy replaced the majority of their players with unknowns, it was impossible to target most of them with specific bans. Yuel could only specifically counter the two players that remained: DragonMaster and Nirvana.

"Can we ban Aero and Sorcerer?" Lars requested. "That Nirvana dude has some nasty setups. Like, he shoots his stuff, then places the other stuff, and that stuff boosts the first stuff he shot! Dude be wilding. Can’t deal with it."

"Okay, granted," Yuel banned Aeromancer. Out of the two enemies the team could target with specifically tailored bans, Nirvana was definitely the greater threat.

Nirvana has been giving Lars trouble for the past two games with his defensive playstyle. First, he did it with Aeromancer. Next, Yuel banned Aeromancer, but Nirvana kept making trouble with Sorcerer. He was one tough cookie. As far as player skill was concerned, he definitely stood at the top of Taurus, he was most likely the captain. It made sense to weaken him as much as possible.

And so, after the Aeromancer ban, it was Taurus' turn again.

"I'd get rid of the Druid if possible," Jaiden said. "I dunno if they're going for early-game aggression again. But, if they are, then we don’t wanna let them have Druid and his OP lane pushing ult. It's just too good for early aggression strats."

"I think so too," Rio nodded.

"Alright," Raymond submitted the Druid ban. The details shortly reached Stratus.

"Hoho," Vincent smiled. "It appears our foes will not let us form the same lineup as last time. We will have to reinvent our aggressive opening!"

"Seems like it," Yuel agreed. These bans are directly aimed at what we've shown last game. It looks like they want to ban our preferred options. This concentrated banning feels very different from what we’ve seen from Taurus until now. Interesting.

This wasn’t nearly enough proof but, nevertheless, Yuel had a gut feeling. Their new opponents will be tougher, he was convinced of that. As he feared, going all-in with early-game aggression was risky.

But, he has already signed up for it, so he was going to see it through. Their aggressive game plan will either work or it’ll backfire in their faces. Either way, they’ll obtain valuable information about their new opponents.

For the third and final ban, Yuel went after Nirvana’s Sorcerer as Lars requested.

He originally considered banning Dragonborn too, as it was clear that DragonMaster was a very adept Dragonborn player. Even the guy’s nickname implied as such.

Last time, Yuel got the upper hand against DragonMaster by making many good reads in a row. But, DragonMaster won’t make things as easy the second time around.

Alas, the bans on Nirvana took priority and they signaled the end of the first banning phase. Next, the selection phase began. The enemy immediately jumped on the opening Yuel left and grabbed Dragonborn.

Looks like he recovered from the last game. Yuel concluded.

The way Yuel outplayed DragonMaster time and again seemed to shake DragonMaster to the core. It felt like the guy lost all confidence in himself and that dulled his plays for the rest of the game. He became like a lifeless bot. He continued functioning, but his performance was painfully far from its peak.

Honestly, it was a shame. DragonMaster was overall a solid Dragonborn player, he just wasn't prepared to take on a competitive-level Dark Knight. Yuel was familiar with most anti-Dark Knight strategies the Dragonborn could employ, so he saw everything coming.

But, it wasn’t a completely one-sided battle. Little by little, DragonMaster adapted to the situation. At one point, Yuel believed that DragonMaster might start outplaying him. Alas, DragonMaster didn't live up to these expectations.

I hope he'll do better this time. Yuel thought.

Interestingly, the enemy hasn't banned Dark Knight despite Yuel's strong display with it. So, the matchup in Top will most likely be a repeat of the previous game. It’d be interesting to see whether DragonMaster figured something new over the break.

Honestly, a part of Yuel wanted to pick something safer like Knight. But, the rest of the team was dead set on early aggression, so he had to play his part too. Dark Knight was the epitome of this strategy, so he naturally picked it before the second banning phase.

The drafting phase came to an end. The third game of the scrimmage was about to begin!

Yuel (Chessmaster): Dark Knight

Lars (Gunz): Electromancer

Nia (VanishingFlower): Drow

Kai (Beat): Pirate

Vincent (InformationBlackhole): Paladin

Jaiden (Renegade): Gunslinger

Rio (Laplace): Cryomancer

Nash (StormMonster): Viking

Raymond (Nirvana): Warlock

Zeph (DragonMaster): Dragonborn