NOVEL NEXT Chapter 50
Teleport is a spell with a painfully long casting time.
Naturally, seeing our team’s teleport, the enemy made a clean getaway.
Even if the situation ended like this, it meant our team’s teleport was down, so there was no need to force the issue.
“Ironically, the top that was slowly gaining an advantage ended up losing.”
If the enemy top had at least taken the proper teleport, it might have been a different story, but they didn’t.
Our top felt no need to engage in a fight since our team’s teleport had been used first.
Of course, as a result, the mid didn’t die, but it was still a heartbreaking loss.
“I suppose I should be grateful for that.”
The real problem was me.
When the enemy supporter came up, I couldn’t follow my original path toward the enemy blue zone and was forced back.
For me, covering mid had turned out to be a significant mistake.
“…First, I need to take out the bottom crab.”
The moment I headed to the lower river…
Did the enemy Nautilus feel like he had made some progress? He started lurking around the lower river.
When Nautilus first showed up, I wondered if Diana or Sylas were nearby.
But, nope.
The enemy top was pushing hard in the top lane, thinking this was the perfect time, while Diana just pushed me out and stepped into her blue jungle, and the enemy mid, Rainbow, had gone home after a fierce trading session with MobyDick, leaving our ADC hiding since he was now in a 1:2 situation.
In short, right now, Nautilus was completely alone.
“Looks like someone’s brimming with confidence.”
Nautilus was trying to bluff his way into bothering me.
If it were any other jungler, he probably would have pulled back after a little poke, but he seemed determined to stop me, aware that I had been on a roll lately.
“Crossing the line there.”
No matter how kind-hearted I am, I can’t just sit by when someone tries to mess with me like that.
“Maybe I should give him a little opening.”
What I planned to do was simple.
Feign not having Smite and hit the crab down to its bare minimum health.
[HP – 37]
One ranged skill would kill it.
If I lost it, I’d suffer a significant setback that would be hard to recover from.
Naturally, Nautilus wasn’t clueless about this either, so as instinct dictated, he used his grab to steal the crab.
“Good.”
-Thunk!
Using Smite on a crab with only 37 health felt a bit wasteful, but it was better than letting it go.
And then, of course, Nautilus’s grab hit me instead of where he aimed.
Normally, that skill pulls the opponent toward the caster.
But right now, it felt like Nautilus was being pulled toward me instead.
“Nice up close.”
The harpoon and flames greeted Nautilus warmly.
“Nice to meet you, buddy.”
In the current meta, Rumble’s full combo, mixed with his overheated auto-attacks, isn’t something even a sturdy Nautilus can just endure.
In a flash, the grilled Nautilus tried to escape using Flash, but by then, our bot lane had already shown up to block his escape route.
“Alright, your turn now.”
After all that fun, it was time to pay the piper.
-First blood!
Our ADC got the kill.
Sure, it would’ve been best if I, as the jungler, had secured it, but this wasn’t bad either.
Especially since it came from Nautilus overextending, it was what we’d call a freebie.
“See what happens when you overdo it?”
From a jungler’s perspective, there’s nothing more annoying than an enemy supporter or laner lurking around.
But when they cross the line, they usually have to face the consequences.
For Rainbow and Yoon-ki, this must’ve been a gut punch.
The plan to empower the bottom lane starting from the early invade and leading to a clean mid trade had gone down the drain due to a single blunder from their supporter.
“But what can you do?”
This is solo queue, after all.
Right now, the enemy team’s supporter isn’t my reliable SY GuineaPig who’d practiced for ages.
No matter how high the rank, solo queue and team play just don’t line up.
“Well then…”
The enemy jungler is currently on the top pathway.
And the enemy supporter is dead.
[⬇] [⬇] [⬇]
[Prisoner(Rumble) is on the move]
[Prisoner(Rumble) is on the move]
[Prisoner(Rumble) is on the move]
“Smart choice.”
As I made my way down, the enemy ADC sensed a dive and fled, leaving behind all CS and experience to escape to the second turret.
Just this escape alone was a decent enough gain for me, but I was still hungry for more.
“I need to make up for the losses.”
So, I invaded the enemy bottom jungle.
Just like Yoon-ki pushed me out of the enemy blue side, I pushed him out of the enemy red side.
I didn’t forget to take down a baby Bladebeak either.
This completely recovered the damage our top suffered and rerouted the jungler’s path.
Moreover, since our bottom lane had been suffering a bit early, they also managed to recover some farm during the enemy supporter’s absence, along with a kill that flipped the situation dramatically.
“Hmm?”
[❗] [❗] [❗]
Just as everyone’s gaze shifted to the bottom lane, Rainbow and Yoon-ki, who had joined forces at top, took down Carry Well’s Sett.
Rainbow had used his teleport to roam top instead of returning to the lane.
-Our team is in trouble!
Thanks to covering mid a moment ago, our top had no teleport, and there wasn’t any ally around to provide lane cover.
But did the relatively freed mid benefit from this? No, because our Lucian’s spell wasn’t a teleport either.
We had suffered far more than we expected.
“As I thought.”
There was no way I would let this game slip away easily.
However, unless I was having a bad day like that one time, I wouldn’t let a winning game go easily.
I looked at the bottom lane.
Even though as an ADC champion, Kalista’s late-game damage expectations aren’t exactly sky-high.
Still, many pro players use Kalista. Why?
Simple.
Her lane phase destruction power is literally insane.
Especially since the player controlling this Kalista is none other than BlackDog.
Alongside Longbow and MobyDick, he’s considered one of the best ADCs in the world.
From here on out, my job was just to throw in a little extra power to that destructive force.
After returning, I scouted the blue side again and headed straight for the bottom lane.
[⬇] [⬇] [⬇]
[Prisoner(Rumble) is on the move]
[Prisoner(Rumble) is on the move]
Did he catch the scent of a fight?
Lucian, who had the upper hand in mid, naturally joined the bottom lane.
[⨷]
[MobyDick1111(Lucian) targeted MAX KingGodEmperor(Aphelios)]
Surrounded on all sides.
Sylas, who was late in joining from mid turret, was rushing down towards the bottom lane while giving up the lane altogether, but it was already too late.
In a split second, our four-man squad ambushed the unprotected enemy bot lane.
-Enemy eliminated!
-Double kill!
The current situation was crystal clear.
The game had exploded.
*
And from there on, it was just meaningless resistance.
The balance of power had long since been shattered, and although Rainbow and Yoon-ki fought bravely, in every subsequent engagement, we had to come out on top.
Drake, Rift Herald, mid first turret, bottom first turret.
Drake, Rift Herald, mid second turret, top first turret.
Drake, Baron, mid third turret, inhibitor.
Everything flowed smoothly and naturally, as if a precisely engineered machine was in operation, as if from the very beginning the outcome was predetermined.
There were moments of superb plays from Rainbow and Yoon-ki, but that was just it.
At this point, the outcome of the game was virtually set in stone.
-Enemy eliminated!
-Double kill!
-Battlefield Dominator!
-Finish!
Without needing to go around taking down the inhibitors at top and bottom, we won a straight-up team fight and pushed toward the twin turrets and the Nexus.
[Victory]
One might say it was quite an easy win, but I don’t think I purely outplayed Rainbow or Yoon-ki based on skill alone.
In all honesty, it was the enemy supporter’s throw that blew the game apart, and Rainbow and Yoon-ki, being pro gamers, had their usual schedules.
Of course, compared to me playing my first game today, there would inevitably be differences in condition and other aspects.
[1]
After the game, I received a 1:1 message.
It was Rainbow.
[SY Rainbow: Good game]
[SY Rainbow: I have a schedule tomorrow ㅠㅠ]
[SY Rainbow: I’ll stop here for today.]
[Me: Yup]
Even though we lost a favorable game because of a single supporter, Rainbow showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever.
He was the same as ever.
“Shall we play one more?”
I planned to try to match Rainbow’s schedule as much as I could, but just ending the night after one more game felt a bit unsatisfactory.
“Let’s just play one more.”
[Searching for a game…….]
I queued up and opened the community as usual.
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t help but frown.
A witch hunt was unfolding over there.