A one-sided situation.
While others were learning intricate lane dynamics and precise macro play through scrim matches, and analyzing the opposing team's strength and tactics, I was doing my own special training.
Team-based operations?
We already had tactical strategies established by Seong-jun and Dong-gyu, with Jin-seok as our sharp blade at the forefront.
A jungler utilizing an aggressive mid-laner, and support making plays.
That's teamwork they've been coordinating for years.
There's no need for me to break that framework.
So my role is like a random number generator.
A gambler who dives in when the angle looks good, taking calculated risks with high odds of success.
In other words, I can follow my teammates' calls during normal play without issue.
From the beginning, this game has correct answers for every situation.
The information changes moment by moment based on ally and enemy positions and skill cooldowns, which changes the correct answer.
If the team handles those calculations, I can specialize in something different.
In this constantly changing battlefield, what I ultimately needed was experience.
Countless one-versus-many scenarios.
How many times in a single game do you face multiple champions alone?
Unless everyone is deliberately throwing the game, it happens at most three or four times.
Some games don't have such situations at all.
At best, you dodge a jungler's gank or participate in large-scale team fights.
This means most players inevitably lack precise data on these scenarios.
Unless they're deliberately drawing multiple opponents to themselves by excelling in lane phase.
And intentionally doing that is rare.
One-versus-many situations are burdensome even when you're well-fed.
When you're behind and surrounded by multiple enemies?
That's just desperate struggling.
So for me, with less experience than others,
The value of that special training was greater than expected.
I could intensively gather data on the damage output and cooldowns of currently popular champions.
How to fight with winning odds in certain situations.
Which skills must be dodged, which can be endured while fighting.
And at what point the gap becomes insurmountable.
That kind of data.
Thanks to that, I could quickly assess the current situation.
The enemy champions visible on the map converging on me are Cherry and Xan'Che.
With our team pressuring mid lane, Ezreal will likely be on defense.
That means at most four enemies have come for me.
If I can kill Cherry, I should be able to escape from the other three.
I've prepared an item that restores health when first attacking a champion, anticipating aggro ping-pong in team fights.
But Cherry will resist.
When I target Cherry, the enemy team will certainly use all their skills to protect her.
The CC chain from Maokai, Blitz, and Xan'Che can lock me down for about 5 seconds.
And that time, even with Cherry as the only damage dealer,
Is enough to melt Jackson.
And even if I invest all my skills to bite Cherry,
They'll try to create distance from me.
So the opportunity is just a momentary timing.
However, it's not simply about trading kills.
It's about what each side can gain after this fight.
The outcome of this battle won't change the game.
All the enemy gains from this hunt is putting a blemish on my perfect KDA and hindering my growth.
After respawning, it's only 1 minute until Baron Nashor spawns.
That's when we'll prepare to fight for an objective.
So dying isn't that bad for either side.
Whether I die or they die.
Therefore, investing ultimates with cooldowns well over a minute would be wasteful.
Knowing this, even Maokai and Xan'Che who showed up late don't use their ultimates.
...But Jackson is different.
His ultimate cooldown is shorter compared to other champions.
Even if I use it now, it will be available again for the upcoming fight.
Then, fighting here is advantageous.
The best place to fight is as close to our territory as possible.
In that split second, I make that judgment.
I get knocked back by Xan'Che's defensive stance.
Surprisingly eager to catch me quickly, Xan'Che switches to all-out offense and pushes me against the battlefield wall.
I already feel like I've gained an advantage here.
At this point, Xan'Che's ultimate cooldown is longer than mine.
So in response, I press R to activate my ultimate.
Jackson the Weapon Master surrounds himself with golden currents, increasing his armor and magic resistance.
This will minimize the damage after their CC chain.
Although half my health instantly disappears,
I calmly place a ward behind me and leap to it, trying to escape the area.
Naturally, to block my retreat,
Blitz uses Blink and fires his rocket arm toward my escape route.
Already aware that Blitz equals grab,
I slightly pause Jackson's movement, making it miss by a paper-thin margin.
During this time, Cherry's attack grazes me, further depleting Jackson's health.
Not yet.
The timing for a counter-attack basic attack is a bit later.
Maokai uses his spectral state to disappear from the battlefield and approaches me with twisted advance.
When he slams down his thicket fist to push me toward his allies so I can't escape further,
Now, counter-attack.
Jackson spins the lamppost in circles, dodging Xan'Che's empowered basic attack and Cherry's focused fire.
Meanwhile, before getting knocked back, Jackson attacks Maokai with an auto-attack, slightly recovering health.
When I got pushed back, Cherry reacted by hastily turning around.
But at that moment, I canceled my counter-attack and stunned both Xan'Che and Cherry.
Naturally, both champions are stunned, and Jackson's second basic attack targets Cherry.
Originally, attacks are empowered every third basic attack.
But while the ultimate is active, they hurt badly every two attacks.
Plus, the first attack against a champion is a critical hit.
Naturally, Cherry, hit by the stacked counter-attack and empowered critical strike,
Instantly loses health and hurriedly uses Quicksilver Sash.
An item that removes all crowd control effects.
And she hastily dashes backward.
But by then, Jackson's leap cooldown has returned.
I relentlessly pursue Cherry who's trying to kite, smashing down on her head.
However, was 4v1 too much after all?
Cherry's Sterak's Gage item effect activates with a splash, creating a bubble.
When health falls below a certain threshold, a significant shield is generated.
Thanks to that, even with my continued attacks, I only manage to break Cherry's shield.
In that situation, Cherry, fearing for her life,
Used Blink to create even more distance from me.
This is a satisfactory result.
Even if I follow with Blink, I can't catch Cherry.
So, I've dragged this out long enough and forced many long-cooldown skills.
I wouldn't be disappointed even if I died now.
"Got Blitz and Cherry's Blink, Quicksilver and Sterak's. Xan'Che used ult too. Baron fight should be easier."
Well, actually I am disappointed.
It's frustrating that this is my limit even after special training.
But getting angry would only lower team morale.
So I briefed the situation as calmly as possible.
"What? Noel still has Blink? That's an advantage."
"Jackson's respawn time matches Baron spawn, so even the timing of death was good."
"Hey, why do you all make fun of me when I die but comfort Noel noona when she dies? This is gender discrimination!"
"What are you talking about? You're ADC and she's top. ADC shouldn't die. That's because you positioned terribly."
"Oh."
"Anyway, we can end the game if we win one teamfight and take Baron. We'll get vision first and bait them, so Jackson, teleport and join us as soon as you respawn."
The team atmosphere isn't bad either.
And thanks to the ultimates I baited them to use, 1 minute later,
As I predicted, we engaged in a fight while I was still missing, but
Thresh and Sejuani tanked solidly, setting up the fight.
I teleported behind to split Genji team's damage line from their tank line.
Cherry, judging she couldn't escape from Jackson appearing behind her,
Chose to fight to the death, ultimately dying without accomplishment.
Xan'Che, fighting at the frontline without his ultimate, died helplessly too.
Blitz, unable to overcome the support's limitations, was already dead before I arrived.
Instead of chasing the dying Maokai,
I used my saved Blink to stun Ezreal without giving him a chance to react, and pummeled him.
Ezreal, who had been taking hits while stunned, flashed away with Blink as soon as the stun wore off.
But I saved my leap for this moment.
I followed with leap and basic attack, then empowered another basic attack.
Ezreal shifted position again with Arcane Shift as its cooldown returned.
But melee attacks that have already started their animation deal damage even if the target moves away.
Ezreal falls, separated from Jackson.
After killing Baron Nashor and gaining the buff,
We had no reason to give them any more variables.
We went to the top lane that Jin-seok had pushed earlier to demolish the tower.
We regrouped to match Genji team's respawn timing.
Then at dragon timing, we moved aggressively looking for fight angles without avoiding combat.
When they initiated an all-or-nothing fight before losing more ground,
My role was simple.
As a fighter, to dive in and prevent the ranged damage dealers from dealing proper damage.
Whether by holding them with crowd control, taking damage in place of our damage dealers,
Or killing those ranged damage dealers to ultimately reduce damage to our team.
Within the area visible on screen, ten champions each begin their own fights.
And in such large-scale chaotic battles, Smoldi and Miss Fortune's skills shine.
[MOMMAAAAA!]
[KYAHAHAHAHA!]
Area-of-effect ultimates can unleash tremendous firepower over a wide range with just one R button press.
The Genji team, unable to give up the fourth dragon that provides important buffs, judging they'd have no chance if they lost this too, concentrated all their firepower when we approached.
Bullets rain down and flames pour from the sky across the battlefield.
The Genji team's health bars plummet instantly.
In that situation, I clung to Cherry, the most threatening target, to keep her in check.
But Xan'Che pushed me out of the combat zone.
This isolated me, but
I had a one-time use item that makes me unable to take any action for a period but also immune to damage.
With a clear "ding" sound, I turned into a golden statue.
Cherry, who had crossed the wall to finish me off in my near-death state, naturally had to stand there helplessly.
And during that time, I waited for my leap cooldown to return.
As soon as my invulnerability ended, I leaped back over the dragon pit wall to rejoin my allies.
Maokai seemed to be walking toward me, perhaps planning to ride over the wall with me to escape the battlefield.
Well, what can I do?
My leap was faster.
I delivered a fatal blow to Maokai to finish him off, then mixed with my allies, using teammates as shields to safely escape.
"Watch Ezreal, watch Ezreal! Cut him off! Get Xan'Che too!"
"All-out attack, melt him now! No Ignite?"
"No need for Ignite. I'm super strong."
Due to the tunnel vision I had momentarily, I only now start hearing my teammates' conversations.
Our main force has already finished the fight.
Xan'Che, who tried to save Ezreal, has also died.
Only Cherry remains.
And alone, she couldn't stop all five of us surviving with Baron buff advancing.
She tried to do something, firing her electric magic gun in small bursts.
But we absorbed that damage adequately while pushing towers and destroying the Nexus.
After winning the first match of Round 3,
Exhausted, I collapsed into my chair for a moment.
"Ah, Miss Fortune is so good. Click and the team wins the game."
"Wow, really a Miss Fortune bus rider. Who played Miss Fortune?"
"Hey, I used my ult well."
"Even our house cat could press that button well."
I'm this exhausted, but why is Gyeong-hwan, who's supposed to be a ranged damage dealer, so energetic?
Shouldn't the ADC be the most tired from walking a tightrope?
Whether it's because he's young, or as other players tease, because he plays a champion with naturally low fatigue,
I'm envious of his seemingly intact energy.