Chapter 186: Late Change (5)
"Sigh. You can't even block that?!"
As the giant machine fell, his teammates berated him.
"Why did Pickle pick the machine!?"
"The machine is useless as a tank if it can't deflect ranged attacks..."
"Ah... There's no hope."
Since LIL was a virtual reality game from a first-person perspective, it was difficult to figure out the other teammate's situations. From their perspective, they couldn't understand why the giant machine couldn't deflect the ranged attacks. Pickle was feeling frustrated.
'No... it's impossible to...'
It was impossible for a goalkeeper to block shots fired in the corners. Pickle was in a similar situation.
"There's a reason we take pickles out in cheeseburgers."
"I'm going to take pickles out from now on too."
They tried to joke off the situation, but Pickle's dark expression didn't improve.
— LOL, it's true. You have to take the Pickle out.
— The Pickle is delicious. You kids don't know what's good.
— Take the Pickle out!
The viewers and teammates were making fun of him, but the casters were venting Pickle's frustration for him. It was because the casters could see the game from a third-person perspective. They could see Almond's shots hitting the blind spots while Pickle was unaware.
'It looked impossible to deflect it... dammit.'
Whatever he said now would sound like an excuse. Right now, the most important thing was that out of the five players, he was the only one who died.
[15 seconds to revive]
The short death timer felt like an eternity. During that eternity, the other teammates walked to their respective lanes. The advantage they gained was nullified because of Almond's super-play or Pickle's fumble.
***
"What the!? Almond!!!"
OrangeKing shouted as if it were an official match.
— That's crazy
— I feel bad for Pickle
— That's crazy. He managed to get a kill?
— I feel bad for OrangeKing's neighbors.
"Five players!"
OrangeKing struck his hand out toward his camera.
"Five players! He faced off against all five players by himself! Toward the end, Miho came and they managed to kill Pickle! This is a true super-play! Almond managed to stall until Miho came!"
— It really is a super-play;;
— This was 0.8 JeonJaPa
— He hasn't even played Ran that much. That's crazy.
— His range calculation was almost perfect. He has good instincts.
"His range accuracy, reaction speed, and judgment! If he lacked any of these, he wouldn't be able to pull off a play like this! There were talks of Almond's judgment being bad, but now that sounds ridiculous!"
— Is OrangeKing saying this to tell a certain someone?
— This freaking guy
— If red glasses were beside him, he'd smack him. Thankfully, it's only a voice chat.
The viewers watching could tell OrangeKing was targeting the analyst.
OrangeKing laughed openly and asked the analyst, "What do you think about this situation, analyst?"
Almond undoubtedly pulled off a super-play, turning around a disadvantageous situation in his favor. Even someone who viewed Almond negatively couldn't help but admit it.
The analyst nodded, "This is talent."
"Oh?"
OrangeKing was pleased to hear the unexpected praise.
"I told you, right? He has talent. I'm glad our opinions match."
OrangeKing looked at the camera and gave a victory smile with a smirk.
— So petty.
— OrangeKing! King! King!
— OrangeKing is correct again! I told you so!
"What do you mean I won? We just agree with one another. Agreement."
— Hahaha, he's making fun of him.
— Stop it!
— Stop hitting him with your words!
— OrangeKing is making fun of him! Stop it!
"Hey! Don't say that. This channel is not for that. The analyst has his role as well."
— Are you saying we said something?
— He's putting on a weird act again.
— LOL, this guy is trying to make fun of the analyst again.
OrangeKing ignored them and switched topics.
"In any case, is there a certain reason you used the word talent? Analyst?"
"That kind of super-play is on another level. That type of courage and decision-making comes from talent. That play kept them in the game. Even the result was good. Usually, attempts don't necessarily result in good results."
"Do you think he can be a star player?"
"Hm. If this was a professional tournament, it might be possible. But to prove that, he'd need to play against high-ranked players in official matches."
"He has to prove himself again?! That's exhausting!"
"Did I say that again?"
The analyst and OrangeKing both laughed at his joke.
— Stop! Stop!
— Red glasses gave up now, LOL
— He's just laughing now, haha
— He's already down! Stop beating him!
***
It wasn't just the analysts who were laughing. Thanks to Almond's super-play, Balloon Stars were in good spirits.
“Wow, Almond Oppa did so well, right?”
“Yeah... that was crazy. I thought the game was over.”
“But Bubblegum oppa, I thought you would teach Almond to play LIL. Is that offer still up?”
“Kugh…”
— Bubblegum...
— Gum! There's probably a game for you too! Don't be too down!
— You're going to teach Almond?
Tako calmed everyone down.
“Ahem. Everyone, Almond did well, but the game has just begun. Everyone, please calm down. Our team is still losing 2 to 1.”
As Tako said, LIL wasn't a game determined by kills, but the kill score did vaguely represent how the game was being played out.
[Balloon Stars] [1]
[Green Tea Bagging] [2]
Balloon Stars was closing in on kills at 1:2.
"Almond."
Tako turned off his voice channel and spoke privately to Almond, who was hitting the minions beside him.
"Good job. If this was a real tournament, that kind of play flips the table."
Almond smiled and nodded, "Thank you."
— Tako's a great leader.
— You're complimenting Almond privately!!!
— What the... why is my heart pounding for this baldy?!
Amond's viewers could hear Tako's determination clearly, allowing them to understand Tako's sincerity. In the team voice chat, where all five members could listen, it was difficult to single out one person and praise them individually. However, they could see the gesture of praising Almond for his good performance. It seemed like a commendable approach as a coach.
"But you still have to be careful."
"Yes."
"GreenTea is Master tier, and he has two kills already. He's already visited the shop and bought an item as well. It's vastly different from us, who only got one kill. Starting from two kills, the items get way better."
Almond nodded.
'It does seem dangerous.'
In the end, GreenTea could be seen. They weren't an immediate threat at the moment. GreenTea, too, was quietly disposing of the minions. However, everyone knew. If GreenTea had a slight opportunity, Almond could be killed.
It was because of the item difference. With only one kill, Almond couldn't afford any decent items and had to settle for potions or similar purchases. On the other hand, with two kills, GreenTea could get at least one piece of cheap equipment even if it was of low quality. Regarding stats, it was safe to say that there was a two-kill difference.
Bang! Bang!
Even at a glance, GreenTea was effortlessly killing the minions thanks to the items that increased his damage output. Watching GreenTea skillfully clear the minions, Tako felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
'As expected of a Master tier. He's still got it.'
Meanwhile, Almond was thinking something completely different.
'He doesn't know how to fire rapidly?'
According to Almond's thoughts, the most important skill in playing Sana was the rapid fire technique. Since Sana gained significant advantages with each hit, the more shots she could land quickly, the better. Of course, GreenTea was also shooting rapidly enough, but it didn't catch Almond's attention.
'Even though he's a Master... his Sana gameplay is nothing special.'
Almond thought the opponent had a lower understanding of Sana, at least in his eyes.
'I think I can do something about it.'
That gave him confidence. In his eyes, the opponent was taking large steps to make up for the range and aiming with the bow...
'Why is it so bad?'
It looked terrible in his eyes. For champions that used a bow, Almond couldn't bear to watch other players play them.
Then, Almond saw something and muttered to himself, "I think I see a potential kill."
He readied the mana at his hand.
***
“I think I see a potential kill.”
The caster heard him say that through the voice chat.
"Huh!?"
OrangeKing made a surprised look.
"Is there something Almond can see that we can't? I don't see anything..."
The analyst fixed his red glasses as well.
"Hmm... Me neither..."
Normally, he'd criticize Almond for saying such things, but after seeing the 1 vs. 5 play, he kept his mouth shut. Almond could've truly seen a potential kill.
"If he really sees a potential kill, I'm curious to see what it is."
Their curiosity was instantly solved.
Pung—
White mana was shot and perfectly aimed for the top of Sana's head.
“What the!?” GreenTea cringed, thinking he was safe behind a minion.
“Heal! Heal me!”
“I did!”
“More!”
“I don't have any light arrows left! I need to hit the shadow arrows!”
“Then hit them!”
“You think it's that easy—”
While they were panicking, Ran fired another shot.
Pung!
Sana's silhouette swayed from the hit.
“He landed a hit?”
No matter how well GreenTea hid his body, Almond found an opening to hit him. Wherever Ran landed his shots, the damage was similar.
'He's so visible. Why is he trying to hide?'
Almond couldn't understand why GreenTea was hiding. He could see his arm, head, and legs no matter how he tried to hide.
— How's he hitting those small openings?
— Damn, he's even hitting the very tip.
— How did he hit those?!
Ran's attacks, which were normally supposed to miss, kept on hitting.
“W-Why are they hitting?!” GreenTea shouted as he panicked.
He was moving around like a Master tier player and shooting while dodging. Normally, the damage exchange should've been somewhat even.
Pung!
Instead, he was the only one being hit.
“Kugh!”
Sana, a squishy character, didn't have much HP remaining. No matter how much healing he received, it was impossible to survive any further.
“W-Wait. What am I…”
His support wasn't a defensive support either and wasn't much help.
“W-Where do I need to go—”
Slam!
Almond fired his final shot while following them.
[Enemy eliminated!]
[LazySoldier -> GreenTea]
The text that appeared was a sight to see. GreenTea died in a fight he was supposed to win.
"What the!? Did the bottom lane just get a solo kill? Even with the item difference?! What do you think, analyst?"
"Hmm... If we're comparing it to soccer, it's like Argentina losing to Toga in a qualification match."
"Ah...! Is it that bad?"
"That's right. The matchup, the level, the item difference, the situation, it was all in favor of the other team..."
"The other team is probably in shambles?"
"I don't think Green Tea Bagging will want to continue further."
After around five minutes…
“I'm sorry, let's finish the scrim here. I don't think there's any point in continuing…”
GreenTea apologized and finished the game. From this day on, the LIL community, LIL Pro, decided to change the definitions of Silver and Master.