For Game 2, Jin picked Viking. It was a great class for initiating and ganking, which will help him organize the team’s offense.

In response to this obvious intention of playing aggressively, Ignis dialed up the aggression by picking Orc.

She's making a statement. Jin was convinced. Basically, she’s saying she can easily win the early-game against me.

Perhaps it was an attempt to taunt Jin before the game, but more likely, Ignis genuinely believed she'll get away with this extreme pick. It seemed there was no limit to how much that woman could underestimate her opponents. Oh well.

If she wants to dig her own grave, so be it. Jin thought. This is great for me. If I can just counter her during the early-game, then winning the entire game would be that much easier.

Similar to Dark Knight, Orc was also an exceptionally strong class during the early-game, but it fell off hard afterward. So, Ignis would have to establish an impressive advantage against Jin in order to have a chance.

Admittedly, Orc’s power curve was far more stable than Dark Knight’s, but it was still an extremely risky pick at high levels. So, pro players only ever picked it when they believed their lane opponents were substantially inferior. And, that’s probably what Ignis was implying about Jin as well.

Should I just focus only on defending? It was ironic. Jin was the one who brought up the whole idea of expanding the team’s offense for this game, yet now, he found himself wondering whether he should focus exclusively on defense, at least for the early-game.

As long as I don't let her gain early momentum, then it'll be my win. But, I'm not sure how impressive that’ll look from the side.

He glanced at the Sweepers' coach, who was watching the match like a hawk. Judging by the man's ever serious expression, he was a tough customer to satisfy.

So, even if Jin manages to defeat Ignis via turtling, it probably won't do much for his reputation. In order to leave a positive lasting impression, he'd have to challenge Beat head-on and overpower her.

With that said, I'll end up looking even worse if I challenge her and then lose. It'll peg me as a reckless player with bad decision-making.

Jin was pressed between a rock and a hard place. It was unclear whether Ignis placed him in this dilemma intentionally, but her decision to pick Orc definitely made things awkward.

"I'd stick to defense if I were you," Howard interjected, as if he read Jin's thoughts. "I bet you’re thinking about showing off by fighting Ignis, right? Don’t do it. You'll run your entire reputation into the ground."

“Run into the ground...?”

“It means you’ll ruin it, your entire reputation.”

"Oh, yes, I'm aware of that," Jin said. Such timely advice, almost suspiciously so.

It was good advice, very much in line with the mentality of a defensive player. If Howard were in Jin's shoes right now, he'd definitely deflect Ignis's Orc by playing defensively.

His advice is on point every now and then. Jin could recall multiple instances in which Howard's shot-calls were exceptionally on-point

As much as I’d like to rely on my own judgment, there is some merit to considering his advice. Jin admitted. He is Ignis's brother, so I assume he knows how he plays better than anybody. So, unless he has an ulterior motive, he must be warning me because he knows how well his sister plays Orc.

Jin could more-or-less imagine it as well. He researched and experienced Ignis's playstyle enough to understand how much she favored an aggressive playstyle. She was the stark opposite of her younger brother in that sense.

Orc wasn't one of her most common picks, but she went for it a couple of times in official matches. It was mostly against opponents who didn't strike Jin as particularly skilled.

What were the results of these matches, again? Jin racked his brain to remember. I believe she came on top in most of them, but I didn’t spend too much time analyzing these matches. But, I definitely remember one match in which Ignis fell behind because her opponent played defensively.

In short, it was difficult to estimate how Jin will fare against Ignis's Orc. Aggressing on her was a gamble without a clear chance of success.

I think the captain is right on this one. Jin concluded. I already underestimated Ignis once and that cost me dearly. I can't let that happen again. This second game is an opportunity for me to make up for my previous mistakes, not to make new ones.

And so, Jin decided on playing defensively against Ignis's Orc, at least during the early-game. Was it the correct decision? It was hard to tell for sure at the time.

As the game started off, Ignis immediately went on the offense.

“You think can challenge me in aggression, kid Think again!” Ignis swung her sledgehammer, blasting the enemy frontline. That single skill hit erased 40% of their HP in one fell swoop. With the Orc’s early-game power - she was unstoppable!

And, that was still the tame side of the Orc’s damage. Its true damage lay in its basic attacks, which Ignis planned to unleash next.

If you think you can contest this, then I wanna see you try! Ignis grinned. Come, let’s see what you can do with that Viking!

Alas, her opponent decided to play it safe. He had the balls to pick an aggressive class like Viking, yet he didn’t have what it took to pick a fight with Ignis.

Hmph. Boring. Ignis shrugged as she swung her sledgehammer time and again, demolishing the enemy army.

Meanwhile, her opponent, the supposed general of the enemy army, was completely helpless against this relentless assault.

She keeps pushing me back. Jin frowned.

It was already the third minion wave. He was forced to retreat to his tower once again, for the third time this game. His Viking simply couldn’t contest the Orc’s overwhelming clearing speed, especially not when the attacks were unleashed by Ignis, an expert on aggression.

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Every time a new minion wave arrived, Ignis immediately unleashed the Sledgehammer skill at the swordsmen, deleting 40% HP. After that, she swung her sledgehammer once again, this time as a basic attack. That hit deleted the remaining 60%, eliminating the entire frontline.

All that remained were Jin's bowmen, who didn't couldn't possibly contest the enemy's entire army. And, every wave started from a vastly disadvantageous position like this.

On his end, Jin did everything he could to speed up his own farming. He grabbed an enemy swordsman with Takedown and hurled the guy at the enemy's backline, damaging all the bowmen in the process. Then, he extended into enemy territory and swung his axe at the bowmen.

It was an approach that involved some overextension, but there was no other choice. Viking wasn't the best when it came to farming an entire minion wave because he relied on basic attacks. As such, Jin had to approach the bowmen and directly strike them.

Naturally, extending this deep into enemy territory involved tremendous risk, but not so much for Viking. Jin could always blink out of the scene with Axe Blitz, so he was relatively safe as long as he kept that escape tool at hand.

That’s probably why she doesn't bother to attack me. Jin reasoned as he closely watched Ignis's movements.

After clearing the frontline, Ignsi always proceeded to wipe out Jin’s backline. She never paid much heed to his blatant overextension.

That gave Jin the freedom to strike down Ignis's bowmen one by one. However, even with this freedom, he couldn’t possibly contest Orc’s swift farming speed.

By the time Jin killed 2 bowmen, Ignis has already eliminated his entire backline. And so, it always became a 1v5 situation. Jin alone vs. Ignis, her bowman, and her 3 swordsmen. It was a losing position no matter how one looked at it

And so, every time, Jin had to immediately retreat. He hurled his axe deep into his side of the lane, then blinked to it and ran back to his tower.

From that position, all he could do was to clear the minions once they invaded the tower area. That resulted in a substantial farm loss, but at least he neutralized the situation with minimal risk.

And so, this one-sided routine repeated itself three times already.

Even if I wanted to aggress on her, it'd be difficult to find an opportunity to do so. Jin reasoned. Of course, I have some ideas about how to initiate against her. But, there are many risks involved. I have to wait for my ult, at the very least.

And so, Jin was stuck on the defensive, showing the audience a far-than-staller performance. From watching these forced exchanges, nobody would ever regard Jin as a high-level player. Therefore, he absolutely had to defuse this pro-level Orc.

『Level Up!』

After bearing through this routine for long enough, Jin eventually hit Lv.5. That was the point in the game at which Viking turned into a serious threat. His ult was something even Ignis had to respect.

Except, she totally didn't...

Heh. Ignis grinned as she smashed the swordsmen's faces with her sledgehammer. This kid probably thinks he's a big shot because he got his ult. Well, guess what? I don't give a fuck.

Ignis continued her aggressive farming routine without paying any heed to Apprentece’s movements. Even though the Viking could easily unleash Unstoppable Raid on her and force Ignis into a difficult fight, she simply didn't care.

I bet he doesn't have the balls to go for it anyway. Ignis smiled confidently. I roughed him up well last game. He’s probably quaking in his boots whenever he thinks of attacking, haha.

But, little did she know that her opponent was thinking the exact opposite.

She is being cocky. Jin concluded. It's like she's thinking she can easily counter my ult even as she overextends. Or, maybe she thinks I’m too scared to go for it?

Admittedly, it was often a waste to go for Unstoppable Raid unless it guaranteed a kill. It was a high-cost skill with a long cooldown, so it shouldn't be used carelessly.

But, I'll have to condition her sooner or later. If I do nothing, she'll keep outfarming me and pushing me to the tower.

To make a cocky aggressor stop their aggression, it was necessary to give them a convincing reason to stop. And, nothing worked quite as well as brute force. If Jin successfully intimidates Ignis with his ult even once, she'll have to think twice about aggressing next time.

"I wouldn't recommend aggressing on her with your ult, if that's what you were thinking of." Howard delivered the advice out of the blue as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Why not?"

"I know how sis plays," Howard explained. "When she's being bold like that, it usually means she knows what she's doing. Believe it or not, she becomes a lot more cautious when she's unsure about her chances of winning. So, when she plays this boldly, you know she got it all figured out."

Should he really be telling me this about his sister? Jin wondered. Can I even trust this intel?

"Oh, and don't worry," Howard added. "I'm not trying to pull your leg or anything. We're all on the same team here, and as you said, we should aim to actually win every once in a while. With someone like you handling the offense, we might have a real shot at winning, so it'd be a shame if something happens to you this early."

His argument makes sense, but he's always a smooth talker. Jin wasn't sure what he should believe in. As far as he was concerned, Ignis was underestimating him, just as she did last game.

With that said, there were also times when Jin thought he was being underestimated, only to discover that Ignis actually had a trick up her sleeve. She seemed like a straightforward hothead player, but she was surprisingly difficult to read at times. The line between her arrogance and craftiness was paper-thin.

"Alright, then what you suggest?" Jin asked. "Things can't keep going like this, I’m sure you understand."

"In your place, I’d cooperate with Dan. He could rotate over there once you're ready to launch an attack."

Dan who? Jin knotted his brows.

“I mean the Jungler,” Howard added.

“Ah yes, I knew that,” Jin lied. "A reasonable suggestion, but..."

That won't do. Average has already proven he was mediocre at best when it came to ganks. Perhaps his level was acceptable for the middle school scene here, but it definitely won’t cut it against pros.

But, I can’t keep mulling over this forever. The longer I take to decide, the worse my position will be. Jin felt as if a rope was tightening around his neck. If he allows this lane situation to go on for too long, then Ignis will suffocate him to death.

I don’t think I should rely on the Jungler here. Asking him to gank opens up too many counter possibilities for the enemy. For one, it might give Ignis extra time to retreat. The pros must have thoroughly warded the jungle, so they’ll see Average coming ahead of time.

Even worse, the enemy may decide to counter-gank Average, which they already did before in the previous game. That'll probably be the worst-case scenario, as Hawk's gank will be ten times more dangerous than Average's.

In the worst-case scenario, the enemy would kill both Average and Jin. It’ll be a blunder from which Jin will not be able to recover. It’ll stain his reputation in unwashable black.

I can't entrust my life to a player of this caliber. At least, not when it comes to offense. Jin concluded. Average did an alright job rescuing me in the last game, but that was a defensive play; that’s the team's strong point. That’s the only type of situation in which I’d consider borrowing his strength, but even then, I rather avoid relying on him too much.

"Setting everything up with the Jungler takes too long," Jin summarized. "I have to stop Ignis's momentum quick, so I open an attack with the next wave."

"Alright, you do you." Howard shrugged. "Just remember that I warned you."

"Noted." Jin nodded. The last time he said such words, I really found myself in a difficult situation right after. But, that was probably just a lucky guess.

Howard was a worrywart who often avoided risks, similar to Cato. So, as long as he warned his teammates about every potential danger, he was bound to get it right every now and then. But, that didn't mean all of his warnings were legit.

I'll turn the tables on her with my ult. Jin was confident, both his skill and in the overwhelming strength of Unstoppable Raid. Even against Orc's devastating attacks, Jin should be able to get a lot of work done.

And so, the next wave arrived. It was time.