[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 41
Are you okay?The situation is not good.
Not only did we lose in the early top side 2:2 skirmish, which is arguably crucial for the game's direction, but Lockton, who can be seen as the core of the opponent's pick, even got a double kill.
Furthermore, the player currently playing Lockton is none other than EZ.
Despite not even participating in the Red Cup, he is a player who shows destructive power in terms of carry potential, often mentioned as one of the candidates for the best top laner in the world.
Of course, many who object to this would retort by saying, 'If they were that good, they would have gone to the Red Cup,' but what is clear is that the very existence of such controversy proves EZ's worth.
It's to the point where there's even a rumor, joked about, that the origin of the ID EZ is because they felt everyone on the opposing team was easy.
[❔] [❔] [❔]
[❕] [❕] [❕]
[❗] [❗] [❗]
Perhaps because I had been stopped in the fountain for a while, all sorts of pings from my teammates were hitting me.
[Prisoner(Rek'Sai) : sorry]
The time I was stopped was a little over 1 minute.
Considering what it means to stay completely stopped for 1 minute in League of Legends, I had incurred a considerably large additional loss.
'A little... better?'
Perhaps it was because I hardened my resolve, or perhaps because I momentarily shook off the fear, but the pain was a little less than before.
However, I still couldn't smile.
The situation was still the worst.
Having lost the top side engagement, and with our jungler having been away for a while, the morale of my teammates must also be hitting rock bottom.
The one redeeming fact was that I was the one who got the kills in the earlier top side engagement, and thanks to Xin Zhao being caught, the growth gap between the junglers wasn't that significant despite the 1-minute downtime.
'...Well, the difference between the top laners is already ruined, though.'
If it hadn't been for my mistake, it would have been a scenario where we gained an advantage and got out safely, but instead, the innocent top laner is set to be sacrificed.
'Sorry.'
I headed towards the bottom jungle camps to somehow make up for the mistake.
Let's analyze the situation.
The enemy top Lockton has become a monster.
The enemy jungler Xin Zhao is a bit behind.
In other words, in this situation, there is virtually only one choice for the enemy Xin Zhao.
'Leeching off top.'
The basic principle of jungling is not to force a win on a 'disadvantaged lane' but rather how to further crush a 'advantaged lane'.
The enemy jungler surely knows this fact well.
If so, the choice I can make is also virtually decided.
'Going top right now is foolish.'
Of course, Lockton is a champion who is relatively lacking in survivability.
But our current top side composition is Sett and Rek'Sai.
Melee and melee.
While our team composition's crowd control is quite strong, it's fundamentally impossible to kite.
This means that to target the enemy Lockton, I have to directly approach that monster.
Even if I perfectly time it when Xin Zhao isn't there, there's a possibility of losing 2:1.
'It's true that the enemy Xin Zhao has options, but the probability is high that he'll target the secure top rather than create a variable in a bottom fight.'
The game became surprisingly simple.
At this point, it's no longer a battle of wits.
It's a fight purely of combat mechanics.
'Target bottom.'
There's no time to leisurely full clear the jungle camps.
Unfortunately, this bottom lane gank has a sort of time limit attached to it.
Top Lockton and Mid Lockton, who are solo laners, have a combo often called their ultimate technique.
It's a combo where they first extinguish the fire with their ultimate, then Teleport while the enemy's vision is blocked, and then join the fight with their ultimate.
Commonly called the Ult + Teleport + Ult combo.
As it's a combo that shows the magic of Lockton, who was in the top lane, suddenly appearing in the bottom lane while vision is blocked, its power is immense.
This was the reason why the rest of the game would inevitably be a time attack.
'Of course, they can join the bottom fight before learning their ultimate, but Lockton before level 6 isn't very threatening.'
That's because their base mobility is limited.
Furthermore, if they join like that, our top laner will become relatively less pressured, so no matter what happens, there's nothing bad about it.
Having finished thinking, I only ate the Raptor camp and immediately tunneled towards the Dragon side.
This was to avoid enemy wards.
The moment I entered the enemy's bottom jungle.
An familiar champion was attacking the Gromp.
It was Xin Zhao.
'I thought they would go cover top right away... Did they predict my pathing?'
Or they might just be purely doing a full clear.
'Well, either way, this frees up top from dive pressure. Not bad.'
Quickly tunneling in, I stole the enemy Gromp with Smite.
『👍』
[Xin Zhao – Level 4]
[Rek'Sai – Level 4]
With this, we could say that the gap in growth that had existed for about 1 minute was somewhat closed.
'If I hadn't stolen it, the difference would have widened to 2 levels.'
Naturally, Xin Zhao, who had his Gromp stolen right before his eyes, immediately rushed at me.
While it's generally accepted that the Xin Zhao vs Rek'Sai matchup favors Rek'Sai after level 3, unfortunately, in the current meta, Xin Zhao's tier is quite high, so it's hard to guarantee a win.
Even if Xin Zhao's current health, mana, and skill situation aren't good, it means I can't let my guard down.
Just before Xin Zhao's E skill would hit.
-Kwa-woong!
With a slight difference, I knocked Xin Zhao airborne before his skill connected and immediately followed up with my combo.
Auto-attack Q Q Q E.
Xin Zhao also resisted, but having been hit first while his health, mana, and skill situation were already poor, he had no way to withstand it.
In the end, Xin Zhao, judging that he couldn't win like this, ran away.
However, unfortunately, I couldn't pursue Xin Zhao to the end.
The enemy bottom lane joined.
'Good.'
Despite that, I smiled.
After all, this was no different from opening the floodgates for a bottom lane engagement.
.
.
.
-An enemy has been slain!
-Double Kill!
-Killing Spree!
The bottom lane fight was successful.
Although it was a 3:3 scenario in terms of numbers, the enemy Xin Zhao was already virtually out of the fight, and the aggro kiting of our bottom laners was also fantastic.
However...
Where there is action, there is reaction.
-Shoooong...
A flame ignited from the ward placed in the bottom bush.
The enemy Lockton had joined via Teleport.
Our allies had also pushed too deep and it was difficult to retreat.
-An ally has been slain!
-Enemy, Double Kill!
-An enemy is raging!
The top lane difference I had experienced sometime ago occurred in reverse.
Since our team was retreating, the enemy also took the first Dragon.
It was an Ocean Dragon.
'I guess I have to be satisfied with the fact that a kill exchange occurred.'
The game continued.
Our Sett was very behind in the early game, but managed to catch up a little while the enemy Lockton used Teleport to bottom.
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.
Due to the disrupted balance between the top laners, we had no choice but to give up the first Herald.
Instead, we pushed the bottom turret.
Our ADC grew explosively.
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.
Using the snowballing effect from destroying the bottom turret, our team took the second Dragon.
It was a Cloud Dragon.
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.
A large-scale teamfight erupted over the third Dragon, an Infernal Dragon.
Even though I had an opportunity for a super play, I couldn't do it due to the sudden onset of pain.
The result was that our team took the Dragon, but instead lost the kill exchange 2:3, and consequently, the mid turret was also pushed.
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Our support, who was clearing vision, was caught in an enemy ambush and they took Baron immediately after.
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.
Relying on the Baron buff, the advancing enemy overextended and we successfully surrounded and annihilated them in a teamfight, achieving a 1:5 major victory.
We took the mid turret and a Dragon.
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.
A Dragon fight occurred.
If we take this Dragon, it will be our 4th Dragon.
Furthermore, that Dragon was an Infernal Dragon.
It's no exaggeration to say that if we take it, the tide of victory will be cemented for our team.
The engagement continued, and we lost the Smite battle by a narrow margin.
This was because my concentration was blurred due to the pain in my lower abdomen.
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.
We lost another Dragon.
Now the Dragon count was 3:3.
Considering that the Dragon difference between the two teams was initially 1:3, it's no exaggeration to say that we lost every Smite fight we attempted.
Perhaps it was due to the series of consecutive Smite losses.
Our mid laner, who had been silent until now, typed in chat for the first time.
[qq7785dd55(Twisted Fate) : jg are you okay?]
At first glance, it might look like blaming others, but knowing that this player doesn't usually chat much, I decided to take it as concern.
Above all, wasn't GRS a team that saw me in a favorable light?
[Prisoner(Rek'Sai) : okok no problem]
The game continued.
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.
We took the 4th Dragon.
The enemy took Baron during that time.
They attempted a trade.
The enemy, having taken Baron, advances.
Our mid inhibitor was pushed.
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.
An Elder Dragon fight broke out.
We won the teamfight, but unfortunately, we lost the Elder Dragon by a narrow margin.
We pushed the enemy bottom inhibitor.
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After a long match of over 50 minutes, we finally destroyed the enemy Nexus.
[Victory]
"We... won...!"
Perhaps it was due to the tension releasing.
Or perhaps it was remarkable that I had endured until now.
I felt the strength drain from my legs.
[+14 LP]
[1806 LP]
1800 points.
Finally, I stepped into an unknown territory that no one had ever set foot in before.
"...Ah."
But that joy was short-lived.
I collapsed onto my desk just like that.
The pain in my lower abdomen, which I hadn't felt until now due to adrenaline, began to return.
"Kkeuk, heueuk..."
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.
'Am I... going to die like this?'
Fear grips me.
I don't want to die, there's still so much I want to do...
My vision suddenly blurred.
Whether it was because of the pain, or because of the fear that I might die soon, tears flowed unconsciously.
I need to move, I need to contact someone...
There's no strength in my body.
In the midst of the utterly unfamiliar pain, I simply lost consciousness.