67 Stats over Skill (1/2)

The minions from both sides clashed in the center of the lane. This served as the starting gun to inform that the battle began for real.

The first move in Yuel's envisioned checkmate was to stun Ignis with Beartrap. For that reason, he leveled up Beartrap to Lv.4. This allowed him to place up to four traps at the same time. It was normally a waste to level up Beartrap this much, but he had a five-levels lead, so he traded some of his extra SP for increasing the chances of trapping Ignis.

Yuel scattered all four traps around the clashing swordsmen. Warrior was melee, so Ignis had to approach the minions if she wanted to strike. That'll prove difficult with so many traps lying in wait.

”Tch,” Ignis clicked her tongue. ”What a *hic* you are, Chesskid.”

”Maybe it's because I'm actually a Chessmaster.”

”Naaaaaah.” Ignis maneuvered around the traps and focused on his bowmen instead. A ballsy move that played around Yuel's plan, but how was Ignis going to play from this dangerous position? She placed herself right within Yuel's attack range.

[Well, I'm not complaining.] Yuel shrugged and focused his attacks on Ignis. If she stays this close, it'll be easy snipes for him.

”Too sloooow!” Ignis sidestepped the first shot. And the second shot. She continued striking Yuel's minions while sidestepping all his shots! What was this inhuman situational awareness!? And how did she sidestep so perfectly every time!? Warrior sidestepping speed OP, pls nerf.

But, there's no way Ignis could keep this up forever. Yuel kept shooting and shooting. Eventually, Ignis had to slip. It just had to happen, or else she's officially a demon.

Ignis dodged the third shot. And the fourth shot. However, the fifth was about to- PARRIED.

”Wha!?” Yuel jumped. ”You can parry too!?”

”Haha! Hichaha!” Ignis burst into laughter so strong even hiccups failed to interrupt her. ”Of course I can parry, kid. That's basic shit right there. If you keep shooting easy shots like that, I'mma send them flying!”

[”Easy shots”, huh.] Yuel frowned. He wasn't exactly the best sniper in the world, so he relied on stability to increase his aim. Once he gets his target marked, he always tries to steadily keep shooting from the same position and angle. Such shots had the highest chance of hitting.

Unfortunately, such shots were the easiest to predict. And, predictable shots were the easiest to parry.

[It's no good from this distance. I can't hit her.] Yuel pursed his lips and slowly advanced forward, reducing the gap between him and Ignis. The closer he gets, the better chance he'll have to hit her. But, at the same time, it'll be easier for Ignis to charge at him with Fearless Charge and destroy him in melee combat.

As a countermeasure, he placed a Beartrap between them. If Ignis charges at him, she'll run straight into the trap and get stunned. She had a way to play around that trap, but Yuel had a way to outplay the play that played around the trap. Outplay-ception.

A shot. And another shot. And another. All misses. Each of Yuel's bolts was either sidestepped or parried. He couldn't land a single hit.

[Steady shots just won't cut it.] This was the time for some experimentation. How should he go about making his shots connect?

Ignis claimed the shots were too easy to predict. In that case, should he shoot quickly and wildly? After getting this close to her, even his terrible accuracy must have gone up a little. Maybe he could actually land a quick shot or two. Maybe. Possibly.

Either way, Yuel had nothing to lose. He fired a slow steady shot first, which Ignis dodged without a problem. Right after, he drastically changed his aim and fired toward Ignis's legs! A fast and totally uncalculated shot which relied purely on his coordination.

”Ah!” Ignis exclaimed. Good, it caught her off guard. She moved backward in an attempt to dodge, but she didn't react in time. It was effective! ... except, the shot ended up hitting the ground. 10/10 accuracy. Sigh.

”Nice shot, kid,” Ignis laughed. ”Too bad you're facing the best *hic* in the world! I mean, the best [Grandmaster] in the world!”

[Yes, the best Hiccuping Grandmaster in the world.] Yuel shook his head. He missed the wild shot, but it successfully surprised Ignis. It was close. If he keeps trying it, eventually it should connect. There was still time before the minion waves eliminate each other, so Yuel turned it into target practice time.

[I better add this type of practice into my regular training]. Yuel rarely ever played marksmen, so normally it wasn't a big deal if he failed to land a shot or two. But, that didn't mean he should aspire to be the kind of player who can't land shots. If Ignis is any indication of what the pro scene held, then Yuel's slow and steady shots will be rendered ineffective on the pro level. Even a ranged Support mage had to be able to confirm shots, especially since some of them had effects which were tied to their basic attacks, like Cryomancer's Frostbite.

For the first shot, Yuel took his time to aim. The opening shot better be accurate, or else Ignis would ignore the whole assault. As expected, Ignis dodged that shot.

[Good, and now...!] Yuel tilted his crossbow upwards and fired.

”Whoa!” Ignis exclaimed as the bolt went toward her face... and passed over her head. ”Scaaaaary.”

[Tch, so close.] Just a couple centimeters lower and it would have hit. Yuel was getting closer and closer. He tried that routine again. And again. And again. Every time, his bolt almost grazed Ignis. [Almost! So close...!]

With every shot, Yuel got a better feel for the bolt's trajectory and for Ignis's sidesteps. If he can predict how she'll dodge his first shot, he'll have a much easier time landing his quick follow up shot.

Unfortunately, Ignis did a good job mixing up her evasive maneuvers. A sidestep to the left, a parry, another sidestep to the left, another left, a parry, a right sidestep, right again, parry, left, right, parry. Ugh, it's too random! She's like a stumbling drunkard who tilted from side to side.

[Wait, maybe it's really because she's drunk?] Yuel hasn't seen yet how being drunk affected Ignis's performance. Aside from her rowdy behavior and endless hiccups, there weren't any signs that her performance was hampered by alcohol in any way.

But, perhaps her random movements were a result of that? She wasn't thinking straight, so she dodged randomly instead of following some pattern. There's a chance this line of thinking was a huge stretch and Ignis was just that good at masking her patterns; she's a pro, after all.

However, Yuel had nothing to lose by testing it. Assuming her movements were truly random and lacked coherent thinking, there was a great way to exploit it. In fact, it might be exactly what he needed for his checkmate.

[If she reacts mostly by instinct, then she can't always be aware of everything in her surrounding. If I just lead her with me attacks...] It won't be easy, but it's worth a shot.