Jin sliced through Ignis, then immediately used the Korean Step Cancel in order to retreat out of Ignis’s attack range. This should’ve made Ignis whiff a counter-attack like before, but...

"You're not getting away, kid!" Ignis didn't retaliate right away. Instead, she charged straight at her opponent!

This KC shit is sure cool but it's not invincible. Ignis grinned. I've already figured it out. Yeah, I'm that smart!

She's catching up. Jin frowned.

Even though he used KC to cancel his recovery animation early, he had to step backward in order to get out of Ignis’s superior attack range. Unfortunately, backpedaling was slower than running forward, such were the rules of this game. 

Therefore, instead of retaliating right away, Ignis chose to run toward Jin. Within moments, she caught up and placed him back within her attack range. Then, she swung her big blade!

Good play. But, it's no problem. Jin simply turned around and rolled out of danger.

"Shit!" Ignis cursed. "This kid, I swear."

"My, are you having trouble against a middle schooler?" Esmeralda giggled.

"Nah, I'm just warming up," Ignis said. But seriously, what's up with this brat? I've never seen a kid who plays this smoothly. He moves like somebody who has been playing since birth. He’s like a machine.

Ignis has been slowly adapting to the kid's KC shenanigans, but their contest nonetheless felt like an uphill battle for her. Yes, an uphill battle... for a pro against some brat. It was absurdity in the making.

Well, I'm just not used to playing against KC, that's all. Ignis stuck to that excuse. I'll mop the floor with this little shit once I adapt to his tricks.

And so, Ignis continued struggling to the best of her ability against this foreign technique. Each and every one of her blade swings was cautious and deliberate, aiming to bait her opponent into misplaying. She already figured one weakness KC had, so she just had to find a few more in order to corner this whippersnapper.

Unfortunately, Ignis's HP wasn't infinite. So, even though she has been getting better and better at responding to the kid’s KC, Ignis was bound to run out of HP first. After all, she started this struggle at disadvantage. That damn KC caught her off-guard during the first time, so she paid dearly with her HP for that mistake.

At this point, she couldn't hold onto the lane for much longer, not with 30% HP remaining.

I'm already pushing it. Ignis smiled wryly. Against a real pro, I would've recalled at 40%. Tch. I just don't wanna lose to this kid, damn it! But, looks like he got me in the first round.

Swallowing her pride, Ignis had to concede defeat to the kid at this time. Retreating was embarrassing, but dying would be downright shameful.

"Hawk, get your ass over here," Ignis commanded. "I gonna recall, so you have to defend Top for a while."

"For real?" Hawk cracked a laugh. "You're recalling first? Against a middle schooler? Must be a cold day in hell." 

"Hmph. This brat isn't half bad, I'll give him that. I'm also not used to playing against KC, so that doesn’t help."

"Heh, you’re making excuses against a kid?" 

"You wanna get punched, bitch?" 

"Haha, okay, okay." Hawk laughed. "I'm coming over."

"Make it quick."

"Man, you sure know how to ask for favors, don't you?" 

"It’s not a favor. I'm just telling you to do your job, junior."

"Fine, fine." Hawk smiled wryly and shrugged. Man, everybody here bullies me. I almost feel like crying... Well, not really.

Hawk rotated to Top and switched places with Ignis. It was an inevitable development given how things were going for Ignis, yet the situation still astonished everybody.

Sis retreated first!? Howard couldn't believe it. I saw she wasn't doing so hot, but this is...

Howard didn’t have the luxury of following everything that happened in Top, his lane opponents didn’t give him such freedom. As such, he had no idea what tactics Jin pulled to gain the upper hand against Ignis. The unknown made Howard shudder a little.

Sis got her weaknesses, I’m not going to deny. But, fighting 1v1 in lane is the one area where she’s an absolute beast. So, how can somebody so much younger contest her...?

Perhaps Rodriguez’s exaggerated evaluation of Jin’s skill wasn’t so exaggerated after all. StormBlitz might indeed gain valuable information here today from watching Jin in action.

To think that they have a player at this level on the team... Howard gulped. It looks like taking the regionals this year won't be as easy as I hoped.

Until now, Howard thought only the Leopards stood between him and winning the regionals. In other words, the Leopards should have been the only real challenge he’d have to overcome in order to get a recommendation letter to Grandview High and join Utopia, the strongest high school team in the country.

But now, this Korean kid showed up out of nowhere. Technically, he was also part of the Leopards, but he was clearly a threat on an entirely different level.

I feel like we'll have to review the heck outta this game later. Howard took a mental note and shifted his focus back to his own lane, where he and Ellen weren't doing so hot.

"Ah!" Howard realized a moment too late. While he was busy examining the situation in Top - the enemy made their move!

IronWall erected an ice wall behind Ellen while Argus activated his Fan the Hammer. They were going in for the kill!

"My, they caught me~!" Ellen smiled nervously. "My leap is on cooldown, too. This might get a tiny bit ugly~" 

"No problem. I'll get you out."

"Oh, my prince is coming to the rescue? Aww, how sweet~" 

Howard rolled toward the scene and activated Gaia’s Protection, granting Ellen a thick shield. It’ll be able to withstand a few hits, but...

BAM! BAM! BAM! The Gunslinger fired nonstop. Bullets mercilessly barraged Ellen as she was forced to waste time circling around the pesky ice wall.

Eventually, she got out of the danger zone, but not without hefty injuries. This was clearly a misplay, from both of them.

"Sorry~" Ellen apologized. "They caught me at an awkward position there." 

"Yeah, that wasn't the safest spot to farm from," Howard agreed. "But, don't worry about it."

"Of course I don't." Ellen smiled meaningfully. "After all, it's your job to watch my position and tell me if I'm doing something wrong, right Wardy?"

"Huh, so it's my fault now?" 

"Hehe~" Ellen giggled innocently. "But seriously, what's wrong? You've been distracted the entire game. Normally, you'd spot such a terrible misplay right away and scold me."

"Maybe I'm just getting a little tired. This is our third game, after all. It's exhausting to play our best every game and still get beaten so badly every damn time." 

"You can say that again." Ellen nodded. "But, that's not all, is it? I mean, you’ve been getting better and better at maintaining your focus over long periods of time. I'm not sure what kind of training you started doing in secret, but it's sure paying off~"

"I haven't started anything." Howard averted his eyes. "I’m just starting to lose focus during the 3rd game. It always happens, doesn’t it?”

"But, recently you’ve been lasting until the 4th game just fine. Are you sure you're not distracted? For example, by worrying about your dear sister~?"

"Does she look like somebody I have to worry about?" Howard asked. "Besides, she's fighting a middle schooler."

"That's why it’s so worrisome, isn't it? To think that Igny can lose a duel to someone our age. I'm shocked beyond words."

"Yeah, that's pretty unbelievable..." Howard agreed. "I couldn't even tell what trick he used to get the upper hand." 

"Aha! So you were distracted by what's happening in Top!"

"Agh." Howard walked into that one.

"My, Wardy is such a worrywart when it comes to his dear sister~" 

"No, I’m not! I was just wondering what kind of monster we'll be facing at the regionals this year, seeing as he can do this much against sis."

"True, that is worrisome." Ellen nodded. “But, we’ll cross that bridge once we get there. For now, we have to focus on what’s in front of us.”

“You’re right,” Howard agreed. “Alright, let’s show those two what we’re made of. They won’t catch us off guard again.”

“I’m counting on you to protect me, Wardy~”

“How about you first count on yourself to not end up in a bad spot?”

“But, if I don’t put myself in trouble, how can I play the damsel in distress~?”

“Look, I have to watch the entire map, not just you.” Howard sighed. “So, I’d be grateful if you don’t put more work on my plate than absolutely necessary.”

“Roger~” Ellen saluted, but was she really going to follow on that? Who could tell.

And so, Howard stopped focusing on how his sister was doing in Top and returned to observing the entire map as Aegis, the team’s shot-caller. And naturally, he paid the most attention to the two enemies in front of him.

Still, he couldn’t entirely forget what he had just witnessed. Howard and Ellen always played their best against pros, but they nonetheless struggled against IronWall and Argus. Meanwhile, Jin somehow dominated Top without much trouble. The difference in their performances was scary to think about.

That guy is going to be our greatest obstacle at the regionals, no question about it. But for now, I have to figure how to survive against these two merciless pros in front of me...