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Chapter 46
Debut: 99th Year
Pro Gamer
The moment Lee Dosoo issued the order,
Park Yongwon immediately placed a pink ward in a bush near the river by the messenger’s nest.
He issued a character movement command deep into the enemy jungle.
In other words, what he was about to do was a counter-jungle—an extremely aggressive strategy where one invades the enemy’s jungle to either farm their monsters or directly take out the enemy jungler.
Soon, he would face the enemy jungler, ‘Lishen,’ in a no-retreat, one-on-one battle.
The goal was clear: it wasn’t about jungle objectives; it was about eliminating the opposing player directly.
Thump, thump!
His heart began to pound uncontrollably.
Not out of excitement. Not out of joy.
Honestly… he was scared.
Even just looking at the one-on-one matchup, Lishen was far stronger than Gragas.
Moreover, the enemy’s rank tier was mid-Challenger for two consecutive seasons, clearly a class above him, who had just earned his Challenger badge.
Considering the career Lishen had built in a pro team academy, even just comparing experience points, there was a definite gap.
“I can do this. I can do this. I can win. I can win…”
He repeated this self-hypnosis in his mind over and over.
Still, the pressure and weight of the situation were immense.
If even a single hit from Lishen’s Resonating Wave skill landed, his chances of winning would be almost zero.
Could he really win in that hand-fighting match?
Would all the early advantages Lee Dosoo had earned be wasted because of his mistakes?
Would the upper-hand in the top lane slip away?
Negative thoughts filled his mind like smoke from a cigarette.
“Hoo… haa…”
Even though he had surely faced countless situations like this while playing Gragas,
for some reason, his fingers were stiffening.
He was terrified to challenge the enemy.
Embarrassingly, he realized, he was a coward in that moment.
But then—
-
“Yongwon… no matter what anyone says, you are the sharpest spear of our team.”
-
“I want you to play with more confidence. And if you can’t trust yourself, trust me—I’m trusting you.”
The words Lee Dosoo had just said when giving him the order suddenly flashed in his mind.
Park Yongwon’s eyes snapped open, shaking off the faint tremor.
“Gragas is a team game. I’m not playing alone right now.”
How many games had he won with Lee Dosoo?
“Was it because I was good?”
No. Absolutely not.
It was always Lee Dosoo who covered for his lacking brain logic, who led the team to victory.
He had to admit it: right now, he was not a fully competent jungler.
There were so many things he lacked as a jungler.
That’s why he had relied on Dosoo for so long.
“Right. I don’t need to think about whether it will work or not.”
Suddenly, his mind went cold.
Just a few days ago, he had told Dosoo that they would become BCK’s best mid & jungle duo.
And now, what a pathetic sight he had made of himself!
“I’ll trust Dosoo, who trusts me.”
He wasn’t the one to decide whether this angle was correct.
“I am the spear.”
How it was wielded was Dosoo’s role.
Right now, he would focus solely on being that spear.
“Hoo…”
Park Yongwon steadied his breathing, filling his eyes with determination.
He could feel sweat gathering on the hand holding his mouse.
He quickly wiped his thigh.
Then, he stealthily circled behind the object known as the ‘Red’.
By the time he reached the edge of the bush,
Tap, tap, tap.
He spotted Lishen, busy hunting the Red.
Thanks to the bush’s vision restriction, the enemy had not yet noticed him.
“Not yet.”
His hands itched, but he didn’t rush.
He waited for both Red and Lishen’s HP to drop further.
-
“It’s okay to make mistakes. I’ll watch your back over and over, so don’t be scared—go all out!”
Finally, when the Red’s HP dropped below 700,
“Now!”
-
“Hyaah!”
Gragas boldly used his dash skill, Body Slam.
Kwon Hyunseung’s face registered complete shock.
“Gragas is going for a counter-jungle against Lishen!?”
It was completely unexpected. There wasn’t even a trace of this in his mental map of jungle movement.
It was obviously reckless. How could anyone be so arrogant to make such a bold move?
Anger surged until reason snapped.
But then—
“Wait… he’s not alone, is he?”
Reason barely caught itself with suspicion.
Logically, Gragas shouldn’t have started the counter-jungle alone.
And more importantly, the mid-lane gap was overwhelmingly in their favor.
Kwon Hyunseung chose to retreat instead of counterattacking immediately.
He also checked the other lanes, starting with mid, the most suspicious.
“Damn it, what the heck!”
But Lee Dosoo was still pressuring mid aggressively near the turret.
Top lane also had an intense fight going on.
“He just came in like a crazy solo jungler with no basis!”
He had scared himself for nothing. Damn it.
Nothing had gone according to plan this game, not even from the first ban phase.
They had prepared counters for Ryosuo, only for the enemy to pick a surprise Lucian mid.
Even if the lane positions were slightly off, they thought it would be manageable until level 6 when abilities would be fully unlocked.
But no. The early mid-lane was already completely destroyed.
The game was now threatened by Lucian, not Ryosuo.
“In that case, I’ll make up for the loss myself!”
Kwon Hyunseung gritted his teeth and spun Lishen 180 degrees.
Though slightly late, he attempted a bold counterattack, launching Resonating Wave at Gragas.
The massive Gragas dodged effortlessly with a lower movement, as if expecting it.
“?!“
A chill ran down his spine.
This wasn’t good.
The Red had already been taken, and Lishen had at least 20% less HP than Gragas due to jungle farming.
He missed the most important Resonating Wave and couldn’t land the so-called full combo of Lishen.
“Argh!”
Kwon Hyunseung had no choice but to retreat toward his base.
But it wasn’t a blind escape.
It was a bait to lure Gragas further into their territory.
It was fine. A counterattack opportunity still existed.
“If I land the second Resonating Wave, I can still turn the fight.”
As long as he landed the full combo, there was still a chance to win.
Even though Lishen was top-tier in 1v1s, he could still turn the tables if he played carefully.
He decided to play it safe and call for backup.
“Guys, cover the jungle! Quick! Come backup! We must finish Gragas!”
Even if he died to Gragas, he would feed kills to top and mid.
“If I die, it’s not a loss.”
It was a smart decision.
Gragas was already deep in their base, and survival was impossible.
Park Yongwon seemed blinded by the kill.
“This time, I’ll exploit that weakness too!”
Kwon Hyunseung twisted Lishen’s body with a smirk and used Resonating Wave again as soon as the cooldown was up.
Almost simultaneously,
Flash!
Gragas blinking diagonally and Body Slammed Lishen, stunning him briefly.
“Reacting at this distance!?”
Dodging the first Resonating Wave with movement…
Unbelievable reaction speed and instant physical skill.
Even by skill alone, Gragas was Challenger level if not Grandmaster.
He felt dizzy. He had lost both the psychological and mechanical battle.
“Fine! I’ll be the decoy!”
Kwon Hyunseung blinks toward their base as a last-ditch effort.
HP below 15%.
Death was inevitable, but the bait had worked.
Gragas was now near the enemy top 3rd turret.
“I’ll probably die! But Gragas used his flash, so someone can finish him—”
Then—
-
“I’ll turn you into ashes!”
Lucian used his ultimate and dashed in first.
“Huh? How did Lucian get here first…?”
Half a beat later, their mid-laner arrived.
Kwon Hyunseung’s mind went blank.
Even just by physical distance, the other teammate shouldn’t have arrived before him.
“Maybe when I called for backup, the tactician was already moving?”
Even if that were true, Lucian arriving first still didn’t make sense.
And indeed—
“Wow, Tactician is insane! Using flash just to get over a wall faster?”
He inferred the reason from his teammate’s words:
Lee Dosoo had moved half a beat faster, used flash and dash without hesitation.
“Crazy or not! Then you should’ve flashed too!”
“Wait! Was it my fault? I joined almost simultaneously without flash!”
“Ah, I can’t get out! I’m dying!”
Lishen tried to dodge Lucian’s ultimate but died to Gragas’ barrel.
Then, their top-laner arrived.
Immediately after, the enemy top-laner joined.
The extended fight ended in:
[Enemy Double Kill!]
[Enemy Triple Kill!]
Gragas’ finishing Body Slam eliminated two teammates, resulting in a one-sided defeat.
[‘LeftHandKnife’ is on a rampage.]
It was a razor-thin difference.
Half a second. One small flash timing.
One bold, selfless decision for a teammate ruined all plans.
That’s how team games worked.
Ball, the game, was determined by such tiny differences.
“…”
Painfully, the better-coordinated team was clearly the enemy.
“Oh! Yongwon’s triple kill was sick! That barrel placement was perfect!”
Kang Haneul’s loud voice was followed by my praise:
“Nice, Yongwon!”
No need for long words. Just: “I knew you’d win 1v1” or “We funneled the enemy jungle as planned.”
“Dosoo!!”
Park Yongwon turned to me.
We both grinned simultaneously.
Clap!
Our high-five stung our palms.
Park Yongwon’s eyes blazed with confidence.
He shouted:
“Top-lane dominance—secured!”
That was the Yongwon I always knew.
