NOVEL WEB Chapter 31
Recently, the luck of the team has been somewhat good.
No, I should say it’s been quite a bit good.
In Legends of League, there exists a mysterious theory often referred to as the Law of Total Team Luck.
At first glance, it might sound like some baseless excuse to blame others, but in reality, there’s a very intricate and calculated algorithm at work.
During winning streaks, players who are intentionally on losing streaks can be matched on the team, or conversely, opponents who are relatively higher ranked than you can end up on the other side.
Legends of League is a relative game.
This means that even if there aren’t any so-called trolls on your side, if the opponents are significantly better, it increases the chance of becoming a relative troll yourself.
In short, if the matchmaking adjusts your mmr for a game with good team luck, there will definitely be a bad one to follow.
That’s why it was about time for me to hit a bad game considering the recent streak of good luck.
I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I lost.
Yet, here I was, dragging in that bad luck myself…
What a dreadful joke.
“It’s up to the duo to fix this.”
To be precise, Kamal’s Flash was lost because of my invade order.
The opponents just handled it well, and I can’t solely blame Kamal for the outcome.
It’s also true that Kamal had his own sharp plays.
“Dying at level one without a Flash is a bit rough, though…”
Oh wait, I said I wouldn’t blame others.
Just as I was about to fall back into the temptation of blaming others, I quietly gazed at the mid lane.
[Jui – Level 2]
Jui’s condition wasn’t great due to taking hits from the turret while trying too hard for a kill.
She was pushing the wave hard into the turret, using her skills recklessly.
At that moment:
-3 Min Top School Honorary Member(Kamal): Teleport – Ready
-3 Min Top School Honorary Member(Kamal): Teleport – Ready
Along with Kamal’s eager ping, the light flickered from the ward he had placed at the river intersection.
[⬇] [⬇]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member(Kamal) is on the way]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member(Kamal) is on the way]
It was Kamal’s return Teleport.
It was made possible because he died so quickly that the ward from the early invade was still there.
“Don’t get me wrong.”
Anyway, the important thing is that Kamal and I are now positioned to block Jui’s escape.
[⨷]
[Prisoner(Diana) has targeted SY Rainbow(Jui)]
Currently, the opponent Jui has no spells.
Let alone her health and mana situation isn’t good either.
She’s also pretty far forward, trying to push the mid wave.
Just like a crisis can turn into an opportunity, this could also be seen as a chance in some way.
The moment I revealed myself in the upper jungle:
-Swoosh!
Could it be that the rain of Jui is sharp enough to be called Rainbow? Her E skill flew towards me with quick reflexes.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I dodged Jui’s incoming water droplets with a daring Flash forward.
In the past, I wouldn’t have dared to pull off such a risky stunt, but now it felt like a piece of cake.
Moreover, the fact that she had only leveled her E skill meant she didn’t have W, so using Flash wasn’t a problem.
-Splash!
And just as if waiting for this moment, Kamal appeared from the lower jungle wall.
Honestly, even I had to admit it was a pretty cool entrance.
However, there was one variable:
[Kamal – Level 1]
…Why are you only level 1?
Thanks to this unexpected variable, Jui managed to escape by a hair’s breadth, surviving with just a single auto-attack difference.
Classic case of damage shortage.
『🐧』
We could only watch as Jui returned to her turret, taunting us.
It was a bit disappointing, but it didn’t matter.
Even though I used my Flash, the situation in mid lane wasn’t terrible.
“She probably didn’t want to go home just yet?”
Even though I failed to get Jui in the previous gank, she ultimately failed to push the wave into the turret.
That meant the lane was still pushing for us.
Normally, at times like this, the allied jungler should come and clear the frozen lane, but since Elise was also missing, it seemed she was up to something down bottom.
Everything seemed to be aligning well.
Sometimes, there are situations like this.
You got a kill, yet your level or CS is falling behind.
That’s what happens when you go home without managing the lane properly.
Just like now.
“Frustrating, right?”
This is one of the reasons why mid laners have been opting for Teleport as their summoner spell lately.
Even if you use Ignite to obtain a kill, it might backfire and put you at a disadvantage instead.
That’s why if Jui were a 3 Min Top School Honorary Member, she would never have gone home, but regrettably, Rainbow doesn’t care about such trivial losses.
-Whoosh…
Jui didn’t cancel her recall.
“How unfortunate.”
If only she had pushed a bit harder, or if Elise had come to help push the lane, we might have been able to secure a kill instead.
However, Rainbow, without hesitation, pressed back.
She didn’t instantly make up for all the losses.
After all, Jui got a kill, and Kamal consumed his teleport after dying.
But if Kamal can maintain this lane, Jui won’t be able to apply the same pressure as before due to the ganking threat.
“If I think that far, I can say I barely made up for my losses.”
Of course, the cost of that is my Flash and some wasted movement.
I can’t predict how this will snowball, but for now, that’s the situation.
“Let’s keep going.”
Then it happened.
-Our ally has been taken down!
“…….”
Top champion has fallen.
Sure, Kuno is a counter to Renekton.
But that’s only when certain items are built; in the early game, Kuno has to be a bit careful as well.
Not to mention, the Kuno on our team didn’t take Cleanse, the general choice against Renekton, but rather Teleport.
Of course, that means he needs to be extra cautious during lane phase.
“Not good.”
There’s a dilemma that junglers face.
Naturally, it’s not a formally recognized term; it’s just something I made up on the spot.
Anyway, according to the dilemma I just defined, a jungler’s main concern ultimately boils down to one issue.
Jungling or ganking?
This is a classic dilemma that begins with champion select; if you choose champions that excel by farming, you might slowly gain an advantage, only to have your teammates throw it all away.
Then would it be right to pick champions strong in ganking and mindlessly go for ganks?
If that’s the case, you’ll likely end the game with a significant level disparity compared to the enemy jungler, which can also be quite a political hazard.
Caught in a situation where you can’t choose either way.
What’s right?
What should I do?
Generally, making the right call in this choice can be seen as a jungler’s skill.
“At least the bottom is looking hopeful…”
If I’m not wrong, the reason Elise hasn’t covered mid is probably due to planning something for bottom.
But what Elise didn’t realize was that both the enemy and allied bottom lanes were filled with non-primary positions.
In other words, since they’re all non-primary position players, they tend to aim for stable plays instead of aggressive ones, meaning active trading won’t occur.
Although my plans went awry, resulting in a secondary choice, Elise’s early design has ultimately failed.
“Speaking of which, GRS was a bottom-focused team, right?”
Perhaps because of that, or maybe because my failure in the early design led to her targeting the bottom, Elise wasted her movement.
I always say that Legends of League starts the moment you leave the fountain, but in fact, a jungler’s game begins at the loading screen.
You could say that Elise’s oversight in not regularly checking stats was a mistake.
“Well, even so, it doesn’t help my household situation…”
No matter how much time Elise wasted, our team situation still remained dire.
With both mid and top securing solo kills, it didn’t require much explanation.
“At least the top could teleport back, so the lane damage isn’t that severe.”
The game was already halfway ruined, yet it wasn’t over.
Until the Nexus falls, no one can predict the outcome.
“For now, I can only dodge damage and focus on farming.”
Level 6.
The minimum condition to pull off a miraculous comeback play with Diana.
I headed towards the jungle camps, awaiting that moment.