Chapter 160

CHAPTER 160

Mental's team was considered one of the stronger teams.

Their team name was Heavy Mental.

After streamer Mental got married, a meme had started circulating that he'd gained weight during the honeymoon period.

The team name had supposedly evolved from that meme.

The viewers insisted it was perfect.

Taking Heavy Metal and twisting it into a joke at the team captain's expense—

It was exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from Trouble, a site seemingly dedicated to cultivating maliciousness in the hearts of everyone who visited.

At this point, Seojun sincerely believed something was wrong with that website.

I saw all of that.

He was looking over the game lobby interface and memorizing the enemy team's names when a message arrived through League.

Perhaps because of what he'd said earlier.

[Wave: I apologize for what happened before. And because I know how skilled you are, Seojun-nim, I intend to give my absolute best. Even if it's just a practice match, today I will definitely force out your full strength.]

The sender was Wave, the opposing team's mid laner.

The viewers couldn't see the private message.

Seojun narrowed his eyes.

What exactly is he apologizing for?

Back then?

Ground Zero?

The deer incident?

Well, that was a bit much.

Babam Sword-nim should probably apologize quickly.

Not that Seojun really knew.

He simply read the message and ignored it.

If it was important, Wave would probably bring it up later.

Maybe during the game.

As for the part about drawing out his full strength...

Sure, Seojun hadn't desperately struggled to win the previous game.

But people interpreted that differently.

Not as:

"He was holding back."

Instead, they interpreted it as:

"He gave up because there was nothing he could do."

And it wasn't just community users.

Even some commentators thought that way.

Like right now.

Perhaps Wave's message had even been influenced by those opinions.

[Maybe he simply doesn't know how to control the flow of the game. Seojun is still an A-rank newbie.]

[A max-level newbie?!]

That was Taeyang's evaluation.

And Bangju's completely unnecessary addition.

[League has macro play. Ground Zero wasn't without strategy either.]

[But Ground Zero takes place in real environments with real terrain. Its rules are based on real-world actions like shooting and getting shot. So even a beginner can intuitively understand it... Actually, now that I think about it, maybe not?]

[Right. If someone had real-life experience with that sort of thing...]

Silence followed.

• I'M TELLING YOU!
• Agent 007!
• No wonder his first game looked like an assassination simulator!
• Is the truth finally coming out?!

Uh...

Weren't they saying ten minutes ago that he was a professional player who had undergone plastic surgery to hide his identity?

Now he was a secret intelligence operative.

Honestly, this happened all the time.

"No, seriously. Why don't you believe me when I tell you? I was Sword God."

Seojun tried explaining once again.

• LOL.
• This isn't even a stream gimmick anymore. I think he actually needs help.
• Guys, the streamer isn't doing well mentally. We need to keep reminding him he's just a normal college student.
• We need to stay sane for him!

Stay sane?

What exactly were they staying sane from?

[Well... even if it's not reality, most FPS games are similar...]

[But he was a beginner there too. As far as I know, the only game Seojun has played is—]

[Right, right. Anyway! The point is that League is much more complicated, and Team Wealth Gap may have lost because their ace didn't know how to control the game.]

[Then what do you think about today's match? The opposing ace is also a mid laner! This is a direct ace-versus-ace lane matchup! Completely different from last time!]

[It was already difficult to judge before, but...]

Arin joined in.

[...Especially in this tournament, mid lane is the only role where we can directly watch the aces face each other. If either team gets eliminated during the group stage, this could actually be the last ace-versus-ace matchup we see.]

What she really meant was:

• LOL if someone loses here, they might never get revenge.
• Permanent defeat achievement unlocked.
• No chance to recover your pride later!
• Show us a clash of titans!

Well, that's only a possibility.

Still—

Deciding to play seriously today was probably the right choice.

[The draft begins!]

Seojun activated Focus Mode.

He also muted the voice feed being broadcast to viewers.

"Victory is the goal! Let's go, Wealth Gap!"

The draft began alongside Lumi's bright, energetic voice.

With a coach already lined up, all they could do in the remaining practice matches was give it their best.

There were no hidden strategies.

Nothing left to conceal.

Of course, Seojun still had the option of playing other lanes.

But today's opponent was a mid laner.

And depending on how the draft went, even if Kael or Evic somehow made it through bans, Seojun planned to win using a completely new hero.

Zen, the Shadow Summoner.

At least from Seojun's perspective, Zen possessed an extremely high carry ceiling.

He was confident he could win the first game with the hero.

Though I'll still have to play well.

Seojun had always believed that problems dependent on himself were the easiest kind.

That belief had nothing to do with confidence in his abilities.

It was simply because external variables were endless.

The only thing a person could truly control was themselves.

It was similar to how some people claimed studying was the easiest thing in the world.

Regardless—

Why use such a powerful hero now?

Because if I train my teammates hard enough, we can win the tournament even without me using it.

And that meant victory.

Seojun looked left and right with a satisfied smile.

His teammates shivered for some reason.

[Banned Hero – Kael, Apostle of Radiance]

"Oh? They banned Kael immediately."

"Are they really going for a triple ban on Seojun-nim?"

"Gasp!"

Each team had three bans.

Using all three to target a single player wasn't common.

But if the opposing ace only played three heroes, it was incredibly effective.

However—

"Everyone, I've revealed fewer than three heroes."

Two were enough for Seojun!

So a triple ban was ridiculous.

"Ah!"

"Good point."

"Seojun-nim, should we target Wave's champion pool too?"

Alpaca asked while studying the draft interface.

"No. Focus on the other lanes."

Alpaca immediately followed his instructions.

Then the enemy team's second ban appeared.

[Banned Hero – Evic the Escaped Prisoner]

"They're really just openly targeting you now."

Babam Sword sounded genuinely impressed.

"Wave's chat is probably going crazy right now. People are definitely calling him scared. Heh."

Hayunho was already imagining public opinion.

"In a pride match, no less! He's already lost mentally!"

Lumi clenched a fist dramatically.

As for Seojun—

He wasn't surprised at all.

Of course, Seojun hadn't expected them to go this far.

But it didn't matter.

Hayunho rubbed his lips thoughtfully.

"Are they trying to reveal more of our cards?"

More specifically, Seojun's cards.

But at this point, Seojun's cards were practically Team Wealth Gap's cards.

"Probably. They must think we'll make it to the main event. They're treating us as enough of a threat that they want to properly confirm at least one of our strategies."

Seojun subtly encouraged his teammates.

"That sounds right!"

Only Hayunho seemed excited.

In any case, the draft proceeded smoothly.

Wealth Gap devoted their bans to the jungle and top lane.

And now it was time to select heroes.

The selection order worked as follows:

If each team's players were numbered 1 through 5, the first-pick team's Player 1 selected first.

Then it moved to the opposing team.

After that, both teams alternated selecting two heroes at a time.

The actual player order wasn't particularly important.

Heroes could be chosen for teammates and swapped before the match began.

Which meant—

"Oh? Wave isn't locking in his mid hero."

"Is he waiting to see what Seojun-nim picks?"

"Wow... he's really going all in."

Hoo.

Naturally, choosing later allowed a player to select a hero better suited to counter whatever the opponent picked.

Then it became Seojun's turn.

"I didn't expect them to go this far, but it doesn't matter."

Whatever the opponent picked wouldn't change his plan today.

"And even if they choose a hero with a favorable matchup, what difference does that make?"

"Wow, the confidence!"

"The viewers need to hear that."

"Seriously. Wait, Seojun-nim, I thought those lines were part of your stream persona? The audience can't hear you right now."

Sharp observation.

Or rather—

"We're still streaming, aren't we? That's why. My real personality isn't like this."

Smirking, Seojun reached forward and selected the hero he'd already decided on.

[Sword God – Shadow Summoner Zen]

• Wow, did Wave really prepare this much? LOL
• For a mid-lane pride match, this is how it should be.
• He's already lost mentally at this point.
• Nah. If he wins after all this, it's over. And even if he draws, we viewers have to respect him.
• Preparing this much against our streamer still isn't enough!
• Everyone here is insane LOL. Didn't your streamer lose last game?
• New viewers, leave.

Seojun couldn't see the chat.

That didn't mean it wasn't flying by at full speed.

• LOL. Counter-picking after getting last pick. If Wave loses after this, he's finished.
• "Finished if he loses"? That's a hit tweet right there.
• Absolutely not a hit tweet.

The hero Seojun chose was an assassin who utilized shadow magic.

Both in lore and gameplay, Zen was a pure-blooded assassin.

In League, heroes with explosive burst damage and exceptional mobility were classified as assassins.

Unlike other roles, they didn't continuously deal damage while trading blows.

Instead, they waited for opportunities and struck at the enemy team's weak points.

Shadow Summoner Zen.

A hero capable of summoning a puppet body made of shadows and controlling it to fight in his place.

While the shadow was active, damage dealt by the caster accumulated.

Then, once the shadow was recalled, additional damage proportional to that accumulated amount would be inflicted.

Zen could also swap positions with the shadow once.

• Didn't expect Zen after Kael and Evic got banned.
• Wait. Doesn't that line up with what he said earlier? About being worth two people?
• LOL. Was that foreshadowing? Then again, our streamer is usually worth more than two people anyway.
• Wave is dead.
• Wave's hero counters Zen.
• Then go watch recent broadcasts before talking, newbie.
• Yeah, your streamer got clapped recently.
• Only we're allowed to make fun of him.

One way or another, the game had begun.

• Heard there was a war happening here.
• Real viewers watch the official broadcast but cause chaos in every chat.
• Are the mods not banning newcomers?
• ...
• Why is the guy who lost to Goblin acting so cocky? Why is the guy who lost to Goblin acting so cocky? Why is the guy who lost to Goblin acting so cocky?
• Careful, copy-pasting gets you banned.
• LOL.

Troublemakers flooded into Seojun's stream.

No matter what Wave had done, the current battle was a clash between two A-rank players' pride.

Exactly the kind of spectacle viewers couldn't resist.

If Seojun lost here—

He wouldn't merely be paying off karma.

He'd become a complete clown.

Tournament villain?

Forget that.

Then—

"Ahhh, hurry up and come out."

After quickly adjusting some settings, Seojun spoke.

"Huh? Me?"

Standing in front of him while waiting for minions to spawn, Wave pointed at himself and tilted his head.

• Is he talking to chat?
• Focus Mode is still on.
• What kind of nonsense is he about to pull now???

It was bizarre.

Everyone was staring at the screen with question marks over their heads.

Then another voice emerged through Seojun's broadcast.

[Did you call for me, successor of future generations?]

"Yeah. Explain a few things to me."

"...What?"

"Not you. Zen."

"Huh?"

Wave froze in confusion.

What was happening?

"What are you doing?"

Seojun had activated the Dialogue Board.

A feature almost nobody used outside the very beginning of a match.

It wasn't particularly useful and usually just got in the way.

But the Dialogue Board had one additional purpose.

Again—

Only during the very early stages of the game.

Even so, nobody actually used it.

Especially not in tournaments.

Not once.

Literally never.

"Tutorial."

And somehow, Seojun had accomplished the impossible.

"...?"

His face looked exactly the same as always.

Completely shameless.

Why would there be embarrassment in seeking knowledge?

• ???
• Sir, even if this is just a scrim, people are watching. At least study beforehand LOL.
• Is he insane?
• "Is he insane?" <-- the phrase that appears every chapter LOL.
• Because he does insane things every chapter LOL.
• Is this real? LOL.
• What newcomers expected: a heart-pounding showdown between mechanical geniuses before the minions even spawned.
• Reality: the streamer cheerfully doing the in-game tutorial LOL.
• For the first time in my life, I don't even want to be part of the Demonic Cult. This is too embarrassing. 🤦‍♂️