Chapter 13 - Promotion Match (3)
Promotion Match (3)
Translator : Elizabeth
To move toward higher heights, one must understand their own deficiencies and weaknesses. This was a truth that applied to me as well.
...Long ago, well before I ascended to the Mythic tier, I too hit a wall. I realized that if classes with strong early-game presence invaded the Jungle and snatched away the Golden Monkey, there was absolutely nothing a Speed Swordswoman could do. Jungling became a struggle, and by the time I grew enough to finally put up a fight, the game was usually already lost.
So, I researched. I put in the effort to counter this. I mapped out dozens of scenarios in private practice and "Normal" games, and I threw myself into hundreds of ranked matches to learn through experience.
The reason I could predict Harim and roooobot's simple invasion strategy—and why I could counter it—was entirely due to those countless experiences. One can never ignore experience and effort that has been etched into their very instincts. It wasn't just me; one should never take a single-digit ranker lightly, regardless of the reason. Their ascent to that position isn't mere luck; it is born of talent, experience, and effort that exists on a completely different dimension from the average player.
……There is a famous story about a certain streamer who fearlessly provoked the Rank 1 player, 'Death God,' only to surrender a mere ten minutes into the match.
[Double Kill!][Harim has been slain by SION!]
“…….”
the feminine mechanical voice echoed across the battlefield. A Double Kill before five minutes had even passed. Furthermore, it was a kill achieved against the enemy Jungler—the core of the game's macro. It was a spectacular start.
<SION-yang, you're the best!><Wooooooo! Gale! Gale! Gale!>
As soon as the Double Kill announcement rang out, cheers erupted from the Samurai and the Mage in the voice chat. I remained impassive, simply turning toward the Ninja beside me.
"Heobin-nim, please return to the Beach now. It'll be hard for the Ice Mage to handle the Archer alone."
The goal of baiting the invaders and launching a counter-attack had been achieved; there was no longer a need for the supporter to remain in the Jungle. I requested that he return to his original frontline to assist the Mage.
"Ah! Yes! Understood!"
The Ninja, whose stun seemed to have worn off, scrambled to his feet.
"Leave it to me!"
He gave a bright eye-smile before bolting toward the Beach. Watching his confident back, I began to sketch out the next steps of the game.
“…….”
Securing a Double Kill in the early stages was certainly encouraging, but I couldn't afford to be careless. A Double Kill was just a Double Kill, not a victory. The fact remained that the enemy team composition was superior for the late game. If I failed to maintain this momentum and let the game drag on aimlessly, we could be overtaken in an instant.
I had to use the advantage of the bonus gold and experience from First Blood to pressure the enemy as much as possible right from the start.
‘The Plain should be fine...’
I didn't need to worry about the Plain where the Quick-Attack Samurai was headed. The damage a Quick-Attack Samurai could inflict in the early game was terrifying. He wouldn't lose to the enemy Fighter.
‘The Beach should be okay too...’
It was true the Ice Mage was weak in the struggle for Clay Soldiers, but since the versatile Ninja was rushing back to support, they should be fine for the time being.
‘The Jungle...’
That left the enemy Jungler, the Paralysis Swordmaster Harim. If I let him grow steadily, we would lose the late-game teamfights to his four-man area stuns. I had to crush him now so he could never recover. I had to ensure his influence on the game dropped to zero.
And above all……
— Honestly, if you were to use a Jungle Speed Swordswoman, I’d rather just take a Priest and go Jungle. — The Speed Swordswoman is a build that just has its limits even if you practice it. — If a Speed Swordswoman appears as the enemy Jungler, it’s a grinning free win.
“…….”
I wasn't anywhere near finished being angry.
02.
<TeamfightLion has donated 1,000 won>【LMAO, I told you you’d only know once you experienced it personally, right?】
‘F*ing hell.’
Looking at the donation that rang out with its cheerful music, Harim spat out a curse internally. Having respawned, he still hadn't recovered from the shock of his pathetic death at Gale's hands.
‘A Double Kill in three seconds...?’
It was one thing that she had predicted the early Invade and used the Ninja as bait, but he still couldn't wrap his head around that insane situation where she secured a Double Kill against him and a supporter in just three seconds.
Furthermore, it was a one-shot. The neck and the heart. She had precisely targeted only the vital points that dealt lethal critical damage and buried her rapier there in a single strike.
‘Does that even make sense?’
The Speed Swordswomen Harim had seen until now couldn't even launch an attack before slamming into a wall and stunning themselves, but was the creator of the build really this different?
— …….
‘Dammit.’
The image of Gale leisurely dodging his attack right in front of his eyes still haunted him. The speed at which she dodged that sword wave at that range was one thing, but her expression was even more infuriating. A face that wasn't happy or surprised by a Double Kill—just blunt. That face seemed to say that this was just a typical Tuesday for her.
「 Hey, but can you even get that kind of speed just by going all-in on Agility? 」 「 Her control is insane lol, she only lands crits 」 「 I'm curious about her skill set 」 「 Sigh, I'm going to play Speed Swordswoman now, Platinum players better watch out 」 「 Her customization is so pretty though? 」 「 That dodge was legendary, for real 」 「 Gale-noona, I'm dying, Gale-noona, I'm dying, Gale-noona... (Spamming) 」
“…….”
As if the stream's viewers were just as shocked as Harim, the chat window was being plastered with talk about Gale.
‘...Actually, it’s better this way.’
He thought it was better to have the focus on Gale’s kills rather than his own death. It was a hundred times better to have them praising Gale than to have them spamming "Narak" and mocking his "karma" for trash-talking her earlier. If he could just kill Gale once, the public opinion would surely flip back to praising him.
‘Whew...’
Carrying a heavy mind, Harim walked back into his own Jungle. He had to start jungling immediately to recover his stunted growth. If he could just achieve basic scaling, the nature of a Paralysis Swordmaster would prevent him from being pointlessly killed by a Speed Swordswoman again.
Yes, a feeler. That last death was just a feeler—a meaningful, intentional death to gauge Gale's skill. A single death at the start of the game was something he could easily recover from if he put his mind to it. Gale was one thing, but this was a promotion match.
...He absolutely could not lose.
— Shaaaaaaaa!
“……!!”
While scouting the Jungle, a monster leapt out and blocked his path.
‘A Hobgoblin!!’
It was a Jungle monster that granted a large amount of experience and gold upon death. He had passed it earlier to attempt the Invade, but seeing it now made him incredibly relieved.
‘Thank god.’
The moment he saw the Hobgoblin, which promised more gold than he could imagine, Harim felt a wave of relief. Since he could recover a decent amount of gold just by slaying this monster, he shouted to his viewers with renewed confidence.
"Hah, I’m going into 'Pro Mode' now! Just watch."
Simultaneously, he drew his katana and aimed it at the massive Hobgoblin baring its sharp teeth. He thrust the sparking blade directly toward the monster's heart.
Whoosh.
...And just then, a wind blew from somewhere.
‘Wind...?’
Just before the killing blow, he tilted his head at the sudden breeze. A familiar red hologram appeared before Harim.
[Fatal Blow!][You have died][45 seconds until respawn]
"Huh...?"
It was the death screen.
"Wait... What...?"
Was this what it felt like when your brain simply stopped working? He had just drawn his sword to kill a Hobgoblin. No one was around, and there was no presence. Yet, blood erupted from his neck, and he died.
‘What kind of bullshit... is it a bug...?’
It hadn't even been twenty seconds since he respawned. Chaos swirled in Harim's eyes. Behind him, the feminine mechanical voice echoed leisurely across the Frontier of Boundaries once more.
[Harim has been slain by SION!]
"Sion...? Gale...?"
...The voice announcing his death at the hands of Gale. As his vision darkened again, another red hologram appeared.
[In the blink of an eye! Time to Kill: 1.02 seconds!]
SION → Harim 💀
"1.02 seconds...?"
What? SION? Gale killed him in 1.02 seconds? Was she hiding her presence somewhere? And was it even possible to secure a kill in 1.02 seconds?
"Ah."
Only then did he remember the faint flow of wind he felt before he tried to stab the Hobgoblin.
"Gale."
Ah, so this is why she’s called 'Gale.' The wind she stirs when she thrusts her rapier—a wind like a Grim Reaper's breath that you only feel right before you die.
So, nicknames aren't given without a reason. The fact that she reached Rank 7 with a "trash build" like the Speed Swordswoman meant there was a reason for that, too.
— ……
The last thing Harim saw through the vortex of chaos was the silver-haired girl leisurely finishing off the Hobgoblin—his last hope.
SION 3/0/0
...Gale’s kill count rose once more.
03.
[Harim has been slain by SION!]
"Ah, f***ing hell."
Looking at Harim's profile, which had turned grey again only fifteen seconds after respawning, the Red Team's supporter 'roooobot' let out a curse.
"Sigh, what kind of f***ing trolling is this...?"
She clutched her throbbing head. Dying again fifteen seconds after respawning was something you rarely saw even in Bronze tier; what the hell was this Jungler doing?
The words he had said during the Invade suddenly flashed back to her.
— Is Gale really that good? — What can someone even do with a build like that...
Recalling Harim’s words, which had doubted the skill of the Rank 7 player SION, roooobot let out a dry laugh.
"No way."
Was there really an idiot out there who would doubt the skill of a Rank 7 Mythic player? He surely didn't just die because he failed to check his surroundings just because he thought he had a match-up advantage as a Paralysis Swordmaster.
Yeah, that must be it. ...It had to be.
[Cloud has been slain by LifeWhatToDo!]
"Nice!" "Oh."
While she was in shock, another announcement rang out. The allied Archer had finally managed to kill the enemy Ice Mage amidst a barrage of continuous attacks.
— Dammit....
When the dealer responsible for damage died, the enemy supporter Ninja also scowled and retreated toward the defensive tower.
"Thank god."
Roooobot let out a sigh of relief. They had managed to get one kill. Furthermore, it was a valuable kill secured by the Archer who would lead the late-game. Since they had taken control of the Beach, they finally had some room to breathe.
‘3 to 1, it’s still okay.’
The score was 3 to 1, but it was manageable. If they played as safely as possible and supported the Archer who had a kill, they could easily turn the game around in the late stages. The only real threat at the Beach—the Ice Mage’s area-of-effect skill—could be sealed by her own 'Hacking' skill, and the Ninja wasn't a major threat since he was in a supporter role.
They just had to keep this up. They were the ones who would become stronger in the late game.
‘...The problem is Gale.’
However, they couldn't afford to give any more kills to Gale. Low Tide was coming soon. If a Gale with monstrous growth joined the Beach battle, the game would blow up beyond control.
Therefore, it was crucial for their Jungler to play as safely as possible, avoiding Gale. Perhaps it was even better to give up on the Jungle and focus on helping the Fighter on the Plain.
"Hey, Jungle, you there?"
After being killed twice in a row by the same person, it was natural to get heated and attempt risky plays. Roooobot hurriedly called Harim. She wanted to tell him to calm down and play steadily, however frustrated he might be.
"Check your surroundings this time, and once you get your ultimate, just go to the Plain—"
[Harim has been slain by SION!][Double Kill!][SION is on a rampage!]
"Ah."