LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 428
It’s still way too early for the audience to arrive.
The quiet scenery of the stadium, which I hadn’t seen in a while, made me forget momentarily that I was finally here.
“……”
Basically, since LCKR plays its matches in the same place as CKR, this place wasn’t exactly unfamiliar to me, but the atmosphere felt distinctly different.
First off, the number of fans I saw on the way here was different.
Of course, our team’s matches had been quite popular even in CKR, but it still couldn’t compare to the popularity of the first league.
So much has happened up until now.
We’ve laughed, cried, and finally, my teammates and I are here.
But I know.
This isn’t our destination; it’s only a stop along the way.
Our actual destination lies far beyond LCKR, up at a much higher place.
We will, and I will.
We’re going there.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Hearing Baek Seong-an’s voice, I lifted my head.
“Oh, yeah.”
I moved my feet, putting my brief reflections aside.
The opening ceremony of LCKR is about to begin.
*
“Please come this way and take a seat.”
“Oh, okay.”
Before the actual match began, there were a few simple rehearsals and explanations.
These were all things we’ve done dozens of times before, but with so many more people now and the seriousness of it all, it was hard not to feel nervous.
“Ugh… I just want to get the game started already.”
“Same here.”
Surprisingly, Seo Yeon-woo agreed with Kim Jae-min’s sentiment; the preparations for LCKR’s opening ceremony were quite extravagant.
“Just hang in there a little longer. The match will start soon, so don’t let your guard down.”
“Okay.”
Kim Jae-min responded casually, but even in his casualness, I could feel his tension.
And it wasn’t just Kim Jae-min.
Seo Yeon-woo, the usually quiet Kim Ji-hoon, and even Baek Seong-an, who must have seen this stage countless times, couldn’t hide their own nerves.
‘And… me too.’
As all preparations wrapped up, game time was fast approaching.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes.”
“Ready.”
“Ready.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
We stepped out of the waiting room and encountered the players from the opposing team, MAX, in the hallway.
“Hey, over there.”
“Oh.”
“Hello.”
A slightly awkward moment passed.
Though we were supposed to face each other as enemies now, in essence, we were rivals who had crossed paths numerous times in solo rank or scrims.
“Do your best. Us.”
“Yes, let’s do our best.”
After an awkward exchange of greetings, we and the MAX players left the hallway.
“Ah……”
Stepping out of the hallway, we were immediately bombarded by bright spotlights and the cheers of the fans.
-Waaah!!!!
-TEAM MAX! TEAM MAX! TEAM MAX!
-OLZ fighting!
-Beautiful Yujin!
-You’re pretty, sister!
…For some reason, the cheers felt particularly loud, but thinking of it as the fans’ support, it didn’t bother me.
The players of OLZ and MAX faced each other in front of their respective booths.
The caster announced:
-OLZ and MAX, MAX and OLZ. They will meet in today’s opening match.
-Will the stormy new student OLZ get stopped by the long-standing LCKR stronghold MAX? Or will they collapse under OLZ’s relentless advance?
-The answer will be determined right here today.
-We will now start the LCKR opening ceremony───!!!
With the caster’s declaration, the match officially began.
*
The ban/pick started.
Since we had the choice of sides in the first round, we opted for the blue side.
[“Let’s ban Zayan first.”]
[“Okay.”]
Our first ban went as planned, targeting the opponent’s bot carry picks.
Of course, banning against a truly skilled AD carry wouldn’t mean much, but King God Emperor sometimes struggled against skill-based ADCs like Zeri or Ezreal rather than traditional kiting ADCs.
[Ban: Viego]
The opponent’s first ban was Viego.
For our team, it followed the pattern we had grown familiar with, banning carry-type jungle picks.
[“That’s actually good for us.”]
If the opponent was stubbornly aiming for jungle bans, we just had to follow through with our own bans.
[“We should stick to the pattern. Let’s ban Ruler.”]
[Ban: Ruler]
There were many reasons for banning Ruler, but it was clear that if a strong team like MAX utilized Ruler in the bot lane, our bot would face a tough time.
Even though the current meta favors close-making supporters, that only applies when both sides are matchable in lane strength.
If the opponent’s bot lane is strong, allowing Ruler through could mean losing the lane entirely without getting a chance to take part in team fights.
[Ban: Kha’Zix]
So, what should I say……?
The ban/pick structures from teams opposing us tend to follow a similar pattern.
High-value jungle champions get banned.
While this slightly eased our ban/pick phase, that didn’t mean the opponent’s bans were insignificant.
After all, they were clearly tying the arms and legs of our jungle.
[“Then we should ban Tristana.”]
[Ban: Tristana]
Now came the opponent’s third ban.
[Ban: Wukong]
With that last ban, it was finally our turn to pick.
[“In that case, let’s take Aatrox first.”]
[“I’ll grab it.”]
[Pick: Aatrox]
Thanks to the opponent’s concentrated jungle bans, we managed to secure Aatrox, one of the top OP champions in the current meta.
The advantage for blue is first pick.
The advantage for red is counter pick.
So at this point as the blue team, it was wise to secure the most effective OP champion in first pick.
That champion was Aatrox, and given the current situation, picking first in the top lane on the blue side was the only choice, so it was quite a decent option.
However, the opponent’s ban/pick also wasn’t to be taken lightly.
[Pick: Kai’Sa]
[Pick: Nautilus]
By picking Kai’Sa and Nautilus, they completed their bot lane combo in one sweep.
This granted our bot lane some options against the opposing picks, but if it had been easy, the Kai’Sa-Nautilus combo wouldn’t have been chosen in the first place.
[“It seems like we should pick jungle here. What do you think?”]
“I think that sounds good too.”
[“Which jungle picks seem good? Sejuani, Maokai, or Rill seem fine… What do you think, Yujin?”]
“I’ll go for Lee Sin.”
[“Lee Sin? You think that’s okay?”]
“Yes.”
[“Hmm… If you say so.”]
To be honest, looking purely at the meta, picking Lee Sin now may not be very wise.
But I needed to show them.
That no matter how much they focus on jungle-targeted bans, it means nothing.
[Pick: Lee Sin]
It was now time for our third pick.
[“In this case, it seems good to take a pick for the bot lane. Jaem-min, do you have anything you’d like to play?”]
[“Um, I don’t mind.”]
[“Then let’s grab an ADC first.”]
[“Give me Zeri.”]
[“Is that the right call? Ruler was banned after all.”]
[“It’s fine. I’ll carry.”]
[“Uh… Okay, I trust you.”]
With Baek Seong-an’s reluctant approval, our third pick was finally set.
[Pick: Zeri]
To be honest, Zeri’s performance isn’t something that can be considered good with Ruler being banned at this point.
Furthermore, the current meta makes it pretty burdensome for Yuumi to be used.
So Kim Jae-min’s Zeri pick could definitely be seen as a very questionable last pick.
And…
The fourth and fifth bans flew by quickly.
It seems like for the first game, we managed to predict with ease since we practiced the ban/pick phase beforehand, leaving little room for unexpected complications.
That’s when an anomaly occurred.
In the midst of familiar patterns and expected picks, one variable emerged.
[Pick: Aurelion Sol]
The opponent’s fourth pick, the long-hidden joker was none other than Aurelion Sol.
[“What the…?”]
[“They’re actually doing this.”]
“Hmm…”
Following a relatively recent remake, Aurelion Sol had become an entirely different champion with tremendous scaling potential.
But as with most champions that undergo patches, despite being remade into a scaling champion, Aurelion Sol showcased early strengths, received numerous nerfs, and has now fallen to a somewhat burdensome level for competitive play.
So this was practically a declaration by the opponent’s mid laner, Hwarang.
No matter what Getback picked, he wouldn’t be able to break through, so he was just going to relax in lane and scale up.
In a way, this pick was utterly dismissive of Baek Seong-an’s abilities in the ban/pick phase.
[“Look at that.”]
Baek Seong-an’s face broke into a dark, fierce grin.