Division 3 Promotion Battle (7)

As expected, Peacemaker crushed Team Brilliant 2-0 and advanced to the winners' bracket, locking in their matchup against us.

The single day of practice flew by in the blink of an eye, and before we knew it, game time against Peacemaker had arrived.

"If we win this... if we just win this, we're in Division 3."

"Coach, sorry, but could you grab me some calming pills?"

"We have to win! Division 3!"

With Division 3 right in front of us, some were more fired up than usual, while others were clearly nervous, desperately hunting for those calming pills.

I was tense too. A year had passed since my regression, and I'd been Shining Star's coach for months now. What used to be a league I wouldn't even glance at had lowered my standards to match this stage.

"Players, get ready for the match!"

At the staff's call, we gathered and stacked our hands.

"I know you're nervous and shaking, but calm down and play like always. We'll secure our spot in Division 3 and take it easy from there!"

"Got it!"

"Shining Star!"

"Fighting!"

Champion select followed immediately.

We pulled out our most comfortable picks: Sera on Race, Seon-ah on Nightcrawler for easy ward spotting, Yuna on Wave Sorcerer, Eunjae on Moon Priestess, and Hayoung on Holy Knight.

The key was their picks. Peacemaker wasn't like Team Brilliant or Team Riddle with predictable bans and picks.

'Offlaner Brutal Spearman, second support Land Crusher, first support Dark Priest, mid Thunder God... and carry Bloodbath?'

Their comp had a weak frontline. The tankiest was Brutal Spearman, but it was pathetic compared to Wave Sorcerer. Bloodbath had solid base stats and could tank a bit depending on items, but it fell off hard late game.

'And picking a physical damage dealer against an offlaner Wave Sorcerer? That's tough to break through...'

That thought sent a chill down my spine. I double-checked their champions.

Brutal Spearman, Land Crusher, Thunder God.

Different roles, but all three shared long-range poke skills—at least one each.

Land Crusher's Earth Splitter, Brutal Spearman's Shockwave. And Thunder God—every skill was long-range enemy harass.

Excluding Thunder God, none could kill alone, but they were plenty for chipping HP.

And their carry? Bloodbath, who goes berserk the lower enemy HP gets.

I saw their plan instantly from the picks. But knowing it myself didn't mean the players did. We'd barely practiced this comp.

'Yuna, you have to play safe. It's not just tower dives— even retreating to the second tower could get you killed.'

I prayed Yuna and the others would catch on.

But my hopes fell flat. The players stayed blissfully focused on laning, oblivious to the disaster brewing.

It started in mid. Nightcrawler vs. Thunder God. Late game, Nightcrawler stomps, but early? Thunder God's spammable long-range skills dominated.

No ult yet, so Seon-ah's HP chunked away.

"Argh, that hurts like hell!"

"Seon-ah, just survive to level 6 without dying."

"Yeah, holding on. Potions are gone, but his mana’s low too. He's just blindly spamming."

Thunder God's brutal early poke made mid war hell—it was scripted.

Bot saw Brutal Spearman constantly Shockwaving from range. Not for CS, just targeting Sera and Hayoung.

"What's his deal?"

"Right? Low mana pool and wasting it like that."

"I'll chase him off. Sera, keep farming."

"Sera, heal?"

"Nah. Not that bad, and Thunder God's not 6 yet. Save your mana, sis."

HP dipped but not kill range, so carry lane conserved potions/mana at half HP.

But the poke snowball from mid/bot rolled to top.

Jeong Yujin's Bloodbath claws slashed, leaving Yuna reeling.

'Fuck, why does this hurt so much?'

Wave Sorcerer's damage reduction passive plus Anchor Swing shredding physical attack made it anti-physical heaven.

Yet Bloodbath autos stabbed like daggers.

Potions long gone. Sensing something wrong, Yuna checked the map and roared in fury.

"Hey! What the hell's with your HP bars?!"

"Huh?"

"Bloodbath! It goes nuts when your HP drops! I can't survive lane like this!"

"What do we do? Can't lane at full HP forever. Can't just potion spam. And I'm level 6 now. Just back a bit and—"

"You crazy bitch! Don't you know Bloodbath's skills!? Your low HP wastes your ult! And when yours drop, I die!"

"God, speak nicely for once? Why always your problems? Should we skip items and potion forever?"

"You little—"

Yuna cut off her curse, bracing defensively.

Jeong Yujin's Bloodbath dove for the kill.

"Fucking...!"

Yuna unloaded everything—slows, attack shred—but with Nightcrawler, Race, Holy Knight HP low, Bloodbath's Blood Thirst pumped attack/movement speed insanely.

No escaping that sports-car dash into the tower. Two autos later, Yuna was gone. Bloodbath Oath-healed off her max HP and strolled out.

'Damn it, we got played.'

My head throbbed. Academy aces or not, we were rookies without experience. Inexperience meant poor crisis response—no amount of short-term practice fixed that.

I could teach skills/mechanics, but real-time adaptation needed hands-on suffering.

Bot practice couldn't cover infinite comps, in-game vars, skill gaps—every game shifted. No time for perfect counters everywhere.

It exploded in round 1 vs. Brilliant set 1.

Since, we'd won via weight class/strategy, but against equal/superior experience in winners' bracket basics battle? Weaknesses showed.

Target Yuna's aggressive positioning trusting Wave tankiness. Poke other lanes low with range, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then Bloodbath rampage executes.

Tactics crushing Wave Sorcerer with a stronger physical bully—something Yuna, anti-physical queen, couldn't dodge.

We'd seen it rarely in practice, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buried in memory amid scrims. Players floundered.

But Yuna's death wasn't the end.

"Damn. Bloodbath means no HP even at 6. Heading home."

"S-Seon-ah! Bloodbath went low! Coming your way!"

"What?!"

Nightcrawler ult healed fast out of vision. Should've been full HP after 10s hiding from Thunder God. But Bloodbath's low-HP detect stalled it.

Bloodbath, fresh off Yuna kill, bypassed their side—instead dove our jungle.

Hayoung called it urgently, but with many low-HP enemies, Bloodbath's speed defied prediction.

Three seconds after entering jungle: Bloodbath burst from the hill between towers 1/2, charging Seon-ah.

Unpredictable passive speed.

"Aaaah! What, what is this! Why so fast?!"

"What else? It chased you."

"Shit!"

Seon-ah panicked into Dark Mist ult for stealth. Only non-target skills hit in that state. But...

"Hiding? I smell blood—you're visible!"

The exception: Bloodbath's detect. Seon-ah under 25% triggered true sight.

Black fog hid her, but Bloodbath sniffed her out. Plus vision meant no fast heal.

Fragile Nightcrawler couldn't tank supercharged Bloodbath that murdered tanky Wave Sorcerer.

"Gahk..."

One claw pierced Seon-ah's gut. No escape—she dropped.

Double kill.

Bloodbath snowballs uncontrollably once rolling—late potential weak, but early rampage unstoppable.

Peacemaker's Jeong Yujin showed why she picked it, shredding Yuna relentlessly.

Post-double, Yuna couldn't hold alone.

And it wasn't just the snowball.

Overt tower dives piled Yuna/Seon-ah deaths.

"Hey! You see me die and just sit there?! Can't you see?!"

"God, stay still and people think you're easy prey?! You die first every time—why blame me?! My HP won't regen either, pissing me off, and now no items just potions?!"

"Seon-ah, stop. And Yuna unnie, ease up on the cursing..."

"Lee Ha-young, you're the same! You know Bloodbath skills! If HP low, heal me or Sera so she chills! What're you doing full-healing then sitting?!"

"My mana too... Haa, can't even talk."

I checked the status windows—rarely needed since stats rose—but Yuna's reunion was disastrous.