After missing his first chance to kill the enemy Pirate, Lars couldn’t get an edge over the Pirate ever since. Each and every time he slid toward the Pirate and fired a quick Trickshot, the Pirate reacted fast and dodged. It was so close! It almost hit! But, it didn’t.

On the bright side, the Pirate couldn’t get an edge on Lars either. They exchanged countless blows, but neither of them gained the upper hand in the lane. Whenever Lars hit his opponent, he was struck back right away. Whenever Lars was hit, he immediately counterattacked. Any progress in the lane was frozen while the two of them duked it out in heated duels.

Lars slid aside to dodge an incoming shot, then fired a straight Trickshot at the Pirate, who used Backfire Cannon to quickly dodge it and fired back at Lars, forcing him to roll to the right and shoot back and get shot and dodge and shoot and roll and slide and shoot and and and... it had no end!

“Yo, this Pirate rocks! Hahaha!” Lars’s laugh was filled with ecstasy. It was a while since he faced such a strong lane opponent, it’s the best! Rather than feeling frustrated or overpowered, he was totally raring to go! More! MORE! He wanted to fight this Pirate more! It’s so thrilling! It’s the best! He couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment!

Just how long is Trever planning to mess around? Aron frowned. The neverending back and forth started getting on his nerves. What was Trever doing?

It was already the fifth face-off between these two idiots, but Trever was yet to deliver any results. Not to mention, the rookie didn’t look intimidated in the slightest, despite facing a senior from the club who used to play Carry on the main team. Trever was the best person for putting this cocky rookie in his place, but that just refused to happen for some reason. I swear, if he’s going easy because he’s fighting a rookie...

“Do you think Trever is holding back?” Aron asked Gilbert, the one who saw these fights up close in Bot Lane.

“Hmm, I don’t think so.” Gilbert made a complicated expression as he whispered behind Lars’s back. “I’m not 100% sure, but I think this kid here is actually holding Trever down.”

“You serious?”

“Yeah, hard to believe, I know. Trever makes better decisions overall, but Lars balances that out with absurd reaction speed and coordination. He makes hitting Trickshots look like a child's play, he even somehow hits them off the random walls I’ve been placing.”

“Is that so.” Aron knitted his eyebrows. If Gilbert’s observation was to be trusted, then Lars had enough skill to match Trever in a fair fight. Aron claimed Lars was just a cocky greenhorn, but he was going to eat his words at this rate.

Even suppose that Lars played Trickshooter better than any other class, was it really possible for an examinee to beat Trever? It actually happened before, but that was last year and there were special circumstances in place. Trever improved a lot since then, so it shouldn’t happen again, especially not in a fight dominated by technical skill.

Seriously, what is it with rookies these days? Aron sighed. First Howard and Ellen, now Yuel and Lars. Aron had to watch players with monstrous talents apply to the club one after another, threatening to leave players from his generation in the dust. Back in the day, when he took this very exam, he believed he and Trever were among the strongest rookies to ever attempt this exam. But now, he felt like an old-timer who barely kept up with the younger generation. Sigh.

“Wow, this rookie sure holding his ground, haha.” Trever laughed awkwardly, lost somewhere between enjoying the challenging battle and feeling weak for allowing a rookie push him around like that. That kid was one heck of a mechanical skill prodigy, no two ways about it. Trever had no choice but admit he was inferior in that department, since that’s literally the only reason Lars held up for so long.

However, that was coming to an end. Trever didn’t spend the last two years in the club sitting on his butt doing nothing. He was already mechanically skilled when he joined, so he worked hard on improving his decision-making skills and gaining as much experience as possible. A true competitive player didn’t simply bash heads with his lane opponent, he also studied them and their playstyle. That’s the most important lesson he learned during the past two years, and he was going to put it to practice right here and now!

Welp, it was fun while it lasted, kid. Trever smirked once the effect of the Trickshooter’s ultimate, Trickshow, came to an end. Surviving though that crazy Trickshow was hard as hell, but now that Trever made it through - he had the upper hand!

Sorry to break it for ya, but mechanical skill isn’t everything. Trever fearlessly advanced toward the Trickshooter, despite being at 30% HP after surviving through the Trickshow. He already played out the next few steps in his head, there was no hesitation in his movements. Combining his natural mechanical skill with the decision-making skills he acquired in the club, he was going to settle this duel for good!

“RELEASE THE-”

“Oh snap!” Lars exclaimed in response to the loud sound cue accompanying the Pirate’s ult: Release the Kraken. Damn, the huge squid dude was incoming!!!

The casting time for the ult was like a second, so there was no time for anything! Lars instantly slid away from the Kraken’s range with Trickslide. He pressed the skill button on instinct, it was as natural as breathing for him. That’s not surprising, considering how many Krakens he faced by now. If he got a dollar each time he dodged a Kraken, he’d be filthy rich by now.

Sorry, but no dice, dude! Lars grinned as he turned around to face the Pirate, satisfied with his dodge.

Heh, a fast bastard like always. Trever grinned. Good job reacting so fast, damn wonder boy. But, that was just bait! It gonna be the end of you!

Okay, now that both our ults are down, I can wreck- huh!? Lars froze. Wait, where’s the squid dude? Where’s the freakin’ Kraken he just dodged!? It never showed up! Did the Pirate cancel his ult in the last moment!?

The only upside to the Kraken’s long windup animation was the option to cancel it before the Pirate finished yelling “Release the Kraken!”. It was an advanced trick which Yuel taught him before, but he never had the chance to actually play against it. Nobody did that shit in Ranked, yo! It was a sick play!

I’mma beat into ya what it means to be a competitive player, kid! Trever turned his back to the Trickshooter and fired Backfire Cannon. Players usually used this skill for one of two purposes: as a ranged damaging ability or as an escape tool. However, veterans knew of a third way to use Backfire Cannon: to chase enemies!

Backfire Cannon always pushed the Pirate backwards, so by turning his back to the enemy - he could quickly close the distance to them! In addition, the knockback from Backfire Cannon had roughly the same travel distance as the Trickshooter’s Trickslide. In other words, by closing the distance with Backfire Cannon, Trever effectively cancelled out the whole distance his enemy created! Yet again, the Trickshooter found himself within the Kraken’s range, Except, this time, he had no escape tools available.

I’m dead. I’m so dead, haha! Lars’s eyes darted across the screen, desperately seeking a way out of this situation. That Pirate was sick! Lars was totally played for a fool by that Kraken bait! So, this is the level of a competitive player, huh? It’s awesome!

Nevertheless, he refused to give up. There had to be something, anything! There was still a bit time before the Kraken was going to hit the stage. FIrst, there was the time it took Backfire Cannon to finish pushing the Pirate. Then, there was the casting animation for the Kraken’s attack. Yeah, he had plenty of time! There was a total of a like... like 2 seconds or something! Yeah, that’s more than enough!

Lars’s heart accelerated as he absorbed every little details in his surroundings. He had to find something, anything! He refused to fall here! He fought so hard against the Pirate until now, he refused step down in defeat!

For starters, dodging seemed out of question. His best bet was rolling straight ahead and hoping the Pirate wouldn’t cast the Kraken in the most optimal spot, allowing him escape the Kraken’s AoE by a hair breadth. But c’mon, what were the odds of this Pirate messing up like that?

The whole bait-and-switch Kraken play was clearly something the Pirate practiced a lot, so there was no way he’d conveniently screw it up at the very end. Still, there was no telling what’d happen unless Lars tried, so... no, wait.

“When it doesn’t seem like you can dodge the Kraken, don’t bother trying.” Yuel’s words echoed in his mind. “When in the hands of competent a player, the Kraken’s damage itself is rarely used as the finisher. Instead, it’s more likely they’ll use the Kraken‘s CC to floor you, then they’ll finish you off with basic attacks. You’ll be able to freely shoot at them until the CC hits, so go all out instead of retreating. Worst case, even if you die, others will be able follow up on the damage you dealt. Also...”

Yuel’s teachings were burned into Lars’s mind. Just how many different versions of this explanation he heard by now? The information was literally hammered into his brain by Yuel. Dude was like some preaching cultist, no joke.

But, thanks to hearing the same thing a bazillion times and practicing it with Yuel, the knowledge surfaced naturally when he most needed it. His instincts screamed he should flee, but he stood still and continued analyzing his options. Running was useless. It was pointless. It wasn’t going to cut it. The right choice was to stay and fight. He repeated that in his head like a mantra, until his body accepted it like a fact.

Maybe Lars was less experienced than his opponent and his decision-making skills were still lacking, but he wasn’t some clueless scrub. He had a trustworthy friend, who also happened to be a walking encyclopedia. Even if his bird brain only absorbed 1% of what Yuel taught him, that was enough to make him a hundred times stronger, yo!

Since he decided to stay and fight, the best move was to fire Trickshot at the Pirate. But, how should he go about it? The safest choice was firing Trickshot straight at the Pirate, without bothering with any wall bounces. With Lars’s skill, that had like 120% chance of hitting. However, it’d only delete about a quarter of the Pirate’s HP.

The second option was to fire Trickshot at the nearby wall, making it bounce once before hitting the Pirate. That normally had a chance to miss when fired in such a haste, but in this case his enemy was going to be stationary while casting Kraken, so locking on the Pirate was going to be a piece of cake. Alas, even this shot was nowhere near enough to turn the tables around, it’d only delete about half the enemy’s HP.

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Then, there was the final option: Lars could request a hasty Ice Wall and attempt a double bounce Trickshot. Even though it was just one extra bounce, it was going to be infinitely harder to land, thus incredibly risky. However, if the shot connected, it should wipe out the Pirate for good., that was the only way to win this duel!

Heh, Yuel won’t let me hear the end of it if I told him I’m seriously considering this right now. To most people, Yuel would tell to shoot a straight Trickshot without taking any risks. Knowing Lars’s abilities, Yuel might suggest going for one bounce. Anyway, there was no way in hell Yuel would approve of the all-or-nothing double bounce Trickshot.

However, that was just a good decision according to Yuel’s understanding of Lars’s ability. Yuel was a smart dude and all, but nobody understood Lars’s ability better than Lars himself. Even if hitting a double bounce Trickshot on the spot was impossible for others, Lars was gonna do it! It was a decision only he could make for himself by knowing the full extent of his shooting skill, it was the ultimate level of decision-making, yo!

“Create a wall!” Lars shouted.

“Huh?” Gilbert flinched. “Wall? Where?”

“No matter! Anywhere’s good as long as I can bounce off it! Hurry, yo!”

“Er, sure.” Gilbert formed a wall of ice wherever, he didn’t have the luxury to pick a proper spot. Was that going to help in any way? This fight was already over as far as he could tell, Lars was as good as dead. Even if he used the ice wall to bounce-

“Huh?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow. Lars fired Trickshot at a nearby wall, before Gilbert’s ice wall even finished forming. What gives? Wasn’t he planning to use the ice wall for a bounce? What a waste of mana- wait. Wait wait wait! Seriously!? “A double bounce!? In this situation!?” Gilbert gasped so hard he ran out of oxygen.

Yeah! Good! Lars grinned once his Trickshot made contact with the nearby wall. From there, it ricocheted toward Gilbert’s ice wall, which was still in the middle of being constructed. It was a shot with absurdly risky timing, but Lars didn’t have a choice. He burned way too much time picking this move, so by the time he got to shooting - the Kraken’s tentacle was already right above his head! It was now or never, so he bet everything on this hasty bullet!

C’mon, wall! Lars gritted his teeth. His Trickshooter was smashed into the ground by the Kraken, but there was still hope. He had more than enough HP to survive the Kraken’s damage. As Yuel said, the real danger laid with the Pirate’s follow up attacks while Lars was CC’d. If this Trickshot was going to connect, the Pirate would be removed from the stage before achieving anything!

Not the best wall in the world, but it should work! Let it hit, yooo! Lars gulped. Gilbert didn’t have much experience placing walls for him, but they had used the Ice Wall + Trickshot combo a couple of times by now, with varying degrees of success. Lars got a pretty good feel for how Gilbert placed walls, so he should be able to land this shot! He simply had to! Yoooooo!

... and he did! The Trickshot ran into the ice wall and bounced for the second time! All that remained was for the shot to connect with the enemy Pirate! It was going to take him out for sure, yo!

This was normally the hardest step of the double-bounce Trickshot, but not quite in this case. The Pirate was effectively a training dummy, what with all the windup required for casting Release the Kraken. Lars practiced too many double-bounce Trickshots to miss in this situation!

Even though Yuel forced him to practice many other Carry classes for Ranked, Lars never neglected Trickshooter, not even for a single day. Even if it was just in Practice Mode, even if it was just for 10 minutes from the whole day, he never let himself lose his touch when it came to Trickshooter. Therefore, there was no way he’d fail here!!!

... gah! The bullet barely grazed the Pirate’s shoulder! It was a clutch hit, which the Pirate could easily dodge by turning aside. But, in Classmancers, that was enough. It was a hit. It was a freakin’ hit! The Pirate’s HP got deleted!

『You have killed an enemy!』

“Woohoo! Yeah!” Lars threw fists into the air and jumped on his seat. Even though his Trickshooter was still pitifully crawling on the ground due to the Kraken’s CC, he was actually the winner! That Pirate was one tough cookie, but Lars finally gained the upper hand! Woohoo!

“That’s... I mean... yeah...” Gilbert couldn't words. He had no idea what he just witnessed. All this time, he was convinced Lars was doomed and that he couldn’t do anything to help, because Cryo-Freeze was on cooldown. But, that rookie just... holy moly.

“That was... a rather reckless play.” Aron’s voice was shaky. “If you missed that shot, you’d end up dying without dealing any damage to the Pirate. He could easily push the lane afterwards.”

“Heh, yeah I know. But I got him, so there’s no problem, right?”

“I... suppose so.” Aron, of all people, forgot how to talk back. Frankly, that play was mind boggling. Even if it wasn’t something Lars could reliably hit 100% of the time, he was capable of hitting such a tricky shot more often than not. His performance until now, combined with Gilbert’s positive impression, proved that beyond a shadow of doubt.

It was frustrating to admit, but that shot was no fluke. Lars defeated a club member in a 1v1, fair and square without any handicaps. And it was Trever of all people, who had two years of competitive experience under his belt and used to play Carry on the main team.

Honestly, there was nothing Aron could say after this. Any mistake Lars was going to commit from here on out would be overshadowed by this unbelievable achievement. Unless there were more examinees with such monstrous talents, Lar’s victory against Trever effectively earned him a free ticket into the Classmancers club.

“Wow...” Trever stared at his screen with a blank expression.

『You have been killed!』

“You gotta be shitting me, haha...” He had no idea how to react to this bullshit. The shot that killed him just now, it was a double bouncing Trickshot, wasn’t it? It totally was, right? How the hell... he didn’t even...

“My, you can’t even hold your own against a rookie? How pathetic.” Ellen sneered. “Really, if that’s all you’ve got after spending two years in this club, maybe you should just quit Classmancers?”

“Nah, this rookie is just... He just got real lucky! Yeah, that’s all it was! Haha...”

“‘Lucky’, you say? If memory serves, something similar happened to you last year as well, didn’t it?”

“... let’s not go there.” Trever averted his eyes.

“Running away, are we? I think it’s about time you came to terms with how much of a trash tier player you are.”

“Gh.” Trever gritted his teeth and hung his head. His fists trembled and his breathing became ragged. “I’ll get him next time.”

“Hmm, I wonder about that.” Ellen rolled her eyes. “You better pull yourself together, because I was ordered to not mess with the rookie. Though I’ll say, this rookie sure looks like fun.” She licked her lips.

“No problem, I got this. Yeah, no big deal.” Trever took a deep breath and returned to the match. He couldn’t let that defeat eat at him, or else things were only going to get worse. That double-bounce Trickshot was just a fluke! Just a lucky shot! That rookie was sure tough, but he wasn’t above Trever’s level by any means! Yeah!

“Oh, cool. Here he comes.” Lars grinned once the Pirate returned to lane. “Let’s see who comes on top this time!”

Even though Lars won the previous fight, he understood better than anybody it was one heck of a clutch. That Pirate was hella strong, there was no telling who was better. To prove he was stronger, Lars had to win the next fight, and the next next fight, and the one after, yo! Facing such a strong rival was so sick!

But, something was wrong this time. The Pirate was pretty strong, but he failed to excite Lars like before. It’s not like he was weak or anything like that, he still showcased decent mechanical skill and sharp decision-making befitting a veteran. But, that’s about it. He was strong, but he didn’t feel unbeatable.

Did he seriously just spend Backfire? Lars tilted his head. He pressured the Pirate pretty hard, but it didn’t feel like the Pirate was so cornered that Backfire Cannon had to be used this early. Welp, it’s over then.

Lars activated his ultimate, Trickshow, and assaulted the Pirate. With the Pirate’s one and only escape tool being on cooldown, there was no getting away. Lars swiftly slid around the Pirate, firing Trickshot in every direction. The Pirate was caged in a bullet hell, there was no escape.

『You have killed an enemy!』

“Welp, guess that’s that.” Lars shrugged. It was a nice fight, but nothing more. Unlike the first time, this victory didn’t feel like an Olympic achievement. Really, what’s going on with that Pirate?

“Again!?” Trever slammed on the table. He allowed himself to be defeated by a rookie! Again! It was the second the second time already! The hell was he doing!?

“My, my.” Ellen shook her head. “I believe somebody said he ‘got this’?”

“I-I’ll get him next time!” Trever insisted. No way he was gonna lose, not to some rookie! He didn’t work his ass off the past two years to be stomped on by rookies! He wasn’t going to allow himself become a laughingstock!

『You have been killed!』

“Ah...” The third time. He was speechless. How was he even supposed to react to this bullshit? This time, he was thoroughly trashed by that rookie. He, a veteran from the club, was completely destroyed by some rookie. What the actual fuck.

“My, did you decide to switch sides?” Ellen giggled. “Because I have to say, you’re doing a really good job feeding their Carry. Seems like even trash can be useful to others.”

“I...” Trever hung his head and covered his eyes. That was too much. it’s not like he wanted to get killed, dammit! Fuck! Fuck it all!

“It’s because you can’t keep your shit together that you’re so useless. Just do us all a favor and hug your Turret before we lose because of you, okay thanks.”

“... got it.” Trever answered with a muffled voice. As much as he wanted to lash at Ellen, there was nothing to retort with. Three deaths in a row was basically feeding, no way around it. He was far behind the enemy Trickshooter in both level and gold, so his only option was staying beside his Turret and playing defensively.

So that’s all I’m worth, eh. How dumb. Trever bit his lip and grabbed the mouse with his shaking hand. He used to be such a strong player in grade school, but look at him now. Even with so much competitive experience under his belt, he allowed a rookie to walk all over him. And it was the second year in a row! Disgraceful didn’t even begin to describe it.

Just let it end already... He didn’t give a shit anymore, he just wanted this torture to be over with. There was no point even trying anymore, so he just quietly farmed minions without leaving his Turret.

“Boo, I changed my mind about that Pirate.” Lars made a face. “Dunno what’s his deal, but he became crap.”

“So it seems.” Aron frowned. “He seems to be under the weather today, so just ignore him.”

Of course, Aron knew it wasn’t anything simple like that. Trever was a skilled player, but also a fragile one. When things were going well for him, he was a beast. However, even the smallest mistake could trip him, making him lose himself. Even though he was strong enough to play on the main team, he was too unreliable for competitions.

Trever used to be an extraordinary player in grade school, but that made him into a cocky show-off. Upon entering junior high and facing strong seniors, he was forced to realize he wasn’t nearly as special as he thought. He had always been a moody player, but that part of him became much worse since then, such was the tragic tale of a promising Classmancers player.

As someone who witnessed the whole story unfold from up close, Aron couldn’t help but worry. Lars’s greater than life attitude was the spitting image of Trever’s younger self. For Lars’s own sake, it was best if somebody kicked him off the high horse as soon as possible. Learning his limits now would be merciful compared to discovering them from a devastating defeat in a serious match. Alas, with Trever performing poorly, that seemed impossible to achieve during this exam.

There was now only one player on the enemy team who could teach Lars the necessary lesson, but Aron would be damned if he allowed her to take this job. That was only going to do more harm than good.

『An enemy has been killed!』

“Welp, he went down again.” Lars shrugged. “Man, I’m so fed right now I can even kill him under tower. So, I basically already passed the test, right?”

“Who knows.”

“C’mon, I totally passed, right? C’mon, you can tell me, dude!”

“Shut up and keep playing.”

“Geh, okay”.

This is really bad. Aron frowned. With four kills, Lars completely dominated Bot Lane. Allowing the enemy Carry to snowball was going to prove fatal mistake, anybody knew that. At this point, it was difficult to insist on Ellen not intervening.

When an enemy snowballed, the most most straightforward solution was to gank them, which was usually the Junger’s job. Aron ordered Ellen to stay away from the rookie, but the lack of ganks in Bot was difficult to justify in this situation. Even though this was an exam, it still strived to simulate a real match. To keep the match at least remotely fair, Ellen had no choice but to gank Bot Lane and stop Lars’s snowballing, she surely understood that. Things were about to get ugly.

“My, what an interesting rookie we got on our hands.”

Defeating Trever was just the beginning for Lars. His strong performance piqued the interest of the “goddess”, who was going to teach him a lesson he‘d never forget.