Chapter 23 — Middle Road Rules

"What the hell is this?"

VG Academy's Jungle player gasped when he saw Hùng 'Gaur' rushing straight at him right at the first blue buff of the match. Hùng had no vision, no teammates to support him, and he should be in the Top Lane right now to take minions.

Instead of turning back, Hùng activated Flash, smashing the hammer straight into the enemy Forest's face, stealing the blue talisman from under his nose, then grabbed his pants and ran for his life.

"This crazy guy! Kill him!" VG Jungle roared, dragging both his Top and Mid Lanes to chase after Hùng.

While the three VG members were engrossed in chasing the big, crazy Gladiator around the map, in the Bottom Lane, Kiên '3G' and Nam 'Coward' leisurely completely destroyed the first protective turret in just the fourth minute.

Lê Hoàng stood outside the cabin, his expression changing from triumph to a grimace. He began to notice abnormalities.

"Stop chasing it! Go back to your way! They're sacrificing their goals!" Lê Hoàng slammed his hand on the soundproof glass wall even though he knew the players inside couldn't hear it.

But the madness of HD E-sports did not stop there.

Nam 'Coward'—instead of buying cheap protective equipment—gathered all the Gold to go straight to the most expensive Magic Power item. Support turned into a second Assassin. Every time the enemy Gunner showed up on the minion farm, Nam threw his ultimate straight at his face, reducing half of the enemy's health, making them extremely scared and not daring to step up.

Tuấn 'Compass' turned into a wandering ghost. He did not farm his home jungle, but constantly staked his opponent's jungle, stealing every single monster camp. The VG team tried to capture Tuấn, but every time they gathered, Tuấn wriggled away thanks to the remote "protection" of Hải Đăng's magic balls.

The match turned into a disorganized battlefield. There is no "Soldier Freeze", no textbook "Large Target Control". There are only bloody 2vs2 and 3vs3 fights taking place continuously across the map.

Faced with this "chill" gameplay that does not follow any logic, VG Academy's perfect Macro system is completely broken. The interns began to panic and communicate sporadically. They were caught up in the crazy pace of Hùng and Kiên's fighting.

But victory did not come easily. In the eighteenth minute, VG Academy regained composure and organized a fierce counterattack aimed directly at Nam - the weakest link in Hoàng Diệu's chaotic squad. Three enemy members rushed in at the same time, pouring all their control skills on him.

"Nam! Get away!" Đăng shouted through the headset from the training area, even though he knew he could not intervene directly.

But this time, Nam did not panic like in the early matches of the season. He calmly read the direction of the first control skill, narrowly avoided it, then immediately counterattacked with his ultimate attack, knocking one of the three attackers into the air.

"I dodged!" Nam shouted, his voice cracking with excitement and surprise at himself.

That moment created a decisive turning point. With an enemy under control, Kiên and Hùng immediately turned the situation around, turning the three-on-one battle into two-on-three in HD's favor. The crowd, which was watching with bated breath, suddenly stood up and cheered when they realized that the most timid Support in the tournament had just turned around an entire fight by himself.

Tuấn, from the darkness of the forest, observed the entire situation through the Control Wards placed in place. He immediately pinged the signal, pulling Hùng and Kiên to retreat just in time before VG's reinforcements could arrive, avoiding a counterattack that could turn the tide of battle.

"Nice handling, Tuấn," Đăng muttered to himself, pleased to see the vision radar working exactly as he had been teaching it for weeks.

And when the machine starts to malfunction, that's when the "conductor" speaks.

At minute 25, VG Academy was forced to gather at Baron's cave to force a fight, trying to regain the game with individual skills.

But Đăng was already waiting for that. He controlled his Assassin to hide in a hidden corner without any controlling eyes looking at him.

When the VG Team was pouring damage on the Baron, Hùng 'Gaur' rushed in from the front, acting as a lump of meat that attracted all the firepower. Nam throws a stun move from afar. Kiên fired bullets.

Before the fighting broke out, Kiên had been standing silently from afar plowing soldiers, accumulating gold coins with surprising patience. Unlike the habit of impatiently farming carelessly in the early days of the season, he now moves like a precise calculating machine, not missing a single wave of soldiers, not risking a single extra step.

"Kiên, do you have enough combos?" Đăng asked through the headset, his voice tense as he followed his equipment list.

"One more dish is enough, Mr. Đăng, almost!" Kiên replied, still quickly adjusting his position with his hands.

"This is the moment!" Đăng roared.

The shadow assassin glided out of the darkness. Posting the full set of this general's most complex combos. His fingers flew across the keyboard so fast that they created an illusion.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Swoosh!*

In less than two seconds, VG's Gunner, Magician and Support completely disappeared from the map to everyone's surprise. The remaining two members tried to run away, but Tuấn blocked the way and finished them off.

"PENTA KILL!" (Get 5 kills in a row).

The system sound sounded like thunder. The whole gymnasium exploded. Hoàng Diệu's bench jumped up. Bảo Châu covered her face and sobbed with joy.

Đăng gasped and let go of the mouse. His right hand hurt like a thousand needles, but the smile on his lips was brighter than ever. He just did what no one thought an injured kid could do: Get a Pentakill in the Finals with the most difficult champion in the game.

HD E-sports poured straight into the main base. Game 2 ends. The score was leveled 1-1.

The competition cabin exploded in cheers of celebration. Hùng punched the keyboard hard, Kiên stood up and raised his hands in the air, while Tuấn and Nam hugged each other and jumped up and down. Đăng sat in the training stands, unable to hide a rare smile of relief, looking at his four "defenders" who had just drawn one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the student tournament.

"We did it!" Bảo Châu shouted, turned around and hugged Đăng's arm, forgetting all the usual rules of keeping distance.

Đăng was slightly startled by the unexpected hug, but did not push her away, just stood still, letting the team's collective joy seep into every cell in his body. This was only game two. There was still a decisive third game ahead, and Lê Hoàng was standing there with his face dark with anger; there was still a long way to go. But right then, he allowed himself to fully enjoy this rare moment of victory, along with the people who had turned a "defensive" team into a proud team.

The referee knocked on the cabin door, announcing that the break between two games was about to end. The whole team quickly wiped away their sweat, adjusted their headphones, and prepared themselves for the upcoming final match. Đăng stood up and looked out at the stage one last time before entering the fateful conversation with Lê Hoàng that he knew would definitely happen. Bảo Châu gently held his hand for a second, as a reminder that no matter what happened next, she didn't have to face it alone, then let him go and let him take steady steps towards the cabin door, where the game that decided the fate of the entire season was waiting, and where the final answer to the question "Will Shadow really return or not" was about to be written with his own hands.

The Finals entered Game 3 of life and death.

Lê Hoàng stood with his arms crossed, his face dark as the bottom of a pot. He glared at Đăng walking out of the cabin during the break.

"Do you think you can beat me with those three tricks, Shadow?" Lê Hoàng hissed as Đăng passed by. "Your hand is at its limit. Game 3, you won't be able to dance again."

Đăng stopped walking, turned around and looked straight into the eyes of the scheming coach.

"I don't need to dance anymore, Mr. Hoang," Đăng said, his voice unusually calm. "Do you know why your team always fails in big matches? Because you teach them how to work mechanically, but not how to trust their teammates."

Đăng raised his left hand and patted the shoulders of Hùng and Kiên who were walking behind. "Game 3, I'll show you what the real rules of Mid Lane are."

The whole team quietly returned to the cabin. No one talked about the numbers on the gold board or the cheers outside anymore. Hùng clenched his fist, Kiên checked each piece of equipment, and Tuấn and Nam exchanged a nod. Bảo Châu stood behind Đăng, put the strategy book on the table and said very softly: "No need to be perfect. Just trust each other." Đăng looked at his four teammates, the sharp pain in his wrist was still there, but the fear had given way to a certain calmness. They were ready to enter the final game.