The Mid Priest's Unstoppable Value
The ever-worshipped STD Oracle (Priest) [+400G] kill > ZX Assassin (Ninja)
As expected, we succeeded in instantly melting the unsuspecting ninja. However, eliminating the ninja immediately drew every enemy skill toward me, and for a moment I was in danger of being focused down. The wraiths spawned when the Ghost Knight poured all his armor stacks into his ultimate were especially threatening.
Soul Rampage: Wraiths equal to the Ghost Knight’s armor stacks charge forward, dealing continuous damage and slowing every enemy they hit.
Yet in that instant, light burst from the priest and her ultimate, Sanctuary, activated.
Sanctuary: Creates a sanctuary lasting 4 seconds. All enemies inside are slowed and take damage over time, while allies receive a shield.
With the added healing, the priest’s health—previously on the brink—began to recover.
Heal: Restores the energy and health of one ally within range, scaled to the priest’s missing health.
Even as three enemies poured on the pressure, the priest stalled them for several crucial seconds, creating an opening that let us focus their marksman first.
STD CSkiller (Outlaw) [+550G] kill > ZX Crow (Starlight Archer)
Most of their slowed attacks inside the sanctuary were easily dodged, so the enemy’s plan to drag even a well-fed priest down with them collapsed. [Killstreak Denied!]
STD Oracle (Priest) [500G] kill > ZX Hades (Ghost Knight)
Before long the fight had become a 4-vs-1. Their support managed to escape with a late leap, but the momentum had completely flipped. As support, he had funneled every resource to the other lanes, and even their long-starved Rune Mage was finally gaining traction. Now the enemy was forced to retreat whenever the Rune Mage casually cast Meteor, constantly poked by both the Rune Mage and the Outlaw.
‘As expected… they still lack experience. They play aggressively for lane and early-game initiative, but once they fall behind they become helpless.’
That was exactly why we had deliberately countered with the extreme late-game composition of Paladin + Priest + Rune Mage. Though… was it too cruel to use this against rookies? They were the ones who insisted on running their confident lineup first.
‘Besides, the Europeans will be far stronger later anyway. This is good experience for them to step up.’
Hades had probably thought the same when he requested the scrim. Either way, the game dragged into the extreme late game, and ZX—completely outvalued—could only struggle on. Losing in this manner seemed new to them; their shot-calling grew increasingly hesitant. Realizing their macro mistakes, they abandoned strategy entirely and made one final gamble, charging straight into us while we controlled vision around the Demon King’s Nest.
STD Oracle (Priest) [+250G] kill > ZX Crow (Starlight Archer)
Their marksman was instantly deleted by the priest who had flanked from behind.
STD CSkiller (Outlaw) [+200G] kill > ZX Assassin (Ninja)
[Double Kill!]
STD CSkiller (Outlaw) [+300G] kill > ZX Shadow (Conductor)
With Jaehyun’s double kill, every squishy on their team exploded.
‘At this rate, it’s basically over.’
In my previous life, facing these ZX players had always left me breathless. Aside from their marksman, the rest had gone on to become veterans who dominated seasons even after new talent emerged. The dissonance was overwhelming.
‘You really never know how things will turn out.’
I had beaten them individually in solo queue before, but defeating their team in a scrim felt entirely different—strangely moving.
‘Scrims are just practice anyway. To truly overcome them, I’ll have to prove it in the league.’
It still felt too early to claim complete victory over them or myself. Normally I would have worn a crazed grin watching them panic against a mid priest, but given who they were, I kept my expression serious today.
“Huh? Saintess-nim, it’s been ages since I’ve seen that cute expression!”
…The attempt failed spectacularly.
Agh, Park Seongjun… zero tact…
After the scrim ended in our victory, the inevitable discussion about the mid priest began.
Yeah, yeah, the praise was nice and all… but where did my team go? It felt like I was being bombarded by ZX’s endless chat. Or maybe the bot duo was still awkward after their earlier fight. Park Seongjun was just staring at my character’s mask, which changed expression based on facial recognition, so he stayed quiet.
Since they wanted to keep scrimming with the same comp, I needed to reset the mood. I told Jaehyun and Seongkwang to make up and keep playing. They patched things up in a hurry.
“I was too harsh earlier! I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine… Let’s just focus on the next game.”
Mm, what a touching reconciliation. They were both regular viewers of my stream, so they caught on quickly.
‘They entered eunuch mode at almost the same time, and their synergy in that fight was way better than during laning. If I keep mediating, those two might actually start relying on each other someday.’
It really felt like babysitting a bunch of kids… but what could I do? They were the players I had chosen. Whether I liked it or not, I had to see this through.
“Shall we start again?”
“““Yes.”””
The following games showed ZX visibly improving, with a few close calls, but…
STD Oracle (Priest) [+250G] kill > ZX Shadow (Assassin)
[Double Kill!]
STD Oracle (Priest) [+200G] kill > ZX Assassin (Illusionist)
The bot duo, whose synergy had started near zero—or even negative—improved at an alarming rate. Out of seven total scrim games, we won six. Even the single loss came from them requesting a different comp (a dive or poke lineup) and losing, so the mid priest remained undefeated.
The result left a huge impression on Park Seongjun. Even after the scrim ended, he kept trailing after me, passionately praising the mid priest and me. At first it felt nice, but the excessive worship was starting to wear me down mentally.
“No, what’s really unfair is that normally late-game value comps lose all their power if you cut their key carry, but a three-value mid-priest comp can still deal damage even if one person gets picked off. Plus…”
Listening to that long monologue repeated for dozens of minutes would break even the most mentally stable person. I was already halfway broken, so I lasted longer than most. Even Jaehyun, who passed by, shook his head with a slightly disgusted look before walking away again—proof this wasn’t normal admiration.
“So the mid priest isn’t just an unpredictable pick that only Saintess-nim can play, it’s also too valuable to ban in most games, which makes it truly excellent—”
“Analyst-nim.”
“Yes, Saintess-nim.”
Look at those unfocused eyes. He seemed confused why I had interrupted his worship, and the expression made me seriously consider sealing the mid priest entirely. I had been willing to endure the praise until it ended, but now I just wanted it to stop.
“You’ve been scrimming for a long time, and you’ve been talking nonstop since it ended. You must be exhausted. Why don’t we eat first and talk later?”
Of course, I had no intention of listening to more worship. I was planning to escape home.
“You’re right. Energy replenishment is important.”
Fortunately, Park Seongjun nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s go together.”
He grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the cafeteria…?
Wait. Hold on. Why was this happening…?
“Um… Analyst-nim? I actually have an urgent—”
“I know you don’t have any other plans.”
Ah…
“…I don’t really need to eat, though…”
“No. Look how thin you are right now, Saintess-nim. Even after feeding you, there’s no difference, so you need to eat more.”
…Why was he making my life so difficult?
Bot duo bullies the top laner in-game and the analyst bullies me offline…
In that moment, everything went dark.