LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 32
Checking the list of IDs in my friend list and deliberately targeting someone…
Clearly, that’s something a pro should be criticized for.
Ryu Jin-hyuk shooting at the Prisoner had no grand reason behind it.
He just wanted to see.
What he had seen before from the Prisoner.
What had pushed Yoon-ki so hard.
And why he was doing this now.
So he queued up.
Amidst countless reasons he wasn’t even sure of,
to meet the Prisoner once more.
[Game found!]
[Accept / Decline]
As expected, he got matched with the Prisoner.
Moreover, this time, they were enemies.
Even when it’s the same player, the feeling is entirely different when you’re on opposite sides.
That’s why, at some point, Ryu Jin-hyuk started feeling his heart racing.
“Alright, let’s see it.”
What he had seen before.
What he was trying to show.
As the game began, the Prisoner’s early strategy was as sharp as he had anticipated.
“Made Elise take a lower route by force. It’s definitely the Prisoner.”
Then, a variable happened right after.
“Is he coming in?”
At level one, ignoring the absolute matchup of melee vs. ranged champions, the opposing Kamal aggressively tried to trade hits.
Not to mention, he didn’t have Flash.
For a moment, he wondered if it was some kind of trap, but the opposing jungler was Diana.
She couldn’t possibly be here at this timing.
– First Blood!
As expected,
it was hardly a trap.
The opponent just overextended.
That was all there was to it.
“…….”
Even after securing the kill, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt a deep disappointment rather than joy.
It was something he already knew from the loading screen, but the opposing Mid, the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member, was originally a top laner.
For whatever reason, because he’d come to an unwanted lane or something else, he didn’t seem to have any intention of playing the game properly.
That’s why it was disappointing.
So incredibly disappointing.
If only the Prisoner had a decent teammate, they could have had a better game…
Soon after, the Prisoner emerged from the upper jungle and glared at him, but that was also expected.
“Decent reaction.”
Dodging skills with a flash…
It’s not a scene you see often even in pro matches due to the risk of potentially losing spells, yet the Prisoner made it look effortless.
Of course, that said, he couldn’t kill him.
[Kamal – Level 1]
As he knew, Kamal was still only level one.
“🐧”
Even though his ally Elise didn’t come to cover, causing him to take some lane loss, it was still manageable.
Then, another incident occurred.
– Enemy slain!
His ally Renekton secured a solo kill on the opposing Kun.
It was at that moment the Prisoner’s early invade plan fell apart.
“Tsk, I should’ve played more carefully if he didn’t have Cleanse.”
Ironically, rather than praising his ally who got the kill, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt sorry for the opponent who made a mistake.
Top mid solo kill.
The already crumbling balance of the game completely shattered with that solo kill.
“Guess I’ll have to look for another opportunity.”
Even if it’s the Prisoner, if the situation is this broken, there’s nothing that can be done.
Ryu Jin-hyuk tried to look for the next opportunity.
“…Hm?”
It was when he started noticing something off that the opposing Diana completely disappeared from the map.
Usually, when the enemy jungler doesn’t show up, his own jungler needs to step up, but that didn’t seem to be happening.
Ryu Jin-hyuk quickly realized the reason.
“Focusing on growth while simultaneously baiting Elise’s path with counter-jungling.”
If all the jungle he’s supposed to farm is being denied by counter-jungling, what choice does a jungler have?
The Prisoner methodically chipped away at Elise’s jungle, as if asking that question.
Every time, Elise would angrily head into the opponent’s jungle, eating the scraps left behind by Diana.
Of course, most of it was just leftovers.
Because of that, Diana managed to concentrate on jungling while also tying up the enemy jungle’s movements.
It required mastery of vision and psychology.
When Diana finally showed up, there was already a level difference between his ally Elise and Diana.
[Elise – Level 5]
[Diana – Level 6]
Even though there’s a speed difference in jungling between the two champions, a level gap had emerged between the disadvantaged and advantaged teams.
Once Diana hit level 6, she began her real activities.
– Enemy slain!
– Ally slain!
– Executed!
The first skirmish was at top.
Of course, under the circumstances, Renekton was almost set to create a 1:3 situation, and ended up catching Renekton, who was even a bounty target after luring Kamal to his doom.
Ironically, it was Diana who got the kill, but that was inconsequential for now.
“After all, it’s just a jungler. There’s no way to carry solo in this situation.”
It didn’t take long for him to realize that was a very arrogant misconception.
– Double kill!
The Prisoner engaged fights only in places where he wasn’t seen or when he caught a brief window to recall.
As if he were dodging him.
Jui’s bounty kept increasing, but so did Diana’s bounty.
[Jui – Bounty 150 gold]
[Diana – Bounty 300 gold]
The significant difference between the two champions was that Jui had garnered her bounty through pure growth and CS, while Diana had filled hers through kills.
– Triple kill!
– The enemy is dominating the battlefield!
Through the power of just one person, the Prisoner, the balance, which had been tipped, slowly approached the center.
And…
it didn’t take long for that center to collapse.
– Double kill!
– Triple kill!
– The enemy is legendary!
Gradually, Ryu Jin-hyuk’s sense of reality faded.
It goes without saying, the two-time Red Cup champion had never experienced such a powerless process towards defeat.
No matter how strong the opponent was, no matter how overwhelming despair he faced, he always managed to pull through in the end.
– Finish!
However, when he finally came to his senses, all that was left in front of Ryu Jin-hyuk was just one word etched in his view.
[Defeat]
“……”
In the past, he would have teased the Prisoner about how it was a good game, whispering sweet nothings, but Ryu Jin-hyuk was paralyzed.
That’s how shocking the game was.
“Ah.”
After staring blankly for a while, Ryu Jin-hyuk finally regained his composure.
And he resolved.
To speak to the Prisoner.
A word of apology, a greeting…
Anything would do, really.
But…
[Prisoner]
Offline
By the time Ryu Jin-hyuk made his late decision, the Prisoner was already gone.
*
[Victory]
+
[+16 LP]
[1715 LP]
+
After the exhausting game, I had a short conversation with the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member.
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Carry]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Just kidding]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Thanks for the carry, wow, we actually won this]
[Me: Haha;]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: I’m off now, thanks for the carry, next time I’ll hard carry]
[Me: Sure]
[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Bye]
I don’t have high expectations, but still.
Anyway, after the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member left, I instinctively logged onto the match history search site.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Rank
– Challenger
– 1715 LP / 247 wins 172 losses
– Win rate 59%
+
Finally, should I say?
I had finally reclaimed my throne.
A quick glance at the community showed that it seemed to be quite the topic of conversation.
– Urgent news) Prisoner has reclaimed rank 1
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Rank
– Challenger
– 1715 LP / 247 wins 172 losses
– Win rate 59%
+
As expected, the main content was just the screenshot of my profile from the match history search site.
Each match has countless eyes watching…
I shifted my gaze to the comments.
– As expected, the rotten water lol
– How many seasons has he been rank 1? Even pros can’t do that, right?
– It’s because he’s not a pro. Do pros have all that time to waste?
– Don’t feed the trolls!
– Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!
– Looking back, the rank 1 deciding match was against Rainbow lol how did that go?
Most of the comments were compliments for me, but there were also a few mocking the pros I had played with.
– Rainbow is washed up lol
– Isn’t that jungler GRS jungle? This time the mid was Rainbow, yet they still lost lol Bottom one-trick bus riders never change, huh?
– Info) In the previous match, Yoon-ki also got wrecked by the Prisoner.
– Seriously, did Yoon-ki and Rainbow both get wrecked by the Prisoner? Even the mid was the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member lol
“Tsk.”
I shut down the community.
Having hit rank 1, I decided to end my gaming day right there.
The previous game had been that exhausting.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was satisfied with just that.
For me, hitting rank 1 in solo queue was merely a starting line.
What I aimed for was a place beyond that.
A place where none had ever reached before.
A place that would likely never be reached again.
I would finish my time as Prisoner there.
– Knock knock!
Just then, a message popped up on the bottom right of the monitor.
– Mother.
It was my mother.
Because I usually didn’t answer calls, she had contacted me through the messenger app linked to the computer that was at least in her sight.
[Mother: Yujin, some guests are coming home soon, just a heads up.]
Suddenly, who are the guests?
[Me: What do you mean?]
[Mother: They’re coming to see the house.]
[Me: Why are they seeing the house?]
[Mother: What kind of nonsense are you talking? I told you a few days ago, we’re moving. The house is up for sale.]
Now that I think about it, I feel like I remember hearing such things…
“Yujin, we’re moving soon, where would you prefer?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. Got it.”
“…Are you even listening?”
“Yeah, whatever works for you, I’m fine with anywhere.”
…The timing of that conversation was a problem, given I was in the middle of an epic team fight.
Regardless, the reason for suddenly bringing up moving was easy to guess.
“It’s because of me.”
To help me lead a fresh start.
Our family was sacrificing so much, even leaving behind the home and neighborhood they had cherished for so long.
“……”
As I struggled to calm my suddenly swelling emotions,
[Mother: So, about that, it seems your situation hasn’t properly sorted out. Could you stay outside for a bit, just in case?]
An unexpected order was given.