Bloody Rose (1)

January 1, 2053, 0:00.

"Happy New Year~!"

"Happy birthday to our coach, who's now 22~!"

"Sera's 18 now? Does that mean you can read naughty comics legally?"

"...What're you talking about? Thanks, everyone."

"Waaah, I'm 21 now. I wish time would stop here. Stop! Stop it!"

"Happy New Year, everyone. Let's go straight to Division 1 this year without a single loss."

The players, back from their holidays, celebrated the new year with cheerful greetings.

Seona bowed exaggeratedly toward me, demanding sebaetdon money before taking a knuckle to the forehead. Yuna tried showing Sera "the adult world" with some risqué webtoon sites and got tattled on.

Hayoung, tempted by Eunjae's coaxing to try alcohol now that she was 19, got caught sneaking a sip with her and earned another knuckle each... Come to think of it, Hayoung looked the most innocent but had secretly dated, gotten dumped, and even snuck booze—turns out she was sneakily rebellious.

Anyway, the first dawn of the new year passed in a fun, peaceful blur.

Then, around 1 p.m. when everyone was up.

Though the schedule allowed vacation until today, I'd gotten voluntary buy-in from all the players and called a team meeting in the conference room.

"7 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses."

I pointed at the screen on display.

It showed photos of Bloody Rose, the current Division 3 leaders, along with their main picks.

Below that was a long text rundown of Bloody Rose's general strategies.

"That's Bloody Rose's record right now. Their mains and playstyle... Nothing super specific about the playstyle. They excel at everything—pushing, lane swaps, sacrificing offlaner, jungling, you name it. Think of them as an upgraded Peacemaker."

The players' faces darkened as they scrutinized Bloody Rose's picks.

Their champion pools were on another level compared to ours. Even against Peacemaker, who had a decently wide pool, the gap was obvious. Plus, they shared picks across carry, offlane, and support roles—versatile champs that could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flex anywhere. You couldn't predict if a pick was for carry, support, or even if Support 1 would jungle it or send it offlane.

Teams that shared pools this strategically to create confusion were rare outside Division 2 or higher. No wonder they were ecosystem destroyers in Division 3.

Seona, eyeing the Bloody Rose picks, shot her hand up.

"Their mid has a super narrow pool, though?"

Bloody Rose's midlaner, Han Areum. Unlike her teammates, her section only showed one mage in a robe orbited by blue, purple, and red spheres.

"Yeah. She's only played that in Division 3."

Indeed, Han Areum had stuck to Elementalist in nearly every game. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Unlike her teammates, her pool was just that one champ.

"So mid's their weak point, right? If it's that predictable, counters should crush her. Plus, one-tricking means she's weak on other champs."

Seona's question made sense at first glance.

But she was missing two key points.

A truly masterful Elementalist had no real counters. And Han Areum one-tricked it not because she couldn't play else, but because she didn't need to.

"She mains it because she can crush everyone with just that. I watched their Division 2 games—they mixed it up back then."

"Why only Elementalist now?"

"Simple. Enemy mids lack the skill to take it and carry, so it kept getting picked first."

In Division 2 VODs, mids sniped Elementalist early, dooming Bloody Rose. Seona wasn't entirely wrong—Han Areum couldn't match her impact on other picks.

Division 2 teams exploited that, snatching Elementalist and clowning Bloody Rose, dropping them to Division 3.

But Division 3 was different. Few could handle Elementalist, the game's hardest champ. Everyone knew the skills, but chaining its 10 combos situationally? Impossible without insane practice. Especially in chaotic skirmishes.

Teams that greedily stole it got wrecked in mid, self-sabotaging worse than sticking to their mains.

And teams that didn't? Got shredded by Han Areum's Elementalist.

I explained all this, and Seona hummed thoughtfully before her eyes lit up.

"So, what if I take Elementalist?"

"Not yet. You'd lose for sure."

"Eek."

Since forming the team, I'd steadily trained their pools with off-time practice. Not battle-ready yet, but understanding deepened.

Still, Seona wasn't there. No confidence to pull it off.

"What about me, then?"

Sera chimed in.

She was confident on Elementalist and had pitched mid if needed.

I shook my head again.

"No."

"...Me too?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"You'd lose to Han Areum too. And lane swaps aren't common enough in your practice—Bloody Rose isn't a pushover."

"Coach, if we can't steal it, their mid pick's fixed. Can't we target that?"

"My plan's similar to Hayoung's idea. But it's no easy feat. High risk."

"What is it?"

"Seona."

"Yeah?"

"You can mid on Shadow Assassin, right?"

Seona tilted her head at my question.

"Sure, but why..."

"We'll put you mid on Shadow Assassin against Bloody Rose."

"Huh?"

Seona looked like she'd misheard.

"Coach? You said their mid's Elementalist? Shadow Assassin? For real? You're joking, right?"

"Dead serious. You won your audition mid on it, remember? What's the worry?"

"That was against amateur scrubs like me back then! You can't mid Shadow Assassin against pros! No sustain like Nightcrawler!"

"It's viable. Against Elementalist, not some pure magic DPS like Thunder God. You can devour her."

"......You mean it?"

Doubt filled Seona's eyes. Melee agility assassin, not tanky. Ult crits could reverse, but laning phase? She pictured getting smashed pre-6, basing thrice.

"Want a demo?"

"Your plays are too godlike—I can't copy. Just tell me how."

She'd internalized my "think and understand yourself" mantra, opting to practice over watching.

Good attitude.

I showed her one item.

"Know this?"

Seona ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyed the shabby old shield.

"Stout Shield of Agility, duh."

"Buy it with starting gold and go lane."

"C-Coach? Know how much it costs? It eats all your starting gold—no pots? Facing Elementalist potionless?"

"Yep. With this, you win from level 4."

"What..."

"Two things I'll teach you. How Shadow Assassin beats Elementalist in lane. And what to always watch for against her."

Our training kicked off for the Division 3 Round 1 finale—the boss battle against Bloody Rose.