Chapter 162: Light and Shadow (3)
As Tako stayed still with a serious look, his viewers pestered him.
— Where's the feedback?!
— You have to give some feedback.
— Is there nothing to say?!
— Give us a rundown!
'Ah, that's right.'
Tako finally paid attention. Even though deciding who to assign the ADC role to was difficult, he was still streaming. Almond displayed an impressive performance throughout the game.
[18/0/43]
Almond’s stats consisted of 18 kills, 0 deaths, and 43 assists. He had a 93% kill participation. It was easier to reach that percentage unless the player was playing as a jungle.
'Even though it's a normal game, it takes skill to reach those numbers.'
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Tako applauded to raise the mood.
"He's a monster when it comes to mechanics. A monster. If he was younger, he'd be scouted by a team."
— Damn, that's high praise.
— For real?
— But pro? Come on
— You're going to raise him to be a pro?
— Is that all you have to say? Where's the feedback?!
"If we're looking at his mechanics alone, I think he's at least master."
— For real????
— Isn't that an overstatement?
— Is he better than StrawberryShooter?
— He did just do fucking amazing just now
— But it's hard to say since it's a normal game
The viewers were reluctant to give recognition, especially in the streaming industry. Such tendencies were strong. In a market where attention was easy to gain, reputation held little weight.
'Well... if they don't have an eye for it, they won't think it's an overstatement.'
Tako brushed it off and continued with his content.
"Since the first round is done, let's connect our streams and give feedback."
It was time to watch the replay with Almond and give some feedback. Almond did well, but he still needed some critique. Actually, he needed a lot. Almond kept making moves that showed his flawed understanding. He was only at zero deaths because the opponents were terrible.
***
[Victory]
After this word came up, Almond smiled.
"Guess I won."
— LOL
— Almond beat the world
— Son! Only eat Almonds now! Son! Only eat Almonds now!
— Almond's going to be in Forbes! Almond's going to be in Forbes!
— Wow
— Is it possible to play like that as Sana in the first round?
— He's actually insane. He'll do better than he did in Battle Large.
Even with a troll support, he demolished the other team. The score got out of hand because the opponent gave up halfway, but Almond's damage was still the highest.
"Wow, you're really good. I'm serious."
"Our ADC just blew up the game."
Even LIL users, who never complimented, couldn't help but praise him.
"Support difference!"
The support was a troll until the end. He taunted his allies until the end and left to 1v1 the enemy support.
— Fuck that support
— LOL
— If it wasn't for him, the game would be over much quicker
— But he's good at diving, LOL
[Misson complete!]
[Win the first round as Sana without playing the tutorial.]
[270,000 won]
"Thank you to those who contributed to the mission."
The initial 200,000 won BigHandColonly put up rose to 270,000 won.
— I thought it'd be safe because the support was a troll...
— Moooom! Almond stole my money!
— Freaking support! Why didn't you troll until the very end!?
— Irresponsible troll…
The viewers who added on 70,000 won seemed certain that this mission would fail as they witnessed the ignorant rush of Almond’s support. Occasionally, some individuals contributed money to raise the spirits of the streamers for missions that were bound to fail. It wasn't with malicious intent. It was more like a child poking fun at a girl they liked. Of course, Almond's skills didn't allow such pettiness and he reaped all the rewards. Instead, he poked fun back at them.
"70,000 more won? Gulp! Thank you!"
— LOOOL
— Gulp!
— Gulpmond... so cute...
— This clip's going to go viral
— Is gulping a new reaction?
— This freaking nut…
[GiveItBack has donated 10,000 won!]
[Who knew a Sana first-timer would get a double kill, LOL]
— For real
— Yeah
— I almost bet 10,000 won.
— It only went up 70,000 won because Almond got the double kill early. If it was later on, he'd probably earn over 500k won.
"Thank you for the donation, GiveItBack. Sana is really good. I see what they mean by a champion that's good, but easy to play."
— Raina's crying rn
— Raina?! What about Raina!?
— Raina's better!!!
"Oh, I just got a connection request from Tako. It's probably for the feedback content. I'm going to hop into This World for a moment."
He ignored the comments about Raina for now and logged into This World to see Tako.
"Hey~! Almond!"
Takoyaki was waiting at the entrance. It was his first time seeing Almond even in virtual reality.
"Almond, you look amazing in person as well."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you."
— Why are they so awkward, LOL
— Is this your first time seeing each other?
— Apparently, Almond came in last minute.
— Why did Tako shave again?? Is that a costume?
"It's your first time seeing me after that time in Battle Large, right?"
"... Battle Large?"
Almond didn't remember meeting Takoyaki in Battle Large.
— LOL
— The bully never remembers
— Hahaha, he actually doesn't know
— Yeah, he didn't even put it in his YouTube video
— Good thing because Tako's not that popular on YouTube, haha
"... Ahahahaha!" Tako laughed out loud to clear the awkward air.
'How could this be?'
Even though he was laughing, he felt shocked. He sharpened his teeth all this time to get revenge on Almond. He even told Bubblegum all about it when they went drinking... He even shaved his head!
'He doesn't remember me?'
No wonder Tako wasn't on his YouTube video. Almond had no idea who he was.
"S-Should we start the feedback?"
"Yes!" Almond replied enthusiastically.
Tako was satisfied with his attitude and put up his screen.
"Good. Let's take a look at when the game began. Normally, the game would be over at this point."
Was the game over? Almond couldn't understand the pro's perspective. He didn't realize how crucial early game skirmishes were for LIL's siege mode.
"It's commonly known as snowballing. It's when the advantage is snowballed in the early game to the point where it's difficult for the other team to return from. Theoretically, it was impossible..."
Tako smiled as he spoke to not worry Almond.
"Even on the pro scene, there's always some sort of mistake. Even if it doesn't work out in the early game, it's not the end of the world. Even you, Almond, still won despite the difficult early game."
Tako pointed at the scene where Almond's support ran in.
"Look. The support ran in and gave them a kill for no reason, right? If this happens, the opponent comes ahead in EXP and gold. And he'll buy a better item and get another kill."
"Ah..."
"He'll get more money and EXP, right? Then it becomes a little easier for them to get more kills. That's what snowballing is."
"It's like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
"That's right. Consider it a fast-paced RPG game in MOBA or siege mode games. It's hard to advance in RPGs if pay-to-win players are taking up everything, right?"
The comparison with a fast-paced RPG made it easier for Almond to understand. It was similar in the sense that the player had to kill monsters, gain EXP and gold to improve, and destroy the enemy base to win.
"This is the same thing. So, Almond, you did really good here. Right over here."
Tako replayed the moment when Almond fought back and first knocked out the enemy.
"Here, you didn't back out and kept beating him down. Because of this play, you were able to swing the game in your favor. You fought 1 vs 2 until the end and beat them until your support arrived. Then the game was over. You did really well."
— Oh~ what a compliment
— His first feedback is a compliment?
— The ex-pro is recognizing him!
Almond's viewers didn't hear his initial compliment, so they were fascinated to listen to them. It was interesting to see an unranked being complimented by an ex-pro.
"It's a great play. But!"
Tako didn't call Almond here just to give him compliments.
"Here. This part."
It was the scene where Almond got attacked by Yasu while trying to attack the enemy ADCs.
"You got close to Yasu, and it became dangerous for you. Thanks to your super play, you made it out, but it was a dangerous decision. If the opponents were a little good, you'd have died there."
"I see."
“Yes, if you want to make risky plays like that, you need to be aware of the opponent's range, but you crossed it by a long shot. The enemy charged at you and tackled you without much effort. Here, instead..."
Almond felt like he was improving just from listening to Tako’s explanations. It was the sensation of learning new things.
'I can't believe this game has so many fine mechanics to it...'
Ex-pros were different. Tako was not only an ex-pro with experience in winning, he also used to be a coach for a short while.
— Damn, Tako looks so cool when he's doing his job
— Why did this guy quit being a coach?
— Damn, his analysis is crazy
— Oh shit, I'm learning some stuff too!
— I guess he really was a pro!
The viewers praised Tako for an informative broadcast because Tako usually made his judgments regardless of the outcome. He clearly pointed out which decisions were the cause of the loss and which should have resulted in a better outcome. By distinguishing between winning due to luck and winning based on sound decision-making, he guided players to win the next game without relying on luck.
"... Alright, I'll stop here. After that, it's meaningless because the enemy gave up."
"Wow! Thank you!"
Tako was taken aback as Almond bowed and thanked him.
"A-Ah... It's nothing..."
He scratched his shiny forehead and cleared his screen.
"Alright then. Until you beat StrawberryShooter, good luck!"
"Yes!"
***
Tako returned to his stream and had some unexpected first thoughts about his encounter with Almond.
'He's very polite.'
Almond was a polite young man. He was similar to an old streamer who used to be an athlete. Another unexpected thing was his ability to understand quickly. He was great at understanding everything even though he didn't seem like the bright type.
"Hey, everyone. Don't you think Almond's pretty good at understanding things?"
— Idk
— Isn't he just pretending to understand? Just to move on quickly?
— He's just nodding, no?
— But honestly, if you're stupid, it's hard to be that good at the game. Even in decision-making, you need to be smart.
— Almond's worked in a big company before too.
"He worked in a big company? Who did he play for?"
— LOL
— No, an actual corporation.
— He's from Ahsung
— This guy only thinks about streamers…
"Oh, you guys were talking about an actual company. I didn't know, but..."
Tako slammed on his table and changed topics.
"It was only one round, you know. If we make a montage of Bubblegum in bronze, even he'll seem like a challenger player!"
— For real
— At my best, I'm better than JeonJaPa too!
— So true
Tako could tell instinctively Almond wasn't a one-hit-wonder. However, intuition was intuition. As a coach, he needed to decide only using the facts.
"Let's see the next round. This round might be even harder. LIL is unpredictable."
Almond queued up for his next match, which promptly ended with the enemy team surrendering in thirteen minutes.