Season 5: Chapter 86. According to Plan (1)

Unaware of the dark future approaching, the viewers were busy laughing.

— lmaooooo

— Why would you go all-in on that!

— This is literally what the Smart Young Man is~ lmaooooo

— Smart Young Man, well played

— Fact: Almond went all-in to prevent himself from becoming the caller for the team's sake. He's actually smart.

— lmaooooooooooooo that's so funny lmao

Almond had abandoned a guaranteed winning strategy and just gone all-in on Choi Sa-Rang again. At that, Sweet Radish and Lemon gleefully piled onto Tortilla as well.

"W-we're all-in too!"

"All-in!"

"This is our only shot!"

Since everyone had gone all-in anyway, the odds didn't really matter. Whoever won, the other side would lose everything. Almond clearly had a guaranteed winning play, but chose to create this situation instead.

"Why would he do that?" Black Tea had been given a chance, yet couldn't make sense of it.

She blinked in bewilderment.

Sweet Radish shrugged. "He's keeping the stream alive. If we don't have a fighting chance, it's too boring, isn't it?"

"Oh, I see?"

— God of streaming

— He just made the Last Stand Meta happen on his own~

— This is the Lord!

— Going all-in to keep the stream alive!

— Sacrificing himself for the content...

The Knight Order members concluded that this too was the Lord's grace to keep the stream going. Otherwise, his behavior made absolutely no sense.

‘Something feels off.’

Black Tea, whose instincts were quite sharp, looked a little uneasy.

"Choi Sa-Rang is going with CK again. This is fine... We'll win, right?"

Despite her words, she trembled faintly as she chewed her thumbnail.

‘What the? Why am I nervous?’

She found it strange herself.

Tortilla objectively had a much higher odds of winning. His roster was significantly better than BokChoy's, and there would be no jungle ban trap like last time. On top of that, he was an active Tier 2 league coach. His simulator expertise alone would be several times greater than that of any ordinary person. Even if the skill level were equal, the experience gap was enormous.

Sweet Radish nodded reassuringly. "Yeah. He'll win."

Both teams finished their bans.

"Hmm?"

This time, Choi Sa-Rang chose conventional bans countering the high-value composition.

Sweet Potato noted it. "It’s completely different from before?"

BokChoy, mildly excited, added, "Last time was an extreme snowball approach! This time, the bans are countering the opponent's high-value setup? That means she's planning to take similar champions for herself?"

"Looks that way. The targeted bans don't work as well on that side. They're not a random all-star squad thrown together like somebody's."

Sweet Potato sniped at BokChoy.

"..."

— lmaooooo that's why he became Potato Servant

— lmao fair enough

— All-star squad lmao

— You made him Potato Servant, just accept it

The loser said nothing and just continued commenting.

"Since we're the blue team this time, we get to pick first."

"They're picking now. The most prized high-value champion right now is...!? OH!?"

[Baby Dragon — Draco]

Draco had been taken. It was the obvious call on a high-value comp, but the commentators' eyes went wide for a reason.

"This, this is a champion that JeonJaPa has never used, isn't it!? There's no data for him!"

"It wasn't out during his active years... was it?"

Baby Dragon Draco was a relatively newer champion, and newer champions tended to be stronger. Draco was one of the most prominent examples of this. He started as a baby dragon and progressively grew into a full-grown dragon. By the late game, his damage output was simply unfair.

"Draco... there's a lot said about how the late game is an automatic win, but if the mastery is low? JeonJaPa would obviously have zero mastery of this champion."

— Basically a shop pick lmao

— Just like someone brought in by Almond, it's a shop pick lmao

— What is this...

— Probably giving it to Cosmic

— Did she pick wrong?

— She knows the current meta but picked the roster out of team loyalty, maybe she's confused

The viewers doubted her pick.

"Yes... because it's JeonJaPa. He's JeonJaPa, so maybe he can cover this somehow! But even if he does! The team is still a problem!"

It wasn't simply a mastery issue for JeonJaPa. The entire team had to play around Draco.

BokChoy added, "Right. That's what meta means. It’s a phenomenon that governs the entire game, which is why 'I can solo-carry with mastery' doesn't work in the pro scene. Team synergy is what matters above all."

"Is there any team with synergy like CK?"

"There isn't, but that synergy is built within the context of a specific meta. If CK is a five-person figure skating team on ice, would they still have that synergy on a grass field?"

— BokChoy should just do commentary

— Good explanation

— BokChoy for commentary!

BokChoy was a classic theorist who suited the coaching transition. He also had a respectable career as a player. These were typical traits of players like him. They all understood the need for high-floor and stable compositions that allowed any player to perform at a baseline level.

"But BokChoy, you're aware all the audio commentary is going through to them, right? This isn't a real competition."

"Ah... right."

— Oops

— Choi Sa-Rang's expression is souring lmaooo

— He's really poking at her lmao

— Wow

— So the coaches can hear too?? lmao

‘Hm? That's not it.’

Sa-Rang's expression hadn't hardened because of BokChoy's words. She was just thinking and didn't agree with his commentary either. It barely registered after hearing it so many times before.

‘I've heard this a lot.’

Even during CK's prime, people said things like this often. Running unusual compositions or unconventional approaches while believing in intangible things and invisible forces was risky. Whenever that came up, Choi Sa-Rang always thought the same thing.

‘Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.’

Not being able to see air molecules didn't mean one couldn't breathe. One simply couldn't perceive them. Scientists couldn't see air molecules either, but they analyzed and utilized them. The intangible asset called team synergy was the same. Invisible, but it always showed up in the results, just as air ultimately allowed one to breathe.

‘Alright, let's see what they do.’

Sa-Rang fixed her gaze back on the opposing ban-pick screen. What would they pick? She'd taken Draco. They would still go high-value. Their roster was simply too strong to do anything else. The commentators were already noting this.

"So, what does Tortilla do here? Draco is the definitive high-value pick. Does he just come out with a different high-value build and fight?"

"Most likely something in a similar vein with slight variations."

Thud.

[Terrorist Bonnie]

[Hammer Paladin Ulte]

Tortilla picked Bonnie and Ulte.

"Oh. High-value champions, as expected. The positioning is ambiguous, isn't it? On the surface, it looks like a bot-lane duo with ADC and support..."

"Could be mid-jungle too?"

"Right. That composition is entirely plausible. The core of a dual-cannon high-value comp is that the mid and ADC champions can be swapped without changing much, which is why the player matters more."

"Oh, so for Draco too? What if it's not mid, but Cosmic? Cosmic has Draco data."

That was plausible.

‘Honestly, this Gold player...’

BokChoy sighed and shook his head.

"Cosmic is bad enough on Draco that having no data would almost be better."

— LOL

— lmaooo

— Hahahaha

— Choi Sa-Rang suppressing a laugh LOL

— lmao fr

As the ban-pick progressed, each team's identity became clearer.

"Oh, Tortilla picked his mid! Bonnie goes bot!"

[Supernova Solia]

Tortilla also locked in Solia, a champion used almost exclusively in mid.

"So, the plan is to lock Draco in the mid lane and spread his own influence everywhere."

Solia was one of the champions whom Saury played exceptionally well. It wasn’t a lane-dominator, but used high mobility to roam instead and project influence across top, bot, and jungle. Players sometimes picked it to counter champions like Draco, who had to sit in lane and farm.

"But..." BokChoy tilted his head. "This is actually a soft counter? The real counter to high-value champions is outright killing them early. This isn’t killing it, but just roaming around ignoring them..."

Tortilla added another champion.

[Dragon Tamer Jeremiah]

Again, this mobile jungler possessed exceptional roaming.

"Right. Solia and Dragon Tamer Jeremiah for the jungle! This whole setup is about running around and blowing up things... Basically, they'll just ignore mid."

Rather than disrupting Draco's growth, the plan was to end the game while he sat farming.

"When the game goes long, the high-value Bonnie and Hammer Paladin will be placed bot. Ah...!?" BokChoy gasped and smacked himself on the head. "I actually need to take notes on this. Now that I see it all together, the ban-pick is immaculate! Tortilla!"

— Suddenly?

— The genius is online

— fr incredible

— Just seems very good overall?

— The power of the Tier 2 coach!

"Because the core of a Draco comp isn't actually Draco. It's the other four holding on! And they've just sniped exactly that!"

"Ah... not mid! It's actually the bot they're targeting?!"

"Exactly. CK needs the bot to win for mid to survive. Draco can't carry alone! On top of that, he's at zero mastery!"

"I see, so this is just a bot-lane detonation build?"

"Looks like it. Alongside that, it’s a comp equivalent to Draco in raw value with Bonnie and Ulte. Ah... laid out like this, it's genuinely impressive!"

A little while later, the coaches finished selecting their remaining champions. Both compositions came into focus.

"Both teams have completed their ban-picks!"

"This is commonly called being out-drafted."

"Ah... It's that bad?"

"Yes, it's rough. The Draco mastery being at zero keeps coming back up."

"And Tortilla's side?"

"It's a slight twist on the current high-value dual-cannon trend with Solia and Jeremiah bridging the early-mid game. With the Hammer Paladin added on top... the comp is very tight."

— Almond sobbing lmaooo

— What do we do

— Is BokChoy just being biased because he lost?

— fr it does look rough

"This is just how it is. Winning the ban-pick battle against a pro coach is never easy." BokChoy added that caveat in case anyone misunderstood. "Getting this close is already significant. Honestly, there's also a considerable handicap in the roster itself."

"Ah... right. Building a squad out of champions from the past isn't easy. This isn't a resurrection jutsu."

— Resurrection jutsu lmaooo

— Fr this is tough

— No active players

— If Choi Sa-Rang wins this, shouldn't Tortilla retire?

— lmaooo resurrection jutsu

***

A little while later, the tactics input also finished.

"Ah, as expected, Choi Sa-Rang uses the full time here too."

"Why do you think so?"

"She's probably been in lengthy communication with JeonJaPa. JeonJaPa... has zero mastery of Draco."

"Does having a long conversation raise mastery?"

"No."

— lmaooo then what's the point lmao

— lmao what?

— Would mastery go up from that?

— Only way it goes up is a session in the room of truth

— Smart Young Man Era’s spectacular collapse lmao

"Alright, the match has started!"

The LIL Champions Simulator ran at several times the speed of a real game. Situations developed quickly.

"Saury's Solia is applying influence through early jungle interventions."

"Oh, here it..."

[First Blood!]

"CK's jungler! Banana is dead! This is playing out completely differently from last time?"

"But! But!" Sweet Potato perked up. "Wait! JeonJaPa's Draco!?"

Draco was in an almost impossibly precise position like a set piece in football, an exact pre-designated spot.

"He's waiting in the exact path Saury will take?! He's being this aggressive with Draco, who’s still a baby dragon!"

Crash!

The baby dragon's flames started scorching Solia and dealt moderate damage.

Boom!

Draco just kept following and firing.

"Again! Again! Again... another hit!?"

"Solia has no escape ability right now!?"

Solia's abilities were all on cooldown, which meant JeonJaPa positioning himself in that corridor had already been a cracked play from the start.

"Draco sacrificed some minions pretending to back off and came from there, so this is completely impossible to anticipate... WAIT, WHAAAAT!?"

[JeonJaPa has killed an enemy!]

A major play happened. Draco, already terrifying in the late game, had gotten a kill at a notably early stage.

"Th-this is..."

"..."

A moment of silence followed because only one person had bet on Choi Sa-Rang.

"Hmm." That one person watched the match with a remarkably relaxed expression and muttered a transparent lie, "All according to plan."

— What plan lmaooooo

— Plan? Almondoyle

— As ever, the Lord's plan is as vast as the sky

— LOL whose plan??

— Is he really going to get lucky again?

— The Almond Era approaches...