Chapter 31: Debut (3)

“What is this! Mid Nautilus.”

“They probably picked Gwen for top, so it seems like they’re trying to fill the lacking tank line.”

“Do you think it’s a good pick?”

“His AP scaling was heavily nerfed, so he can’t be used as a damage dealer, but with the consecutive buffs to his base stats and tank items, I think there’s plenty of room for him to perform.”

[Is Para playing a tank too?]

[I’ve been watching since she was a nobody, and she’s never played a tank]

[? She hit 1,000 viewers from her first stream, what do you mean nobody]

[LMAO these fanboys are so proud]

[Yeah yeah, hate all you want, I’ve watched Para since her first stream~]

[Nautilus vs Taliyah, the laning phase will be tough, right?]

“We know Para as a player who picks carry-focused champions and showcases flashy plays.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what she’ll do.”

“If this pick is successful, the teams facing Ark in the future will have a real headache.”

“AP, AD, damage, tank. Her champion pool can’t be contained by bans.”

TOP: Gwen

JG: Wukong

MID: Nautilus

AD: Aphelios

SUP: Lulu

VS

TOP: Ornn

JG: Sejuani

MID: Taliyah

AD: Jinx

SUP: Renata

“Can we get your overall assessment of the draft?”

“Nautilus appeared in the mid lane, but BU still has a solid draft.”

“The Taliyah pick definitely looks good.”

“That’s right. Taliyah alone can counter Ark’s mobile top side, and with Renata, BU definitely has an advantage.”

[The last pick Taliyah is good, right?]

[Is Caster really playing Gwen?]

[Para will carry anyway, but for the future, they need to practice cutting down tanks]

[If ADCs are nerfed next patch, there will be no one to deal with tanks]

[Yeah, if you can’t play Gnar, you’ll never make it to the LCK~]

“Then let’s get to the match!”

[They picked Nautilus, but they’re not invading?]

[Even bronze and silver players don’t think every hook champion means invade LOL]

“The early laning phase seems to be going smoothly…”

“Oh? Lesser is finishing the raptors and waiting in the mid bush.”

“Is he looking for a mid gank? If Nautilus misses the hook, both mid and jungle could be in trouble…”

“Taliyah has crossed the middle of the mid lane, though…wow, Para!”

[Wow]

[What was that?]

[That auto-attack cancel was insane LOL]

“She used the fact that Nautilus has a poor auto-attack animation, or more precisely, a large passive auto-attack animation, to cancel the animation and land a hook at the same time.”

“If Taliyah loses her Flash here, it will be difficult for her to keep up the pressure like this.”

“It hasn’t even been 3 minutes, and she’s already opened up the mid lane.”

“She’s truly an incredible player.”

[If Nautilus hits 6, Taliyah will just die on repeat, right?]

[It’s hard to react to a hook like that]

[Para…are you even the best at Nautilus?]

[What’s with this random champion?]

After a fierce teamfight near the Rift Herald, Wukong died, but Ark came out on top.

Since his own champion, Wukong, had about 15 seconds left to respawn, Kim Do-jin stretched and glanced to the side.

‘…She’s amazing.’

Despite it being her debut match, there was a girl commanding the game with the same calm face she had when she first entered the practice room, without any change.

Initially, Kim Do-jin’s impression of her was that she was a pretty girl who could potentially be a bomb that would ruin the team.

Honestly, he thought they wouldn’t get promoted this season anyway and planned to leave as a free agent next year.

But.

‘She’s different.’

Kim Do-jin was just a 2nd-year pro in the 2nd division, but he could tell for sure.

She was a different caliber of player than any mid laner he had played with before.

Now he understood why the coach was so full of expectations, saying that things would be different in the Summer.

‘Is this what they call star quality?’

Her looks could put most celebrities to shame, and her bold playstyle captivated the viewers.

On top of that, her champion pool was too wide to be contained by bans.

Looking at Yoon Seo-ha, Kim Do-jin thought that God was not fair.

“Let’s give up this dragon and push mid with the Herald.”

“The teamfight isn’t bad, but wouldn’t it be better to take the dragon and then look to mid?”

“They’ll bring Ornn too, so it’s better to let Gwen push and take out mid. We’re not going for 4 dragons this game anyway.”

Ark was in a favorable position, so they didn’t necessarily need to give up the dragon, but Yoon Seo-ha strongly insisted on giving it up.

Everyone followed Yoon Seo-ha’s call in the strange atmosphere.

“How much did we get this turn?”

“We earned 3500.”

“With this, we could probably take Baron if we wanted.”

BU was happy to take the dragon, but that was it.

When Ark used their saved-up Herald to destroy the mid inhibitor turret and then targeted the remaining top tier 1 turret, the gold difference started to grow exponentially.

However, since there were no objectives up during their advantageous timing, Ark began to target the opponent’s bottom tier 2 turret.

“If they try to force us off the bottom tier 2 turret, let’s just dive.”

“If Jinx’s ‘Super Mega Death Rocket!’ hits, won’t we all get wiped?”

It seemed a bit of a forced call from Yoon Seo-ha, and this time, the team members weren’t easily convinced.

“I’ll mark her with my ultimate. If they don’t back off, Gwen can just keep pushing with Teleport.”

“If Taliyah sets up ‘Weaver’s Wall’ and Renata ults, we’re all dead, I’m telling you.”

“Are you not going to take the free kills after we bait out their spells?”

Unlike the calm voice from just a moment ago, her voice was sharp, like her first impression.

“If we fail, I’ll take responsibility.”

No one knew what a rookie who had just started her contract period meant by taking responsibility, but her words somehow reassured the team.

“Alright, let’s do it. We’ve succeeded in scrims before.”

With the team captain Kim Do-jin’s words, everyone prepared for the dive.

“They’re not backing off, judging by their movement.”

“Make sure you focus on Jinx no matter what.”

“I have Crescendum, the Chakram.”

“Save your ‘Equinox’.”

And so the tier 2 turret dive began.

BU also saw it as an opportunity and resisted as much as possible.

“I cut off Ornn’s ultimate!”

“Gwen, watch out for Taliyah!”

“Lulu, give me your ultimate!”

“My heal is on cooldown for 3 seconds.”

As Yoon Seo-ha said, the item difference was quite significant.

“I’ll use my Flash!”

“…Wow, she got all 3 of them.”

“…Insane.”

“What just happened?”

“How does her ultimate go out at that angle?”

With Yoon Seo-ha’s super play to finish it off, they were able to end the game.

After the match, the four players, excluding Yoon Seo-ha, gathered in Ark’s 3rd-floor dormitory.

Normally, they would be discussing the match that had just happened or sharing the joy of victory.

But today, a heavy silence hung in the air.

“Someone say something.”

Unable to stand it any longer, the ADC, Jin Yu-seong, spoke up.

“What is there to say, she’s just incredibly good.”

Lee Yoo-chan answered.

“That’s what I’m saying, how does it make sense, it’s her debut match.”

“We already knew she was good from scrims.”

“Are scrims the same as official matches? Even in the Spring, we were crushing it in scrims but couldn’t even make it to the promotion tournament.”

As usual, the bot duo bickered, and as always, it was up to the captain, Kim Do-jin, to mediate.

“Stop fighting, what do you think, hyung?”

“…She’s good.”

Park Jin-hwan, as always, gave a concise, top-laner-like answer.

After hearing that, Kim Do-jin scratched his head and spoke to his teammates.

“Everyone knows that the mid laner who joined today is a monster, right?”

No one on the team could refute that statement.

“I really think we can get promoted, just like the coach said.”

Excluding Yoon Seo-ha, all of Ark’s team members were high school students.

Even the oldest, Park Jin-hwan, was in his senior year of high school.

As pro gamers, they didn’t have time to waste in the 2nd division.

“So don’t hate on her too much for getting special treatment, and let’s all do well together.”

Everyone silently agreed with his words.

“I’m home.”

I greeted when I got home, but there was no reply.

Did my father and mother say they would both be late today?

I threw off the clothes I was wearing, went to the bathroom, showered, and changed into my pajamas.

‘I’m tired.’

I had been trying to build up my stamina, but even though the match was online, I was more tired than I expected.

I made up my mind to work out even harder for the future, and just then, the phone next to me vibrated.

The caller was Manager Seo.

“Hello?”

“Oh, did you get home safely?”

“Yes, thank you for today.”

“No, it’s my job. By the way, did you see?”

“See what?”

“Your uniform is sold out.”

“Really?”

I acted surprised, but honestly, it wasn’t that surprising.

At this point, Ark had only ordered about 30 markings that could be attached to each player’s uniform.

In the 2nd division, selling 10 per player was considered good, but I had some name value, so it wasn’t a stretch to sell 30.

After coordinating the pickup schedule for the next match and ending the call, my gaze turned to the uniform hanging on the chair.

The name ‘Para’ was written in black letters on the white uniform.

Up until now, it hadn’t really sunk in, but this was the moment I truly felt like I was back on Ark.