Chapter 9: Why me?

While I was roaming and getting kills, Qiyana wasn’t just stuck in her lane.

While Elise and I were targeting the top lane, Qiyana pushed her lane and headed down to the bottom.

Nayeon Queen (Talon) sent a retreat signal.

Since Qiyana disappeared out of sight while making her way down, I immediately pinged the bottom.

Our bottom lane was under considerable pressure because the enemy bot duo had a favorable poking composition.

However, thanks to decent health management, we managed to survive Qiyana’s dive.

‘All the spells in the bottom lane are gone, but…’

It’s a loss, but not the worst scenario.

There’s no greater loss than dying.

Moreover, since Qiyana had used all her spells, it would be fine to look for a solo kill at a suitable time.

Of course, what I was really aiming for wasn’t a solo kill on Qiyana but to make the enemy jungler shout “The mid difference is really huge”.

‘Losing a lane is tough, but being politically attacked messes with your mental state even more.’

When you lose a lane, your mental state can shake, but getting politically attacked can leave cracks in your mindset.

It’s no wonder Leona is often referred to as a “disease game.”

As I pushed the lane and monitored the situation in other lanes, I saw Qiyana returning to her lane.

As much as I wanted to secure a solo kill right away, I wasn’t level six yet.

Most importantly, I had used Ignite in the last skirmish, so I couldn’t find a kill opportunity.

‘The frog must still be alive.’

When I killed Kassadin in the blue jungle, the enemy frog was still there.

After Kassadin died, Elise headed straight to the top with me.

‘When Kassadin was eating the blue, he was level three and low on mana.’

This meant that Kassadin had cleared three camps in the red jungle and went straight to the blue.

‘After dying, the monsters in the red jungle hadn’t respawned yet…’

In a typical case, Kassadin would likely have taken the bottom crab route to eat the lower crab.

At that timing, my curious ally Thresh had placed a ward near the dragon side crab.

For the duration the ward was placed, Kassadin hadn’t shown up at the bottom.

So, Kassadin had likely started with the frog, cleared the wolves, and then taken the bottom route.

Having predicted and analyzed Kassadin’s movement in my head, I immediately entered the enemy jungle.

I subtly moved up to check for the Raptor’s status.

Just in time, the Raptor had respawned.

At that moment, I climbed over the wall near the red.

As I moved inside the red area, I encountered Kassadin, who had just finished hunting the ancient stone turtle and was heading to catch the Raptor.

“Bingo.”

Kassadin must not have expected to run into Talon in such a place.

He hastily moved towards the wall and used Flash, but…

He got completely stuck against a wall that was thicker than he thought.

Kassadin had performed what’s often referred to as a “wall flash” and came to a complete stop.

It looked like a movement that could be described as a real-life misclick, and I let him be.

[Enemy eliminated.]

Kassadin didn’t take any action even in his passive state.

I turned my back on Kassadin and leisurely returned to my lane.

‘How much longer can he hold out?’

Now that I was on the same team as Curry,

Having felt Curry’s “desperation,”

I needed someone to torment instead of Curry.

Unfortunately, that target turned out to be the innocent Kassadin.

[Enemy defeated.]

“Wow. She’s really insane, even though she’s on our team.”

Curry muttered quietly, watching Kassadin repeatedly get taken down by Talon. It seemed his feelings were shared by both the streamer and viewers watching the same screen, as even Curry’s infamous chaotic chatroom was filled with pity for Kassadin.

[“If Kassadin rage quits, I’d understand.”]

[“My parents cried after watching Kassadin.”]

[“I cried both up and down.”]

[“Poor thing…”]

[“But seriously, who is Nayeon that she’s so good, even with an easy champ?”]

[“Wasn’t Nayeon supposed to be a fun-loving new-meta player?”]

[“Someone this good loves targeting low-ranked players, lol.”]

[“Ahem!”]

Thanks to the frequent interventions of the jungler and mid-laner, Curry had an easy time in his lane. His lane was so dominated that he had the luxury of watching other lanes. There was no way an underfed Jayce could hold back an empowered Karma. Unless there was some miraculous physical skill difference, that is.

As Curry continued to push the lane comfortably, the opposing Jayce moved forward to get a cannon minion. Curry’s Karma immediately capitalized on the moment, diving in with his hook and instantly leaving Jayce with a sliver of health.

“Go home quietly.”

Curry warned the weakened Jayce.

Whether Jayce got the message or not, he disappeared behind the tower. Pleased at the thought of securing tower gold, Curry’s lips curved into a slight smirk as he pushed the lane.

“So, he’s really not going back?”

Curry sneered at the defiant Jayce, who was still lingering with dangerously low health. It was a situation where a quick hook and a couple of taps would secure a kill.

Just as Curry decided to kill the cocky Jayce who refused to retreat:

NayeonQueen (Talon) signals a retreat.

NayeonQueen (Talon) signals a retreat.

NayeonQueen (Talon) signals a retreat.

Talon’s sudden pings made Curry’s Karma hesitate. He shifted his gaze to the minimap to see what prompted the ping. Instantly, he noticed Qiyana, Karthus, and Lux moving toward the top lane.

Talon’s ping made Karma’s movements hesitate.

I shifted my gaze to the minimap to figure out why the ping was called.

Immediately, I saw Qiyana, Karthus, and Lux coming up to the top lane.

This is the number one situation that Forbes’ top laners dislike the most: a four-man gank.

It’s rare for all enemies, except for the ADC, to come to the top lane, but it happens frequently.

Top laners with a certain level of game sense immediately back off at such pings from their teammates.

However, there are top laners who stubbornly refuse to back off, either due to wanting a solo kill or being unhappy with the lane situation.

They are commonly referred to as “top lane psychos.”

“How dare this guy!”

Curry was one of the representative streamers of these top lane psychos.

[You have defeated the enemy!]

With a reckless mindset of wanting to take the enemy top laner down even if it cost him his life, Curry’s Karma dove successfully.

However, he couldn’t escape from the three enemies gradually tightening the noose around him.

[Kill streak interrupted!]

“Good try. Not a bad situation.”

He sacrificed 700 gold to earn 210 gold.

But Curry shamelessly continued chatting and enjoying shopping.

[Thanks to Curry, my hatred for the reckless has grown today.]

[Karthus just gained 700 gold, haha.]

[If we lose this, it’s Curry’s fault.]

[No matter how poorly Karthus has grown, this changes the story.]

[Curry provided the turning point of the comeback.]

[Hey!]

[Stop the swearing!!]

[Is this person always like this?]

While Curry was enjoying his shopping, an unusual voice from the announcer came through.

[I can’t stop this!]

[Double Kill!]

The announcer’s voice sounded urgent one after another.

[Triple Kill!]

Who is mercilessly slaughtering the enemies like this?

Curry hurriedly finished shopping and moved the camera viewpoint.

The camera stopped at none other than in front of the enemy’s inhibitor tower.

There, a half-health Talon was hiding behind the wall, lying in ambush.

Who in the world is he waiting to kill like that?

As I pondered this, Jayce, who had just revived, stepped out from behind the inhibitor tower.

The waiting Talon didn’t miss that moment.

As Talon climbed the wall, he dove straight towards Jayce.

With the subsequent Q, auto-attack, W, and Tiamat combo striking Jayce, the once full-health Jayce turned gray again.

[The Appearance of Legends!]

“What the…?”

While Curry was happily shopping,

Nayeon Queen’s Talon assassinated three people and had just taken down a fourth.

[????]

[?]

[??]

[He killed them without even triggering his passive, haha.]

[Look at that damage, Mu7ryun…]

[Nerf Talon, damn it.]

[I’m the ADC, but my hands and feet are tingling, and my head is shaking.]

[What the hell…]

Perhaps because the main camera was busy shopping,

all the viewers’ reactions were a series of ‘?’.

“I really want to see the replay, what happened?”

[Reidall]

[Honestly, even seeing this is, uh]

[I’m curious too.]

[Wasn’t Nayeon a local who plays ADC? Why is she so good?]

[No, no, Nayeon isn’t a local ADC.]

[Isn’t she rather high-tier?]

[It’s just that when she’s on the same team, she picks fun champions.]

[Info] Nayeon Queen’s main account, ‘NayeonGod’, was in the top ranks of Grandmaster until just a month ago.]

[What the?]

[The top ranks of Grandmaster are causing this mess by playing fun champions, haha.]

[‘Jo’ and ‘Bu’ from the Great Dawn Division…]

[The locals must be dizzy, right?]

“Is Nayeon in the top ranks of Grandmaster?”

Curry couldn’t help but question, unable to believe a viewer’s chat.

It made sense, as Curry hadn’t seen Nayeon the sniper play properly until now.

If they had been on the same lane, he could have somewhat guessed Nayeon Queen’s true skills,

but due to the characteristics of top lane psychos, who focus solely on their own lane,

this was the first time he actually saw Nayeon Queen’s play while playing together.

Hearing that she was in the top ranks of Grandmaster made Talon’s play feel incredibly refined.

It was like tasting a mediocre chocolate and then realizing it was expensive, making it somehow taste better.

[The Carrying Queen, wow!]

[Now that I hear she’s Grandmaster, Nayeon feels so unfamiliar…]

[That’s hot.]

[?]

[?]

[If it’s Nayeon, she might even allow me some pity for my bottom lane.]

[?]

[Why are there so many dumb players?]

[That was all one guy.]

[Ugh, damn.]

[Manager!!!]

“Ah, seriously, what the hell are you talking about?”

Unable to stand it any longer, Curry directly dealt with a viewer who was ruining the mood.

[Ugh!]

[A cut of a juicing toxic gamer!]

[The streamer who is in the right]

[A mutuber with proper ideals]

“Is Nayeon my type? I find Curry more attractive.”

[Ah, damn it.]

“Please go back to the abyss you came from.”

“You’ve come to the wrong ward.”

“Please don’t say such disgusting things before I report you.”

As Curry engaged with the viewers, the game had unexpectedly reached its climax.

No one on the enemy team could stop Talon’s massacre, nor did they have the will to do so.

After placing a ward in the well, Karthus was seen looking at the wall, reflecting while holding five Tears of the Goddess and broken stopwatch.

[What’s Kaarthus doing over there?]

“Hang in there, Karthus.”

[The mid difference was indeed significant] honestly

[Was he doing well because it’s an alternate account?] Elise

[Info: Elise is a super account.]

[Wow, super account indeed.]

Here’s the translation with the changes made to the emoticons:

“That’s why Elise was doing well.”

Now, to end the game, he headed towards the enemy territory.

Before long, the twin towers were demolished.

Finally, Curry finished the game by hitting the Nexus for the last blow.

“Curry.”

[?]

“The bus is sweet, right?”

“Curry?”

“I guess this is Mid AI Carry (lol).”

“Oh, I didn’t know that (haha).”

In the end, Curryachieved his first victory in the promotion match and smiled confidently.

The annoying smile made the viewers cringe, and they started typing insults in the chat.

“Hey~ why is everyone like this? I actually know that you all like me.”

[Yeah~]

[That’s what you’d think.]

“I really like you, Curry. I want to give you a gift; can you tell me your address?”

[This roughly means they’re planning to send a package with C4 installed.]

“Let’s rent somewhere like a big park and have a fan meeting.”

[Hurry Curry (lol)]

When unfavorable talk about him came up, Curry tightly shut his mouth.

Maintaining silence, Curry changed the broadcast title and sent a friend request to ‘Nayeon Queen.’

[What’s this?]

[Sending a friend request?] Curry said.

“I’m jealous of Nayeon.”

[The first successful fan (lol)]

Nayeon Queen accepted Curry’s friend request, and Curry immediately opened Messenger to chat with Nayeon Queen.

The Lonely Gourmet: “Nayeon Queen, I hope you don’t target me in this promotion match.”

It was Curry’s most polite message ever.

The usual playful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

After Curry sent the message, it wasn’t long before Nayeon Queen replied.

Nayeon Queen: “Understood.”

Nayeon Queen readily accepted Curry’s request.

Once their chat was over, Curry broke the silence.

“While playing the game, I felt like you were being mean to me…”

“…I want to try my best in the remaining promotion matches on my own.”

Curry calmly confessed his feelings.

Perhaps because they saw this different side of him, the viewers eagerly filled the chat with thumbs-up emoticons.

With a serious determination, Curry queued up for the next match.

Nayeon Princess has entered.

Umaha has entered.

Titan has entered.

The Lonely Gourmet has entered.

keepmeup has entered.

“No way, you said you wouldn’t target me, damn it!”

Upon seeing the familiar nickname in the chat, Curry let out a genuine curse.

The Lonely Gourmet: “Hey, didn’t you say you wouldn’t target me?”

Curry protested in the chat against Nayeon Queen, who had broken their promise.

After a brief silence, a message appeared in the chat.

Nayeon Princess: “Why would I?”

As that message caught Curry’s attention, he grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.