Chapter 175: Practice Match (2)
ForeverAlone.
He came up with that username because he thought it sounded cool since his most played champion was Solia. This was the username of one of the best amateur Challenger players. Because of his ridiculous name, he had to explain himself every time a new viewer watched his stream.
“No, guys. I swear I’m not lonely. It just sounds cool, okay!?”
— Yeah, okay. Who’s going to believe you?
— It’s your fault you made such a stupid name, LOL
— Loner! Loner! Loner!
— LOL, there are so many new viewers, so he has to explain it again.
— I think at this point, you should just change the name.
[Really? has donated 1000 won.]
[Hey, loner! This is what you want to be called by, right?]
“Ah…”
— But it sounds cool!
— LOL
— Hahahaha
— Tell us it sounds cool again. Say it.
ForeverAlone facepalmed himself and calmed down.
“Sigh. I should understand. This is all because I became too popular.”
[Current Viewers: 2100]
The number of viewers was somewhat questionable to be considered popular. Despite being an amateur challenger, ForeverAlone, the streamer, didn’t have a large following. His average viewership was below 1000. However, thanks to the current tournament content, the number of viewers had almost doubled. As a result, some viewers were even making significant donations rather than just 1000 or 2000 won.
[ImmaLonerToo has donated 5000 won.]
[It’s time for the practice match. Who are you most worried about on the other team?]
“Ah~! 5000 won~! Thank you for the donation!”
ForeverAlone thanked the donor in his streaming tone. He sounded cheerful.
— LOL! What an excited 19-year-old.
— Is this youth?
— Hahaha adorable
His stream was full of energy. That was his stream’s trait. It suited his young age.
“The most worried… of course, it’s Almond!”
— Almond?
— Not StrawberryShooter?
— What about Miho?
— Bubblegum?
— JeonJaPa?
“JeonJaPa’s not even in the tournament. If he participates, I have to run away.”
— For real
— That’s true.
— Hey, JeonJaPa fanboys, get out!
— Hey, loner, don’t fall for it. They’re baiting you. Don’t act like a beginner now.
“Oh, that was bait? Haha…”
Since he was just gaining popularity, he couldn’t tell what was bait or what wasn’t. He didn’t have a separate manager who handled his chat like Sang-Hyeon did. Those who took care of the chat were his donors or acquaintances. He was the epitome of an amateur streamer.
[QuestionBot has donated 1000 won.]
[Are you going to go pro? You’re only 19]
“Ah, QuestionBot, thank you for the question. I’m… not going to be a pro!”
— Zero hesitation.
— Hahaha
— So happy
— This guy comes from a rich background.
“It has nothing to do with money. Pro-life isn’t for me. I just like streaming. And it’s not like I just play LIL…”
— Talk about the tournament again.
— This guy can’t stay on one topic.
“Ah, right. The tournament. In this practice match, I’m most worried about Almond, not StrawberryShooter. I’m not worried about the other players.”
— Why? You guys aren’t even in the same lane.
— For real?
— Wow, you’re rating him highly.
— Almond’s fans are going to show him this clip.
“It’s just my opinion. Hmm… Almond is way better than what you guys think. He hasn’t even shown us a lot of champions yet. I’m kind of scared of that, so I need to force him to reveal some new champions during the practice matches.”
— How?
— I am curious about Almond’s different picks.
— What if he doesn’t have any other champions to show off?
— Do you think he’ll show it off in a practice match?
“If he doesn’t… we’ll just sweep them.”
— So confident!
— Wow
— Loner: Other than Almond, everyone’s an easy target!
— Kya! Are you sure you’re 19?
— What if he doesn’t reveal his champion pool even if he loses?
“If he doesn’t reveal it even if he loses? Will Almond be able to withstand that? Even though it’s a practice match, people like him don’t want to lose. I’ve seen players like him. They hate losing.”
— Loner (19): I’ve seen so many players.
— Loner (19) LOL
— Bro, you’re 19…
— Hahaha
“Argh… Whatever, let’s go! It’s almost starting.”
***
The first ban of the game was Raina.
[Ban #1]
[Raina: The Cold-Blooded Evil Archer]
After the ban, Tako glanced at where ForeverAlone was standing.
Smirk.
ForeverAlone and Tako smiled as they met eyes. The 19 year old’s vigor was visible. Tako was even a little jealous.
“I think those guys want to play seriously.”
Tako banned Solia, ForeverAlone’s main champion. The enemy team didn’t look surprised at all. They banned the second champion right away.
[Ban #2]
[Sana - Light's Melody]
It was Sana.
‘This…’
Tako and Almond met eyes. Anyone could tell that they were targeting Almond. The next ban would undoubtedly be Ran.
“Omg! I think they’re trying to ban out Almond oppa~.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Then should I go to my sub-position?”
“No. We can’t reveal that yet.”
It was their first practice match. The data was more important than the result for this match.
“We can lose this.”
Everyone nodded to Tako’s words, but thought differently on the inside.
‘What are we going to do in an actual match?’
It was a big flaw that a player could be banned with the three bans. Tako was thinking the same thing.
‘You know what. It’s not too bad. Let’s see how we get through this.’
Tako spoke up, slapping himself on the forehead, “Almond.”
“Yes.”
“Ran’s probably going to be banned.”
“Probably.”
Almond looked strangely calm, even calmer than Miho.
Did he have something up his sleeve?
“... Do you have someone you practiced without telling me?”
“No.”
What? Then was he going to pull out Flashy Blade already? If that was his thinking, there was no hope. Tako tried to figure out what Almond was thinking.
“Then what are you going to do?”
Tako gave him a choice. Meanwhile, the opponent banned The Pure Sniper - Ran.
— Wow, Almond’s got three bans.
— Almond, BANNED
— Stop banning him!
— What is this, LOL is this really a practice match?
— They want to see if he has any other picks.
“Hmm… Wait a moment.”
Almond stared blankly into the space. Tako stared nervously. Almond’s expressions were difficult to figure out.
“This looked good.”
[Frost Archer - Leon]
Thankfully, Almond picked a different champion.
‘Wait…’
He had never seen that champion in Almond’s inventory before.
‘Did this guy… just buy it from the shop?’
Tako glanced at the chat. Because of this team event, the team’s chats were combined.
— That nut just bought it from the shop, LOL
— Wow
— Damn! What a performance!
— Crazier than crazy!
“Ha. Ha,” Tako was so shocked by Almond’s action that he couldn’t hold back his laughter.
They met eyes, but Almond shrugged as if to say, ‘I can’t pull out Flashy Blade here.’
Tako was taken aback but, excited at the same time.
‘What an incredible fellow. In many ways.’
He wanted to see how crazy Almond could get.
“Alright. Frost Archer is good. We practiced this champion a lot, right? Good, good.”
— Stop lying, LOL
— Wait, you just saw him buy it from the shop!
— Hahahaha
— How did he practice a champion he doesn’t even have!?
— Apparently, he practiced in an alternate universe, everybody!
Other than Tako, the others like Miho, Strawberry, and Bubblegum all had shocked faces. Regardless, the game began.
[Match is starting!]
***
ForeverAlone picked Electric Wizard - Kaizad. He laughed, interested in the pick.
“Wow, Frost Archer? He sure is obsessed with bow-wielding champions. I think my prediction is going to be correct.”
Other than Frost Archer, no other champions left used a bow. Almond only knew how to utilize the four bow-wielding champions.
‘If we take it away next game, it’s over for them.’
They could use the three bans on Almond and take the champions away or they could force him to play the Frost Archer and pick a counter around it. There were a lot of options during the ban phase.
“I see why this team is rated so low. It’s too easy to ban them.”
— For real.
— It feels like their picks are messed up because they’re trying to match Almond.
— Almost all of their champions are counter-picked.
Because they banned Almond, the other players got their main champions, but that didn’t matter because this was only a test. It was to test out whether they could suppress Almond.
“Alright. Team!”
“Yes!”
He gathered the team in their base and raised their spirits.
“I’m going to crush mid, so let’s do well! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
The team ran to their respective positions.
[InfoHunter has donated 1000 won.]
[Apparently, Almond just bought the Frost Archer from the shop, LOL! He’s taunting you guys!]
They heard something ridiculous.
“What…?”
It was only a practice game, but playing a newly purchased champion from the store was considered a crazy move even in solo queue. Back in the day, playing games with a mouse and keyboard was enough to adapt only your fingers. In virtual reality, the entire body needed to adapt. Skills, attack range, and field of view had a significant impact. Even minor factors such as sensory sensitivity and stride could feel awkward in many cases.
ForeverAlone smiled awkwardly and said, “If that’s true… we need to teach him a lesson.”
However, his lips were shaking. It seemed like he had already lost the mental battle.
‘Is he ignoring us?’
Almond genuinely picked the champion because he had no one else to pick, but the 19-year-old took it as a provocation. The youngster’s blood boiled at the slight taunt.
“I’m going to crush mid first.”
The mid-lane he was up against was Sitri - The Succubus. It was Miho’s most-played champion. She was called Miho’s soulmate because their synergy was incredible.
“Kyahaha!”
The succubus made her signature laugh and dodged ForeverAlone’s attacks through the minions. Considering it was a challenger against a Platinum player, the laning phase wasn’t one-sided. It was too close.
— ForeverAlone’s hardest counter, LOL
— How’s Loner going to beat the succubus, haha.
— He can’t play against a pretty girl, hahaha.
‘D-Damn it. I can’t look at her.’
There was quite a realistic issue here. Miho’s actual appearance was reflected in her avatar, which was covered with the costume of a succubus avatar. It was challenging for the 19-year-old ForeverAlone to confront her in such a way. He was unable to look directly at her, but was compelled to do so. ForeverAlone faced a dilemma. In the midst of this, something happened.
Thump!
The succubus hit him critically with her weapon.
— Are you losing to her, LOL
— Hey! Wake up!
— ForeverAlone, you good?
— It’s his fault he didn’t ban Miho’s best champion, LOL
— Haha, loser.
Clench.
ForeverAlone bit his lips.
‘She’s better than I thought.’
It wasn’t just her dazzling looks, but her skills were also impressive. Even though she was a lower rank, allowing her to use her most-played champion was a mistake. That was how important someone’s most played champion was in LIL.
‘Pay attention.’
Still, ForeverAlone was a challenger at the highest rank possible. He was in the top 50 for the best amateurs.
Swoosh.
The speed he moved at was difficult to follow with the naked eye. In an instant, a skill was cast and discharged from his fingertips.
Bzzt!
The blue lightning skillfully maneuvered around the minions and flew toward Miho.
“Urgh!”
In the blink of an eye, her HP took a hit again.
‘Alright, try resisting all day.’
ForeverAlone smiled and cast his next skill. Miho was no match for him.
‘I’m going to crush this lane and…’
He thought victory would be an easy grasp.
[LazySoldier! Double Kill!]
On the far south end of the battlefield, the bottom lane announced a piece of baffling news.