novelraw Chapter 194 : Perfect Scrim (3)
Chapter 194 : Perfect Scrim (3)
Perfect Scrim (3)
Early morning.
Lee Gyeongbok was logged into the Mystic League. But the people by his side weren't his fellow PerG-Day members.
"Haa, lost again."
TierOne's jungler, elephant, let out a short sigh. His match against Lee Gyeongbok, meant to help him regain his form, had ended—and once again, the result was the same.
"I thought you might have a chance if you played as Lagnel..."
Unlike before, Lee Gyeongbok chose Lagnel instead of Yami. This was at Elephant's request.
"As expected, you're amazing—just like I saw on the broadcast."
At those words, Lee Gyeongbok smiled and deselected his champion.
"Who do you think I learned from?"
"Oh, I'm not nearly as good as Purple is, though."
Elephant gave him a slightly intimidated look. Lee Gyeongbok smiled even wider at that, then rolled his eyes.
"But do you actually have time to watch streams? You must be busy because of the MCK."
"Ah, the others are, but I have a bit of leeway."
Elephant shrugged his shoulders.
"I only need to practice with Purple to raise my form. If I do too many practice games, it actually drops, so I don't participate."
"Aha..."
The 'final polish' he needed was already fulfilled by training with Lee Gyeongbok. That's why Elephant could afford to be relaxed.
"Oh, of course, it's not like I'm always loafing around. I still monitor the others when they're practicing."
He said this defensively, then quickly changed the subject.
"Purple, are you ready for the next scrim?"
"Yes, I'm working hard."
"Do you think you'll win?"
"Well, we'll see when we play, right? But I am looking forward to it a bit. I mean, the opposing team leader is a former pro."
Elephant couldn't sense any tension from Lee Gyeongbok.
'His mindset really is different, huh.'
It wasn't anxiousness—his expression was genuinely bright, as if he really was looking forward to it.
"Admittedly, if it's Caffeine-sunbae, it might not be an easy match."
"Is he that good? I mean, sure, his tier is Grandmaster and he's an ex-pro, so his skills must be excellent, but..."
Lee Gyeongbok tilted his head slightly and rolled his eyes.
"I can't really tell from the old videos."
"Ah, he's a first-generation pro. I haven't met him in person either, but I've heard a lot about him."
Elephant searched his memories for the right words.
"I heard, back in the early days of VR, the sync wasn't as good as it is now. So there was a 'delay' between user commands and actual response."
"A delay?"
"Yeah, it kind of felt like input first, then response after. But Caffeine-sunbae was so sharp, he could even take that delay into account while playing."
"Oh..."
Seeing Lee Gyeongbok's interest, elephant dug a little deeper—thinking this was his chance to repay him even a little.
"There are a lot of pros with good mechanics, but having superb game sense is a whole different thing, right?"
"Exactly. Taking delays into account means predicting what your opponent will do."
"Right. But then, when the sync issues were fixed, his potential exploded. He's not called Caffeine for nothing, you know? He got that nickname because he 'awakened' every match."
"Ah, I thought he just really liked coffee."
Lee Gyeongbok chuckled awkwardly, and Elephant laughed along.
"Well, that may be true too. Anyway, the most surprising thing is his champion pool."
"If he started from the early days, his pool must be huge."
"Yeah, his experience goes way back, and his unique sense let him adapt to champions really quickly. He can play so many champions."
"Well, the more you know about your opponent's champion, the better you can respond."
"Exactly. 'You see as much as you know.' That saying came from somewhere."
It's hard to respond to the unknown. The more you know, the easier it is to adapt—but even among knowing, there's a difference between just theoretically knowing and being able to actually do it.
"Even though he's mainly mid laner in a sub-order position, he usually makes the main calls thanks to that experience."
"Hmm... In that case, trying to check Caffeine with a certain ban card might not mean much."
"Probably not. He's got plenty of replacement champions anyway."
Lee Gyeongbok nodded in agreement.
"But that's all about his prime. Mystic's had a lot of patches since he retired. The meta's changed, so his pool might have shrunk, but you should still keep an eye on him."
"By the way, why did he retire?"
At that question, elephant gave a bitter smile.
"Moving to VR did extend his career, but the aging curve is inevitable."
"Ah..."
"I heard he made it to the Mid Cup finals but faltered there and realized his limits. He said in an interview that rather than keep taking up a starting spot, he wanted to give more opportunities to his juniors, so he decided to retire."
"Really? I didn't know."
Lee Gyeongbok's eyes widened and Elephant nodded.
"People joke he's an old-timer, but everyone says he really cares about his juniors. I haven't met him in person either, but I respect him a lot."
"Then he deserves proper courtesy. Thanks for the valuable information."
Lee Gyeongbok said with a bright smile.
"Thanks to you, I've had an interesting idea."
* * *
PerG-Day's second scrim stream.
Viewer numbers had grown even higher than before.
― Wow, lol, is it gonna hit 40k at this rate?
― Who the heck watches a scrim with 40k viewers, lmao
― LattePro has a lot of fans, but isn't this a bit much?
― I saw on the community, fans from other groups came too, lol
― Perfect-Lagnel must've freaked them out, right?
― Who here is a Money Damas fan?
Most people thought LattePro was the winning candidate over Plus Alpha. It was only natural that this scrim drew even more attention than the first.
Moreover, the shocking performance by PerG-Day in the first scrim had drawn in fans from groups outside Group A, all eager to see this match.
― Broadcast channel's also over 20k right now, lol
― Whoa? Why so many there too?
― Caffeine's name value probably helps too?
― Yeah, for real, caffeine may be first-gen but he's world-class
― All scrims are at 60k viewers combined?
― This is truly a historic CrazySmurf
Even foreign viewers flocked to the broadcast. As the scheduled time arrived, as before, the two teams' leaders, Genome and Caffeine, greeted viewers and started the announcements.
"I bet everyone's curious about the scrim schedule. Caffeine, how many rounds do you think sounds good?"
"The more we practice, the better, don't you agree?"
"Yes, lattePro requested we scrim as much as possible."
Genome paused briefly and struck a strange pose toward the camera.
"But I refuse!"
― Lol, what is this pose, lol
― Is that a JoJo reference?!
-??? One of Chu's favorite things: To say 'NO' to someone who thinks they're strong!
― Innate Pangmeo instinct, omg
― Is this 'Perfect-Ughliness?'
― Why is he so perfectly ugly, lol!?
― It's even funnier that Caffeine's just calmly standing by, lmao
Caffeine didn't react, since this was a pre-arranged performance.
"Yes, that was a joke. Since LattePro accepted our request, this scrim will end after one match."
Genome smiled, satisfied with the chat's reaction, and continued.
"Hardly anyone doesn't know about Caffeine's analytical skills, right?"
"You flatter me."
Caffeine responded indifferently, glancing over at Lee Gyeongbok.
"It's what we concluded as well, after watching PerG-Day's scrim with Plus Alpha. The impact from PerG-Day is so great it'll take a lot more time to analyze."
"Yes, so today's scrim will be the only one. Instead! It's not best-of-three, right?"
"Right, this is a valuable opportunity for us too, so we want as much data as possible. Today's scrim is going to be a best of five series."
At those words, laughter filled the chat.
― Oh lol, just as we were getting sad, they immediately make up for the Purple withdrawal
― For real, 2 games would've been too little!
― What do you mean, only 2 rounds?
― Uhwooper formula fits though, right?
― Plus Alpha only did 2 games though, didn't they?
― So, this time, they're saying they'll do just 3 rounds?
― Is a full sweep already a given or what, haha!
― That's 'Perfect-Science' right there
Meanwhile, Genome and Caffeine shook hands.
"Please go easy on us."
"That's my line."
This caught the viewers' attention.
― Genome immediately shooting his mouth off, lol
― It's gotta be scary, honestly
― Mid's gonna get outclassed this time
― It's fine to die, just don't die stupidly!
― As long as we don't get a Genome-kick, it's all good
― But Godple's covering, so it should be fine?
Comparing Genome and Caffeine's prowess, the difference was clear. But the chats soon shifted focus.
A more important event was starting: ban-pick.
[Champion 'Jamal' has been expelled from the battlefield]
This time, PerG-Day was first. When Genome banned the 'Prophet' Jamal, viewers buzzed.
-?
― Jamal here?
― What? Are they targeting Caffeine?
― Jamal's not his top pick, though?
― Yeah, caffeine's main's Victor
― What does this foreshadow?
Jamal was one of Caffeine's better champions, but not thought of as his single best.
It seemed even Caffeine was surprised, as he didn't use his ban card right away.
[The opposing team has expelled champion 'Yami' from the battlefield]
He made his choice with about three seconds left.
― As expected, yami lol
― You have to ban Perfect Yami for sure
― Is Caffeine going for a psychological game here?
― Looks like he's acting as if he has other picks ready?
― Clearly, there's a difference from Plus Alpha, lol
― But still, yami is a must-ban
The second ban card commenced.
This time, Genome also hesitated to select a champion. He crossed his arms and tilted his head thoughtfully.
― Hey, acting like a pro doesn't help now!
― Hurry up and pick already!
― No, that seems like real deliberation, lol
― For real, his life's on the line
― Just trust Godple and ban already!
― It's obvious they'll pick Victor anyway
Despite the chat's pressure, Genome delayed his decision, choosing at two seconds left.
His pick: 'Wanderer' Dasakin.
The chat filled with question marks, but not for long.
Caffeine immediately used his ban card.
[The opposing team expelled champion 'Guyen' from the battlefield]
That was Eclipse's signature champion, the righteous knight Guyen.
― They're targeting Ecl?
― Delayed attack, what's this?
― Wow lol a true pro
― The timer's running out!
― Are we gonna see Ecl's sub champ?
― But doesn't this leave either Perfazan or Perfect Lagnel open?
― So confusing!
― If it were me, I'd be completely lost
As the chat buzzed, Genome's expression also changed. He immediately looked over at Lee Gyeongbok and exchanged glances.
Lee Gyeongbok gave a slight nod, and Genome quickly made his move.
― Oh? Lol
― Targeting the top laner now?
― Looks like he's supporting Ecl, lol
― Sub champ still isn't comfortable, huh?
― What's going to happen, lol
PerG-Day's final choice: 'Rock Golem' Palmite, lattePro's top laner's signature champion.
― Uh, but doesn't that leave Victor open?
― So are they just forfeiting mid?
― Both top champs open for both teams?
― This is bound to be hilarious no matter what!
― Perfazan or Perfect Lagnel!
-??? Guess I've decided!
― What is this, a life theater, lol
― I can hear the BGM playing!
― What even is 'life theater'!
Caffeine was the only one left to pick. He didn't hesitate long.
[The opposing team expelled champion 'Lagnel' from the battlefield]
As the draft ended, the screen was obscured. While the teams picked their champions, viewers analyzed the draft.
― Wow lol, that's a good call
― Yeah, I had a feeling Lagnel would be the ban
― Genome can't take Caffeine in mid anyway, so preventing ganks is more important
― Lagnel's ganks are trickier to deal with
― This means teamfights will be more important?
― Whoa, caffeine's draft is a work of art
― Yeah, top lane's exposing Ecl's sub champ while mid, he's confident he'll win
― Can't say bottom is favored either
― Who knows how this'll turn out
The mood was calmer than before. But as soon as both teams' champions were revealed, everything flipped again.
Viewers and LattePro's own members widened their eyes.
-?
― Ecl's SUB champ... what's that state?!
― Kaiser Mode's coming out?
― What? Kaiser Mode is a knight, but...!
― Whoa lol, what's with the black transformation?
Eclipse's sub champion was the 'Wraith Knight,' Kaiser Mode.
Clad in black armor with an ominous green aura, it was far removed from his usual chivalric appearance.
But that was a minor point.
There was a bigger twist waiting.
"DD..."
All eyes turned to the champion 'DD' slotted into mid lane.
Caffeine narrowed his eyes.
DD's master wasn't Genome.
"Purple is playing?"
Lee Gyeongbok had taken the mid laner spot. And in the jungler's seat—
The 'Crazy Clown' Shaka: Genome.
― A position swap?!
― Wow lol, I never saw this coming
― Th-this is insane strat
― Plus Alpha, you were right!
― Turns out, Genome's earlier bluff was for this
― For real, saying 'take it easy' was just a ruse, huh?
― Yeah lol
― Why ask to go easy if you're going jungle!
― He hid it under the 'Genome-kick' act?!
― That's some Black Company strategy right there
― Wow... legit goosebumps, lol
Lee Gyeongbok smiled brightly in response to the chat.
"Haven't I been doing all the fieldwork up to now? Today, I'm working at the desk while my employee runs around busily."
The chat instantly exploded with 'lol.'
― Lol, so laning is desk work now, haha
― Jungling really is like working outside sales, lmao
― Chu's been taking it easy, guess it's his turn to work harder
― If you're Trchoip, fieldwork's a must
― But wait, does Godple actually play DD usually?
In response to occasional concern, Lee Gyeongbok added a comment.
"Would a boss not know an employee's job? I have to understand all the tasks to make the calls."
The information his divine energy gathered wasn't just about enemies. Lee Gyeongbok had already memorized how each teammate played their champions, not just DD.
― Purple confidence ON!
― Wow, the whole board just flipped
― For real, lattePro's expectations are all down the drain now
― Seriously lol, they were probably only prepping for Godple jungling
― Basically, lattePro wasted two ban cards
-??? Go ahead, Ban~ I'm not even jungling anyway~
― Lol, that's a freebie
Viewers could barely contain their excitement. LattePro wasn't flustered for no reason.
Above all, with this position swap...
― This means Caffeine versus Godple, right?
― Crazy, crazy
― And Caffeine's got his main, victor, lol
― Even so, godple doesn't seem fazed
― This is absolutely guaranteed fun
― It's already great even before it starts, lol
The two teams' aces—
A head-to-head between Lee Gyeongbok and Caffeine was on.