Chapter 13: Questionable Yune Craftsman

“Preseason, huh…”

I slowly examined the 10.23 patch notes for Leory.

Every season, Leory seemed to go through major changes, almost as if it were a different game each time. But this time, I felt that the item patch was the craziest patch of all. There were just so many items removed and new items added, and they now even had different tiers.

It was an item patch that could literally shake the foundations of Leory.

This was a patch that essentially turned every player into a newbie.

It was a divisive patch, but current interest in Leory had reached an all-time high.

“I don’t like it.”

Looking over the item list, I let out a sigh.

Core crit items used to have a standard 25% crit chance as a rule, but with this patch, the crit chance for all legendary and mythic crit items had been reduced to 20%.

Yune was one of my main champions, and Yune’s passive doubled the crit chance. Previously, with just two core crit items, I could reach 100% crit chance.

But now, I’d have to get three mythic and legendary crit items to hit that same level.

I could buy lower-tier crit items, but after doing some rough calculations, it seemed more worthwhile to complete the core items.

As a result, this patch wasn’t favorable for champions like Yune and Yasuo, who had a passive that increased crit chance but reduced crit damage by 10%.

Meanwhile, the stats on items for ‘tank’ champions were just absurd.

To know how broken they were, I’d have to experience it firsthand, but it was clear that the specs on tank items were no joke.

Not that I’d be playing a tank anyway.

As I continued to test and research Yune’s item build in practice mode, I arrived at one conclusion.

“There’s no answer with mythic items.”

Among the mythic crit items—Immortal Shieldbow, Galeforce, and Kraken Slayer—only Shieldbow and Galeforce somewhat suited Yune, but they weren’t great.

They felt overpriced for their performance, lacking in value.

Shieldbow looked good with its lifeline effect and small boosts to lifesteal, attack speed, crit chance, and movement speed, but each stat felt somewhat mediocre, and I doubted how much this lifeline effect would really boost Yune’s survivability, considering she’s practically as fragile as paper.

Galeforce seemed promising as it added a dash ability, but the cooldown was ridiculous. It was a decent item if you ignored the cooldown, but it was still too soon to give a definitive verdict.

I dropped the assumption that I had to make a mythic item my first core item. The mythic crit items currently available for Yune were just too underwhelming to be locked into that mindset.

I turned my attention to legendary items to find a solution for Yune.

After searching through crit-related legendary items, I reviewed each one in-game.

And soon, I found a crit item that showed some “potential.”

*Guinsoo’s Rageblade – 2600G*

Attack Speed 40%

Crit Chance 20%

For the price, the stat increase options didn’t seem that great.

“The preseason, huh…”

I slowly went through the patch notes for Leory’s 10.23 update. Each season brought such massive changes to Leory that it felt like a different game each time. Personally, I thought this item patch was one of the craziest updates of all time. There were so many items that had either disappeared or been newly added, and now they were even ranked by tier.

This was an item patch that could fundamentally shake the very core of Leory.

It was a patch that essentially turned every user into a newbie. While opinions were quite divided on this update, the current interest in Leory had reached an all-time high.

“I don’t like it.”

I sighed as I scrolled through the item list. Previously, core items related to critical strikes had a standard 25% critical hit chance as a built-in option. But with this patch, all legendary and mythic critical-related items had their critical hit chance reduced to 20%.

One of my main champions was Yune, and Yune’s passive ability doubled the critical strike chance. Previously, completing just two critical core items would push the critical strike chance to 100%, but now it required building three mythic and legendary critical-related items.

I could buy lower-tier critical items, but after some rough calculations, completing the core items seemed to be more beneficial.

Ultimately, this was not a favorable patch for Yune and Yasuo, both of whom had passives that doubled critical hit chance but at the cost of a 10% decrease in critical damage.

On the other hand, the specs of the items used by ‘tanks’ were insane. I wouldn’t fully understand their brokenness until I experienced it firsthand, but it was clear that the tank item specs were no joke. Well, I wasn’t going to play a tank anyway.

I thought about how to adjust Yune’s item build and, after testing some setups in practice mode, I came to one conclusion.

“There’s no answer in the mythic items.”

The mythic items related to critical strikes—Immortal Shieldbow, Galeforce, and Kraken Slayer—didn’t offer much for Yune. Among them, Shieldbow and Galeforce suited Yune best, but they still weren’t great. The performance wasn’t worth the high price—a feeling that it just wasn’t cost-effective.

Shieldbow seemed useful because of its Lifeline effect and small boosts in life steal, attack speed, crit chance, and movement speed, but each benefit felt a bit off, and I doubted how much the Lifeline effect would really improve Yune’s survivability, considering his squishiness.

Galeforce added a mobility option, which looked nice, but the cooldown was ridiculous. Aside from the cooldown, it was a decent item, though it was still hard to judge its effectiveness definitively.

I dropped the assumption that I had to build a mythic item as my first core item. The mythic items related to Yune and critical strikes were in such a bad state that they broke this fixed notion.

I turned my attention to legendary items to find Yune’s answer. I searched through critical-related legendary items and carefully examined each in-game.

And soon, I found one critical item that showed promise.

[Guinsoo’s Rageblade – 2600G]

Attack Speed: 40%
Critical Strike Chance: 20%

At first glance, its stat boosts didn’t seem impressive for its price.

However, the two passive effects below were very intriguing.

One dealt 45 physical damage for every 20% critical strike chance on a basic attack.

The other doubled the on-hit effect every third basic attack.

But it came with a penalty—no more critical strikes. Instead, it turned the ‘critical strike chance’ into ‘additional damage.’

This item’s penalty, however, actually served as a beneficial buff for Yune. Since Yune’s passive came with a penalty that reduced critical strike damage by 10%, this item effectively eliminated that penalty for him.

In other words, by simply completing Guinsoo’s Rageblade, his basic attacks gained an additional 90 damage. I started researching immediately, seeing the huge potential this item held.

“…This is broken.”

Before long, I reached a conclusion. Starting with Guinsoo on Yune granted ridiculous overpowered performance.

Ronin Swordsman.

He was a legendary player with the title of “Yasuo Master of the High Heavens.”

No current pro, nor even former legends, could stand up to his Yasuo. That was Ronin Swordsman’s Yasuo, and people began to call him the “Pinnacle of Yasuo.”

But one day, a Yune appeared who could match the legendary Ronin Swordsman, someone even the pros acknowledged. A low-level Yune with no recorded play from previous seasons matching the prowess of Ronin Swordsman? In their first encounter, Ronin Swordsman suffered a complete defeat against the mysterious Yune. They were evenly matched in lane, but when it came to game management, the difference was overwhelming.

That day, Ronin Swordsman faced his second wall.

It was the same wall he had encountered when he met ‘that person,’ the living legend and idol of all Leory players.

Now, finding a wall of a similar kind, Ronin Swordsman grew increasingly aware of the mysterious Yune master’s presence. He began tracking their records and queuing up as soon as their game ended.

Thus, Ronin Swordsman continued clashing with the mysterious Yune master. Even though he knew his behavior bordered on sniping, he couldn’t stop. He wanted to win, even if it was just once.

Knowing he couldn’t match up, he still saw the mysterious Yune master as his rival.

However, Ronin Swordsman never managed to defeat the mysterious Yune master.

Was he really going to give up just like this?

Just as he was wondering, the mysterious Yune master set a record of 50 wins in a row before vanishing without a trace.

Since that day, Ronin Swordsman checked the records every morning, but the mysterious Yune master never appeared again.

Time passed, the season ended, and preseason began.

After researching a new item build for Yasuo, Ronin Swordsman queued up for a ranked game to test it.

With the first pick, Ronin Swordsman locked in Yasuo without hesitation. Although it was risky to first-pick Yasuo, Ronin Swordsman was used to this kind of risk.

Both teams proceeded with their picks.

The enemy mid picked none other than Yune.

Many people say Yune is at a disadvantage against Yasuo.

But the mysterious Yune master had always defeated Ronin Swordsman.

For Ronin Swordsman, the pinnacle of Yasuo players, or even against any Yasuo master in the high heavens, to counterpick with ‘Yune’…

There was only one person it could be.

*Thump~!!*

Ronin Swordsman’s heart echoed in his ears.

“Ronin Swordsman?”

Seeing Yasuo’s nickname on the loading screen, I let out a faint smile.

Of all the opponents to face in my first game after so long, it had to be him.

This felt like fate.

Or was it an ill-fated encounter for Ronin Swordsman?

After all, he had never once won against me.

Not a single time.

“I must have easily scored over 300 points just from playing against Ronin Swordsman.

Well, it wasn’t too bad.

After all, there was no better opponent to test out Guinsoo’s potential than Ronin Swordsman’s Yasuo.

The game began.

Having lost the lane multiple times to Ronin Swordsman’s Yasuo in the past, I refrained from making risky plays, as I’d done on my alternate account.

My purpose in queuing up this game was to test Guinsoo’s, not necessarily to win.

So, I played steadily until I could get Guinsoo’s.

Both junglers clashed near the top side, fighting over the Rift Scuttler.

I and the top laner quickly joined the small skirmish.

Ronin Swordsman’s Yasuo joined at about the same pace as I did, but because our top laner was dominating the enemy, we easily won the skirmish.

It wasn’t a victory I achieved through skill, but through luck with teammates.

Of course, I didn’t mind at all.

What Leory player would complain about having good team luck?

After securing two kills in the 3v3 skirmish, I bought Recurve Bow.

With the item difference, the match-up turned around, and I took control of the lane.

Holding lane control, I harassed Ronin Swordsman’s Yasuo whenever he tried to farm.

I pretended that our jungler was nearby, pressuring him with the threat of a dive.

Yasuo had no choice but to recall.

The more this damage accumulated, the wider the item gap grew.

After even taking turret plate gold, I recalled and bought Guinsoo’s.

Its price was so cheap compared to other core items that I completed Guinsoo’s by 7 minutes.

“Let’s see what this feels like.”

Returning to the lane, I immediately engaged Yasuo, who was stuck between the large enemy wave.

Even though it wasn’t early game anymore, dealing with so many minions would be stressful.

Sure enough, my HP began to drop quickly.

[On a Rampage.]

With unbelievable damage, I instantly killed Yasuo.

“Damn.”

The destruction was even greater than expected, with unimaginable damage.

Guinsoo’s massive potential had erupted explosively in my hands.

[Unstoppable.]

[Master of the Battlefield!]

[Warrior of the Battlefield!]

And the enemies caught in this explosion couldn’t withstand the power of Guinsoo-Yune.

Before 15 minutes had passed, the enemy Nexus was destroyed.

No one on the enemy team surrendered or left the game.

The game had ended solely because of one Guinsoo-wielding Yune.

When the game ended, I checked my damage stats in the results screen.

The Yune I played had dealt overwhelming damage.

Having confirmed that my theories and research worked in actual gameplay, I exited the results screen and was about to start another match.

[Ronin Swordsman has sent you a friend request.]

[Accept]

A friend request notification popped up in my messenger.

I would’ve ignored it if it had come from a stranger.

But it was none other than Ronin Swordsman who sent the request.

This account hadn’t accepted a single friend request.

Not only because I found it bothersome, but also because accepting requests might invite unnecessary rumors.

But if it’s Ronin Swordsman, I suppose I could accept.

Ronin Swordsman was a player who hadn’t once sent a friend request despite all our encounters.

If he were the type to send friend requests for no reason, he would’ve sent one back then.

Thinking there must be a reason behind this friend request, I accepted Ronin Swordsman’s friend request.

Ilillilill: What’s up?

I accepted the friend request and sent a message.

It wasn’t long before I received a response from Ronin Swordsman.

Ronin Swordsman: If it’s not too much trouble, may I try sniping you?

Ilillilill: …Sniping?

I was taken aback by the sudden request to snipe.

Why would anyone want to snipe me when I’m not even a streamer?

Isn’t sniping usually something people just do without asking?

Or maybe he’s trying to gain something from the “Mysterious Yune Master” hype.

But as far as I know, Ronin Swordsman is just a regular player, not a streamer.

Ronin Swordsman: I’m asking for permission. I’d like to play a few more games with your Yune, if you don’t mind.

Ilillilill: Ah… I get what you’re saying now.

I immediately understood Ronin Swordsman’s position.

After being utterly crushed by me in that game, it must have lit a fire in him to win.

“Going 0 kills, 6 deaths, and 2 assists… yeah, that would do it.”

Yasuo’s final KDA in the last game had been 0/6/2.

Before, our games had always been close, with only a slight difference.

But to lose so devastatingly this time after I reappeared—no wonder his competitive spirit was raging.

Wondering how to respond to Ronin Swordsman’s request, I smirked.

An amusing thought came to me, and with a smile, I began typing.

After all, as a ‘sniper,’ I can’t let myself get sniped, can I?

Ilillilill: You can try sniping, but there’s a condition.

Ronin Swordsman: A condition?

Ilillilill: Yes, it’s simple. Just start a live stream.

Ronin Swordsman: A live stream…?

He must have been momentarily stunned by my request.

The chat remained silent for a moment.

But soon, Ronin Swordsman’s message appeared.

Ronin Swordsman: …I understand what you mean.

Ronin Swordsman: As a challenger, I’ll start streaming right now.

Ronin Swordsman: The platform will be Twitch, and my username will be ‘RoninSwordsman00.’

Ronin Swordsman readily accepted my proposal.

And so, that day, the player once known as “The Peak of Yasuo” began streaming.

The news of his stream quickly spread across several Leory communities.