Chapter 31: It’s not over until it’s over.

Recently, my team luck had been pretty good. No, I should say it had been exceptionally good.

In League of Legends, there’s a mysterious theory often called the “law of total team luck.”

At first glance, it seems like a baseless excuse crafted for blaming others. However, there’s actually a very meticulous and calculated algorithm behind it.

During winning streaks, the system deliberately matches you with players on losing streaks, or alternatively, pits you against opponents who are relatively higher in rank.

League of Legends is a game of relativity.

This means that even if your team doesn’t have a so-called “troll” player, if the opposing team has significantly better skills, someone on your team is likely to appear as a relative troll.

In short, the game’s MMR adjustment ensures that for every game with good team luck, there will inevitably be games with bad team luck.

So, it was about time for one of those games with bad team luck to come up.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I lost a match recently.

But to think I personally brought that bad luck upon myself… what a cruel joke.

“Well, cleaning up the mess is part of the duo’s role too.”

Strictly speaking, Karma’s lost Flash was my fault, due to the invade order I issued.

The opponent simply responded well. In hindsight, it wouldn’t make sense to blame Karma entirely.

To be fair, Karma’s play was quite sharp in its own way.

“Though, trying to make flashy plays at level 1 without Flash and then dying is… questionable.”

Oops, I promised myself not to blame others.

Almost succumbing to the temptation of blaming again, I quietly focused my gaze on the mid-lane.

[Jui – Level 2]

Jui’s condition wasn’t great, thanks to recklessly taking turret hits in an attempt to secure a kill.

The lane was also being pushed against them, so Jui spammed skills in an effort to shove the minion wave into the turret.

At that moment:

– [3-Min Top Church Honor Disciple (Karma): Teleport – Ready]

– [3-Min Top Church Honor Disciple (Karma): Teleport – Ready]

With Karma’s enthusiastic pings, the ward glowing on the river tri-brush lit up.

– [3-Min Top Church Honor Disciple (Karma) is on the way]

– [3-Min Top Church Honor Disciple (Karma) is on the way]

It was Karma’s return teleport.

Since Karma had died quickly during the early invade, the ward placed back then was still active, enabling this teleport play.

“Not that it’s something to brag about.”

In any case, the important fact was that Karma and I were positioned on opposite ends, cutting off Jui’s retreat.

[0]

[Prisoner (Diana) marks SY Rainbow (Jui)]

The enemy Jui had no summoner spells.

Moreover, their health and mana were in poor condition.

Positionally, they were pushed up quite far to shove the mid-wave.

Just as danger often brings opportunity, this could also be seen as an opportunity.

When I appeared from the top jungle:

– Swoosh!

As expected from Rainbow’s Jui, a sharp reaction sent their E skill flying toward me.

“Not so fast.”

I dodged Jui’s flying bubble with a bold forward Flash.

Previously, I wouldn’t have even attempted such a risky move, but now it felt manageable.

Additionally, the fact that Jui had leveled their E skill at level 2 meant they hadn’t leveled W yet, so I had no hesitation in using my Flash.

– Splat!

Then, as if waiting for this moment, Karma appeared scaling the jungle wall from below.

To be honest, his entrance was a bit impressive, even to me.

However, there was one unforeseen variable.

[Karma – Level 1]

“Why are you still level 1?”

Because of this unexpected factor, Jui narrowly escaped with just one auto attack difference.

It was a classic case of lacking damage.

We could only watch as Jui mockingly teleported back to base inside their turret.

While it was a bit disappointing, it didn’t matter.

Even though I had used my Flash, the mid-lane situation wasn’t bad at all.

“Leaving now would feel wasteful, wouldn’t it?”

Although we had failed to secure the kill on Jui earlier, they hadn’t managed to shove their wave into the turret completely.

This meant the wave was still frozen in place.

Ordinarily, the allied jungler should’ve come to help break this frozen wave, but it seemed Ellison was busy planning something on the bot side instead.

Everything seemed to align perfectly.

Sometimes, situations like this arise:

You secure a kill, but end up behind in levels or CS.

This happens when you mindlessly recall without managing your wave, like now.

“Must be frustrating.”

This is one reason why mid-laners have started taking Teleport as a summoner spell more often these days.

Even if you manage to secure a kill with Ignite, you might end up losing more than you gain.

If Jui had been someone like 3-Min Top Church Honor Disciple, they wouldn’t have recalled here. But unfortunately, Rainbow wasn’t one to linger over such trivial losses.

– Shooo…

Jui didn’t cancel their recall.

“What a pity.”

Had Jui overextended even a little, or if Ellison had shown up to push the wave, there might’ve been another chance for a kill.

However, Rainbow chose to retreat without hesitation.

They hadn’t fully mitigated all the losses yet.

Anyway, Jui had secured the kill, while Karma had died and even expended his teleport.

However, if Karma managed to hold the lane, Jui would likely feel pressured and wouldn’t be able to dominate as before.

“If we consider that far, we’ve barely managed to offset the loss.”

Of course, the cost of that was my Flash and some inefficient pathing.

I couldn’t predict what kind of snowball effect this would have, but for now, that was the situation.

“Let’s keep going.”

Then it happened.

– Your ally has been slain!

Top lane had died.

By all accounts, K’un is a counter to Renekton.

But that’s only the case once items are built; in the early game, K’un still needs to exercise caution.

To make matters worse, our K’un had taken Teleport instead of the usual Cleanse against Renekton.

This naturally meant they needed to be even more careful during the laning phase.

“This isn’t good.”

There’s something I call the “jungler’s dilemma.”

It’s not an official term by any means, just something I made up on the spot.

Anyway, according to my improvised definition, the jungler’s biggest problem always boils down to one question.

Farming or ganking?

This is the quintessential dilemma that starts from the champion select screen. If you pick a champion strong in farming and aim for gradual advantages, your team might throw the game early on.

So, is it better to pick a strong ganking champion and focus entirely on relentless ganks?

That strategy often results in a significant level gap between you and the opposing jungler by the end of the game, which also becomes prime blame material.

You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What’s the right choice?

What should you do?

Generally, being able to make the correct decision in this situation is what defines the skill of a jungler.

“Bot lane might be our only hope…”

It’s hard to say for sure, but the reason Ellison didn’t come to cover mid might be because they were planning something on bot lane.

However, there was one thing Ellison didn’t realize.

The current bot lane, both allied and enemy, consisted of players who were not in their main roles.

This meant that both sides, being out of their comfort zones, would lean towards playing cautiously rather than making aggressive moves.

As a result, there would be very little proactive trading or action happening in the bot lane.

Although Ellison likely chose this secondary strategy because my early plan disrupted the initial jungle route, the fact remained that Ellison’s early game strategy had failed.

“Come to think of it, GRS is a bot-centric team.”

Maybe that’s why, or perhaps Ellison naturally gravitated towards bot lane after the early plan fell apart. Either way, it resulted in wasted jungle pathing.

As I always say, League of Legends begins the moment you leave the fountain, but for a jungler, the game actually starts in the loading screen.

In a way, this could be seen as Ellison’s mistake for not doing the habitual match history check.

“Not that it makes my situation any better, though…”

Even if Ellison had wasted time, our team’s situation was still bleak.

With both mid and top losing their lanes and giving up solo kills, there was no need for further explanation.

“At least top lane used Teleport, so the lane itself hasn’t suffered too much.”

The game was already halfway lost, but it wasn’t over yet.

Until the Nexus explodes, no one can predict the outcome.

“For now, all I can do is avoid risks and farm as much as possible.”

Level 6.

The bare minimum for Diana to pull off a superplay and create a miraculous comeback.

I headed toward the jungle camps, hoping to bide my time until that moment.

– Your ally has been slain!

– You have slain an enemy!

– Shut down!

– Double Kill!

– Triple Kill!

– Dominating!

– Double Kill!

– Triple Kill!

– Legendary!

– Ace!