Chapter 56: The winner, anyway…

A Delightful Rebellion.

Understanding the skills of every champion was crucial for that.

Of course, I was already familiar with all of them, but it didn’t hurt to double-check just in case.

“This skill does this…”

[Preparing thoroughly, huh, haha.]

[This is what we’re talking about!]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Let’s win this, Pine!]

[By the way, it’s amazing that they know all the champion skills despite not having played League of Legends for long.]

[Dama’s just naturally talented, lol.]

[They’re good at other games too, from what I’ve seen.]

[Honestly, they’ve always been skilled at gaming.]

While double-checking the skills of all the champions, I continued watching the stream.

“Alright, alright, it’s my turn now. I’m a bit nervous since this is my first time meeting this person, but I’ll do my best.”

Pine said this and, shortly after,

Ding!

A notification came through on the pre-arranged Discord channel.

[Next up is Pine vs. Dama. Please join the room. The password is 0829.]

The announcement of the match starting came through.

Even though the wait hadn’t been that long, I couldn’t help feeling nervous.

After all, a lot was on the line.

“A million won is a big deal.”

It’s not like you could dig into the ground and find a million won.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the private room that had just been created.

Inside, I saw someone already there.

“Oh, you’re already here.”

Pine was waiting in the room.

Meeting someone this famous for the first time felt a bit surreal.

With that thought, I typed into the chat.

[UncoveringLondon’sSecret: Hello.]

[Pine: Oh, hi.]

[Pine: Let’s have fun.]

[UncoveringLondon’sSecret: Sure.]

“I wonder which champion I’ll get.”

League of Legends had many champions, and the champion selection would be crucial.

If I ended up with something like Umi, I could lose the game outright.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Hopefully, you get something good.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I want to enjoy watching more of the Pine Cup.]

[Haha, I agree. I want to see more of the Pine Cup too.]

[A million won is precious…]

[Harin: Haha, haha.]

[Oh, has Harin, who got knocked out in the Round of 128, arrived?]

[Lololololololol.]

[How can someone get stuck at the Round of 128, haha?]

[Harin: Shut up.]

[Whoa, whoa.]

[Calm down.]

[Why is Harin so mad?]

From the chat, it seemed like Harin had joined the stream.

It seemed like Harin, who had been eliminated in the Round of 128, had ended their stream and immediately joined mine.

“Probably because they lost.”

If I were in Harin’s position, I’d likely end my stream right away too.

They entered the tournament aiming for the first-place prize of 10 million won, only to lose helplessly when the random pick gave them the support champion Umi.

I felt bad for Harin, and just then—

“Alright, we’ll start now~”

With Pine’s voice, we moved straight to the pick screen.

It was time for each of us to make our random picks and select champions.

“Phew…”

I was nervous.

The outcome of the game was practically decided at this stage.

I needed a champion strong in the laning phase.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Please let it be Umi, lololol.]

[If it’s Umi, it’s gg.]

[Hwanhee: If it’s a support champion, there’s no way to win.]

[There’s no chance at all if you pick someone from the support position.]

[Harin: In a 1v1, champions without mana are at an advantage, though.]

I took a deep breath and clicked the random champion selection button.

A moment later, a champion appeared.

Holding a bow.

And not just any bow—it was glowing bright blue.

“Oh, nice.”

I got Ashe.

A champion specialized in harassing from a distance.

With a slow effect built into basic attacks, Ashe had a significant advantage in simple 1v1 scenarios.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Ugh, so boring.]

[Why did it have to be Ashe?]

[Harin: Boo, no sense for entertainment.]

[You need to pick a support champion, sigh.]

[The vibe is ruined~ ruined~ ruined~ ruined~ ruined~ ruined~ ruined~ ruined~.]

[Kang Hoomin: Yeah, boring, but you’ll probably win easily, haha.]

A more entertaining champion would’ve made the stream more fun, but winning was the priority.

With that thought, I checked Pine’s pick.

“Hm… this isn’t bad.”

Pine had picked Malphite.

A champion known for throwing boulders from a distance to chip away at health and then setting up a kill in one strike.

He was notorious as a nightmare for immobile champions.

“If it’s Malphite, I’ll need a special rune setup.”

Although Ashe would likely dominate Malphite in a fight, I prepared a special rune to counter his harassment.

Pine also adjusted their runes after seeing my champion.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

And so, my Pine Cup journey began.

The Pine Cup match that followed was surprisingly anticlimactic.

The gap between a ranged dealer and a tank was massive.

Especially when the ranged dealer knew how to manage the distance well.

In such cases, a tank’s chances of winning were practically zero.

Just like right now.

“…While attacking.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Seriously beating them like a dog on a hot day, lololol.]

[Please stop…]

[Came from Pine’s stream, can you stop bullying Pine… If you throw this round, I’ll donate one million won.]

[It’s the Pine Cup after all, isn’t it weird without Pine? Please.]

[Pine fans all swarming in, lololol.]

[If you’re upset, pick a better champion, lololol.]

[Kang Hoomin: Alright, alright, take a taste of Lifesteal, Conditioning, Bone Plating, and Revitalize.]

[Harin: Why didn’t I get Ashe, seriously…]

[Lololololol.]

[Harin in stealth rage mode, haha.]

Using Ashe’s range, I blocked Pine’s approach and attacked unilaterally.

A moment later—

“Boom.”

[You have slain an enemy!]

[Ashe -> Malphite]

The outcome of the game was easily decided.

I felt a little bad, wondering if I’d humiliated them too much, but… well, it’s just a game.

Surely, they wouldn’t get too mad.

Thinking that, I joined Pine’s stream.

“Ah… I’m so damn annoyed. Why did it have to be Malphite?”

[But wasn’t it Pine who said Malphite was fine? Wasn’t it Pine who said Malphite was fine? Wasn’t it Pine who said Malphite was fine?]

Disconnected! Forced exit.

[Hey, hey, hey.]

[Calm down, Pine.]

[Why is Pine so angry, lolol.]

[Anyone would be mad after getting hit nonstop for ten minutes, lol.]

[Every time they tried to poke, Bone Plating absorbed it, and Ashe wasn’t even hurt. Plus, with the passive slow and Phase Rush speed boosts, of course, they’d get angry.]

I did feel a little bad knowing the tournament host was eliminated here, but what could I do?

They should’ve picked a better champion or played better.

“Alright, onto the Round of 64.”

With so many participants, the wait time between matches was pretty long.

But the viewers or Pine Cup staff would either inform me about the next match details or send a message via Discord, so it didn’t matter much.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Let’s queue for solo rank, lol.]

[Jumping into solo rank right after a 1v1 seems a bit much…]

[Let’s just do some chatting instead.]

[Been a while since we did just chatting.]

[Let’s communicate~]

[Communication is important, after all.]

[Harin: Why did I get Umi, couldn’t even lane properly, and then lost just like that.]

[That’s your skill level, hmm.]

Laughing at Harin still sulking, I immediately queued for solo rank.

10 million won.

Because it’s important.

Tap tap tap.

As I was sitting and focusing on solo rank—

Ding!
[The Round of 64 will start soon. Please prepare.]

From what I heard, the Round of 64 would be completed today, and the Round of 32 would start tomorrow.

In other words, if I win this match, I can go to sleep right away.

“So many participants that we’re still at the Round of 64.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: But if there weren’t many participants…]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: You wouldn’t have even made it in.]

[As expected, facts from Cthulhu, lol.]

[True enough.]

[Hwanhee: Hopefully, another ranged champion shows up this time.]

[Kang Hoomin: If I win, will I get a bonus reward?]

Kicked out for temporary ban!

[It’s not a “reward,” you vulgar piece of trash!]

[How crude…]

Sigh.

Once again, I joined Pine’s stream.

And then—

“So… This is the person who eliminated me. Let’s see how good they really are.”

“Gasp.”

[You’ve been seriously marked, lololol.]

[They were probably just trying to have fun, but getting knocked out so early must’ve been rough.]

[But isn’t it on them to play better if they’re upset?]

[They played badly, yet they’re salty? Hmm.]

[Calm down, or you’ll all get banned.]

Watching Pine’s slightly aggressive stream chat, I progressed through the Round of 64.

[You have slain an enemy!]
[Garen -> Nasus]

“You dog…”

Once again, I mercilessly made them into soup.