NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
The scrim was nothing but a practice match. Of course, that didn’t mean we could slack off.
As long as we named our team ‘Curry Breaker,’ we had to win to avoid being the laughing stock.
But is winning truly the only way to ‘break’?
I was busy doing my part to live up to the team’s name while also striving for victory.
[Enemy slain!]
After successfully pulling off a risky turret dive at level 6, I pressed recall in a dangerous spot. With the enemy jungle’s position still hidden, it was a gambling move, but my gamble paid off. In a potentially deadly situation, I dramatically survived, not heading mid but heading straight to top.
In this horrible tank meta, Curry had no choice but to put down the knife champions they loved. Since Latte was also unable to use his favored knife champion, the top lane turned into their own little league, unable to inflict any meaningful damage on each other.
“Jericho, let’s poke top once.”
“It’s a timing for a bottom counter-gank…”
“Isn’t it you who entrusted me with the main order? Just hold off on bottom this turn.”
“If you call it, I have to follow.”
“Haah…”
Jericho let out a sigh in response to Coldog’s adherence to my order. With the bottom lane missing, Jericho had no choice but to accompany me to top.
Out of nowhere, we found ourselves with an unexpected dive opportunity. From the moment the order was given, Latte’s Ornn actively pressured Curry’s Maokai, creating the dive line.
As the big wave surged into the tower, Jericho and I emerged from the bush.
The second most disliked situation by all top laners: a three-man dive from the enemy team without backup.
No matter how strong a player’s mentality, getting dived by three was bound to make their head spin.
Feeling anxious about the three-man dive, or perhaps it was due to lack of experience, Maokai used his most annoying skill, W, on Ornn.
As the skill that made him untargetable was gone, we ravenously feasted on the set table in front of us.
[Enemy slain!]
After calmly hunting down Maokai, I returned to the mid lane.
[Ally slain!]
While I was absent from the lane, the Wandering Swordsman was not just idling. Just as Jericho had said, the enemy jungle was eyeing a dive on bottom.
With my appearance at top, the Wandering Swordsman immediately jumped down to bottom.
Even though Coldog and Antenna handled the dive well, they were caught from behind by the late-arriving Zard and forfeited a kill.
At least only Antenna died, so we could say they held up decently considering it was practically a four-man dive.
[Enemy has slain the dragon!]
[Ally has slain the Rift Herald!]
The enemy team played excellently with their lower halves while we continued to chase after Curry with our upper halves. The value of the dragon could only rise as the game progressed, but to take down Curry, no, to break him, we needed the Rift Herald more than the dragon.
The enemy successfully hunted the dragon while we managed to secure the Rift Herald. Following that, the enemy team aimed for another four-man dive.
Naturally, our backup was nonexistent, and I headed to top with Jericho once more.
[Rift Herald summoned!]
The most disliked situation for a top laner: a three-man dive with two turret shields remaining.
This dive was essentially a death sentence, and of course Curry’s Maokai met a cold end without any resistance.
[First turret destroyed!]
The enemy’s first turret crumbled. The shattering remnants of the tower seemed to mirror Curry’s shattered mentality.
Since it was during the scrim, I couldn’t check Curry’s broadcast to see their reaction. I vowed to check the replay once the stream ended.
What stream snipers loved most was to enjoy the reactions of streamers they’d missed during their focus on sniping by watching the replay. It was akin to gamers reliving their highlights to feel a sense of accomplishment, a so-called ‘loose play.’
Without even watching the replay yet, I couldn’t help but imagine Curry’s anguished face, causing my lips to stretch into a smirk.
To think the chronic sniper who had been targeting him for years made their debut as a streamer and was now sniper during a scrim before an official event.
Could there really be such a mad person besides me? It felt unrealistic enough to quietly chuckle.
Still, not enough.
Just a little more.
“Now let’s start preparing for the dragon fight.”
The excitement that had been bubbling inside me cooled in an instant as I regained my composure.
Because it was such an absurdly stimulating situation, I couldn’t think straight. Thanks to Jericho’s timely intervention, my thoughts returned to normal.
Right.
No matter how many times we killed Curry, we needed to win the game first to see the reactions I wanted.
Convinced, I canceled the move command I set on Maokai who was farming at the top second turret.
I headed to bottom, clearing the incoming minion wave before joining my team gathered at the top.
As the respawn time for the third dragon approached, both teams slowly began to gather at the river where the dragon’s lair resided.
An intense standoff ensued, and it was the enemy team that began to attack the dragon first.
With Aphelios growing rapidly, the dragon’s health began to drop quickly.
“I’ll engage first and pull aggro.”
We couldn’t waste any more time or it would slip away.
I issued an urgent call and dove into the center of the enemy formation using my flash and ultimate.
As I entered, I threw down a smoke screen to hide myself, and the team fight commenced.
I aimed to buy time in the smoke, distracting the enemy’s focus.
In such a critical moment, I calculated the assassination angle on Aphelios.
Yet Nian’s rocky support and fantastic skill shots bought crucial time more valuable than gold.
The coordination between former pros Ras and Nian was astonishing, their team play was solid.
That said, it wasn’t impossible to penetrate altogether.
I seized a moment of opportunity and unleashed all my skills onto Aphelios.
In no time, Aphelios’ health dropped below 300, and for him, I was the only target he could attack.
In a situation where dying was just a moment away, I alternated between the Hourglass and Stopwatch I had prepped, effectively preventing Aphelios from dealing damage for five precious seconds.
Currently, the meta was truly a tank meta.
Latte’s Ornn had reached two core items, just because of the sitting.
Moreover, he managed to reach level 13, where mythic items became legendary.
Even if Aphelios dealt his damage fiercely for five seconds, it was doubtful if he could take me down.
Since I caused damage loss for those five seconds, there was no one who could catch Ornn.
In a situation where the enemy AD carry couldn’t deal damage, a well-fed Ornn was practically invincible.
[Triple kill!]
[Finishing blow!]
“Trusting you, Latte! Nice shot!!!”
“Head straight to Baron.”
Latte’s Ornn achieved a triple kill, leading to a huge victory in the team fight.
[Baron slain!]
Following our team fight victory, we successfully took the Baron as well.
Checking my gold, I found about 3000 gold stacked up.
With the first core taken in one go, I completed my fourth core and roamed the rift with a relaxed mind.
I spotted Curry’s Maokai next to the blue buff in the brush.
Seeing Maokai struggling to hunt the frog made me oddly feel pity.
He seemed to be having a tough time growing since he was desperately hunting frogs, making me want to help.
With that thought, I prepped my first shot, but as Akili suddenly appeared, Maokai fought back fiercely.
Desperately trying to escape from me, Maokai was like a sad turtle unable to climb over walls without a target.
With a combo of skills, Maokai’s health plummeted in an instant, after which he was buried underground, disappearing from sight.
[Ruler of the battlefield!]
Rather than struggling to hunt the frog, it would be nicer for him to just rest in peace.
At least that’s what I thought, and indeed I made sure Curry was more comfortable.
As the game’s flow fully shifted in our favor, I relaxed and tapped to check on Maokai’s KDA.
1/9/5
Could this really be the kill-death score of someone participating in a scrim? It was so dire that it left me questioning.
What story could make someone experience more deaths than kill involvement to such an extent?
For KDA to be that messed up, someone must have been obsessively killing just one person.
I was curious about who could have tormented the enemy Maokai so severely, but of course, that curiosity disappeared completely soon after.
“Hmm~”
“…I’m really glad to be on the same team as you.”
“It’s the first time I agree with you.”
Feeling good, I involuntarily let out a snort.
Coldog expressed fright at my reaction. Jericho, who always clashed with Coldog, shared the same opinion.
“Let’s finish this up. Latte, just stick to bottom.”
“Understood.”
Even with teleport, a well-fed Ornn had no reason to split.
After all, splitting as a tank was nearly trolling.
It was better to stay close and help allied dealers comfortably position themselves.
[Inhibitor destroyed!]
With the mid and bottom inhibitors down, we pressured them with Baron-boosted super minions.
The health of the twin towers defending the Nexus slowly dwindled, and realizing time was running out, the enemy Braum opened the team fight with his flash ultimate.
With a helpless Maokai engaging with his body, there weren’t many other initiation options.
This decision ironically made it even easier for me to target Aphelios.
Of course, the Maokai next to Aphelios desperately blocked my approach.
[Double kill!]
With my second ultimate returning, both Aphelios and Maokai offered their lives to me simultaneously.
After eliminating the important AD carry and a makeshift tank, the balance began to crumble rapidly.
Well, to be honest, even if I hadn’t cut down two alone, the balance had already tilted in our favor.
“Good job, everyone.”
“GG Easy.”
“Thanks for your hard work, everyone.”
“Glad we won.”
As the Nexus crumbled, my teammates each chimed in.
Having lived up to the name ‘Curry Breaker’, I couldn’t help but feel happy.
“I carried, didn’t I?”
Feeling really good, I said it nonchalantly as if it was nothing.
Upon entering the results page, one thing immediately caught my eye.
It was Curry’s Maokai, who had achieved an astounding 10 deaths in this game.
[Trying to hold back laughter Lv. 999]
Seeing that made it impossible to hold back my laughter.
“Pffft!”
Failing to hold back, I burst out laughing, and the mic was still on.
“Why did you suddenly laugh… Ah, could it be?”
“Was I the only one who didn’t get it?”
“I didn’t get it either.”
“…I guess seeing Curry’s Maokai deaths will make it clear.”
– Cough cough!
– Cough cough!
With Antenna’s speculative remark, sounds of others failing to hold back their laughter echoed around.
My openly laughing was definitely not the odd one in this situation.
I broke Curry who broke me.
No, I broke him.
Of course, I hadn’t completely wrecked him in the tournament yet, but with this performance, I could say it was a sufficient achievement.
Having accomplished the goal of this scrim, I accessed Curry’s broadcast.
The scene being streamed was three minutes prior, and I anxiously awaited what felt like the longest three minutes of my life.