[TS] Malicious Sniper

“Ah, brothers. Let’s really start the promotion match now…”

[What’s going on?]

[Did this guy really queue up remotely from the bathroom?]

[LOL]

[Oh shit, LOL]

[No way, the absolute alpha male Kim Curry is avoiding some girl, right?]

[LOL]

[LOL]

Kurry, back on cam, immediately pulled up the waiting room.

Most viewers were taken aback by the sudden broadcast, but it didn’t take long for them to figure out what was happening and stop spamming the chat.

Unlike the hellish chat room just a moment ago, the chat was now completely clean.

Kurry was truly the life of the party and the broadcasting magician.

Avoiding snipes and boosting morale, it was a two-in-one scenario.

But.

“Huh?”

Seeing a familiar nickname pop up in the waiting room chat, Kurry froze.

Kurry, realizing what it meant to be stopped in his tracks, began to tremble.

Still, as a big-time streamer, he discreetly checked the chat room’s situation.

[Wow shit, that’s creepy.]

[Crazy girl… crazy girl… crazy girl…]

[0-man is recognized as a menace.]

[How can you even get a snipe like this?]

[Is Kurry actually an actor?]

[At this point, isn’t it Kurry sniping Nayun?]

[Reverse snipe world ㄷㄷ]

Contrary to the assumptions that the chat would catch fire,

the viewers seemed shocked this time, only typing in questions.

Nayun Queen: Desperate, huh?

In the moment everyone was stunned into shock,

a single message popped up in the waiting room chat.

Reading that message made Kurry’s world start spinning.

[This… I’m feeling slightly dizzy too.]

[0-man is not even a worthy opponent.]

[Desperate? Desperate? Desperate? Desperate? Desperate?]

[You got a sturdy lifeline here, Kurry, what are you doing?]

[Breaking news) Satan has gone extinct.]

[Evil spirits read that chat and freak out enough to attain enlightenment.]

[Heh… the demon queen, Nimyuu…]

[That tempting look is practically a succubus.]

[Succubus (male)]

[Ugh, shit.]

There was a real demon here.

At least, that’s how Kurry felt.

In the first two matches, they had forced him to lose on the opposing team,

and now, being on the same team, the question was “Desperate?”

This was nothing short of demonic temptation.

If he said he was desperate here, he could win this promotion match.

But what if such a situation arose again next time?

Could he shake off the temptation after having accepted it once?

If he was just doing the broadcast for money,

he might have catered to this malicious sniper’s demands while enhancing the entertainment of his stream.

But Kurry had always been ‘serious’ about the game.

League of Legends was, after all, his ‘life.’

memories floated back of the time he confidently claimed to achieve Grandmaster purely with skill.

No matter how much he was stuck in the Diamond rank for over 200 games, he didn’t want to deny his life.

The Lonely Gourmet: I’m really desperate.

The Lonely Gourmet: Eeeek… Hah-hah!

…for too long he had been stuck in Diamond.

[LOL]

[LOL]

[Can you still call yourself a pure solo queue warrior like that?]

[If you get promoted to Master, I’ll call you a rag master, ㅇㅇ]

[Kurry… how did it come to this…]

[Dodge and I’ll give you 1 million.]

[Blinded by the tier, huh ㄹㅇ]

Kurry ignored the reactions in the chat.

He couldn’t take back what he had already said.

‘Broadcasting isn’t important now.’

The chances to secure a Master rank were already ample.

What mattered now was whether he could reach Master or not.

‘Please just make a normal pick.’

Once both teams finished their bans,

the enemy picked ‘Qiyana’ first.

Among the AD assassin champions, she was deemed one of the most challenging to master.

Due to that, her performance varied greatly depending on who played her.

[Qiyana? Didn’t she get nerfed and go to the grave?]

[She and Akali went to the grave together.]

[Info: Qiyana users have an 80% chance of being either ‘Dae’ or ‘Bu’ of Dejoong.]

[Yeah~]

[Could it be that a named player has appeared?]

Thus, the enemy’s pick was complete,

and it was time for our 1st and 2nd picks.

The 1st pick was the jungler and the 2nd pick was the mid laner.

Kurry hoped Nayun Queen would pick a strong champion against Qiyana.

Waiting for the picks, the 1st pick made theirs first.

The 1st pick went with ‘Eles’, a champion that fit into any composition and was the most standard first pick.

It was great luck that the ally chose a champion regarded as the jungle meta’s bane.

Then it was Nayun Queen’s turn.

“You’re really doing this?”

[Wow, LOL, I never saw that coming!]

[Nana and Wulump? ㅇㄷ?]

[I expected a mid Nana but ㄲㅂ]

[But does Nayun Queen even know how to play that?]

[There’s no record of it in her match history…]

[Kurry’s wordplay, LOL]

With Nayun Queen’s unexpected pick, both Kurry and the chat were thrown into confusion.

*

What kind of confidence is this?

That was the first thought upon seeing Qiyana’s first pick.

‘How many counters are there to Qiyana?’

When Qiyana was released, she was so powerful she was called “incapable of being ignored,”
but now she required a certain level of physical skill to bring out her true performance.

Picking such a champion outright?

Moreover, the opposing 1st pick didn’t even ban her.

This was practically a challenge issued to the enemy mid laner.

What champion could school that Qiyana?

As he pondered this, time quickly slipped away,

and upon seeing Eles’s picked champion, he made his decision.

– “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

The champion I chose was Talon.

Along with Zard, he was a traditional assassin, renowned as the twin horsemen of AD assassins.

From ancient times, fights between AD assassins were called “hand fights,”
so there was no better pick to crush that arrogant Qiyana.

“Wait, do you even know how to play Talon?”

After Kurry picked Talon without mercy, he asked me with a voice soaked in anxiety.

But I kept silent on purpose, finding it amusing to watch Kurry sweat on the broadcast screen.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

In the last pick, Kurry adjusted the team comps repeatedly before finally choosing Kamal.

Kamal, Eles, Talon.

It was a very aggressive upper combo.

On the other hand, the enemy’s top lane was Jayke, Kassadin, and Qiyana—three champions who were highly aggressive in mid and top,
while their jungler was a scaling champion.

With both teams’ picks completed, the game began.

======

[Blue Team]
TOP Jake
JG Kassadin
MID Qiyana
AD Ashe
SUP Lux

Vs

[Purple Team]
TOP Kamal
JG Eles
MID Talon
AD Kai’Sa
SUP Thresh

======

Looking back at the loading screen, our team’s composition was exceptional.

No, it was close to perfect.

It felt like watching a hexagonal midfielder?

In a ranked game, there wouldn’t be a better composition than this.

In contrast, the enemy’s composition was an extreme poke composition.

Jayke, Kassadin, Ashe, Lux.

All of them had long-range harassers.

Yet the team composition wasn’t bad for a team fight either.

Well, in fact, seeing such a ‘composition’ has hardly any meaning in solo queue.

The higher the rank, the more “opens” happen.

Eventually, which side’s mentality crumbles first? That was the key point for victory.

I knew exactly how to ensure victory solely in solo queue.

“I used to make plays like that with Talon.”

As I was lost in thoughts, the loading ended quickly.

The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.
The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.
The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.
The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.

The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.
The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) is coming.

Starting off, our Thresh furiously pinged.

The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) Q is ready.

Showing that he had learned his grab skill, our Thresh displayed a strong will to invade.

Following Thresh, we invaded the enemy jungle.

As we passed the riverside bush and entered the red buff hill bush,

the enemy team hiding inside immediately pounced on us.

The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) pointed at the almighty top solo (Jake).
The grab master Kim Man-deuk (Thresh) pointed at the almighty top solo (Jake).
JGGAP (Eles) sent a retreat signal.

[First Blood!]

The leading Thresh instantly melted away.

Since Thresh had already died, we had no choice but to give up on the invade.

JGGAP (Eles) sent a retreat signal.
Kurry (Kamal) sent a retreat signal.

Our team seemed to share the same thoughts; backing away from Thresh’s corpse, we pinged back.

Quickly abandoning Thresh prevented further losses,
but Qiyana secured the first blood.

[Minions have spawned.]

After returning home to heal, I rushed back to my lane.

Upon arrival, I saw Qiyana pushing the lane with two long swords.

Nayun Queen (Talon) marked Jungler (Kassadin).

By the ward placed at red, I pinged to signal that Kassadin started at red.

Nayun Queen (Talon): Pushing the lane, level 3 gank incoming.

If any jungler had a working brain, he would have understood the meaning of my ping and chat right away.

With the jungler’s direction established, I aimed to push the lane against Qiyana who was smacking away with her two long swords.

No matter how much Qiyana had secured first blood, she couldn’t win against Talon until level 2.

In a close trade, I might take some damage,
but once my passive triggered, I’d definitely win the trade.

I had to be careful from level 3 onwards, but at least it wasn’t the time for it just yet, so I proactively engaged in the trade.

Even with an extra long sword, as Talon’s passive activated, I was losing trades, causing Qiyana to pull back.

She carefully secured minions she could farm with her abilities, while I pushed the lane fiercely, aiming for level 3.

That’s how I hit level 3 first.

With a big wave of minions stacked up at their first turret,

I moved out of enemy sight while Qiyana was behind me farming minions.

Then I jumped over the mid bush wall and warded in the enemy blue bush.

Nayun Queen (Talon) marked Jungler (Kassadin).
Nayun Queen (Talon) marked Jungler (Kassadin).

As I suspected, Kassadin was busily farming the blue buff.

Seeing the up-movement while he was hunting the blue, it looked like he was skipping the frog to go for a level 3 top gank.

JGGAP (Eles) is on the way.

Already, Eles had finished his red and hit level 3, rushing to join me.

With Eles joining from the top, he hit Kassadin with his cocoon.

I used WQ combo against the stunned Kassadin, slapping my passive as I went.

[You have slain an enemy!]

Kassadin was eradicated without any resistance.

The reason why the combination of Eles and Talon is terrifying in solo queue is precisely this.

No champion could withstand the two of them’s cooperation.

“Crazy! I believed in you, mid jungle!!”

As the victory bell rang, Kurry’s wailing echoed through the broadcast.

You could truly feel the desperate desire to reach Master in his voice.

Nayun Queen (Talon) marked the almighty top solo (Jake).
Nayun Queen (Talon) is on the way.
JGGAP (Eles) is on the way.

After clearing the enemy jungle, Eles and I set our sights on the top lane.

Jake, who was being pressured in front of the first turret, was the perfect prey.

As I and Eles timed our engage, Kamal responded.

With Kamal’s hook connecting perfectly, Jake was stunned.

Then the follow-up cocoon from Eles delivered a 2-second stun.

And with my WQ combo landing next, Jake faded to gray.

It didn’t start out well, but at that point, the momentum of the game did a complete 180.

I smiled calmly, typing in the chat.

Nayun Queen (Talon): Is this good?

Not long after the chat went up, an ear-splitting sound erupted in my ear.

“This is so fucking good! This is what a team is!”

The Lonely Gourmet (Kamal): I’m so good it feels like I’m losing my mind.

I thought once again that it was a top laner’s reaction.

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