Chapter 132
6:30 is quitting time.
The same applied to the Leos operations team.
However, Assistant Manager Lee Yeong-ju and Assistant Manager Kim Ju-hwan, instead of heading home, went somewhere else with their hands full of snacks from the supply room.
The meeting room.
On the table were popcorn and drinks they had brought separately, and they added the snacks on top.
For reference, they had permission.
“Let’s see who’s right.”
Assistant Manager Lee was confident.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see. That I’m right.”
“Good grief.”
Assistant Manager Lee brought the popcorn box in front of her, placed it in her lap, and put her hand in.
Crunch.
Grabbing a handful, she enjoyed it and urged him to turn it on quickly.
Assistant Manager Kim pulled up Travel on the large monitor in front of them.
“I always feel this way, but it’s like a movie theater and it’s really nice.”
They often watched Leos like this.
The chairs were a bit uncomfortable, so it would be nice to put their feet up on the desk, but if they were caught, they’d surely be asked if this was their living room.
Feeling regretful, Assistant Manager Lee leaned back as if burying herself in the chair.
“The streamers have gathered just in time. How many viewers are there?”
Point.
A famous company on Travel.
Starting with Ha Yun-ho, who was practically a big company, the core members who grew up with him all became mid-tier streamers.
Their influence was naturally huge.
“Mr. Seojun 22,000 people. Mr. Yunho 45,000 people. Mr. Rumi 17,000 people. For now, these three are the biggest. All the rest combined is about 150,000 people.”
The average number of Leos viewers is 300,000.
“150,000 is half? As expected of Point. That’s a lot. Well, there are four streamers who aren’t from Point, though.”
Here, 300,000 refers to the number of viewers watching via official accounts.
There was no clause about broadcast prohibition during tournaments in Leos, so the actual number of users watching Leos was probably around a million.
Enough that all viewers who came into the League category would be watching the tournament.
Anyway.
Assistant Manager Lee continued.
“With so many people seeing Mr. Seojun’s skills, everyone will acknowledge our decision to place him in A.”
150,000 was more than enough.
It was good as advance promotion for the tournament too.
“No, why are you talking like it’s already decided? The opponent is a Challenger anyway. Don’t you know Mr. Spoon?”
Although he had 4,000 viewers, Spoon was a streamer who made a name for himself as a skilled Challenger ADC.
If only he had the talent of a clown, he might have become a mid-tier streamer through the recognition and influx he built up.
“Yes, I know. So, since Mr. Spoon is that skilled, even if he went mid, if Mr. Seojun wins, you’ll acknowledge it as A, right?”
“I’ll acknowledge even a draw.”
“Good.”
Crunch.
Assistant Manager Lee devoured popcorn.
This popcorn and this seat were not for the civil war.
It was to watch the situation unfold, proving Assistant Manager Kim wrong and her right.
After the streamers’ introductions, the civil war began.
Similarly, Assistant Manager Kim, who had been eating popcorn he brought to see Assistant Manager Lee proven wrong, voiced a question.
“Huh? They’re letting Kael live? Did Mr. Spoon not hear the circumstances?”
If Seojun plays Kael, it becomes hard to judge.
If it’s just one round, it’s fine, but what if it wasn’t properly communicated?
“Mr. Yunho will have taken care of it. Look at how many years of experience he has.”
Fortunately, that was correct.
Seojun’s turn came, and he did not pick Kael.
However.
“Eric?”
“He doesn’t hold a sword. Honestly, if it had been Kael, I think even I could have won.”
If they insist on that, it becomes a bit annoying.
No matter how much of a Kael one-trick he is, a win is a win.
“But it’s Eric. This answers it. B!”
“Ah, come on.”
“B!”
“Why are you being so childish!”
“Hahaha! B!”
Not only is Eric’s performance not good, but it’s a hero with a completely different feel from the play he’s shown so far.
Assistant Manager Kim was certain, and Assistant Manager Lee prayed.
Then the engagement in mid began.
Seojun’s first basic attack struck the enemy.
Assistant Manager Kim started analyzing.
“His range sense seems quite outstanding.”
“You’re scared, right?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
After a while, Spoon dashed, and a chain was shot at that location.
[Thwack!]
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Could he win?”
“Could what.”
And following that, incredible spacing.
“Huh?”
“This clearly shows who’s overwhelming who, doesn’t it? Still B?”
“Just watch a bit.”
Spoon’s bullet disappears right in front of Seojun’s nose.
“Even with this?”
“Oh my.”
Then Spoon picked a fight.
That’s when it happened.
Assistant Manager Kim became speechless.
[Chain of Destruction]
Spoon gets hit by the hidden skill.
“Even with this?”
[Chain of Destruction]
Gets hit by the skill flying from behind Seojun.
“Even with this?”
[Chain of Destruction]
And finally, Spoon, who had fled, turned out to have moved to his destination and died.
[First Blood!]
“Even with this?”
Assistant Manager Kim couldn’t say anything at all.
* * *
[Wow First Blood! Crazy! How is this Tae-woo’s friend?]
[Wait, really? What did he do? A solo kill!]
[Jungler. Wasn’t it you who helped?]
[No, it wasn’t.]
[Thank you all for the congratulations.]
When Seojun secured the solo kill without any help from his teammates, cheers erupted.
Seojun won the pure 1v1 lane matchup.
Against a Challenger.
There were still many people who didn’t know Seojun well.
And streamers were people too.
It’s not strange for them to worry about mid.
‘What if the rookie that Ha Yun-ho picked out messes up here and gets cursed out?’
Even though Ha Yun-ho introduced him as being really good, the opponent is a Challenger.
But the result was the opposite.
-I told you, right? This guy is just a Challenger
-This is the first round, right? He’s using it damn well
-What’s the way to use Eric?
-I don’t know either!
-Let me reiterate, Eric has the lowest pick rate. Few people know the information......
-Not even one among 20,000 people?
If that’s true, it’s quite surprising.
Seojun called up the interface and pressed the recall button to return to the starting point, the altar.
When his body wasn’t disturbed for 5 seconds, he was teleported to the altar.
Here, health and the resources needed to use skills recover.
For reference, Eric doesn’t have such resources, so he’s pretty free.
Here, you can also buy items called runes with gold earned from killing minions and securing kills.
Since he hadn’t saved up enough money yet, Seojun restored his slightly worn-down health and returned immediately.
The return time was short, and during that time Seojun read the chat.
-Isn’t this guy’s magic just not fixed in advance? He sets up the magic circles and shoots chains when he sees the enemy
-Oh. There’s a way to use it like that? Eric is nice?
-If that were the case, f*** anyone would be playing Eric lololol if you can decide later, what’s the point of 3 seconds lololol
-lol true
-I’m really flustered because no one is showing up to explain about Eric lolololololol
Ah.
The sorrow of an unpopular hero.
Seojun had also struggled a bit when researching Eric the day before because there weren’t many guides.
For reference, Eric is not a ‘noob character’.
To be called a noob character, there have to be at least users who are bad.
“Let me explain. First, Eric can only have one chain that deals full damage to an enemy at a time. If you shoot two at the same spot and the enemy gets hit, one of them has its damage cut to one-tenth.”
One timing means 0.5 seconds.
Chains shot at the same spot within that time won’t have much effect even if they hit.
“Think about if Eric hides and does a surprise attack and the damage all applies.”
It’s a skill that deals strong damage as it’s hard to hit, but a surprise attack is a form of attack that can almost certainly land.
If they don’t reduce the skill damage, you could just die from one surprise attack.
“And you can also get hit by your own skill, and then the damage comes in doubled.”
The few Eric users that exist absolutely hate this.
-Sorry. Just hearing it, it’s garbage
-I didn’t know you could get hit by your own skill lolololololol
-My desire to play Eric after watching the stream host just completely vanished
Seojun returned to lane and his experience went up.
In AOS, you get experience when nearby minions die, you kill an enemy, or you kill a monster in the jungle.
And in League, you get stronger when you level up; usually, skills are greatly enhanced every 5 levels.
At level 6, you learn your ultimate.
Seojun had already hit level 5.
“For reference, Eric can use three magic circles from level 5 onwards.”
Damage increases and the number increases.
‘Hmm.’
Seojun approached the minions and glanced sideways.
The jungler was hiding in a bush next to the mid lane, aiming for Seojun.
Thanks to a ward (an object that reveals surrounding vision when placed) that his team’s jungler, Malang, had laid in the bush beforehand, Seojun and his teammates could check the enemy’s location.
[Enemy jungler is mid. Mr. Seojun, I’ll be there soon, so please be careful.]
Do-gam, a streamer in the high Diamond tier.
A talent who would get a B if he appeared on Leos.
If Do-gam wasn’t of that skill level, Spoon wouldn’t have called him because he’d just be a hindrance.
But Spoon called Do-gam after getting solo killed.
-He’s waiting for the gank
-Seems like he’s planning to catch them as soon as they come
-Yeah, there’s a ward there
-The ward that Malang placed out of consideration for Seojun works like this lololol
-Just don’t go out?
Here, Seojun has noticed the enemy jungler’s presence, so he just needs to not go far from the turret.
If the jungler does nothing and keeps being tied up in mid, it’s a big loss.
Or, he can lure them while waiting for Malang to come.
This is the importance of wards.
Knowing the enemy’s location allows for easier responses.
But Seojun pretended not to know and moved forward.
“Let’s go push the lane.”
In other words, he intends to wait for the enemies to come in on their own.
Spoon also had just arrived in lane.
And Do-gam immediately started moving.
* * *
As soon as Do-gam arrived in lane, he rushed to help Spoon who had picked a fight.
‘They said I shouldn’t give them time to think, right?’
He charges in, advancing the timing so they can’t predict and prepare.
Magic circles expanded around Seojun in order.
Above, beside, behind.
Bang, bang!
After deflecting Spoon’s second attack, Seojun immediately looked back.
That moment.
Swish.
The magic circle that had been looking down from above precisely drove a chain down right where he was.
‘How? Weren’t you not looking behind?’
Thwack!
Do-gam, with the chain stuck in him, was flustered.
‘Even if it’s ridiculous, just do your job,’ he recalled Spoon’s instruction and prepared his skill.
Do-gam’s hero is the Desert Wraith Sand Mummy.
[Sand Binding]
Smoothly.
He focused the mass of sand leaking from his body toward Seojun’s legs, gathered it in the air, and shot it in the form of a spear.
At the same time, Spoon also attacked.
Thwack!
The second chain from the magic circle that had appeared beside him stuck into his body.
So far, 2 seconds.
‘When did this one happen?’
The third magic circle was created behind Spoon, so Do-gam breathed a sigh of relief.
Instead of dodging the sand spear, Seojun blocked Spoon’s second hit, and the spear Do-gam shot stuck into Seojun’s foot, shattering and turning to sand.
But instead of scattering, the sand clumped around Seojun’s foot and firmly attached to the ground.
It’s a skill that restricts movement for 3 seconds.
“Got him!”
Do-gam and Spoon started attacking Seojun from front and back, and the third magic circle behind Spoon was activated.
[Chain of Destruction]
The sound of chains dragging on the ground was heard, and Spoon dodged sideways while firing bullets at Seojun.
‘As expected, nice!’
Do-gam also gathered sand and launched an attack.
But.
Swish!
“Huh?”
The third chain passed Spoon, passed Seojun, and was flying straight toward him.
‘Was it me from the start?’
Or a coincidence?
Maybe I can barely survive.
Thwack!
That moment.
Do-gam saw Seojun, without even looking back, aiming a magic sphere at him with his hand pointing backward.
“Dammit!”
Bang!
[Swordsman has slain Collector-nim!]
* * *
‘Fuck.’
Seojun had never once wished for a sign that controlling an additional magic circle would be even slightly difficult.
But what is this?
Magic circles form from all directions, firing chains at one-second intervals.
‘He’s creating them so relentlessly it’s disgusting to even read.’
Can he really perceive all of this himself?
Yeah, of course he can – that’s why he’s doing it.
Spoon lowers his head.
He tries to follow with an attack, but the next chain shoots exactly where his face had been.
He throws his body sideways and barely dodges it.
The dangerously sharp tip of the chain embeds itself in the floor.
And then.
Rattle!
Without a moment to breathe, the next chain fires at the spot he dodged to.
In the original fights against Erik, the Chains of Destruction weren’t like this.
Normally, Erik users face their opponent and use their range to shoot only in one direction from the front.
You just have to watch your front.
And once they can use three magic circles, they aim for three directions at once to land at least one hit – they don’t fire without pause at one-second intervals.
But right now, Seojun is sticking right to him, summoning magic circles from everywhere within a 2-meter radius.
Clang, clang!
While blocking the second strike,
without pause at one-second intervals.
Spoon was barely managing to dodge chains flying at him from all sides.
Each magic circle, which already seemed impossibly hard to generate haphazardly, contained not a single one without some prediction behind it.
This was terror.
Even just watching and dodging felt like his brain would tangle, yet this guy kept designing the fight like this?
He’s predicting his movements?
[Chains of Destruction]
Rattle!
A chain shoots out from somewhere else, and Spoon, feeling his limits, used a skill to escape.
Determined to only face the front by leaving the range of Seojun’s magic circle generation.
[Quick Shot]
Rattle!
The chain passes through the empty air where Spoon had been.
He dodged it.
But as if the chain hadn’t been aimed at him, it embedded itself in a minion.
That minion, with barely any health left, died.
And then Spoon, through the information floating above Seojun’s head, confirmed that he had reached level 6.
Ultimate ability.
[Liberation]
A skill that expands the magic circle generation range to 10 meters and increases their number to 20 for about 3 seconds.
A magic circle forms behind Spoon, now at a distance. At its maximum range.
As he looked ahead, he realized it wasn’t just behind him.
With Spoon and Seojun at the center, 20 magic circles formed a dome, surrounding them.
‘I can’t dodge this.’
He had no confidence he could dodge.
If any other Erik user used their ultimate like this, you could just laugh and call them a moron.
They’d be better off just lining them up. And what a waste to use all 20 at once. Even if you get hit multiple times, only one really matters.
But right now, Spoon felt like his death was all but certain in 3 seconds.
He gave up on moving. Realizing his movements would be predicted no matter what, he made the desperate decision to stay still.
‘Haha. He summoned that many all around, so he’ll probably take a hit himself, right?’
After that.
Thwack!
When 3 seconds passed, chains shot out from all twenty magic circles at once, laying waste to the entire radius.
While precisely avoiding only the spot where Seojun stood.
* * *
[Double Kill!]
And right after that.
In an office in Seoul, a voice more cheerful than ever rang out.
“That way? Are you sure? Yeah?”
And on the league’s community boards, posts exploded.