The King of Man and Machine, Truly Terrifying

A Soldier emerged from the black portal in the barracks and hurried toward the three lanes.

Li Moran, Zhong Yi, and Zhou Yue were intently studying their respective skills.

Mu Yawen cheerfully swung the axe in his hand, reveling in the strength of his muscles.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiaoling kept summoning a spirit called Teemo, giggling and cackling mischievously at Zhou Yue.

"I'm a wind-element sword cultivator? Interesting, interesting..."

After reading Yasuo's skills, Zhong Yi's mind was already flooded with visions of flashy plays.

"Tsk, this 'Marksman' isn't great—just long-range attacks, no real thrill!"

Zhou Yue glanced at the floating artifact hovering near his wrist, feeling a bit unaccustomed.

The spirit of the Marksman was a humanoid artifact forged by an immortal artificer.

Its attack method involved channeling spiritual energy into ammunition and firing it through the artifact.

"Hey, Zhou, wanna make a bet? First blood—whoever gets it first, deal?"

Zhong Yi proposed with overflowing confidence.

"Sure! If you lose, buy me the most expensive mod pack in Minecraft!"

"Deal!"

No sooner had the words left their mouths—

[The Crimson Treant has slain "Exercise Brings Progress" (Berserker)!]

Zhong Yi: "???"

Zhou Yue: "???"

"Who the hell is the Crimson Treant?! …Dammit, Junior Mu got killed by a jungle creep!"

Zhou Yue glanced at the spot where Mu Yawen's corpse lay, torn between laughter and exasperation.

"Damn it, Senior Brother! That red tree monster is insane—I stood no chance!"

Mu Yawen whined with a crestfallen expression.

"Pfft… Junior Mu, you didn’t buy any gear! Get some items before fighting jungle creeps!"

Zhou Yue scanned Mu Yawen’s status and immediately spotted the problem, quickly warning him.

Mu Yawen stared at the dazzling array of equipment in the shop, then at his pitifully empty wallet.

"A sturdy body is the real deal!"

Muttering to himself, he bought a Vitality Crystal that boosted his health and marched back toward the Crimson Treant.

"Where’s Zhong Yi? Why’s he so quiet?"

Zhou Yue couldn’t help but wonder.

Usually, Zhong Yi would be lecturing them with theories at a time like this.

This time, however, he remained uncharacteristically silent.

"Shh, I’m focusing on my lane!"

Zhong Yi’s voice was unusually tense.

"This opponent…"

"Is strong!"

The one Zhong Yi was laning against was called [Annie].

She looked like an adorable, pink-haired girl, but in reality, she was a master of supreme fire-element cultivation!

Every time Zhong Yi tried to last-hit minions, she poked him relentlessly.

"So… that’s why you’ve got zero minion kills?"

Zhou Yue couldn’t resist teasing.

"Short range vs. long range—what can I do?! Shh! Quiet, I’m about to make a play!"

Seeing his experience bar hit Level 2, Zhong Yi’s voice rose with excitement.

He had already studied all three of his skills.

[Steel Tempest] was his core ability—stacking it three times unleashed a tornado-like sword slash!

Before, he had been helpless, forced to eat damage due to his short range.

But at Level 2, things changed.

[Sweeping Blade] was a dash that let him close the gap using enemy units as stepping stones!

Right now, the minions were his best tools.

Without hesitation, Zhong Yi used [Sweeping Blade] on a minion.

"Whoa, why does this feel so exhilarating…"

He muttered to himself as his body shot forward at blinding speed.

After dashing, he paused awkwardly for a split second—just long enough for [Annie] to smack him with another fireball.

"Again!"

Chuckling, Zhong Yi used [Sweeping Blade] once more, his movements stiff as he weaved through minions, arriving right in front of [Annie].

Another pause.

Lost in euphoria, Zhong Yi didn’t even notice anything amiss.

"Hah, finally in your face…"

He drew his rusty sword from his waist.

"Die already!"

He swung.

The moment his blade was about to strike [Annie], Zhong Yi frantically tried to use [Steel Tempest].

The attack animation canceled instantly, replaced by a thrust of [Steel Tempest]…

[-49!]

A red number popped up above a minion’s head.

"Damn, this opponent’s insane! Dodged all my damage!!!"

Zhong Yi gasped in shock.

After that entire combo, [Annie] hadn’t lost a single drop of health!

The AI was terrifyingly skilled!

His brain screamed at him—

Basic attacks and [Steel Tempest] had missed, and his cooldowns were punishingly long…

He needed to retreat.

But his hands refused to listen.

Because [Sweeping Blade] was still available.

With another dash, dopamine flooded his system, sending tingles down his spine.

Zhong Yi had been right on top of [Annie], but this [Sweeping Blade] sent him flying absurdly far—straight into the enemy tower’s range.

"Whoa! Why’d I dash into the tower?!"

"CRAP—I’M DEAD!!!"

[First Blood!]

[Annie (AI) has slain "Genius Cultivator" (Yasuo)!]

Zhou Yue witnessed Zhong Yi’s masterpiece of a play.

"HAHAHA!!! Zhong Yi, that was the most abstract thing I’ve ever seen!! I’m freaking starving from watching that!"

"Stop laughing, man! The AI’s gonna wreck me!!"

…

When Lu Ze designed the AI difficulty, he set it at a delicate balance.

It wouldn’t let players mindlessly stomp it, nor would it overwhelm them with unfair advantages.

The core of MOBA was player-versus-player combat.

If the AI were too oppressive, new players might get discouraged and quit—a net loss.

Of course, fresh beginners would still get bullied by the AI for a while.

Like Zhong Yi right now.

At Level 4, he had already died twice to [Annie].

The pink-haired loli stood atop his corpse, sticking out her tongue and taunting:

"You’re so fierce, yet lost to a little girl~ Shame, shame!"

The humiliation was unbearable.

The other lanes weren’t faring much better.

Zhou Qiaoling sat invisibly in a bush the whole time.

Zhou Yue was stuck in a 1v2, and for some reason, the enemy AI played like hyper-aggressive psychopaths, focusing him ruthlessly.

Mu Yawen had it the worst.

His score was 0-3, and he was still Level 1.

He had developed a vendetta against the Crimson Treant, dying to it over and over.

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