Chapter 9: Why me?

While I was roaming and getting kills, Kiana wasn’t just stuck in her lane.

While Elress and I were targeting the top lane, Kiana pushed her lane and headed down to the bottom.

Nayeon Queen (Telon) sent a retreat signal.

Nayeon Queen (Telon) sent a retreat signal.

Since Kiana disappeared out of sight while making her way down, I immediately pinged the bottom.

Our bottom lane was under considerable pressure because the enemy bot duo had a favorable poking composition.

However, thanks to decent health management, we managed to survive Kiana’s dive.

‘All the spells in the bottom lane are gone, but…’

It’s a loss, but not the worst scenario.

There’s no greater loss than dying.

Moreover, since Kiana had used all her spells, it would be fine to look for a solo kill at a suitable time.

Of course, what I was really aiming for wasn’t a solo kill on Kiana but to make the enemy jungler shout “The mid difference is really huge”.

‘Losing a lane is tough, but being politically attacked messes with your mental state even more.’

When you lose a lane, your mental state can shake, but getting politically attacked can leave cracks in your mindset.

It’s no wonder Leona is often referred to as a “disease game.”

As I pushed the lane and monitored the situation in other lanes, I saw Kiana returning to her lane.

As much as I wanted to secure a solo kill right away, I wasn’t level six yet.

Most importantly, I had used Ignite in the last skirmish, so I couldn’t find a kill opportunity.

‘The frog must still be alive.’

When I killed Kaasa in the blue jungle, the enemy frog was still there.

After Kaasa died, Elress headed straight to the top with me.

‘When Kaasa was eating the blue, he was level three and low on mana.’

This meant that Kaasa had cleared three camps in the red jungle and went straight to the blue.

‘After dying, the monsters in the red jungle hadn’t respawned yet…’

In a typical case, Kaasa would likely have taken the bottom crab route to eat the lower crab.

At that timing, my curious ally Thresh had placed a ward near the dragon side crab.

For the duration the ward was placed, Kaasa hadn’t shown up at the bottom.

So, Kaasa had likely started with the frog, cleared the wolves, and then taken the bottom route.

Having predicted and analyzed Kaasa’s movement in my head, I immediately entered the enemy jungle.

I subtly moved up to check for the Raptor’s status.

Just in time, the Raptor had respawned.

At that moment, I climbed over the wall near the red.

As I moved inside the red area, I encountered Kaasa, who had just finished hunting the ancient stone turtle and was heading to catch the Raptor.

“Bingo.”

Kaasa must not have expected to run into Telon in such a place.

He hastily moved towards the wall and used Flash, but…

He got completely stuck against a wall that was thicker than he thought.

Kaasa had performed what’s often referred to as a “wall flash” and came to a complete stop.

It looked like a movement that could be described as a real-life misclick, and I let him be.

[Enemy eliminated.]

Kaasa didn’t take any action even in his passive state.

I turned my back on Kaasa and leisurely returned to my lane.

‘How much longer can he hold out?’

Now that I was on the same team as Kare,

Having felt Kare’s “desperation,”

I needed someone to torment instead of Kare.

Unfortunately, that target turned out to be the innocent Kaasa.

***

[Enemy defeated.]

“Wow. She’s really insane, even though she’s on our team.”

Kare muttered quietly, watching Kaasa repeatedly get taken down by Telon. It seemed his feelings were shared by both the streamer and viewers watching the same screen, as even Kare’s infamous chaotic chatroom was filled with pity for Kaasa.

[“If Kaasa rage quits, I’d understand.”]

[“My parents cried after watching Kaasa.”]

[“I cried both up and down.”]

[“Poor thing…”]

[“But seriously, who is Nayeon that she’s so good, even with an easy champ?”]

[“Wasn’t Nayeon supposed to be a fun-loving new-meta player?”]

[“Someone this good loves targeting low-ranked players, lol.”]

[“Ahem!”]

Thanks to the frequent interventions of the jungler and mid-laner, Kare had an easy time in his lane. His lane was so dominated that he had the luxury of watching other lanes. There was no way an underfed Jayk could hold back an empowered Kamal. Unless there was some miraculous physical skill difference, that is.

As Kare continued to push the lane comfortably, the opposing Jayk moved forward to get a cannon minion. Kare’s Kamal immediately capitalized on the moment, diving in with his hook and instantly leaving Jayk with a sliver of health.

“Go home quietly.”

Kare warned the weakened Jayk.

Whether Jayk got the message or not, he disappeared behind the tower. Pleased at the thought of securing tower gold, Kare’s lips curved into a slight smirk as he pushed the lane.

“So, he’s really not going back?”

Kare sneered at the defiant Jayk, who was still lingering with dangerously low health. It was a situation where a quick hook and a couple of taps would secure a kill.

Just as Kare decided to kill the cocky Jayk who refused to retreat:

NayeonQueen (Telon) signals a retreat.

NayeonQueen (Telon) signals a retreat.

NayeonQueen (Telon) signals a retreat.

Telon’s sudden pings made Kare’s Kamal hesitate. He shifted his gaze to the minimap to see what prompted the ping. Instantly, he noticed Kiana, Kaasa, and Lux moving toward the top lane.

Telon’s ping made Kamal’s movements hesitate.

I shifted my gaze to the minimap to figure out why the ping was called.

Immediately, I saw Kiana, Kaseru, and Lux coming up to the top lane.

This is the number one situation that Forbes’ top laners dislike the most: a four-man gank.

It’s rare for all enemies, except for the ADC, to come to the top lane, but it happens frequently.

Top laners with a certain level of game sense immediately back off at such pings from their teammates.

However, there are top laners who stubbornly refuse to back off, either due to wanting a solo kill or being unhappy with the lane situation.

They are commonly referred to as “top lane psychos.”

“How dare this guy!”

Kare was one of the representative streamers of these top lane psychos.

[You have defeated the enemy!]

With a reckless mindset of wanting to take the enemy top laner down even if it cost him his life, Kare’s Kamal dove successfully.

However, he couldn’t escape from the three enemies gradually tightening the noose around him.

[Kill streak interrupted!]

“Good try. Not a bad situation.”

He sacrificed 700 gold to earn 210 gold.

But Kare shamelessly continued chatting and enjoying shopping.

[Thanks to Kare, my hatred for the reckless has grown today.]

[Kaseru just gained 700 gold, haha.]

[If we lose this, it’s Kare’s fault.]

[No matter how poorly Kaseru has grown, this changes the story.]

[Kare provided the turning point of the comeback.]

[Hey!]

[Stop the swearing!!]

[Is this person always like this?]

While Kare was enjoying his shopping, an unusual voice from the announcer came through.

[I can’t stop this!]

[Double Kill!]

The announcer’s voice sounded urgent one after another.

[Triple Kill!]

Who is mercilessly slaughtering the enemies like this?

Kare hurriedly finished shopping and moved the camera viewpoint.

The camera stopped at none other than in front of the enemy’s inhibitor tower.

There, a half-health Telon was hiding behind the wall, lying in ambush.

Who in the world is he waiting to kill like that?

As I pondered this, Jake, who had just revived, stepped out from behind the inhibitor tower.

The waiting Telon didn’t miss that moment.

As Telon climbed the wall, he dove straight towards Jake.

With the subsequent Q, auto-attack, W, and Tiamat combo striking Jake, the once full-health Jayce turned gray again.

[The Appearance of Legends!]

“What the…?”

While Kare was happily shopping,

Nayeon Queen’s Telon assassinated three people and had just taken down a fourth.

[????]

[?]

[??]

[He killed them without even triggering his passive, haha.]

[Look at that damage, Mu7ryun…]

[Nerf Telon, damn it.]

[I’m the ADC, but my hands and feet are tingling, and my head is shaking.]

[What the hell…]

Perhaps because the main camera was busy shopping,

all the viewers’ reactions were a series of ‘?’.

“I really want to see the replay, what happened?”

[Reidall]

[Honestly, even seeing this is, uh]

[I’m curious too.]

[Wasn’t Nayeon a local who plays ADC? Why is she so good?]

[No, no, Nayeon isn’t a local ADC.]

[Isn’t she rather high-tier?]

[It’s just that when she’s on the same team, she picks fun champions.]

[Info] Nayeon Queen’s main account, ‘NayeonGod’, was in the top ranks of Grandmaster until just a month ago.]

[What the?]

[The top ranks of Grandmaster are causing this mess by playing fun champions, haha.]

[‘Jo’ and ‘Bu’ from the Great Dawn Division…]

[The locals must be dizzy, right?]

“Is Nayeon in the top ranks of Grandmaster?”

Kare couldn’t help but question, unable to believe a viewer’s chat.

It made sense, as Kare hadn’t seen Nayeon the sniper play properly until now.

If they had been on the same lane, he could have somewhat guessed Nayeon Queen’s true skills,

but due to the characteristics of top lane psychos, who focus solely on their own lane,

this was the first time he actually saw Nayeon Queen’s play while playing together.

Hearing that she was in the top ranks of Grandmaster made Telon’s play feel incredibly refined.

It was like tasting a mediocre chocolate and then realizing it was expensive, making it somehow taste better.

[The Carrying Queen, wow!]

[Now that I hear she’s Grandmaster, Nayeon feels so unfamiliar…]

[That’s hot.]

[?]

[?]

[If it’s Nayeon, she might even allow me some pity for my bottom lane.]

[?]

[Why are there so many dumb players?]

[That was all one guy.]

[Ugh, damn.]

[Manager!!!]

“Ah, seriously, what the hell are you talking about?”

Unable to stand it any longer, Kare directly dealt with a viewer who was ruining the mood.

[Ugh!]

[A cut of a juicing toxic gamer!]

[The streamer who is in the right]

[A mutuber with proper ideals]

“Is Nayeon my type? I find Kare more attractive.”

[Ah, damn it.]

“Please go back to the abyss you came from.”

“You’ve come to the wrong ward.”

“Please don’t say such disgusting things before I report you.”

As Kare engaged with the viewers, the game had unexpectedly reached its climax.

No one on the enemy team could stop Talon’s massacre, nor did they have the will to do so.

After placing a ward in the well, Karthus was seen looking at the wall, reflecting while holding five Tears of the Goddess and broken stopwatch.

[What’s Karthus doing over there?]

“Hang in there, Karthus.”

[The mid difference was indeed significant] honestly

[Was he doing well because it’s an alternate account?] Eles

[Info: Eles is a super account.]

[Wow, super account indeed.]

Here’s the translation with the changes made to the emoticons:

“That’s why Elress was doing well.”

Now, to end the game, he headed towards the enemy territory.

Before long, the twin towers were demolished.

Finally, Kare finished the game by hitting the Nexus for the last blow.

“Carry.”

[?]

[XEL]

“The bus is sweet, right?”

“Carry?”

“I guess this is Mid AI Carry (lol).”

“Oh, I didn’t know that (haha).”

In the end, Kare achieved his first victory in the promotion match and smiled confidently.

The annoying smile made the viewers cringe, and they started typing insults in the chat.

“Hey~ why is everyone like this? I actually know that you all like me.”

[Yeah~]

[That’s what you’d think.]

“I really like you, Kare. I want to give you a gift; can you tell me your address?”

[This roughly means they’re planning to send a package with C4 installed.]

“Let’s rent somewhere like a big park and have a fan meeting.”

[Uehara Kare (lol)]

When unfavorable talk about him came up, Kare tightly shut his mouth.

Maintaining silence, Kare changed the broadcast title and sent a friend request to ‘Nayeon Queen.’

[What’s this?]

[Sending a friend request?] Kare said.

“I’m jealous of Nayeon.”

[The first successful fan (lol)]

Nayeon Queen accepted Kare’s friend request, and Kare immediately opened Messenger to chat with Nayeon Queen.

The Lonely Gourmet: “Nayeon Queen, I hope you don’t target me in this promotion match.”

It was Kare’s most polite message ever.

The usual playful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

After Kare sent the message, it wasn’t long before Nayeon Queen replied.

Nayeon Queen: “Understood.”

Nayeon Queen readily accepted Kare’s request.

Once their chat was over, Kare broke the silence.

“While playing the game, I felt like you were being mean to me…”

“…I want to try my best in the remaining promotion matches on my own.”

Kare calmly confessed his feelings.

Perhaps because they saw this different side of him, the viewers eagerly filled the chat with thumbs-up emoticons.

With a serious determination, Kare queued up for the next match.

Nayeon Princess has entered.

Umaha has entered.

Titan has entered.

The Lonely Gourmet has entered.

keepmeup has entered.

“No way, you said you wouldn’t target me, damn it!”

Upon seeing the familiar nickname in the chat, Kare let out a genuine curse.

The Lonely Gourmet: “Hey, didn’t you say you wouldn’t target me?”

Kare protested in the chat against Nayeon Queen, who had broken their promise.

After a brief silence, a message appeared in the chat.

Nayeon Princess: “Why would I?”

As that message caught Kare’s attention, he grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.