[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 385

The value of a pub goes without saying, but one of the key factors that greatly affects the early laning phase is experience points.

Whether you can hit level 2 by the first wave or not makes a difference.

At first glance, it might not seem like a big deal, but if Lee Sin decides to go for a level 2 gank in mid like this, the story changes.

“I’ve leveled W. I’m on my way.”

[“Yeah.”]

As soon as LeBlanc hit level 2, Rainbow’s movements were already heading towards Tristana.

Considering the distance covered by W, it was definitely close enough to secure a chain.

One after another, LeBlanc’s skills pierced through Tristana.

In situations like this during a gank response, many would often forgo W damage, but Rainbow and I successfully squeezed W damage into Tristana even from the final range.

Lee Sin’s skill chains were on point.

Although his movement was slightly stiff, after using the shield to surge towards LeBlanc without connecting Q first, Lee Sin calmly used Q on the bound Tristana, landing as many hits as he could.

That was truly the best play.

Tristana hurriedly used her back-flash to escape, but ended up getting chased down by Lee Sin’s follow-up Q and died.

-You have slain an enemy!

Then, presumably pulled into the turret, Lee Sin took a hit but barely made it out alive.

“Nice.”

[“Nice!”]

It really felt like a nearly perfect gank and synergy happening between the two of us.

Of course, on the flip side, one could argue that because we were in sync, the opponent’s reaction wasn’t very sharp.

Tristana was hit hard.

Not only did she give up a kill, but it seemed she was also about to lose the lane entirely.

If she had taken Teleport, she might have mitigated this loss a bit, but it wasn’t even Teleport.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the mid laning phase was practically over.

After pushing the lane with Lee Sin, when it was time to back, almost as if it was unspoken, Rainbow naturally positioned himself for a base time.

I pressed recall as if I had been waiting for it.

[“What should we buy?”]

“I’ll leave the items to you.”

[“Okay.”]

After all, mid lane and mid champions were Rainbow’s area of expertise, so there was no need for me to intrude.

If we had gone to jungle, Rainbow would have done the same.

With the kill and the lane pushed smoothly, when we returned to the lane, the level difference between Tristana and LeBlanc had increased.

[LeBlanc – Level 3]

[Tristana – Level 2]

Of course, the absolute difference in numbers wasn’t massive, so if Tristana could weather this storm, this disparity could just be chalked up to a small incident.

Yeah, that’s only if nothing else happens afterward.

“I’ll engage as soon as your range disappears.”

[“Yeah.”]

Now with the item gap and the level difference, even if Tristana was strong in dueling, she couldn’t escape LeBlanc’s pressure.

Especially because if she tried to jump in for a trade, Lee Sin, who had been lying in wait, could pounce at any moment.

Being able to read the opponent’s mindset completely allowed for a calculated exchange timing.

The conclusion for Tristana, who couldn’t even touch the lane recklessly, was straightforward.

The wave gradually piled up, and eventually it turned into a big wave.

And having a big wave in Legends of League’s pro scene only means one thing.

Mid dive.

In a situation where control between the two wasn’t particularly fluid, a high-risk dive like a mid dive wasn’t exactly a wise choice, but then again, that applied to the opponent too.

[⨷]

As soon as Lee Sin pinged Tristana, he began preparing for the dive.

Thinking about the potential for the supporter to intervene, we pushed the bot lane too.

Tightly coordinated plays made possible by having world-class players around.

‘On top of that…’

Could it be because it’s Rainbow?

Or perhaps it’s because I’ve previously synced well with Rainbow?

Even without verbal cues, Rainbow moved as if he were aware of the angle I was contemplating.

All I had to do was keep an eye on the mouse cursor and distribute skills at the right timing.

Of course, that’s hard, which is why achieving this state of sync is difficult, but with Rainbow’s gameplay, I could clearly tell.

The Rainbow I knew always displayed plays that were close to the answer.

-You have slain an enemy!

With the ensuing dive, Tristana recorded her second death.

The mid-lane didn’t just fall; it exploded.

However, the opponent, proving they were also world-class players, didn’t just sit idly by.

-Our ally has been defeated!

Our top was ganked.

Rather than forcing a cover for mid, where the balance of power was broken, the opponent’s jungle took a somewhat risky play to recoup losses on top, which narrowly succeeded.

“That was a good play from the opponent.”

[“Definitely.”]

But there was no need to worry.

I… no, we would carry.

*

When I first sat next to the Outlaw, Ryu Jin-hyuk could hardly hide his nervousness.

Due to the nature of being in sync, we had to share one keyboard and mouse, which naturally meant our physical distance had to be close.

But even so, this was too close for comfort.

“…”

Ryu Jin-hyuk’s gaze unintentionally drifted towards the already seated Outlaw.

If the goddess of beauty were to exist, would she not appear like this?

Everyone already knew Outlaw had a beautiful appearance, but encountering her up close like this made even Ryu Jin-hyuk briefly stop in his tracks.

Neither too long nor too short silver bob.

Her crimson eyes shone deeply and intensely, maintaining a noble position as if they were a distinct color.

Her transparent skin, naturally tinted with a healthy flush, gave off a vibrant and lively feel, and her slightly reddened lips left a mesmerizing impression.

“…”

Maybe that’s why.

At some point, Ryu Jin-hyuk started feeling his heart race.

He tried to act nonchalant, shaking his head, but his oblivious heart wouldn’t calm down.

Since he was particularly sensitive to this sort of thing, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t help but feel even more on edge.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

But as soon as the game started, Ryu Jin-hyuk was able to fully focus on the game as if the nervousness from moments ago had vanished.

No, at some point, his gaze had shifted from Outlaw’s appearance to her gameplay.

[“Now.”]

As Ryu Jin-hyuk hovered the mouse cursor over the enemy champion, without any sort of signal, Outlaw used her skill as if waiting for him.

Her accuracy was truly unbeatable.

Of course, the champion LeBlanc, in general, has excellent approach abilities and nice hitboxes, so landing skill shots isn’t that hard, but even so, this kind of coordination between the two in sync was unbelievable.

‘…As expected.’

It was common knowledge that Outlaw wasn’t an ordinary player.

But that applied to jungle play; who knew she’d show such insane understanding as LeBlanc?

The moment Ryu Jin-hyuk called out the target, it was almost as if his skills were executing themselves.

Even while using smart keys, it was evident how precisely Outlaw was operating her skills.

It was as if Outlaw could see the angles Ryu Jin-hyuk himself was seeing.

‘Is this even possible?’

It felt as if Outlaw was acting as his left hand for him.

No, given the current position, that’s technically true, but what I mean is that she moved just like a real left hand would.

‘And to think her skill shots could be this precise?’

Sure, the success of skill shots does rely on the player controlling the mouse, in this case, Ryu Jin-hyuk, but the timing for using skills was solely up to Outlaw.

And that wasn’t all.

‘…Why does this feel so familiar?’

Something felt eerily familiar.

I can’t quite put it into words, but was it how Outlaw unraveled the game?

That felt so familiar to Ryu Jin-hyuk.

This person he has gamed with for so long.

No matter how he viewed Ryu Jin-hyuk, at least Ryu Jin-hyuk considered him a friend.

But still…

What was it about the strange rhythm felt when gaming with Outlaw?

Was it her gameplay style?

It felt so much like when he duoed with his long-time friend, Prisoner.

Even when he met Outlaw in Solo Queue before, he had felt this sense of déjà vu, but he had merely brushed it off.

But now it felt different.

Familiarity spiraled into more familiarity.

[“Nice!”]

Thanks to LeBlanc’s performance, the balance of the game began to tilt quickly.

A quintessential hard-carry game from LeBlanc.

At this rate, victory was just around the corner.

“…”

Of course, Ryu Jin-hyuk knew this too.

Gamers who struggle have a variety of reasons for failing, but successful gamers usually converge on similar plays toward the end.

In the end, there’s a fixed answer.

Ryu Jin-hyuk made a conscious decision to think that way.