Chapter 11 - Promotion Match (1)
Promotion Match (1)
Translator : Elizabeth
01.
Harim (Swordsman - Paralysis)
‘Paralysis Swordmaster...’
The Paralysis Swordmaster build that Harim had brought possessed a distinct advantage: in addition to having excellent initiation and teamfight capabilities, it was also exceptionally strong in the early game.
At the very start of a match, few classes could remain standing after being pummeled by the chain of hard CC (Crowd Control) and basic attacks that a Paralysis Swordmaster unleashed. They frequently secured the first kill—First Blood—or at the very least, forced enemies to retreat, creating a gap in growth from the outset.
Unless there was a Shaman equipped with stun-removal skills, a Paralysis Swordmaster roaming the map and inflicting CC on everyone was a true early-game bully. It was a class designed to actively intervene in every frontline from an early stage to roll a snowball, and then reap the fruits of that snowball in the mid-to-late game by personally initiating combat.
...This was a particularly bad match-up for my Speed Swordswoman. With early-game stats that were already disastrous, a Speed Swordswoman was nothing more than a bite-sized snack for a Paralysis Swordmaster.
If I were stunned and paralyzed, my advantage of high-speed escape would vanish. Since my durability was like paper, just two or three of his basic attacks would put me in the Red Zone. If he happened to strike a vital area like the heart or the neck, I would die instantly, no questions asked.
From the perspective of a Speed Swordswoman, encountering a Paralysis Swordmaster early in the game usually meant accepting that my HP would drop to the Red Zone, forcing me to return to the fortress for healing. That would result in a terrible waste of time and an inefficient rotation—a truly catastrophic start for a Speed Swordswoman who needed to focus on rapid growth.
In many ways, the Paralysis Swordmaster was a troublesome opponent for the Speed Swordswoman in the early game.
...And Harim himself likely knew this fact all too well. As soon as he saw a Speed Swordswoman on the enemy roster, he would undoubtedly initiate an invasion into our allied Jungle. His reason, of course, would be to kill me early and blow the game open.
At the very least, he would surely slay the 'Golden Monkey'—the monster that grants buffs—to mess up my jungle rotation. A Paralysis Swordmaster in the early game would rarely lose to a Speed Swordswoman who hadn't even obtained a buff yet. He would likely wander through our Jungle with total peace of mind.
However, as a Level 1 character who hadn't even eaten a Golden Monkey, there weren't many options available to me in that situation.
...Invading the Jungle early to harass the Speed Swordswoman and steal the Golden Monkey was, in a way, the ultimate weakness and a hard-counter tactic for my build.
Of course, invading the enemy Jungle carried its own high risks, so most players tried to play steadily without overextending. But if the opponent was a class strong in the early game, nine times out of ten, they would bring a supporter along to enter our Jungle and try to kill me.
Furthermore...
roooobot (Mechanic - Hacking)
"Robot..."
The enemy supporter was a skilled player ranked within the top 30. Even if Harim hesitated, she—knowing better than anyone what would happen if a Speed Swordswoman's growth was left unchecked—would lead the charge to invade the Jungle.
With 100% certainty, they were heading toward our Jungle right now. It was too good a composition for the enemy to pass up an 'Invade.' Their hands would surely be itching to act.
"Not a chance..."
But I wasn't soft enough to just let that happen. It wasn't like I hadn't faced such a common strategy once or twice before.
"...Samurai-nim, Supporter-nim, can you hear me?"
<Yes, I hear you, but what is it?>
When I called out to the Plain Samurai, Katekage, and the Supporter Ninja, Heobin, they immediately replied with metaphorical question marks over their heads.
...I smiled and spoke to them.
"Could you give me a little help?"
02.
It was a promotion match.
A miraculous winning streak following a string of losses. If he won just this one round, Harim would finally be able to wear the 'Mythic' title—the ultimate guarantee of a successful stream.
"Finally...!!"
It had been years since he started Legend Frontier with the goal of reaching the top tier. As a streamer and as a gamer, how long had he waited for this moment? It was a heart-pounding moment, with the goal right before his eyes.
<User123 has donated 10,000 won> 【Congrats on the promotion match, host. Please just promote already LOL】
"Ah, thank you for the donation."
Even the viewers who had teased him so much were now sending donations for his hard work and messages of support, telling him he must win.
「 Winning streaks right before a promotion match are usually a "death rattle" though... Hmm... 」
...Of course, there were always those who had to ruin the mood.
"Hah, I will win no matter what. Just watch me."
But he couldn't let his mental state be swayed by such mocking chats. With a firm resolve, Harim drew his sparking katana and began to walk slowly toward his frontline, the Jungle.
「 Let’s go for the promotion! 」 「 The Great Harim 」 「 God Paralysis Swordmaster 」 「 Wow, if he hits Mythic, does this actually become a high-skill stream? 」 「 Host, don't you dare go pro on us 」
Perhaps because it was a peak moment, the viewer count had reached an all-time high, and the chat window—which was easier to check because the VR headgear had a built-in streaming function—was scrolling upward without a break.
‘I’m winning this, no matter what.’
A defeat in such a climactic moment would be the worst possible result. Failing to promote was one thing, but the ensuing parade of 'Narak' (Abyss/Cancelled) in the chat was already giving Harim a headache. In every way, this was a game he had to win.
<User123 has donated 1,000 won> 【Hey, the enemy team has Gale? LMAO】
"Huh?"
While heading toward the Jungle, Harim stopped in his tracks at a donation someone sent.
"Gale...?"
It was a familiar nickname he had heard many times. Simultaneously, the chat window began to move even faster.
「 Wow, crazy, it’s real 」 「 F***, Gale in a promotion match LMAO 」 「 The Speed Swordswoman has arrived 」 「 "The 1-million-view woman" 」 「 Isn't she that ranker? 」 「 Imagine meeting Gale lol 」
"The Speed Swordswoman...?"
Harim, picking out a single term from the exploding chat window, finally remembered what Gale meant and who it referred to.
"Ah, I remember now."
Gale. The nickname given to the Rank 7 individual player, SION. She was the creator of that notorious 'Speed Swordswoman build'—a synonym for mockery and troll picking—and she was a ranker famous for showing high-level play, unlike the low-tier "bugs" she had spawned.
Harim had also seen Gale’s highlight reel on B-Tube. A massacre by a silver-haired woman who swept through the battlefield like a gust of wind, truly embodying the meaning of her nickname as an avatar of the battlefield.
‘...Everyone looks good in a video.’
It was a beautiful display of play achieved with an unimaginable freak build... but Harim thought there was a bit of a bubble around her. In a highlight reel, everyone looked like a master. If Harim himself collected only his best moments to make a montage, he could produce something of even higher quality.
...He believed her Rank 7 achievement was likely due to good luck, or perhaps the result of brute-forcing a massive number of games rather than pure skill. Honestly, he couldn't believe someone could reach that position with a "trash" freak build that had 0 Attack and 0 Defense. She must have had a good duo to carry her.
"Ah, Gale? That ranker? Um, I don't think there's any need to worry that much..."
Toward the viewers who were fired up by Gale’s presence, Harim showed his confidence with a snort mixed with subtle mockery.
"Even if she’s a ranker, her build is a Speed Swordswoman... Compared to a Spearman, I’m grateful."
Of course, he wasn't disregarding SION or Gale as a person. He was simply disregarding the Speed Swordswoman build she always chose. Meeting a Speed Swordswoman master felt far more manageable than meeting an OP class like a Spearman as an opponent, and the win probability seemed significantly higher.
He had been so helplessly crushed by the high-ranked Spearman Bi-so-ryong earlier. But against a Speed Swordswoman, it seemed the result would be much better. Besides, he had never lost a single time when he encountered a Speed Swordswoman as an enemy.
...In fact, Harim saw this as a great opportunity to recover his pride, which had been demolished by Bi-so-ryong. Gale was a fellow ranker anyway, so if he defeated her, his own fame would surely rise. He might even be able to add to his stream title that he had crushed a top ranker while promoting to Mythic.
"I actually think this isn't bad at all."
A ranker encountered as the enemy counterpart in a Mythic promotion match. But that ranker luckily happened to be the user of the Speed Swordswoman build, which appeared to be the easiest to handle. He could secure a victory that was incomparably easier than facing other rankers, yet he could still milk the situation for all the prestige it was worth.
It was truly the best situation—the perfect stage set for his success. A smirk simply wouldn't leave Harim's lips.
<TeamfightLion has donated 1,000 won> 【Our Harim thinks Gale is that easy lol. If you experience it personally, you'll never say that again LMAO】
And then, a donation came up that disregarded Harim’s confidence, seemingly oblivious to the mood.
"Hmm..."
It was likely meant as a warning not to be careless since Gale was still a ranker, but Harim’s perception of her and the Speed Swordswoman was already firmly set. Such nitpicking only served to put him in a bad mood and dampen his morale.
<User123 has donated 1,000 won> 【At the end of the day, it's just a Speed Swordswoman. You'll win, don't worry.】
"Ah, thank you for the support."
The subsequent donation was much better to hear, he thought. The viewers also seemed to look down on the Speed Swordswoman, as the chat window began to flow with a consensus in agreement.
「 For real, you win this 」 「 Don't be scared, all rankers are empty/fakes 」 「 Honestly, Paralysis Swordmaster has a good match-up against Speed Swordswoman anyway... 」 「 God, please just stomp on that bubble-filled ** "bug" breeder, please 」 「 This is 1,207,600,000 times better than Bi-so-ryong, just enjoy it lol 」 「 A Speed Swordswoman in a promotion match is just a free win. Just say thank you and take it. 」
"...Hey, still, she is a ranker, so don't be too harsh."
At the viewers' continued mockery of Gale and the Speed Swordswoman, Harim let out words he didn't truly mean. But he, too, was in total agreement with them. No matter the rank, having a Speed Swordswoman as the enemy Jungler was something to be truly thankful for. From the scrolling chats, he gained even greater confidence.
<He~llo~? Jungle? You there?>
"Huh? What is it?"
While he was drunk on a sense of superiority, someone called him through the voice chat. Judging by the distinct, artificial AI-like tone, it was the allied supporter ranked in the top 30, nickname 'roooobot.'
<Ah, you saw the Speed Swordswoman in the enemy Jungle, right?>
"Yes, I saw her."
Having confirmed the presence of the enemy Speed Swordswoman, she then offered a suggestion to Harim in a relaxed voice.
<...Speed Swordswomen are trash in the early game. Let's go for an Invade. I'll support you.>
"An Invade...?"
Invasion. In other words, a suggestion to invade the enemy Jungle together from the very start of the game. Hearing her words, Harim frowned and asked back.
"You want to kill her off right from the start?"
<Exactly! You hit the N.A.I.L on the head! Amazing!>
"Uh, thanks...?"
<Hmm... getting a kill would be great... but for now, the goal is to steal the Golden Monkey. A Speed Swordswoman can't even jungle properly without a Golden Monkey. The growth gap will widen instantly.>
"Ah."
...Harim had also heard somewhere that a Speed Swordswoman's early attack and defense were so disastrous that she couldn't even hunt a single Jungle monster properly without the buff from a Golden Monkey.
<You're a Paralysis Swordmaster anyway! You can't lose a Level 1 fight! If you think about the late game, it's right to kill the Speed Swordswoman now, even if it's risky.>
Robot continued her persuasion. She was right. Looking at the enemy composition, the only class that could provide proper damage in the late game was the Speed Swordswoman—assuming she grew well. If they killed her early on, the enemy team would have nothing they could do as time went by. No matter how much they attacked, the damage wouldn't go through.
Furthermore, was Harim’s own class not the Paralysis Swordmaster, which specialized in the very early stages of combat? As Robot said, there was almost no way they could lose. Especially with a skilled supporter like her assisting him.
「 Every word she says is correct... 」 「 All hail Great Robot 」 「 Nothing is easier than a Speed Swordswoman early on lol 」 「 Hey, but with a Samurai and an Ice Mage, their late game is gonna be seriously tough if they scale 」 「 I'm so hyped for the early game LMAO 」
<User123 has donated 1,000 won> 【Just go for the Invade. You're a Paralysis Swordmaster, they can't do anything anyway. Even if the enemy supporter comes, you guys win.】
“…….”
The viewers also agreed with Robot. Simultaneously, their chats revealed their excitement for the early-game battle. This was a perfect "one-stone-two-birds" opportunity: he could gain First Blood against a ranker right at the start to boost his prestige and secure a great "B-Tube" clip.
"Alright. Please join me right now."
<Got it!>
Therefore, Harim decided to go for the Invade without hesitation. Through the voice chat, he could hear Robot's cheerful voice.
‘This isn’t bad...’
He had a good feeling about the start of the game. No, in fact, he already felt like he had seized victory. After all, there was no class more manageable than the Speed Swordswoman.
"Alright, we're going for the Invade. I'm starting to get curious about the Speed Swordswoman-nim’s expression!"
...Confidence was already overflowing in his hand as he gripped his katana.