[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 12

The game has begun.

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3minTopGuildofFame - Nyar

yytvxxiaojin – Nadal

qq7785dd55 - Renekton

Ggadddugikingbunja - Tristana

IlIIIIlllllIIIIlll - Leone

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As expected, the nicknames of the opposing mid and jungle duo were familiar.

It was evident from across the monitor that they had immediately queued up, grinding their teeth after the ridiculous loss they had suffered just a short while ago.

-Welcome to the Summoner's Rift!

I examined the invades.

[Allies / Enemies]

Top: Sayan / Nyar

Jungle: Ecker / Nadal

Mid: Setu / Renekton

ADC: Semira / Tristana

Support: Nautilus / Leone

‘Half and half… no, strictly speaking, I'd say it's slightly unfavorable.’

The picks of my teammates, excluding myself, were champions who were very strong in early combat, but the problem was still me.

Given that I picked Ecker, who is relatively weak in the early game, there was nothing I could do about it.

Our team's side is the bottom side.

[!] [!] [!] [!]

After placing a ward appropriately, I backed away completely and pinged retreat.

I didn't mean to engage in an invade fight.

Of course, with the strong picks of our team, we could do it if we wanted to... but for this match, I intended to ease off a little in the early game.

-「But isn't Prisoner an invade one-trick? When I see games that are winning these days, they all start with an invade.」

I am not concerned about that comment.

Really, I'm not.

Seriously.

[!] [!] [!]

When I pinged, my teammates also placed wards and retreated.

The wards were placed at the river intersection near the Razorbeaks and the bush on the upper river island.

Even if the vision is only brightened up to this extent, you can tell how the opponent will come out.

As soon as the time reached 1 minute, the five opponents appeared, rotating a lens towards the Razorbeak intersection.

‘They're coming in.’

I pinged retreat again without hesitation and gave up the vision on our team's red side.

I was starting a very difficult early game, unlike what I had done until now.

‘The enemy jungler's starting point... I don't know.’

Will they eat my red and start, or will they just take the vision and leave?

The information I could get was limited due to the vision being already removed.

‘In situations like this, I have no choice but to choose the option that minimizes risk.’

I headed to the upper jungle for a blue start.

-Nyahaha!

At that moment, Nyar, who had been walking slowly, placed a ward on my blue.

As a jungler, it couldn't be a more disgusting moment.

As a result, the opponent knew not only my jungle starting point but also concealed their own information.

It had only been a little over a minute since the game started, but for a jungler, the game was already half over.

‘It's about what I expected.’

In a way, it can be seen that the situation has become the complete opposite of the previous game.

It could be seen as a quite suitable game to prove myself.

1 minute 30 seconds.

Eventually, the jungle monsters appeared, and I completed the standard camps in the order of blue, toad, and wolves.

[Ecker – Level 2]

From now on, it's important.

‘Hmm.’

I carefully observed the movements of the opponent's mid and bottom laners.

If it were a lower tier, I wouldn't know, but in the high-elo tier, where organic movements with the jungler are essential, the jungler's position is revealed in the movements of the laners, whether they know it or not.

‘Judging from what I see, it seems like they split it in half….’

As expected, the problem is that I can't be sure.

Not to mention, the opponent would clearly remember what they had suffered from me in the previous game.

There was no guarantee anywhere that I wouldn't suffer the same treatment.

‘There are three places where Nadal is currently expected to be.’

The first is the route where they take my red, just like my route in the previous game, and then return to defend their own red.

The second is the route where they take all of my lower jungle and then go around their blue side jungle camp, the so-called split-in-half route.

The third is the route where they start with their blue and then go around their jungle.

‘Then.’

I don't know where the opponent is.

But it doesn't matter.

No matter where the opponent is, why not call them here instead?

I waited for a moment in the bush leading to mid.

The moment a few minions in the mid lane died.

[Ecker – Level 3]

‘Alright.’

It was the magic route, which is called the "that route."

Finally reaching level 3, I pinged the opponent Renekton.

‘Take control of the mid lane.’

Ecker's W skill was placed behind Renekton, and I closed the distance in an instant.

Renekton seemed a little flustered, not expecting a mid gank at this timing, but soon began to escape using Slice and Dice calmly.

‘No way.’

When I used Flash to catch up, Renekton also judged that he couldn't hold back his spells any longer and immediately used Flash.

[!] [!] [!]

It was a decent gank.

Renekton barely survived, using even his spells, but the mid lane control had already passed to Setu.

‘I thought about a 2v2 fight, but Nadal didn't show up. That means he was far from mid.’

Thus, Nadal's route is roughly visible.

Nadal's route, which had been covered like a hazy fog until now, began to be seen little by little.

At that moment.

[!] [!] [!]

Nadal, with double buffs, appeared at top.

[Nadal – Level 4]

The level of Nadal, who appeared at top, was 4.

As expected, Nadal had followed the red buff route.

-Flash!

With Nadal's gank, Sayan was barely able to survive by using Flash.

This was because Nyar's level had not yet reached level 6, so the gank response was relatively weak.

Thus, it could be said that I and Nadal had exchanged blows.

Of course, I might be at a slight disadvantage for now.

Anyway, I had used up my Flash, and even in terms of leveling, I was behind Nadal.

But the important thing was the fact that I was Ecker, one of the scaling champions.

‘This is a pretty smooth start.’

If I had made even a small mistake, it would have been the worst situation, where I could have been controlled not only by the double scuttle crabs but also by the triple buffs.

I have managed to bring such a situation to at least half and half.

‘Alright, let's do it again.’

.

.

.

The game is over.

My KDA at the end was 13/0/11.

It was a landslide victory.

* * *

Beijing, China, GRS Dormitory.

Li Zixuan, the mid laner of GRS, couldn't hide his excitement for the first time in a while.

He had achieved a winning streak of 35 games in a row on the Korean server, which is currently considered a first-tier league.

However, that winning streak was mercilessly broken a short while ago.

Of course, he knew that such a day would come eventually.

35 consecutive wins in the Korean solo queue, where monsters who can fly and crawl are abundant.

Even though it was an achievement gained with a duo, he had vaguely thought that it was about time it would be broken.

The problem was the process.

He lost in such a ridiculous way.

At first, he thought it was a coincidence.

That the opponent's early invade strategy happened to work out well due to good luck, and that led to the loss.

He just thought so.

Li Zixuan queued up again with Huang Haoran, the jungler of GRS, who had achieved 35 consecutive wins with him.

Because he couldn't become a dog that would run away and hide its tail.

As expected, they met Prisoner once again on the opposing side.

Huang Haoran declared bravely.

"Let's get our revenge this time, brother."

"Of course."

And they lost.

Although the form was different from the first loss, the overwhelming loss was the same.

“……”

“……”

Runner-up in the Red Cup.

35 consecutive wins in the Korean solo queue.

A long silence fell for the first time between them, who had been only friendly throughout the entire process.

The defeat a short while ago was so shocking that they lost their words, even though they had comforted each other when they lost the Red Cup finals.

“…I'm going to rest first.”

"Oh, yeah."

After Huang Haoran returned to his room, Li Zixuan stared blankly at the replay.

There was no waste in every movement, the judgment was cold, and the teeth were sharp.

“…Amazing.”

It was none other than Prisoner who had brought such despair to the mid and jungle duo of GRS, who were the runner-up in the Red Cup and the kings of the Chinese League.

Prisoner.

Surprisingly, the one who plunged them into despair was neither a pro with an outstanding career nor a mysterious rookie who appeared like a comet.

Prisoner is a user who has been active for a long time.

Of course, he had some recognition even among Chinese pros, and the evaluation of him was mostly similar.

-Usable gameplay, but relatively lacking in mechanics.

But the Prisoner they met this time was at the level where the past evaluations were meaningless.

Li Zixuan thought.

‘I'm sorry to Haoran, but the jungle difference was definitely significant.’

Of course, the skill Prisoner showed was not ordinary to be dismissed as just a jungle difference.

In a word, it was no exaggeration to say that the mid and jungle duo of GRS was toyed with by one Prisoner.

"What's wrong? You look serious."

At that moment, Coach Jang Seokhwan approached.

"Coach."

Li Zixuan thought it was a good timing.

Coach Jang Seokhwan is a former Korean professional gamer.

In other words, he might know something about Prisoner, who is also Korean.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you know anything about Prisoner?"

"I do."

"You do?"

"Yes, come to think of it, I was even going to recruit him. Probably."

That was a story he didn't know.

“…Recruitment? Why didn't you?”

"Ah, there were circumstances."

"What circumstances?!"

Li Zixuan's voice unintentionally rose.

He could have played games with such a jungler…….

Li Zixuan couldn't hide his excitement.

"Prisoner can't be a pro. I heard that he has a rare disease. They say he can't even move."

“…Yes?”

"So we gave up on the recruitment. Other teams too."

Rare disease?

It was not a small problem, but Li Zixuan didn't hear it.

Who cares about a little sickness?

He plays games so well.

Even if the time he can play games is limited, it doesn't matter.

There were plenty of junglers to be a substitute like Huang Haoran.

But Prisoner has no substitute.

A true jungler who cannot be replaced.

That was Li Zixuan's evaluation of Prisoner.

"Bring him back."

"What did you say?"

"Prisoner, recruit him again."

It was a clear overreach, but it was a demand that was possible because Li Zixuan's family was one of the main sponsors of GRS.

In other words, it was the same as Li Zixuan supporting the amount needed to recruit Prisoner.

"If necessary, even with an annual salary of over 5 million yuan (about 8.7 billion won)."

Even for a promising prospect, it was an extraordinary condition to give to a rookie who had not yet proven anything.

“…Understood.”

Li Zixuan couldn't erase the thoughts lingering in his mind.

Prisoner, Prisoner, Prisoner…….

I'll definitely get my hands on him.