Chapter 160: Light and Shadow (1)
It sounded like Raina. He couldn't believe it, but she was pouting because he hadn't picked her.
— LOL
— Raina, you're so cute!
— Last time she didn't even let you play her, LOL
— Pick Raina please...
Even if Raina rioted against him to pick her, Almond couldn't.
'Nope.'
He was in a situation where he had to pick a new champion to practice. He had a mountain of things to practice, and only had three weeks remaining. His coach Takoyaki was also watching him.
'If I want the ADC position, I can't just play Raina.'
The player he was against for the role was Master tier. Almond had no reason to fight for the role, but he didn't want to lose.
"I'll continue with Sana."
Almond concluded that he was going to win today's game as Sana.
— Bad boy Almond
— Raina...
— Hey, he already played your story mode! Shush!
— LOL, isn't Raina's rapport going to get lower??
Regardless, the normal game started. The match started without any conflict in the waiting lobby. He had to win games like these to reach Level 10 and then Level 30 quickly to play ranked.
'Let's win.'
Almond was determined to win as he kept recalling Sana's skills.
***
"Alright, Almond. The coaching stream is going to start," Tako started speaking in his usual broadcast tone.
"I'm going to compare Almond and StrawberryShooter to decide for our team's position."
Even as Tako was speaking, he knew it was impossible.
'Of course, StrawberryShooter will be ADC.'
This coaching content was to find a position that would work for Almond.
— Wowwww
— (applaud)
— This bald guy is trying to leech off other streamers?!
— A mosquito in the winter...?
— Is he even comparable to StrawberryShooter?
"Mosquito? I have more viewers!"
— But by the looks of it, it's obvious he's going to overcome you!
— What are you talking about? Almond has more hair.
— We're talking about hair. What do you mean, viewers???
— LOL
Tako's viewers were ruthless.
'Damn bastards.'
Almond and Bubblegum's viewers were saints compared to his viewers, but no one could blame them because Tako built this audience for himself.
"What do you mean I'm trying to leech off his hair?! If I could do that, I would've already done that during my fan meetings!"
— LOOOL
— Breaking news! A hair thief has appeared!
— Will your fans have any hair to steal from…?
While he bickered with his viewers, the game began.
"Alright, Almond's picked Sana, right?"
— Commentator mode on!
— He used to be an official caster!
— Wasn't Almond a Raina one-trick?
"It's true, Almond's only played Raina before. However, he picked Sana this time. It's a good choice to pick a variety of champions before the tournament, but Sana needs good support to help her. The support picked Ulte, the hammer warrior. It's a good champion that synergizes well with Sana. They're an aggressive bot lane, so they could crush the lane."
— I think that support is Almond's fan. There's no way a random would play Ulte for him.
— In a normal game?
— Almond, please do well so Tako shuts up.
Tako thought to himself, 'I don't think Almond's going to do well.'
Almond was a monster in?Battle Large, but what about in LIL? A player could get by in Battle Large with good mechanics, but?LIL was different. The player needed to have teamwork, macro strategies, and even leadership. It was a much more complicated game. The game required more than simple mechanics.
'Especially a champion like Sana...'
Sana was an ADC with a healing ability, but had low damage. She needed support with high damage to back her up, so her synergy with the support was crucial.
'She's not a champion who can do everything on her own like Raina.'
Tako explained the basics to his viewers.
"Alright, take a look at this. What should I do if our support picked the hammer warrior and I picked Sana? Since our lane is stronger, what should we do?"
— Beat the shit outta them, damn!
— Shit on them!
— Kill them, lvl 1!
— Since you have a heal, beat them up!
A certain synergy of champions had to engage in a chaotic battle as soon as they saw their opponents. Sana and Ulte, also known as the death combo, was the current synergy.
"As expected from my viewers! That's right! You have to beat the shit outta them in the beginning. I wonder if the hammer warrior knows that?"
— I bet he doesn't...
— Their rank is too low...
— If the support knew that, they wouldn't be in this rank.
Most viewers expected the hammer warrior to remain still. The same went for Tako as well. This rank was too low to judge how they would engage in combat initially.
"... Huh?"
Unexpectedly, the hammer warrior charged forward and ignored the minions.
— What the?
— Hey, Tako, that guy's charging forward!
— ???
Tako panicked for a second, but he could tell from the swing that the player was inexperienced.
Swoosh!
“Arrrgh! What the!?”
“Damn!”
Although the enemies were momentarily taken aback, they dodged all the attacks. It wasn't because they were skilled. Rather, the attack was pathetic.
"This is just charging in without thinking. He's just running in head-on! It'd be better if he just stood still. What's Almond going to do?"
Swoosh!
The hammer warrior ran in again, swinging his axes.
Slam!
The innocent rock shattered and caused a loud shockwave.
"Ah... This is the worst. The support is way too deep in. He's probably going to die..."
Bang! Bang!
The enemy ADC fired with their long gun, and the support pulled them in with claws.
[First blood!]
[Ally has been slain!]
The sound of hell beginning was announced. Almond had to fight against two enemies by himself for twenty seconds until his support revived. The enemy was stronger too now that they got a kill.
— He's fucked
— Oh shit
— First blood is the best when it's your ally
— LOL
— Poor Almond...
— Almond's alone!
"Twenty second death timer in the early game is like being dead for five minutes mid-game. The lane's screwed."
Honestly, Tako lost all hope. He didn't expect Almond to show him anything this game.
"This is over. Almond needs to play as safely as possible. He needs to live."
As soon as he said that, Almond fought back.
Creak…?
His bow was aimed at the enemy players.
Tako quickly added on, "Wait, he can't get emotional and fight back. It's hard to fight alone as Sana..."
Of course, Almond didn't hear that and released his bow.
Swoosh!
"...!? What's he doing!?"
Thwack!
The black arrow perfectly struck its target.
Pung!
The target exploded.
— Wooah!
— Oh
— He's pretty good!
The enemy looked bewildered because he didn't expect Almond to hit the target from that distance. Tako had the same expression.
"What's happening? That worked? How did he hit it from that distance..."
Tako couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't simply the distance that confused him.
"The minions were blocking his view too! How did he hit?"
— For real
— Is this a bug? I think the arrow curved!?
— True
— What a bug
The arrow curved? Tako recalled what Almond did to him in Battle Large. LIL users were unaware of Almond's curve shots.
"It's not a bug. It's his curve shot. It works here too..."
— That works?
— Did he do it before??
— What the hell is that nerd?!
Tako knew because he had been on the receiving end of Almond's ghostly arrows.
"Raina's weren't real arrows, so it didn't work. Since Sana's are real, it's really effective."
Sana was a character who shot real arrows. She had two types of arrows, a light version and a shadow version. The shadow arrows did damage, and the light arrows healed. Almond shot the shadow arrow. He was trying to learn Sana as a champion.
“Hmm... I think I got it.”
Just then—
Three more arrows flew out.
Swooosh!!
"Huh?"
All the arrows landed before Tako could finish his sentence. Even though Almond fired three arrows simultaneously, they all landed perfectly as if a rope guided them.
“Kugh?!”
“What?”
The enemy was shocked.
“Wow, Sana's range is long,” Almond smiled and was satisfied with Sana's abilities.
— Doesn't it feel refreshing after playing a champion like Raina?
— How's it so quick??
— It's possible to shoot that quickly?
Tako continued to cast, "He's already reached four combos. He's pretty good at hitting the targets."
The enemy allowed four arrows to land on their targets. Every time Sana landed her dark arrows, she received a stack of the 'Curse of the Saintess.'
"If he's reached the fourth combo, the curse is at three stacks. Then the speed becomes slower, so it's easier to hit. If he hits one more..."
Thwack!
Another arrow hit as if it heard Tako speaking.
Pung.?Another target exploded.
“A-Argh! Fuck I can't see anything!”
“You idiot, how can you get hit by all of it?”
If the Curse of the Saintess reached five stacks, the enemy’s vision became clouded.
"Their vision becomes clouded, and it'll be even easier to hit the targets on them."
Almond's arrow flew out again. He was shooting quickly like a ghost.
Pubung!
Two more targets blew up. Seven consecutive hits made the enemy faint for 1-3 seconds.
Slam!
With a loud noise, the enemy fell like a statue.
"Oh!" Tako let out an exclamation. "Look at his mechanics!"
— Wow, eight stacks in an instant?
— He's crazy!
— They're stunned!
"Speed! Accuracy! He has it all!"
— Tako's so excited
— Is the coach allowed to be like that?
— What happened to objective criticism?
— Better than StrawberryShooter?
— But is this okay? I think he'll lose the game.
Tako finally quieted down.
"Alright. I complimented him, but it's not the best play. Rather, the enemy—"
“What's going on!!!” the enemy support, Yasu, screamed and ran toward Almond.
It was a dangerous situation.
"— Has an opportunity to attack."
“Kwaaa!”
Yasu used his special charge attack and instantly approached Almond.
Swoosh!
The sharp, hairy figure spun and slammed against Almond.
Slam!
“Urgh.”
Almond fell back. Yasu got up and chased after him, who had fallen. Yasu looked like a feral beast with drool flowing from his mouth as he chased down his prey for the finish. Sana didn't have movement skills, so she couldn't dodge.
"Ah... I think this is over. He needed to remember that there were two enemies and that he's alone."
Yasu went on top of Almond.
Slam!
Yasu's knees pressed against Almond's arms.
"Ah, both of his arms are tied down. That's the annoying thing about Yasu..."
Almond twisted his body, but couldn't get out. Yasu lifted his bloody claws and swung them at him.
“Dieee! Grrr!”
The crimson claws went for Almond's torso.
Chaak!
Chaak!
[Warning! HP is below 30%!]
Sana received a lot of damage because she was a weak champion. Yasu didn't stop attacking and Almond's HP fell to 10%.
"Ah... This is the problem. If he wants to damage Yasu, he had no choice but to give himself some distance. He needed to play it safe. Playing emotionally will make you end up like this."
— Shit
— Yasu is OP
— Sana is good... but she has no escape skills
— If only the support was alive…
"But I think it was a good attempt."
Tako thought it was over and was ready to give the next feedback. He did well, and Tako figured he'd do even better next round as Sana.
"He did plenty well enough. I see the potential. Especially the seven shots in a row earlier? That was insane. There's nothing you can do about this game. Almond's probably going to die here since his health is below 10%."
At that moment, one of Almond's arms came out. Twisting his body paid off. He quickly took out a light arrow.
"Huh?"
He couldn't shoot because his other arm was still tied down, but Tako screamed after seeing the next play.
"What the?!"
***
[Beginner's Tip: Did you know? Every time Sana's light arrow hits a target, she heals herself and an ally. However, light arrows are only gained if she hits a target with her shadow arrows first.]