[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 199

Time flows for everyone.

No matter how much I’m in a bind and need time, it comes at me cruelly without a moment’s hesitation.

“Get ready, OLZ people!”

At last, the game to decide the final team progressing from Group A was approaching.

Our opponent for the Group A qualifying match was PCS JJ (Park Chul-soo Jon Jal).

Read as it is, it becomes “Park Chul-soo Jon Jal.”

“…Who named their team that?”

As always, Kim Jae-min, who lacked a filter, commented on the bizarre team name.

“They probably just came up with it on a whim.”

“Hmm.”

A team that seemed to have been formed simply for friends to make some memories surprisingly advanced as the first in the group, beating out fierce competitors.

Although their record of 1 win and 1 loss felt a bit shaky for their advancement, what mattered was that they were our rivals.

“Don’t let your guard down. They might look like that, but two of them are challengers, and the rest are all at least masters.”

Baek Seong-an was right.

Even though one could say it was merely a preliminary for getting into the 2nd division, the opposing team’s lineup was not to be taken lightly.

Even if their nicknames had changed, they were surely players I had encountered in solo queue.

“OLZ in the front, PCS JJ in the back. Front has the picture, back has the numbers. Are we clear?”

“Yes.”

“Yep.”

“Then I’m going to flip it.”

The coin landed on the number side.

In other words, the back.

“It’s the back side. PCS JJ can choose their side now.”

Unfortunately, we did not get to choose our side.

But it didn’t matter.

Unlike the single-elimination format where everything is decided in the first game, in a best-of-three format, the opponent’s choice of side wouldn’t be as critical.

To be precise, I had too much swirling in my head to care about the luck factor.

‘…This is so nerve-wracking.’

Is this what it feels like when your mind is all over the place?

Even though there was a match that felt almost life-altering right in front of me, my thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.

‘…Focus, focus.’

Thinking about it won’t change anything.

I could discuss it more after today’s match or just deny it altogether later.

So, right now, I should concentrate solely on the game.

‘I should, but…’

I couldn’t help but be distracted by Seo Yeon-woo sitting next to me.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, yes?”

“I asked if you’re ready. What’s with that reaction?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Baek Seong-an’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It was a gaze full of suspicion.

“Have you… had a good talk?”

He was asking if I had finished speaking with Seo Yeon-woo.

“Yes, well…”

It went south.

Not just any south, it crashed and burned.

“Really?”

It seemed that due to my overly expressive nature, Baek Seong-an didn’t easily believe me.

“Then let’s focus on the match for now, and we can talk about the rest back at the dorm.”

“…Okay.”

Still, Baek Seong-an didn’t say anything more and turned away.

He probably had to think about the ban/pick strategy for the upcoming match, so there wasn’t any room for idleness.

‘Ugh.’

I should chip in too…

Words just wouldn’t come out easily.

“Okay, we’re starting.”

In the meantime, the match had officially begun.

Park Chul-soo Jon Jal chose red.

Given that most teams nowadays pick blue when they have side choice, this was rather puzzling.

[“Looks like they might have something prepared?”]

[“No special picks in recent records. Probably going to practice in a private setting.”]

For once, Kim Ji-hoon chimed in.

Since only Baek Seong-an was leading the ban/pick strategy, he must have been itching to speak up.

[“Sounds about right. Let’s go for a standard approach.”]

And…

Before I knew it, the ban/pick phase had concluded.

+

[OLZ / PCS JJ]

Top: Irelia / Jason

Jungle: Jarvan III / Nidalee

Mid: Galion / Jui

ADC: Ezreal / Jhin

Support: Leona / Seraphine

+

It seemed that PCS JJ had a plan in mind, bringing a rather extreme poking composition led by Jason, Jui, and Nidalee.

On the flip side, we crafted a ban/pick strategy to counter theirs.

In other words, the opponent was sticking to their designed picks, and we were responding to that.

It was a battle of sustain or burst.

Of course, technically speaking, with Ezreal on our side, we weren’t completely helpless against their poking, but being able to counter doesn’t guarantee victory.

‘The sustain difference is significant.’

Nidalee and Seraphine.

Both are champions that particularly shine in mid-game skirmishes.

So if we messed up a one-on-one fight, we’d likely lose a team fight due to sustain later.

[“Everyone, fighting!”]

[“Fighting!”]

“…Fighting.”

Amidst the empty cheers lacking any real spirit…

Finally, the game kicked off.

– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

[⬇] [⬇] [⬇]

As always, the ping went off.

[“Hmm, where should we go?”]

“…Bot—”

The opposing bot lane composition consists of Jhin and Seraphine.

Both are champions with weak mobility.

So if we want to succeed in an invade, investing in the bot side seems like a good idea.

But why do I feel this way?

「“…I just hope they don’t disappear without a word again.”」

「“They did before… you know.”」

「“No, not that. I mean… back then… they just disappeared without a word. Not a single word to me.”」

The conversation I had with Seo Yeon-woo swirled chaotically in my mind.

“…Let’s just defend.”

[“Okay? Got it.”]

Our choice was to defend against their invade.

I wasn’t sure if Seo Yeon-woo’s words influenced my decision or not.

Perhaps I was just being cautious since their composition was also nothing to sneeze at.

‘…I don’t know.’

My path was just the usual straightforward route to red.

“Don’t need to do a bot leash.”

[“Yep.”]

In professional games, it’s rare for the bot to leash for the jungler, but given my role as the carry, there were times I needed one.

But this time, it didn’t feel right to prioritize my growth over bot lane control, so I skipped the leash entirely.

The moment I began hitting red,

[❕] [❕] [❕]

The opposing team of four suddenly revealed themselves, causing a loud retreat ping.

It was a late invade.

[“Oh no.”]

“I’m just going to back off.”

The enemy already shoved in mid and bot, giving up all lane control, and they invested their numbers together.

In this situation, it’d only waste my time to force a smite fight, so it was better to give up and quickly change paths.

I immediately dashed towards my blue.

Since the enemy completely took our red, at the very least, I needed to split resources to avoid suffering losses.

After finishing off the blue, I immediately raced toward the enemy red.

‘Hmmm.’

I have no clue where Nidalee is right now.

Logically, I should just farm my red while splitting the resources, but can I trust the enemy, who just attempted a late invade, to let me split evenly?

‘Currently, the top and mid are both gradually losing control to them.’

The only reason Jui wasn’t hard-pushing was that his late invade caused him to miss a turn of pushing the lane early on.

Even so, if Nidalee comes up to defend red, I risk getting caught.

So what if…?

“Wanna put some serious pressure on bot?”

Legends of League is a team game.

If I can’t handle it, sometimes teammates can force actions in the enemy jungle.

[“Sure.”]

With Kim Ji-hoon’s reliable response, our bot lane began to genuinely apply pressure on the enemy.

Even though their picks were stronger in the lane phase, the nature of the picks meant the enemy would have to react to our aggression.

If they didn’t play it right, it could lead to a kill.

Crossing over to the enemy red through the Baron pit, I began to hit the red.

I still don’t know Nidalee’s position.

However, the enemy top and mid seemed to have no intention of joining.

‘Could it be working?’

The health of the enemy red slowly dropped.

200…

At that moment, Jui, having finished pushing the lane, disappeared from sight.

A wave of anxiety washed over me.

100…

I saved my skills, ready to bolt at any moment.

Finally, the red hit zero.

‘Got it.’

In the usual tension, I managed to pass the dangerous turn.

[Jarvan III – Level 2]

Having forced an odd buff-buff route, I had used up too much time.

The enemy wasn’t without losses either, but it means I still needed to focus on my growth.

Just as I was about to dash to the enemy golems to start jungling,

[“Can you come to top right now?”]

A whisper I couldn’t dare refuse echoed in my ears.