The Canyon Flow Changes
Chae Dong-ha had a saying he used often.
Is the embarrassment mine to bear?
Of course, it was usually followed by far more aggressive phrasing like 'This guy's lost his damn mind.' or 'Someone get me the hospital's number...' but the point Park Su-bin wanted to make was this.
Today, of all days, he could relate to what Dong-ha hyung always said.
Th-this is so embarrassing...!
“Y-you always act so cocky just because you're a ranker... eek!”
He blocked a bundle of lightning with an orb of light and spat out the words.
“Y-you, you! Looking down on people!!”
He blocked a crashing thunderbolt with a dome and added another line.
“A-anyway, you suck! You're the worst! Y-y-you, you bastard.”
Park Su-bin froze for a split second. A storm of lightning magic was flooding his vision, yet his mind was elsewhere.
Is 'bastard' too harsh?
And then.
There's more after that... do I really have to say it...?
He was stuck in that loop.
Since Lee Shin had ordered him to do it, he had to follow through... but actually saying it was far too high-level cursing for Park Su-bin, whose entire history of swearing consisted of yelling 'You idiot dummy!' back in kindergarten.
While Park Su-bin was seriously contemplating exactly where he should draw the line in his compromise,
Jeon Jin-woong found the situation so absurd that he actually started laughing.
“Ha... I'm losing it.”
Jeon Jin-woong was the owner of the alias Electro. In other words, he was skilled enough for the league to officially recognize him.
There was no way someone like him would be shaken by the clumsy trash talk of a giant kid like this.
What actually concerned him right now was something else.
“...Was he hiding his strength?”
Each elemental magic had its own distinct characteristics.
The defining trait of lightning was speed. That was why lightning magic shone brightest on flat ground at close range.
Especially at this kind of distance, where the spell reached its target the instant it was cast.
Even so.
Crackle—!
Boom!!
That oversized kid was blocking everything.
He was blocking it far too easily, over and over again.
He was even muttering things like 'What do I do, this feels too mean. But hyung told me to do it...' and failing to focus properly on the fight, yet he still hadn't taken a single step backward.
It definitely wasn't this bad in the previous set.
Jeon Jin-woong hid his growing panic and continued casting.
The sparks flashing wildly at his feet were Rapid Thunder (Modified), pushed to its absolute limit of speed.
The core of his defense was that orb of light. If he could just pierce through it with his superior speed and mobility, he could strike that soft, vulnerable body.
The moment he flicked his finger through the air like he was giving someone a flick to the forehead—
Crackle-crackle!
Rapid Thunder bent at a perfect right angle and shot forward.
At the same time, a lightning bolt crashed down to blind his opponent. In that instant, he successfully hid his attack within the chaotic swarm of lightning.
It tore through the orb at terrifying speed. Its target was Park Su-bin's temple, the boy still lost in thought.
Now!
The moment he clenched his fist, his trump card tore through the air with a sonic boom and vanished.
It split time itself as it appeared right in front of Park Su-bin... but then!
“I-I've made up my mind!”
“??!!”
The moment the words left his mouth, a violent surge of mana erupted. A pair of giant arms materialized and slammed into the ground!
The ground shook violently, followed by a massive cloud of dust.
Even though the chaos was happening right in front of him, what mattered to Jeon Jin-woong was something else.
His sure-kill strike had been blocked.
It had worked perfectly in the previous set, but now it was stopped. Not once, not twice, but three times.
In other words, this attack was effectively useless now.
Don't tell me... he's actually growing during the fight?
They said monsters grew by devouring opponents stronger than themselves.
The story he had dismissed as nonsense... was it actually true?
While Jeon Jin-woong stood there in shock, Park Su-bin dropped straight down from the sky.
And then, at the fastest speed he could manage, he spat out his resolve!
Don't make eye contact. Absolutely do not make eye contact!
“U-um... um! From now on, I'm going to say exactly what our representative told me to say! Listen carefully!!”
“??!!”
Shame was directly proportional to time.
If he couldn't avoid the shame, he would shorten the time!
“You—no, hyung said that you're a much better hunter than you think you are...!”
You're a much better hunter than you think you are. You were simply born in the wrong era. What the current meta demands from a mid-laner is explosive firepower. You're ambiguous in that regard. Still, you'll have no problem returning to League 1. Even in the mid-tier, you'll still be effective...
Ratatatatat—!
In time with the rhythm of lightning striking the orb of light.
The flashing lights illuminate me.
Guild is my life.
...Anyway, that was the rough summary.
And finally.
“—You're stubborn, jealous, and you pick pointless fights over pride.”
“...Are you talking about Kang Han-bi?”
“Yessir!!”
“......”
“......!”
“......Yessir...?”
“...Please forget I said that.”
At the sight of Park Su-bin awkwardly scratching his head, Jeon Jin-woong let out a hearty laugh.
Incidentally, even at this very moment, orbs of light and bundles of lightning were still colliding violently between them.
In such a serious situation, the fact that they were having this bizarre comedy show and casual conversation was incredibly funny.
“Your name was Su-bin, right? Let me give you one piece of advice, kid. Trash talk only works on people it actually affects. Against someone like me...”
“I'm sorry, but I still have the most important part left.”
Park Su-bin continued speaking while blocking a lightning bolt with the giant's hand. Now he was going to deliver the prophecy. The Lee Shin special prophecy.
“First, Kang Han-bi will break free from your control.”
“...?!”
“Second, you will refuse to control Kang Han-bi any longer.”
“What are you...?”
And then.
The third and final point, the beginning of it all.
⊳ 'Kim Jong-pil' has slain 'Kang Han-bi'
“It starts right now.”
Park Su-bin held up three fingers and smiled brightly.
Behind him, the giant's hand also held up three fingers.
And from somewhere in the back, a furious roar echoed.
— “You fucking #$◎#$ son of a XXx!#◎#◎!”
The torrent of curses made Jeon Jin-woong's eyes tremble.
The flow...
The flow of the canyon was changing.
─ “Can Ssaurabi hold? Can he hold? Aaaaaah—! He cannot hold!!”
─ “He sucked in two of them, but they still caught him by the collar!”
─ “Fortunately, Lee Hye-jung and the Mountain King who chased after Ssaurabi also die! Dynasty wins the skirmish 2 to 1!”
·
·
─ “Again? Again! Three people are on him! Ssaurabi is the target again!”
─ “He throws daggers while moving! He's trying to escape the crisis somehow buuuuut!!”
─ “Yu Ri-ra is sticking right on him~ perfectly~ timed~!”
─ “Mir Guild takes the kill once again thanks to the sacrifices of Lee Hye-jung and the Mountain King!”
·
·
─ “A sudden skirmish breaks out! The battlefield is in chaos!!”
─ “It's a total brawl. In times like this, who do you target fir— wait? Huh? Yu Ri-ra?”
─ “Y-Yu Ri-ra! She throws herself forward. She runs ahead and kills the retreating Kang Han-bi. But she dies immediately after.”
─ “They're really persistent, Mir Guild. I don't know if it's just me, but it feels like they're only targeting Ssaurabi today.”
─ “With this, that's 4 deaths! Kang Han-bi sets the record for most deaths in a single season in League 2.”
·
·
I see it!
The strange shift he felt at 1 death became weird at 2 deaths, and by 3 deaths it was unmistakable. And now at 4 deaths, when Kang Han-bi had set the season record for most deaths.
To Kim Jong-pil, the 'gap' that Lee Shin had mentioned was now clearly visible. The crack that had formed in Dynasty!
He moved immediately. He mounted the hawk of the wind and raced up along the riverbank.
“Change of plans. Everyone focus on my calls from now on.”
The Mir Guild members scattered across the canyon began gathering toward the mid lane. There was no way Dynasty wouldn't notice. Electro Jeon Jin-woong shouted as he ran.
“Hwarang, push bottom! Everyone else, to mid!”
Both teams formed up and stared each other down in the middle lane.
Time was on Dynasty's side. Hwarang, who had been sent to the bottom lane, was still hitting the tower even now.
That meant Mir Guild was the side that had to make the first move.
There was absolutely no need to rush. Jeon Jin-woong tried to calm his teammates and drag out this standoff as long as possible.
At least until Ssaurabi's dagger flew right past his face.
“!!”
“What the hell!!”
It was Lee Hye-jung's beginner mistake that caused it. She had tripped during the standoff.
To Kang Han-bi, this was an opportunity. A chance to wash away the disgrace of having the most deaths this season. A chance to erase the stat that showed he had the most deaths on the team.
“Kang Han-bi! No, stop!!”
Jeon Jin-woong shouted desperately, but Kang Han-bi didn't even pretend to listen as he took his stance.
It wasn't a trap. That really was a genuine mistake. So all he had to do was kill her cleanly, throw a 'dagger' to retreat, and then ping-pong the aggro.
The moment he thought that, he was already in motion. He sliced through Lee Hye-jung's shoulder as she panicked.
Yes.
He had sliced it.
Exactly 1cm in front of it.
“!!”
It was a masterful optical illusion created by twisting the air.
The only person capable of controlling mana with this level of precision was...
The Mountain King!!
Kang Han-bi pictured the old monster's face.
And just as he thought, Mir Guild was closing in from all directions with perfect timing. Kang Han-bi quickly threw a dagger toward his incoming teammates in an attempt to escape.
It was an urgent situation.
So Kang Han-bi never even imagined it.
That the people outside were getting excited about the 'Water Ring' currently wrapped around his ankle.
─ “Aaaah! No! Ssaurabi! If you go toward your team with that on!!”
─ “Here it comes. Here it comes. The water is coming ouuuuut!!”
Rumble... Whoosh—!!
A torrent of water erupted from beneath the ground.
The teammates who had been running to save the fleeing Kang Han-bi were caught in it and launched into the sky alongside him.
A four-man airborne.
Their bodies had suddenly left the ground. None of them could react in time and they flailed helplessly. Everyone fell into a panic from the unexpected crowd control.
And waiting for them in the sky were the giant's two arms and Yu Ri-ra, shooting forward like a flash of light.
⊳ 4-Man Airborn + Perfect Follow-up
⊳ Mir Guild pushes straight into mid
─ “Dynasty's main force is completely wiped out!! Mir Guild charges straight into the mid lane!”
─ “This is insane! It's actually insane! A four-man airborn! They actually pulled this off? Oh my god!”
─ “Hwarang, who was pushing bottom, is returning. Mir Guild is body-blocking the tower to save even a single second.”
─ “That's right! This is exactly what they should do! From Mir Guild's perspective, they have to end the game on this opportunity! If it drags on, it's anyone's guess!”
─ “Hwarang is trying everything to stop them, but he can't overcome the number disadvantage!”
─ “Nexus! The nexus!”
─ “It's breaking!!”
─ “It's breaking!!”
─ “It was an uncomfortable situation caused by an overambitious dive. Their extreme macro made it hard to expect a strong late game. But they did it. When a decisive move was needed, the Mountain King delivered!”
─ “With this, the score is now 1 to 1. Mir Guild has brought the match back to square one!!”
In the Dynasty Guild waiting room.
The moment Jeon Jin-woong walked in, he pointed straight at Kang Han-bi.
“Hey, Kang Han-bi. What the hell was that match?! Why didn't you follow my orders?!”
“......”
It had clearly been a favorable game.
The kill score was 16 to 9, nearly a double score. They were also leading in objectives 3 to 1. The only path left for Mir Guild, who couldn't stop Hwarang's side lane operation, was to win a teamfight decisively.
So if they just didn't take that teamfight, they would win! All they had to do was stall for time!!
Then why?! Why!!
“I clearly told you not to engage. Yu-shin was already pushing the side lane. Time was on our side! But you, Han-bi, engaged without saying a word, and we got dragged into the fight trying to save you.”
“......”
“If that was all, I wouldn't even be saying this.”
The mistake in front of the river, the uncharacteristically sloppy movement.
After that first death, Kang Han-bi had slowly begun to crumble.
“I know! They were clearly only targeting you! But we still won the fights 2 to 1, 3 to 2. It was a net gain! Don't tell me your own stats matter more to you than the team's victory?”
At that moment, Kim Yu-shin stepped between them.
“That's enough.”
“The chain of command has collapsed, Yu-shin!”
“I know. I know that. But the match isn't over yet.”
“No, I have to say one last thing.”
Jeon Jin-woong looked Kang Han-bi straight in the eyes and spoke.
“Even normally, you frequently ignored my orders. I put up with it. You were still producing results, and I took into account that our coordination wasn't perfect. I tried to understand. Because when it really mattered, you still listened!”
But today, he had crossed the line.
This wasn't team play. It felt like he was treating them as tools to make himself look good.
“You know that catchphrase you always use. Ranker. You still say that after getting crushed by a rookie AD carry? Please show the dignity of a ranker like Hwarang over here. Do you understand, Ssaurabi?”
Jeon Jin-woong brushed past him.
Kang Han-bi's jaw trembled violently.
At that same moment, in the Mir Guild waiting room.
“Bravo~! Kang Han-bi is dooown!! Excellent. Now let's raise the momentum.”
“Then should we target Kang again...”
“No!”
“?!”
Lee Shin smiled like a mischievous brat.
“Now we crush their mid lane. Bokchi, let's gooooooo!!”
Once he seized the initiative, Lee Shin's style was to never let it go.
He was going to wring them dry, body and soul.
“From now on, kill each other.”
·
·
.
─ “Electro tries to hug the tower but his escape route is cut off, and from the sky comes the giant's clasped hands!! Crashing down!!”
─ “Aaaah! Everyone missed it. The monster wasn't using his items at all!! Did he save them specifically for this moment? How bold! So bold!!”
─ “With this, Electro reaches 4 deaths and the mid tower is destroyed!”
─ “Ssaurabi in set 2, Electro in set 3—Mir Guild is completely locked in for this match!!”
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