Chapter 173: The Laughing Joker (2)
Tako was shaking after hearing the shocking statement. It wasn't out of anger. He was afraid.
'Who is this guy?'
Flashy Blade Swift was undoubtedly the embodiment of dual-wielding daggers in combat. In a dazzling and skillful battlefield where two daggers seemed insignificant, they were undoubtedly special weapons that shined in the arena.
This was because the wielder could instantly teleport to where the daggers were thrown and even summon them back into their hands. These two abilities were Swift's main skills. While there was also a lightweight offensive technique, these two skills were the most crucial.
With them, Swift could become the most powerful champion who effortlessly manipulated the battlefield or a buzzing fly that flitted around and eventually met its end. In most cases, players became the latter due to the difficulty of controlling such abilities.
'How is he playing a champion like that with one hand?'
Swift was a champion where even using both hands and feet could still result in being a troll, but to handle such a champion with just one hand? Realizing it firsthand by hearing it from the person's mouth truly astonished Tako.
"Is that... weird? In JeonJaPa's videos, he fought often using one dagger."
Almond was right.
Most of Swift's skills used only one dagger while the other was put away. Tako recalled the uneasiness he felt during their battles.
'He only used his left hand.'
Almond was only using his left hand. There was a difference between switching to a one-handed style and using only the left arm from the beginning.
"Almond, why are you trying to only use one hand? Knowing you, I doubt you were doing it to spite me."
Almond waved his hands upon hearing that.
"To spite you? No way. It's because my playtime is affected."
"... Your playtime?'
It was an unexpected answer.
"What are you talking about?"
"... It's a little hard to explain, but if I use my left arm only, my energy is saved."
"...?"
Tako brushed it off because he felt that Almond didn't want to talk about it.
'What is it?'
Tako thought it was strange. If Almond only used his left arm, shouldn’t playing longer be harder? Instead, it helped him save energy? Tako couldn't understand from the perspective of a regular player.
"Ah, anyways... Almond, if you want, you can use both arms, right?"
"Of course, I always use both hands when I'm playing ADC."
].
"Then..."
After he checked what he needed to do as a coach, Tako didn't speak on the matter any further and made a decision.
"I think you should go as the substitute for mid."
"...?"
Mid was the most important position in the game. Currently, Miho was playing as mid, but they needed to decide on a substitute in case of unforeseen circumstances.
"Not you or Strawberry?"
"Strawberry's sub position is ADC, and I'll be the jungle sub. You beat me with one hand. How can I go mid?"
"Ah..."
Almond was going to add on, but backed off.
"I think that's enough practice for now."
That afternoon, the tournament roster was officially posted.
Top - Bubblegum / Miho
Jungle - StrawberryShooter / Takoyaki
Mid - Miho / Almond
ADC - Almond / StrawberryShooter
Support - Takoyaki / Bubblegum / StrawberryShooter
— Is Almond subbing mid? Not support?
— Almond must be threatening Tako with something
— Miho has to go mid
— What the?? Did they mistype?
— Is this team trying to lose?
The mid-lane was the most important position in the game. This raised many questions about Tako's situation. He was already receiving criticism for making Almond the main ADC, and Almond had never shown any signs of playing mid. Typically, assassins and mage-like champions appeared in the mid-lane, but Almond never demonstrated proficiency in either of these categories.
— The power rankings are going to have some fun with this.
— Changing positions after the 1 vs.1 was kind of crazy too
— Are all of Tako's brain cells in his hair? What's with his decisions?!
└ Tako was a pro?
└ For real, LOL
***
[This World - Bubblegum]
At 5 P.M., Bubblegum's team gathered in his This World's channel.
"Alright, everyone's turned off their streams, right?"
"Yes."
Tako checked the streams. Their meeting wasn't supposed to be broadcast.
"You've probably already seen the posted roster."
Tako started explaining in front of a hologram whiteboard while the other four looked up like students.
"Everyone's agreed to their main positions, but Almond's been changed to the sub-mid position."
Originally, Tako was the sub for mid-lane, but right before the official roster was posted, his sub position switched with Almond.
"This will be our joker pick."
Everyone would be surprised because Almond only knew how to play ADC. How would he play mid?
"What kind of joker pick are you talking about..?" Bubblegum asked while raising his hand.
"Almond's Swift. Before he did the one-on-one, he kept practicing with me."
The teammates mumbled among themselves, hearing this for the first time.
"Really?"
"They did something like that?"
"H-He beat me while doing that?"
The teammates were shocked to hear Almond was also practicing privately on his own.
"Wow! It suits you!"
Miho was the first one to shout that the champion suited him. However, other than Miho, no one else thought so.
'He's only played ranged champions. Can he do it?'
"Well, he said he's been practicing, so...'
It significantly differed from the champions Sang-Hyeon had shown on his streams. It was a joker pick. Not only would the enemy not expect it, but his allies also had their doubts.
"Oppa! I'll teach you mid! You'll be better than me!"
Miho didn't have any doubts.
Tap. Tap.
Tako tapped on the whiteboard to grab their attention again.
"This is my decision. Since it's swapping myself out, no one has any complaints, right?"
All the teammates nodded. Everyone agreed once already, so the meeting went smoothly.
"Alright, everyone. Then let's all turn on our streams. The others are going to do a power ranking content, kind of like an opening ceremony."
The tournament wasn't the only content for the in-house event. The preparation for the tournament itself was content as well. This further excited viewers for the event, adding a layer of satisfaction for the eventual victors. The process had to be streamed too. This was agreed upon with the event planners beforehand.
'It's my first time streaming with so many people at once.'
Almond was no exception and turned on his stream. He felt strange since it was his first time streaming as a group of five.
[Stream is starting.]
The intro music skipped, and the viewers came in.
— AlHa, AlHa!
— AlHa!
— Mana stream, ON!
— Is this the stream? Where silver = master?-->
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