78 The Hungry Jungler (2/2)

Unfortunately, Gilbert hasn't bought Blink yet. Until now, he had been keeping himself alive through timely retreats and Eldritch Nightmare. The good news: Eldritch Nightmare was out of cooldown. The bad news: Gilbert didn't have enough MP to cast it.

[Darn it, that's what happens when I spam invocations too much. I really need to get Blink soon.] Alas, that realization didn't help Gilbert right now. He didn't have Blink and he failed to retreat in a timely fashion, so he HAD to cast Eldritch Nightmare no matter what.

Therefore, Gilbert cast it. The Warlock's passive, Life Tap, allowed him to cast spells by paying HP instead of MP. The cost for Eldritch Nightmare was especially steep, shaving off 25% of Gilbert's HP. However, that wasn't a big price to pay if it'll guarantee his survival.

Darkness erupted from Gilbert and enveloped the entre lane, robbing the enemy's vision. As long as Gilbert doesn't get too close, Roi won't be able to see him in the darkness. At least, that should have been the case...

[I came prepared this time!] Roi dumped a Stealth Ward! Yeah, just like that, in the middle of the lane!

Eldritch Nightmare didn't actually make enemies blind, it was the other way around: it gave stealth to allies inside the darkness. Therefore, a Stealth Ward cut through the darkness and exposed Gilbert's position for everybody to see!

[He won't see it coming, lol.] Now, that Roi knew exactly where to aim, he unleashed Dark Blast. Gilbert didn't even try dodging because he was sure he was stealthed. Lol, too bad! It was a clean hit! Dark Blast erased 40% HP in one fell swoop!

[Lol, DK is broken alright.] Roi couldn't help but laugh at this absurd damage. Just one hit and almost half of Gilbert's total HP went bye-bye. Gilbert just barely made it out alive with 5% HP, but he was as good as dead.

[How did he land that!?] Gilbert nearly lost his entire HP bar! ”Damn, I think they got me-”

”Heeeeeeere comes Taison!” Lancer leaped onto the lane from the jungle. ”I'mma save ya, bro!”

”Wait, he can see-”

”GAE BOLG! LET'S GOOOOOO!” Taison thrust his spear. Inside the darkness, he gonna land his ult for sure! Roi won't even know what hit him, khaha!

But, Roi saw everything. His Stealth Ward revealed Taison, so he saw where the attack was coming from. Roi rolled to the side to dodge the deadly spear and simultaneously to close in on Gilbert, all in one move! A 200 IQ play, lol!

[Darn it, he's catching up.] Gilbert was running slowly due to the Thunderstorm hits from earlier. Julia built Chains of Infinity, which applied a slowdown with each instance of damage. Thunderstorm struck Gilbert twice, so he carried two stacks of the slowdown effect. That must have been the main goal behind spending Thunderstorm in such a lackluster situation, it was all for this very moment!

Roi easily outpaced that turtle and slashed.

『You have killed an enemy!』

Ez. There was no resistance at all. Taison's gank startled Roi for a moment and the Gae Bolg was dangerous, but Taison failed to stand between Roi and Gilbert. As a result, the gank didn't pose a threat. In fact, it added another target for Roi to prey on.

After killing Gilbert, Roi restored all the way to 55% HP thanks to his passive. So, he was more than prepared for another fight!

”Shit!” Taison cursed. ”How did he dodge my Bolg!?”

”I tried to warn you,” Gilbert sighed. ”Either he or Julia placed a Stealth Ward on the lane.”

”Damn, my Bolg went down the toilet.”

”Which resulted in my death,” Gilbert added.

”I'll avenge you, bro!”

”You wouldn't have to if you just ganked properly,” Gilbert jabbed. ”Why did you flank him? You should've stepped in between us to stop him from chasing me.”

”I went for the kill, yo.” Taison thrust his spear into the Dark Knight's shoulder while explaining. ”If I just landed that damn Bolg, Roi would have been totally screwed! I could've finished him off on the spot!”

”I believe I asked you to help Gil,” Howard said. ”I didn't ask you to go Mid to kill Roi.”

”Um, yeah, like,” Taison's attention span was split between maintaining the conversation and stabbing Roi.

”Retreat,” Howard ordered. ”You don't want to feed him another kill, do you?”

”Yeah, guess I better get the heck out.” Taison was finally convinced when Roi booted his damage reflection cloak. What a freakin' nightmare of a skill It was. Taison turned around and darted from there.

”Tai,” Howard spoke up again after Taison made it out. ”You were supposed to get between Roi and Gil in that situation, not to attack. Your job was to protect him, not to get a kill.”

”I was gonna protect him by getting a kill! I snuck up to Roi like a ninja and struck from the shadows! It was supposed to be perfect, yo!”

”You do realize that, by going around to flank Roi, you took the longer route and delayed your arrival? As a result, you gave Roi more time to close in on Gil.”

”Ah, well, if you put it that way...” Taison shifted his eyes and smiled awkwardly.

”The Jungler's job isn't just to get kills, I believe we went over this. You also need to consider how your presence on the lane can change the situation. If you just got there earlier, there's a chance Roi would have decided to retreat right away without chasing the kill any further. You could've resolved the entire situation without lifting a finger, just by being there.”

”Yeah, I gotcha,” Taison sighed. ”Sorry, bro, I'm gonna pay more attention next time.”

”That'll be great.' Gilbert said.

[Alright.] Howard nodded to himself. This failure will hopefully stick in Taison's head for a while and will point that rascal in the right direction next time.

Taison was a skilled player, but he was rough in many departments. Half of the problem was that Jungler was his secondary role, and the other half was his attitude toward the game: he always sought glory through scoring kills.

In some situations, that mentality was a great strength. But, in many others, it was a glaring flaw. Even though Junglers were commonly associated with ganking and getting kills, that was a shallow understanding of the role. The Jungler's mere presence was an important weapon in its own right. A good Jungler knew when to appear on the lane to scare enemies away without even lifting a finger.

Unfortunately, Taison lacked such in-depth understanding at the moment. Despite Howard's best efforts, a single week wasn't enough to bring Taison to that high level. No matter how many times Howard explained the importance of a Jungler's presence, the knowledge just refused to sink in.

However, there were some occasions when Taison finally got the message and started playing more efficiently. After careful observation, Howard noticed that happened whenever Taison messed up big time and was called out on it, just like this situation with Gilbert.

Based on Taison's reaction, he genuinely felt bad for letting Gilbert die. Either that, or his ego was hurt because everybody was blaming him for a terrible mistake. Anyway, this mistake lingered on Taison's mind. That was already way more effective than any lessons Howard gave him because those always went in one ear and out the other.

Taison wanted to stand out and hated being criticized, so whenever he committed a mistake and was called out - he dialed down the gas and started thinking more carefully about his actions. As a result, he transformed from a hungry beast to a more reasonable Jungler.

[Alright, this should take care of Tai's problem for a while. At least, half the problem.] Howard knew this wasn't over yet. Taison was a more skilled player than Gregory, but he also had more glaring flaws. While Gregory's biggest problem was resolved after Roi destroyed him once in 1v1, Taison required more babysitting.

Still, that was one more problem resolved. Howard hoped to resolve the other one by the end of this throwaway game.