Chapter 726 - 726: I Want to Prove Shadow Fiend Doesn't Fit This Version

The launch of the new version has pushed the concurrent online player count for Dota to a new record high.

As soon as Zack, Ben, and Hannah teamed up to queue for a match, the "match found" notification popped up.

"This AI is pretty convincing! Acting like pros?" Zack exclaimed as they entered the hero selection screen.

Facing them was a team named WINGS GAMING.

"What's there to be scared of? All flash and no substance. Watch me, Shadow Fiend, Nevermore, carry you all." Ben was quite confident.

However, before he could even make a pick, he saw an AI player with the ID "Blink Blink丶Blink" on the opposing team directly reserve his Shadow Fiend.

Simultaneously, the other four AI bots instantly picked their heroes: Void Spirit for the core role and Silencer for support, with Skywrath Mage and Axe in the bottom lane. They certainly looked aggressive.

"What the heck, this bot is cheating! Blocking five heroes right off the bat!" Ben was dumbfounded to see his desired hero taken.

Regular matchmaking involved picking heroes in turns. Why was this bot game stealing heroes?

"So Ben, what are you going to play? Shadow Fiend has strong laning," Zack asked after he and Hannah had picked their heroes.

They had chosen the combination of Soul Warden and Ogre Magi. Hannah had originally intended to play Tinker.

Unfortunately, a random player had snatched her hero. It seemed the player was in a party, as they immediately went to the top lane, playing a seemingly clever combo of Pudge and Tinker.

Even though the game hadn't started, with Tinker's abilities, one could easily guess the purpose of this combo: hook enemies onto Tinker's bombs to kill them.

"What's there to fear? I've played against Shadow Fiend so many times, getting crushed repeatedly, I've gained some insights. This hero can totally dominate!" Ben confidently picked his hero: Bloodseeker.

"Can this hero even work? Its stat growth is so low!" Zack expressed some doubt.

"Don't worry, it'll work. See my second and third skills? That's the key. For the second skill, I saw in a guide that manually casting it won't draw creep aggro. This means only I hit them, they can't hit me back."

"And this third skill, the lower my health, the faster I heal and the more attack speed I gain. This means as long as I'm not instantly killed, I become a perpetual motion machine. It's a shame it doesn't grant magic resistance, but then again, if it did, it would be way too overpowered."

"Just watch me. Today, I'm going to prove something: Shadow Fiend is not suited for this version of the game. My low win rate with Shadow Fiend isn't my fault, it's the hero's."

With a Bracer and a set of Tangoes, Ben's expression was full of confidence.

For Bloodseeker in the current version, Lucas followed the reworks from his past life. The first skill was Fiery Soul, which reduced healing and disarmed, not Youthful Brew. However, Bloodseeker's armor and base attack were slightly nerfed.

As for the third skill, Lucas did not use the version where magic resistance increased at low health, because in that version, Bloodseeker was incredibly strong. Compared to Anti-Mage, he was more deserving of the title in that version.

With a Bloodseeker at 100 HP in that state, if he had an item like a Hood of Defiance, he could even survive a Finger of Death or Laguna Blade from Lina and Lion without dying.

So, Lucas followed the later version of Bloodseeker and removed the magic resistance bonus.

As for Shadow Fiend, Nevermore, the ultimate ability had a fear effect, and the three blasts could stack a damage bonus.

Upon entering the game, Ben ignored the side lanes and focused intently on creep last hitting.

However, his fundamental skills were clearly not solid enough, and he quickly missed a creep. As the creep waves met, the equilibrium was right on the Dire's high ground.

But Ben didn't care, because his Bloodseeker had learned the second skill, Bloodrage.

Manually casting it wouldn't draw creep aggro.

Seeing the opposing Nevermore, Ben didn't flinch and started trading hits.

Each Bloodrage-infused lance struck the enemy, leaving a burning effect.

However, the opposing Nevermore wasn't panicked at all. He simply traded hits back. Due to being close to the Dire's tower, Nevermore used a Tree of Life nearby.

At the same time, in between auto-attacks, he maintained distance from the melee creeps. While he couldn't dodge the ranged creep's projectiles, his positioning allowed Nevermore to take fewer hits from the melee creeps.

Subsequently, after drawing creep aggro, the Dire creeps were attacking the Radiant creeps. When the nearest creep was low on health, Nevermore's hands suddenly shot up, and a fiery shadow bloomed beneath Bloodseeker's feet.

Shadow Fiend's first skill, Necromastery.

"This Shadow Fiend didn't learn Shadowraze, it learned Soul Steal!?" Ben was completely shocked.

Among ordinary players, most people who played Nevermore focused on the second skill, Soul Steal.

This was because successfully last hitting with it increased attack power. At level one, Necromastery didn't feel like much damage, and it was usually at level three with two levels of Necromastery that it became a kill threat.

But now, things were different. Bloodseeker's Bloodrage had a characteristic of "hurting the enemy by a thousand, hurting yourself by eight hundred." As much as he attacked, he also lost a significant amount of health.

More importantly, Ben had planned to trade hits, and by level two he'd learn his third skill, which would slowly heal him back up.

But now, it was different. Shadow Fiend's health was still dropping, but he had about a third of his health left. He had accumulated 5 stacks of Bloodrage, and his health had already reached the kill threshold.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Ben saw the Shadow Fiend in front of him unleash a close-range Necromastery, instantly draining his health.

He instinctively controlled his hero to retreat, but the next second he regretted it. The Shadow Fiend raised its hands again, unleashing a third Necromastery.

The words "FIRST BLOOD" echoed throughout the map.

Pudge: ???

Bomberman: ???

"Ben?" Zack and Hannah glanced at Ben's screen.

"I got careless. I didn't expect this bot to play mind games and learn Necromastery. But don't worry, I'm not the kind of player who crumbles after one setback." Ben took a deep breath.

"Ben, be careful. This bot is really strong." Zack kindly reminded him.

In the bottom lane, he and Hannah's Ogre Magi weren't having an easy time. He felt like this AI was like a last-hitting automaton.

With two waves of creeps, he only managed to last hit three. Two of those were by chance with Skeleton King's built-in critical hit from his third skill.

The remaining creeps were directly denied by the opponent, completely destroying his experience gain.

"No problem, relax." He teleported to the middle lane tower, cleared the remaining creeps under the tower, and Ben reached level two.

However, by this time, the opposing Shadow Fiend had already reached level three. Although he only had one point in Soul Steal, compared to Ben's Bloodseeker, Shadow Fiend's attack power was a few points higher. On top of that, the opponent was an AI that could be considered a last-hitting machine.

Ben managed to last hit two low-health creeps, and this AI Shadow Fiend would even use Necromastery to kill creeps and harass him, putting him under immense pressure.

Still, he held onto a sliver of hope because Bloodrage was a damage-over-time effect that could stack.

If... if he could trade one life for one, he wouldn't get the solo kill experience since he'd die first, but he could recover some of his gold.

Hunkering down under the tower, soaking up denied experience, Ben felt dejected but still saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback.

The ancient King Goujian endured hardship and slept on straw. Could he, Ben's Bloodseeker, not afford to play defensively for a bit today?

As a glow enveloped him, Ben's level reached five. Without hesitation, he put three points into Bloodrage. Combined with his passive at level two, a full-health Ben charged straight at Shadow Fiend.

The opposing Shadow Fiend didn't back down. He simply took two steps back and unleashed a Necromastery at maximum range, then another at medium range, bringing Ben's health down to half.

But at this point, Ben wasn't afraid at all. The lower his health, the stronger he became!

He wasn't aiming for a pristine solo kill, but just to trade one for one. He had to be careful not to get hit by the AI's close-range blast. As long as he avoided the third blast, there was hope. Retreat when they retreat, advance when they advance, don't be greedy with damage. As the bloodrage lances struck Shadow Fiend, Ben felt his own play was at its peak.

At this moment, he felt that if he were playing ranked, he'd be at the pinnacle.

However, he overlooked one crucial detail. Although he, like Shadow Fiend, had bought Boots of Speed, Shadow Fiend's base movement speed was 305, while his Bloodseeker only had 300. Moreover, in Dota, there's something called turn rate delay. And so, he collapsed.

The Shadow Fiend in the lane took a small step forward. Ben, dragging his Bloodseeker, prepared to retreat. But Shadow Fiend's hands were already raised, and a Necromastery was unleashed.

His health was instantly depleted.

"How did that blast hit me!"

With wide eyes, Ben's hope turned into despair.

(End of Chapter)

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