The Slow Tempo Payoff
In the Mir Guild waiting room.
Daldaldal……!
Lee Shin’s leg was shaking as he stared at the screen. The way he kept licking his lips and clenching and unclenching his fists made it obvious he was restless.
“……Hey, Dong-ha hyung.”
“Not happening.”
“So strict.”
“I said no! Because of you, Representative-nim!”
“Fine. Fine.”
Lee Shin had already been warned by the Bureau referees before the match started.
The reason was obvious. His rolling around on the floor would get caught on camera.
Normally they might have let it slide, but this was the opening match with global attention at an all-time high. Any behavior that looked like mocking the opponent was unacceptable.
Chae Dong-ha, now sulking beside him, had protested that it was all a misunderstanding and that there was absolutely no such intention.
He had even grabbed the reporters who were about to file their stories and shouted, “Our representative has a stomachache! It’s a stomachache, I tell you!” putting on a desperate damage-control performance.
So Lee Shin had made a resolution (forced). If he had any conscience at all, he would watch today’s match quietly!
But that resolution lasted only a few seconds before it began to crack.
“Choi Soo-pil Hunter, are you holding? Are you holding?”
“If he takes just one step forward it’s a gank angle! Punglim Hwasan is hiding in the bush! This is dangerous, Choi Soo-pil!!”
A single step forward and he would be definitively ganked by Punglim Hwasan.
The Royal Sword top laner was deliberately showing an opening to bait it, the fans were on the edge of their seats, and the commentators’ mouths had gone dry…….
Choi Soo-pil frowned deeply, gauging the situation, then looked at the bush, let out a small chuckle, and turned away.
At that cool-headed move, everyone let out a collective gasp. The fans who had been holding their breath, the broadcast team, and of course Lee Shin himself.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!!”
“He ultimately doesn’t step forward! Choi Soo-pil demonstrates patience! Punglim Hwasan, who was hiding in the bush, spits in frustration and retreats! Choi Soo-pil saves himself from the crisis!”
“Wow! Did you see that? He knew the whole time! The opposing jungler Punglim Hwasan is no pushover, yet he toyed with him from above! This is huge. Really huge!”
“Choi Soo-pil Hunter is playing this match brilliantly!”
Even in the opening match where excitement was expected, Choi Soo-pil displayed artistic line control.
“Ugh…… he’s killing it.”
Yes. That was it.
A ghostly survival instinct!
It was the distilled essence of the Sahara Order’s desert maneuver warfare that had protected the royal family against countless assassin groups.
Choi Soo-pil stubbornly insisting he wasn’t the youngest and demanding to be called “fast” was cute, but the sight of him turning away with that mocking little laugh was the coolest version of Choi Soo-pil that Lee Shin had ever seen.
“The slightly unstable coordination between Princess and Blitz Yurira seems to be coming together now.”
“They got off to a good start with a duo kill, but Princess stepped on the Mud Spider’s trap while checking vision and allowed an opening.”
“Still, she paid it back right away.”
“Haha, she threw herself in to get revenge. That was incredibly bold.”
“The clip is ready. Let’s take another look at the highlight.”
“Yeah, that part was killer too.”
The footage began from the moment Seo Ye-na returned to lane.
Her face was bright red. She looked furious at having been toyed with; her trapezius and solid deltoids were visibly heaving.
So the moment she returned to lane, our Princess spread her wings and charged straight in.
The opponent clearly hadn’t expected such a sudden move and panicked. In that opening, her iron chains flew forward.
One second.
It was only a one-second window.
But it was more than enough time for Blitz Yurira’s lightning to deliver judgment.
“Kuuuh!!”
The Vatican’s knight order was famous for never fearing death.
These knights of God proved their faith through powerful self-sacrifice and, in proportion, received mysterious holy power and regenerative abilities. It was the so-called Sacrifice.
And now came the line that could not be ignored.
Mid lane!
“The Light Sword’s swift blade cuts through space and time! It carves the surroundings with beams of light!”
“Kuh, even after all this time it’s still a masterpiece. For a player of that caliber to drop out of the rankers… thinking about it again, this year’s Korean league is truly one for the history books.”
“What’s even more surprising is Lee Hye-jung Hunter facing that Light Sword. The black poisonous mist blooming around her swallows the very light the Light Sword emits.”
“It’s true. She’s shown tremendous growth every year, but Lee Hye-jung’s skill wasn’t at this level before, right? Above all, that’s an ability we’ve never seen. I still can’t understand it. How exactly is she blocking it? At the very least, it’s clear that black poisonous mist is having some kind of effect.”
“Anyway, the important thing is that Lee Hye-jung Hunter is pinning that Light Sword down.”
“Kuuuh, of course you don’t know! That’s Yama!”
In the forgotten era when heroes and villains coexisted in savagery, the trait completed after drinking countless rivers of blood was none other than ‘Yama (Night Demon).’
It was an ability only the Mountain King or at least the Evil Peak would remember. How could they possibly know about it?
It was a trait that should have naturally faded into obscurity.
There had been no way to learn it.
Even within the Amino Kake family, no one had mastered it.
There was only one way to acquire a trait that could not realistically be learned: a transcendent power that surpassed ‘reality.’
Yes. The System. More precisely, the rewards Lee Shin had obtained.
Starting with the ‘Inheritance Free Pass Card,’ he had generously applied every elixir and auxiliary item without reservation.
Watching the fruit of that labor, how could Lee Shin’s mood not soar?
And on top of that, the performance of Mountain King-nim—his master and partner—only added to the spectacle.
“While the lanes are stalemated, the jungle is fierce.”
“It really is fierce, but the interesting thing is that their fierceness is of completely different kinds.”
“You’re not wrong. If the Mountain King is fiercely pressuring the enemy jungle, then Punglim Hwasan is fiercely struggling to escape from the Mountain King.”
“Is this your first time in Korea?”
“The transfer student undergoing a brutal initiation ceremony!”
“Welcome to the Mountain King School!!”
This place was a festival!!
“Punglim Hwasan is collapsing! The Royal Sword Guild is shaking!!”
“Mountain King, jungle carry! He’s dominating the match!!”
“I can’t hold it anymore! Hyung, don’t stop me.”
“What do you mean, hold it? You’re already dancing.”
“Huh……?”
When Lee Shin looked down at Chae Dong-ha’s blunt reply, he saw that his subordinate’s lower body had already surrendered to the rhythm. Since it had come to this, he might as well enjoy it.
“Hehe, yoo-hoo, yeah~!”
Chop! Chop!
Lee Shin snapped his hips and threw up a thumbs-up.
Even Chae Dong-ha’s stiff face slowly melted as he watched Lee Shin’s lively dance.
It had been several years already, yet he was still like this. His love for the league truly could not be cured.
“Isn’t it too early to celebrate? The match itself is still tight.”
Chae Dong-ha was right.
Thanks to Mir Guild’s shocking roster, the flow had tilted in their favor, but if you looked at the details, Royal Sword Guild was not simply taking the beating.
“Choi Soo-pil is holding top well, but he’s only holding. The same goes for Lee Hye-jung. She’s blocking the Light Sword better than expected, but she hasn’t been able to shut down his roaming.”
If not for the Mountain King’s perfectly timed global bombardment, the balance would have collapsed rather pathetically.
“Bottom lane is the same. In the end, sending Princess against the Mud Spider was a bad move. Yurira’s explosive power has been completely neutralized.”
It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
Unlike Hwarang, who actively roamed to pull enemies in, Princess’s ability forced her to play somewhat passively.
That gap killed Yurira’s burst potential.
“The result is the large objectives. Right now Royal Sword Guild has secured all of them. That will be a huge help.”
In conclusion, the balance of the match was roughly six to four.
Thanks to the advantage that began in the jungle, they could control the flow, but they couldn’t finish the game.
“At this point our usual Mir style has already disappeared. The tempo has slowed too much to raise it with violent roaming.”
Chae Dong-ha’s cold assessment was that holding on like a turtle was all they could manage.
Lee Shin nodded, one hundred percent in agreement.
“Yeah. It’s too slow, and we don’t have the power to close it out.”
But then he added,
“So?”
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong with being slow? And why do we have to be the ones to finish it?”
“……What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.”
“Look, isn’t ‘finishing’ something impatient people do?”
“W……well, yes?”
“But we’re not impatient at all, are we? From the start, we built this squad to ‘hold on,’ didn’t we?”
“!!”
Lee Shin grinned mischievously. Lee Hye-jung had already said it.
Hold. It’s the plan.
“They should be noticing soon.”
At that exact moment, as if on cue, the broadcast booth exploded.
“I got it! I figured it out!”
“Calm down, analyst. What exactly are you saying?”
“This situation! Mir Guild is intentionally killing the tempo!”
“!!”
An extreme slow tempo and teamfight-centered design—the complete opposite of the existing ultra-high-tempo roaming meta.
This was the core of the squad and the main theme of the current Lee Shin & Mountain King show.
Do you know the ball game called baseball?
Imagine a pitcher who throws 160 km/h fastballs and dominates an entire season with them.
Could that player continue to devour the league for a hundred years simply by maintaining his fastball? The answer is ‘absolutely impossible.’
No matter how strong you are, if your approach is one-dimensional, you will eventually be countered.
But what if that same pitcher suddenly starts throwing an unheard-of 120 km/h breaking ball next season?
How would the batters react to that change in trajectory? Wouldn’t they lose their minds?
That was exactly what the commentators were saying.
“You’re saying it’s not simply an experiment?”
“Of course not. When you consider the benefits Mir Guild gains from this match, it cannot be dismissed as a mere experiment. Rather, they deliberately chose a squad with completely opposite tendencies to strengthen their existing roster.”
“Is that…… even possible?”
“It is!”
Giving opportunities to non-starters was the first benefit.
Disrupting the opponent’s item builds was the second.
Destroying the opponent’s tempo with a completely opposite playstyle was the third.
Beyond that, it could heighten competition within the power group, solve the stamina issues of the previous season’s starters, and more. There were numerous advantages.
But more important than any of those was this.
“If my prediction is correct, should Mir Guild win this match, the problem will become very serious.”
“What do you mean the problem becomes serious?”
“……Let’s focus on the match for now.”
“Yes, and right as you say that, both teams are setting up a 5 vs 5 teamfight in front of the large objective!!”
The match time had already passed forty-three minutes.
Deep into the late game. One teamfight could flip the entire result.
Considering Mir Guild’s average match time last season had not exceeded thirty minutes, this was an absurdly long game. Yet there was no anxiety on any of the team members’ faces.
Mountain King busily gave orders while observing the enemy through the spirits he had released.
“I keep emphasizing it, but the impatient ones are them. We wait and receive their attack.”
It would begin with Choi Soo-pil. Seo Ye-na would follow. She would take responsibility for what came after.
“Choi Soo-pil, the moment I give the signal, plant it immediately. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Ye-na, just look straight ahead and charge in. I’ll cover your back, so grab the nearest enemy and hold them.”
“Understood!”
“Don’t forget. Your role is to collapse the enemy’s frontline.”
At Mountain King’s instructions, Choi Soo-pil and Seo Ye-na nodded vigorously. Next came her side.
“The opponent will focus-check Ri-ra. So Hye-jung, you—”
“I’ll create an environment for Ri-ra to deal damage no matter what!”
“Yes, that’s it. The difficulty of this teamfight will be decided by how well you deliver Ri-ra. Keep that in mind.”
“Understood.”
“Ri-ra, just watch out for those mines.”
“Hehe, don’t worry~”
He didn’t give them difficult orders. He kept everything as simple as possible.
He instilled confidence.
“It’s already been proven several times. We are far stronger in teamfights. Don’t worry.”
““Yes!!””
“Good. Let’s finish this.”
All preparations were complete. Both sides took position in the standoff and began checking each other.
Flames and arrows, lightning and plant stems—various long-range attacks clashed in the air.
As Mountain King had predicted, the side that couldn’t endure any longer and moved first was Royal Sword.
Punglim Hwasan unfurled a fan inscribed with the character for ‘Wind,’ unleashing a powerful gust.
The moment vision was obscured, Royal Sword charged like a storm.
Confirming it, Mountain King slammed both hands into the ground. Vita rose, and the World Tree soared.
White runes floated along the World Tree’s trunk. But at the moment white despair was about to strike—
Punglim Hwasan stroked the bracelet on his wrist and awakened what lay inside.
“Rise!”
Eight snake heads grew from it.
They instantly coiled around the World Tree and bit down on its trunk.
Crunch!
It was the Legendary item ‘Orochi’s Orb’ prepared by Royal Sword.
An artifact with the powerful ability to nullify one enemy attack.
As its effect activated, the World Tree scattered helplessly into mana.
But.
Vita only smiled deeper and fluttered his cloak.
As if to say this was the real move.
A green targeting line drew itself on the ground below…….
Kwaaaaaaaaang——!!
The bombardment crashed down.
And that was the signal.
Choi Soo-pil immediately planted his flag spear into the ground. A fanfare rang out around them.
Bwooooooo!!
The moment the buff that increased allies’ speed and attack power activated, white wings shot forward like a bolt of light.
“Out of the way!!”
Seo Ye-na bound the two nearest enemies with the iron chains on both sides.
The opponents attacked her in resistance. But the moment her wings spread, Seo Ye-na was no longer a supporter.
Above all, they had no leisure to keep focusing on her. Plants fired from every direction had already torn Royal Sword’s five members apart.
‘This is dangerous!’
Feeling the crisis, Royal Sword recalled their other preparation—the mines. It was a Legendary item meant to block Blitz Yurira’s aerial maneuvers.
In response—
“Where do you think you’re going……!”
Boom!
With a roar, mana exploded outward.
Lee Hye-jung had summoned ‘Night.’
The instant the area turned pitch black and vision was cut off, shadows resembling Lee Hye-jung rose from the darkness and hurled themselves at the mines.
Boom boom boom boom boom——!!
With that, delivery preparation was complete.
“Ri-ra.”
Hehe.
“Showtime!”
At those words, Yurira smiled brightly as if she had been waiting for them.
Lightning swirled. She became a single streak of lightning, piercing the darkness and charging forward.
First, the two enemies bound to their Princess.
Enemy Slain
DOUBLE KILL
The enemy AD Carry who had killed Soo-pil and was scanning the area.
TRIPLE KILL
Punglim Hwasan, suppressed by Mountain King-nim.
QUADRA KILL
And finally, as he fired at the Light Sword senior…….
Kwaaaaaajijijik——!
“Oing!?”
The Light Sword who sliced bullets in supersonic space and counterattacked.
A ray of light shot toward Yurira. It was a strike filled with the determination to take her with him even if he died.
But.
Clang!
The darkness that had formed the night suddenly took shape and blocked his path.
“!!”
“I told you it wasn’t easy.”
Slash——!
The sword he swung succeeded in cutting Lee Hye-jung. But that was all.
In the brief moment she had bought, Yurira was already aiming her muzzle at the back of his head.
“Thanks for your hard work!!”
Bang——!!
PENTAKILL
Set 1
1 VS 0
44:11.
·
·
And then.
“And so the feared outcome has occurred.”
The words commentator Choi Moon-seong had swallowed earlier.
The moment Mir Guild won with this slow-tempo style, Royal Sword Guild’s heads would inevitably become complicated.
“Royal Sword Guild must now decide. Will they keep the item settings prepared for their existing squad? Or will they rebuild everything to prepare for this squad that includes Lee Hye-jung?”
“They are completely opposite styles.”
“No matter which they choose, normal power will be impossible.”
“The hellish dilemma has begun.”