Chapter 19: What is a tinker? (I really don’t know)

The profession of a “tinker” was to mend holes in pots, kettles, or dishes.

It was a profession that became rare in modern times, where broken dishes are simply discarded and replaced.

In Teamfight Arena, the tinker’s position was similar.

If an ally picked him, it’s frustrating, but if an enemy picked him, he was a thankless trash pick or a troll pick.

The tinker, who uses turrets as his main weapon, had very little flexibility and could only fight in a well-prepared battlefield.

He needed to roam and farm throughout the early and mid-game but couldn’t just sit in one place camping with turrets.

So, was he really strong in a prepared battlefield? Well, maybe against beginners, but against teams with a bit of strategy, he couldn’t do much.

If there’s a character who can delete the turret from out of range, or even just focus-fire it, the turret would be easily destroyed.

But that only applied in a standard 5v5 team game scenario…

<Wild and you are friends? Are you enemies now?>

<Is this bullying a newbie for real?>

<The opponent isn’t an ordinary newbie though>

<So funny! Haha>

In a 1v1 or Arena Battle, the story was a bit different.

The tinker required preparation to shine, right? Arena Battles prohibited combat until the 5-minute mark.

Once the tinker left the battlefield he controlled, he would lose.

Arena Battles meant that if you ran away from the arena or gave up the capture point, you’d lose because it continuously gave gold and experience.

It was truly a trash pick!

The viewers burst into laughter at Wild’s cruelty towards the newbie.

Why? Because it’s always fun when a newbie gets bullied.

Destroying turrets from out of range? It doesn’t apply to a champion like the Illusionist, who is a ranged mage but has relatively short attack range.

Destroying the turret with firepower and starting the battle? That would work in a 5v5, but in a 1v1, it was an impossible strategy.

Avoiding turret attacks with micro-control? Unfortunately, turret attacks are automatic targeting normal attacks, so this doesn’t work.

<Tip) In Arena Battles, it’s usually best to agree on the champion first.>

<That’s such a cowardly legendary move!>

<I was watching just in case, and of course…>

<But aren’t the viewers who didn’t tell him also accomplices?>

<I just joined the stream, what happened?>

The viewers started talking as if the Illusionist’s defeat was already a given.

However, instead of arguing with Wild or getting angry at the viewers, the Illusionist did something. What did he do…?

<Does he not even know what the Illusionist character is?>

<It’s not a character you often see in the game.>

<Wild wins! Wild wins! Wild wins! Wild wins!>

<Do you think studying will help, legend? Ha ha ha>

<It’s like watching myself cram for a test the night before.>

The Illusionist searched for “Illusionist” on YouTube to learn about the skills.

He genuinely didn’t know what skills the character had. For the Illusionist, both players’ loading screens were fast.

Wild, being a professional, and the Illusionist’s high-spec computer made it a breeze.

The loading for Teamfight Arena, which had become a national game with low system requirements, was quick.

He didn’t even have time to watch YouTube.

<Is this an open book test?>

<Time is money, save it!>

Normally, the Illusionist would check his ally’s vision while hunting neutral monsters and would not even look at his own character.

This time, he was alt-tabbing, hunting while watching YouTube.

<What’s the point of watching that?>

<Admit your defeat, rookie.>

<Are you friends or enemies? Second try.>

The Illusionist gave no reply to the mockery from the viewers.

Most viewers thought he might have cracked under the pressure. But, ‘This is doable.’ The Illusionist had quietly finished his calculations.

He didn’t speak because he didn’t need to show Wild that he hadn’t given up.

Soon, the 5-minute mark approached, and the Illusionist had reached level 3 after completing the promised 3 camps.

Heading for the real battlefield, the arena, he bought items with the gold he earned.

[Electric Shock Device]

[40 Ability Power]

[Deals 60 magic damage after hitting a champion (Cooldown: 40 seconds)]

Viewers expressed doubts about his item choice.

<Arena Battle usually requires beginner items, it’s the unwritten rule.>

<Since he’s a newbie, he probably doesn’t know, but beginner sets are super strong early on, though they don’t scale.>

<He’s lost his sense, always building shoes first, huh?>

<Illusionist’s builds don’t work if you just avoid everything and hit everything.>

Beginner’s Sword, Beginner’s Shield, Beginner’s Spellbook. The “three beginner items,” known for being cheap and having high stats, were a great choice.

However, there were no higher-tier upgrades, so they had no future.

But in Arena Battles, there was no future anyway.

It was considered the best strategy to buy two beginner items with the starting gold and money earned from clearing neutral camps.

But the Illusionist bought items with relatively low stats, so it was natural for people to think he didn’t know what he was doing.

<Electric Shock Device is good when you can burst down an enemy with multiple people, but it’s useless in 1v1.>

<What can you expect from a newbie who hasn’t even reached max level yet?>

<Honestly, the Illusionist’s mentality seems to have cracked? The turret attack is a normal attack, so it can’t be avoided.>

<This is honestly Wild’s fault, not the Illusionist’s.>

Finally, the two champions gathered in the arena.

Wild’s tinker had, as expected, placed three turrets on the Arena Point.

And annoyingly, he stood right in the middle of them, using the “come at me” strategy.

In this case, the only characters who could push the tinker out were snipers, whose basic attacks had longer range than turrets, or characters with skills that reached beyond the turret’s range.

People thought it was a game that was already lost the moment the Illusionist was picked.

[5:00]

[The Arena Conquest event has started!]

[On the Arena Point, you gain experience and gold every second.]

It was 5 minutes. It seemed like the inevitable outcome was clear in the minds of the viewers.

The Illusionist would either do nothing because of the turrets and be stuck outside the point, eventually dying to the tinker, who would reach level 4, or it would attempt to destroy the turrets but suffer health loss, unable to leave the point, and ultimately die from bleeding out.

But neither of those happened.

As soon as the 5 minutes hit, the Illusionist used Blink (a spell that teleports a short distance, with a 300-second cooldown) to enter the point.

Then, W – creating an illusion at the designated position, E – swapping places with the illusion and dealing area damage where the illusion was.

Since he was within range, he used Ignite (a spell that deals damage over 5 seconds, cooldown of 180 seconds).

Q – firing a magic arrow in a straight line.

The illusion also fired a magic arrow, following the champion.

If an enemy is hit by two or more magic arrows, they are stunned for 1 second.

While this may seem like a long explanation, from Blink to shooting the Q, not even a second passed.

It happened in the blink of an eye. And the result was…

“Enemy killed.”

“Enemy slain.”

Two messages rang in quick succession.

The turrets were destroyed immediately after the Illusionist died, but the Illusionist’s turret attack killed Wild’s tinker with its last shot.

It was a literal “love shot.”

However, in the world of competition, the outcome is always cold and decisive.

Because Wild’s tinker died first, it was the Illusionist’s victory.

The result was clear.

The Illusionist had won.

But it was such an unexpected result that it took a moment for people to process it.

<Is the Illusionist a god?>

<The Newbie Slayer Illusionist!>

<No way, is this even possible?>

<How did he calculate the damage?>

<Didn’t he say he didn’t know the Illusionist?>

<It was a trick! He pretended not to know the Illusionist’s skills!>

<If any skill had missed or gotten delayed, he would have died, right?>

<If he didn’t buy the Electric Shock Device and bought beginner items instead, he would have lost.>

<How did he calculate this??? Is he some kind of super brain?>

<How did he memorize all the spell damage, magic resistance, and skill calculations? Even a math PhD wouldn’t be able to do this!>

<How did he even do that?>

<I don’t know, but let’s have a drink!>

<What a pathetic level! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha>

<The Illusionist is a legend (a real legend)>

Late praise began to echo. It was the Illusionist’s victory.