NOVEL NEXT Chapter 69
Ryu Jin-hyuk shook his head.
While everyone else was having fun, he seemed serious all alone.
It was simply because he was too concerned about the enemy Mid Laner.
‘Forget it.’
Ryu Jin-hyuk focused back on the game.
– Our team has slain the Wind Dragon!
Currently, our team’s dragon count is at three stacks.
Even though it was a Wind Dragon and not the most delicious dragon, it was still a solid soul compared to the ridiculously powerful Ocean Dragon soul.
‘So, what now?’
The enemy has two options.
Either gracefully hand over the Dragon soul.
Or try to fight.
Whichever they choose will be a tough call for them.
Farming time had passed.
Thirty seconds before the dragon would spawn, the enemy Kamal, who had pushed nearly to the second turret on the Top Lane, teleported to join the Mid.
Seeing that the enemy had used their teleport, Yune, who didn’t have a teleport, wisely headed straight for the Dragon instead of clumsily going top.
‘Fight, huh?’
If that’s the case, then bring it on.
The vision around the dragon has long been secured by our team.
This means the situation is absolutely favorable for us.
‘They would have been better off just giving us the Dragon… let’s see.’
Of course, even though the situation was positive, our team didn’t intend to prolong this fight.
After all, the Top Lane had already reached the inhibitor turret.
– Kiee!
As the Dragon appeared in full force.
‘Huh?’
As if waiting for this moment, the enemy Raise started acting weirdly from the Mid.
He used his ultimate.
‘Ultimate? Where to?’
There’s still over a minute until Baron respawns.
In other words, the enemy Raise’s ultimate wouldn’t be aiming for Baron.
‘So that leaves…….’
Only the top inhibitor.
‘Are they trying to trade the Dragon soul for the top inhibitor?’
The efficiency didn’t seem too good, but considering the enemy team’s situation, it wasn’t a bad choice.
After all, Legends of League is a game about destroying turrets and the Nexus, not just about eating dragons.
‘Did he intentionally reveal himself in Mid?’
If we knew that Raise and Kamal had gone top, our team would have positioned suitably.
However, since all the enemies were gathered at the bottom, our team focused all members toward the Dragon.
As a result, it seemed difficult to defend the inhibitor right away.
‘…No, wait.’
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
Raise, who we thought would head to the top, didn’t use his ultimate.
Only Kamal went for the top.
‘What’s this?’
If both Raise and Kamal had used their ultimates to go top, they would have definitely taken down the inhibitor.
But with Kamal alone going up and Raise staying in Mid, it meant…
‘They intend to end the game.’
It seemed the team members quickly caught on to this realization as orders were issued immediately.
[“Hey, someone go back. They’re trying to end the game.”]
[“You go.”]
[“Ugh, seriously.”]
[“I’m in the jungle, can’t go.”]
[“Someone just go already.”]
[“That’s why I’m saying you should go.”]
…Of course, no one followed through.
Normally, such divisions of labor would be executed flawlessly, but due to different positions and a bit of friction during the game, it hadn’t happened.
Honestly, this whole situation felt more like a playful exercise for the team members.
[“I’ll go.”]
In the end, our Supporter Ryu Jin-hyuk ran out and hit the recall button.
No matter how good Ryu Jin-hyuk’s Sylas was, as a Support, he wouldn’t be able to stop a well-farmed Kamal, but he could buy some time.
3, 2, 1…
Just as Ryu Jin-hyuk was about to recall, a sonic wave from somewhere interrupted his return.
‘Was that a ward?’
After securing vision around the Dragon, trying to sneak back home became a blunder.
– Wind Dragon has been slain!
– Wind Dragon soul acquired!
First of all, they got the Dragon soul.
But the real issue was from this point forward.
Now at the top, Kamal quickly smashed the inhibitor turret and began attacking the inhibitor.
[“They’re trying to stop us from going home.”]
Just moments ago, the team members who had been joking around became serious for the first time.
The goal of the enemy four was clear.
Prevent us from getting home.
And, end the game.
Unfortunately, our team had no teleport available.
Yasuon had Ignite from the start, and Yune’s was on cooldown.
– The Red Team’s inhibitor has been destroyed!
Of course, the team members didn’t panic.
The name of the world’s best team, SY, wasn’t earned without reason.
Even with the unexpected timing of the enemy’s ambush, they calmly focused on what they needed to do.
[“Get Jinx.”]
Using Flash and his spear, the GuineaPig’s Jarvan pulled in both Jinx and Nami with his ultimate.
At that moment.
– Pow!
Lee Sin, who had sprinted toward Jinx, kicked Jarvan away.
In a twist of fate, a giant protective dome formed around the two enemy champions.
[“What?”]
[“Don’t use your ultimate. I’ll handle it.”]
Of course, even with the protective dome, the absolute fact remained that Jinx and Nami were trapped inside.
Those two were a perfect feast for Yune.
– Flash!
Just as Yune’s ultimate effect lit up, perhaps feeling that it couldn’t be sustained, Jinx and Nami both used their Flashes simultaneously.
[“Close one.”]
If Yune’s ultimate had landed, they could have burst Jinx and Nami at once in a combo with Yasuon’s ult, but for now, they were just satisfied with having forced out the enemy’s escape abilities.
Both enemy Flashes were now gone.
With Jinx and Nami’s Flashes down, the upcoming team fight was literally a no-brainer.
[“Then I guess I’ll go home.”]
In that situation, Jarvan pulled back and pressed recall.
The sand timer had already started dropping, and he needed to get home as soon as possible once he had some breathing room.
At that moment.
[“Ah.”]
Just then, Raise, who had come down from Mid, waved his hand.
And just like that, Jarvan disappeared.
[“No way, why is Raise dealing this much damage?”]
[“Right? Who said he was a damage dealer?”]
Typically, Jarvan prefers a tank build for team games, but this was a normal game.
It was only natural that the GuineaPig went for an extreme armor penetration tree, and because of that, his paper-thin body was wiped out in a flash by Raise’s combo, who had already grown monstrous.
Yet even amid all this, Ryu Jin-hyuk, the Rainbow’s Sylas, wasn’t just sitting idle.
[“Got him.”]
As Sylas’s chains finally hit Jinx, Yasuon dove in.
Along with that, Nami, who was nearby, got swept up and fell to Sylas and Yasuon like a torrent, with two portraits appearing in an instant.
– Enemy slain!
– Double kill!
Now the only remaining enemies were Raise and Lee Sin, who barely escaped with a sliver of health.
[“Quick, hit recall. I’ll mark Lee Sin.”]
[“Okie dokie.”]
Yasuon recalled, and Sylas faced off with Lee Sin to mark him.
Meanwhile, Yune and Ezreal had encountered Raise, who was charging down.
[“I’ll hold him off, go home.”]
[“Roger.”]
[“Here! …This isn’t hitting.”]
Yoon-ki’s Ezreal maintained a proper distance and tried to land a few Qs, but the enemy Raise dodged them all as if mocking them.
[“…This is really annoying.”]
In between, smokescreens enticed him, and skill shots were thrown, but Raise didn’t miss a single shot.
Time wasn’t on our side.
Feeling anxious about that fact, Ezreal eventually resorted to one of his deadly sins and used Arcane Shift.
[“Ah.”]
That turned out to be a mistake.
As both entered the auto-attack range from opposite ends, skills began flying back and forth.
While Ezreal’s skills all missed, Raise’s skills landed perfectly.
No matter how much Ezreal had grown, he wouldn’t beat a Raise who was even stronger.
Arcane Shift, Flash.
Yoon-ki witnessed the ugly plays that are often referred to as “bug plays” by Ezreal players.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
[“Hey, if you trigger that, I’m dead!”]
Raise, now powered up by the movements, charged at Yune, who had only a second left until his recall completed.
Perhaps fearing that a Q or E might be too slow, Raise made a bold Flash forward, successfully interrupting Yune’s recall with a W.
It was truly a narrow escape.
[“Oh no, I messed up.”]
[“We have to take him down before leaving.”]
The recall was interrupted.
With the decision made in an instant, Ezreal and Yune rushed toward Raise.
However, Raise was no ordinary opponent.
Even in a 2:1 situation, he dodged avoidable skills with movement, and used Zhonya’s Hourglass and another stopwatch to avoid the unavoidable ones.
He was dragging out time for what felt like an eternity.
[“Man, Zhonya’s Hourglass is too much.”]
While Raise was stalling against Yune and Ezreal in a 2:1 standoff, one fortunate bit of news was that Yasuon had successfully returned home.
Currently, our base was in a dire state with only one twin turret left.
[“Shall we show them?”]
For a brief moment, Yasuon basked in everyone’s hopes.
[“What, what?!”]
As Kamal burst through the turret while charging his Q, Yasuon’s shoulder shook.
Kamal didn’t stop there.
In an instant, he trapped Yasuon with his ultimate, making it far too easy to take him down, especially without Spell Shield or any cooldowns.
– Our teammate has been defeated!
– The enemy is rampaging!
[“……”]
A moment of silence ensued.
[“Mid difference, I concede.”]
Finally, unable to stop Kamal’s advance, our Nexus exploded.
[Defeat]
The words that Ryu Jin-hyuk never expected to see in a normal game echoed in his teammates’ voices.
[“What? How did we lose?”]
[“We actually lost.”]
[“Mid diff.”]
[“Agreed.”]
[“…Hey, why was I the only one who went home at the end? Wasn’t it a 2:4 situation?”]
Even amidst this feedback, Ryu Jin-hyuk remained silent, staring blankly at the word “Defeat.”
It felt so familiar.
For some reason, this defeat felt eerily familiar.
‘…Why is that?’
Then a particular nickname passed through Ryu Jin-hyuk’s mind.
‘No way, it can’t be.’
He tried to shake off the name.
He really didn’t want to think about it now.
That would be disrespectful to the Prisoner as well.
However, Ryu Jin-hyuk thought to himself.
‘If, truly.’
It’s unlikely.
But for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling.
‘If you really are the Prisoner…’
Maybe they could meet again someday.
Whether in solo ranks.
Or in a professional match.
‘Until then.’
He would wait.
Though, such a day may never come, he would persistently wait under the name of hope.
‘…But if that day really comes.’
Then he would win.
Ryu Jin-hyuk, the Rainbow, etched the word “defeat” sharply into his eyes as he made that vow.