Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Third Spell
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A little before Eun-seol arrived, the players were chatting idly in the scrim-exclusive space.
"You went even with Proud?"
"He still got the solo kill in the end."
"His movement's pretty good, though?"
Since both teams had their own prepared ban/picks anyway, there was no need to even talk about that. The only topic worth discussing was the new mid laner who was coming today.
Especially since she was the first female gamer ST had recruited.
"Well, the team needs to make money too."
"Her buzz factor is no joke."
"Our games will fill the arena, right?"
"She streams too—even just her fans would be easy five hundred."
So naturally, the conversation skewed away from skill and toward other things.
Of course, they knew she hadn't solo-queud her way to Challenger like some queen bee, so they didn't completely dismiss Eun-seol's skills. But that didn't mean they acknowledged her either.
"Shut up and follow my lead."
That's why when Eun-seol first said that, most of ST3's team members were stunned.
"The bitch... talked back?"
Especially ST3's jungler, Ochang-hyun, who had been openly insulted, couldn't say a word.
They'd heard the joke about fighting AI a few times, but this blatant remark was practically an insult to the jungler position.
Coupled with the rough, profanity-laced words that didn't suit her appearance, and the arrogance that screamed she was the best here.
'Let's see just how good she really is.'
Even if they were at the bottom of the 3rd division league, they played like it was a playground in Challenger. They had zero intention of meekly following a newbie younger than them.
At least, that was the plan—
Sudden good news came from laning phase.
"What?"
"She's good?"
"I was busy farming minions and missed it. What happened?"
The opposing WD mid laner had a season of Master League experience, so he figured it would at best be even or a slight disadvantage—still manageable.
No one had predicted this.
"Alright, everyone focus up. Laning phase isn't over yet."
At Plook's words—the youngest on the team but infamous for carrying from laning to teamfights—everyone set aside their surprise and refocused on the game.
Even Ochang-hyun, the jungler who'd heard the "bitch" remark earlier.
As he was diligently farming monsters deep in the Twisted Forest.
"Gank here. Now."
Casual second-person speech with a commanding tone.
He figured True's lane must be in a pinch, explaining the bluntness, so he swung his camera to mid. It was the opposite.
'The angle's perfect?'
Both mid laners' health bars pushed to the limit.
And she'd intentionally pulled the wave, baiting perfectly.
"No Flash, no Teleport."
"......Oh."
Above all, the enemy mid was completely defenseless.
At this point, the informal speech didn't matter.
"Slowly. Save skills, just auto-attack."
With her words, the enemy looked so juicy that the jungler—worried his gold bag might vanish—abandoned his monster and dove mid. Angle be damned, he scooped up the kill easily.
"...Good call?"
"Loop top from there and hit their jungle monsters. Enemy jungler's probably there."
She issued the next order like it was obvious.
"I need to go farm my side's monsters..."
"Just go. You'll win if you do."
Not doubting for a second the enemy jungler was there, he decided to humor her once since he'd gotten a kill and headed topside.
In the skirmish after the top laners rotated down, they crushed them.
He cleared the enemy-side Twisted Forest monsters too before heading home.
'What is this?'
Just by following her words a few times.
The game felt too easy.
His headaches from the moment he'd dipped a toe into pro play felt absurdly distant—the game was snowballing perfectly.
"Enemy jungler topside, about to rotate onto their support—so cut deep or clear vision immediately."
True was effortlessly reading the enemy jungler's gank paths and positions.
And the foundation was Eun-seol's dominant laning.
"Enemy's back at base. Watch for ganks following minions."
Eun-seol had only returned home once—for items to hunt big monsters despite fine health—while the enemy had gone three or four times.
After that first solo kill, you could feel the enemy mid falling behind everywhere, from Twisted Forest to other lanes.
After that, informal speech was irrelevant.
Especially True's constant invades—stealing enemy monsters—and her movements that let you dive mindlessly into fights and still win. To jungler Ochang-hyun, she was a god.
"Come to the pinged spot and wait."
So by mid-game, he prioritized her calls unconditionally.
"Don't take that—go bot and watch for countergank timing."
Normally, he'd finish his monster first before listening to another mid. But trust built in under a game, he bolted bot without hesitation.
"Why's their jungler here this timing?"
"Just suck 'em in! We win!"
With bot even, a big level/item gap between junglers meant the counterganked side gets crushed.
As expected, with level gaps and an item advantage, it was a one-sided massacre unworthy of the name "fight."
A fight that sealed the already half-won top/mid game.
'......Does this make sense?'
Ochang-hyun, achieving triple kill, felt more dazed than happy.
In scrims with pro-level pressure and macro unlike solo queue, one player influencing so much with calls left him gobsmacked.
"Shall we end it now?"
Not just him—watching True calmly break the second tower with Plook topside and retreat, many shared the thought.
"Sorry!"
Back in the virtual lounge after scrims, team jungler Ox—OX—Ochang-hyun bowed to me out of nowhere.
I could guess why, but played dumb and bounced back.
"Why all of a sudden? You didn't do anything wrong."
At my calm reply, his face turned beet red as he fumbled for words.
I paused, then chuckled lightly.
He'd apologized sincerely without excuses—fixable enough. No need for mind games.
"It's fine. Don't sweat it."
"For real?"
His face lit up.
"You'll do whatever I say from now on anyway, right?"
"...The phrasing's a bit off."
"Mangnani, go play alone."
"......"
Shoving Plook aside, I secured the jungler's unconditional support.
"And Plook said the bot duo said something about me too..."
Playing first-person, I couldn't hear the bot lane teammates, but Plook breaking towers right beside me was clear.
At my words, ADC Strike and support Bell glared at Plook, but the cat was out of the bag.
"Pulling aggro for money in the team... or whatever?"
"Uwaaak! Sorry! I'm sorry!"
In-team chatter was a hiccup; me saying it out loud? Full UFC brawl.
Knowing that, he groveled pathetically.
"Sorry for agreeing with Spoon's words."
"Passing the buck to me?"
"Tools depend on the user, right?"
Hmm.
'That's the bot duo.'
Sure enough, Spoon—Tool duo trusted each other implicitly.
No need to poke.
"Why'd you pivot direction here?"
"Eun-seol told me to."
"This scene?"
"That too."
"Last judgment too..."
"All of it."
"......"
Coach An Jae-hoon just felt deflated.
One scrim and Ox's chronic issues were fixed?
'No, was he hiding it?'
Ox, who trusted his own power and prioritized hunting, shone brighter following True's calls.
'Then top/jungle/mid is set.'
Consistent Plook top.
Ox, unmatched in power in Master League jungling.
And True.
Players without qualifiers were rare for him, but True—even pre-debut—qualified.
'...She doesn't belong here.'
He pitied the prospects who'd flop at opener.
"Alright, kids. Let's tweak ban/pick this time."
Truthfully, ban/pick wasn't key now.
Absorbing True's movements and calls.
His sole pre-opener mission.
Days of scrims and feedback continued.
And the chain looped back to the start.
—The opening match was right around the corner.