[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 399

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I responded lightly to Yoo Sang-hyun’s fuss.

“Surely… it was something else.”

I recalled the semifinal match between Rainbow and Moslem.

Just as he confidently declared victory before stepping into the match, Rainbow’s performance in the semifinals was nothing short of destructive.

Rainbow picked Sandra.

Moslem picked Irelia.

Looking at the matchup, it was a scenario where if Sandra missed her E skill even once, she wouldn’t even be able to approach CS, and worse, she could end up being killed—truly a matchup that wouldn’t allow for mistakes.

No, even if she didn’t miss the E skill and hit it all perfectly, Sandra’s E skill cooldown is 17 seconds, making it uncomfortable against Irelia, who has a Q with a cooldown much shorter than that.

At least in the early game, Sandra might gain a slight advantage because she’s ranged, but that’s about it.

As time passes, if Irelia lands her E skill or ultimate just once, the game could tilt unfavorably.

A tough matchup.

No, an unfavorable matchup.

Nonetheless, Rainbow didn’t feel daunted at all and continued in the lane phase.

A lane phase where just one mistake could end the game.

No, even if you make no mistakes, as time goes on, the lane phase becomes increasingly unfavorable.

Despite that, Rainbow calmly led the lane phase.

The key to ranged versus melee in the early lane phase is mixing in auto attacks between pokes.

Rainbow stuck to the basics, managing mana while never stopping the auto attack trades.

Each time the opponent tried to engage, he expertly used his E skill to deny the reset of Irelia’s Q, and dodged Irelia’s E skill without fail.

What sounds easy in words reflected a thorough execution of fundamentals, and slowly but surely, much like the drizzle soaking clothes, Irelia’s health began to dwindle.

[Sandra – Level 6]

And the moment Sandra hit level 6, her full combo burst Irelia based on the accumulated damage.

– First Blood!

He had keenly caught the moment when Irelia missed her W skill to clear the wave.

Which Sandra in the world would be able to pull off such an unreasonable lane phase against Moslem’s Irelia?

I’m sure that very few players could pull that off if they aren’t Rainbow.

“But things got tricky after your first recall.”

In the first lane phase, Rainbow had sufficiently drained Irelia’s condition early on, so Irelia didn’t dare think of rushing Sandra, but it was different after the first recall.

Irelia appeared in lane in optimal condition, and no matter how many kills and lane advantages Rainbow had gained, the timing had shifted to when only Irelia had her ultimate.

From that point, even though Sandra secured kills, lane control transitioned to Irelia.

The unreasonable nature of Irelia kicked in.

As a mage champion, you can only endure that unreasonableness while trying to stick in the lane phase.

That was the mindset when facing a strong lane champion like Irelia as a mage, and most of the time in Summoner’s Rift, it ends up with one side completely crushed in Irelia’s lane phase.

And then…

In that upper hand, even Rainbow’s Sandra ended up revealing a gap to the opponent.

Irelia’s E skill landed on Sandra.

But I saw it.

Rainbow didn’t miss that skill shot because he couldn’t avoid it.

He wagged his tail, and Moslem’s Irelia couldn’t resist the temptation and charged at Sandra.

Right within the turret’s range.

Considering the minion wave situation and the nature of the champion Irelia, he thought he could definitely take down Sandra under the turret.

In the moment Irelia charged at Sandra, her position overlapped with Sandra’s, and Rainbow surprisingly moved forward, pushing Irelia back toward the turret.

Then that difference led Irelia to take more turret shots than calculated, and while she nearly took Sandra down, ultimately she couldn’t withstand the turret’s damage and collapsed.

One step.

In a way, it seemed like just a step short led to Irelia’s downfall instead of taking down Sandra, but I could see the countless steps in between.

A step that felt like it could easily reach, yet it was unreachable.

Anyway, as a result, Rainbow decisively claimed a 2:0 victory over the unreasonable matchup of Sandra vs. Irelia through sheer fundamentals and psychological warfare.

And that was against Moslem, one of the strongest players who had reached the semifinals of the All-Star 1v1 Tournament.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Snapped back to reality by Yoo Sang-hyun, I faced Rainbow entering the waiting room.

“Wow, the main character has arrived!”

“Great job out there.”

“Wow… this means it’s really Rainbow vs. Outlaw in the finals. I’m so excited.”

Even BlackDog, who usually doesn’t say much, seemed eager about the match between Rainbow and me.

Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I’d also be looking forward to such a matchup, so I suppose that reaction was understandable.

“This means we’ll meet in the finals.”

Rainbow said.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Do well in the match.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation was brief.

We weren’t exactly close enough to have many words to share, and there wasn’t much to say after that.

“I used to… talk more nonsense back in the day.”

Lost in old memories, I couldn’t help but smile a bit wistfully.

Will there come a day when I can laugh and chat with Rainbow again like those carefree days when we played games without a worry?

*

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[Day 3]

– 1v1 Tournament Semifinals – 10 AM

– Duo Heart Mode Game – 11:30 AM

– U.R.F Mode Game – 1 PM

– 1v1 Tournament Finals – 2:30 PM

– 5v5 Showdown – 3:30 PM

──────────────

After the first game, the 1v1 Tournament semifinals ended, and immediately after, the Duo Heart Mode began.

Yesterday, Rainbow and I participated, and this time it was Seo Yeon-woo and BlackDog.

[“What’s going on between Honor and BlackDog?”]

[“One is trying to back out while the other is trying to engage, so their skill shots keep going all wrong!”]

Unlike the fantastic synergy Rainbow and I had previously shown, the Honor and BlackDog duo was a nightmare to watch.

[“No way! Did he just use that Flash!”]

[“These two really don’t match at all!”]

So much so that the commentators deemed the Honor and BlackDog duo the worst in this Duo Heart Mode.

After the game wrapped up…

“Hey, you shouldn’t have gone in there!”

“Going in was the right call.”

Seo Yeon-woo and BlackDog emerged from the waiting room, arguing about the game.

Top and Bot Lane.

Considering they rarely interacted in-game, their thoughts were completely opposite.

“No, bruisers shouldn’t play like a bot laner, you know? I have to lead the fight even if I die.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to die and keep dealing damage till the end?”

“sigh…”

Honestly, it seemed unlikely those two were going to become friends.

*

The next match of U.R.F mode saw Seo Yeon-woo participating for the first time in ages along with GuineaPig.

Perhaps due to the many cancellations before, it looked like Seo Yeon-woo had quite a busy schedule today.

As with any U.R.F mode, the total kills exceeded 100, leading to an immensely chaotic match, and the game time surpassed 50 minutes.

Of course, one could argue that both teams weren’t looking to finish, hence such a lengthy game, but regardless, countless moments unfolded during that time.

[“No! My stun isn’t going away! What even is that?!”]

[“There’s no such thing as a broken champion here!”]

The commentators seemed to have fun laughing and chatting while thoroughly enjoying one of the highlights of this All-Star event, the U.R.F mode.

[“And that’s how the game ends!”]

[“Cheer, cheer!”]

After the conclusion of the match, Seo Yeon-woo and GuineaPig returned to the waiting room.

“Aw, too bad. We could’ve won.”

“Ah, I was just letting it slide.”

“Hey, shall we team up again?”

“Anytime. But I wonder if we’ll do U.R.F mode when we get back to Korea?”

“Who knows? Hmm… when will they give us the ear? Development Team’s Dream.”

“I won’t go easy on you then.”

The two who had participated as opponents seemed to have subtly become closer through their discussion about the game.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Ah, noona.”

In response to that question, Seo Yeon-woo paused for a moment with a faint smile and then spoke to me.

“Yeah, it was fun.”

“Good to hear. It was fun to watch.”

Even though the ultimate battle against Rainbow remained ahead, the essence of the All-Star event was to enjoy it.

So if it was fun, isn’t that what matters?

“Now it’s your time in the finals.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Following U.R.F mode, the next sequence was the 1v1 Tournament finals, which could be considered the true finale of the All-Star event.

Of course, even though there was still the real finale of the 5v5 showdown ahead, that had more to do with the enjoyment aspect, given it comprised professional gamers from various nations.

“Hmm.”

I glanced at Rainbow, who was preparing in one corner of the waiting room.

At that moment, Rainbow’s gaze met mine.