Finally, an opening revealed itself in Appretence’s uncrackable defense. So, with a burning desire to strike down her nemesis, Nia headed off to Bot! This time, she was going to take down that cocky Korean guy!

Oh, wait. But I better inform everybody about this plan. She realized along the way.

Back during her first gank on Apprentece, Nia failed to properly communicate her arrival to Ben and it cost her dearly. So, she had to do things properly this time.

"I'm ganking Bot," Nia announced. For a moment there, even she was surprised by how strongly her tone came across. She wasn’t asking for permission or leaving anything open for debate. No, she stated an absolute fact.

"Eh, I mean, if it's alright with everybody..." she added.

"Did you finally spot a good opportunity?" Yuel asked.

"Yes." Nia nodded confidently at first, but then she realized she'd surely be held accountable if anything went south. "Eh, well, I think I found something. At least, this looks way better than previous opportunities."

"Is that so." Yuel knotted his brows. Honestly, I don't see much difference. Apprentece seems to be playing as boldly as usual, but so far that never converted into a true opening. But, maybe Nia sees something I don't. Her game sense is abnormally sharp for these things.

Though it wasn't immediately apparent, Nia owned much of her success as a ganker to her heightened game sense. She was exceptionally good at spotting when the enemy's guard was down. She incorporated all sorts of small tells into her analysis to deliver her sneaky ganks.

It was easy to just call her a "Vanishing Phantom" and pretend like her impressive results only came from the fact she was “hard to notice”. But in truth, Nia's playstyle was more intricate than that. Yuel only realized that after coaching the girl on a regular basis.

Nia was indeed good at lying low to the point her opponents forgot to factor in her presence. However, that wasn't something that was going to happen right at the start of the game. Her vanishing act was a gradual process that took an indeterminate amount of time.

In every game, it was up to Nia to tell when she had finished "erasing her presence", as she called it. But, how could she even tell? There weren't any clear in-game indications for something like that. It was all psychological.

I, for one, can’t tell when it’s time. Yuel admitted. That's why I always have to trust her judgment on that. And, the one time I went against her judgment in this game, there were consequences.

The first time Yuel asked Nia to gank Apprentece in Top, he was met with resistance. Nia claimed she didn't feel like she "erased her presence" at the time, so it didn’t make sense to her to try sneaking up on an enemy just yet.

Yuel considered that input but ultimately chose to ignore it. He assumed that even if Nia was correct, it wouldn't change the fact that she'd be able to deliver a strong gank on Apprentece considering the guy's bold overextension.

But, I ended up being wrong. Badly so. Yuel frowned. Nia's analysis was correct in that situation. It's actually pretty impressive.

That's why for the second gank Yuel made sure to first reach a consensus with Nia. The girl resisted the idea at first as she often did, but in the end, Yuel managed to convince her that the risks weren’t as high as she feared. If he failed to convince her then he was planning to give up on the idea altogether to avoid further tragedies.

That consensual gank was indeed far more effective than the first. Nia successfully erased her presence even against Apprentece and managed to surprise him. Alas, her execution was stiff because she was too worried about her low HP, a factor Yuel failed to take into account.

In the end, the outcome of that gank was unfortunate but it was definitely a good opportunity. Therefore, it seemed that when Yuel and Nia's analyses reached an agreement, there was a real possibility of striking Apprentece down.

This time, she's the one taking the initiative. Yuel thought. She analyzed the situation and somehow determined that this was the right moment. This goes beyond even my analysis.

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If he couldn’t understand all the reasonings behind it, could Yuel really approve of this play?

Ironic. Yuel smiled wryly. Isn't this the exact same dilemma others have to deal with whenever I come up with a plan? I know better than anybody how difficult it is to convince others in these situations.

Yuel was getting better at this through repetition, but Nia didn't have the same amount of experience. Not to mention, her analysis usually only revolved around her own playstyle, so she rarely had the need to convince others of anything.

And, I rarely ever pressed her too hard to explain her reasoning to me in the past. Yuel frowned. I suppose I reap what I sow. I should’ve questioned her more often to understand her reasoning process.

Alas, it was too late to start that now. Nia wanted to gank Bot, right here and now. There was no time to bombard her with questions and try to draw out a satisfying answer from her. In fact, attempting that would only distract her from the play and will ruin its chances of success.

In other words, Yuel had to make this decision based on nothing but his trust in Nia. So, the real question was: how much did he trust Nia on these things?

I… tentatively trust her. Yuel thought. But in this particular game, she really impressed me with how sharp her intuition can get. And besides, she's showing a great amount of incentive to go up against an opponent that she openly admits is "scary". That's a first.

Nia was abnormally motivated to hunt down Apprentece. This scaredy-cat, who usually gave up at the first sight of a “scary” enemy, was now volunteering to fight the scariest monster in the region.

Regardless of my reasoning, I feel compelled to respond to her feelings in kind. Yuel decided. "Okay, you can gank Bot. Lars, did you catch all that?"

"Yep, loud and clear. But, I dunno about this…" Lars twisted his lips. "I really wanted to 1v1 this dude and stuff."

"You're already dueling him and it's not exactly going well, is it?"

"Yeaaaah, welp. Dude's clearing speed is too dang high, yo!"

"Yes, it sure is," Yuel agreed. "You might've still had a fighting chance if you didn't hit him earlier, but now he’s dominating the lane."

"Hey, it wasn't on purpose, okay?” Lars pouted. “Like, I tried my best to avoid the dude, I really did. But, he just pulled that Korean magic of his and stepped into my shot outta nowhere! It was sick, yo! And annoying, too."

"I see. I figured it was something along those lines, or that you missed."

"I never miss, yo! 200% accuracy, believe it!"

"Right, right." Yuel rolled his eyes. "Anyway, now that the situation has turned out like this, there isn't much you can do there by yourself. By the time you finish fending off his push, Apprentece will already retreat."

"Yeah, true dat." Lars pouted. "Dang, there goes my chance to duel this pro for realz…" If only I trained dat Elf more, dang it…

Yuel insisted time and again that Lars should focus exclusively on the Elf, even at the expensive and turning rusty with Trickshooter and Gunslinger. But of course, Lars couldn’t possibly allow that. These were his main classes, yo! He had to keep them polished like a master swordsman keeps his blades in shape!

But, maybe it was really the wrong move. Lars frowned. Because of this, I didn’t even get to practice the quick-scoping tech properly. That thing alone gonna take weeks to master…

As much as he would’ve wanted to deny it, Lars was definitely underprepared here today. He got this golden opportunity to fight an insanely strong dude, but his skill with Elf wasn’t up to the challenge.

“Yep, I guess I missed this chance alright.” Lars sighed.

"Perhaps you missed the chance to duel him,” Yuel said. “But, you still have a chance to score a kill on him by cooperating with Nia. That'll be a huge achievement for us." Even though it probably won't salvage the game...

"Wait, we haven't scored any kills on this dude yet, right?" Lars realized this after checking the KDA. "Alrighty then, we totally gotta mop this Korean pro at least once! We're also pros, ya know? Gotta prove it to him!"

"I agree.” Yuel nodded. “We must get at least one kill on him, or else it'll leave a sour taste."

Apprentece has been dominating this entire game from the very beginning. Ben was unable to stand up to the guy at all and Nia failed to kill him twice. Likewise, Kai couldn't get anything going against him in Mid either, she ultimately only wasted MP on trying.

It was undeniable that, at the moment, it looked as if Apprentece stood head and shoulder above the entirety of Stratus. He was like an untouchable god far above the realm of mere mortals.

That’s definitely not the kind of impression Yuel wanted to end this game with. This sort of thing might become a mental trauma that'll stick with the team all the way into the regionals. And, it seemed like Lars reached the same conclusion.

"Okay, I gotcha!" Lars said. "C'mon, Nia! Let's cook up this Korean dude real gud!"

"On my way!"

They wasted a little bit of precious time before finally agreeing, but fortunately, this didn't delay Nia at all. The entire time, she had been advancing toward Bot as if the decision had already been made.

Would she have given up if we disagreed with the gank? Yuel wondered. Well, no use worrying about that now. Let's see if Nia's analysis is on point in this situation.

And so, a gank was about to strike Bot. Will Nia finally be able to take down this Korean monster!?