Season 2: Chapter 198: The Return of Silster (3)
The balance in the bottom lane was on the verge of collapse before being restored. It wasn’t the commentators or viewers who were most surprised. They knew that it was Almond playing Sori.
[What? What's happening~!]
[Nice~~~!]
[Wasn't he giving up the game? Super nice!!]
The other teammates felt the most surprised. They thought this game would start off difficult because their supporter was openly trying to lose the game in the bottom lane, yet they scored two kills there. It wasn’t just one, but two!
"Wow! The team atmosphere suddenly got a lot better, didn't it?!"
"Because they’re winning the bottom lane with Iron Ball as a supporter and the newly released character as ADC!"
"Ah, of course, those teammates don't know that Iron Ball intentionally died at the end, do they?"
"That's right. They only understand the situation through the minimap and notification messages."
The teammates felt happy because they didn't know how Iron Ball had been playing. They probably thought that Iron Ball got executed to sacrifice himself, and Almond killed all the enemies afterward.
“Wow, Iron Ball. You said you were giving up, but you're actually playing properly. Let's try to win this!”
It was the jungler's voice. He truly believed that the game was going well.
"That Iron Ball actually hasn't done anything."
"Is this just trying to appease him so he doesn’t troll?"
— Lol, really, he is.
— It seems like they're praising the troublemaker on purpose.
— Such an annoying guy getting praised, damn.
OrangeKing expressed the viewers’ frustration on their behalf, "No! All Iron Ball did was just crash in trying to lose the game! Why does Iron Ball get the praise!?"
"It's like the saying... A cow that steps back catches a mouse... Seems like that kind of situation?"
"No, it's more than that! It's like a cow charging to gore its owner ended up hitting a motorcycle racing toward the owner instead! And suddenly, it's the cow of the year for bravery!"
— LOL.
— LMAO
— Cow of the year for bravery~ hahaha.
— Lol.
— The brave cow!
"Ah, right! That analogy fits better. He was actually trying to lose the game, right?"
"Exactly. Ah, if I were just three years younger, I'd have a lot to say to that supporter."
"Ah... What, for example?"
— The return of ancestor slayer~ OrangeKing!
— Guilt by association resurrected!
— LOL, go ahead, and it can be edited later. Let's go!
OrangeKing hesitated momentarily, probably because it was inappropriate for the show.
"Haha, no, just some life advice from a senior."
Meanwhile, Almond and Iron Ball had already lined up side by side in the bottom lane again.
***
After arriving at the bottom lane, Almond started the lane phase steadily and focused on last-hitting minions.
Then, a voice came through.
"Let's gank the bottom lane once. Let's really get the snowball rolling this time."
It was their team's jungler, but—
"I’m going to secure vision in the brush," said their ally supporter Iron Ball.
'Suddenly?'
As if the previous incident never happened, he began to dutifully perform his duties as a supporter.
"I'll start when the jungler comes."
His sudden change in attitude was so drastic that one could think the player had changed. It seemed Iron Ball had changed his mind after watching Almond's play.
There were many cases like this. Players tried to give up, but started playing earnestly again when it seemed like they could win.
"Wait, OrangeKing. Didn't that player deliberately run into the turret to die earlier even after Almond scored a kill?" the commentator asked.
"Is it possible that he deliberately got executed because he was running too low on health?"
"Ah, yes, he got executed on purpose."
"It seems so at first glance. Now he's playing enthusiastically and trying to rank up!"
"OrangeKing, why did the supporter acknowledge Almond’s skill so quickly? It was just one kill from what I saw."
"Well, if you're at a certain rank, it's not hard to gauge someone's skill. It's a virtual reality game, right? Especially for ADCs, landing basic attacks is a difficult task because..."
In virtual reality games, as opposed to the old days of mouse and keyboard, it was much easier to discern a player’s skill. Since players used their entire body, how someone held a bow or trembled when shooting displayed more visual cues of their skill level.
The supporter noticed Almond's skill quite easily and his attitude completely changed.
"Um, you can estimate someone's skill at master rank just by their damage-dealing pattern, right?"
"That's right."
"Wow. Isn't that sneaky? Acting as if nothing happened because it seems like they can win?"
Almond thought the same thing. What was the point of saying he would give up earlier? As long as they could win, it didn't matter.
If he wanted to win that badly, he should've played earnestly from the start instead of waiting until it seemed like they could win again.
From Almond's perspective, it was an utterly incomprehensible attitude. However, he had no choice.
'So annoying... but I have to carry this game.'
Whether the supporter was a troll or a newbie, he was still part of the team.
Whether Almond liked it or not, he had to carry them.
“Here we go!” their jungler signaled they were coming to help in the bottom lane.
[Heading here.]
Ping!
A ping was placed behind the enemy duo, who hadn't noticed yet.
"Starting up."
Iron Ball, hidden in the bush and invisible to the enemies, began to cast his skill.
[Rolling Thunder!]
Whirring...
Iron Ball spun in place, increasing his movement speed. He was invisible unless the enemies also entered the bush.
Whirring!
His speed gradually reached its peak.
"Ah, Iron Ball! He's revving up his speed! He's planning to charge at them at full speed!"
"Yes, after reaching maximum speed, he'll charge!"
Whirring!!!
White smoke rose from Iron Ball, indicating that he had reached maximum speed.
"When the jungler gets here, I’ll go."
As soon as the jungler arrived, Iron Ball would burst out at top speed and crash into the enemy.
'I should also increase my speed a bit.'
Almond thought he should also find a way to increase his movement speed. It was better for the ADC to rush in with the supporter than for Iron Ball to go alone.
Whirring.
He drew his bow and aimed at a minion. Then, he released an arrow.
Whoosh!
The arrows flew almost simultaneously, quickly hitting the minion's head in succession. The minion was converted into gold as it burst into flames, but that wasn't all.
Whoo...
A faint light surrounded Almond and a message popped up.
[Movement Speed Has Increased]
The supporter noticed Almond's intent and exclaimed, "Let's go!"
Whirring—
They began charging toward the enemy at a terrifying speed.
"Uh... Huh!?"
"Run, run!"
The sudden charge startled the bottom enemy duo and they began to run away. Obviously, they couldn't avoid Iron Ball rushing at them at top speed.
Boom!
"Ah! They got hit!"
"There's no way to dodge Iron Ball at that speed unless Iron Ball drives poorly and crashes somewhere odd!"
The shield warrior floated in the air.
Then, the jungler jumped in.
"Eeeekuuu!"
The jungler was a monk.
[Blind Monk - Zygard]
"Haap!"[Vibration Wave]
He released a vibration wave as soon as he appeared. Hitting the shield warrior floating in the air was an easy task. Naturally, he landed a direct hit.
However—
[Shield Block]
Thud...
When the floating ended, the shield warrior immediately used his Shield Block skill and nullified the vibration wave.
"Shield Block nullifies the first skill that hit as if it never happened! Just like our supporter who pretended the previous incident never happened!"
— Lol, so true.
— LOL.
— HAHAHAHA!!
The vibration wave had no effect as if it never hit.
'This...'
The monk grew flustered. This could mean insufficient damage.
"The monk's combo only works after the enemy gets hit by Vibration Wave! What now?"
The enemy rifleman didn’t just stand there.
"Ah! The rifleman is freely attacking!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He began hitting the monk with his rapid-fire skill. Bullets endlessly struck the monk.
[Blind Monk - Zygard]
[HP: 32%]
The monk’s health dropped to two-thirds in an instant. He would die if he got hit a bit more.
That was when it happened.
'Huh?'
Thud!
A grappling hook caught the shield warrior’s shoulder.
"Almond! He’s using the rope move!? This the first time he’s using it, right?"
It was Sori’s rope movement skill. As the rope shortened, Almond's figure flew at a terrifying speed.
Whizzing—
The shield warrior was startled and flinched.
Whirring.
Almond didn’t aim at the shield warrior.
Whoosh!
An arrow flew and struck the rifleman in the head.
Thump!
[Frost Arrow]
It was a frost arrow.
[Frozen]
The rifleman froze for one second.
How could the arrow be elemental?
"Wait!? Why is it an elemental arrow, OrangeKing?"
"It's because of the rope movement skill!"
The arrow shot after using the rope movement skill was always an elemental arrow. Almond utilized this additional skill feature.
"Will Almond continue shooting at the rifleman... or!?"
Almond's next arrow didn’t head toward the rifleman. It flew straight for the back of the shield warrior's head.
"He's shooting the shield warrior!"
While Almond froze the rifleman to prevent him from dealing more damage, he also hit the shield warrior from behind. The enemy’s shield couldn't block the arrow from this position.
Almond went with this strategy because the rifleman was too far away for the monk and Iron Ball to attack together.
"Almond changed targets since all three of them can attack the shield warrior together now! Good judgment!"
"They have a much higher chance this way!"
Two arrows quickly struck the back of the shield warrior's head.
Thump!
[Shield Warrior - Crave]
[HP: 57%]
The combo from Iron Ball and the monk also landed. Their attacks directly landed with the enemy’s shield down.
[Shield Warrior - Crave]
[HP: 23%]
'Now.'
Almond slightly twisted his hand and changed elements.
[Wind Arrow]
This arrow dealt damage proportional to the enemy’s health and flew the fastest.
Whoosh!
[Shield Warrior - Crave]
[HP: 0%]
The arrow took the shield warrior's life. Almond deliberately delayed his timing to strike the final blow.
"His utilization of elemental arrows was perfect until the last hit!"
[You have slain an enemy!]
Almond immediately turned toward the rifleman.
"Ah, he’s aiming for the rifleman too? But that guy is already running away!"
The rifleman had already unfrozen and ran off.
"Should we chase that one, too?"
"Hmm..."
The distance was a bit far. The supporter and jungler hesitated, but Almond just ran.
[Movement Speed Has Increased]
With the movement speed buff, Almond calculated he could catch up with an empty quiver.
Tatatatat!
"Ah!? Almond! He’s going in alone again!? Is he going for it?"
"But he doesn’t have any arrows?!"
"And the enemy's health is still 80%?"
Almond managed to catch up to the enemy, but he had no arrows.
'You have no arrows.'
The rifleman aimed at Almond and thought this was his chance.
"OHH! This, this is..."
Then, OrangeKing realized. The rifleman should have just run away.
Bang!
"Almond's speed has increased!"
Click.
As if it was obvious, the bullet only grazed his shoulder and missed.
'Missed?'
It was possible. Even at master rank, one’s aim couldn’t be perfect. After all, the opponent dodging was also a master.
However, Almond also dodged the subsequent shots!
Bang!
Bang!
'What's this?'
The rifleman's face was filled with shock. Missing one shot was understandable, but missing all of them meant he was dodging the direction of the barrel.
Normally, dodging was done by prediction or creating confusion and moving unpredictably. Dodging after seeing where the bullet came from was only seen in the challenger rank.
'Is this guy a challenger?'
If he had just run, he would have lived.
‘Fuck.’
"Ah, the rifleman! Almond tried to reduce his health so he couldn't escape! The rifleman’s plan to attack has backfired!"
The situation had reversed.
"This damn—"
Clunk!
While dodging, Almond's quiver was refilled with arrows.
"Ah."
The rifleman could only sigh in the end.