Chapter 204
[Minions have spawned.]
As usual, with Seojun's idle chatter in the background, minions began marching from the Nexus toward them.
Hwangso scuffed his feet on the ground, thinking.
'Hold on. Well. Is it possible?'
Even in his mind, the tension forced his thoughts into fragments.
Hwangso had never fought Seojun in a league match. They'd never truly faced off in a proper game, either.
He had been smacked around by a frying pan at Ground Zero, but that had been only a fleeting moment.
Still, he couldn't help but be nervous.
The confidence that a skilled player should possess, the competitive spirit—those things Hwangso lacked.
He was a sentimental man who watched documentaries every night.
A battle he could win was one thing, but if it was a fight he would lose, he simply wanted to avoid it.
'That's why I didn't ban Kael.'
He'd even picked an extreme counter, just as his opponent had said, ultimately goading the enemy into going mid.
Of course, among the team members, there had been a lot of debate about whether to leave Kael alive or ban him, and the decision had just slightly tilted toward leaving him in. But if Hwangso had really wanted to, he could have banned Kael.
The reason he hadn't was because the only way to force the enemy into the mid lane was to chase them out with an extreme counter.
'Lane. Help. Failed.'
Unfortunately, the efforts he'd prepared to make his team leader shine even brighter had fallen apart, but that was fine.
'The Wind Blade is threatening enough on its own. So if I can hold out well, I'll go beyond carrying my weight and actually carry the game.'
As he sorted through the situation, the tension naturally eased.
'Everyone has their role. Just like in nature. I just have to do my own job well.'
The lane: hold on, suppress the enemy B-rank so they don't get too big.
The B-rank ranged dealer and the C-rank jungler would lay the foundation for victory.
He, an A-ranker, would hold the line.
Against that man.
That user, who had slung his rifle over his shoulder and was waiting for the minions to arrive—someone even the pros had repeatedly warned them to be extra careful of if they wanted to win.
'Hmm. Is it possible?'
Could he do it?
Hwangso swallowed dryly.
Having a disadvantage in the laning phase was unavoidable. But he was confident he could hold out.
He had a shield, and his range wasn't that lacking either.
So what about when the laning phase ended?
His ultimate skill trapped the opponent in an arena with him.
To put it simply, it was a skill that dragged the enemy into a "Room of Truth."
'That's enough. From then on, the opponent won't be able to poke me so easily either.'
His thoughts kept wavering, but Hwangso paid them no mind.
* * *
The minions arrived. They would meet in the center and fight. Accordingly, Seojun took his position.
Normally, you'd position yourself behind your own minions.
Though they were minions with heads smaller than yours, they made good cover from behind.
You could think of them as a kind of meat shield.
But Seojun stepped past those minions.
Step. Step. Step.
Slowly.
First was the line of the enemy's ranged minions, aligned in a row.
Next was the central line where the enemy and his melee minions were clashing.
Step. Step.
Once you crossed this far, the enemy hero behind their ranged minions would usually attack.
No, normally, if they were just within range, they'd immediately fire off an attack.
"How far are you planning to go?"
But.
Hwangso had no choice but to keep backing away.
—Fuck, top ranged dealer, you bastard
—Ah... PTSD... you son of a bitch lololololololololololololololol
—I'm tearing up already, this early in the game
—Host, did you really have to ask that?
At last, Seojun crossed even the enemy melee line.
Once the minions had drawn each other's aggro, unless Seojun successfully landed a hit on the enemy hero, or one of the minions currently attacking another died, aggro wouldn't switch to him.
In other words, he was free.
"Haha. I can't help it."
Although, Hwangso must have expected this.
Seojun moved closer to the brush on the left as he spoke to his viewers.
Even if he'd predicted it, there were definitely people who would be overjoyed.
"If you're salty, you should've done better in ban-pick."
He said it through team voice so Hwangso couldn't hear.
—Ah lol, for real, it's not like a ranged mage can't go top, if you first-picked, you should take your karma
—Top... ranged... you vile... fiend
—Dingdingding! Hwangso is definitely in the wrong here
—Please let the host lose, please let the host lose
[Yes?]
"No, that was meant for the viewers."
Seojun answered, his eyes still tracking Hwangso's movements.
[Oh, right. I think I get the gist of the situation, though.]
[Pfft.]
[Don't go easy on him, crush the top lane!]
"Got it."
Seojun braced his rifle. Then he turned his body and aimed at a dying enemy minion.
Originally, Hwangso should have been in this spot, attacking in this direction, but all he could do was watch from a distance.
Bang!
He took the minion. It was a bullet fired when its health was at its absolute limit.
The bullet struck the minion's head, ricocheted, and flew onward.
And the moment Seojun took down the minion on Hwangso's side, one of his own minions vanished as well.
"You're not even getting the experience?"
Gold required last-hitting, but experience could be gained just by being nearby.
"I did get it."
"Is that so?"
Seojun took one more step forward. Hwangso was pushed back just as much.
Seojun smiled with satisfaction.
—Lolololololololol
—You bastard
—Is there even an answer to this?
—Just lie down ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
—No answer except from the jungler
—Or level 6
Of course, he had no intention of ending it here.
Bang!
The magic bullet severed the life of another minion on the brink of death.
The bullet struck the minion's head, deflected, and flew further.
Hwangso glanced furtively but retreated again as soon as Seojun's barrel turned toward him.
"He could flinch to try and grab a bit of experience, but he's enduring well, isn't he?"
"It's the basics."
"Is that really the basics?"
"You wouldn't understand the sorrows of the top lane, Seojun."
—Ah lolololol, suddenly this is so damn sad
—Is Hwangso throwing away his macho alpha image???
—Even so, he could poke with his spear or try to engage at close range, but he's holding back
Indeed.
Out of all the people Seojun had met during his streaming career, Hwangso might just have the greatest patience.
Normally, when facing a top ranged dealer, health management was key.
If you fought before the lane even pushed toward you, you could end up constantly getting hit due to the range difference and forced to recall home.
Of course, there were cases where you had mobility or crowd control and could trade from the very start.
But if you waited, the lane would eventually push toward you, and calling your jungler or teammates then meant a free kill.
That was the textbook way to deal with a top ranged dealer.
'To delay that, I'm pushing the lane as slowly as possible.'
He was attacking only minions that were truly on the verge of death, minimizing his interference with the lane.
But even so, the lane would inevitably push.
"The jungler will come."
Hwangso issued a warning to Seojun as he watched. It was basically his way of saying, "I want to get some experience too, so please back off a little."
"I don't think he's coming, though?"
Seojun smirked.
He probably hadn't even gotten experience from the first wave.
"No way. There's no way our jungler would miss out on such a juicy target."
"Actually, it'd be better if he came."
"You're a ranged dealer. It's two versus one. Can you really handle that?"
Bang!
Seojun turned his gun and took the third minion.
"Do you think I picked this hero for no reason?"
"Because of the mobility?"
[Magitech: Teleport]
Literally a mobility skill with great hitbox judgment that allowed him to instantly move a set distance.
"No."
It wasn't a long-distance teleport, so if the jungler came, he couldn't escape. There were also conditions.
In other words, that wasn't the reason.
"The first reason I chose Gray is…"
When only three ranged minions remained on each side, and those minions now moved a little closer to the center to attack each other—
Seojun stepped forward even more.
To the point where Hwangso had to retreat entirely into the top lane.
"Gray has the longest range, you see."
"What? What do you mean…"
He raised his rifle. He supported it with his left hand and braced it against his shoulder.
Standing boldly in front of the tower.
Bang!
He fired.
The enemy raised his shield but then tilted his head at the strange trajectory.
But soon, he noticed something, quickly spun his arm around, and swung his shield.
But it was slightly too late.
The bullet struck the left wall and then precisely lodged itself into Hwangso.
Bang!
The next shot fired in quick succession.
Even amidst the sudden shift in circumstances, Hwangso's eyes followed Seojun's barrel.
To the right!
And he swung his arm to block.
But.
An attack that bounced off a wall once before flying in was far harder to track than a normal attack.
Bang!
The left wall and the right wall.
The third shot hit the tower behind Hwangso and then ricocheted back. Toward Hwangso.
His reactions were getting faster, but because it came from behind, he failed to block this one as well.
Hwangso, who had been trying to spin in a full circle to block, shifted his focus in that spinning moment from the shield in his left hand to the spear in his right.
Just then, the next wave of minions passed by, obscuring his vision as well.
'His range is long?'
If you considered only Gray's basic attacks by themselves, they were on the shorter side among ranged dealers. But if the projectile ricocheted off a nearby wall, its total travel distance doubled.
The total distance the projectile traveled, that is. From that perspective, Gray was indeed the hero with the longest range.
That's why it was good to make full use of walls or minions.
The problem was that walls and minions weren't always where you wanted them to be.
And because of that, achieving the maximum effective range—the most efficient poke—was always impossible.
Just like now, when the opponent had come right up to the tower to use it for his attacks.
Yes, that was it.
Whoosh!
The opponent was now within range to lunge with his spear, and Hwangso attacked exactly like that.
Dodging direct trades was something you did when you were much farther away; it was a welcome thing when they came this close.
What if he used his mobility to escape?
Then that was good too. Because his long range meant he couldn't land a follow-up hit on him.
What if Hwangso's attack landed?
Then he'd more than make up for the three auto-attacks he'd taken so far. He could then push even further, sticking to him and pressing the attack.
And so, at the very moment Hwangso spun and thrust his spear—
[Exploding Spear]
Seojun was no longer in the spot where he'd been right before the spin, and the spear only exploded empty air.
The place where Seojun stood was just a hair's breadth to the side, untouched by the skill.
'He predicted this?'
At a distance right under his nose, only the length of the spear shaft away, Seojun was bracing his rifle again.
—Kyaa!
—Such restrained, minimal movement
—Hwangso spinning and thrusting his spear in that situation is even more chilling, but he saw right through it
—Wasn't he trying to block?
Even as he took hits from the second minion wave, Seojun continued his attack.
Bang!
Only then did Hwangso truly grasp how terrifying Seojun was.
Normal calculations didn't work, and his attacks were being read.
Just like he'd seen in the videos.
'Retreat. Fast.'
The subsequent choice was simple.
Since the skill had missed, trying to trade here to the bitter end meant death. Even trying to trade just a little would force him to eventually back off, and he'd keep taking hits the whole time.
Even considering the minions were also attacking Seojun, Hwangso's health was already below half.
'Gunblade, lifesteal.'
His sustain was decent, and he could survive one more rotation, so Hwangso would lose.
In that case, the correct move was to retreat while blocking with his shield, but—
Bang!
Bang!
Amidst the chaos of minions, Seojun's attacks flew in unpredictably.
Leg, shoulder, arm.
Just like a top laner who faced a top ranged dealer—
Just like those tops who got provoked, charged in, got beaten while trying to retreat—Hwangso was pushed all the way out of the tower's range on the opposite side.
Seojun smiled with satisfaction only then, slipping into the brush to drop aggro.
His own health had also been whittled down a lot by the minions, but—
"Mr. Hwangso. That's your first recall."
Hwangso had no choice but to recall.
* * *
'He said the first reason earlier.'
Hwangso felt like he knew Seojun's second reason, too. The lifesteal skill.
Heroes who wielded two weapons sometimes had two skills.
He himself was the same.
He had one skill related to his spear and one related to his shield.
'His health's nearly back to full.'
Hwangso quickly returned to the lane. From now on, he resolved not to engage in direct trades at all until level 6.
'Does he know he won't be getting any help from the jungler? No, he must know.'
The reason the jungler wasn't coming was rooted in the jungler's objective.
The jungler had to feed the bottom lane, and top and bot were at opposite ends.
He couldn't expect the mid laner to come roaming, either.
So he would endure.
'For the team's victory.'
Hwangso steeled his resolve once more and headed back to the top lane.
Soon after.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Once again drenched in sweat, he returned to base and spoke.
[Gank. Please.]