[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 170

“Is that so?”

The reply I heard was surprisingly refreshing.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Kim Ji-hoon answered nonchalantly, but upon hearing that, Kim Jae-min couldn’t contain his racing heart.

“Is he actually a good person?”

To Kim Jae-min, Kim Ji-hoon was still an intimidating and unyielding figure, yet after the previous conversation, the distance that felt insurmountable had lessened just a bit.

“Can I call you… hyung?”

“I told you to.”

“Did you?…”

He definitely mentioned it during their first meeting, but he’d never actually called him that.

What should I even say… It’s like asking a zebra to approach a lion because the lion wouldn’t bite.

“Wait, that’s not really accurate.”

If anything, a better analogy would be a cat in front of a lion.

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a heavy voice broke through, making Kim Jae-min flinch.

You might think it’s silly to get worked up over something so trivial, but Kim Jae-min couldn’t help but be hypersensitive to each of Kim Ji-hoon’s words at the moment.

“Oh, this duo won’t do. Wait.”

Currently, the Timid Person 190 account was over 1000 points in Challenger, so Kim Ji-hoon pulled out an old secondary account he used briefly.

[Timid Person 105] [Diamond 1]

“What does that number at the back mean?”

Now he understood that 190 referred to Kim Ji-hoon’s height. Then what about the 105 on his secondary account…?

“Old weight.”

“Oh…”

Muscle is denser than fat.

Despite being over 100kg, Kim Jae-min was intimidated by Kim Ji-hoon’s horrifying physique, which had no excess fat whatsoever.

“I can’t exercise too much because I need to be active. I’ll just play two games.”

“Oh, okay!”

Just that alone was more than enough. Moreover, assuming they win those two games, they would soon be in the Master promotion matches, making this duo even more crucial.

“He mentioned Grandmaster, right?”

If he were solo, that would feel completely unreachable, but there was a chance with Timid Person 190 Kim Ji-hoon.

Kim Jae-min knew about Kim Ji-hoon’s skills. There was no need to seek him out from afar; he had seen firsthand how well they worked together in the recent scrims.

“Indeed, a Challenger 1000-supporter.”

No matter how good the meta might be for supporters, maintaining Challenger 1000 points as a supporter is proof enough of skill.

Beyond just the points, in the last three scrims, Kim Jae-min had never once succeeded in leading the bottom lane.

In fact, it was rather the case that the AD carry had struggled to keep up with the support.

For Kim Jae-min, who had always believed he was way better than his current tier, this was nothing short of a shocking experience.

“I have to admit. I… still don’t deserve to stand next to these guys.”

Currently, the gaps in OLZ could be seen mainly in the mid and bot lanes.

Of course, someone might argue that top was a weakness too, but the current top laner of OLZ, the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member Seo Yeon-woo, was not only just a Challenger but also a potential candidate for the best top laner. He even solo-killed EZ.

Furthermore, the Outlaw was one of the few junglers capable of maximizing that potential.

In other words, a top laner who would normally go wild in solo queue became a well-behaved thoroughbred after teaming up with Outlaw.

Additionally, while the mid lane was technically a weakness, Getback Baek Seong-an was a seasoned veteran who knew how to use even his own weaknesses to his advantage.

When he failed at trading damage and struggled with health management, he’d pull in the enemy jungler to initiate a fight, leveling up his own jungle.

He possessed a cunningness and craftiness that made his weaknesses inconspicuous.

So what about the AD carry?

No strength and no strategy.

All that remained was a burden that stubbornly held back his teammates.

It was so dire that it was easier to play with a rarely used non-AD carry champion than with a highly skilled traditional ADC pick.

To Kim Jae-min, that truth came as a colossal shock.

Having an AD carry missing was actually more beneficial…?

In his understanding of Legends of League, the AD carry was supposed to be the spoon, carrying the game as the flower of late-game team fights.

But in OLZ’s overwhelming top half, the AD carry was merely a presence whose job was not to die.

Whether he got overwhelmingly out-farmed or what champion the support picked was of no consequence.

Kim Jae-min absolutely didn’t want to accept that fact.

“I will prove it.”

Duoing with Kim Ji-hoon was the first step toward that.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

Ban/pick began.

Kim Jae-min and Kim Ji-hoon were picking respectively 2nd and 4th.

It was a decent pick order—neither good nor bad.

+

Ban List


Sylas / ⛝


Jhin / ⛝


LeBlanc / Gwen


⛝ / Lucian


Lee Sin / Graves

+

The bans were rather ordinary. Even though there were a few no-bans, considering the usual state of ban/pick in Diamond queue, it was reasonable.

The ally’s pick was a last pick.

[Miss Fortune]

The opponent first-picked Miss Fortune, who could be regarded as the most solid AD carry in the current meta.

Miss Fortune was strong in lane and proved destructive during team fights with her ultimate, making her one of the few champions capable of big contributions in a meta where AD carries were lacking.

[Malphite]

Ally’s first pick was none other than Malphite, the epitome of solidness and reliability.

Since Malphite could apply great pressure to the sluggish opponent AD carry Miss Fortune, it was an all-around solid choice.

In other words, the stage was set for the AD carry to thrive.

“Um… Can I ban Vayne?”

“Do as you wish.”

Typically, when Miss Fortune is first picked, it’s standard to counter with strong laners like Jhin or Ashe.

But Kim Jae-min wanted to prove something.

He wanted to show he wasn’t just a spoon riding the bus but a legitimate AD carry.

And then…

The ban/pick progressed slowly. Finally, it was Kim Ji-hoon’s turn as the 4th pick, and he said,

“Give me a support.”

Kim Jae-min’s shoulders twitched slightly, surprised that Kim Ji-hoon would ask for his preference.

“Uh, whatever you want…”

“Anything?”

“Yup! Of course.”

After blurting it out, he internally regretted it, but there was no way Kim Ji-hoon would choose something weird.

[Alistar]

An extremely classic and standard pick.

It was the fundamental ban-pick Alistar combo.

+

Allies / Enemies


Top: Malphite / Kamal


Jungle: Bipo / Xin Zhao


Mid: Yune / Galion


AD Carry: Vayne / Miss Fortune


Support: Alistar / Leona

+

Finally, the ban/pick was complete.

[Please select your champion!]


[Please select your skin!]

Both teams had a composition suited for team fights, but the opponents with Kamal and Galion had a stronger strategic advantage.

In other words, this game would greatly depend on which team won the early laning phase.

As the loading progressed,

-Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

The game officially began.

“……”

Throughout the long loading screen, there was no conversation exchanged between Kim Jae-min and Kim Ji-hoon.

For Kim Jae-min, it felt like he was drowning in silence.

[❕] [❕] [❕]


[❗] [❗] [❗]

There were no significant incidents during the initial invade.

It was a rather mundane start.

“Oh, I’ll do a leash and then go. I have to get the auto-attack anyway.”

Maybe because he was duoing with Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Jae-min tried his best to use everything he knew to play as a team.

Kim Ji-hoon didn’t argue and just quietly followed his lead.

Once the leash was done, the official laning phase began.

Vayne, Alistar vs. Miss Fortune, Leona.

Both Alistar and Leona were tank-type supports. Clearly, they wouldn’t offer immediate help in the lane phase.

Put that another way, it meant that the lane control would be determined solely by the AD carries’ inherent performance.

Vayne vs. Miss Fortune.

Statistically, Vayne had a slightly higher win rate, but that’s only because Vayne had the potential to shine in the late-game.

In terms of lane matchups, it was appropriate to say Miss Fortune was favored.

As the opponent slowly pressed forward, pushing the lane…

“Use your combo now.”

“Huh?”

“Do it.”

At the sudden commanding tone, Kim Jae-min’s finger moved almost instinctively.

As Vayne’s arrow flew through the air, Alistar dashed with an impeccable headbutt, forcing the enemy Miss Fortune into the wall.

Then came the wall combo like a picture-perfect play.

Kim Jae-min couldn’t believe his eyes.

“……Is that even possible?”

To create such a deliberate wall combo with the timing of skills?

He knew such combos existed, but to pull it off so effortlessly under pressure like that was mind-blowing.

As someone who had mostly dealt with Diamond-level games, this was an incredibly foreign sight for him.

Of course, the admiration didn’t last long.

In the end, it was still the AD carry’s duty to respond to the angles set up by the support.

-First Blood!


-Enemy slain!

But that wasn’t where it ended.

Dung! Dung! Dung!


Alistar’s stun landed right on Leona’s head.

-Double Kill!

Soon after, Leona had no choice but to donate a kill to Vayne as well.

“Wow…”

Kim Jae-min was at a loss for words, never expecting that this duo could secure kills in lane against the other team.

He realized it now.

He shouldn’t doubt Timid Person 190.

Kim Ji-hoon’s capabilities as a support were incomparable to any support Kim Jae-min had teamed up with before.

“This… is the teammate chosen by the Outlaw.”

Kim Jae-min glanced over at Kim Ji-hoon beside him.

What once felt solely threatening now seemed incredibly reassuring.

“If I stick with him… we can win.”

No matter where it was.

Somehow, Kim Jae-min felt that conviction deeply.