«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 player BlackTea is tremendous!»
The commentators showed respect for BlackTea’s choice to leave Raina open.
«But BlackTea’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 available. 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 the commentators couldn’t definitively say.
— ??? It’s not a mistake. It’s a mastermind move!
— LOL, leaving Raina open takes courage
— Is BlackTea’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 BlackTea’s Bonnie are just hyping up Almond’s Raina, LOL
— Whether it’s BlackTea 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 player claims, nobody is playing 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. According to them, Raina doesn’t do well against long-ranged ADCs.»
«Oh, right. Because she’s a short-ranged champion.»
«Bonnie has a rocket launcher, so her range is quite long. Moreover, its splash damage is hard to avoid.»
«So, would Bonnie have the advantage?»
«In a conventional matchup, yes. However, Raina can penetrate well, so who knows.»
«Oh, it’s a balanced matchup then? As we’re talking, it’s now player 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 plan 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 players’ 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, BlackTea also picked Bonnie.
«Explosions are an art form!»
BlackTea raised a banner in her broadcast every time she selected Bonnie.
— Wowwwwwww!
— BlackTea! BlackTea! BlackTea!
— Kill me! Sis!
All the players 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 rocket launcher, 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 player to directly control.
Each of the two weapons had distinct strengths and weaknesses. The player had to switch between them depending on the situation.
BlackTea played 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 relaxed 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 played.
«Of course,» BlackTea 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 played champion during scrims. A pro guy I know told me that.»
«Wow~ I see.»
BlackTea smiled as she loaded the rocket launcher.
«That’s right. This sis has it all planned 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 BlackTea.
«Alright! I’m on board with the plan!»
***
Almond warmed up by leashing StrawberryShooter’s jungle mobs. His blue arrows struck the monsters’ targets in succession.
Pububung!
He stopped precisely when only two health points remained and looked at his arm.
‘Better than last time.’
His senses felt sharper than when he played as Raina against GreenTea. Did using her consecutively make a difference compared to using her after a long time? Or…
‘Is it because of the new capsule?’
Almond pondered.
It didn’t seem like a simple placebo 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 this last 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 BlackTea 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 players felt light on their feet.
If this pattern continued, then it was judged that the player’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 bottom lane 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 classic as the tale of Romeo and Juliet!»
OrangeKing also started listing several comparisons 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 clashed.
Kang! Kang!
The moment their swords touched, BlackTea fired a fierce rocket.
Swooosh~!
«That’s a very aggressive move from BlackTea and Lemon. She’s firing rockets indiscriminately! It takes time for those rockets to recharge.»
The rocket launcher dealt splash damage, and each shot was quite powerful. It was perfect for clearing out minions in one go. The dual-wielding pirate was nothing in comparison.
Boom! Boom!
«BlackTea is aggressively using her rocket launcher. Is she trying to level up first?»
«Yes! She’s trying to gain the upper hand early on! She lost the last 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 splash 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 balance!»
«It’s almost like Almond is telling the developers, ‘You guys messed up!’»
«How high will the combo 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 hit combo]
[13 hit combo]
[14 hit combo]
Swoosh!
Blue mana surged up to the point where it could appropriately be called a blue flame.
BlackTea clenched her teeth and continued shooting at minions with her rockets.
Kwaang! Kwaang!
Dark smoke spread out occasionally as Balloon Stars’ minions died en masse.
“Uh…
Who will reach Level 2 first!?”
“BlackTea! BlackTea is now Level 2!!!”
[Level Up!]
BlackTea’s level increased first, and the corners of her mouth rose.
“BlackTea immediately reaches for her waist!”
“She’s planning to throw a grenade! She learned the skill!”
It was just as the commentators 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 rocket launcher 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!
BlackTea’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 rocket launcher’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 rocket launcher 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 BlackTea’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 BlackTea 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 black smoke and flames 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!
BlackTea 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 overcome it.’
That 5% health looked like a huge wall to BlackTea.
Shouts erupted from the stands in the stadium.
— That was insane!
— Raina! Raina!
— Raina!
Both players had chosen their main champions. The intense battle in the bottom lane resulted in an overwhelming victory for Almond and Balloon Stars. Those who expected a close match felt embarrassed.
