“Don’t give up!” Somebody fired healing magic at Jaiden.

“Eh?” Jaiden blinked. Whose voice was that? Rio? It was rare for that quiet guy to raise his voice like that.

“I’ll cover for you!” Rio passed by Jaiden and confronted Gunz. “Just keep running!”

“What? Oh…” Jaiden was fazed for a moment. His Pirate was soaked from head to toe as he ran through the heavy rain created by Chessmaster. Everything about him looked worn out and defeated.

Jaiden resigned himself to his fate. He’ll die by Gunz’s hand, that was the most likely outcome of this one-sided fight. It was foolish of him to challenge that monster without a plan. Death was a fitting punishment for being this cocky, or so he thought at first.

“Thanks, Rio!” Jaiden snapped out of it. “Sorry for putting you on the spot like this. I messed up real bad, haha.”

“No problem.” Rio smiled softly. “Just focus on getting away.”

“You bet I will!” Jaiden’s survival instincts kicked in once more. Die? Just like that? What was I thinking!? I got Rio to cover for me, I can totally make it out alive. We’re not giving them any free kills here! He went full speed ahead.

“Ya ain’t getting away, yo!” Lars rolled after his prey. He gonna nail this kill and generate one heck of momentum for the team!

I won’t let you pass. Rio stood in the beast’s way. He knew he had no chance of beating this monster, yet he fearlessly stood there, blocking Gunz’s path.

Sorry dude, but I got no time to play ya. Lars turned to the side, planning to circle around the Cleric. However, the dude was stubborn.

I won’t let you. Rio moved to the side to block Gunz’s path once again.

Heh, that’s how ya gonna play it? Okay, then I’mma push right through ya! Lars blasted through the front door. Outta the way, dude! He fired bullets to scare away the scarecrow in front of him. But...

No, I won’t move. Rio stood his ground. Even in front of the bullets, he refused to budge. He didn’t possess the necessary reaction speed to dodge such accurate shots anyway, so he just stood there and confronted the shots head-on.

BAM. HEADSHOT. BAM. HEADSHOT.

“Yo, this dude be stubborn...!” Lars blew off the Cleric’s brains twice in a row, yet the mad lad continued blocking the path like an immovable object.

In the end, Lars rammed into the dude and slowed down a little.

“Geh, lemme through already!” Lars fired from point-blank as he pushed past the Cleric.

BAM. HEADSHOT. BAM. HEADSHOT.

The Cleric lost over 45% HP from all of these attacks, almost half his health bar. And yet, dude refused to flee. He kept trying to block Lars’s path, like a defender marking a striker. No matter how much damage he suffered, this mad lad refused to budge.

I’ll save Jaiden. I’m his support. Rio kept matching the enemy’s movements. As long as he stands in the way, Gunz won’t be able to catch up to Jaiden so easily.

Gunz broke through at one point, but Rio immediately rolled after him and stood in his path once more. When it came to blocking opponents, Rio had a fair share of experience. It was a skill he practiced specifically for situations like this.

In Classmancers, it was impossible to fully stop somebody via body-blocking. Nevertheless, by repeatedly getting in front of Gunz, the Cleric and Gunslinger kept colliding with each other. Opposing inertia clashed and slowed down the Gunslinger’s momentum. It barely made a difference the first time, but it bore fruit via repetition.

I’ll block him, even if it’s the last thing I do. Rio continued getting in Gunz’s way. Just like how Jaiden rescued Rio from the bullies, Rio will now rescue Jaiden from this bully!

“Rio, that’s enough,” Jaiden said. “I’m already safe. You gotta start retreating yourself.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Rio nodded. While he wasn’t looking, Jaiden has already reached safety. I think I went a little overboard with the body-blocking…

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Rio probably could’ve started retreating a while ago. But, this overextension was a small price to pay for the important result he achieved. Jaiden made it out alive, that’s all that mattered.

“Dang, I can’t believe that dude slipped away!” Lars smacked his forehead.

“Let’s kill the Cleric instead,” Yuel suggested.

“Oh, ya betcha! I’mma rek this dude.” Lars stopped chasing and pointed the revolver at the Cleric in front of him. “I’m getting a kill here, one way or another. Believe it, yo!”

BAM. HEADSHOT.

I really overstayed my due. Rio gulped. He turned around and ran for his life. But, will he be able to get away?

BAM. HEADSHOT. Only 30% HP left, with two pursuers hot on his trail. It was over for him. Well, at least I saved Jaiden...

“RELEASE THE-” A voice boomed across the area.

“Oh crap-!” Lars reacted immediately. The Big Squid Dude was coming! This was no feint. The real deal was about to attack!

“But, that ain’t gonna stop me!” Lars did roll to evade the ult, but he rolled forward! He had no plans of stopping this pursuit. Even the Big Squid Dude won’t scare him away!

“Whoa!” Lars exclaimed amidst the roll. “He’s here?!”

A gigantic sea monster penetrated through the ground right under Lars! A tentacle knocked him up, then slammed him into the ground!

“Yoooo, no way!” Lars held his head in frustration. The Big Squid Dude totally caught him there.

“That was good placement,” Yuel commented.

Pirate players usually summoned Kraken in the center of the enemy formation, to hit as many enemies as possible at once. However, this Kraken’s placement was different. It served only as a defensive play, intended to discourage any further pursuit.

Therefore, instead of summoning the Kraken close to Yuel and Lars, Renegade opted to place the Kraken ahead of them. That stopped them in their tracks. Well played.

“Nuuu! They got away!” Lars pouted. That Kraken single-handedly put an end to his offense. “Dang, we almost had them!”

“It’s okay, you lowered their HP enough,” Yuel said. “It’ll secure us lane control for a while.”

Even with Cleric’s passive healing, it was impossible for both enemies to properly recover in time for the next minion wave. Therefore, at least one of them will have to recall, leaving the lane in a 2v1 situation.

With numbers advantage, Yuel and Lars will be free to push hard. So, even though they didn’t score any kills here, the entire exchange still counted as a victory for Yuel and Lars.

“That was close.” Rio sighed in relief as he reached the Turret. If not for that timely Kraken, he would’ve been dead. “Thanks for the save.”

“I should be the one thanking you.” Jaiden smiled wryly. “Honestly, I kinda gave up back there. It was dumb, I know, but I lost the will to fight back. I just felt overwhelmed.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really?” Jaiden cocked his head. “You’re not going to complain?”

“Ah, um...” Rio shifted his eyes away. He’d normally voice his complaints right away, but he didn’t want to hurt Jaiden’s feelings more than they already were.

That entire fight was one big blow-up. It was frustrating to admit, but Gunz completely stomped Jaiden as soon as that fight began. Rio’s hero suffered an embarrassing defeat.

But, even more than that, Rio was mad. Not because Jaiden lost, but because of Jaiden’s attitude during the fight.

The moment Jaiden realized he lost, he lowered his head and succumbed to despair. That was a no-no. Jaiden should never ever wear an expression like that. A bright, confident smile suited him best. Darkness shouldn’t be able to overshadow somebody who shone like the sun.

“You want me to complain? Then I will.” Rio puffed his cheeks. “I’m disappointed.”

“Oh, you are?” Jaiden cracked a laugh. Somehow, Rio’s attempt at pouting looked cute, probably because it was so uncharacteristic for this stoic guy.

“I’m not joking.”

“I know, I know.” Jaiden nodded.

“It’s fine that you lost to Gunz, he’s a strong player. But, that’s no reason to give up in the middle of the fight.”

“True.”

“It’s like...” Rio grumped. “It’s like you forgot I’m here to support you.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Jaiden placed a hand on Rio’s shoulder. “I was just too shocked. I thought I could do it, you know? I really believed I had a chance against Gunz. It’s been a year since I watched him play, so I thought I became strong enough. But, this guy is a monster. I just can’t...”

“Hey, that’s what you have us for!” Nash tuned in. “We gonna help ya take that monster down, bro. We gonna kick their asses so hard, they’ll fly all the way back to StormBlitz, haha!”

“Yes.” Rio nodded. “There’s no need to fight either of them alone. Let’s beat them together with our... Invincible Triangle.”

“Oh! He said the thing!” Nash made noise.

“S-So what if I did?” Rio turned away, but he smiled softly.

“You’re right, guys.” Jaiden nodded. “It’s my bad. We haven’t been training together all this time to challenge people to duels. We’re the Invincible Triangle! Apart, we might be nothing special. But, together, we’re unstoppable!”

“Hell yeah!” Nash pumped a fist. “Tho, I’m hella strong on my own too.”

“Great job ruining the mood.” Rio rolled his eyes.

“Haha.” Jaiden laughed. His vigor returned. The embarrassing defeat no longer bothered him.

Okay, that was a lie. Of course it bothered him. He couldn’t believe there was still such a huge gap between him and Gunz. It’s like they were competing on completely different levels.

But, that was reassuring in its own way. At least, it proved that StormBlitz’s selection process wasn’t entirely horseshit. Some of the players, who got into the club in Jaiden’s stead, were literal monsters. Gunz and Chessmasters deserved to get in, no question about it. That made Jaiden feel just a little bit better.

Regardless, that was all in the past. None of it held any bearing on the current situation. The Jaiden of today was a completely different person from one year ago. The amount of experience he had under his belt was on a completely different level.

With his trusted bros by his side, they will crush the monstrous duo and claim victory in today’s scrimmage!