Chapter 226. Temporary Measure (2)
Chapter 226. Temporary Measure (2)
The new capsule indeed felt different from the old model. Initially, Sang-Hyeon believed that comfort wouldn't matter once fully immersed in the capsule. However, he now recognized a clear difference.
'It's much smoother.'
Was this the difference between a low-quality, second-hand capsule from a budget line to a top-tier premium line product?
'I didn't know the difference would be this significant…'
Sang-Hyeon was startled as he moved. He even began questioning how he had been gaming on the used capsule until now. The subtle hiccups he thought were normal before were, in fact, not supposed to be that way.
Swish!
Swirl!
His fist hitting the scarecrow left behind a smooth afterimage as he moved. The sense of impact was completely different from before.
He wasn't sure if this improved sense of impact benefitted the game, but he could fine-tune it to a great extent. He could create an exact desired feeling with the proper setup.
Sang-Hyeon proceeded to run the training program he played before.
[New Record!]
[New Record!]
[New Record!]
As expected, all his records slightly increased. After all, he remained the same, and only the capsule had changed.
[Optimization will be conducted again with the training program data.]
This capsule even automatically conducted an optimization process.
Sang-Hyeon recalled suffering quite a loss while playing the game without any optimization.
'Wow.'
Things had definitely improved. Actually, his capsule had significantly improved.
'The old capsule and this one are only about 2-3 years apart.'
The manufacturing years of the capsules weren’t even 7-8 years apart, yet their performance was significantly different. Even someone like Sang-Hyeon, who didn't know much, noticed it.
Engineers sensitive to details would cause a stir by switching from Aston to Divers. He felt sorry for Divers, but the difference in quality was overwhelmingly apparent.
'That's why they're working on Nova.'
Sang-Hyeon understood why the project led by Divers' CEO was necessary.
***
Swoosh.
Unlike the old capsule that always made hydraulic sounds, the capsule lid now opened with a sound straight from a science fiction movie. Sang-Hyeon neatly raised his feet behind the lid.
"Wow, you're definitely not sweating as much, huh? But that doesn't mean you should overexert yourself," Ju-Hyeok felt the same way and chimed in.
Ju-Hyeok explained how the capsule worked, "This model called Plato is specialized in adjusting to your physical condition. So, if your body temperature rises and you start sweating a lot, it optimizes ventilation and cooling to counteract that situation. It's not that you don't sweat in the first place. It's about enhancing your coping ability instead of eliminating the cause."
Sang-Hyeon nodded. So that was how it worked. That was why they called it a temporary measure.
"And it even has a massage function. You can get a massage while playing games. Isn't that amazing?"
"Wow..."
Sometimes, playing games for too long strained Sang-Hyeon's body. This was definitely a great feature.
"Yeah. That's nice," Sang-Hyeon replied and glanced at the capsule again with a thoughtful look.
It had a sleek and stylish design. Sang-Hyeon couldn't recall if it was a British or German product, but it seemed to be from Europe.
'Can Nova be better than this?'
He wondered if the custom-made capsule being developed for him could actually surpass this one. He couldn't quite imagine it in his head.
'We'll know when it’s done.'
Sang-Hyeon decided not to think about it for now.
The custom capsule would be delivered before the finals, and he would find out when the time came.
Sang-Hyeon's finger smoothly slid across the schedule chart. His finger stopped on the last day of the league. There was a match against High Protein.
'Only 3 days left.'
High Protein was the toughest opponent, so he naturally counted down the remaining days before their match.
'For now, today...'
His finger returned to the starting point: Today's Match.
[Red Carpets Vs. Balloon Stars]
***
The casters grew excited amid the stadium’s lively atmosphere.
"Today, we have a highly anticipated match!"
"Wow, that's right! It's a showdown between the strongest ADCs in the league."
The casters decided to describe today's match as a showdown between the strongest ADCs.
"How do you think it will go? During Almond's scrim, he usually went mid to avoid BlackTea, right?
"Yes, the first mid-pick came out in scrims when they were against Red Carpets."
"BlackTea didn't even choose his main champion during the scrims, right?"
"Not necessarily. He couldn't pick his preferred champion because he stole Almond's pick instead. Still, BlackTea showed quite an impressive performance. Will he choose his preferred champion this time?
"I doubt Tako will let him."
"Almond recently caused quite the stir with his Spiritmaster pick. Rather than facing BlackTea in the bottom lane, he could even go mid and use Tomato as an offering to flood the map with ghosts."
"Yes, that's right. The Spiritmaster was truly astonishing. Considering it was a shop pick, I wouldn't want to see it in an actual match this time!"
"The champion selection phase just started! Let's take a look!"
Balloon Stars had won the practice match by sending Almond to the mid-lane to exploit the opponent's weaknesses.
If Balloon Stars used the same tactics this time, everything should be easy. However, an approach that was too simple could be easily predicted by the opponents.
[Ban - Red Carpets]
#1. Spiritmaster - Melly
The first ban appeared, and the casters were shocked.
"Wait, are they really banning her?"
The reactions in the chat were similar:
— Banning the shop pick, LOL.
— BlackTea is on fire, huh?!
— ??? Heads are hot! Hearts are burning! (Someone actually said this)
— Just blindly banning champions you don't like~~
It was a given as the audience mumbled among themselves.
— Really? What's this?
— Banning Melly already?
— Shit, I came to see Melly...
The reactions to the ban weren't particularly positive. The Spiritmaster had caused quite a stir in the community not too long ago after the shop pick. Many in the audience even bought tickets just to watch that scene again.
"Ah... I really didn't expect them to ban her."
"We did joke about a new ban card appearing... I guess they made a quick judgement? Or… haha…"
It was a fast and bold decision based on data from the previous game.
The casters supported BlackTea's choice, but jeers erupted from the audience.
— Boooooo!
— Get rid of the ban!
— No, I came to see her. What nonsense!
The casters were momentarily taken aback, but BlackTea confidently raised her middle finger toward the audience.
Thud!
The audience responded with even louder jeers, but BlackTea ignored them. She simply continued banning another mid-champion.
[Ban - Red Carpets]
#1. Spiritmaster - Melly
#2. Storm Ninja - Haruki
— Haha, lol!
— So they're telling him not to go mid.
— BlackTea! You're so cool!
— BlackTea's assertiveness...!
— That's why GreenTea always struggles in front of her, lol!
— Fact: BlackTea's strategy is to secretly observe Almond's face from the bottom lane without her boyfriend GreenTea knowing.
— If this is the case, Almond will definitely go bottom.
Rather than the primary ADC position, the bans were focused on the mid-lane sub-position. This wasn't common.
Even the analysts mentioned this point.
"It's very unusual. They're banning the sub-position instead of the main. It's not that hard to understand at the same time."
"This might lead to a direct confrontation as ADCs. BlackTea seems confident!"
"Could we possibly witness Almond's main champion Raina against BlackTea's main champion, Terrorist?!"
— Wow, duel of the mains?
— If Raina isn't banned, of course.
— Don’t ban Raina, and the real show begins? BlackTea, as expected!
— Oh, I get it now.
The audience grew excited about seeing Raina instead since they couldn't see Melly.
However, a moment later.
[Ban - Red Carpets]
#1. Spiritmaster - Melly
#2. Storm Ninja - Haruki
#3. The Cold-Blooded Evil Archer - Raina
"No..."
Sighs echoed from the casters’ booth and the audience.
"This is unbelievable! How could they be so cunning…? No, smart with their bans?!" OrangeKing commented.
"I think I just heard something, OrangeKing."
"Incredible! BlackTea, that was so clever!"
OrangeKing tried to cover up his mistake by emphasizing 'clever' even louder. Unfortunately, the loud jeering from the audience could still be heard.
— Booooo.
"Oh, there's a huge banner shaking in the audience right now. What does it say?!"
The camera instantly turned to the audience seats.
[What a fucking annoying ban.]
The camera quickly turned back, and silence momentarily swept through the casters’ booth.
OrangeKing shouted with an even higher pitch, "Yes! That's the ultimate praise right there!"
"Right? That's the ultimate praise in the gaming world!"
"Now, the next ban? What will Balloon Stars do?"
Balloon Stars banned BlackTea's main champion, the Terrorist.
"This is a mutual ban of the mains. It was revenge for banning Raina, right?
"That seems so."
"Wow. By the way, BlackTea banned two of Almond's mid-champions and one bottom champion. She must be quite cautious of him!”
"It's good to be cautious about the ace. But if she does this... won't all the other players' main champions be available? Will that be okay?"
"Well, let's see how the picks are starting then."
Afterward, the picks proceeded smoothly as everyone chose their main champions.
Only Almond and BlackTea's main champions had been banned, so their picks became the most important ones now.
It was Almond's turn.
Thud.
A serene, silver-haired woman sat down behind him.
[Light's Melody - Sana]
Sana appeared several times during their scrims, but this was her first appearance in an official match. The viewers, who had only watched this tournament, became puzzled.
— Sana?
— Oh....
— Well, she's also a goddess who uses a bow.
— Is Almond good with Sana?
The casters and other viewers who had seen Almond's practice matches had different reactions.
"Wow! Almond's Sana? This is her first appearance in an official match, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Raina came out a few times, but this is Sana's first time!"
"Sana isn't very skilled at leading the game, so she didn't get picked even when she was available. It's better to have the Frost Archer take charge of the game."
"Exactly. Sana has healing skills, but she can't take control of the game. Roaming is also difficult for her."
Sana possessed decent damage-dealing skills and healing abilities. Still, Almond hadn’t picked her yet for various reasons.
"Yes, Sana is more of a pick that sustains damage, holds on, and then counterattacks. She's not the one who attacks first. In LIL, the first attack is quite important."
Sana simply wasn't an easy pick. She couldn't proactively lead the game as the casters mentioned, so she wasn't a favored choice.
Compared to Raina, who could kill the front-line enemies and break through, or the Frost Archer, who could provide early support to other lanes, or even Ran, who had immense damage and range, Sana was...
Sana felt more like a support to other champions.
"But why Sana this time?"
"Probably because his teammates have all chosen their main champions."
"Right~! That makes sense!"
"Ah! There were other teammates!"
— It’s like they almost forgot about the rest of the team members, lol.
— Oh, right! Those guys were there on the team too, right?
— Right, them!
Almond chose Sana this time because, except for himself, all members of Balloon Stars had chosen their main champions.
StrawberryShooter picked the Poison Dart Rabbit, Miho chose the Succubus, and Tako went with the Hammer Warrior.
Most importantly, Red Carpets was BlackTea plus her pets. The other members of Balloon Stars had higher skill levels than them.
Almond’s healing would provide stable support to his team members and help Balloon Stars win reliably.
"Ah, before we start, we have an interesting update about Almond!"
"That's right. His capsule number has changed, and when we checked, he got a new capsule!"
"What was that?"
"It's the Plato from Aston! It seems to be the 8th series."
The audience reacted immediately as soon as the name was mentioned.
— Wow!
— Plato? OMG!
"Wow! Isn't that really expensive?" the caster also asked.
"It is expensive. I used to use something like that during my professional days."
"What did Almond use before this one?"
"From what I know, it was a completely entry-level model, and I think it was an older version too."
"Oh, wow. During the scrims, Almond went to the mid-lane to avoid BlackTea, right? What about this time? Will his playstyle significantly change because of the capsule?"
“Well, you never know. Haha. We'll find out soon.”
"Oh, by the way, is Almond's Plato the most expensive capsule among the players in this tournament?"
"Oh, that's not the case. The most expensive one is surprisingly owned by... Bubblegum."
A brief silence followed, and the game began.