"Alright, what's the plan? Classic? Or we doing ranked?" Juhwan's voice came through the PC café's local comms.
"I'm down for ranked," one of the guys said calmly from the far end of the row.
That was Minjae, or M1n in-game. He doesn't talk much, but he was friendly. Seunghoon recognized him as the quiet one. The one who mostly listened while the others talked.
Based on his account, he seemed to play Top Lane.
"Let's not waste this rare opportunity where we have a solid five," Minjae added.
"Yeah, I wanna see Seunghoon cook," Gyubin chimed in, grinning from two seats down.
His IGN was Gyugyu and he play bot.
Seunghoon gave a small laugh as he adjusted his mouse.
"Alright. Just don't blame me if we lose."
"Pft. With how you were reading the match earlier? We'll take those odds. If we lose then that means the 4 of us are just utter trash."
"Yeah, you got this," Doha said next, as he clicked through his jungle picks without hesitation.
Doha was full of energy. He is talkative and easygoing. Out of the 4 of them, he was the one who looked the youngest. He must be just the same age as Seunghoon or probably just 1 to 2 years older.
Juhwan, who sat beside Seunghoon, hit the [Queue] button.
"Alright then. Let's lock it in."
[Match Found.]
Everyone locked in their roles quickly. Gyubin went ADC. Doha called Jungle. Juhwan stuck with Support. Minjae hovered Top.
That left Midlane to Seunghoon.
[Role: Midlane]
[You are the third pick.]
The draft phase loaded in. After a few second, two rows at the top showed on their screen. There were five empty ban slots on both sides. Blue and Red.
This time, Seunghoon's team were on the Blue Side.
They hovered over their bans quickly and after a few seconds, they locked it.
[Ban Phase – Blue Team's Turn]
Blue Team:
1st Ban: Gorath (Top)
2nd Ban: Saela (Support)
3rd Ban: Briar {Top)
4th Ban: Eryx (Roam)
5th Ban: Orin (ADC)
Each ban came in,
After a few seconds, the red team also locked in their bans.
[Ban Phase – Red Team's Turn]
Red Team:
1st Ban: Hesta (Mid)
2nd Ban: Revek (Jungle)
3rd Ban: Fei (Top)
4th Ban: Arvos (Mid)
5th Ban: Kelvon (ADC)
When the banning phase was done, the picking phase followed.
[Pick Phase]
[Blue Team's Turn]
"I'll lock the top guys," Minjae informed them before picking his best hero. The one he was sure that he wouldn't be embarrassed.
[Blue Team's 1st Pick: Helia (Top)]
Helia's portrait glowed in Minjae's screen. His character was a girl
Helia had a silver-blue hair that was tired in a ribbon. She was wearing a gothic dressed that was lined with glowing golden threads. Her weapon wasn't a sword or a spear. Instead, it was a giant pair of floating scissors.
[Red Team's Turn.]
Kario (Jungle)
Warrius (Top)
[Blue Teams Turn.]
[Gyugyu has selected: Reyna (Marksman)]
"I'll go second," Doha uttered.
[Blue Team's 2nd Pick: Nox(Jungle)]
"What are you playing, Seunghoon?"
Eyes turned to Seunghoon as Juhwan asked the question
Seunghoon remained silent but his mouse hovered over the same character.
"Wait, you're playing Seryn?" Juhwan said, glancing at his screen.
"Yeah," Seunghoon replied. "I've been spamming her lately. Just wanna get the feel of her again."
The others looked skeptical.
"She's kinda off-meta, isn't she?" Minjae asked.
"Like really off," Gyubin added. "Not judging, just… you sure?"
Seunghoon clicked confirm.
[You have selected: SERYN]
[Blue Team's 3rd pick: Seryn (Mid)]
"I'm sure." Seunghoon locked it before answering.
The 4 went quiet for a second. Then Juhwan exhaled, muttering under his breath, "Alright then…"
In their heads, each one of them thought the same thing.
'Well… it's fine to lose, right? It's just one game.'
Even Juhwan coudln't help but shook his head.
'Did I made the right choice to invite this guy?'
Still, the drafts continued.
It was a back anf fourth picking for the two teams.
In the end, Gyugyu locked Reyn, a high-damage ADC and Juhwan locked in Alis, a strong engage support.
Son after, battle spells loaded.
Seunghoon didn't waver even if the others looked doubtful at him. He knew his strength, He hovered over Ignite, clicked confirm, and leaned back slightly in his chair.
As the loading screen started to fill in, Seryn's splash art faded into view, her glowing eyes staring back at him through the void.
Seunghoon grinned.
"Let's do this."
Loading Match…
M1n(Helia) / Bladekill (Warrius)
Doha(Nox) / ReikoXD (Kario)
Red(Seryn) / n0Faith (Maika)
Gyugyu(Reyna) / Velv (Velda)
Jhwan(Alis) / RinBoo (Arlyn)
The match loaded in.
The camera panned slowly across the map. The announcer's voice echoed in the background, setting the tone.
[Welcome to the battlefield.]
Each player spawned in their respective base. The fountain shimmered softly the bade.
Minjae's Helia was the first to move. He bought his starting items fast and immediately pinged top lane.
"I'll hold my side. Just watch mid," Minjae said simply.
"Alright," Doha replied. His Nox was already heading for his red buff. "Let's do standard clears first. We'll look for something after the second wave."
"Got it," Juhwan answered as he bought his support item and two wards.
"Let's not feed early. Play slow first," Gyubin added. His tone was relaxed but focused.
Seunghoon didn't say anything. His Seryn stood motionless for a second near the fountain. He bought his starting items then slowly moved out toward midlane.
He also took
The enemy mid, Maika, was already there—hovering near the brush. They danced back and forth, testing spacing. Both had range and both had burst so they were wary of one another.
The first two waves passed quietly. Seunghoon kept his CS tight. Even under pressure, he didn't miss.
Minutes after and he unlocked [
Third wave, the enemy Maika tried to all-in. Seunghoon dodged the skillshot sideways and snapped back with Black Bloom. His skill hit but he didn't chase. Poking the enemy was already good.
"Are you still fine, Seughoon? Do you need help?" Juhwan asked.
However, Seunghoon shook his head.
"Nope. I'm fine."
"I'm near Seunghoon, do you want to go?"
"No need. Just keep clearing. He can't do anything now."
Doha chuckled. "Damn, alright."
Meanwhile, the top side was quiet. Minjae held the lane well, farming safely under turret while Warrius tried to zone him.
Bot lane, on the other hand, was a little more active.
Velda and Arlyn tried to poke early, but Gyubin had better positioning. He timed his trades well and even forced out a flicker on the enemy's ADC.
"I'm starting to win lane," Gyubin muttered. "If Doha can come after crab, we can dive."
Doha grinned. "Say less."
At 4:45, the junglers finally made their first real appearance.
ReikoXD's Kario tried to gank mid through river, but Seunghoon had already warded it thirty seconds ago. He backed off before it happened.
"He's here," Seunghoon said.
The rest of the team watched the minimap. No one panicked, but they were scared that Seunghoon might die. So, Doha tried to go to mid to help Seunghoon as a fight broke out.
However, before Doha could arrive…
[Red has slain Kario.]
[First Blood!]
'Fuck that was clean," Minjae muttered.
"Dude," Gyubin blinked. "This guy actually cracked."