Chapter 11: Carrot and Stick

When Yone was released, there was a significant increase in Yasuo’s pick rate.

This was partly due to the fantastic ultimate synergy between Yasuo and Yone, but it was mostly because players wanted to experience laning against Yone with Yasuo.

Even though the story aspect of League of Legends is minimal, it still had some impact.

Yasuo, who was forced to kill his brother due to a false accusation.

Yone, who was revived and understood Yasuo’s situation much later.

Their relationship, which continued in the story, was connected to the Summoner’s Rift.

In the celestial realm, there was a famous Yasuo master.

A master who had reached the ‘extreme’ of Yasuo, feared even by professionals.

While I was climbing the ranks with Yone, I often clashed with that Yasuo.

I had many games where I lost and won, but ultimately, I won every game I played against him.

While the master had ‘romance’ in his playstyle,

He didn’t know how to win the most important games, which allowed me to triumph over him.

That’s why I was confident in my victory.

Losing to that Yasuo one-trick, who barely deserved the title of master, would be an insult to the Yasuo master who had reached the ‘extreme.’

As the minions arrived in the lane, I stepped forward to push the lane.

The outcome between Yone and Yasuo would be determined by the trade at level 2.

If Yasuo hit level 2 first, the matchup would quickly turn unfavorable.

From level 1, Yasuo was aggressive and tried to poke me.

However, Yasuo’s blades did not touch me; instead, I managed to poke back, stripping his shield and reducing his health.

The differences in skill shots were clear,

But the matchup was something that couldn’t be easily overcome even with physical differences.

If Yasuo hit level 2 first, the tide would turn in his favor.

Fortunately, I hit level 2 first, with Yasuo following closely behind.

I immediately leveled up my W, and Yasuo aggressively moved to the minions to approach me.

His movements suggested that he knew about the early trades with Yone,

But I slowly retreated while continuing to trade damage with Yasuo.

Using W at the optimal timing, I mitigated his damage.

As the resolve’s support rune, Bone Shield, triggered, the damage decreased.

Yasuo didn’t have Bone Shield since he took Precision and Domination runes.

I successfully led my allied minions to attack Yasuo unilaterally,

but I hadn’t overwhelmingly won the trade yet.

The trade wasn’t over.

The trading went on longer than expected, and Yasuo, with his Conqueror activated, tried to fight until the end.

However, with the arrival of the next minion wave, the offensive was reversed.

No matter how activated Conqueror was, trading damage while absorbing the early minion’s damage was foolish.

Yasuo, who was trying to extend the trade a bit more to secure a kill, realized too late that it was a mistake when he saw the damage from the minions focusing on him.

He backed off again, riding the minions,

but the Yasuo, left in a near-death state from the life-or-death trade, couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

Of course, my health situation wasn’t great due to the prolonged trade,

but I was still okay.

The rune I took was Nimble Footwork, which directly contributed to lane sustain.

So.

I slowly pushed the lane until the next cannon wave arrived.

Yasuo, unable to go home due to the timing of the cannon wave arriving, became intimidated by my aggressive forward movement and couldn’t come out from behind the tower.

After the trade, I immediately consumed a potion, and thanks to triggering Nimble Footwork several times, I recovered nearly to full health.

What I was aiming for now was to kill Yasuo, who was waiting to catch the big wave.

This inevitably meant I had to dive, and I couldn’t dive without sufficient health.

And my current health situation was optimal.

At the timing when two melee minions of the cannon wave died, I stacked my second Q, and as I hit level 3, I learned E to set up the kill angle.

This was a kind of gamble.

It was a kill angle catch based on the assumption that Lillia wouldn’t be near mid.

I used EQ Flash to approach Yasuo, who was relaxed inside the tower.

Yasuo couldn’t react to Yone’s sudden ambush.

In the end, Yasuo was hit by Q and became airborne, followed by Yone’s merciless attack.

[First Blood!]

In a situation where I could no longer withstand the tower’s attacks,

I used E once more to deal around 100 fixed damage to Yasuo, finishing him off.

I took two hits from the tower, reducing my health to below half, but that was okay.

The spell I took was not Ignite but Teleport.

In a typical situation like this, I would go home and return to lane with Teleport.

However, I trusted the nearby Udyr and pushed the lane.

As I pushed the lane, I checked top and saw Lucian properly pressuring Garen.

Garen was a champion with the worst matchup against ranged champions, so it was no surprise he was losing.

Especially in top lane, where the influence of first picks and counter picks is most significant, I could gauge how stressed Kare must be feeling right now.

After pushing the lane and hitting level 4, I dashed straight to top.

NayunPrincess (Yone) is on the way.

NayunPrincess (Yone) is on the way.

Umaha (Udyr) is on the way.

Umaha (Udyr) has targeted Gebokchimanani (Lucian).

The allied Udyr, whom I met at the river, also headed to top with me.

Not long after, we were almost there, and at that moment, Garen, who was enduring Lucian’s harassment, finally used his ultimate and courage to charge forward.

Did Lucian think he still had a kill angle even with some distance? He didn’t use his escape ability, and the moment Silence hit, Udyr chained Lucian’s feet with a stun.

Realizing the situation too late, Lucian tried to escape with his E and Flash.

But the insane Pidour, activated with a disrupt and Ghost, chased Lucian down to finish him off.

“Udyr!!! This is a real Udyr master, damn it!”

Kare’s joyful voice echoed in my ears.

Udyr did play well, but did I forget something?

Suddenly, I started to feel a bit annoyed with Kare.

NayunPrincess (Yone): What about me?

“Cut that bullshit sniper who brings ranged champions to top!”

Was it because my frustration had finally built up? Kare was too busy mocking Lucian’s death.

To make me feel bad not once, but twice.

I slowly and leisurely typed in the chat multiple times.

NayunPrincess (Yone): Answer

NayunPrincess (Yone): 3

NayunPrincess (Yone): 2

NayunPrincess (Yone): 1

LonelyGourmet (Garen): You’re amazing, you’re the best.

NayunPrincess (Yone): Right?  lol.

“Ha.. damn. What the hell is that guy’s master…?”

Was it a moment of realization? Kare lamented in an old man’s voice.

Hearing such a reaction from Kare gave me a strange thrill that spread throughout my body.

While typing in the chat, I returned home, bought items, and checked the situation in the bottom lane.

It seemed that Samara and Nautilus were being pushed back by the opposing bottom lane.

Their health management looked precarious, and I kept an eye on the bottom lane, ready to teleport at any moment.

When the junglers from both teams don’t encounter each other, they’re usually on opposite sides.

Since Udyr and I were in the top lane, there was a high probability that Lilian was in the lower jungle.

If I were Lilian, I would have definitely attempted a dive on the bottom lane.

After watching the bottom for a moment, Lilian indeed revealed herself in the bush near the Ancient Turtle.

The dive was about to begin.

I had already pressed my teleport button, and the enemy team’s Alistar entered first.

Alistar targeted our Samara.

However, due to Samara using her flash appropriately, Alistar’s engage did not connect.

Similarly, Lilian’s W also missed Samara.

With just one flash, Samara dodged three critical enemy skills.

Although Samara ended up dying due to the combined attack from Vayne and Lilian,

I teleported in and, along with Nautilus, finished off the three low-health enemies under the tower.

[Enemy eliminated.]

[On a rampage.]

[Going berserk.]

It took some time to catch them as the enemy team scattered in three directions.

Ultimately, I secured three kills, which was a massive gain.

‘The mid lane was covered by Udyr too…’

Our jungle had a jungler who was performing quite well.

It’s common for junglers in such situations not to back up the lanes, but Udyr minimized losses by covering the lanes without needing to ping.

Returning to the mid lane, I killed Yasuo.

There was no need for any additional explanation; the difference in our items was stark.

The difference in basic mechanics and decision-making was already apparent, and then there was the item disparity too?

[KDA 0/3/0]

Whether he had flash or not, whether he was under the tower or not, it didn’t matter.

If Yasuo was in my sight, he was dead, and it was useless for the enemy jungler and support to come for backup.

Yune’s E skill, which returned to its designated spot, was indeed a broken skill.

Ten minutes had passed since the game started.

[Conqueror of the Battlefield!]

There was no one who could stop me, wielding the Phantom Dancer, the Berserker’s Greaves, and the Best Friend Dagger.

[Avatar of the Battlefield!]

Wherever I went, a bloodbath ensued, and our team’s kill score increased.

[Legend’s Emergence!]

From the enemy’s perspective, Yune was a reaper.

A merciless reaper who took lives just by showing up.

“Wow… this is insane.”

“Did you see that combo?”

“Her hands are incredibly fast.”

“How did she know without vision? Is that what they call game sense?”

At some point, Kare’s amazed voice continued to echo.

Glancing at the phone with the stream on, I saw my Yune on Kare’s broadcast.

“Fuhuh.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that sight.

Who would think this screen was Kare’s personal broadcast?

Kare kept exclaiming in awe as she watched my gameplay.

Each time she did, an inexplicable thrill dominated my entire body.

This rush of adrenaline was a reminder that I was alive.

With that, I turned my gaze back to the game screen and played Yune even more spectacularly.

While practical and solid plays were more stable, the balance of the game had already collapsed.

I focused on finding Yasuo as much as possible.

Every time I encountered him, I killed him, and soon he started to avoid me.

Despite this, when he did die, Yasuo didn’t even come out of the fountain.

The last time Yasuo was seen, his kill-death score was 0/8/1.

The enemy team had vanished from the map.

It was another case of the typical open game that often occurs in the Diamond tier.

Usually, I wouldn’t have felt any particular emotion about this.

However, seeing those who had touched my toy—no, the streamer I was targeting—being thoroughly crushed made me feel good for some reason.

[The enemy has agreed to surrender with 5 votes in favor and 0 votes against.]

Deliberately not destroying the Nexus and bullying the enemies led to a natural 15-minute surrender.

The game ended with the enemy Nexus exploding, marking the conclusion of Kare’s fourth promotion match.

Once the results screen appeared, I turned on Kare’s broadcast.

What immediately caught my eye was the chat room filled with frenzy.

[Shut the fuck up! Yune is invincible! Nayeon is the goddess of blinding beauty! ]

[Nayeon > Four trashy snipers!]

[Four trashy snipers! Four trashy snipers!]

[What? The famous GM former sniper duo, haha?]

[ ‘cut’ at Nayun princess]

[Do you want to have a terrible time?]

[You bugs like you should burn in hell. ]

…….

[My house Bibo would do better than Yasuoh, haha.]

[Nayeon unnie, I love you~]

[Carrying Nayeon unnie… Hehe… ]

No matter how many times I see it, it’s a chaotic chat room that never gets familiar.

Clearly, the follow chat mode is activated, yet this level of firepower is astonishing.

I waited while sipping my drink until Curry calmed the chat room.

“Stop spamming!!”

[Stop spamming!!]

[Carrying Nayeon unnie… Hehe… ]

What? A famous grandmaster-level sniper duo?

Nayeon Princess, ‘Cut!’

Do you want to have a terrible time?

You bugs like you should burn in hell.

Our house’s Bipo is better at Yasuoo than that.

Nayeon, I love you~

Carrying Nayeon… Heeung…

It’s a chat room that never gets familiar no matter how many times you see it.

Even with the follow chat mode activated, the firepower is this much.

I sipped my drink and waited until Kare calmed the chat room.

“Stop the spam!!”

[Stop the spam!!]

Nayeon, Heeung… Carrying Nayeon…

Kare purified the chat room captured by madness with just one word.

When it was flooded with “Stop the spam!!,” Kare let out a sigh of relief and said quietly,

“From now on, if you spam, I’ll make it ‘stop viewing,’ so be careful.”

[You can’t help but stop viewing…]

[What does that mean??]

[Banning, you scoundrel! lol]

[Ah, lol, I thought it was something else]

[Tyrant mode huh?]

[Everyone, get down!!]

Thanks to Kare’s witty joke, we returned to the usual chat room.

Curry, who cooled down the heated broadcast atmosphere, whispered to ‘Nayeon Queen’ on Messenger.

“Even if I tell you not to snipe me, you’re going to snipe, right?”

Nayeon Queen: Yes

[Chew lol]

[Why are you so confident? lol]

[infinite rein…]

[lol]

[Ah, this is really crazy lol]

[It’s so ridiculous that it makes me laugh, seriously]

[lol What Nayeon says is super relatable]

[It’s nice to see how brazen you are]

The viewers burst into laughter at Nayeon Queen’s immediate response.

Where in this world would a sniper openly say they would snipe in front of a streamer?

Ah, here it is…

Gourmet Lone Wolf: I’m in the last part before promotion, you know?

Nayeon Queen: huh?

Curry, typing, smiled at the camera.

Gourmet Lone Wolf: If you’re going to snipe, then do it.

When I meet Gourmet Lone Wolf, I’ll wipe out every last bit of dust.

[Are you finally going crazy?]

[When I meet you, I’ll wipe out every last bit of dust (words from a Diamond to a Grandmaster)]

[What is this perennial loser talking about, ah lol]

[Nayeon carried me, Nayeon carried me, Nayeon carried me]

[You came in the middle of the broadcast lol]

[(Information) I’ve already met Nayeon as an enemy twice and got wrecked both times.]

[Ah, so that’s why it was two losses?]

[It was foolish to give both medicine and poison.]

[Hehe… the queen’s reward…]

After Kare’s message appeared, there was a period of silence in the chat.

Feeling something was off, Kare closed the messenger and opened the friend list to find Nayeon Queen.

However, Kare couldn’t find Nayeon Queen on the friend list.

When Kare opened the messenger again, Nayeon Queen’s nickname was shaded gray.

[LOL, backstabbed.]

[Is this a backstab or a front stab? Hahaha]

[The sniper vs. the streamer.]

[My chest feels grand.]

[Those who want to snipe and those who want to rise.]

[A fight between two prideful fools, haha.]

Kare smiled slightly.

An invisible psychological battle began with the sniper.

Staring blankly at Nayeon Queen’s nickname, now tinged gray, Kare switched the broadcast screen to the waiting screen and took a final victory.

“Hmm…”

I got up from my seat and stretched.

Having sat in the same position for so long, fatigue set in.

I hesitated to sit back down in the chair, but soon lay down on the plush, soft queen-sized bed.

As I enjoyed the cozy feeling and looked up at the ceiling, thoughts of the recent broadcast came to mind.

Lonely Gourmet: If you’re going to snipe, just do it.

Lonely Gourmet: When we meet, I’ll dust you off completely.

After getting that much from me, I couldn’t hate him.

Rather, I couldn’t help but laugh at Kare’s fiery competitive spirit.

I may be a weirdo, but Kare was even more of a weirdo than I was.

“Still, today was fun because of you…”

It wouldn’t be so bad to concede just for today.

As I lay there, an interesting concept I had seen in an encyclopedia as a child came to mind.

The Crespi effect states that as the intensity of rewards and punishments increases, a person’s performance efficiency also increases.

It reminded me of the psychological term known as “carrot and stick.”

Since I had tormented Kare quite a bit today, wouldn’t I have to give a corresponding reward?

If I kept tormenting him too much, it could ruin him or break his heart.

Not wanting to make Kare feel that way, I accessed the streaming platform where Kare broadcasted.

Once on the platform, I loaded 2.1 million won.

Then I entered Kare’s channel and clicked on “Support.”

[Flower shop owner donated 100,000 won.]

• Did you receive a mission?

“Are you serious?”

“Wow! Thank you for the 100,000 won donation! Yes! I’ll accept any mission!”

Kare was astonished by the sudden 100,000 won donation while engaging in shadow boxing with the invisible sniper.

[What the heck?]

[Did a big spender just appear?]

[Well, at Kare’s level, it was about time a big spender showed up.]

[What company is this…?]

[The prestige of having 20,000 alumni, haha.]

With the appearance of the big spender, the previously quiet chat room began to flood with messages rapidly.

“I’ll accept any mission! What mission do you have in mind, flower shop owner?”

Not long after Kare asked, a new mission was added.

{Master Promotion}

Reward: 2,000,000 won

“Huhhhhhhh!”

Kare’s eyes widened at the amount, which was more than expected.

Rubbing his eyes with both hands and checking the amount again, Kare let out a nervous laugh.

Had it really been that big?

After a brief moment of being frozen in shock, Kare slowly opened his mouth.

“Nayeon, hurry up and snipe. I’ll give you a kiss.”

“Why would I?”

In response to Kare’s words, I unconsciously replied.

I was alone, but I felt embarrassed and bit my tongue.

[Hahaha]

[Hahaha]

[Haha, what?]

[Nayeon, help me with my promotion!]

“Oh Kare…”

[Selling your pride for money? Don’t call yourself a man anymore.]

[Commander, please calm down!]

[Hahaha]

Having regained his composure, Kare spoke with a trembling voice.

“Aha, it was actually a joke.”

“If we meet as a team and win, I’ll give you 300,000 won.”

[Excuse me? Haha]

[Exposing your inner thoughts, you sly one, haha.]

[Why did the speech bubble change? Hahaha]

[And you’re only offering 300,000 won, you villain…].

“Come on, it’s just a joke. I’ll rise solely on my ‘skills.'”

“Nayeon, you know? You shouldn’t snipe.”

[Translation] It means to snipe lightly.]

[Wow… are you perhaps an archaeologist?]

[We have a linguist in Kare’s stream.]

With the appearance of the mysterious big spender, the atmosphere of the broadcast heated up.