The Academy League's Loser (2)
"Shining Star? That's just because they haven't faced us yet. They'll be tasting their first loss soon enough."
"Hmm... I've heard Brilliant's pretty good and all... But they haven't even made it to Division 3, right?"
"Rookies always go wild at first, but once they get crushed, they tumble right back to the bottom. That's probably what's gonna happen to them..."
"They did a public scrim before the season, remember? That team got totally embarrassed..."
"What team goes all-out in a scrim? Scrimgod, they call it. They should just be happy with their scrimgod status."
"Scrimgod, huh? A~ I probably shouldn't say this, but honestly, they were so... boring, I almost fell asleep... Close call! Haha."
"Their carry was just messing around that game. Hope they do the same this time."
"...I don't know. Don't care. I only pay attention to people who are actually good. Like our coach."
The video team's director chuckled as he cross-edited clips from the ten players of Shining Star and Team Brilliant.
It was his first time editing interview footage from Academy League teams, and the first time two teams had clashed with such fireworks.
Most players were too busy with games to have much to say, usually giving vague, frustratingly bland answers. But not these two teams.
Especially Shining Star's players.
"Never seen an Academy team like this before."
"What the hell happened in that scrim to make them so on edge?"
"Oh, you didn't see? Promo team sent a link for reference. There's this girl on Shining Star named Shin Sera? Thought she was a mad dog."
"Shin Sera? The quiet one? She looks like she'd just read books in the corner at school. What'd she do?"
Soon, a staffer pulled up scrim footage on his phone. Especially Shin Sera's second-set rampage. Ignoring CS and everything, just relentlessly chasing and smashing the enemy champion—it was mad dog incarnate.
"Made by The Shine, huh? They picked kids with killer visuals. Could pass for idols."
"Interviews were tough—didn't know where to look. Especially Kim Seon-ah... those tits..."
"Aigoo, if I weren't a company guy, I'd have tried for her number."
"I get it, but don't mix with players. Gossip starts."
The director smirked and dropped the final fact bomb.
"Look at their faces. They'd have guys lining up just for looks, even stuck in Academy forever. Think our dull mugs stand a chance?"
"Cha Yuna even said she likes guys better than her at the game. We're screwed."
"Division 1 guys'll snag 'em."
"Aigoo, so pitiful~ Some of us stuck in this office corner rubbing elbows with sweaty dudes editing vids, while others game pro and hook hot girls~"
"You think we like hanging with dudes? Shut your nonsense and get back to work!"
A few days after the unusual pre-interviews in the affiliate studio for an Academy team.
The day had finally arrived for our 7-0 Shining Star to face Team Brilliant.
We arrived early at the venue, got makeup done, set up, and were chilling in the waiting room.
Still over 30 minutes to match start. The screen in the lounge showed our previous interviews.
"Whoa? Our interviews are on!"
"Hehe, fun. Let's hear what you guys said."
'Nostalgic.'
Pre-interviews I'd done to death in Division 1 felt fresh now.
I hadn't seen what the players said, so I watched with interest.
"Whoa, what're they saying? Scrimgod? So rude! They lost to us in scrim!"
Yuna, hearing the opponents' interviews for the first time, blew up.
Then our team's clips played.
"Kim Seon-ah, I told you to watch your words in interviews..."
"The staff said the opponents called us scrimgods and asked if we had anything to say."
Fair enough—trash talk interviews flow like that. It was days ago anyway, nothing major. I let it slide.
"Tch, fine. Overly humble in provocations kills the fun. You didn't cross the line—good job."
I ruffled Seon-ah's hair beside me. She beamed at the praise.
On screen, our team and Brilliant trash-talked without mercy. Despite being rookies, we'd formed a rivalry with the Academy League overlords.
"Players, time to prep for the match!"
The kids shot up reflexively as staff opened the door.
"Alright, kids. Don't tense up—it's just the top-spot battle. Play like practice. Keep heads cool. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"Shining Star!"
"Fighting!"
Hyped, they headed to the stage. Cheers from spectators beyond the lounge—they recognized our team now, thanks to the buzz about the girls' looks.
Post-interview, the venue screen showed them waving and blowing kisses to the crowd.
And Brilliant glaring daggers at our team.
Makes sense. They'd rolled in Academy for two years without promoting to Division 3, no real fans. Now rookies stealing fans on looks alone.
Jealous, they'd requested the public scrim first to crush us. Likely prepped something big this time too.
I'd warned the players about enemy tricks, but details would show in-game.
Our picks were standard. But watching from spectator seats, I spotted something off with theirs.
'Their picks...'
Totally different from scrims or past games.
Trent Master, Beastmaster, Light Spirit. Fine, those see pro play.
The other two? Problem.
Ground Slam (Q) - Slam the ground with your sword, dealing area damage and slowing enemies.
Rage (W) - For a set number of attacks, grant yourself maximum attack speed.
Weakness Spot (E) - Passive. Consecutive attacks on the same target within time deal bonus damage. Stacks indefinitely.
Time of Slaughter (R) - Remove all debuffs and massively reduce incoming damage for a short time.
Soul Explosion (Q) - Deal weak damage and stun. Stunned foes take same damage again and slow on release.
Vampiric Aura (W) - Passive. You, nearby allies, minions recover HP proportional to damage dealt to enemies.
Smite (E) - Passive. Attacks have chance for double crit damage.
Revive (R) - Passive. On death, if mana remains, revive after delay with full HP/mana. Cooldown after.
Massacre Warrior: Insane burst up close, stacking passive for sustained damage.
Phantom Lord: Only one active stun, rest passives—simple but staple.
Not weird picks, but not meta now either.
My battle-hardened brain clocked the combo instantly.
'Damn it, level 1 Roshan!'
Only reason to ditch mains for this: big objective Roshan hunt.
Kill it for team gold + Aegis drop (full revive on holder death). Eternal Combat's top prize.
Roshan's tough—needs farm usually. Exception: Massacre Warrior.
Its stacking passive on one target shreds with lifesteal item, soloing infinitely.
But not level 1 solo. Needs Trent Master's summons + Phantom Lord's Vamp Aura.
Those three enable level 1 Roshan kill.
Huge edge if it works, but massive risk if scouted—pros never do it, pubs rarely build it.
Doing it in pro scene means one thing.
You won't see it coming.
If I were active on BlackWings, I'd call "Level 1 Rosh watch" on sight. Experience.
But...
"Heh, come on, Oh Sujin. I'll shove another TB again."
"Sera, no repeats from last time, okay?"
"No prob."
Our team casually lined up, waiting for first wave. Roshan's HP already over half gone.
'Kids, please! Massacre Warrior + Phantom Lord! Check Roshan, now!'
Ambush pits them in the pit for free.
But no dice—our girls clueless.
They'd never faced this strat or comp.
And—
Red Team has slain Roshan! 300 gold awarded to all Red Team members.
Oh Sujin has acquired Aegis.
'We're screwed.'
First set was gonna be brutal.