LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 419
First, the jungle starting position began with a jungle buff start.
It seemed that in the laning phase, our bot lane had the upper hand, so even if the enemy tried to invade, we had plenty of opportunities to respond.
Baek Seong-an said,
[“I’ll check the vision on blue.”]
“Are you sure?”
[“It’s going to push anyway.”]
He invested wards to secure vision in our jungle on the mid side.
In the long run, this could be a mistake, but it was a necessary choice for the time being. If we couldn’t find the enemy jungler’s location right now, our entire team would just be exhausted.
And then…
Soon, the enemy Rakan appeared in Baek Seong-an’s ward.
[⨷] [⨷] [⨷]
[OLZ Outlaw (Sejuani) has targeted SCV Vendetta (Rakan)]
[OLZ Outlaw (Sejuani) has targeted SCV Vendetta (Rakan)]
[OLZ Outlaw (Sejuani) has targeted SCV Vendetta (Rakan)]
“Rakan is here.”
[“Confirmed.”]
[“Let’s trade some damage this time. Get ready, Kim Jae-min.”]
[“Got it.”]
The enemy was fearlessly entering our blue side.
With the enemy top Rumble and mid Tristana pushing their lanes, it was safe to say that the upper side was under their control.
A typical back-and-forth route.
Considering that the core of this game was in the bot lane, it was a bit of an odd choice, but seeing the bot lane situation made me rethink that.
[“Huh? Wait, this is going south.”]
[“Stay calm.”]
There was an early trading mistake in the bot lane, and the lead that should have been held securely was lost in an instant.
Of course, there was already some advantage from the start, and since the enemy composition was Vayne-Rakan, they couldn’t apply pressure. However, just the loss of our lead was already not good news.
‘This means no dive angle.’
Currently, our minions were just barely crossing the midline, but they were still not in a position to put pressure on the enemy turret.
A lane where neither ganks nor dives could happen.
Truly, the beast duo of SCV was managing the lanes like seasoned pros.
“I’m going into the enemy blue.”
[“Okay.”]
Having reached a stalemate, I also needed to take the enemy jungle, but an unexpected turn of events occurred while I was taking blue.
[“I’m heading bot.”]
“Can you come?”
[“Yes, but I’m going to be a bit late.”]
The enemy bot lane came to pressure me, sacrificing experience and CS to hinder me while I jungled.
Our bot lane also tried to catch up to me, but it was only natural that they would be a step behind.
Baek Seong-an said,
[“I should eat it and get out. Tristana is coming down. I’ll follow, but I’ll be late.”]
“Okay.”
I managed to secure the blue using Smite, but I had to bail out as the call came in that the enemy mid was coming down swiftly.
Both mid and bot were set on killing me, even at the cost of their own lives.
Just as we had prepared a custom strategy for SCV, it seemed SCV had prepared a counter strategy for us.
At least I could secure the bottom scuttle crab, but I was still going to fall behind in camp numbers compared to Rakan.
Falling behind in camps meant falling behind in levels, and a level disparity in the jungle would lead to another snowball effect.
‘Especially if it’s a jungler like Rakan, where hitting level six is key.’
The direction of the game was beginning to slip away from my grasp.
In some ways, it was a familiar scenario for me.
If they thought this could rattle my mental state, I’d say they were greatly mistaken.
“Should I posture to push the bot lane and then go home?”
[“Yes.”]
My situation was practically at rock bottom, but overcoming such challenges was what I had done most frequently.
I knew where the enemy’s wards were.
And I also knew when they would disappear.
Four seconds before the enemy ward vanished. I openly hit the recall button at the enemy ward position and didn’t cancel the recall until just before the enemy’s sight disappeared.
This way, once the enemy’s vision disappeared, it would look like I went home, but I actually canceled the recall just beforehand.
Extreme vision play.
And the reason I went through these troublesome steps to trick the enemy’s sight was simple.
[“The enemy is coming in.”]
Kim Ji-hoon said quietly.
Seeing me supposedly recalling while OLZ’s bot was pushing and showing signs of wanting to recall, they aimed to catch an opportunity to engage.
The Vayne-Rakan duo was unbelievably weak in the laning phase, but in direct confrontations, they were quite strong.
With my vision play complemented by my team’s movements, it became possible.
[“I’ll pull the enemy in.”]
As always, Protein Kim Ji-hoon acted as OLZ’s steady architect, drawing the enemy in to the extreme.
Even though they were Vayne-Rakan, they wouldn’t stand a chance at escaping.
[“Help me!”]
Kim Jae-min was panicking.
[“Huh? When did Sejuani come? Nice!”]
I thought they hadn’t seen me coming, but seeing them truly pouring their all into the engagement made me think they really might have missed me.
Even though he’s our ADC, it was a truly narrow perception.
“Take down Vayne first. Stay calm.”
We had to focus on Rakan afterwards since Rakan could flee easily, taking the ADC with him, so the standard approach against that composition was to target the ADC first.
[“I— I’ll get that kill!”]
“Uh, no.”
Usually, if I could afford to give the ADC a kill, that would be the best call, but right now, I was in a tough spot.
Moreover, it’s commonly believed that first blood is best taken by the jungler.
– First Blood!
– Enemy defeated!
[“Nice.”]
[“Good job bot.”]
Whether the teammates cheered or not, Kim Jae-min’s lips were already pouting.
[“Hey, are you really taking that?”]
“Too tasty.”
Typical of a struggling ADC: fixated on kill.
Of course, if I were to hurl that kind of remark at our Jaem-min, it was clear he’d just shut down and start crying again, so I planned to give him the next kill after that one, not the first blood.
“Take this.”
[“Wait, were you planning to take this too?”]
Against Vayne that made sense, but Rakan usually survived in situations like this unless he was completely out of skills, which he was now, making him easy prey.
– Enemy defeated!
SCV’s beast duo had taken down their foes.
While the lane situation was heavily in our favor, we wouldn’t gain much from the lane, yet the fact that we had managed to take down both enemy bot champions at once was a huge accomplishment.
“Since you got that, carry us now.”
[“Just trust me. I’ll carry hard.”]
Kim Jae-min boasted confidently.
For some reason, that boast made me feel incredibly uneasy, but it was time to believe in him, right?
In any case, having successfully completed that first gank, I finally hit the recall button for real.
Among junglers, there are those who go to extreme lengths to avoid going home and just keep jungling, but obviously, the longer it takes to get items out, the slower the jungling becomes, leading to diminishing combat capabilities, so it’s a big loss.
Timing a proper recall is also part of a jungler’s skill.
[“Ah… damn.”]
The good vibes got doused by none other than mid.
– Our teammate has fallen!
A kill was lost in the mid lane.
Recently reworked Nikon had become strong in laning, but if he runs into a burst damage champ like Tristana and makes one wrong move, he could be one-shot.
Although Nikon gained multiple strengths post-rework from various crack plays and tricks, he still hadn’t lost the fact that he was frail by nature.
[“Sorry. I was trying to stop their roams during the bot skirmish.”]
“It’s fine.”
Though I said that, losing mid at this point wasn’t typical.
With me having recalled, I couldn’t cover the mid, and even though Nikon had teleport, considering the time it took to die and respawn, Tristana would at least take one full wave of minions.
Moreover, thinking about the wave loss, that single kill wasn’t just a simple kill; it equated to a fatal one that would cost us nearly two kills.
Powerful laning paired with powerful turret pushing from kills.
That’s why Tristana is frequently seen in mid nowadays.
SCV AllDay.
Though overshadowed by superstars like Rainbow in the same league, AllDay is undeniably among the top mid laners in the league.
In fact, during the summer season, they even defeated Rainbow to win the championship.
The defending champions.
That name carried a weight that was never light.
At that moment.
[“Ah… I’m dead. I’m sorry.”]
– Our teammate has fallen!
The trusted Honor, Seo Yeon-woo, fell victim to Rakan’s gank, and the direction of the game began to plunge into uncertainty.