[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 401

Commonly, Sylas users say that Akali is a counter.

And Akali users also say that Sylas is a counter.

As you can see from that, the matchup between Sylas and Akali is, to put it simply, a tough match for both sides, yet a feasible one.

It’s a pure melee matchup.

Although Akali has a slight advantage in the early game, Sylas also has the opportunity to engage in early trades after hitting level 3, gradually gaining the upper hand.

But does that mean Akali is completely at a disadvantage? Of course not.

As Akali, I can dodge and toy with Sylas’s skills using my Q, W, and E for kiting.

“Hmm.”

The reason I picked Sylas, despite his weaknesses in the laning phase, is that I thought Rainbow might also play Akali.

Among the champions I can handle, Sylas is proficient enough to match with Rainbow and is one of the champions viable against Akali.

“Of course, if I was sure that Akali would come out, I would have picked a different champion.”

Naturally, if I was certain Akali would be picked, I wouldn’t have opted for Sylas.

Akali is an assassin role, and traditionally, assassin champions struggle against bruisers like tanks or damage dealers.

However, despite that, I chose Sylas because even though he’s weak in the laning phase, he grows exponentially stronger over time.

“Moreover, depending on the rune setup, he can also counter ranged champions.”

Sylas was the chosen pick.

Among the champions I can use, he has the proficiency to contend with Rainbow and possesses unique strengths.

-Welcome to the Howling Abyss!

With the notification signaling the start of the game, the cheers from the crowd resonated more intensely than ever through my noise-canceling headset.

Although I couldn’t hear the cheers properly, I could gauge their intensity from the vibrations coming from beyond the booth.

“Haah…”

I took a deep breath.

And then, I fixated my gaze on the screen.

Akali stood firmly at the mid lane, holding the central line.

Rainbow’s Akali.

If someone were to ask who the best mid laner in the world is, the first name mentioned would undoubtedly be Rainbow’s Akali, a player who has proven that title through his career.

Is that perhaps why?

‘…It’s intimidating.’

Even standing still in the mid lane, I felt an indescribable aura of pressure.

Up until this point, I had faced numerous formidable foes in this All-Star Event.

But without a doubt, I had never felt this level of momentum, even against Nightmare, this year’s Red Cup champion.

Of course, part of that was due to the different attitudes Rainbow and the others had toward the game, but still, the aura emanating from him felt incomparable to anything I had experienced before.

‘…This is Rainbow.’

If you asked who has played with Rainbow the most in this world, the answer would undoubtedly be Yoon-ki, who has been on the same team for a long time.

I won’t deny that.

However, if you asked who has played with Rainbow the most among those excluding teammates, I would proudly state it’s me.

I’ve known Rainbow for a long time and played games with him.

However, when I played with Rainbow, I was in the role of a jungler.

I had yet to experience firsthand what happens when Rainbow fully commits in a direct confrontation.

‘I’ve faced him in mid during solo queue a few times, but… it’s completely different from now.’

I dared not think about crossing the central line of the mid lane.

To me, the spot where Rainbow’s Akali stood was his domain, and I didn’t have the courage to step into it recklessly.

But I had to.

If I couldn’t cross that line, I wouldn’t advance to the world in the true sense.

-Minions have spawned!

At last, the real laning phase began.

From now on, I had to make a choice.

The early lane control belonged to Akali, who was strong in level 1 trades and had relatively longer range and kiting potential, but that didn’t mean Sylas was out of options.

Right from the start, I would level E and initiate trading.

Even though Akali is strong at level 1, Sylas could initiate a fair trade by hitting two passive auto attacks and using a skill after leveling E.

‘I can claim level 2 first with early trades.’

I hadn’t yet seen which skill Akali picked, but if I didn’t give distance, she probably wouldn’t show it.

No, even if I gave distance, Rainbow might not show it anyway.

‘In that case, I’ll strike first.’

If we both keep waiting on our skills, Akali with her long reach would have to level Q to push the lane.

Amid my deliberation on which skill to level, the perfect timing arose as the health bars of three melee minions hit zero.

‘She’ll have to level Q to secure those minions.’

I read her mindset.

As a mid laner, it’s hard to forgo such opportunities, so I held my breath and searched for a trading angle.

‘Now.’

As the opportunity finally revealed itself, I stepped in, only to find that instead of a thrown kunai, Akali launched a shuriken at me.

While Rainbow missed all three melee minions, he succeeded in hitting me with E.

As Akali’s E hit, her passive activated, boosting her movement speed.

Naturally, I couldn’t escape that distance, and she followed up with E right after landing a passive auto attack.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I could tolerate getting hit by a passive auto, but I couldn’t allow a follow-up E skill.

So I shot my chains in the direction Akali was flying toward and caught her mid-air.

I barely salvaged a situation where I could have taken significant damage in the trade.

‘Indeed, she’s on top of things.’

Rainbow anticipated that I would initiate, which is why he leveled E instead of Q at level 1, rotating his passive twice while looking for a chance.

I thought he would have to level Q the moment the melee minions’ health hit zero, yet Rainbow continued to wait for the opportunity.

‘This is different from usual.’

If it were the normal Rainbow, he wouldn’t have attempted a trade while missing all three melee minions.

Let alone in a situation where he couldn’t even be sure of gaining an advantage in the trade.

The trade concluded, and naturally, the first push advantage went to me.

Akali had leveled E at level 1, and thanks to Sylas’s passive, I had managed to push the lane to some extent.

‘Now I need to be mindful of mana management.’

The Sylas versus Akali matchup generally swings in Sylas’s favor as time goes on, but in the laning phase, Akali doesn’t have it too rough either.

Fundamentally, Sylas is a mana-cost champion, while Akali is a resource-based champion.

Of course, this means that early on, Akali might struggle to keep up due to energy pressure, but it’s also true that energy champions tend to have near limitless sustain.

At least for the time before the first recall, the time isn’t in Sylas’s favor.

‘There’s no need to push myself; it’ll be better to play cautiously and find a good timing to back.’

Of course, before that, I had to keep a close eye on mana, but I couldn’t just conserve skills with Rainbow right in front of me.

If Akali truly sets her sights on draining Sylas’s mana, there would inevitably come a risky timing.

Knowing my weak timings while the opponent knows their strong timings is something I couldn’t forget against a rival like Rainbow.

‘I’ll bait the Q distance.’

I feigned throwing out skills while just about giving Q distance to Akali, and in the meantime, I initiated a trading exchange.

Of course, Rainbow was no ordinary opponent, using his shroud and E skill to counter me easily.

A fierce trading exchange took place, with neither side willing to make a mistake.

[Sylas – Level 4]

The first back timing came during my level 4.

As the next wave was a cannon wave, it was the perfect situation to grab my back timing.

I smoothly concluded my first recall and bought items, and Rainbow also caught the back timing a bit late.

Thanks to Akali’s poor pushing during the early game, I didn’t suffer much on the lane, but Akali had to accept a slight lane disadvantage.

What this meant was clear.

‘I can hit level 6 first.’

Additionally, after the first recall, Sylas becomes a bit more favorable.

Mana pressure eases up relatively, and from now, Akali can no longer ignore Sylas’s damage.

And…

[Sylas – Level 5]

The moment of confrontation was drawing near as we both scattered our chains and shurikens toward each other.