Chapter 219
[Wow, they actually pulled off a two-person ult in a real match.]
[Indeed.]
[Wasn't that something only a few people have pulled off? In an actual game?]
[Considering that, they seemed to have plenty of time...]
[Was keeping Kael alive really the right call?]
Dokkaebi listened to his team's voice chat and encouraged them.
[Keeping Kael alive was the right call. That's why they even brought such an unreasonable combination.]
He had already explained the combination enough during the game.
[Is that so?]
[Shouldn't we beat such an amazing person once more? And even back then, it was Kael.]
[I accept.]
Once more.
Of course, the wealth gap back then and the wealth gap now are different.
And it's even been evaluated that the opposing ace probably wasn't in serious mode at the time.
But still, the fact that they had won once was a comfort.
'Now, let's focus again.'
They need to figure out the opponent.
It's still too early, but if they win here, the possibility of winning the championship opens up.
They beat him once, so why couldn't they beat him the next time?
He reads their movements.
While doing so, he thinks about the opponent's first rune.
Even minute details like damage increase rate and maximum range were already stored in his mind.
Probably, any team that made it to Rios would be the same as Dokkaebi.
'They would have looked up all of Kael's runes. Just like me.'
There's no way they'd release Kael without at least that much preparation.
Anyway, the first rune the opponent chose always provides the most important clue.
'It didn't seem like they were particularly trying to hide which rune they picked, though.'
He had seen them meticulously hide runes in the previous match against Spoon. This time, it wasn't like that.
[Let's try pressuring the bottom lane once more.]
Does losing a skirmish or two matter much?
Can the opponent just blindly push in and end the game?
The answer to all of that was no.
So he checks the second rune as well.
* * *
[Dokkaebi --> DurumiAnirago]
[Double Kill!]
Dokkaebi, who had tried to use the bottom lane as bait to gather information again, felt his thoughts becoming complicated.
The opponent didn't take the bait. They didn't even show their face in the bottom lane where he had appeared.
Are they trying to hide the second rune?
He couldn't focus. His skill shot went awry against minions that weren't even moving.
Dokkaebi attacked the dead bottom lane minions, pushing the wave into the turret, then returned to the jungle to continue jungling.
'From the moment they locked in their picks, the strategy is bound to be limited. Why are they hiding it? No, did they simply not predict this gank?'
There's no way that's it.
[Wait, dive here!]
[Geomsin --> Moja]
A notification appeared that Seojun, having appeared in mid, went into the turret and killed Moja.
Dokkaebi, whose thoughts had become complicated, snapped to attention at the fact that he had momentarily missed the window to cover.
Of course, it was a mid gank that targeted when he was in the bottom lane, so even if he had rushed over, nothing would have changed.
[Did anyone confirm what Kael's second rune is?]
Moja was also a user who had identified all of Kael's runes, just like Dokkaebi.
He didn't demand that level from the other team members, but Moja was different since he had to face him directly.
And his level was high too.
[No. Haven't confirmed it.]
[What about through the damage?]
[It was just strong. The level difference is so big that I don't even know if it was just a simple damage increase. It felt like the invincibility time was longer too. But are we going to lose the mid first turret?]
[Yes. Even if I go alone right now, there's nothing I can do.]
It seems he chose a standard second rune. He judged it wasn't the important one.
What's important is...
Moja is level 9, and Seojun is level 13.
Even though Moja isn't a support, but a normal laner who farms the lane, there's a 4-level difference.
Dokkaebi himself had just hit level 10.
'That's insane.'
The base stats gained from leveling up include defense, magic resistance, attack power, attack speed, health, etc.
This alone makes it impossible to ignore a simple level difference. On top of that, skills also strengthen with each level.
From slight damage increases to special options like runes, all of it is accomplished just by leveling up.
In other words, right now, Seojun is at his strongest.
Or is he?
While jungling, Dokkaebi questioned this obvious fact. Is he truly at his strongest right now?
If not, and if that's why Seojun isn't making plays right now...
'Is he setting up for a late-game timing where he can end it all at once, like the match against Hanipman?'
[Turret has been destroyed.]
The notification for the mid first turret's destruction appeared.
The higher the level, the harder it is to level up, and the stronger one becomes.
Considering this, if you find the most powerful timing...
Levels 5, 10, and 15, where skills power up explosively.
'That's it.'
The moment Seojun hits level 15 will be when they hit level 13.
It's a timing where, if they win the fight, they can potentially end it all at once. It's also right before they buy their second rune.
That's likely the window with the highest chance to win, where they can compensate for the damage gap from their wealth difference.
So that's when he plans to force a teamfight.
And for now, he'll keep picking them off.
That's highly likely.
Now that he's figured this out, they could just avoid that window and be done with it.
'But I'll set a trap instead.'
For a more certain teamfight victory.
Dokkaebi's expression brightened, then...
[Top help! It looks like Kael is about to dive!]
...darkened again.
'First, I have to stop him.'
And when Seojun reached level 15,
Dokkaebi, who pushed forward with a plan to ambush him at his most careless moment and create a foothold to move on to the next game, was able to see it.
The corners of Seojun's lips curving upwards.
* * *
Seojun's opponents were being dragged around by him.
When he proactively went to another lane to dive, Dokkaebi would follow and defend somehow.
Dokkaebi failed to stop the dives many times.
That's what the growth difference was built for.
But Batting Team, despite this, wouldn't attempt a teamfight.
Were they really afraid of losing?
'Of course, they could lose.'
Seojun could ambush from a good hiding spot, or there's a low chance a teamfight could break out because an important ultimate was wasted before getting caught.
But Dokkaebi had the skill to prevent such situations.
Jungle is the position with the best eye for reading the game.
The commentators also thought that if Dokkaebi made a mistake and lost, it wouldn't be due to a skill shot or physical mechanics, but a mistake in exactly this kind of macro play.
Seojun felt the same.
In that sense...
'Revealing himself like this now is a mistake.'
No matter how hard it gets to level up as levels increase, even if the level difference between Seojun, now level 15, and them has narrowed to 2...
Relatively speaking, it's still correct to view this as one of his strongest timings.
The opponent hasn't even bought their second rune yet.
But as mentioned earlier, this is a critical mistake from Dokkaebi.
The enemy was lying in ambush.
Waiting for the moment Seojun roams around most confidently.
Because this is the exact timing he'd think Batting Team, having dodged teamfights until now, would least want to fight.
And people who think that way are, as usual, bound to get careless. Bound to rule out the possibility of an ambush.
Thus, skills flew in from the front and both sides.
Because they ambushed him while he was wandering the jungle in a non-combat situation without any caution, he couldn't even use Blessing of Radiance.
Truly the perfect ambush.
However.
A bright light enveloped Seojun's body.
[Divine Protection]
It was Hayunho's ultimate, who had been waiting beforehand in a hidden spot right behind him.
The incoming skills were deflected, and the enemies panicked. Seojun dug into that opening without hesitation.
-Dokkaebi's mistake, that's right
-The main streamer doesn't get careless
-Commentators are also sighing?
-But they say the fight is still unknown!
-Yeah, this is dangerous for the streamer
A teamfight broke out. Having negated the initial attacks, they had a favorable start.
But now, the heroes behind him are Hayunho, who has already done his part, and Rumi, who can provide heals.
Alpaca, coming to join from the side, and Baramgeom, farther away.
On the other hand, all five opponents were gathered together.
And the person facing them directly is...
-The streamer alone ㅜㅜ
-He's really fighting this
-Come quickly, Baramgeom!
Only Seojun.
But Seojun's smile deepened.
As if he actually welcomed the difficult situation.
Pale's invincibility window is quite long.
In his state of having dug in, Seojun immediately swung his sword towards the first target.
From its maximum length, the tip of the sword pierced Dokkaebi's vital point. As the distance closed, the length of the sword shortened as well.
He continuously adjusts it to the optimal state for the next attack, eliminating even the slightest movement to reposition.
He has to take down five opponents without dying. How?
Sllliiice!
The moment he slashed Dokkaebi's vital points five times in rapid succession, Pale's invincibility window disappeared.
The halted attacks pour in.
Seojun freely shifted his center of gravity, distinguishing the incoming attacks.
Sorting between attacks he had to take and attacks he absolutely had to dodge.
[HP – 87%]
As his HP decreased because there were too many attacks he couldn't dodge, he still pushed deeper in, causing a mark to appear above the opponent's head.
The moment the dual mark appeared above the head of Dokkaebi, the hardest opponent, a timer started ticking in Seojun's mind.
30 seconds.
He has to apply as many marks as possible within that time. That's the only way he can win.
[HP – 63%]
The HP lost to arrows and skills flying in is...
[Sacrifice]
...recovered by Rumi's skill.
[HP – 80%]
-Can we win this teamfight at this rate?
-Instead of losing HP, he needs to secure kills
-He might be able to hold out lol
-I can do this all day!
[HP – 54%]
When it looks like he can't dodge a critical skill...
[Blessing of Radiance]
He activates the skill to endure.
Swish!
He began cutting through vital points at an even faster pace, like a machine.
[Blessing of Radiance: The skill's duration is increased, and attack/movement speed increase significantly upon use.]
The second rune.
Kael's standard rune.
One second after using the skill, a mark also floated above Moja's head.
'Now two.'
Seojun immediately sought out the next target and moved.
Had the opponent finally caught on?
A glance showed Dokkaebi's face filled with bewilderment. And he urgently shouted. He didn't even seem to have the leeway to switch to team voice chat.
"Everyone fall back!"
He noticed.
The attacks aimed at Seojun halted, if only for a moment.
"I've arrived!"
"Me too!"
Baramgeom arrived, circling behind, and Alpaca pressured them from the side, plunging the fight into chaos.
Perfect timing.
Dokkaebi's expression grew urgent.
It doesn't matter.
He just had to do his job.
-Wow! Baramgeom!
-But he's not securing kills...
-He should have used the invincibility to at least get two kills, damn
-Still one invincibility left.
-Including when Radiance skill cooldown comes back, there are two invincibilities left
Dokkaebi seemed to have noticed, but had the others?
It's a chaotic melee. Even though the attacks that were focused solely on Seojun are now divided to the sides, the sight is still dizzying.
In such a situation, step by step.
[Dual: Moja]
Could they notice the marks piling up?
It would be impossible unless they deliberately paid close attention.
Even Baramgeom, who knows this, asked:
[How many left?]
[It will end soon.]
Seojun gritted his teeth.
He flicked a mark above Jandi's head at the fastest speed, then answered.
Yes, the goal wasn't just to hold out for a long time. From the beginning.
The goal was to secure a free 30 seconds.
[Bastion]
The moment the invincibility disappears.
With perfect timing, Alpaca's ultimate comes in. It's invincibility.
Two marks left.
Top.
Support.
He stacks them in order on the remaining two, moving to the closest one.
[Dual: Jjajangmen]
"Stop it!"
When one mark remained, Dokkaebi interfered, trying to block him from slashing the vital points.
A wise choice, but...
Time remaining: 8 seconds.
'So it took roughly 7 seconds per person until now?'
That's enough.
-Damn
-Not securing kills, seriously
-Attacking multiple people here and there, seems like the streamer is struggling too
-It's important to focus down one target and take them out, tsk
-He's fighting incredibly well though
Dokkaebi gritted his teeth, and Seojun was also at his peak concentration for the fight.
Though Dokkaebi's hands and feet tried to meet Seojun's sword to grab hold of him, Seojun's sword evaded them like an illusion.
And the moment he felt the sensation of slashing the final, sixth vital point at his fingertips, the mental timer stopped along with Seojun's sword embedded in the opponent's body.
'28 seconds? If I'd been blocked just once, it would have been a close failure.'
Seojun and Dokkaebi's eyes met. The other's eyes were trembling.
Judgment Sword is an ultimate with an area of effect. The damage dealt to targets not designated by Dual is less, and since it usually ends as a single-target ult, it's not an important factor.
But what if five fall?
"Scatter! Quickly!"
"Too late."
Seojun withdrew his sword and looked up at the sky.
"Wow. No. This is seriously wrong."
The moment Dokkaebi also looked up at the sky to grasp the situation, he abandoned giving orders.
He should have at least let go of the last one and let them all fall.
Though they wouldn't have survived anyway.
-????
-What's going on
-Why is Dokkaebi scared and freaking out?
-Wait, what's that in the sky?
-Oh damn?
This actually worked.
* * *
"Ah! In the end, he couldn't finish off even one! All five of Batting Team have low HP at around 30-40%, but it's the same for Seojun and Baramgeom!"
"..."
"This brings the game to a third match..."
Huh, why is there no reaction.
What are they staring so stiffly at.
The Penguin, who had been blabbering before refocusing on the screen in front, froze as well.
The game...
No, the sky was tearing apart.