Reaper (3)

Just as in real life, miracles sometimes happen in games too.

Underdog teams no one expected pulling off shocking upsets against defending champions, or low-tier scrubs taking down overconfident pros.

These upsets that defy common sense don't happen every day... but they're closer than you might think.

'Could it be...?'

So when the alert for the first kill rang out, a flicker of hope stirred inside me.

Alicia in Wonderland, the unshakeable rank 1, had an arrogant streak. Maybe that hubris had backfired, handing Bear Jelly an easy mark.

And Bear Jelly right now? Burning with revenge and rage after getting crushed by her last time.

Adrenaline could have sparked a performance even he'd be shocked by.

"......"

Clutching that hope—that maybe this game would turn easy—I waited seconds for the next alert.

"Ah."

All I got was a grim voice.

"Haa..."

Guess my hunch was spot on. Losing in the lanes' sticky minion grind to the enemy? I let out a deep sigh.

"This just got tough..."

I bit my lip and muttered.

Not just any kill—the First Blood, with extra gold and XP. And taken by Alicia, the one they had to watch most. Game's screwed from the start.

"......"

With the early game shaking up, the chat in the corner of my vision was already on fire.

Half the viewers blamed Bear Jelly for ignoring my pleas to play safe; the other half fretted over the botched start.

In-game voice chat exploded with roooobot's fury. Facing Alicia, she was extra sensitive to that first blood.

roooobot unloaded a torrent of curses, cornering the mumbling Bear Jelly. I jumped in before she got chat-restricted for excessive toxicity.

Legend Frontier has no save reloads. Regretting or cursing past plays gains nothing.

The key is not repeating mistakes. I admonished Bear Jelly as politely as possible.

Sharply scolding someone that unpredictable could lead to them rage-quitting—the worst outcome.

His dejected voice carried reluctant agreement. I nodded.

"I'll rotate in as fast as I can, so hang on. No more deaths."

He sounded bummed about reining in his dive instincts, but oh well.

If he hated it that much, he shouldn't have fed.

"Alright then..."

Wrapping up voice chat, I prepped to head enemy jungle-ward.

Needed to crash lanes ASAP; couldn't let their jungler interfere.

I'd crush their jungler worse than Alicia did Bear Jelly.

The game was just beginning.

"Hmph."

Legend Frontier's rank 1, Alicia In Wonderland—named after her favorite novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shortened to just "Alicia" by most—scoffed.

"Pathetic..."

Her take on the enemy laner "Bear Jelly," who charged blindly and got his throat reaped.

"How's he not learned a thing?"

Twirling her massive signature scythe, she vented freely.

She'd clashed with the berserker Bear Jelly recently. Alicia won, of course.

Not just a win—five solo kills in 1v1s, crushing his laner ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pride utterly.

That game should've taught him the skill gap, so she'd expected more caution this time... but who knew he'd dive even dumber, moves telegraphed?

'Easy win.'

Snagging an early kill, Alicia hummed leisurely.

Situation was golden.

Teamed with coast's current top dog, Galaxy Express; solid comp overall; and that effortless first blood.

Snowball this momentum, gank lanes and coast aggressively—victory was in the bag.

"Hacker, huh..."

Still, no slacking.

Enemy support was a hacker—chaos incarnate. Board could flip anytime, anywhere.

"...SION."

And that enemy jungler name grated.

Legend Frontier's hottest topic: rank 7 Speed Swordsman "SION."

A glitchy Speed Swordsman build reaching ranks? Mystery player. They'd met a few times, but unpredictable.

Her skill ceiling and build's potential? Impossible to gauge.

Was she always all-out, or holding back? Alicia couldn't pin it.

Why? No one else ran Speed Swordsman except her—and low-tier bugs didn't count as data.

Folks called this "information asymmetry." Infuriating for the opponent.

Especially in rankers' world.

"Pfft."

...Anyway, SION—aka Zilpung—had the perfect mix to captivate crowds.

Creator of hipster-icon Speed Swordsman; climbed to ranks with it; started personal stream after 2 years. Enigma.

And a beauty with a stunning voice—rare in Legend Frontier.

Heck, even Alicia's stream mentioned her.

"Cheeky bitch."

Thinking that far soured her mood.

Daring to steal spotlight from rank 1 queen of Legend Frontier? Unforgivable.

She had to be the star here.

Side character? Maybe. But the brightest light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was hers alone.

Extras snatching her hype? No way.

"Nah, actually perfect."

Red eyes gleaming, she licked her lips.

Shed pondered it when her stream name-dropped SION, but crushing her now to assert dominance? Smart.

Prove that gimmick build was no threat to rank 1 Alicia.

—Ahem...

"Hm?"

A noise from afar.

Glancing over: respawned enemy berserker back at lane.

"Hmm..."

But way more cautious now?

Earlier, eyes blazing, axe raised; now cowering by tower, scraping minion scraps.

Chewed out by teammates?

Yeah, probably.

Feeding first blood that easy? Someone yelled for sure.

"Stick to tower, farm minions—no more bullshit."

"Hmmm..."

Alicia scratched her chin, pondering.

She craved kills, but this passive play killed the fun. Wanted another duel.

"Maybe taunt him..."

Idea sparking, rank 1 berserker smirked.

Hothead like Bear Jelly? A little prod, and he'd rage-charge, forgetting team scoldings.

Mind games were battle too.

Use every strat.

Flashing a sly smile, she prepped a taunt to bruise his ego—her specialty.

"Huh?"

...But a booming feminine system voice snapped her mouth shut mid-taunt.

"Kill...?"

Early-game fragile Speed Swordsman invading jungle?

Enemy jungler down to Zilpung already. Alicia smirked, intrigued.

"'I'm a ranker too,' huh?"

To recoup early kill loss, she'd invaded tears in eyes.

Confident her skill outclassed their jungler, confirmed no backups—straight to gank.

...Like saying, "Don't get cocky off one first blood."

"Huh?"

Before the echo faded—

Their jungler—dead again to Zilpung seconds after respawn.

"Spawnkill...?"

Super short interval screamed idiot spawnkill on their jungler.

"Ha."

Alicia snorted dryly.

Corner screen check: Zilpung's gold overtook hers.

"Challenge accepted...?"

Ranked, not casuals—risking spawnkill screamed direct taunt at Alicia.

"Kills aren't just yours."

"Now it's 2-1."

"...Fun."

Alicia felt her blood boil for the first time in ages, regripping her Reaper scythe.

"......"

—Wh-what...?

...Priority target: that dumbass berserker.