The third and final round of the entry exam was announced. If not for Taison and Gregory cheating their way through the first rounds, Yuel and Lars could had already pa.s.sed the whole exam by now. Alas, they and Julia had to survive yet another round in order to be pa.s.s."Rejoice." Howard grinned. "In the last round, we"re letting you play some Cla.s.smancers. "About d.a.m.n time", right? Haha."
"Heh, really about d.a.m.n time." Lars nodded. "Bring it on, yo!"
"You"re too loud." Yuel retorted. However, despite his calm facade, Yuel shared Lars"s enthusiasm. Bring it on, yo! ...he wasn"t the type to go so gang-ho, but right now he had the urge to blurt such silly words as well.
After all, this was going to be the first time they"d test themselves against other strong players. They were about to fight face-to-face with others who aimed for the compet.i.tive scene. It was time to see how strong they had grown throughout summer break. How much stronger would their opponents be compared Platinum division in Ranked? He couldn"t wait!
"You"ll be randomly divided into pairs." Howard explained. "In each pair, the two players will be playing against each other in the 5v5 draft mode, just like how it"s done in Ranked and compet.i.tive matches. Aim for the win, but keep in mind that winning doesn"t guarantee anything on its own. You"ll be playing with members from our club on the same team and we"re going to closely monitor your performance. We"ll grade you for every little thing you do, so no pressure, haha. The top three players will pa.s.s the exam."
Due to the large amount of remaining candidates, the third round was scheduled to take place over a couple of days. Yuel was scheduled for the first day, whereas Lars and Julia were scheduled for the second day.
Before long, Yuel"s turn came around.
"Welcome." The club"s captain, Aron, greeted him.
"H-Hi." Yuel gulped. Sweat formed on his forehead. He was invited into a room with four uppercla.s.smen, one of which was the very captain of the Cla.s.smancers club. All of them were going to monitor his performance, like predators eying a defenseless prey. Each move was going to be a.n.a.lyzed, every twitch was going to be judged. Gulp.
"Relax, we don"t bite." A cheery guy threw Yuel a smile. "You"re playing Support, right? I"m your lane partner, Trever." He jumped from the chair and shook Yuel"s hand. " Nice to meetcha!"
"Likewise." Yuel"s trembling stopped. Something about Trever"s demeanor was oddly relaxing.
"If you"re ready, let"s begin." Aron said. "We"ll be playing in the draft format, the way it"s done in Ranked and official matches. Any experience with that?"
"I"m Platinum II." Yuel stated boldly.
"Wow! That"s sick!" Trever jumped, nearly falling off his chair.
"That"s indeed rare." Aron nodded. "Not many come to middle school with that level of experience. In fact, that"s why the first two rounds exist. I remember you questioned the first round, right? Long story short, it helps us discover inexperienced players with potential."
"I see." Yuel nodded. It didn"t even cross his mind that he and his friends were "irregulars", or that applying to the Cla.s.smancers club without experience was more common. Though, thinking back on it, that should had been obvious, considering how few kids took Cla.s.smancers seriously in grade school.
Yuel sat down where he was instructed, sandwiched between Aron and Trever. The rest of the team briefly greeted him as well, but it was clear Aron and Trever were going to be responsible for monitoring and grading him. Gulp. [No, relax. Breathe.]
"Alright, we"re starting." Aron announced as he finished inviting everybody to a custom match. The enemy team had a similar lineup: one examinee and four club members. In order keep the exam as fair as possible, Yuel wasn"t given any information about the enemy examinee. He only overheard that the guy"s name was Mark, but that"s all.
"We"re starting the banning phase." Aron turned to Yuel. "Who do you recommend banning?"
Obviously, this wasn"t Aron asking for advice. The test had already started and this was the first questions. However, Yuel didn"t feel much pressure. He was always responsible for deciding the bans for the team when they played Ranked, so he was confident about this.
"Do I have any information about the enemy team?" Yuel asked. "I know you said this is supposed to be a blind match to keep everything fair, but can I at least know what to expect from the enemy"s level? Are they Gold? Platinum? Or, maybe Diamond?"
"You"re saying your ban choices will change depending on the ranks of your opponents?" Aron asked.
"Of course, the meta varies across ranks. The difference are more subtle on higher ranks, but they"re still there."
"Wow, wow." Trever nodded repeatedly, wearing an amused smile. "You"re really taking this stuff super uber seriously, kid."
[Who are you calling "kid"? You"re only two years older than me, at most. ]Yuel pouted.
"And that"s how it should be." Aron shot a glare at Trever. "Smart banning and cla.s.s selection go a long way, you"re about the only one who never bothers with it. I"d appreciate it if you didn"t infect our rookies with your stupidity."
"Haha, I got scolded~" Trever rolled his eyes and scratched his head. "I dunno, man. Just gimme something I can play and I"mma wreck these guys!"
"You"re a lost case." Aron sighed.
[Oh, he"s just like Lars.] Yuel finally realized why Trever"s goofy demeanor helped him relax. Lars went about drafting exactly the same way: ["You decide what we play and I"mma smash these dudes, yo!"]. And so, drafting became Yuel"s responsibility in their party. Trever played Carry as well, so there must had been some unwritten rule saying that strong Carries had to be idiots.
"Back on topic." Aron said. "You may a.s.sume the enemy team has a combination of Platinum and Diamond players."
"And that they"re a full team premade, correct?"
"Yes, that"s fair."
"Whoa, even that matters?" Trever made a face.
"Of course it matters." Yuel answered. "I need to be wary of different types of strategies, depending on how organized the enemy team is. Premades of duo and trio tend to pick specific cla.s.ses which synergize with each other, because they want to execute combos together. On the other hand, full team premades generally go for more global team strategies. I have to ban accordingly for each case."
"Ugh! My brain! It"s fried!" Trever dramatically held his head.
"Ignore that idiot. You have the right mindset" Aron said. "So, who are we banning?"
"Since we"re banning first, there"s only one option really." Yuel said. "Ban Shadow Walker."
"Haha, didn"t see that one coming." Trever laughed.
"A good start." Aron noded and banned Shadow Walker. It was currently the only tier S cla.s.s in the game, so it was an instant ban in effectively every match.
The banning proceeded smoothly, with Yuel shutting down strong options for the enemy team. He gathered all the drafting experience he acc.u.mulated throughout the summer and unleashed it on the enemy team.
"They seem to going for an early game comp." Yuel explained. "They haven"t picked Top yet, so I consider banning Dark Knight and Viking."
"Sounds good."
"Also, I"ll go with Druid to compensate for Ranger"s shortcomings. The shield will allow him to play more aggressively and the ult will help him push. And, not to mention the "pull into trap" combo."
"Makes sense. Not bad." Aron nodded for the hundredth time. So far, he didn"t have a single word of objection against Yuel"s draft choices. In fact, he even picked up some new things by listening to Yuel"s in depth explanations. Honestly, it was hard to tell who was the examiner and who was the examinee right now.
"Pft, poor Aron." Trever chuckled. "Taking jabs at people is about the only thing he enjoys in life, but you totally shut him up, kid."
"I don"t take jabs at people for fun, you know." Aron frowned. "I point out my teammates" mistakes so they can correct them, that"s what a captain does. It just so happens that you"re one big walking mistake."
"Ouch, rude. Haha."
Once drafting was over, the match began. Yuel played Druid Support in Bot Lane together with Trever, who played Ranger Carry. Aron played Lionfolk, a humanoid lion, as a Jungler. The three of them started off in the same portion of the jungle to clear some jungle camps, then went separate ways. Yuel and Trever headed to Bot Lane, whereas Aron went to Top Jungle.
Yuel laid low during the first couple of minutes. He closely observed both his lane partner and his lane opponents: Pirate and Paladin. Both his allies and enemies were likely in the Diamond division, if not higher. Since this match doubled as a test, he didn"t want to pull anything rush before properly a.s.sessing everybody"s skill.
He only warded around and helped Trever clearing minions. Whenever the enemy Paladin aggressed on Trever by silencing him with Justice Strike, Yuel countered by casting Gaia"s Protection on Trever. The spell provided Trever with a temporary, but sizable, shield. It soaked a lot of the damage dealt by the enemy Pirate, rendering the aggression void..
As the enemies were forced to first chip away at Gaia"s Protection to actually damage Trever, the battle became unfavorable for them and they disengaged. In this manner, Yuel forze the enemy"s progress on the lane.
However, Trever took these situations a step further. While his shield was still on, he stepped into the frontline and oppress his lane opponents. There was no need to worry about being a squishy, because Gaia"s Protection soaked all the damage for him.
[I didn"t even need to say anything. He"s good. ]Yuel nodded to himself. Bossing a senior around was going to be awkward, but Trever spared Yuel from that. Trever knew exactly how to take advantage of Gaia"s Protection. He approached close enough to hara.s.s the enemies, but also stayed far enough away to quickly flee once the shield ended.
The enemy Pirate never dealt well with such aggression. Whenever Trever went on the offense, the Pirate haphazardly shot at him instead of retreating, a fatal mistake. Trever had a clear advantage while the shield was on, so the Pirate got boxed hard.
Even though Trever didn"t showcase any G.o.dlike mechanical skill like Lars, he was definitely a strong Carry player. His decisions were swift and his moves brimmed with confidence, telling of his vast experience. Despite how absurdly strong Lars was in fights, there was a good chance Trever could hold his ground against that mechanical G.o.d. Perhaps Trever would even win, considering the large gap in experience and decision-making skills.
"Do you play Carry on the main team?" Yuel asked.
"Heh, impressed?" Trever grinned. "I used to be the main Carry, but now I"m just a subst.i.tute."
"Really?" Yuel blinked. "Someone of your skill doesn"t cut it to be a starter?"
"Haha, you sure know how to flatter your seniors, kiddo! I like ya!" Trever smacked Yuel on back.
"Ugh..."
"But yeah, turned out I don"t quite cut it. Seems like everybody think I"m no match for our G.o.ddess."
"G.o.ddess?"
"Heh, you"ll see if you get into the club." Trever smiled wryly. "But yeah, what can I say? All these sc.u.ms stole the roles I can play, so I"m just a subst.i.tute now. Howard plays crazy Support and Aron is the boss, so he gets to play Jungler even though he sucks-"
『An enemy has been killed!』
"Who you said sucks?" Aron asked.
"Haha, nice kill, bro."
"If you want to be a starter again, you better stop fooling around and practice one role seriously. There"s a mountain of problems with how you play each role."
"Yeah, yeah. But hey, at least Yuel here appreciates my skill, right?"
"I"m having second thoughts after hearing this conversation." Yuel said.
"Geh! d.a.m.n you, Aron! Don"t ruin my image in front of the newbie!" Trever waved an angry fist. "Here, I"mma show you what I can do! Don"t fall off your chairs from shock! Quick gimme a shield!"
"Here you go."
"Okay, let"s go!" Trever dashed toward the enemy Pirate. He wasn"t going to just hara.s.s the enemy this time, he went straight for the kill! The Pirate was slow in reacting to this overwhelming aggression and got trashed.
However, Trever failed to finish the job. The Paladin did an extraordinary job protecting his partner. He stepped in between the fleeing Pirate and Trever, body blocking arrows and drawing Trever away.
"Gah! d.a.m.n you too, Howard!" Trever waved a fist at the Paladin on the monitor.
"No problem, I"ll pull him back." Yuel expected the Paladin"s interference, so he positioned himself just right for using Nature"s Grasp. Branches stretched from the Druid"s arm and darted toward the fleeing Pirate.
Nature"s Grasp was a narrow skill shot, which was difficult to confirm amidst chaotic action. However, this Pirate"s sloppy movements were easy to predict. Yuel had thoroughly deconstructed the Pirate"s playstyle by now, so landing Nature"s Grasp was possible via prediction.
The branches were aimed a bit ahead of the running Pirate, to where he was going to be in just a second. It was definitely going to hit. The Pirate ran straight toward the incoming branches-
"What!?" Yuel couldn"t believe his eyes. His perfect shot... it was blocked?! For some reason the Paladin was right there, with his Divine Shield active. Why? How? When did he even get there!?
Nature"s Grasp could pa.s.s through most obstacles, even walls, but it still counted as a "skill shot" for the Paladin"s Divine Shield. Therefore, it was stopped it in its tracks once it rammed into Divine Shield. Yuel was shut down.
[So, this is Howard. ]Yuel bit his lip. Based on what Trever blurted, Howard was the team"s main Support player. In other words, he was the rival Yuel had to surpa.s.s in order to get a spot on the main team. And, he was strong, Very strong.
If that"s the level expected from club members, Yuel couldn"t only play by the book to pa.s.sing the exam. Putting on a "decent Support" performance by playing safe wasn"t necessarily going to cut it. This wasn"t the time to lollygag.
"Forget the Pirate for now, let"s wear out the Paladin first." Yuel suggested. "Just go full damage on the Paladin whenever you can."
"Focusing the tank? I"m not so sure about that." Trever c.o.c.ked his head.
"Suppose you draw away the Paladin, what"s next?" Aron asked in a businesslike tone. He turned Yuel"s suggestion into a test question without batting an eye.
Giving the wrong answer would cost Yuel dearly, but he had to trust his a.n.a.lysis. This wasn"t just an exam, it was also a match for all intents and purposes. Right, it was a match. Just a match. No reason to be nervous. None at all. None!
"Alright." Yuel took a deep breath. "Correct me if I"m wrong, but that Paladin is Howard and he"s a starter on the team."
"You shouldn"t know this, but I suppose it can"t be helped when there"s a bubbling idiot on the team." Aron made a face as he eyed Trever. "Alright, let"s say you have this information. What"s next?"
"Howard is good enough to be a starter, so it"s hard to compete against his supporting head on." Yuel explained. "However, that Pirate is the other examinee, right? I believe his name was Mark."
"Why do you think so?"
"He"s kind of sloppy. I"ve been watching the whole enemy team, and, out of everybody, only the Pirate doesn"t strike me as a high level player. Hard to believe somebody like him got into such a serious club."
"Hmm, you"re using a lot of metagaming that"s based on knowledge you"re not supposed to have. Not sure how to feel about it." Aron frowned. "It"s precisely because of things like this that we wanted to keep the information secret."
"Ah, that"s..." Yuel gulped. He blurted all his findings without thinking things through, like an excited child who wanted to show off to his parents. "N-No problem. I figured everything based on what I"ve observed throughout the match. If this were Ranked, I"d say instead that the Pirate feels like a Silver player who got matched with Diamonds."
"Alright, fair enough." Aron nodded. "Then, what"s your plan?"
"While Trever has a shield, he can safely harras the Paladin and wear him out. Once we drive away the "Diamond rank" Paladin, the "Silver rank" Pirate will be left alone on the lane. That"ll create a great opportunity to finish him off, considering the skill difference I"ve observed between the Pirate and Trever."
"Interesting. It"s not conventional, but it has some thought behind it. You"re free to try it, but keep in mind: we"ll deduct points if this doesn"t work out. Willing to take the risk?"
"Yes, please." There wasn"t a speck of hesitation in Yuel"s eyes.
"Very well. Play along with it."
"Roger!" Trever saluted with a grin. After listening to Yuel"s convincing a.n.a.lysis of the situation, especially the part where his skill was super duper highly evaluated, Trever found himself excited about this play. "This kid sure knows how to recognize talent, I like it!"
As instructed, Trever prioritized attacking the Paladin, Howard, whenever he had the chance. To not be too obvious about it, he first shot the Pirate and that "naturally" lured Howard toward the frontline. Then, he barraged Howard without rest while wearing a crazed grin. [Ha! That"s what you deserve for getting in the way of my kill, bro!]
When struck enough times, even a tank was bound to crumble. At 10% HP, without potions or healing skills, Howard was forced to leave. He and the Pirate first retreated back to their Turret, then Howard teleported back to base.
"Now, please place a bear trap at the entrance to the jungle, right here." Yuel pinged on the mini-map.
"There?" Trever c.o.c.ked his head. "I don"t see anybody ganking us from there anytime soon, kid. I didn"t level Bear Trap to Lv.2, so I can only place one trap at a time. The trap that"s placed right now should protect us way better."
"It"s not for defense, it"s for offense. The Pirate will soon pa.s.s through here on his way to the Hyena Camp, so the trap will stun him. That"s when you finish him off."
"What makes you believe he"ll go into the jungle any time soon?" Aron took a peek at Yuel"s screen to a.s.sess the situation. "From what I can tell, he"s already running low on health. Once he finishes the next wave, it"ll be a good time for him to return to base. Why are you so convinced he"ll take the risk to clear hyenas afterwards? It"s not a camp with particularly high rewards."
"He... well..." Yuel stumbled over his words. He was confident in his reasoning, but he struggled to explain it. If the plan to drive away the Paladin was considered "unconventional", then this one was outright "random". He couldn"t explain it with something straightoward like "difference in skill level".
He had to think back. Why was the Pirate going to head into the jungle through that entrance? How did Yuel reach this conclusion in the first place? The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but he failed to draw it out.
"He"ll go there, I"m sure. Because... Err..." Yuel began sweating. The curious gazes locked on him forced him to remember a dreadful fact: this was an exam! He wasn"t going to get away with plays only he understood, every twitch he made was going to be questioned. And, if he couldn"t answer properly, that"d reflect poorly on his evaluation. It might even cost him the chance to join the club! "Actually, nevermind. I-"
"It"s okay. Relax, kid." Trever patted Yuel"s back. "Here, I placed the trap where you want. Don"t pay attention to that scary demon on your left, haha."
"Oh... thanks." Yuel was dumbfounded. It was so unexpected, he didn"t even know what to say. All this time he felt awkward asking seniors to follow his plans, but apparently Trever didn"t mind that much. That helped Yuel relax.
"Why did you agree?" Aron turned to interrogate Trever. "Unless there"s a very convincing reason to place the trap all the way out there, you"re right in your a.s.sessment - it"s be waste of the trap."
"I know, I know." Trever nodded. "But hey, it"s not like anybody gonna gank us from behind anytime soon anyway."
"You"re right, it"s not a risky play. But, that doesn"t mean it"s a [good ]play."
"Well, hasn"t this kid been pretty smart so far? I"m sure he has a good reason for suggesting this move." Trever shrugged. "You"re just stressing the s.h.i.t outta him with all your questions. May as well ask him why he"s breathing and what"s the meaning of life."
"Hmm, I see." Aron frowned and turned to Yuel. "Sorry if I came off too forceful. It"s just that many of your decisions are difficult to evaluate, so it"s not immediately clear where you"re coming from. I don"t meant to complain, but you"re one tough examinee to grade."
"It"s alright, you"re just doing your job." Yuel said. "It"s my fault for not being able to provide a satisfying explanation. I just always think a few steps ahead, my chess teacher beat that mentality into me. The moment I come to a convincing conclusion, I move on to a.n.a.lyze other things."
"So, once you"ve convinced yourself of something, you no longer find any need to recall what convinced you in the first place? Is that what you"re saying?"
"Yes, something like that. I know it sounds a bit silly, but that"s how it is for me." Yuel smiled wryly, thinking back on all the times this habit caused communication problems with other kids. "I can feel the explanation on the tip of my tongue, I just can"t draw it out."
"Hmm, interesting. I take it you"re used to having others follow your instructions without asking too many questions?"
"Yes, you could say that. I"ve been playing with friends who trust my strategies, so they generally do as I ask..." Yuel fell quiet. Lars and Julia always unquestionably followed Yuel"s advice, so became used to not explaining anything. Now, that he was surrounded by a team of strangers, that habit fired back.
"I see." Aron said. "Work on fixing that habit, especially if you plan to be a shot caller for the team."
"Bleh, here comes the nitpicker again." Trever made a face. "Give the kid a break already."
"It"s fine." Yuel said. "Aron is right, it"s hard to get others to cooperate when I can"t convince them with a good reason. I need to work on that."
"See?" Aron turned to Trever. "Not everybody is a delicate flower like you. This rookie here is already a more mature player than you."
Trever planned shooting a snarky retort, but a metallic sound interrupted him. That was the sound of his bear trap going off. The Pirate tried going into the jungle and got trapped, just as Yuel predicted.
"Hey! The kid was actually right!" Trever darted toward the trapped Pirate, like a predator leaping on a defenseless prey. Getting caught in the trap stunned the Pirate, lowered his defense and buffed Trever"s attack speed. Therefore, Trever barraged the Pirate without fearing retaliation.
『An enemy has been killed!』
"Heh, easy!" Trever grinned. "Good call there, rookie!"
[Did he just promote me from "kid to "rookie"?] Yuel made a face.
"So it worked." Aron stared at Yuel"s screen with a complicated expression. "Just wondering, have you perhaps recalled your reasons for making this play?"
"Actually, I"ve just remembered the gist of it." Yuel said. After he watched his plan play out in action, he finally managed to reconstruct his earlier deductions. Or, perhaps he already knew the explanation this whole time, but was afraid to share it before it was proven correct. Either way, he no longer felt any mental blocks, so he was ready to lay out his reasoning.
At the basis of his reasoning stood major a.s.sumption: the Pirate was going to clear the Hyena Camp instead of returning to base. Yuel deduced so after closely watching how the Pirate behaved while running low on HP. Three out of three times, instead of returning to base, the Pirate first cleared the nearby Hyena Camp. Yuel saw it each and every time, because he always renewed the Ward near that camp.
Thus, it became clear that the player playing Pirate hated losing farm. When it came to base stats, Pirate was inferior to other Carry cla.s.ses and had to make up for it by earning gold faster with his pa.s.sive, Plunder. As such, maximizing gold income was very important for Pirate players. However, sometimes, this a mentality turned into a habit, and habits could be exploited.
In addition, that Pirate was most likely the examinee. In other words, he wasn"t a very experienced player, his sloppy plays attested to that. Therefore, there was no chance he"d consider the possibility he was spied on with a Ward, or that a bear trap awaited him along his favorite jungle route.
"The "gist of it" my a.s.s. You gave us a full lecture here, haha!" Trever laughed. "No wonder you wanted to wipe all that c.r.a.p outta your brain, even a supercomputer can"t hold that much data, I"m telln" ya. Well anyway, I hope that"s enough "reasons" for ya, Mr. Explain-the-Universe."
"It"s alright." Aron said.
"Bleh, will it kill ya to give a little compliment sometimes?"
"The plan played out well, but the reasoning is a tad shallow. There aren"t any logical flaws in the reasoning itself, but neither does it feel decisive. At the very least, I wouldn"t gamble on it."
"It"s not a fluke, if that"s what you"re implying." Yuel argued. "But, I understand where you"re coming from. Many of my arguments don"t sound very convincing on paper. Therefore, let me convince you through results."
He felt way more relaxed and confident now. So what if this was an exam? So what if his opponents were compet.i.tive Diamond players? His usual a.n.a.lysis and tactics worked just as well as ever. He could do it, there was no reason to stop here.
"The Pirate resp.a.w.ned by now." Yuel announced. "And, he"ll definitely pa.s.s through the Hyena Camp on his way to lane." He explained as he placed a Ward deep inside the Hyena Camp. It was an inefficient warding spot, as walls blocked most of the Ward"s vision and not much of the enemy jungle was exposed. However, the Ward provided full vision of what was going on inside the Hyena Camp itself, down to the position of each individual hyena.
"Please place your trap near the wall here." Yuel pinged on the map, marking the wall separating between the lane and the Hyena Camp.
"Roger." Trever nodded and placed a bear trap right beside the wall. "Hehe, let"s see what gonna happen."
As Yuel predicted, the Pirate rushed to the Hyena Camp before heading to lane. It wasn"t a bad play per se, since Howard was already on the lane, dealing with minions. However, it was a predictable play, and Yuel was going to exploit said predictability in order to turn the play into a fatal mistake.
Once the Pirate started fighting the hyenas, Yuel approached the jungle wall and took aim. He activated Nature"s Grasp, shooting his branches through the wall. The unsuspecting Pirate"s exact position was revealed by Yuel"s Ward, so he was like a sitting duck.
"Got him." Yuel announced as he pulled the Pirate toward himself through the wall. The bear trap Yuel asked to prepare laid right at his feet, and the Pirate was forcibly shoved into it. For the second time in three minutes the Pirate found himself trapped, unable to retaliate in any way. It was over.
『An enemy has been killed!』
Howard arrived on the scene to rescue his partner, but he didn"t make it. To be more precise, he [couldn"t] possibly make it. Paladin didn"t have any way to support allies from afar except for Justice Strike, which Yuel tactically baited out of Howard a few seconds earlier. As a fellow Support main and an avid Paladin fan, Yuel knew exactly what weaknesses the Paladin had and how to exploit them.
This play impressed Aron more than the previous one, but still not enough to make him cough up a praise. Getting on Aron"s good side was crucial for pa.s.sing the exam, so Yuel wasn"t going to hold back. He was going to do everything in his power to secure victory.
"Heh, this Druid really did it this time."
Little did Yuel know at the time, that his bold plays grabbed the attention of his worst nemesis. The third and final round of the exam was just about to begin for real.