NOVEL WEB Chapter 4
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Prisoner has joined the Lobby.
SY Rainbow has joined the Lobby.
meiuvanfairer55 has joined the Lobby.
SCV BlackDog has joined the Lobby.
SCV WhiteCat has joined the Lobby.
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I see some familiar IDs.
Among them, the one I’m most glad to see is, of course, Rainbow.
The 2-time Red Cup champion mid laner.
He’s also someone who occupies a spot in my friends list, and predictably, right as I queue up, he gets matched in the same game as me.
Normally, he’d be the first to whisper a friendly greeting, but for some reason today, he’s silent.
‘Well, must be busy or something.’
It’s not unusual to see him doing other stuff while queuing.
Next, my gaze naturally falls to SCV’s bottom duo.
The so-called beast duo known as SCV’s bottom.
SCV is a team that consistently performs in the upper mid-range in domestic leagues, and in this Red Cup, they made it all the way to the semifinals.
Had their semifinal opponent not been the championship team, SY, their gameplay would’ve made winning seem reasonable.
Among them, the explosive power of the bottom lane, a core part of the team, is considered to be world-class.
“Looks like we’re in trouble.”
A Red Cup-winning laner and a semifinals bottom duo.
They were teammates I didn’t want to lose to.
‘Though, I’m a bit worried about top… should be fine.’
Considering it’s a name I’ve never seen before, probably a Chinese player, I just hope they don’t throw.
‘Looks like I’m first pick.’
Blue team first pick.
It has its pros and cons.
The upside is that I can grab an OP champion first due to the patch, but that only really counts in team games, and in solo queue, first pick usually just means you’re getting countered.
So, when you’re first pick on blue team, your options are a bit limited.
You can either pick an OP champion that has no counter at all,
or go for a champion that can play multiple positions and allows for lane swaps,
or just settle for a safe pick for first pick.
‘Hmm.’
Like any lane, I too don’t particularly favor being first pick.
As mentioned above, the champions you can choose are just too limited.
That said, swapping with another team member seems pretty reckless since it’s obvious my allied laners would suffer from that, so I silently surveyed the pick window.
[Ban List]
Sylas / Kai’Sa
Shaco / Sylas
Karthus / Morgana
Talon / Aatrox
Kai’Sa / Thresh
‘Well, this is nice.’
For some reason, a champion that’s practically a must-ban recently actually survived.
– We should head there.
Lee Sin.
A champion that requires a lot of physical skill, one that I typically wouldn’t play, but given the game seems like a guaranteed win, I chose him.
Of course, I’m not inclined to troll.
Lee Sin is currently an OP champion in the meta, plus he’s versatile enough for lane swaps.
The ban/pick phase progressed.
[Allies / Enemies]
Top: Jason / Sion
Jungle: Lee Sin / Elise
Mid: Jui / Orianna
ADC: Tristana / Samira
Support: Nautilus / Leona
Overall, not a bad ban/pick.
Our team leans towards a poke composition without a tank, while the opposing team has a classic teamfight composition with a tank.
If you asked who was better, I’d say we have the upper hand in laning and skirmishes, but the opposing team has the edge in late-game teamfights.
– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift.
The game officially started.
As expected from a top-tier game, no one was lounging around for what’s called “smoke time.”
Pings blared loudly.
We boldly entered the enemy red jungle via the top bush.
It was an unexpected invade, but the enemy team consisted of top-tier players and active pros.
Just as we anticipated, all five members of the enemy team were there, and soon after, a level 1 teamfight broke out.
– First Blood!
Among them, the standout was undeniably Jui from Rainbow.
Flash, Ignite, Flash, Exhaust, Flash…
‘Did they really take W at level 1?’
Usually, you’d think Jui would take Q or E, so it was a crazy decision indeed.
– Double Kill!
– Triple Kill!
– A massacre is happening!
Jui stirred up the battlefield and snagged a triple kill.
The result was a convincing 4:1 win.
[MidMunchingRamen: Jui is a broken champion]
[ORD Ruma: I agree]
It seemed the enemy team didn’t expect to see Jui’s flash show at level 1 and effectively seemed to give up on the game.
The snowballing didn’t stop there.
Nautilus, who had swapped his trinket for a detection trinket, cleared out all the enemy wards in their red area.
Now the opposing jungler was forced to start at blue, and they’d be pressured into their path choices.
Since they had no clue about my movement, they were essentially leaving it to luck to figure out where to go next.
Typically, laners should lend some help to their jungler at times like this, but after donating a triple kill to Jui and burning all their spells, my laners wouldn’t have the energy for that.
Sure enough.
From the choices of the opposing jungler, who either failed to read the situation or made worse choices, my level gap had now widened to three levels.
[Lee Sin – Level 7]
[Elise – Level 4]
It was a rare sight in a game of top-tier players, but it was entirely because the invade had gone so horribly well.
Judging that there was no way out, the enemy team of five tried to dive our top.
– Our ally has fallen!
– Slain!
In cases where the enemy team is this invisible, it’s kind of natural for the laners to be a bit cautious…
But honestly, expecting that from our team’s top was asking too much.
[meiuvanfairer55: sorry]
At least they had some conscience.
‘Then it’s only right to repay this.’
Now it was time for the mid-jungle combo to make their move.
As the enemy team rushed back after the top dive, Lee Sin and Jui cut off their escape.
5:2 situation.
However, the enemy’s health, ultimates, and spells were all in bad shape.
I made a decisive call and charged in without hesitation.
‘Now.’
With a combo executed in the blink of an eye, three enemy champs soared like billiard balls.
It was the very combo occasionally referred to as “Lee Sin put-on airs combo” on YouTube.
And it was essentially Jui’s solo show from that point.
As the enemy team retreated, I steadily picked up the flashes they left behind and narrowed the encirclement.
Finally, Samira, hit by a wave, literally blew up in one shot.
– Ruler of the Battlefield!
The enemy team, losing their ADC far too easily, started to flail around and were taken out one by one.
Having gone through the cooldowns once, I rushed in again as well.
– Avatar of the Battlefield!
In the midst of all this, sensing the tide of battle, the enemy attempted to retreat, but there was simply no escape now.
Can we even call this a teamfight?
Doesn’t “hunting” sound more fitting?
Suddenly, such thoughts crossed my mind.
– Legend Emerges!
– Finishing Blow!
The result was utter slaughter.
It resulted in a shocking outcome to what started as a 5:2.
Soon, an endless stream of hooks appeared.
[?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?]
The appearance of hooks indicates one of two things:
Either the enemy played horrendously,
or we pulled off some ridiculous super play.
Naturally, what we displayed was the latter.
Two people totally dominated against the enemy’s five.
‘…What’s going on? Why am I doing so well?’
I couldn’t hide my surprise.
I thought at first it was just a game I’d win comfortably.
After all, games where you’re ahead feel fundamentally different than ones where you’re behind.
But the deeper I got into this game, the more an inexplicable feeling enveloped me.
My fingers felt light.
It was as if the champion and I became one, moving as I wished.
I could clearly see the movements of the enemy champions, and reacting to them was no challenge at all.
It was a sensation I had never felt before.
Objectively speaking, I was good at the game.
But that skill came only from long experience, practice, and personal study— not from combat or physical prowess.
Yet now something had changed.
I felt distinctly different from my previous self.
It’s fun.
The game is, incredibly fun.
‘If this keeps up…’
I slowly drifted into a state of ecstasy.
Little by little, little by little.
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