All-Round Mid Laner

Very quickly, the game began.

Team FNO stuck to their predetermined plan of stealing Tianhuan's red buff. They invaded Tianhuan's jungle with a group of four—their support, marksman, jungler, and mid laner.

Because the Stealthy Rogue was a jungler without a mana bar, Chi Shuo would rely more on the red buff. As long as FNO could steal away Chi Shuo's red buff at the start of the game, they would disrupt Chi Shuo's ability to farm in the jungle and suppress his ability to develop.

FNO's coach had said that Tianhuan built their team around Chi Shuo as their jungler core; the other players weren't much of a threat.

Mitchell took his teammates over to the red buff, where they ran into Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing. Qu Jiang saw that the enemy was a group of four heroes, so he instantly hit the command to retreat.

Cheng Xing reacted very quickly; he decisively used his flash to escape.

The enemy support, the Master Machinist, had a control skill at Level 1. If he used one of his mechanical soldiers to stun Cheng Xing, then Cheng Xing wouldn't be able to run anymore—he would only be able to die at the enemy's hands, which would greatly hinder his ability to fight later in the game.

At the same time, a group of three—Chi Shuo, Ye Shaoyang, and Qin Yizhu—were invading the enemy jungle to steal their red buff.

Chi Shuo had guessed that FNO would try to steal their red buff. If they faced them head-on, Tianhuan wouldn't necessarily win. In that case, it was better to simply avoid facing them head-on and run off to steal their red buff instead. This opening became a matter of 'you steal from me, I steal from you'. Neither side would come out at a loss, anyway.

After taking down the enemy's red buff, Chi Shuo instantly returned to his own jungle's blue buff.

He swiftly hacked the blue buff down to a sliver of HP, then said, "Shaoyang, come take the blue."

Ye Shaoyang claimed the buff with a Q skill, then hurriedly returned to the middle lane.

Although Mitchell and the others had stolen Tianhuan's red buff, they didn't manage to kill anyone. Their own red buff had been stolen as well, so it could be said that they wound up achieving nothing. What really surprised them was the fact that Tianhuan's mid laner was glowing with the light of the blue buff.

Mitchell dubiously wondered, "Isn't Tianhuan a jungler-core team? Why did they let their mid laner take the first blue buff?"

The buff buff wasn't only good for restoring mana. It also decreased cooldown times of a hero's skills, and the most important part was—after taking down the buff in the jungle, a player's experience and gold gains would be slightly higher.

If a jungler wanted to reach Level 6 as quickly as possible and learn their ult, they would definitely take the first buff that spawned for themselves. Only a support jungler would step aside and let a teammate take the buff, so that their teammate could develop more quickly.

So…

What exactly was Tianhuan thinking?

Their jungler was their core, but they'd let the mid laner take the first blue buff. That meant the jungler wouldn't be able to reach Level 6 in the next four minutes. A jungler who couldn't learn their ult wouldn't be able to gank anyone!

Mitchell felt a jolt of giddiness. He said, "The enemy mid laner took the blue, the jungler won't be able to reach Level 6. Clear the bottom lane minions fast. We'll go into the first minor dragon fight with an advantage."

Angus and Allen simultaneously answered, "Roger that!"

The two teams swiftly started to farm minions and level up.

Mitchell was running his own favored hero, the Sun Mage.

Of all the Mage-line heroes, this was the one with the most fierce and aggressive fighting style. He could get in close and go head-to-head with his enemies. A golden wheel surrounded him, like a protective shield. It essentially gave this mage a 20% HP boost, making him quite tanky.

The Sun Mage's style of attack made use of the golden wheels in his hands. His attack range was very short, but once his wheels struck an enemy, they would do huge amounts of damage. Most fragile glass cannon mages could only take three hits from him; they would basically all lose their lives against him.

When Mitchell saw the Abyssal Lord moving up to clear minions, he seized the opportunity to suddenly sprint forward with his W movement skill. The two golden wheels in his hands swung out at his enemy's head—

But after he launched his attack, he saw that the Abyssal Lord hadn't lost any HP at all.

When Mitchell took a closer look, he noticed the Abyssal Lord had left a black shadow near Tianhuan's defensive tower. The instant Mitchell struck, the mid laner had instantly hit his E skill to switch places with that shadow, returning to the place where the shadow had been planted.

Mitchell had struck as fiercely as a tiger, only to hit thin air.

He couldn't help but mutter darkly, "What a coward, he's actually hiding under his tower!"

Ye Shaoyang had promised, after all—he would do his best not to leave his tower.

So he wouldn't venture out of the defensive tower's range. He would keep his Abyssal Lord right under the tower, endlessly sending his shadows out to farm minions. His Q still could do some damage to enemies in the middle lane; nothing could have made it easier for him to farm minions.

This kind of fighting style, where one player hid under their defensive tower, did seem overly cautious and a bit cowardly. It was quite suitable for a 'newbie' like Ye Shaoyang.

But in truth…

Ye Shaoyang was studying Mitchell's attack rhythm and movement patterns.

Mitchell wasn't a world-class mid laner for nothing. His movement and positioning skills were top-tier. He bobbed and weaved, left and right. It was very difficult to predict where he would appear next. However, Ye Shaoyang caught on very quickly to one of Mitchell's attack patterns—

Whenever a new wave of minions spawned on the middle lane at full health, Mitchell would use his Q skill to clear them away. One of his golden wheels would sweep out, and all those little minions would be brought down to critically low health. Then Mitchell would use a few normal attacks to take them down and reap the rewards. This was how the vast majority of mages farmed minions—Q skill, followed up by normal attacks. It was the quickest way for them to clear away little minions.

However, the Sun Mage was unique in a way—he was especially fierce in close-range combat, but relatively slow and cumbersome. The instant he released one of his sun wheels, there would be approximately 0.1 seconds in which he was frozen in place, unable to move.

That fleeting moment of immobility was the perfect time for someone to strike against the Sun Mage.

The corners of Ye Shaoyang's lips quirked up slightly.

Being locked in place before or after unleashing a skill was enough for a mage to lose their life.

Mitchell clearly believed the Abyssal Lord in front of him was a 'coward' who was terrified of him. This Abyssal Lord was sticking close to the tower, not daring to come out. So, when Mitchell advanced down the middle lane, his movements were very arrogant. He didn't pay attention to this momentary immobility at all.

Ye Shaoyang was still under his tower, farming minions. He reached Level 6 very quickly. Chi Shuo had given him the first blue buff, which meant Ye Shaoyang was one level above Mitchell at this early stage of the game. The blue buff also reduced the cooldown times of his skills, so he could farm minions faster than Mitchell could.

As a result, when he reached Level 6, Mitchell was still only at Level 5.

When the two of them faced off, Ye Shaoyang had acted like he was rather scared. He stayed under his tower, like he didn't dare come out. He only let out his shadows to farm minions and gain experience. These black shadows could deal damage to enemies in a straight line, so on several occasions, the shadows had 'coincidentally' landed a hit on Mitchell's Sun Mage.

Currently, the Sun Mage's HP was already down to 80% or so. The shield around his body had also been destroyed by the shadows Ye Shaoyang released. There would be another five seconds before his shield regenerated.

The next wave of minions appeared.

As expected, Mitchell continued to use his Q to damage those minions. From his point of view, it seemed the enemy mid laner had already been completely suppressed by him. That coward could only hide under his tower. Although Mitchell was at 80% health, he couldn't be bothered to eat a mushroom to replenish his HP. With just that tiny bit of damage he'd taken, he wouldn't be afraid even if he went head-to-head with his opponent!

However, the instant he released his Q skill…

The Abyssal Lord's three shadows suddenly engulfed him like a raging hurricane. A black, eye-shaped marker appeared above his head. Before Mitchell could even react, a clear and crisp announcement rang out in his ears—

First Blood!

Mitchell's screen went black. The Abyssal Lord was still standing under that tower, but the Sun Mage was dead!

Mitchell's head filled up with question marks.

Ye Shaoyang—

I did say I wouldn't leave my tower.

But my shadows can leave.

When the Abyssal Lord kills, he kills with his shadows.

Lin Feng lifted his head and looked towards that familiar ^_^ expression on Ye Shaoyang's face. He felt a chill run down his spine.

This guy had actually gotten a solo kill on Mitchell.

A mid lane solo kill!

Mitchell was a world-class mid laner. You could count up the mid laners who could solo kill him on one hand. In S8, Fang Zhengqing had used a summoner mage to do a huge burst of damage and take Mitchell's head. However, in normal games, mid laners who faced off against Mitchell were all suppressed. They would have to call their junglers and turn the fight into a 2v1 before they could take care of Mitchell.

How had Shaoyang done this?

The movements of those black shadows had been positively dizzying. Mitchell had only advanced to clear a wave of minions, and then those shadows had suddenly stormed up. Immediately afterwards, Mitchell had been laid out on the ground.

That attack had been so fast that it was terrifying.

Mitchell was killed and had to respawn at his base. His head was completely full of confusion.

His teammates were baffled as well—what just happened? Their captain had been solo killed?

As soon as Mitchell respawned, he said, "That was just a positioning error. Get ready to take the minor dragon!"

Logically speaking, FNO should have gone into the first minor dragon fight with a clear advantage. Chi Shuo, the enemy jungler, had yet to reach Level 6. FNO's jungler was already at Level 6, and he had a crowd control ult—wouldn't FNO win this team fight very easily?

However, when they really arrived at the dragon pit for a fight, they realized that reality wasn't what they'd imagined at all!

At that time, all five of FNO's players were at Level 6.

As for Tianhuan, their top laner and marksman were at Level 6. Their mid laner was at Level 7. Their support was Level 5, as was their jungler.

The jungler didn't have an ult. He would definitely be at a disadvantage in this team fight…

But Tianhuan was actually willing to accept this challenge?

Chi Shuo decisively took FNO up on that fight. In the voice channel, he commanded, "Old Qin, pull them in. Shaoyang, get ready to circle to the back!"

As soon as the 5v5 fight began, the top laner Qin Yizhu suddenly jumped into the fray and used a 'taunt' to forcibly reel in the enemy top laner and jungler.

Mitchell couldn't help but find that funny. Pulling in two tanks with a taunt? Had this guy misplaced his skill?

However, the facts would soon prove—Qin Yizhu had acted deliberately.

He'd pulled FNO's two control-oriented heroes forward… in order to create an opportunity for Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang to cut into the back line!

Chi Shuo had yet to reach Level 6; he didn't have a burst ult available to him yet. But the Stealthy Rogue's Q skill allowed this hero to go invisible. The instant he shed his invisibility, he could stun the enemy for one second and also lower the enemy's defense at the same time.

After the two heroes in FNO's front line were pulled up, Chi Shuo swiftly stealthed and circled around to the back line.

The instant the invisible rogue reappeared, the enemy marksman at the back of Team FNO's formation was stunned!

Then, the Abyssal Lord—who was hiding outside the dragon pit—sent his three shadows over. Those black shadows surrounded the enemy marksman like a bolt of lightning. Angus saw his life flash before his eyes; instantaneously, his fragile marksman was left on the ground.

TH0003 (Abyssal Lord) killed Angus (Master Machinist)!

As a kill-oriented assassin mage, the Abyssal Lord's greatest strength was the fact that his skills instantly came off cooldown when he got a kill. He would also enter 'vengeance mode', which improved his magic damage output.

And as long as those shadows weren't extinguished, the Abyssal Lord could continue controlling them and using his E skill to swap places with them.

Mitchell sensed that things weren't going well for them. He reacted swiftly and used his flash to get away!

However, the Abyssal Lord could use his E skill to continuously shift his shadows around. In the rift, those three shadows blinked forward rapidly, like haunting spirits that couldn't be dispelled. In the blink of an eye, they caught up to Mitchell's Sun Mage!

Once again, a familiar black eye appeared above Mitchell's head.

So what if the Sun Mage was tanky?

He wasn't a real tank.

After getting a kill and entering vengeance mode, the Abyssal Lord's magic attack power and burst damage went up. In a short span of time, Ye Shaoyang swiftly tagged Mitchell with seven marks. When they exploded, the Sun Mage died once more!

TH0003 (Abyssal Lord) killed Mitchell (Sun Mage)!

Double Kill!

Ye Shaoyang took a double kill, and his skills refreshed again.

Meanwhile, Team FNO's top laner and jungler were still being controlled by Tianhuan's top laner Qin Yizhu.

Cheng Xing swiftly shot at them from afar. Although his Divine Archer's damage output wasn't high enough in early-game, he still managed to get the enemy jungler down to half-health after continuously firing for a few seconds.

FNO's jungler Kevin realized something was wrong. He instantly turned and fled.

But Chi Shuo had long since gone invisible again. He was lurking nearby, and at just that moment, he made himself visible once more—stunning Kevin in place.

The Abyssal Lord's three shadows turned on their heels and returned to surround the enemy jungler. The Abyssal Lord, with his ult up again, simply couldn't be stopped. With another set of skills, he laid the wounded enemy jungler out flat.

TH0003 (Abyssal Lord) killed Kevin (Brawler)!

Triple Kill!

The Abyssal Lord's experience points skyrocketed with this triple kill.

The three FNO players who had been sent back to their base after death were all dumbstruck. Mitchell was so pissed that he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Jungler core?! This isn't a jungler-core comp, their mid laner is their core! We were careless, careless!"

A completely stunned expression had filled up Coach Tom's eyes.

Had his information been wrong?

Wasn't it said that Tianhuan's Qu Jiang didn't know how to play assassin mages?

At FNO's base, everyone looked at each other in dismay.

And after taking his three kills, Ye Shaoyang docilely returned to his tower.

Lin Feng was silent.

I'll do my best to not leave my tower.

But when I leave, I'll take a triple kill. ^_^

This one team fight made Ye Shaoyang's Abyssal Lord the most overpowered boss on the playing field. Compared to the enemy mid laner Mitchell, he was basically equipped with an extra weapon.

The players on both teams returned to their respective lanes…

Just as before, Ye Shaoyang didn't step out from under his tower.

But Mitchell was no longer bold enough to leave his tower either! If he stepped out, he would be killed!

His gear was at a major disadvantage. If he went out to fight now, that wouldn't be called hotblooded. That would just be stupid.

Mitchell had carelessly underestimated the enemy earlier. He'd assumed his opponent was a second-rate mid laner who was terrified by the mere sight of him. However, starting from this moment, he would remember Tianhuan's mid laner!

That was an Abyssal Lord who had taken advantage of Mitchell's post-skill delay to solo kill him at Level 6.

That was an Abyssal Lord who had cut into the back line during a team fight and killed, killed, and killed again. Every kill refreshed his ult, and he reaped all the lives on the battlefield, taking a terrifying three kills in one go!

An Abyssal Lord who played with an advantage could kill any god in his path. This was Team FNO's first time encountering a mid lane core team running an Abyssal Lord. They had been completely caught off guard.

By the time they dragged the round into late-game, they discovered that Tianhuan's Stealthy Rogue had gotten his optimal gear as well. This invisible assassin came and went like a ghost, traversing the map undetected. Angus, who was assassinated three times, couldn't help but say, "…this game is so hard!"

Allen, the support who was ignored and circumvented every time, complained, "I can't protect the marksman. It's hard on me too!"

The two of them exchanged a look—why did this feel so familiar to them?

The first round of the practice match ended very quickly.

Mitchell stared at his own computer monitor. His whole face filled up with disbelief.

His kill-death-assist score in this game was unprecedented: 0-3-3.

As for the Abyssal Lord: 7-0-5.

Mitchell was silent.

Should I just uninstall the game?

Author's Notes:

Not leaving the tower. ^_^