Chapter 60 of 100

Chapter 60

8 min read1,921 words

### Chapter 60: 'That Line'

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Chat line and pick line.

In normal games, whether chatting comes first or champion selection comes first is a debate with a long history.

Tracing back this debate and quietly examining the history of League of Legends, originally, there was no concept of position selection in ranked games.

The pick order was determined by MMR, and naturally, the priority for positions was also decided from the first pick to the fifth pick.

It was a kind of class system based on MMR.

Of course, as you moved up the tiers, there was still a respectful atmosphere where each player's main position was respected, but in most matches, there was no such thing, and the fifth pick was always a support.

Given this situation, the influence naturally spread to normal games, and at one point, the pick line became the mainstream rather than the chat line.

However, as light and darkness coexist, over time, the problems with the pick line culture began to be discussed one by one.

? Sir, I picked mid first.

I picked first.

?? Master, this is mid?

Okay.

;;

For example, it was common for someone to pick a champion clearly meant for mid and say they were going to jungle, or vice versa.

Because the pick line itself was such a problematic method, the process of introducing position selection in ranked games gradually shifted the pick line culture to the chat line.

Of course, there are still people who insist on the pick line, but the mainstream has shifted in that direction.

Hmm...

Although I've elaborated on this, in this case, such a debate wasn't even necessary.

[Horororororo: ? Isn't that person first?]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim: Just shut up and take the bus, you colorblind people.]

The pick line and chat line, whether one is right or wrong, was irrelevant because the other person was just crazy.

[Horororororo: Phew.]

[Horororororo: Can the second pick just go top?]

[Horororororo: Understand it.]

I didn't want to start a fight in the chat, so I readily agreed.

[GameWell4148: Yes.]

There were a few reasons why I readily agreed, but the biggest one was simple.

‘...No Smite.’

It was a rather embarrassing reality for someone who confidently called out the jungle.

‘But, how can this still be a thing?’

A few years ago, when League of Legends had a significant entry barrier, a major patch was released to lower that barrier.

The complex rune system, which required purchasing dozens of runes to use, was completely removed, and runes could now be set in the pick screen.

Naturally, I assumed that the spell level restrictions would also have disappeared by then, as I didn't have an alt account.

But I never thought that spell level restrictions would still exist...

Perhaps because I never had an alt account, I didn't think about the spell level restrictions.

‘This is a variable.’

I could now understand why people who farm alt accounts often play bot lane.

The Rift was an incredibly harsh place for a level 1 account just starting League of Legends.

‘No Smite jungle.’

At the same time, old memories resurfaced.

‘Come to think of it... I used to jungle with Ignite instead of Smite back in the day.’

It sounds absurd now, but at the time, Ignite could hit jungle monsters, and through a perk, you could receive attack and ability power bonuses during Ignite's cooldown, so that's what I did.

Of course, I only did this when I was relatively new; by the time I played ranked games, it was a ridiculous move.

Amidst these reflections, I quietly checked the spells I could use.

‘Hmm, I can't use many spells.’

The only spells I could use were Ghost and Heal.

It would have been great if I could use Flash, but unfortunately, that was out of the question.

‘Top lane, and only two spells available...’

Two champions immediately came to mind.

‘Urf and Hecarim.’

Both champions are more efficient when using Ghost instead of Flash.

Moreover, since both are junglers, I was quite confident in my mastery of them.

‘Urf would be good, but... let's go with this for this game.’

[Hecarim]

Although he was relatively recently called an OP champion, he unfortunately became average after a sharp nerf.

Of course, he's still not bad, and I often use him in ranked games.

[Please select a skin!]

[3]

[2]

[1]

The game started.

[Allies / Enemies]

Top: Hecarim / Teemo

Jungle: Rengar / Master Yi

Mid: Zed / Malphite

ADC: Ezreal / Veigar

Support: Nami / Blitzcrank

‘Hmm.’

What should I say... it's a very familiar set of picks?

‘It's been a while.’

While picks like Veigar and Blitzcrank are occasionally seen in the tier I play, Teemo and Master Yi are what you might call "artisan" champions, only played by those who specialize in them.

...Of course, there are much more common terms, but they feel a bit cheap to say.

Eventually, the loading screen ended, and the game officially began.

Silent—

Even without pings, it was as if early invades and defenses were non-existent.

Well, it was a stroke of luck that no one went AFK.

‘Well, it doesn't matter to me.’

The jungle is most affected by early invades, as they need to defend their camps.

And I was top lane.

So, I was about to head straight to top lane, but I decided to go protect the blue buff for my team.

‘Be grateful.’

My team is the blue team.

That is, the bottom side.

As I hid alone in the upper river bush, the enemy champions, including Blitzcrank, appeared from the mid lane straight bush.

This was possible because our mid lane vision was not secured.

‘Hmm.’

The enemy Blitzcrank quickly placed a ward in the bush and caught my position.

Flash!

The enemy Blitzcrank used a fearless Flash grab.

My spells were Ghost and Heal.

From a common sense perspective, it's impossible to dodge a Flash Q from Blitzcrank.

However,

Whoosh.

‘Huh?’

Blitzcrank's hand sliced through the air.

It wasn't that my movement was fantastic.

The enemy Blitzcrank just missed the grab.

He launched a bizarre prediction shot that I couldn't understand.

‘...’

To be honest, I was a bit surprised, but thanks to that, I managed to escape without using any spells.

As the minions arrived, I slowly followed them to the lane.

Since it was a melee vs. ranged lane, I felt hesitant to be overly confident early on.

‘Hmm. Can't see him.’

Teemo was nowhere to be seen.

Considering the patterns of Teemos I've seen before, he was probably hiding somewhere using his passive.

‘Hide well.’

Show me your hair.

I entered the bush and swung my Q at the spot where I thought Teemo might be.

At that moment.

Swoosh!

He didn't expect me to use Q in the bush, and the Teemo hiding with his passive appeared.

Of course, it was a bit of a strange choice on his part.

‘Eh... Is this right, friend?’

My spells are Ghost and Heal.

The enemy's spells are Flash and Ignite.

At first glance, Teemo's spell setup seems quite advantageous, but the problem is that I'm Hecarim.

Hecarim's passive is additional attack damage based on movement speed.

And both Ghost and Heal increase movement speed.

Moreover, in a melee vs. ranged matchup, the melee champion has a clear advantage.

‘This is a tier where such common sense doesn't apply.’

To avoid the reduced healing from Ignite, I boldly used Ghost and Heal first.

In lower tiers, there's a strong tendency to use Ignite without considering the enemy's healing spells, so this was a calculated decision.

And it was simple.

If he had stayed hidden the whole time, it might have been different, but the moment he awkwardly revealed himself, Teemo's fate was sealed.

First Blood!

Afterward, the Teemo without Teleport hurriedly returned to the lane, but the level gap was already significant.

[Teemo – Level 1]

[Hecarim – Level 2]

‘Trying to push the lane? No way.’

As Teemo timidly approached to farm minions, I immediately charged at him.

‘Blind. Wait a moment... Q, Q, good, now.’

The moment the blind duration ended, Hecarim's vicious front claws lunged at Teemo's small head.

Enemy killed!

Instantly, a second kill.

It was the moment when the top lane matchup was effectively over.

‘Will he go out?’

The lane was already frozen, and Teemo's lane push power is not particularly good among top lane champions.

Without intervention from other lanes, there's no way to break this hell.

‘I feel a bit sorry, though.’

In a game like League of Legends, where there are few newbies, Teemo seemed to be one of the few pure newbies.

While I was ending the top lane matchup...

Rengar and Master Yi met at the top river crab as if they had made a pact.

[Rengar – Level 3]

[Master Yi – Level 3]

And another fight ensued as if they had made a pact.

One common misconception is that Master Yi is a tanky champion and is very weak early on.

While this is generally true, the mistake is that Master Yi's early game is not weak at all.

‘His escape and pursuit abilities are just not very good, but his 1v1 dueling is top-tier.’

Of course, when they meet at level 3, Rengar often wins, but it depends on the situation.

For example, when Rengar foolishly uses Q first, like now.

‘He lost this one.’

Master Yi dodged Rengar's Q with a counter Q, and when Rengar used E, Master Yi absorbed the damage and auto-attacked with Meditation.

It wasn't just that Rengar failed, but Master Yi played quite well.

‘He's at least Diamond level.’

Ducking the incoming sound wave with Q and blocking Rengar's E skill with Meditation while auto-attacking was not the play of a mid-tier player.

‘It could be a fluke, though.’

[ ] [ ]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar) targeted Maeyjangin4787 (Master Yi)]

Feeling the danger as all his skills missed, the confident Rengar from a moment ago frantically pinged.

‘Hmm.’

I was conflicted.

If I went to help, I could save Rengar, but I would have to abandon a lane of minions, and more importantly, the frozen lane I had created would be broken.

If this were a normal game I play, it wouldn't even be a question.

No matter how important the lane, it can't compare to a kill and control of the fight.

But,

‘I'm not sure if Rengar is worth it.’

It's not because of any personal feelings from the pick screen.

Really.

While I was conflicted, Rengar, who lost the fight, couldn't shake off Master Yi even after using Flash.

Ally was attacked!

The moment Rengar was solo-killed by Master Yi, a chat message flew in.

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar) – Hecarim]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar): No]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar): Why didn't you come?]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar): We could have caught him if you came.]

[Yanghyeongongbcaejim (Rengar): Damn it.]

‘Indeed, this is the taste of it.’

Does someone who goes top become a top god?

Or are people who go top already inclined to be like that?

This is one of the oldest puzzles in League of Legends.

But somehow, at this moment, I feel like I know the answer.

I responded to him with a cute penguin instead of a chat message.

『』

Lord, please allow me to become a beast today.

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