[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 383

From that point on, the sequence was already set.

MaBing had completely lost his fighting spirit, and on top of that, Rakan had also lost the strength to stand against Irelia, who had gotten the kill.

All that was left was to wait for the inevitable moment of death, like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

The defeated Rakan, having entirely lost his will to fight, quietly farmed while hiding behind the turret. However, as Sudden Death began, he was dragged into the center like a dog on a leash.

MaBing prepared for the final moment, doing everything he could.

He saved his W to block Irelia’s skills and kept moving to dodge the non-target skills.

But it was all meaningless.

Outlaw’s Irelia toyed with MaBing like he was a plaything on her palm, dancing between minions and ravaging Rakan.

Rakan could neither dodge nor block Irelia’s skills.

He just felt his flesh being torn apart by the flying blades.

Slice!

Slice, Slash──!

Rakan’s health plummeted in an instant.

Desperately, Rakan used his E skill in an attempt to interrupt Irelia’s attack, but as he fled gracefully through the minions, Irelia dashed back in as soon as the E skill ended.

Now, Rakan could do nothing.

All his skills were gone, and the only thing left was to activate his ultimate and charge in for a suicide mission.

Boom!

At the same time as Rakan’s headbutt, Irelia’s blade beheaded him.

[Defeat]

As MaBing looked at those words, he could do nothing but freeze.

A perfect defeat with no room for excuses.

He wanted to say that if it was team vs. team or jungle vs. jungle, the result would have been different, but for some reason, MaBing couldn’t even be sure of that.

*

In the Chinese team’s waiting room.

“Hmm.”

Li Zhi-Xuan couldn’t hide his admiration as he watched the scene on the screen.

Outlaw vs. MaBing.

For Li Zhi-Xuan, who had special feelings for both players, he couldn’t help but focus on this match.

And Irelia, of all champions…

Players who excel at their main position often show unexpected skill levels in other lanes as well.

Outlaw was no exception.

As he already knew, Outlaw showed an unexpected performance.

Even though MaBing picked Rakan, a counter to Irelia, MaBing’s Rakan didn’t put up even a plausible fight and was completely ravaged.

Considering Rakan is a champion typically played in the jungle and Irelia is not, there should have been a difference in champion proficiency, yet this was the outcome.

[“Outlaw steamrolled MaBing without hesitation!”]


[“What an incredible play by Outlaw!”]

Even though a fellow All-Star teammate, and someone from the same team lost, Li Zhi-Xuan was rather smiling.

In many ways, this match was good for Li Zhi-Xuan.

He not only regained some control over MaBing, who had been growing in ego since winning the Red Cup, but most importantly, he reaffirmed Outlaw’s value.

‘As expected, it’s only Outlaw.’

He felt that the long-standing thirst he had since recruiting MaBing had been somewhat quenched.

After all, he had lifted the Red Cup trophy with MaBing, so it made sense.

But today made him realize again.

To surpass the two-time Red Cup achievement that Rainbow had accomplished, MaBing was insufficient.

No, Outlaw was absolutely necessary.

‘Three times, no, more.’

Li Zhi-Xuan’s goal was to establish a great achievement that no one had ever accomplished.

‘Outlaw.’

Li Zhi-Xuan’s eyes captured her reflection on the screen again.

*

[Victory]

It was a short word, but as always, its meaning was extraordinarily special.

-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!

As soon as I took off my noise-canceling headset, the cheers of the crowd erupted around me.

“Phew…”

No matter how short the match was, my hand holding the mouse was damp from how much I had focused.

I won.

And I defeated MaBing, who is currently called the world’s best jungler, going beyond just China.

Of course, the laning skill might not be that crucial for a jungler, but the important part was that I defeated MaBing head-on even in an exhibition match.

‘Just one more step.’

Moreover, my showdown with MaBing wasn’t over yet.

There was still the regional rivalry match between China and Korea later that afternoon.

For now, this victory would serve as momentum for that match.

‘So…’

I stood up from my seat.

I was going to shake hands with MaBing, who had played a good game.

“…”

As I approached the opposing booth, MaBing sat there, staring blankly at the screen.

“Um…”

“Ah.”

Only then did MaBing notice me, hurriedly standing up to shake my hand.

“Good game.”

“…Good game.”

For some reason, MaBing seemed a bit dazed, but it wasn’t anything I needed to worry about.

After finishing the handshake, I returned to my seat, packed up my equipment, and looked at the crowd.

-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!


-Sister, you’re pretty!


-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!

It felt like something strange was mixed in there, but I didn’t need to care about it.

Amidst the cheers directed at me, I turned and walked away.

*

“Good job!”

As soon as I returned to the waiting room, Yoo Sang-hyun welcomed me.

I thought Seo Yeon-woo would greet me, but maybe due to today’s loss, she seemed a bit gloomy.

“Wow, but Outlaw, you’re really good at Irelia. How do you do that?”

Ryu Jin-hyuk nodded beside me.

“I know, right? That was amazing.”

Even BlackDog, who usually kept silent, chimed in with admiration this time.

“I knew you were good, but I didn’t expect you to be that good at Irelia. You’d probably have a hard time against Jin-hyuk if you went up against him, right?”

“Agreed.”

As Ryu Jin-hyuk nodded seriously, I was left without any words.

“Good job, sister.”

Only then did Seo Yeon-woo speak to me with a timid expression.

“Yeah. You played well too.”

“I could have won… I messed up.”

“That happens. It was just an exhibition match anyway.”

“…No. I’ll definitely win next time.”

Seo Yeon-woo spoke as if she had made a determination.

Her serious demeanor felt a little off to me, though.

“Uh… yeah.”

At that moment, Yoo Sang-hyun spoke.

“So, is it Jin-hyuk’s turn next?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I need to prepare soon.”

“Oh, good luck! Who’s the opponent?”

“It’s a European player.”

“Wow, you don’t even know the opponent’s nickname? That’s kind of pathetic, haha.”

“…I do know the nickname.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“I’m not telling you.”

And thus, it was Rainbow’s turn in the 1v1 tournament’s round of 16.

What should I say about this…

Rainbow chose Irelia.

[“What’s up with the Korean players today? Have they all been possessed by Irelia?!”]


[“Haha! Is there some hidden competition going on among the players? But all of them are exceptional with Irelia!”]


[“So Rainbow has to show it too. The top and jungle players have shown their Irelia prowess; now it’s time for the original to demonstrate what they’ve got!”]


[“That’s right!”]

The result was Rainbow’s victory.

This meant that among the Korean team players participating in the 1v1 tournament, only I and Rainbow advanced to the quarter-finals.

“Wow, Jin-hyuk picking Irelia there. He must have been feeling some pressure, huh?”

“…It’s not like that. I just thought Irelia looked good.”

“C’mon, you’re not just trying to assert your pride as a Mid Laner, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

And…

Finally, all the matches for the round of 16 in the 1v1 tournament came to an end.

The list of players who had made it to the quarter-finals was as follows.

[Korea] OLZ Outlaw (Jungler)


[Korea] SY Rainbow (Mid)


[China] GRS Nightmare (Mid)


[China] GRS Mobidic (Bot Lane)


[Europe] PK Mosrem (Top)


[Europe] SU5 Eldtor (Bot Lane)


[North America] RONO YuSeong (Supporter)


[Vietnam] PTP Wynhar (Mid)

In some ways, parts of this list were as expected, while in others, there were surprising elements.

‘From here on, it won’t be easy.’

Of course, there hadn’t been any weak opponents up until now, but those who had reached the quarter-finals were likely accustomed to 1v1 matches.

‘That said…’

The real challenge for me today wasn’t just the quarter-finals of the 1v1 tournament.

[“Duo Mode Match”]

And of course, my partner today was none other than Rainbow.

“Do you know we’ll soon be doing a duo match?”

“Uh.”

“Um… let’s do well, okay?”

“Yeah.”

And then there was silence.

“…”

It seemed that there were still unresolved issues between Rainbow and me, so this awkwardness was unavoidable.

“Outlaw! Rainbow! Please prepare for the next match!”

…Can we really do well?