Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Got It, I Know Your Levels
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As expected from a finals qualifier on the line, the players started the ban/pick phase with tense expressions.
The observer could influence camera angles even during ban/pick, resulting in all sorts of wild shots.
"Will they film us like that during our match too?"
"There'll definitely be some humiliating shots of the players deep in thought."
"Nah, not for Eun-seol. She looks good even from a low angle shooting up."
"......Life."
Scribe sighed and grabbed a handful of Bell's popcorn.
"KTT's definitely well-prepared for their first ban/pick."
"Milky Way's picks all seem so high-skill..."
Standard comp versus standard comp favored the higher-tier Milky Way, but KTT had scrimmed against us all day and seen every ban/pick imaginable.
Which meant they even had counters ready for this ban/pick.
Well, they lost to us in scrims even with that, but it was just because top and mid imploded.
In a normal game, it was a solid counterpick.
"Hey, compared to that, my ban/pick looks decent, right?"
"......"
"Guys?"
The coach was so laid-back it was impossible to tell if he was here to scout or just watch the game for fun.
I knew his buddy was Milky Way's coach, but apparently nothing beat watching friends screw up in their old age.
"Honestly, Milky Way's the weird one for not banning that while building a dive comp..."
"But you can't just release all the OP picks either."
They did get counterpicked, but snagging two OP picks meant Milky Way wasn't at a total loss.
The problem was KTT—they'd already scrimmed that comp against us and toughed it out.
Milky Way couldn't pressure KTT harder than we did, so the OP picks lost their edge inevitably.
The ban/pick screen had shifted to Twisted Canyon, with champions now visible on screen.
"One! Two! Three!"
"Milky Way fighting!"
True to form as ST's second-biggest fanbase, their cheers echoed through the arena, matched by KTT fans roaring back in defiance.
And amid it all, Plook—sitting right next to me—cheered for KTT too.
"But why are you cheering for KTT?"
"You said it yourself. It's better for us if KTT advances over Milky Way."
"......"
No matter how I thought about it, calling top lane the line of real men felt like too much for tops.
KTT pulled the exact same invade we'd done to them—on Milky Way.
While Milky Way's Hunter casually cleared the bottom camps, KTT's Hunter strolled in and casually stole their buff monster.
"KTT must've done their homework."
"They dodged wards perfectly."
By circling around the vision from Milky Way's top, KTT went completely undetected—Milky Way didn't even realize they'd been cheated.
"The question is how long they can milk this..."
Mid was a poke-heavy lane KTT didn't favor much, and top had Jackson holding strong against ganks, so aside from the camp difference, there weren't big follow-up gains.
"......Huh?"
"What?"
"KTT doesn't usually poke mid much."
Ox let out a sigh and answered me.
"You were holding mid. You think they'd even consider poking during scrims? If I were their Hunter, I wouldn't either."
He wasn't wrong, but it felt off hearing it from Ox.
Was Rock's intelligence finally leveling up from brainlet to mere advisor?
Of course, if LOC games didn't explode just because you played safe, it wouldn't be LOC.
"They crossed the line."
Envy was playing plenty safe, but the game started with a camp steal anyway.
Spending extra time on mid wouldn't lose jungle control.
Sure enough, after nearly ten seconds, KTT's Hunter dove mid like a starving beast.
A flashless on-foot mage had no immunity to that gank.
"They're on a roll."
"Eh."
If a team that grinded early pathing like that was easy prey, Milky Way wouldn't have been called Master League's strongest before I joined ST.
Milky Way dominates!
[KTT survivors need to run—it's a done fight!]
As mid-game hit, situations deviated more from prepared plans.
Variables increased naturally, highlighting differences in players' adaptability.
And there, higher-tier Milky Way had the edge.
Of course, that didn't make Milky Way flawless.
The lead changed so wildly that predicted win rates flipped every minute.
Thanks to early pathing, KTT's jungler barely escaped with one HP bar sliver.
"It's over."
Dragging it out meant loss.
If Kais had one more core item, the backline would've melted and KTT's jungler would've died too.
Anyway, what didn't happen didn't happen.
KTT executed the game-ending angle we'd used on them—on Milky Way.
Gold reversed 7 times, major monsters split evenly.
Fans would've fainted at least three times.
"Damn. That's gaming."
Of course, since it wasn't us, the people next to me just chuckled and scraped the last popcorn crumbs into their mouths.
After a short break, game 2 began.
Milky Way's whole team running around with champion bounties screamed doomed set from the start.
Skills poured in instantly, and KTT exploded without resistance.
Game 3 rode the momentum to another Milky Way win.
Game 4 saw mistakes from both sides.
Regrettably, Baron perfectly covered KTT's missing DPS from one player.
Milky Way's Nexus exploded.
We'd reached game 5.
"Hand it over."
"...What?"
"What? No sunglasses?"
"I thought Milky Way would win easy. Who saw full 5 coming?"
"Me."
I confidently pulled fashion shades from my pocket.
Hooked them on my ears, slowly swept back my bangs, and lowered them.
Spotlights faded; only the players' stage remained crystal clear.
I knew their levels well enough.
Now, time for something more entertaining.
I lifted the shades slightly.
The broadcast cam predictably put me on the big screen, cheers erupting.
This was what being alive felt like.
"...Switch seats with me."
"No way. Ji-hwan, you sacrifice."
The words from people who didn't get cool didn't matter.