I'm Not a Beast
The stream title read I'm Not a Beast, and the chat was already flying.
Lene
Hello. Watching the NAK broadcast with you.
New Dimension | 4,462 Watching | 00:36:13
With the draft finished, the first set of NAK’s opening match—Sirius versus A7—finally began.
“A7’s composition looks like they plan to endure the early game and push their advantage from the mid game onward, right? Sirius, on the other hand, needs to snowball from the very beginning or risk falling apart.”
“Exactly. This is the same concept A7 brought against Sirius during last year’s regular season. The question is whether it’ll work again this time.”
“The meta shifted dramatically after the finals and Worlds, so it was hard to run before.”
“What’s your take on the draft, Rounder?”
“Personally, I think A7 won the draft. The current meta emphasizes looking toward the late game. A7’s composition perfectly fits that.”
“It does. Plus, every pick A7 took is something their players are extremely comfortable and confident on!”
“Right. But Sirius… honestly, a lot of it feels awkward. If they’d gone all-in on mid like last year it might be different, but they didn’t. The more all three lanes get pressured, the worse their matchup becomes. And yet they put a Spearman in the jungle…”
“Not to mention, aside from Gaeun, none of the Sirius players are on their usual classes, are they?”
“Exactly. Their proficiency is definitely questionable.”
“But what can you do?! The draft is already over. They’ll have to prove it with results!”
Both the commentators and the chat were completely convinced Sirius was in a bad spot. They said the laners needed strong early-game classes to break open the map, but the Spearman in the jungle would make that impossible.
I thought the exact opposite.
“Everyone. This Spearman pick is the perfect answer…”
It genuinely completed Sirius’s team composition.
“No, I’m serious…”
Why doesn’t anyone ever agree with me? I proved it last time. Owen must have picked the Spearman for a reason. When that reason shows itself, they’ll all come apologizing, but I’ve already decided I won’t accept it.
[Looks like Owen is invading right now?]
[Wait, is that correct? A Spearman invading a Battle Mage’s jungle in the early game? That’s crossing the line.]
[On top of that A7’s lane management is excellent, so Sirius will have a hard time sending help. They’d have to abandon every lane to assist.]
“This is the right move right now. They have to invade the enemy jungle no matter what…”
[Huh? What’s this? Battle Mage! Setan is getting pushed out! The Spearman just shoved the Battle Mage back!]
[What was that play from Owen? It looked like he dodged every single Heavenly Strike from the Battle Mage?]
[The reason Battle Mages are strong early is Heavenly Strike. If you dodge that, the Spearman has plenty to say!]
“See, everyone? I was right…? They absolutely had to invade the enemy jungle just now. That was a thoroughly calculated play…”
“To be honest, that was a play you should never make. Owen just overcame it with pure super plays.”
“But isn’t that exactly what makes tournaments exciting?”
“It is! We watch for moments like this! Owen was an absolute beast just now!”
“Th-those people just don’t understand the game.”
New Dimension | 5,242 Watching | 00:57:21
“The Sirius team is playing like complete beasts, aren’t they?!”
“They really are! This doesn’t feel like the Sirius we all know at all!”
“Every single lane is just charging like wild animals! The moment they see an opponent they pounce and rip out their throats!”
“The opening match’s first set ends in 20 minutes and 29 seconds with a GG!”
“I almost want to ask how their playstyle changed this much.”
“Exactly. When you think of Sirius, what image comes to mind? The team that trusts in their mid lane’s overwhelming power, has the other lanes support them, and then Gaeun repays that faith by wiping the entire map from the center. But this time it’s different! Every lane! Overwhelmingly! Crushed their opponents! Just like commentator Theo said—they played like absolute beasts!”
“I’m ending the stream here.”
“Hmph.”
Broadcast has been terminated.
Even after I turned the stream off, the tournament cast kept playing and it was enough to put me in a bad mood. Why were they calling that instinctive play? The Battle Mage versus Spearman matchup was something Owen and I had practiced together beforehand. We had already calculated exactly how today’s situation would go. Yet the casters were dismissing it all as “instinctive plays.” They just didn’t know any better. It was annoying.
While I was quietly fuming, a private message from Gaeun arrived through Miscode.
Gaeun: Did you turn your broadcast off? The manager suddenly said the stream went dark.
Inquisitor: Yes
Gaeun: We still have set two left…
Inquisitor: I’m not doing it
Inquisitor: I’m not a beast
Gaeun: Huh???
Inquisitor: I’m not a beast
Even when I tried my hardest to explain, no one listened. The casters kept saying that stuff so everyone started calling me a beast. Seriously, all of you are going to regret this later.
Upvotes: 56 / Downvotes: 1
└ Anonymous: Yeah pretty much lol
└ NoLeneNoLife: You guys need to read the room lol
[Game one invasion? Ah, yes. That was calculated.]
[The exact reason is a strategic secret, but I had solid grounds for it.]
[The reason I tried this kind of play… well. I learned it recently. It’s about aiming for the opponent’s weakness.]
[I practiced the Battle Mage versus Spearman matchup a lot recently….]
[Anyway, I didn’t just go in blindly. I had evidence that I could win.]
[Even if I ate a Heavenly Strike, I still would’ve been able to push him out.]
So that play really had solid grounds behind it? …Sorry for doubting you without knowing anything, Great Emperor Lene
Upvotes: 36 / Downvotes: 0
└ Lene🔸: You all called me a beast without knowing anything
└ Lene🔸: Lene fans really are idiots
└ Anonymous: I’m officially withdrawing my support for Lene after seeing this
└ NewDiMaster: Why is she so mad lol
└ AoSang: The real fact is that even if Owen had grounds, Lene is still a beast…
└ Eyeless: Turn the stream back on you idiot
└ Lene🔸: No more streams today
└ Anonymous: Fucking hell
Even after the broadcast ended, the tournament voice kept flowing out and it was enough to make me feel unpleasant. Why did they call it instinctive play? The Battle Mage and Spearman matchup was one Owen and I had practiced in advance, and we had already calculated today’s exact situation. Yet the casters were brushing it off as “instinctive.” They simply didn’t know. It left a bad taste in my mouth.