Season 5: Chapter 51: Almond Oppression (1) |
The communities exploded again when they confirmed the matchup between Zelo and Almond. This time, though, the tone felt different. Before, most of the talk had been about Survival Craft.
[Is the Smart Young Man’s occupation finally ending?]
[Zelo’s got this, right?! Please!!]
[Congrats on the liberation!]
[Isn’t Zelo’s Raina kinda fire?]
They wanted the so-called Smart Young Man occupation to finally end. A post, currently sitting at number one, lit the spark.
[1. Why are people ignoring the Smart Young Man right now?]
==== ====
Have you ever proven anything in your lives?
And he got results. He got FIRST place.
Can you really trash that?
==== ====
— Wow…
— Is this a skit?
— LOL! Even if it’s a bit, it’s still annoying as hell
— Sounds like some loser who binged alpha male lectures wrote this
└ Holy shit LMAO
└ LOOOL
└ This is so damn funny LOL
└ For real
— The Smart Young Man proved himself. So what about you?
└ TRUE
└ Hahaha
└ Proved it? Now you go do it.
— But honestly, isn’t Almond actually smart? He’s absurdly good.
— Almond is smart. No one can deny that anymore.
Posts like this suddenly started popping up all over the board.
[Crush the Smart Young Man faction!]
[They’re crossing the line now, those rabid dogs]
[The Nut Squad is seriously relentless…]
[??? Wow~ and you still think I’m smart? This is vicious.]
[He’s actually becoming a real Smart Young Man now. This is bad.]
The Smart Young Man occupation had gone beyond a meme. The line between reality and parody was dissolving. When everyone lied, the one telling the truth became the liar. It was a bad sign.
[2. Someone needs to end this war…]
Some users banded together to push this post to second place.
— Yeah~ keep acting smart you nerds~
└ Hahahaha
└ It’s coming to an end soon…
— Just admit it, and it’s over
— You really think surviving five years in that fortress means nothing?
— No way there’s anyone here dumb enough to think Yu Sang-Hyeon is actually stupid, right?
The Smart Young Man title still held strong. In the end, only one solution existed. Just like they said, they needed proof. Almond had to lose.
[If Zelo takes down that guy with Raina? Instant liberation!]
[Please do it! Zeluto!]
[Fuck… trusting washed-up Zelo is all we’ve got now LOL]
***
Whoosh.
Whip.
Dodging Zelo’s attacks, Almond thought quietly to himself. ‘This is definitely unfavorable.’
More than anything, Zelo was actually pretty decent despite his average accuracy.
‘He’s trickier than I expected.’
Zelo used his Roll well. If Almond closed the distance carelessly, he’d get hit by Mana Explosion and evaporate.
— What?!
— Is it actually hard?
— Why Flashy Blade…
— Just give him Paladin, damn it!
— Why suffer like this!!
— Smart Young Man occupation ends here~ gg
Almond was struggling because of three main reasons.
‘I’ve barely fought against Raina.’
First, he practically had no experience against Raina. Wasn’t he usually the one playing her?
‘Flashy Blade at level 4 feels awful.’
Second, Flashy Blade’s performance only dramatically improved at level 6. The Flash cooldown on a blade was around 8 seconds. Once he used it, he had no way to close the gap for 8 full seconds. Despite how flashy it looked, this champion was actually a very sluggish pick. The player had to commit perfectly when going in.
— Why is he hesitating?
— Go in, go in!
The third reason was possibly the most fatal of all. Almond was too good at Raina.
‘I’d die if I went in at this angle.’
Tap.
At every crucial moment, Almond instinctively backed off.
‘This is dangerous too.’
Everything looked like a kill angle for Raina, which was a massive misconception. Zelo had no idea about the different kill angles at all.
Zelo simply thought, ‘Ah… this is rough.’
Meanwhile, Almond was shadowboxing against an imaginary opponent.
‘Even this looks like a kill angle. Hmm…’
He kept dodging arrows while waiting for a perfect opening. Viewers grew frustrated.
— So frustrating…
— Why’s he like this today?
— Hmm…
— Even the Lord can’t do much with level 4 Flashy Blade…
— If he loses to Raina, this gets clipped forever LOL
On the other side, Zelo’s viewers grew ecstatic.
— Ooooo!!
— Zelo vs the Lord, clash of equals!
— Holy shit!
— Fighting this well with a Raina who gives zero praise?
— Are Zelo’s old skills coming back!?
— Is he actually going to win!?
— The current boyfriend has to win, damn it
— Zelo is seriously pissed, look at that focus!
Zelo grinned at the reactions. “Zeluto and Nutsuke… In the end, it’s just these guys.”
He truly believed he was playing well.
— LOL seriously?!
— The way he narrates himself is hilarious
— He’s even doing narration LOL
— This bastard LMAO
— Nice!
— Giving himself a whole-ass storyline
— After all this, it always comes back to this
— Did you ask Nutsuke’s opinion too?
— Then does that make Raina the rival heroine?
— Sheesh!
***
Thud!
The other players, still in their minion state, were locked in a sweaty slugfest. It was tank versus tank with no real champions in sight.
“Dieee!”
“Ugh!”
“Help!”
“I’ll kill you again!”
With neither side dealing real damage, it became a loop of killing and reviving over and over.
“W-Why are the others taking so damn long!?”
“With a level 4 Flashy Blade, shouldn’t Raina die even if she’s a trash pick!?”
That was the sentiment on Zelo’s side.
Almond’s side continued to believe. “Ah, Almond mains Raina though… H-he’ll win!”
— Still, a level 4 Flashy Blade is rough…
— The matchup is off. The ADC should’ve focused on Raina.
— Raina is surprisingly okay in messy fights like this though…
LetMeTank’s viewers grew worried. Flashy Blade was notoriously weak at this time.Honestly, LetMeTank felt the same.
‘That’s true… One bad move and it’s over.’
Flashy Blade was an all-or-nothing champion. Almond had to use Flash effectively just to break even. If he messed up once, he would get blown up instantly. Raina’s Roll cooldown was more than twice as fast as Flashy Blade’s, and she was naturally mobile as a ranged champion.
‘Is this… actually going to work? Should’ve just given me Paladin.’
No matter how cleanly Almond dodged Zelo’s arrows, the dynamic remained unfair. One side kept shooting until something hit while the other had to dodge forever.
Whoosh!
‘Oh, he’s going in!’
After dodging for so long, Almond finally threw his dagger and activated Flash.
Crack!
[Flash]
It was a perfect Flash, but Zelo simply rolled back.
[Roll]
Pop!
At the same time, arrows sprayed out to inflict damage.
Boom!
[HP: 45%]
Almond’s health was being chipped away. The same pattern repeated over and over.
— This fight is so petty LOL
— Seriously LMAO
— When will this end?!
— Is this WWE?
Neither side gave an inch. In the end, Almond made a decision.
‘I need to bait him.’
The shorter-range side had to accept some loss. Almond intentionally let an arrow hit him.
Bang!
Zelo’s eyes lit up.
‘It hit!’
Then another hit.
Bang!
One more hit.
‘That’s execution range…!’
Greed crept in. From Zelo’s perspective, he could absolutely achieve a kill.
Tap.
He stepped forward, and his vision completely narrowed onto his target. This caused him to miss something.
‘Now.’
[Flash]
Crack!
He didn’t realize that Almond had tricked him.
Slash!
Zelo’s health plummeted.
[HP: 32%]
Spinning, Almond slashed again.
Shrrk!
[HP: 11%]
— No way…
— What the hell?!
— DAMN
‘One… more!’
Whoosh!
Almond executed his final Spinning Slash.
“U-Uaaah!”
[Roll]
Bang!
Zelo rolled back instantly.
“S-Still plenty of room, right?”
— Roll is busted
— It’s back up already!?
— This is insane
— He’s got room to breathe
— So stubborn
— Is Almond losing?
‘Was that… just bait?’
Zelo felt real pressure from a level 4 Flashy Blade. It made no sense. Still, he steadied himself. It had been a while since he’d played this seriously.
‘My turn again.’
The Roll reset the tempo back to Zelo’s turn. Without Flash, Flashy Blade couldn’t close the distance. Now, it was Raina’s shooting gallery again.
Girik…
Zelo calmly drew his bow.
Pew!
Almond dodged the first shot.
‘So, he had been taking hits on purpose. What a vicious bastard. Don’t panic.’
Flashy Blade still couldn’t reach him. Zelo retreated further and drew his bow again.
‘Two shots left.’
He calculated that he could fire twice before Flash’s cooldown recovered.
Pew!
An arrow struck Almond’s head marker.
Bang.
[HP: 16%]
‘Nice…!’
He celebrated internally.
Whoosh!
‘Huh?’
A dagger flew toward him. Almond had tanked the hits, but something felt off.
“Flash is still on cooldown.” Zelo grinned at the bluff that seemed like cheap psychological warfare. “You’re forcing it, my lord.”
Did Almond really think that would work twice?
“See, I…” Zelo recalled the past. “I’m the man who stood lane-to-lane against his Flashy Blade!”
— Nice
— Yeah, kinda true
— True but still…
— He did stand there
— That’s why Buggy became one of the Four Emperors
— LOL
— Stood there and died though
[Roll]
Tap!
Zelo rolled forward, dodging the blade and lining up the finish.
‘This is it. Guaranteed.’
As Zelo rolled in, Almond spread his hands wide like a viper opening its jaws.
‘What?’
Zelo was clearly winning, yet Almond looked like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
‘It’s another bluff.’
Zelo fired one more arrow to inflict damage.
Bang!
[HP: 7%]
He quickly needed one more hit.
Girik…
All he had to do was just pull and release. At this distance, he couldn’t miss.
“Die by your lover’s arrow, Almond!”
— Holy shit!
— LMAO
— Raina crying internally
— Is this a movie?
— This is intense as hell
— wtf is going on
Zelo had won the moment he released his arrow. At least, that was until a dagger carved through the back of his head.
Slash!
‘What?’
[Blade Recall]
[Recall the blade to your hand. It deals damage if it passes through enemies. Cooldown: 3 seconds.]
Almond hadn’t thrown the dagger for Flash. He meant to recall it.
‘Insane.’
Thud.
Zelo’s knees hit the ground.
[Dead]
His arrow vanished before reaching Almond.
Boom.
Zelo became a rune spirit.
[LazySoldier is on a killing spree!]
— Ah…
— He forgot that…
— Holy shit
— He fell for it
— Wow…
— Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man!
— Smart Young Man’s occupation is still his!!
— This is nuts…
[Level Up!]
[Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
Almond was just one level away from level 6.
***
[An enemy is on a killing spree!]
Hearing the announcement, a man laughed. “Well damn. Things are heating up early. Guess it’s low rank.”
[Popcorn]
It was the legendary top laner from the LIL team, CK.
“Boss, where to next?”
“Just give the order!”
His teammates approached him respectfully. They recognized who he was. Behind them lay the corpse of a dead Red Turtle.
“Looks like we’re ahead in levels. How about we head to the Vault?”
“Oh…!”
“T-The Vault… Yeah, that sounds right.”
***
[Beginner’s Tip]
[Did you know? The Abyss contains a Vault. Inside lie legendary runes and priceless treasures. However, touching the Vault awakens a mythical being, the Abyss Kraken. You cannot stand against it.]
