Chapter 160
Mental’s team is classified as a strong team.
The team name is Heavy Mental.
Streamer Mental recently got married and the meme that he gained weight during his honeymoon period spread, and viewers say the team name is definitely derived from that meme.
By cleverly twisting “heavy metal” to take a jab at the team leader, it was unmistakably the work of a malicious spirit, a travel broadcast that plants nothing but ill will deep in the hearts of everyone connected.
There must be something wrong with this site, Seo Jun thought sincerely.
‘Everyone’s gathered.’
Seo Jun was looking at the game start interface and memorizing the enemy team’s names.
Was it because of what he said earlier?
A message came to Seo Jun through the in-game league system.
[Pado: I apologized back then. And I know your skill level, Seo Jun, so I’ll give it my all. Even if it’s just a scrim. Today, I’ll definitely force you to show your full strength.]
The sender of the message, which he checked without the viewers seeing, was Pado, the mid laner of the opposing team.
Seo Jun’s eyes narrowed.
What is he talking about “back then”?
The old days? Or Ground Zero? The roe deer?
‘Definitely. That was a bit too much. Wind Sword should hurry up and apologize.’
He wasn’t sure, but Seo Jun just read it and ignored it. If it was important, they’d talk later.
Or during the game.
As for the word “full strength”… hmm.
Of course, in the last game, it wasn’t that he hadn’t struggled to win, but people didn’t interpret it as Seo Jun letting them off easy, but rather that he couldn’t do anything and gave up.
It wasn’t just the community users; some of the casters thought so too. Just like now.
Maybe Pado sent that message now because of the caster’s influence.
[He might not have known how to control the game. Player Seo Jun is an A-rank newbie, after all.]
[So you’re saying he’s a max-level newbie!]
That was Taeyang’s assessment. And Ark’s pointless addition.
[There’s something called macro in the league. Ground Zero also has rules that govern the game. But Ground Zero battles take place within real-world terrain and real-world environments. The game’s rules are based on the reality of shooting and hitting with guns. So even if it’s your first time, you can get a feel for it… Actually, on second thought, no?]
[Right. Come to think of it, if you’ve had that kind of experience in reality…]
There was a moment of silence.
-That’s what I’m saying!
-Double O Seven!
-No wonder his first game was an assassination game lol lol lol
-Is it finally being revealed?!
‘He….’
Weren’t they just saying earlier that he was a pro player who did plastic surgery to change his identity?
And now a secret agent?
Actually, this was always the case.
“No, I’m telling you, why won’t you believe me? I said I was a Sword God?”
Even Seo Jun’s clarification right now was like this.
-lol lol lol lol lol ignored lol lol lol lol lol
-No matter how much of a streaming concept it is, he really seems to have mental issues lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
-Guys, the streamer doesn’t look good. I think we should keep telling him he’s a normal college student to keep him grounded lol lol
-Let’s all stay sane, at least!
What does staying sane even mean?
[Yes… Even if it’s not reality, most FPS games are similar anyway…]
[But he’s still a newbie? As far as I know, the games Seo Jun has played are…]
[Yes, I understand. Anyway! The League is more complex, and it’s possible the team’s wealth gap lost because their ace didn’t know how to control the game.]
[Then how do you see today’s match? The opposing ace is in mid! It’s a direct lane matchup between the team aces. The setup is clearly different from last time!]
[Although it’s always rare to see…]
Ah-rin chimed in too.
[Especially in this Lios, the only place you can see a lane matchup between aces is mid. If either of the two teams gets knocked out in the group stage, this might be the last time we see an ace-vs-ace lane matchup!]
The real meaning of that statement:
-lol lol if they lose here, they might not get revenge lol lol lol
-Then that’ll just be a permanent defeat achievement
-No chance to make up for it! Let’s go, pride battle!
-Show me the ultimate showdown
‘Well, that’s all just a possibility.’
Even so.
It seemed like deciding to do this properly was a good choice.
[The ban-pick phase begins!]
* * *
He switched on focus mode and turned off the voice transmitted to viewers.
“Goal is victory! Wealth Gap fighting!”
With Lumi’s bright and cheerful voice, the ban-pick phase began.
With the coach settled, the only thing they could do in the remaining scrim was give it their all.
Since there were no hidden strategies, nothing.
Of course, they had a strategy where Seo Jun would go to a different lane, but today’s opponent was mid.
And depending on how this ban-pick went, even if Kael or Eric survived, Seo Jun planned to use a new hero today and definitely win.
At least in Seo Jun’s eyes, Zen was a hero with high carry potential, so it seemed possible to win at least the first time no matter what.
‘That is, if I play decently well.’
Seo Jun had always considered matters that depended on himself to be the easiest things in the world.
This had nothing to do with Seo Jun’s skill.
It was simply because in anything, external variables are too many, and the only thing you can control is yourself.
It’s similar to the reason some people say that studying was the easiest.
Anyway, why use such a hero now?
‘I can just work my teammates hard so we can win without that.’
That means victory.
Seo Jun looked to either side with satisfaction.
His teammates flinched without realizing it.
[Banned Hero – Kael, the Radiant Envoy]
“Huh? They’re banning Kael right from the start.”
“Are they going to triple-ban Seo Jun?”
“Heok!”
There are three ban cards.
It’s rare to use all three to check one person, but if the opposing ace only has three proficient heroes instead of four, this method is extremely effective.
But.
“Guys, I haven’t even revealed three heroes.”
For Seo Jun, two is enough!
So triple-banning is nonsense!
“Aha!”
“That’s true.”
“But Seo Jun, shall we do some checking on Pado too?”
Alpaca, who had been closely watching the interface in front, asked.
“No. Focus more on the other lanes.”
Alpaca followed Seo Jun’s words.
Then the opponent’s second ban came out.
[Banned Hero – Eric, the Jailbreaker]
“Wow, they’re openly targeting him now.”
You could hear the wonder in Wind Sword’s voice.
“Pado’s chat must be going crazy right now, right? Calling him a coward. Heh heh.”
Ha Yoon-ho thought of the public opinion.
“Doing this in a pride match! You’ve already lost!”
Lumi clenched her fist.
Finally, Seo Jun wasn’t flustered.
Of course, he hadn’t expected them to come out like this, but it didn’t matter.
Ha Yoon-ho touched his lips.
“Are they trying to make us reveal more of our cards?”
Exactly, Seo Jun’s cards.
But at the moment, Seo Jun’s cards were as good as Wealth Gap’s cards.
“Seems so. They probably thought we’d make it to the main tournament. They’re seeing us as a strong team to the point of needing to properly check one card.”
Seo Jun subtly encouraged his teammates.
“I think so too!”
Only Ha Yoon-ho, who had been touching his lips, got excited.
Anyway, the ban-pick proceeded smoothly.
Wealth Gap concentrated their ban cards on the jungle and top lane.
And now it was time to select heroes.
The hero selection order went like this: when each team’s players are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
the first-pick team’s number 1 selects first, then it passes to the opposing team, and after that, each team picks two at a time in order.
The order of each team member isn’t important. Because you can grab a hero for a later teammate and then swap before the game starts.
Therefore.
“Huh? Pado isn’t locking in his mid?”
“He’s going to decide after seeing Seo Jun’s pick.”
“Wow… He’s really gritting his teeth.”
Counter-pick.
If you pick later than your opponent, you can naturally pick a hero that’s more favorable, easier to counter with.
It was Seo Jun’s turn.
“I didn’t think they’d go this far, but it doesn’t matter.”
Because whatever the opponent brings out, what he planned to do today wouldn’t change.
“What difference does it make if you pick a hero with a favorable matchup?”
“Woah, confidence!”
“The viewers should be hearing this.”
“Indeed. But Seo Jun, you said those kinds of comments were just a streaming concept. Your audio output is off right now, you know?”
Sharp.
No.
“I’m still streaming, see? That’s why I do it. My real personality isn’t like this.”
Seo Jun chuckled and stretched his hand forward to select the predetermined hero.
[Sword God – Zen, the Shadowmage]
* * *
-Wow, is Pado serious? lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
-It’s a mid-lane pride match, you should at least do this much
-Haven’t you already lost in a situation like that?
-No way. If you do this and still win, it’s fine. And at minimum, if he draws, we as the streamer’s viewers still have to give Pado credit.
-For real lol even preparing that much against the streamer isn’t enough!
-Everyone’s lost their minds lol you guys’ streamer lost the previous game lol
-Newcomers, get out
Seo Jun couldn’t see it. But that didn’t mean the chat stopped or wasn’t scrolling actively.
-lol lol lol Pado picking late and choosing a counter is so pathetic, give me an upvote lol
-Pathetic gets an upvote? This is totally a hit.
-Definitely not a hit.
The hero Seo Jun chose is an assassin-type character that uses shadow arts.
In the lore, he’s an assassin, and in the game’s categories, he’s a natural-born assassin.
In the league, heroes with instantaneous burst damage and excellent mobility are called the assassin position.
Rather than continuously dealing damage and fighting while taking hits, their role is to look for opportunities and dig into the weak spots of the enemy team.
Zen, the Shadowmage.
A hero who can summon a puppet body made of shadows and control it to fight in his stead.
And while the shadow is summoned, the damage dealt by the caster proportionally inflicts additional damage once the shadow is unsummoned, and the user can also swap positions with the shadow once.
-I didn’t expect him to play Zen here after Kael and Eric got banned.
-It fits what he said earlier, right? That he does the work of two people by himself?
-lol lol lol lol lol lol lol was that foreshadowing? But even so, the streamer has always done the work of at least two people.
-And now Pado is dead meat.
-Zen is Pado’s counter pick.
-So what? Newcomer, just go watch the broadcast properly.
-Yeah, didn’t your streamer lose recently?
-Even if we make fun, it’s us who make fun.
Either way, the game started.
-I heard this place has become a battlefield, so I’m here
-Even if you turn on the relay for audio, a true viewer has to go around all the chats and cause trouble
-Is the manager here not catching newcomers?
-Yeah
-Why is a guy who lost to a goblin showing off? Why is a guy who lost to a goblin showing off? Why is a guy who lost to a goblin showing off?
-But spamming can get you banned, bye
-Eek lol
Brigaders flocked in, thinking they could fight happily in Seo Jun’s chat.
Whatever Pado did from the start, the current battle was a pride match between A-ranks.
It wasn’t the kind of fight nosy viewers could resist.
If Seo Jun lost here, he really would not just pay his karmic debt but become the clown himself.
Never mind being the tournament villain.
But at that moment.
“Ah ah. Come out quickly.”
Seo Jun, who had quickly adjusted his settings, spoke.
“Huh? Me?”
Pado, standing in front of Seo Jun while waiting for minions, tilted his head and pointed a finger at himself.
-???
-Is he reacting to the chat?
-He’s on focus mode right now
-What kind of toxic mind game is he trying to pull????
It was an eccentricity.
Everyone had a question mark over their head as to who exactly Seo Jun was talking to.
And then.
Another voice came through Seo Jun’s stream.
[Have you called me, successor of a later generation?]
“Yeah. So try explaining it to me.”
“Huh?”
“Not you. Zen.”
“What?”
Pado was greatly flustered. What the heck?
“What are you doing?”
What Seo Jun had turned on was dialogue mode.
It was practically a feature no one uses except in the very early game. It’s useless and interferes with progress.
But this dialogue mode had one more use.
Of course, this was also a feature only used in the extreme early game.
Even so, no one uses it in-game.
Furthermore, it had never once appeared in a tournament. Truly. Not even once.
“The tutorial.”
And Seo Jun had pulled off that difficult feat.
“……?”
Seo Jun’s face was as usual, utterly shameless.
There’s no way seeking knowledge could be embarrassing, right?
-???
-Old man, no matter if it’s a scrim, everyone is watching, please study in advance! lol lol lol lol lol lol
-Is he insane?
-Is he insane? <--A line that comes up every time lol lol lol lol lol
-Because he does crazy stuff every time lol lol lol lol lol
-Is this real? lol lol lol lol lol
-What newcomers wanted = A heart-swelling battle of physical geniuses that starts before the minions even arrive
-Reality = Crazy streamer’s haha hoho tutorial lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
-For today only, I won’t even do the demon cult thing! I’m embarrassed!