Luke arrived at the Griffin Camp, which was positioned close to the center of the map.
Unlike most other camps in the jungle, this one was in a neutral area, belonging to neither team. As such, it was frequently contested by both sides at the same time, leading to many skirmishes.
But, it doesn't look like they wanna contest it right now. Luke shrugged. A shame. But welp, it's as expected, I guess.
Naturally, Rook was smart enough to avoid direct confrontation with a Dark Knight at this stage of the game. Oh well.
"You need help?" Kai asked.
"Nah, I'm good," Luke said. "DK clears this camp real ez. I'm actually more curious about what Mid and Jungler are doing. Are they going for the other griffin?"
"Seems like it," Kai reported. "Pretty sure their Mid is waiting for the Jungler."
Merlin was farming minions from afar, standing suspiciously close to the entrance of Top Jungle.
For a professional turtle like him, it was a rather questionable position, considering the risks it harbored. That is unless he knew that one of his allies was about to arrive there soon.
"Say, can ya harras them a little?" Luke requested. "I'mma finish these griffins real quick, and then we can take the griffins in Top too."
"You want to take both camps?" Kai blinked. "I like the idea, but aren't you being a little cocky there? This isn't Ranked, you know. We're playing against the regional champions."
"Champions shampions. They're just players. Heck, just middle-schoolers like us."
"That's true, I suppose."
"Besides, I got the power of DK on my side, so I gonna stomp them if they stay to fight."
"You're sure confident, huh."
"Heh, true dat." Luke grinned. "You always gotta be confident when you play DK, that's the law."
"Is it?"
"Yep, You gotta be as greedy as ya can get away with. The early-game is all I have."
"Well, can't argue with that," Kai said. "Alright, I'll slow them down after I clear the lane."
"Hell yeah, let's do this! I'mma go over there in a jiffy."
First, Luke reached the Griffin Camp in Bot Jungle. Without further ado, he unleashed Dark Blast on the two giant birds!
However, the beasts were pretty chonky, so they still had 20% HP left. And naturally, since they were alive, they retaliated against the assaulter!
CLAW! CLAW! Sharp claws ravaged Luke!
Dang it! Luke cursed internally. This is a rare case where things would've gone smoother if I built more power and had the power buff.
He knew that much from research and experience. Knowing how hard or easy it was to take out the griffins was essential knowledge that every self-repsecting Jungler had to possess, memer and meta-slave alike.
As such, Luke knew that in order to make his Dark Blast one-shot the griffins, he needed substantially more power. For example, buying a more aggressive starter item and getting the power buff would've been sufficient.
But, I actually would've needed BOTH. Luke thought. Getting just a better item or just the buff wouldn't do. So yeah, not really worth it.
With no better alternative available, Luke cut down the griffins by hand with his black blade. After that, he proceeded toward Top Jungle.
"I'm done over here!" Luke reported to everybody. "Next destination: the other Griffin Camp!"
"That's a solid plan," Yuel agreed. "But, can you please approach Mid along this path?" He drew a route on the mini-map.
"Wait, wut?" Luke blinked. "You want me to get there through the enemy jungle?"
"Yes, that's the plan."
"Why, tho?"
"By the time you get there, the Sorcerer will already be in Top Jungle. So, if you enter from this direction, then you'll block his escape route."
"Oh! Ooooooh!" Luke exclaimed. "Yo, that's one heck of a nasty plan! I love it! Though, it'll get dangerous as heck if they try anything funny."
"Do you think they'll pick a fight with a Dark Knight this early?"
"Well, I AM actually just above half HP, so I can see them trying to go after my ass."
"Don't forget that Kai will be covering for you from the other side," Yuel explained. "It'll be a 2v2 situation, with our side possessing an early-game Dark Knight. These odds won't be in their favor and they know it."
"Heh, yeah that makes sense. Besides, these guys are hella turtles. They ain't gonna take this risk, no way."
"Exactly."
"Alrighty, I'm in!" Luke grinned. "I'mma give them the spook of their lives, hehe."
"That's the spirit."
"Hehe, boi!" Luke grinned as he moved through the jungle in the direction of Mid Lane. However, per Yuel's instructions, Luke didn't travel through the allied side of the jungle. Instead, he ventured deeper into enemy territory.
These bois gonna be shook once I show up! This was both exciting and scary at the same time. This is a hella ballsy move, even for me. But, I love it!
How was the enemy going to react to this bold rotation? Could they even react to it at all at this point?
Merlin had already ventured into Top Jungle, most likely to meet up with Rook near the Griffin Camp. So, the guy pretty much sealed his own fate.
But of course, the Leopards couldn't be underestimated. They quickly picked up on Luke's irregular movements.
"Did I just see him enter our jungle?" Cato asked.
"Yeah, he did," Matthew answers. "Probably plans to counter-jungle."
"My, the nerve of this memer brat." Cato clicked his tongue.
Against any other Jungler, such a crime deserved capital punishment. It would've been easy enough to teach the invader a hard lesson.
But, Dark Knight was a different story entirely. Challenging this monster early was the same as inviting a catastrophe upon yourself.
Even if I tried, I can't contest him if he's actually going for my camps. Cato reasoned. Though, depending on how far he plans to overextend, maybe we can organize a gank.
With the number of wards in Bot Jungle, it should prove easy enough to track down Memer's movements. So, depending on how deep that rascal was planning to extend, it might be possible to assault him on the way out.
But, all that after we clear the griffins first. Cato met up with Matthew in Top Jungle and they proceeded to farm the Griffins Camp together. There, they ran into a little surprise.
"My, is she planning to contest us?" Cato cocked his head.
On the other side of the camp stood none other than Beat, with her sights locked on Cato and Matthew. The girl meant business.
Does she think that possessing a power buff will allow her to fight us 1v2? If so, she's sorely mistaken.
Beat was currently far stronger than Matthew in terms of damage, but she couldn't possibly handle two players at once. Even without his ult, Cato's Vampire was plenty dangerous with just his basic attacks.
Really, there was no way an Electromancer could contest both of them at once. This wasn't right.
"Do you think it's bait?" Cato asked.
"It doesn't look like it to me," Matthew answered. "I think she really plans to contest the camp."
"Seriously?" Cato tilted his head. Matt's instinct is usually on point with these things, but I can't help but wonder. Is Beat really the kind of player to attempt something absurd like this? I mean, I know she's a prideful player who gets cocky on occasion, but this is taking things too far.
It wasn't a stretch to call this outright dumb. It was no longer at the level of being "overconfident" or "cocky". It was just a fundamentally flawed idea.
And, even if she somehow arrived at the conclusion that this was a good play, I'm sure Yuel would've made her retreat right away. Or, maybe he doesn't have enough authority in the team yet?
With all said and done, Beat was Stratus' captain. Yuel was still a junior, so maybe he didn't hold as much sway over the seniors.
There were many possible ways to explain this situation, but in the end, it probably didn't matter. Cato and Matthew simply had to take the Griffin Camp as planned.
If Beat was planning to get in their way, then they will simply kill her first, that's all there was to it. At least, that's what Cato thought at first.
Shortly, an uninvited guest showed up in Mid. This flipped the entire situation on its head!.
"My, they're taking the concept of cockiness to a whole new level."
"What a drag..."
The player who arrived in Mid was none other than the enemy Dark Knight. What's more, the guy dialed up his boldness up to eleven by entering the lane from the Leopards' side of the jungle. The guy was clearly feeling himself.
"So, it's a pincer," Cato concluded.
Beat was blocking their path from one side, whereas Memer was about to block them off from the other side. And so, Cato and Matthew found themselves caged.
Of course, it's not like they were completely trapped or anything. They were in the jungle, so there were numerous retreat routes available for them.
However, none of these paths led directly back to Mid. Meaning, Matthew won't be able to easily return to his own lane.
"We retreat, right?" Matthew asked.
"So it seems..." Cato frowned. Is this Yuel's doing? This feels like the kind of play he'd come up with. A bold, aggressive play that comes out of left field. Such a pain in the arse.
Cato and Matthew had no choice but to give up on the Griffin Camp and let the enemy claim the camp for free. It was a substantial exp loss, but it couldn't be helped.
We're bound to play the early-game from behind, so it's fine. Cato tried to reassure himself. "Let's clear the Hyena Camp on the way out then."
"Are you sure they won't chase us down?"
"I sure hope they don't. They've already won the griffins with this nasty maneuver, so what more can they ask for? Besides, chasing us now will only make it easier for you to get back to lane."
"Hmm. That's true."
And so, the two of them retreated deeper into the jungle and traveled to the Hyena Camp above Mid. Matthew had to make this long roundabout trip anyway in order to return to the lane, so farming some exp and gold on the way was better than nothing.
But, as Matthew mentioned, there was the possibility the enemy won't even allow them that. Will Yuel order the Dark Knight to give chase?
"Hehe, look at them run!" Luke grinned. "Man, we totally spooked these guys! Should we chase them? I saw we run them down!"
"No need," Yuel said. "Just take the Griffin Camp and continue farming as much as possible."
"Boo. Boring." Luke pouted. "But okay, I gotcha."
Luke and Kai joined forces to tear apart the Griffin Camp. Together, they wrapped things up in a blink of an eye.
"Lemme also help you out in the lane real quick," Luke said.
"Huh? I don't need any help."
"Don't worry, no need to thank me."
"You're just coming over to steal my farm, aren't you?"
"Naaaaah, do you really think I'd do something shameless like that?"
"Yes, I totally do," Kai said matter-of-factly.
"Just let him do it," Yuel said. "He needs as much farm as he can get, and he needs it quick."
"Fine..." Kai sighed.
No Mid Laner would ever appreciate their farm being stolen, but this was an uber-rare exception. Luke was playing a class that deviated from the norm so much that somehow this arrangement made sense, at least according to Yuel.
And so, without any shame, Luke arrived in Mid and unleashed a Dark Blast on the minion wave. With just one hit, he tore the entire army to shreds. It was such an overwhelming clearing speed that it put even mage classes to shame.
After that, Luke traveled to the rest of the camps in Top Jungle, terrorizing each and every one of them with his supreme dark powers. Not a single camp stood a chance against his absurd burst damage.
However, all that great power came with a cost. His HP fell lower and lower, eventually dropping below 30%.
It'd be nice to recover tons of HP in a bang with a kill, but I'm not ready yet. Luke chose to recall instead. Well, it's all good. Once I gear up and get myself Blink, we can get this party started for real!
The early-game definitely started on the right foot for him. He accumulated plenty of exp and was steadily heading toward Lv.5.
In fact, if leveling up was a race, then Luke would nearly be lapping everybody else. He was fast as heck, boi!
And, it wasn't just Luke who benefitted from this strong start. Thanks to his efforts and to Yuel's sharp decision-making, Stratus started the game on a high note in all lanes.
As eccentric as this Jungler pick was, so far Yuel has been putting it to good use. From such a strong opening, it was very much possible for Stratus to continue dominating the game all the way to victory!
-------------------------------------------------------------／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ Don't forget to vote if you liked the chapter!