Chapter 113: Certainly the rank is leveled up a bit upward

by Afuhfuihgs

Chapter 113: Certainly the rank is leveled up a bit upward

[ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won]

─ “Legend, Legend, did you know that Once is just about to overtake your score?”

“What?”

These days, I’ve been constantly playing Meteor Story on stream, but that doesn’t mean I’ve completely abandoned Teamfight Arena.

For Challengers, the system requires you to play at least 10 games a week to maintain your score, so I make sure to play at least 10 weekly.

Right, it’s not just about losing motivation from a lack of rivals—once you’ve taken first place, you don’t want to give it up without a fight.

When I checked the rankings today, I was still far ahead of second place…

“Wow, seriously? He’s on a six-game win streak?”

After checking the match history site, I saw that the person in second was indeed on a six-win streak.

If he wins just one more game, he’ll overtake my score and take the top spot.

<Let’s go to ranked~ Let’s go to ranked~ Let’s go to ranked~ Let’s go to ranked~>

Viewers had already accepted as fact that I was heading off to defend my rank.

And they were right.

No way I’m giving up the #1 spot so easily.

<We, the loyal followers of Legend, hereby declare liberation from the cursed Meteor Story occupation!>

In case anyone forgot, let me briefly explain—Once is the top-tier amateur, ranked in the single digits, and also a streamer.

He once asked to collaborate with me to learn the game, but I naturally declined. So he then asked to at least be allowed to analyze my replays.

After watching my videos, he felt an insurmountable wall just from seeing my victories and gave up at first. But then he declared, “If two can exist at the top, why not three?” and decided to aim for the summit.

And now, that person had chased me all the way up and was practically biting at my neck.

Of course, that’s a metaphor.

If I fought that big adult man in real life, I’d probably get wrecked in three seconds.

And now, I’ve been matched in a game with that very Once.

As I mentioned earlier, the point gap had narrowed significantly—this match would decide whether I kept or lost my #1 spot.

In the ban-pick phase, as expected, my main pick—Illusionist—was instantly banned.

But I’m not good because I play Illusionist.

I picked Swordsman, a champion with a fragile body that gets harder to play in the late game, but can influence all phases—early, mid, and late—if played well.

Our team comp wasn’t bad.

But the enemy team’s comp was solid too.

As expected in a top-tier match, both sides brought well-balanced teams.

And the match began.

As always, I planned the game in my head while visualizing the enemy movements.

[Legend is requesting support]

[Legend is pinging they are on their way]

I used pings actively and made calls assertively.

But the enemies moved differently from what I expected.

They appeared from positions I thought were impossible.

In a spot I expected only two enemies, four had gathered.

‘Crack play.’

A non-optimal play that disrupts the opponent’s decision-making.

Many have tried it before, but they were sloppy.

‘This time it’s different.’

Crack plays done without understanding the fundamentals are poison.

But the enemy team had reached a very high level.

If the enemy has superior numbers, retreating is the standard decision.

But they had spread out and cut off our escape route.

[Legend: sry]

A misplay?

No.

Just a play worse than the enemy’s.

I don’t know who it is, but the enemy’s main shot-caller had read me.

It felt like the era had finally caught up to me.

“Nice. I’ll play like I’m up against pros.”

<What’s happening?>

For the viewers who get dizzy from my constant screen switching, I set up a spectator view from my stream PC and broadcast that instead.

Because I have a 3-minute delay to prevent cheating, real-time interaction was limited.

But I couldn’t accept anything less than giving it my all, so this was the only option.

While I was out of the game momentarily, I glanced at the chat—some were watching both my stream and Once’s.

Quite a few, in fact.

If you watch his stream, you can get real-time updates and also observe his gameplay, so there are clear advantages.

Though it might be a bit dizzying.

“Maybe I’ll check it out later?”

It’d be cheating to watch his stream now.

I’ll watch it later.

With that, I refocused on the game.

As expected, it wasn’t just my imagination.

The overall level of play had sharpened.

The entire scene had risen in quality.

Everyone had become fiercer.

Victory, Wild—this isn’t a game led by one exceptional talent.

The skill level of everyone has risen, and the quality of the entire game has followed.

“You could’ve played this well all along? Should’ve done that from the start!”

This is fun.

The reason I had to quit Magical Fight after Victory and Wild left?

A lack of talent.

Even if my stream brought in a lot of players, none had remarkable skill.

The system itself made it hard for such players to emerge.

But Teamfight Arena is a god-tier game with over two million ranked players.

Among that many people, those who rise to the top definitely have talent.

Maybe not on my level.

“I’m not giving up first place just yet.”

<Crack!>

<Hey, the king has returned! Hey, the king has returned! Hey, the king has returned!>

<Legend! Legend! Legend! Legend! Legend!>

However, despite the bold declaration, the match ended in defeat for our team.

It’s a game where you can’t pin victory or loss on a single cause, but to put it simply:

The enemy team played better than ours.

Our team played worse than theirs.

Not just excluding myself—everyone combined.

That’s just how it was.

<Once! Once! Once! Once! Once! Once! Once! Once! Once!>

<Honestly, Legend played well—it was just unlucky team matchups>

<T_T_T>

<Let’s go get back that first place>

Among the viewers were people who mocked, people who consoled, and people who defended me.

But don’t blame your team. That’s just pathetic.

If I had played even better than this, we would’ve won.

“Ranked really has risen in average skill level, huh.”

“I’m turning off the cam—it’s hard to focus.”

“I did get teased a bit too much. Right?”

Like Once said, there really are a lot of people in this world who live and breathe the game.

Even the weird things people did when ranked was full of nonsense—it was all in pursuit of improvement.

Those lost players have now gotten a little closer to the right path.

Ranked has leveled up, and there are now people aiming for my spot.

You came to end my boredom.

Thank you.

But aiming for my #1 spot? That’s a little cocky, no?

That belongs to me, you know?

“Don’t run. Queue again right away. No winning and logging off, got it?”

<She’s got fire in her eyes now>

<It’s been fun, Meteor trash! Farewell forever!>

<You’re back! Legend is BACK!>

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