Chapter 229. Wall (1)


    "Wow, they''re leaving Raina open again?"


    "GreenTea left her open once before and suffered greatly, right?"


    "GreenTea is her boyfriend. Maybe that influenced her choice?"


    "Anyway, the enthusiasm from yer ckTea is tremendous!"


    Thementators showed respect for ckTea''s choice to leave Raina open.


    "But ckTea''s Terrorist, Bonnie, is also open. Who knows why they also left her open? Is this some kind of trick?"


    "No, in my opinion, a bottom ban won’t happen if Raina is avable. It''s been that way since the scrims."


    "Wow, that''s a lot of confidence, right?"


    "Actually, leaving Raina open might indicate even more confidence!"


    "It could also be a mistake."


    Who was acting confident and who was making a mistake? Even thementators couldn''t definitively say.


    — ??? It''s not a mistake. It''s a mastermind move!


    — LOL, leaving Raina open takes courage


    — Is ckTea''s Bonnie actually stronger?


    — If you look at Almond''s Raina, Balloon Stars can''t lose due to their team structure. LOL


    — People who haven''t seen ckTea''s Bonnie are just hyping up Almond''s Raina, LOL


    — Whether it''s ckTea or CrapTea, who cares when Almond''s Raina is basically a bug that doesn''t take damage ^~^


    The chat expressed their various opinions.


    "Based on normal matchups, who is better between Raina and Bonnie? OrangeKing?"


    In response to the caster''s question, OrangeKing briefly checked some data and scratched his head.


    "It''s hard to say exactly. Raina''s pick rate is so low in the high ranks..."


    "Oh..."


    — Breaking news: Contrary to yer ims, nobody is ying Raina...


    — Raina mains: There''s no point


    — The reason Raina likes Almond: He’s the only one who lets her see some sun


    "But among my colleagues, there were a few Raina experts. ording to them, Raina doesn''t do well against long-ranged ADCs."


    "Oh, right. Because she’s a short-ranged champion."


    "Bonnie has a rocketuncher, so her range is quite long. Moreover, its ssh damage is hard to avoid."


    "So, would Bonnie have the advantage?"


    "In a conventional matchup, yes. However, Raina can prate well, so who knows."


    "Oh, it''s a bnced matchup then? As we''re talking, it''s now yer Almond''s turn."


    He hadn’t picked Raina yet, but the audience was already chanting for Raina.


    — Raina! Raina! Raina!


    — Raina is the most thrilling!


    — Raina! Kill me with an arrow!


    "Wow, they might pick Raina with this much cheering even if they didn''t n to," the caster expressed his surprise at the explosive support from the audience.


    "Yeah. Honestly, everyone who''s watching wants to see it, right? A showdown between the yers'' main champions!"


    "Honestly, I''m also excited."


    Even the usually cynical analyst felt excited.


    In response to their anticipation, a woman in a blue cape appeared behind Almond.


    Thump.


    Cheers from the audience grew louder as the pick was confirmed. Afterward, ckTea also picked Bonnie.


    "Explosions are an art form!"


    ckTea raised a banner in her broadcast every time she selected Bonnie.


    — Wow!


    — ckTea! ckTea! ckTea!


    — Kill me! Sis!


    All the yers finished choosing their champions.


    "Alright! The game is starting. Let''s watch it together!"


    The caster made a gesture, and the stadium transformed into a battlefield.


    ***


    The Terrorist Bonnie’s special trait was the use of two weapons. One was a rocketuncher, and the other was a machine gun. Both looked like they belonged on a tank and seemed impossible for a human to wield. Bonnie somehow used these heavy weapons with her slender body, and it was undeniably exhausting for the yer to directly control.


    Each of the two weapons had distinct strengths and weaknesses. The yer had to switch between them depending on the situation.


    ckTea yed Bonnie the most and could do this as naturally as breathing. She was very confident in using this champion.


    Clink.


    She reloaded the machine gun in a rxed manner.


    "Uh, sis, are you confident against Raina?" Lemon asked in a trembling voice.


    ''Why is she trembling? It''s not like she''s actually going to die...''


    Lemon sometimes got too immersed in the game, which was her main issue. She was always this engrossed no matter what game she yed.


    "Of course," ckTea nodded without hesitation.


    "But you banned her during the scrims."


    "That''s because there''s no point in practicing if I left her open. You have to try different setups."


    "Ah..."


    "It''s a basic strategy to ban the opponent''s most yed champion during scrims. A pro guy I know told me that."


    "Wow~ I see."


    ckTea smiled as she loaded the rocketuncher.


    "That''s right. This sis has it all nned out, Lemon."


    For some reason, Lemon thought of what Pickle once said to GreenTea, but she chose not to say it out loud. It was better to just follow ckTea.


    "Alright! I''m on board with the n!"


    ***


    Almond warmed up by leashing StrawberryShooter''s jungle mobs. His blue arrows struck the monsters’ targets in session.


    Pububung!


    He stopped precisely when only two health points remained and looked at his arm.


    ''Better thanst time.''


    His senses felt sharper than when he yed as Raina against GreenTea. Did using her consecutively make a differencepared to using her after a long time? Or...


    ''Is it because of the new capsule?'' Almond pondered.


    It didn''t seem like a simple cebo effect that only he felt.


    "Almond is already moving differently with how he’s leashing." OrangeKing also noticed that Almond''s movements were different from usual.


    "Yeah. I felt thisst time too, but the targets really burst effortlessly, don''t they?" The caster was impressed but couldn''t pinpoint the exact difference from Almond''s previous game with Raina.


    The analyst had a different opinion. "His movements are indeed different today. He seemed to be at a disadvantage in a physical fight against ckTea during the scrims, but today, he looks almost overwhelming."


    "Is that so? Is something different?"


    It was evident in the eyes of professionals. They often referred to it as days when yers felt light on their feet.


    If this pattern continued, then it was judged that the yer''s skill level had increased. If Almond showed such a performance with Raina again, then everyone had to acknowledge that his skills improved.


    "They''re meeting in the bottomne right now!" the caster said as Raina and Bonnie met.


    OrangeKing added, "This is the most anticipated battle of the in-house tournament right now!!!"


    The caster continued hyping it up, "This is a meeting of the century! It feels as ssic as the tale of Romeo and Juliet!"


    OrangeKing also started listing severalparisons to further the anticipation, "Exactly! It''s like Crow vs. Magpie, McDonald''s vs. Burger King, OrangeKing vs. JeonJaPa! Naruto vs. Sasuke! It''s a grand showdown!"


    — JeonJaPa...?


    — LOL! Freaking OrangeKing


    — LOL


    — Almost didn''t notice!


    The minions from both sides shed.


    Kang! Kang!


    The moment their swords touched, ckTea fired a fierce rocket.


    Swooosh~!


    "That’s a very aggressive move from ckTea and Lemon. She''s firing rockets indiscriminately! It takes time for those rockets to recharge."


    The rocketuncher dealt ssh damage, and each shot was quite powerful. It was perfect for clearing out minions in one go. The dual-wielding pirate was nothing inparison.


    Boom! Boom!


    "ckTea is aggressively using her rocketuncher. Is she trying to level up first?"


    "Yes! She''s trying to gain the upper hand early on! She lost thest game because she couldn''t level up first."


    "Moreover, Tako can''t interfere this time. There''s no healing."


    "For some reason, the minion wave isn''t being pushed toward Almond as expected."


    However, the wave didn''t easily move toward Almond as the casters thought.


    "Why isn''t the minion wave going toward Almond?"


    "The number of minions from Balloon Stars and Red Carpets is almost the same!"


    "Almond has to target them one by one... Will this work?"


    Raina had no ssh damage and had to take the minions down one by one. Her attacks were extremely fast though.


    "Raina''s attack speed is almost limitless!"


    "Right, but her shots will go to waste if she misses! They designed her to miss some shots for the sake of bnce!"


    "It''s almost like Almond is telling the developers, ‘You guys messed up!’"


    "How high will thebo stack?! This isn''t a rhythm game!"


    Pung! Pubung!


    Almond''s fast attacks and blue mana arrows grew stronger with each target he hit.


    [12 hitbo]


    [13 hitbo]


    [14 hitbo]


    Swoosh!


    Blue mana surged up to the point where it could appropriately be called a blue me.


    ckTea clenched her teeth and continued shooting at minions with her rockets.


    Kwaang! Kwaang!


    Dark smoke spread out asionally as Balloon Stars'' minions died en masse.


    “Uh... Who will reach Level 2 first!?”


    “ckTea! ckTea is now Level 2!!!”


    [Level Up!]


    ckTea''s level increased first, and the corners of her mouth rose.


    “ckTea immediately reaches for her waist!”


    “She’s nning to throw a grenade! She learned the skill!”


    It was just as thementators said.


    [Stun Grenade]


    Click.


    She skillfully pulled the safety pin with her teeth and threw it toward Almond as she ran forward.


    “As she moved forward, she switched from the rocketuncher to the machine gun!”


    “She’s really fast!”


    “Lemon has also joined—”


    Kwaaaaang!


    The grenade exploded in the air.


    “Almond! He intercepted the grenade in the air!!!”


    Almond took some damage from the shrapnel, and Tako, who was further ahead, had fainted.


    Shhh!


    ckTea''s Bonnie emerged from the hazy smoke.


    Chulk—


    The machine gun started to fire.


    Tudududududu!!!


    The minions blocking Almond all fell.


    “Machine gun barrage!!!”


    “Almond! Shouldn''t he avoid it!? Can he win against the machine gun in a face-to-face battle so early!?”


    [Level Up!]


    However, Almond’s level also increased.


    [Tumble]


    The blue cape fluttered and instantly disappeared.


    “Huh!?”


    “Almond rolled away! But that direction is...!?”


    Bonnie''s machine gun had a short range, but extremely high DPS (Damage Per Second). Although the rocketuncher’s damage per shot was stronger, the machine gun could shoot hundreds of rounds in an instant.


    If someone took all the hits, the damage would be more than any other long-range attack. In other words, the rocketuncher was better for taking one shot and retreating. However, the machine gun was overwhelmingly stronger for dealing continuous damage in 2–3 second bursts.


    One drawback was that the machine gun would overheat after firing for over five seconds, and it could no longer be used while on cooldown.


    The standard strategy was to wait until the machine gun cooled down from overheating and go in again. However...


    "You have to hold on until the machine gun overheats!"


    "Ah! Dodge! Almond can''t hold on any longer!" OrangeKing roared.


    Were OrangeKing’s words correct? Could Almond survive?


    Almond confronted ckTea''s barrage head-on while she was still in the middle of firing.


    "Lemon is also level 2 now!? If Lemon also uses her skills, then—"


    Before that sentence could finish…


    Something swiftly passed by, and all the targets above Lemon exploded almost simultaneously.


    Pah-ba-boom!!!


    Lemon flew back from the shock and suddenly died.


    "— She''s dead! Lemon just died!"


    [First Blood!]


    [LazySoldier → Lemon]


    "What’s with that damage?! What exactly happened!?"


    Those words came out of the broadcaster’s mouth, but ckTea also wanted to shout the same words.


    ''What the heck…?''


    [Health: 21%]


    She could see Almond''s health and quickly realigned her aim. Then, she pulled the trigger and continued firing.


    Tududududu!


    Despite the ck smoke and mes obscuring her vision, she focused intently and noticed Almond''s decreasing health.


    However, in this moment, Almond had better concentration. His eyes scanned over thirty newly formed targets.


    [31 Hit Combo!]


    Pah-ba-boom!


    ckTea suddenly came under attack from every direction. She took blows to her abdomen, arms, legs, joints, and even her face.


    [Mana Explosion!]


    [Mana Explosion!]


    [Mana Explosion!]


    Her health decreased too fast for the eye to follow. All she could hear was the enemy''s victory cry.


    [LazySoldier Double Kill!]


    She lifted her gaze and spotted Almond’s health.


    [Health: 5%]


    Just one more shot would have done it. Some would say it was regrettable, but...


    ''I couldn’t ovee it.''


    That 5% health looked like a huge wall to ckTea.


    Shouts erupted from the stands in the stadium.


    — That was insane!


    — Raina! Raina!


    — Raina!


    Both yers had chosen their main champions. The intense battle in the bottomne resulted in an overwhelming victory for Almond and Balloon Stars. Those who expected a close match felt embarrassed.