A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 86

Kkang!

“…I admit. You’re a bit good.”

Kkang!

“Wow, I’m really glad we won in the end.”

“I don’t feel like I won even though I died and won like this….”

“To be honest, it was the last throw of the opponent.”

Kkang!

“Anything to say?”

“…Nothing.”

3 wins, 1 loss.

The Sirius AOS Team’s main squad was completely defeated by the second squad.

Of course, Ga-eun was substituting for mid in the opposing second squad, but that wasn’t an excuse.

In the opposing team, Ga-eun alone was in the main squad.

On our side, all five were from the main squad.

No matter how much Hyun-seong was a reserve force, he was still a main squad player with a different level of skill than the second squad.

It was a perfect defeat with no room for excuses.

“Just in case you didn’t know, all four games’ ban-pick and main orders were led by Rene.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Well, I did occasionally step in for the orders to match the tournament.”

That left them with no room to even blame their defeat on Ga-eun being on the opposing team.

“Honestly, you guys know, right? Excluding the first set, the ban-pick had valid points from your side too.”

“…Yes.”

“Do you understand why I said there was something to learn?”

“Yes.”

Just as the control of the jungle changed the flow of the game.

The streamer Rene was definitely not on the level of an amateur.

That fact became clear to all the main squad players over the course of those four games.

“I told you. Rene is genuinely not going pro just because of her pure personality. If she had challenged the pro scene and joined another team… it wouldn’t have been easy.”

“I thought that was limited to PVP… No, I was too short-sighted. I’m sorry, Ga-eun-hyung. I apologize, Head Coach. I’ll apologize to Rene later too.”

As Owen admitted with his head lowered, Jaehun and Ga-eun smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Now, let’s get back to the main point. Although we invited Rene as the play coach today, the four-screams we just did are meaningless.”

“…What?”

“That strategy was only possible because everything was fitted for Rene. But the core of our main squad is Ga-eun in mid. I won’t say Eunho can’t handle it, but it’s a strategy that we don’t really need to use.”

Just as Owen was about to ask what significance today’s screams had, he was interrupted.

“But there are things to learn. Not just you, Eunho, but everyone.”

The answer came back with Jaehun’s smile.

★

“Can we really do this…?”

[Yes. Please take care of us.]

Hearing that from someone who claimed to be the head of the Sirius team, the first emotion I felt was doubt.

Why… why would they do something like this…?

Is there even a reason for me to do this…?

But since I lacked the courage to voice such complaints.

“I understand….”

In the end, I had no choice but to nod my head.

[Alright, from now on, you’ll have a 1v1 laning matchup with Rene. Eunho, you will fight once at level 3 and once at level 6, assuming you meet by the river. Let’s start with Shehan.]

[Yes.]

Thus began the 1v1.

The first opponent was the top-laner, Prophy, who would make his debut this time.

And of course, this time I chose the Traveler, and the opponent chose the Martial Artist.

[Let’s go, nice to meet you.]

“Yes….”

As the first lane arrived, Prophy and I engaged in the laning match.

He was slowly and surely picking off minions, waiting for the right time to attack me.

The victory conditions were clear: either 100 CS or 1 kill.

He probably wanted to win with a kill.

Prophy was first to hit level 2, and simultaneously used his skill on me.

But maybe he was too eager as he made a hasty judgement.

I barely dodged his kick attack by stepping back, killing the minions, and hitting level 2 myself.

I immediately used acceleration, leaped towards Prophy.

He quickly used Jin-gak to push me away, but his timing was too late.

I stepped back slightly again to evade Jin-gak and thereafter continued my assault with agility and acceleration.

In the end, my HP was at 94 percent from minion attacks, while Prophy’s HP was at 61 percent.

Confirming that, I immediately paused the game.

“Pro… Prophy?”

[…Yes.]

“Why did you do that just now…?”

[Ah, I wanted to gain the advantage since I hit level 2 first….]

“No, I mean… why didn’t you use Jin-gak right after I leaped…?”

[…Are you suggesting I respond to your leap with Jin-gak?]

“Yes.”

[Rene? Do you know the range of Jin-gak’s skill…?]

“I do know.”

[Then how would you respond to my leap with Jin-gak? If you’re even a bit late, I’ll simply step back and avoid it, and if you’re even a bit early, I won’t get hit at all. Wouldn’t it be better to engage in mind games afterwards…?]

“I could respond….”

Why does he assume it couldn’t be done from the start?

“When you use your leap, if you time it just right… it would be accurate…”

[Huh?]

“If you time it just right when you leap… it would be accurate…”

[What on earth does that mean?]

Is there really no way to explain this?

“…Since I’m the Martial Artist, how about we switch and you play the Traveler for a round, okay?”

[Alright.]

So we switched characters and started the laning again.

“Right now….”

Bang!

[Huh?]

“See?”

[…How did you do that?]

“I told you to do it at the right timing…?”

[Then how do I do that…?]

For some reason, despite discussing the same game, the conversation wasn’t getting through.

What on earth is the problem?

While drowning in these thoughts, what came to mind was the head coach’s words.

[If a situation arises where you don’t understand each other, there’s no need to explain it. We’ll look back at the video later and discuss it. So… um, what should I say? …Just utterly crush our kids.]

After all, I was summoned as a play coach, but is it really okay to do it like this?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but it was mentioned by an expert in this field, so it should be fine.

“I’ll restart the game.”

[…What?]

★

“No, you’re supposed to react like this….”

[But I keep asking how to do that…?]

While I thought that, I still couldn’t understand.

“Why can’t you do this…?”

It’s just about inserting a reverse attack during the timing of the rush.

It’s a simple movement that barely qualifies as a technique.

I’m not even asking for anything hard.

Unlike the free movements in PVP, in AOS, the basic actions and skills you can use are fixed.

So all you need to do is react at the right timing.

Why are Owen and Prophy asking me how to do this?

If it were Ga-eun, she would surely understand exactly what I was talking about.

[Isn’t managing this much good enough?!]

“If they’re pro players… um. No.”

…It seems like my expectations might have been too strict.

Thinking about it, it’s impossible for every pro player to move the same way.

Ga-eun used to be a kickboxing athlete and is now regarded as the top level in New Dimension.

I feel a bit sorry now.

[Chew, ha, huff….]

★

Inviting Rene as a play coach was fundamentally due to Jaehun’s curiosity.

Would Rene be able to play like she did on her stream when all allies moved solely for her?

What would happen if the entire composition was fitted to her from the beginning?

What would it be like to implement a strategy that invested everything in Rene, tailored just for her?

Jaehun believed that if that worked, she would be a game changer simply by existing, altering the flow of the game; after seeing her play today, that idea solidified into conviction.

However.

‘This isn’t going to work. Pro play is out of the question.’

The problem was that there was hardly anyone who could keep up with Rene’s pace.

Unless someone like Ga-eun came along, no one could match her level.

In fact, during scrims where Ga-eun deliberately eased up her play according to Jaehun’s instructions, Rene self-destructed, causing the team to lose.

In other words, Rene’s extreme playstyle wasn’t suitable for the pro scene where solid victories were essential.

However, that didn’t mean nothing was gained today.

I got to learn a perfect level of laning and jungle paths that surpassed just completion.

…Of course, I had no intention of directly asking Rene why she made such moves.

I probably wouldn’t get a proper explanation anyway.

Therefore, Jaehun planned from the very start to record Rene’s gameplay, analyzing it frame by frame.

And that alone was enough reason to invite Rene today.

But beyond that, they gained something different.

“…To be honest, I felt like giving up at first and was quite annoyed, you know? But as I kept going, it became enjoyable. I can’t remember the last time I felt this much excitement about New Dimension.”

“So do I.”

“It felt like going back to being a newbie after such a long time.”

Winning NAK and immediately following it with Worlds victory.

Achieving a Royal Road and then a Grand Slam.

It was an accomplishment that most pros could never achieve in their lifetime.

The Sirius AOS team, having achieved that in such a short span and at such a young age, aside from Ga-eun and the recently called-up Shehan, was currently struggling with burnout.

Their scrim win rate had dropped to an alarming 50 percent or lower.

Even with Ga-eun on the team, winning games with three players affected by burnout and the newly called-up Shehan was by no means an easy task.

But just after a single day, their burnout began to fade.

‘I planned to start with the details of laning, but… fortune’s favor, huh?’

Jaehun silently thanked Rene.