[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 382

-Waaaaaaa!!!

-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!

My heart is racing.

Not that I’m particularly tense.

But as soon as I step onto the stage, a thunderous cheer and support that I hadn’t heard before hits me, and I couldn’t help but feel my chest thump.

“Phew….”

After a light deep breath, I looked over at my opponent approaching from the other side.

MaBing from China.

As GRS’s jungler, he was one of the key figures leading his team to the Red Cup victory, and if you were to name the best jungler in the world right now, he would definitely be among the first mentioned.

Of course, someone might half-joke about me, but the truth is I still have quite a bit to prove.

Anyway, that’s why MaBing is one of the opponents I must definitely defeat someday.

Although this stage might not be the one, I still had no intention of losing.

‘Let’s do this.’

Whether he’s the world’s best jungler or the world’s best professional gamer, I wasn’t thinking of losing.

The Ban/Pick phase began.

The champions I was planning to ban weren’t much different from my previous match.

Champions that excelled in 1v1 engagements and had high proficiency.

I banned a few champions that particularly concerned me among them.

[Lee Sin]

[Graves]

[Olaf]

All the champions I banned were very powerful in 1v1s and ones that MaBing handles exceptionally well.

Shortly after, MaBing’s bans appeared.

[Gragas]

[Olaf]

[Lee Sin]

Considering my previous Gragas match might have bothered him, or whether he simply thought it was a solid pick, MaBing didn’t seem to have much of a different strategy than mine.

The key point was to ban champions that are skillful and solid in 1v1 situations.

Since both MaBing and I were junglers, our champion pools inevitably overlapped a lot.

It was now time to pick.

‘Hmm.’

Which champion should I go with…

I had a few champions vaguely thought out, but I still hadn’t decided whether to pick them or not.

‘That one should be the best.’

A champion with overwhelming performance in 1v1s and, above all, one with a lot of eye-catching abilities fitting the event’s theme.

[Irelia]

I brought out Irelia, a pick that Seo Yeon-woo had shown before.

Seeing it, I thought there weren’t many champions that are this flashy and effective in such a 1v1 event.

[Rakan]

Soon, MaBing’s pick also appeared.

Rakan…

It’s known that Rakan has the upper hand against Irelia, but as the proficiency of both champions increases, the matchup starts to pivot a bit towards Irelia.

Though Rakan’s skill set does counter Irelia, depending on how Irelia plays, that changes the game.

‘But the problem is, Rakan isn’t just any ordinary champion.’

In a sense, I might be hit by a counter among countless possibilities, but I wasn’t scared.

Rakan doesn’t always win against Irelia.

-Waaaaaaa!!!

The vibration from the audience exploded beyond the noise-canceling headphones.

I will definitely win to meet those expectations.

*

-Waaaaaaa!!!

The real match began amidst the audience’s cheers.

At the start, nothing special happened before the minions appeared.

Both Irelia and Rakan were melee champions, and aside from Rakan occasionally poking with blatant Qs, there was really no need to fight in the early game.

『ᵔᴥᵔ』

『🐧』

We exchanged greetings using emotes.

But why was that?

In the emote that MaBing posted, I sensed a strange wariness.

That was probably due to the subtle movements displayed by Rakan while he showed his emote.

He seemed to be lurking, looking for a chance to strike at any moment.

Right now, Rakan was exhibiting just that kind of behavior.

‘Let’s see what you got.’

Minions arrived to the lane, and the real laning phase began.

Initially, the matchup favored Rakan significantly.

Rakan’s lane pushing capability left Irelia in the dust.

Moreover, Rakan had the upper hand in early skirmishes, so there didn’t seem to be an opening for Irelia.

‘But it’s not impossible.’

Rakan had to use his Q skill and passive to push the lane.

My entry would be right after those two skills were on cooldown.

‘Now.’

While Rakan was pushing the lane, I had also whittled down the health of three nearby minions a bit.

To create space for my Q skill.

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

Using my Q skill, I zipped through the nearby minions, then used Irelia’s auto-attack range for some close kiting, hitting Rakan relentlessly before jumping back over to the minion behind me using my Q skill.

If I pushed here any further, I might take significant damage from the still-living enemy minions, so it was better not to risk it.

I managed to succeed in the first damage exchange, but it was too soon to celebrate.

Once the next wave arrived, Rakan would be pushing the lane again, restoring health thanks to his passive.

‘Bit by bit, I’ll chip away and wait for an opening.’

As I continued to whittle Rakan’s health down in the same manner during the next wave, from the third wave on, MaBing’s Rakan was no longer pushing recklessly; he waited for me.

But Rakan, thanks to his passive, had no choice but to push the lane.

No matter how careful MaBing was, if he didn’t plan to give up CS entirely, some gaps would inevitably appear.

Scratching sounds echoed.

And I didn’t miss the chance to slip through that gap.

‘Now!’

Irelia began her dazzling blade dance.

*

In the Rakan versus Irelia matchup, if Rakan blocks just one of Irelia’s E or Q skills with his W, Rakan has a very easy win.

In terms of matchup, Rakan had the advantage.

So, when MaBing saw the first pick ban phase, he felt somewhat regretful.

‘It’s kind of unsatisfying to win like this, but… I have to win, right?’

The Ban/Pick phase is an art in itself.

Even if it’s a blind pick where luck plays a substantial role, at the end of the day, the picks were made by the players themselves.

Moreover, if MaBing were to lose after such a draft, it would truly be a complete defeat.

That was something he couldn’t accept.

The match began.

When Irelia first used her auto-attack range to kite the minions, MaBing nodded.

‘Looks like they’re decent.’

But he already knew that Outlaw would possess this level of skill.

No, if he were an insignificant player, neither MaBing nor Li Zhi-Xuan would have paid him any attention in the first place.

‘But still…’

If Rakan didn’t take the initiative and just waited, Irelia wouldn’t have any moves left.

She couldn’t push the lane, and if she tried to trade damage carelessly, Rakan would win.

‘Huh?’

However, almost as if mocking MaBing’s thoughts, Irelia began to poke at the lane repeatedly, reducing the minions’ health.

It was as if she was expecting something to come soon.

‘What is she thinking?’

Her intentions were unclear, but if the opponent stepped into his territory, MaBing had no intention of retreating.

MaBing didn’t rush.

He calmly distributed his skills, waiting for Irelia’s abilities while carefully saving his W.

Irelia’s movements began to quicken.

‘Why is she so strong—’

MaBing felt something was off when Irelia had already stacked her passive to four.

Full-stack Irelia.

Even Rakan wouldn’t be able to win against her in a fight.

‘I have to retreat.’

MaBing’s Rakan tried to back off eventually, but the kiting from Irelia, dancing among the minions, didn’t stop.

‘What the…!’

Humans have a natural fear of the unknown.

To be cautious and fearful of the uncertain benefits survival, a trait that evolved over time.

MaBing was no exception.

By observing the opponent’s playstyle, he could gauge a certain understanding of them.

The subtle movements, the way they farmed minions, the distribution of skills, and so forth.

However, right now, MaBing had no understanding of Outlaw.

It was as if he was staring into a pitch-black void.

Nothing was visible; it felt weighty.

That’s why for the first time in his pro gamer life, MaBing felt a sense of fear.

He was afraid.

Terribly afraid.

Of that incomprehensible being.

That unknown entity named the unknown turned that impossibly beautiful woman into a figure resembling the Grim Reaper.

‘…I can’t win.’

The moment MaBing thought that to himself…

-First Blood!

Outlaw’s Irelia’s blade suddenly sliced through MaBing’s neck.