Chapter 8
While I went roaming to get some kills, Qiyana wasn’t just stuck in lane.
While Elres and I were ganking top, Qiyana pushed the wave and headed down to the bottom.
Nayun Queen (Talon) sent a retreat signal.
Nayun Queen (Talon) sent a retreat signal again.
As Qiyana did some smooth moves and disappeared out of sight, I immediately drew a ping for Bottom.
Since the enemy bottom duo had a composition favorable for poking, our bot was feeling the heat.
But thanks to some decent health management, we managed to survive Qiyana’s dive.
‘All the bot spells are on cooldown…’
It’s a loss, sure, but I guess it’s not the end of the world.
There’s no loss greater than dying after all.
And with all of Qiyana’s spells on cooldown, it could be a good time to look for a solo kill.
Of course, what I really wanted wasn’t a solo kill on Qiyana but to make the enemy jungler scream ‘mid gap!’
‘Politicking feels way worse than losing a lane.’
Losing a lane shakes your mentality.
But getting politically messed with fractures it!
It’s no wonder everyone calls Leori a disease gamer.
While pushing the lane and checking on other lanes, I noticed Qiyana had returned to her lane.
I would love to get a solo kill right now, but I wasn’t even level 6 yet.
Most importantly, I had used ignite during the last skirmish, so a kill wasn’t in sight.
‘There should still be some frog left.’
When I killed Kassadin at Blue, the enemy frog was still alive.
After Kassadin went down, Elres headed to top with me.
‘Kassadin was level 3 with no mana when he was eating Blue.’
That meant Kassadin cleared the 3 camps in the Red jungle and went straight for Blue.
‘Since he died, the monsters in Red jungle haven’t respawned yet…’
Normally, Kassadin would be more likely to go for the bottom crab, but at that moment, our curious Thresh had already placed a ward on the dragon side crab.
During the time the ward was up, Kassadin hadn’t shown up downwards.
That indicated he likely cleared the frog first and swept the wolves through the bottom path.
Having predicted Kassadin’s movements in my head, I immediately entered the enemy jungle.
I moved up slightly to check if the Bladecaller had respawned.
Just in time, the Bladecaller had indeed respawned.
That moment, I climbed the wall near Red and hopped over to the other side.
As I moved inside Red, I spotted Kassadin heading to catch the Bladecaller after finishing off the ancient stone turtle.
“Bingo.”
Didn’t expect to run into Talon here of all places.
In a hurry, Kassadin moved towards the wall and used Flash, but he got completely blocked by the thicker wall than he thought.
The infamous ‘wall Flash’ left Kassadin frozen in place.
He must’ve moved like he was dying of embarrassment in reality, and I decided to let him be.
[You have slain an enemy.]
Even in passive mode, Kassadin didn’t make a move.
I turned my back to him and casually returned to lane.
“I wonder how much longer he can hold out?”
Now that I was on a team with Curry.
Having felt Curry’s ‘desperation’.
I needed a target to torment in place of Curry.
Unfortunately, that target was an innocent Kassadin.
*
[You have slain an enemy.]
“Wow. Truly, though we are on the same team, it’s a whole different level of madness.”
Curry quietly admired Kassadin as he kept dying to Talon.
That sentiment seemed shared by the notorious chatroom of Curry’s stream, known for its toxic atmosphere, as they also expressed pity.
[Kassadin could quit, and I’d still give him a thumbs up]
[My parents cried watching Kassadin]
[I cried both above and below]
[Goodbye, 7 deaths…]
[But why is Nayun so good at taking advantage of ‘free champions’?]
[LOL]
[Wasn’t Nayun the one enjoying full games instead of camping?]
[The skill of that player seems to be targeting ‘perpetually stuck’ players LOL]
[Whoa!]
Thanks to frequent jungle and mid interventions, Curry had a more comfortable time in lane and began watching other lanes.
The top lane had collapsed enough that he could enjoy watching the other lanes without worry.
Little Jake wasn’t able to stand up to the big Kamal at all.
It wasn’t just a ridiculous gap in mechanics.
Just as things were going swimmingly, the enemy Jake made an aggressive move to secure the cannon minion.
Curry’s Kamal saw the chance and latched on with a hook, instantly bringing Jake to low health.
“Go home nicely.”
Curry warned the weakened Jake.
Maybe the warning reached him; Jake vanished behind the tower.
Delighted to mine tower gold, Curry grinned as he pushed the lane.
“Not going home at all, huh…”
Curry sneered at the immobilized Jake, who barely clung to life without going home.
It was an opportunity where a hook was all needed to snatch up a kill.
The moment he decided to kill off disrespectful Jake who wouldn’t go home…
Nayun Queen (Talon) sent a retreat signal.
Nayun Queen (Talon) sent another retreat signal.
Nayun Queen (Talon) sent yet another retreat signal.
Talon’s ping halted Kamal’s movements.
Curious about why the ping had been sent, I looked at the mini-map.
What met my eyes was the sight of Qiyana, Kassadin, and Lux heading up to top.
The number one situation that top laners hate—four-man gank.
It’s rare for all but the ADC to come up to the top, but it happens often enough.
Some top laners with decent game sense would immediately clear out after such pings from their blissful allies.
However, some stubborn top laners, unhappy with the potential of a solo kill or lane situation, refuse to go.
These are often referred to as ‘top lane psychos’.
“That punk thinks he can come at me!”
Curry was one of the prime examples of a top lane psycho streamer.
[You have slain an enemy.]
Even if he had to die, he had a reckless mindset, determined to take down the enemy top.
Curry’s Kamal successfully dove in, but he couldn’t escape the three encroaching enemies.
[Kill streak stopped!]
“Nice effort. Not a bad situation.”
He paid 700 gold for the chance to nab 210 gold, yet Curry shamelessly critiqued while enjoying his shopping.
[Thanks to Curry, my loathing for reckless players has grown today]
[I can see Kassadin just pocketing that 700 gold LOL]
[If we lose, it’s Curry’s fault]
[No matter how bad Kassadin is, this changes everything.]
[Curry planted the ‘foul’ point of a comeback]
[Whoa.]
[Stop the swearing!]
[Is this how he always talks?]
While Curry was enjoying his shopping,
[Unable to be stopped.]
[Double kill!]
An unusual shout from the announcer echoed in quick succession.
[Triple kill!]
Who in the world is wreaking such havoc on the enemies?
Hastily finishing his shopping, Curry moved the camera viewpoint.
The camera stopped at none other than in front of the enemy’s inhibitor tower.
There, a half-health Talon was lying in wait behind a wall.
Just who was he waiting to take down?
Just then, the resurrected Jake stepped out of the inhibitor tower.
Talon didn’t miss the moment.
Talon dashed toward Jake, scaling the wall with Q, auto-attack, W, Tiamat combo hit him hard, causing poor Jayce, who had full health, to be covered in gray once again.
[Legend has appeared!]
“What the…?”
While Curry was joyfully shopping,
Nayun Queen’s Talon took down three enemies and now just made it four.
[????]
[?]
[??]
[He kills without even triggering his passive LOL]
[Look at that damage in a stacked 7 deaths…]
[Nerf Talon, damn it]
[Honestly, I’m an ADC and my hands and feet are shaking, my head feels all wobbly]
[Insane…]
Maybe due to not properly watching the main camera while shopping,
The viewers’ reactions echoed the sentiment of confusion ‘?’.
“I really want to see a replay of this; what happened?”
[Let’s review the replays!]
[Honestly, I totally agree]
[I’m curious too]
[Wasn’t Nayun a ground-level camper? Why is he so good?]
[Nah, Nayun isn’t that guy]
[In fact, isn’t his tier really high?]
[When we’re on the same team, he just picks fun champs.]
[Info: Nayun Queen’s main account, ‘Nayun’s Prince’, was Grandmaster until last month.]
[Seriously?]
[Grandmaster players do this with free champions, and look at the chaos ㅋㅋ]
[The ‘this’ and ‘that’ of the great catch may really twist your head]
“Nayun is a Grandmaster?”
After reading a viewer’s chat, Curry couldn’t help but question it back in disbelief.
And rightly so; Curry hadn’t seen Nayun play seriously until today.
If they had at least been on the same lane, he might have grasped Nayun Queen’s true skill level by now.
But due to the stubborn nature of top-laners focusing on their lane alone, this was his first real time seeing Nayun Queen’s play close-up.
Hearing he was Grandmaster made Talon’s play seem all the more refined.
It felt like that feeling you get after eating regular chocolate and finding out it was actually expensive; it tasted somehow better.
[The carrying queen wow]
[Hearing Grandmaster makes Nayun feel so unfamiliar…]
[He’s actually attractive]
[?]
[?]
[If it were Nayun, he’d probably let me pick Bottom. ]
[Why are there so many disgusting people?]
[That’s just one guy.]
[Ugh, damn it.]
[Manager!!!]
“Ugh, what’s with this lousy talk.”
Unable to stand it, Curry took action and booted out one troublemaker viewer.
[Sweep!]
[Juicing a toxic viewer cut!]
[Streamer righting a wrong]
[Streamer with the right mindset]
[Do you mean it’s Nayun? I think Curry is way more appealing.]
[Ugh, damn it.]
[Please go back to the abyss you crawled out from.]
[Wrong ward for the infirmary!]
“Please stop, or I’ll report you.”
As he engaged with the viewers, the game reached its climax.
No one on the enemy team could stop Talon’s massacre, nor did they want to.
With a ward placed in the well, there was Kassadin, clutching five broken stopwatch items and reflecting on his life.
[What’s Kassadin doing over there?]
[Hang in there, Kassadin!]
[Honestly, Mid gap was real.]
[Elres was doing well; was he a smurf?]
[Info: Elres is a super account.]
[Whoah, a super account?]
“That’s why Elres seemed good…”
Moving forward to end the game, it wasn’t long before the twin towers went down.
Finally, Curry delivered the last blow to the Nexus, ending the match.
“Carry.”
[?]
[LOL]
[Aren’t you riding the bus?]
[Carry?]
[Sounds like Mid’s true carry situation]
[Oh, I wasn’t aware of that ㅋㅋ]
Having claimed his first victory in the promotion match, Curry wore a triumphant smile.
That annoying smile prompted the viewers to respond with disgust-filled exchanges.
“Aw, come on, why so bitter? I know you all secretly like me.”
[Yeah~]
[Must be, right?]
[Seriously, I really like you Curry; where should I send my gifts?]
[It’s clear he’s saying that just to blow up the delivery!]
[Let’s rent a park for a fan meeting, alright?]
[Curry from a huge park, whoa.]
When unfavorable comments arose, Curry zipped his lips shut.
Maintaining silence, he changed the title of the stream and sent a friend request to Nayun Queen.
[What?!]
[Curry sent a friend request?]
[Nayun is so lucky.]
[First of all, a significant fan!]
Nayun Queen accepted Curry’s friend request, and he promptly opened Messenger to chat her.
The Lonely Gourmet: “Please don’t target me for this promotion match, Nayun Queen!”
It was the most respectful Curry had ever been in chat.
His usual mischievous demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
A short time after sending the message, Nayun Queen replied.
Nayun Queen: “Understood.”
Nayun Queen willingly accepted Curry’s request.
After their conversation concluded, Curry broke the silence.
“I used to feel annoyed playing with this person…”
“I really want to try to win the rest of this promotion match on my own.”
Curry calmly expressed his thoughts.
Seeing this different side of him, the viewers began to spam thumbs-up emoticons in a wave.
Thus, Curry rallied his resolve and queued up,
Nayun Princess has entered the game.
Umaha has entered the game.
Titan has entered the game.
The Lonely Gourmet has entered the game.
keepmeup has entered the game.
“What the hell! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t target me?!”
Seeing familiar nicknames in the chat, Curry couldn’t help but curse in true frustration.
The Lonely Gourmet: “Hey, you said you wouldn’t target me!”
Curry protested via chat to Nayun Queen, who broke the promise.
A brief silence, then one chat pops up.
Nayun Princess: “Why would I do that?”
As that chat caught his eye,
Curry fell back, grabbing his neck in utter disbelief.