Chapter 17

〈 Chapter 17 〉 Look at this?

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After a small commotion in the pick phase.

The game finally began.

[The game is starting!]

As soon as the screen switched to the loading screen, I habitually checked the opponents' tiers through a match history site.

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(D3) IlIIIIIIIIllllll - Renekton

(D2) Diamond or D - Riven

(D2) Master of Mid - Zed

(D4) 2021.06.07 - Samira

(P2) Haeilidot - Nami

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'If I have to average it out... it's roughly around mid-Diamond.'

The highest tier was Diamond 2, and the lowest was Platinum 2, so it was fair to say it was around that level.

In contrast, our team's tiers were relatively low, except for me.

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(P2) Diamond Gatekeeper 11 - Sion

(C1) Prisoner - Silas

(D4) Triangle Midlaner - Talon

(P4) Jae-hyuk Master 123 - Kai'Sa

(G3) Da-hye is Thumb - Lulu

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'Plat, Diamond, Plat, Gold.'

In a way, it was to be expected.

Even though the MMR in normal games is said to be separate from ranked games, from experience, the MMR in normal games and ranked games often correlated.

'Well, it doesn't matter.'

No matter what, for me, this was just a chance to test the new equipment.

[Loading...]

The loading was quite long.

Given that most people care more about the game itself than the game environment, this was a natural outcome.

­Welcome to Summoner's Rift.

After waiting for the loading for about three minutes, the game finally started.

Perhaps because it was a normal game, even 20 seconds after the game started, I was the only one moving from the fountain.

[!] [!] [!]

Even when I pinged to check, there was no response.

There could be various reasons—smoking, bathroom breaks, etc.—but the fact was that as a jungler, this was not a pleasant situation.

If we were invaded, our team's jungle vision would be lost, which would mean our movements would be restricted.

'This place is still the same...'

It had been so long since I played a normal game that I even felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

If this happened in a ranked game, I would have wanted to leave, but this was a normal game.

This level of variable was within the expected range.

'Let's see...'

I checked the invade matchups.

[Allies / Enemies]

Top: Sion / Renekton

Jungle: Silas / Riven

Mid: Talon / Zed

ADC: Kai'Sa / Samira

Support: Lulu / Nami

If someone unfamiliar with the game saw that our team wasn't moving, they might wonder what the point of checking the invade matchups was, but it wasn't pointless.

Only our team knew that we were taking a smoke break or a short rest and not defending the invade.

In other words, regardless of whether our team defended the invade, how the enemy team would move in the invade situation depended entirely on the early-game matchups between our and their champions.

Thus, I made a judgment.

'The matchups themselves suggest that they are more likely to invade first.'

Our team's formation was in the bottom lane.

I placed a ward in the red-side bush and retreated.

Trying to defend the red alone without support from my team would only increase the risk.

At the one-minute mark of the game.

[All] [Master of Mid (Zed): ?]

[All] [Master of Mid (Zed): Real?]

Finally, after finishing the match history search, the enemy gave a strange reaction.

And our team members, who had just started moving, also joined the chat.

[All] [Triangle Midlaner (Talon): Yeah, lol]

[All] [Triangle Midlaner (Talon): You guys are late]

[All] [Triangle Midlaner (Talon): 15 surrender gg]

[All] [Master of Mid (Zed): What, a Challenger in normals? lol]

[All] [2021.06.07 (Samira): But... such a prestigious place...]

[All] [2021.06.07 (Samira): Just kidding]

[All] [Diamond or D (Riven): I'm a real fan. Please play well]

With various chats appearing, it took 1 minute and 10 seconds for our bottom duo to start moving.

It was already too late to invade, and the vision around our red was extremely dangerous, so I pinged to retreat.

[!] [!] [!]

Despite the retreat ping, Lulu's movement was suspicious.

­First Blood!

Sure enough.

Our support was sacrificed by the enemy team, who appeared from outside the ward vision.

[Da-hye is Thumb (Lulu): Ah]

[Da-hye is Thumb (Lulu): Sorry]

[Jae-hyuk Master 123 (Kai'Sa): It's okay, keep it up]

It was a familiar scene, so I didn't mind.

While I was hitting the blue for the first blue, the enemy Renekton and Zed appeared on my blue side.

They must have been waiting with a ward placed in advance.

'Look at this?'

The enemy jungler and bottom duo were eating my red.

That meant there were only two of them.

If our team had defended the invade, it would have naturally turned into a 2v3 situation, and we could have taken them out, but unfortunately, our top and mid were already in their lanes.

'This is interesting.'

They showed a willingness to stop me, even at the cost of some lane disadvantage.

After all, in a normal game where the tier differences between positions are stark, this was a very effective strategy.

Especially since the enemy laners, except for the jungler, were all relatively higher tier than our team.

Moreover, they didn't recklessly charge in, showing that they were Challenger-level players.

They were also considering the risk if our team joined.

'They are keeping a safe distance and harassing me.'

Their goal was to disrupt my jungle time, not to steal the blue.

'In this situation, it would be right for our team to come and help, even at the cost of some lane disadvantage... but I can't expect that.'

I couldn't keep hitting the blue alone in this situation, so I had to stop jungling and retreat.

­Hahaha!

­Kakaka!!

Seeing me retreat, the enemy Renekton and Zed used the laugh emotion.

It made me angry.

After the blue reset.

Our laners, who had just taken a line, hurriedly moved.

Of course, the blue had already reset, and the enemy top and mid had returned.

In the end, the two enemy laners took some lane disadvantage, and I was in a very tight jungle situation.

'This is going to be tough.'

Even without a leash, it's hard to jungle as Silas.

With the blue I was hitting also resetting, my options were extremely limited.

'No wonder they don't use him as a jungler.'

I didn't expect the enemy to play like this in a normal game...

In a way, it was the price to pay for picking a trash champion.

'I need to eat the wolves first.'

My health was already quite low, so even with a smite, I couldn't solo the buff mobs.

Eventually, after eating the wolves, I reached level 2, but the enemy Riven had already reached level 3 and appeared at our bottom.

­Allies are under attack!

­Enemy, double kill!

The bottom duo was quickly taken out.

Blocking the enemy's strengths and exploiting their weaknesses.

I thought this was a scene you wouldn't see in a normal game, but perhaps because it was a normal game, they could play like this.

Since there were no consequences for losing, they could freely throw all kinds of gambits.

'This is getting interesting.'

Often, in League of Legends, there are games where no matter what you do, you can't win.

For me, this game was probably one of those.

There was little justification for winning.

It was just a normal game with no points at stake, and it was just a game to test new equipment.

But...

[All] [2021.06.07 (Samira): Don't be too upset. The enemy is good~]

[All] [IlIIIIIIIIllllll (Renekton): This is... Challenger 2?]

[All] [Diamond or D (Riven): Teacher, can I reach Master with this?]

I wanted to win this game.

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