Chapter 10.1

And now let's head over to our casters DJ Riot and ParaTrooper for the match." Lumen announced.

The screen then switched to the 2 people who were supposed to cast the game. One is a guy with loose-fitting clothes, cementing the look of a free spirited man. The other is a neat and professional-looking man in his mid-20s.

"Thank you, Lumen, here are your favorite duo casters DJ Riot and ParaTrooper to give you the uptakes on this wonderful match. Who do you think will win ParaTrooper?"

Our conversation was interrupted when we heard that the match was about to start. I didn't even remember who these casters were. They must be relatively new to the scene.

"Everyone knows I'm a huge Atelier fan as almost every male player is, so I'm still betting all my money on them. But you also cannot count out the fact that their opponent is Tactical, one of the best strategists in CoA. His unorthodox style of plays may change the tide of the battle even when they are at a disadvantage." ParaTrooper rambled on.

Just as he was saying his biased thoughts, the screen suddenly switched to the match. The Map this time was a grassy plain. Perfect for a direct confrontation and hard for surprise attacks. Both teams started on the other side of each map, team Atelier is composed of 4 female players. All 4 of them were a sight to behold, earning their right to be called an idol group. As the camera gave a close up view of the players, two of them caught my attention easily. One is wearing what I can describe with my limited fashion knowledge as a Japanese kimono refitted for battle with a blue-themed katana attached to her waist. Her avatar has Dark blue hair complementing her dark red eyes. I can only assume she's Murasame in accordance with her image.

The other one caught my eye because of her cuteness moreso. She is wearing a pink-themed mage outfit with more frills than usual. It is a custom outfit probably made by a talented tailor as most pro player's sets are so it doesn't forgo defense over its looks. Her avatar has pink hair with a lot of work put into styling it appealingly. If Clarissa and she were in the same room, I'd probably die of cuteness overdose right there and then.

When the screen switched to show Team NG, I instantly became nostalgic. I saw Tactical with his usual admiral-looking set and his legendary trusted cannon the 'Armada'. Cannons are the closest thing you can get as a gun in the world of CoA since using a gun would be downright cheating. It is far faster and stronger than arrows but has a longer reload time and is very heavy to make it balanced. One direct hit to the head could be fatal though so it's still a dangerous weapon. His Avatar as usual has a clean haircut and a very long beard akin to a pirate. I always told him that his beard is in the way of his avatar's cute looks and that he should just customize and remove it but he never listens.

Another player that caught my attention was Vanguard. He was the best defensive player a while back in the first Andartha Cup and earned his moniker 'The Wall' For his godly parries and defensive maneuvers. He wears a heavy knight set with a helmet covering his whole head. He is also only armed with a single-handed giant heavy shield. He may seem to not do any damage with only a shield as his weapon but you can never underestimate a well-executed shield bash that can leave you susceptible to combos. I learned that the hard way the first time I fought him.

"There we go ladies and gentlemen the match between team NG and team Atelier is starting! For team NG, we have Critical their ace DPS carry, YNT their time mage support, Vanguard who is one one the best defender and also known as 'The Wall', and of course Tactical their captain. While on the side of Atelier, we have Freya their aggressive axe user, Artemis the 1v1 oriented archer, Yuna their young prodigal captain, and of course, their ace Murasame 'The Unseen Blade'.

We can see team Atelier going for a 1 - 2 - 1 play with Artemis going solo top, Freya and Yuna going mid, and Murasame going solo bottom orb." DJ Riot summarized.

"Oooh, what is this? It looks like team NG is going 2-0-2! What do you think of this ParaTrooper?"

"That's unusual per se since securing mid is the norm so you can either back up the top or bottom orb if necessary since mid orb is the closest to both. But I like what the team NG is doing here. They not only predicted that team Atelier would send only solo players to the top and bottom orb, but they also predicted that Murasame, their ace, would go secure the bottom orb." ParaTrooper analyzed.

"What do you mean by that?" DJ Riot asked.

"Look at team NG's composition, Critical and YNT are going towards the top. Both players won't give you any breathing room with their fast tempo and can run at you due to their assassin and time mage comp. They can instantly close the gap and kill Artemis who is a ranged 1v1-oriented archer if she overextends. And look who is heading at the bottom. It is none other than Tactical and Vanguard, the best duo on their team. They plan to eliminate Murasame, the biggest threat on their opponent's side."

"I see that was a well-executed battle plan indeed! And even if they can't eliminate both, if they could just make them retreat and take the orb instead, it would give them a 2-orb lead. After that, they could just play defensively and stall for time. How do you think team NG knows of team Atelier's battle positions?" DJ Riot questioned.

"I'd say map hacks if I didn't know any better. But knowing Tactical, many of the rumors I heard from his opponents say that he can get into your mind." ParaTrooper answered.

"Whoowhee, I sure don't want to fight him! Can't let him see through my mind or I'd be in jail..... that's just a joke folks. You guys at home watching the stream please don't overthink it." DJ Riot managed.

These casters are good and knowledgeable in the game. They completely analyzed the exact battle strategy of both teams in just a short time. They could use some help with their jokes though.

After a couple of minutes of their nonsensical banter and other trivia they tell to the stream, the teams have finally arrived at their respective orbs.

"Ooohh they finally arrived just in time for the orbs to be capturable!" DJ Riot exclaimed.

"What's this!? Artemis suddenly retreated? Did she notice the enemy has a 2v1 trap in store for her? How perceptive!" He hyped.

"Team Atelier must have a counterplan also in case this happens. Artemis knows that she will just needlessly sacrifice her life in stalling the two so she opts to just help out her other teammates and leave the top orb. Critical is taking the orb while YNT is guarding him in case Artemis comes back which is the best play since they can't see Artemis fully retreating as we do." ParaTrooper explained helpfully.

"That's some fast decision-making skills. Just as expected from pro players!" Liz next to me chimed in.

"I don't understand much of what's happening but thankfully those two casters' insights help a lot," Lenna added.

"And look at the middle map, Yuna is taking the orb while Freya instantly left to back up Murasame as soon as they have the info that their opponent is doing a 2-0-2 play. They communicate and coordinate with each other pretty well and their team captain Yuna makes all the right decisions in a bad situation like this." ParaTrooper commented.

"Ooohh you're right! Team Atelier's gorgeous captain won't let herself fall too far behind against Tactical's maneuvers. And at the bottom orb, Surely Murasame needs to defend this right?".

"That is correct Riot, team Atelier knows that having a 2 orb disadvantage would make the game very hard to win for them. So they're banking all their hopes on their team ace to carry them. They are hoping Murasame can last long enough against the 2 veterans for Freya to back her up."

"Can she last that long though? The trip from mid to bot at full sprint will last roughly 4 to 5 minutes without any movement buffs or skills."DJ Riot quarried.

"It's definitely hard but we'll see. I honestly think she ha-".

"Hold that thought since the action on the bottom lane just started!" DJ Riot interrupted.