The Saintess's First Blood

The interior of the labyrinth was pitch-black, the perfect environment for rogue classes to pull off assassinations. Still, monsters that restored mana were roaming around as well, so I somehow kept growing by weaving heals into my movement.

A faint presence brushed against me in the darkness. I slowly scanned the area and spotted the enemy ninja slipping through the bushes a short distance away. I checked his skill information first, then quietly circled in the exact opposite direction.

The ninja’s skill window looked brutal, exactly what you’d expect from a rogue. But the more I read, the more holes I saw. To build any real killing power, he had to keep switching weapons and poisons in sequence. If his first attack missed?

His passive wouldn’t trigger, his skill cycle would fall apart, and his damage would plummet. On top of that, he had no mobility skills and focused purely on burst and lockdown. There was a decent chance my ultimate, Sanctuary, would shut him down completely.

Of course the priest was behind in raw stats. That much was obvious. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I figured mechanical skill could bridge the gap. Once the rough plan formed in my head, I moved without hesitation.

I estimated the ninja’s level and position—he couldn’t have wandered far while camping—and cleared the remaining monsters until my ultimate was ready. Sure enough, the ninja I met in the center of the labyrinth was only level 2, still grinding bat-type monsters to hit level 3.

When I strolled past pretending to know nothing, his eyes went wild. He frantically switched from ninja sword to shuriken and fired. The movement was so predictable I simply sidestepped, closed the distance, and started beating him with my bible.

He switched poisons in a panic and tried to fight at close range, but a ranged weapon was useless in melee. In the end he burned his last resort—Leap, five-minute cooldown—to create distance. I activated Sacrifice for the movement speed boost, caught up instantly, and kept smashing him until he dropped.

“Pfft… Didn’t even get to use my ultimate?”

A thrilling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rush I hadn’t felt in ages surged through me. Before I knew it, a small smile had slipped out.

“Ah… This is actually really fun…?”

The ninja’s final desperate flailing, the mixture of resentment, despair, and confusion on his face captured by the recognition system—it all gave me a high I had never experienced before.

My teammates couldn’t hide their shock at the unexpected first blood and started sending positive reactions. Riding that momentum, I caught the ninja again at level 5 after he burned Leap and finished him even cleaner this time.

Weird, huh. I wasn’t thrilled about the label, but I figured I should prove my point by heading bot as well. Kerberos, the first labyrinth objective, would spawn soon. If I made them hyper-aware of that timing, a bot gank would be easy.

“Oh. Should check my teammates’ skills on the way.”

I clicked their portraits and their skill lists appeared.

After quickly reading through the descriptions, I had a rough blueprint. The necromancer would slip behind the enemy, toss them with his ultimate, and cut off their retreat. I would follow up from behind with the pirate and clean up.

Even if the pirate didn’t respond or the necromancer missed the toss, Sanctuary’s shield would cover us. With the enemy mid laner already dead for no reason, a bot fight would be a guaranteed 3v2. There was nothing left to worry about.

Fortunately, unlike the marksman whose relationship with me had soured from the start, top and support listened to my orders without complaint. Top immediately moved into the labyrinth and bluffed as if he were coming to take the objective with me.

The moment the enemy bot lane leaned forward after spotting him, the necromancer’s double toss confirmed my presence and the fight began. The enemy marksman and support, dragged out of turret range without understanding what was happening, were suppressed by my Sanctuary that flew in from nowhere. Right on top of it, the pirate’s ultimate, Focused Barrage, crashed down.

The balance of the bot lane completely collapsed in an instant.

The first objective, Kerberos, had just spawned, yet the kill score was already 4 to 0. Even top, who hadn’t gotten a kill yet, was busy crushing the enemy berserker. It was only natural for the opponents’ morale to plummet.

In the following skirmish, we safely secured Kerberos with help from top and support, then killed the ninja who came for the objective steal without taking any damage.

Before long the enemy team, having lost all will to fight, quickly reached for the surrender button.

“I should have tormented them a little slower.”

I felt a twinge of disappointment at how quickly the game ended, but the moment the post-game screen appeared, a satisfied smile returned to my face.

As expected, the game was similar enough to Master of League that I somehow snatched MVP even with my incomplete knowledge.

“It’s more fun than I thought.”

The joy and exhilaration I hadn’t felt in a long time made me want to queue again immediately, but then I remembered Oh Seeun was waiting outside. I set aside the faint lingering regret and decided to save it for next time.