I'm Not a Troll (2)
Lee Gyeongbok selected the character 'Yami' without hesitation.
〈Welco to the Mystical Battlefield.〉
With the system voice, his perspective shifted. The terrain appeared to be that of ancient ruins, and before him was a training dummy.
〈A ninja, 'Yami', who has mastered secrets passed down from antiquity, is based on the Five Elents...〉
The guiding voice continued.
Lee Gyeongbok quickly skipped it. The background of an AOS genre character setting was unnecessary for him to know.
Next, a 5x5 grid appeared on one side of his vision.
On the left, the elents—Fire, water, wood, tal, earth—were listed vertically, while the top row distinguished the five levels, numbered one to five.
Each box displayed the hand seals that Yami needed to form, illustrated as diagrams.
― Already getting dizzy, lol
― It's not too late to quit now!
― I... I was such an idiot...!
― Don't run! Face it head-on!
― Oh my!
― Stop making local jokes, lol
A total of 25 hand seals.
He would have to morize and physically form each by hand—no wonder the viewers were already recoiling.
But not Lee Gyeongbok.
"Wait a mont, let focus."
He spoke as such.
[Broadcast title has been changed.]
[Is it not possible to go for a 3-win streak with 'Yami' after Mystic?]
A broadcast title change notification.
It had not been Lee Gyeongbok's choice.
― Editor... Are you watching that sort of thing?
-ndss! ndss! ndss!
― The bait is strong, lolol
― Even the social guys would freak out, huh?
― So the editor was one of us after all.
― True insiders wouldn't even know this, but all the viewers get it, lol
― From now on, the viewers are besties.
The viewers outwardly showed resistance, but couldn't hide their laughter.
anwhile, Lee Gyeongbok rapidly scanned through the hand seals.
― Wait... His eyes are rolling again.
― What? What is he implying?
― Does he plan to morize all that now?
― His eyes! Look at those eyes!
― Hey lol is he Cthulhu or sothing lol
If asked whether his mory was good, the answer was "No."
If that were the case, he would have found studying fun in the first place.
More precisely, what Lee Gyeongbok was doing wasn't rote morization.
'It's like soone is drawing a picture in my head.'
His senses 'recognized' the hand seals.
Each movent needed to form a seal vividly surfaced in his mind, and that perception naturally grew familiar, as though he had always known it.
As if learning to ride a bike, the mory was not going to his head but being carved into his muscles.
― Hawyum.
― Who is this, over a thousand viewers?
― What is he doing?
― Is he a newbie? He's picking Yami, lol
Possibly thanks to the changed title, new viewers started to trickle in.
― Whoa lol what's with the Yami 3-win quest
― Where's your conscience?
― Oh, that's Agent Q, lol
― If it's Agent Q, that explains it.
As soon as new viewers checked the quest, they imdiately understood the situation. That's how infamous 'Agent Q's' quests were for their difficulty.
"All done."
Lee Gyeongbok blinked a few tis and cleared the chart. The action filled the chat window with question marks.
― King, lol
― Huh?
― You just morized all that by looking?
― Is this guy a grappling hook collector?
― Oh lol he just saw what he needed.
-yeah lol
He moved his hands quickly. With no hesitation, each hand seal ford and instantly transitioned to the next.
His movents were so fluid it was hard to believe this was his first attempt. As he finished the hand seals, the ancient characters sewn into 'Yami's' uniform began to glow.
Then, with a flash of brown light, the earth trembled. As a rumbling roar rang out, a clay giant burst forth and struck the dummy with a giant fist.
With a "thud!" sound, a star symbol appeared above the dummy's head.
A sign that the stun effect had been applied.
-?!?!?!
― Hey;;;
― Earth Release! The Art of the Clay Giant!
― WA! You know Naru Thomas, don't you!
― That's the Earth elent, level 3, right?
― First try and he succeeds at level 3;;;
The chat was stunned. Still, the regular viewers recovered from the shock quickly.
― At this rate, this will be 'perfect.'
-'Purple' has gone 'Purple'...
― Lol Qdari's chances are bleak now
-??? : Want to call it a draw?
― He's definitely getting that 3-win streak, lol
― A million bucks on it!
For those who already knew Purple, just that single display was enough to fuel their hope.
"All right, ready! Now let's get started."
Lee Gyeongbok also felt no need to practice further. As long as he confird that the seals could be ford and activated, that was enough.
He imdiately ended the training and returned to the main lobby. The selected mode was, of course, a ranked ga.
― Going ranked from the first ga?
― Lol, straight in?
-'Normal'? That isn't 'perfect.'
― To avoid dodges, you have to go ranked, lol
As one viewer had said.
'Judging from the situation, in a normal ga, the teammates are likely to throw.'
Since there's less to lose in normal mode, players are less desperate. The chance of a proper ga was higher only in ranked mode.
But the screen that followed defied everyone's expectations.
〈Welco to the new season!〉
〈A placent evaluation will proceed based on your previous season's results.〉
〈'PerfectPlay's rank last season was 'Bronze 0.'〉
As this was an account's first play, a rank placent evaluation, the so-called 'placent test,' began.
"Oh, right. I forgot—it's been almost ten years."
Lee Gyeongbok hadn't expected this either, but it didn't matter.
"That's actually good. My teammates got super lucky."
Because in a placent test, it's harder for players to quit midway than in a typical ranked ga.
― Lololololol
― You can't even dodge like this, huh?
― If you leave you tank your MMR, lol
― Lucky (not)
The chat, who knew this fact, was in a festive mood. If it were themselves, they'd be seething, but when it's soone else, it's just entertainnt.
Just then, matchmaking struck with a bam.
With his view switching, he arrived in the lobby.
His team and the opponents were shown as translucent shadows, and in front of him was a list of champions to choose.
[〉Hello!]
[〉Nice to et you!]
[〉It's my first ti, so please understand, hehe;]
A flood of in-ga chat ssages.
― He greets?
― Don't people quick-pick in placents?
― Oh, lol, everyone got matched with other newbies for the first ga
― Yeah, looks like all of them are first-tirs like Purple, lol
― Oh, then picking Yami won't be flad.
― These clueless newbies are so cute, lol
― Even troll guys started out like this...
Viewers were surprised at the unexpectedly polite chat. Lee Gyeongbok also laughed and typed.
[〉Go ahead and pick your champions. I'll choose last.]
One by one, teammates picked champions.
― Lol, so generous.
― It's all part of the plan
― Seriously, hiding their noobness, lol
― Even newbies know Yami is a trash pick
― Fact) Yup.
Lee Gyeongbok ignored the teasing in the chat. Soon, all the champions for both teams were decided.
[〉If you haven't picked yet, how about support?]
[〉Maybe reinforcing mid lane is better? You can fill in if needed.]
[〉That's good too.]
[〉Would you like to try playing ADC, even if it's tough? I'll cover for you hehe]
More active in-ga chat followed.
Instead of replying, Lee Gyeongbok selected 'Yami'.
[〉???]
[〉Player?]
[〉You misclicked!]
[〉Yami? Which lane is Yami for?]
His teammates' confusion turned the chat into a sea of laughter.
― Teammates are so confused, lol
― Yami lol what lane lol
― They don't even recognize the existence of jungle, lol
-???: You made a kingly choice!
― Why are the newbies so pure, lol
― If it weren't a ranked placent, they'd fla hard
Lee Gyeongbok simply smiled and typed:
[〉I'm the jungler.]
While simultaneously pressing 'ready.'
"Purple bus departing. There are no stops!"
― Ghost stories, lol
― All aboard (by force)
-???: What? Let off!
― Hey newbie, the storm bus—Purple is driving!
* * *
One difference between the PC-based Legend League and the VR-based Mystic League was the removal of the level-up concept.
Originally, in Legend League, you built up your champion by consistently farming minions and choosing your skill tree. But in the VR-based Mystic League, a player's skill was their level.
Farming minions and jungle neutral monsters only served to collect items.
― Not farming creeps?
― Preparing for an early gank?
― Oh~ Purple! So daring!
That's why Lee Gyeongbok was hiding in the brush, waiting for an opportunity.
[〉Player, what are you doing?]
[〉Ah... Our placent is ruined from the start...]
[〉Just go to lane please.]
[〉Let's try our best, just between us.]
His teammates, naturally, weren't pleased. It was standard to focus on the laning phase.
But Lee Gyeongbok didn't bother explaining.
"Fortunately, everyone's a newbie, so there's no need to micro-manage."
He checked the mini-map on the side of his vision as he spoke to the viewers.
Both allies and enemies were sticking tightly to their lanes.
― Frankly, even if you give orders, no one listens
-lol, who listens to Yami's calls
― Don't ostracize our Purple!
― Seeing it first-person, I get why junglers disappear, lol
Currently, top lane was losing.
Because Lee Gyeongbok had gone jungle, while the opponent had two champions defending top lane.
Thanks to that, his teammate couldn't get out from near the tower.
'Is it ti?'
Lee Gyeongbok sensed his sixth sense coursing through his body. A bad feeling coming from the enemy champion 'Magnetcrank.'
"Uaah!"
Sure enough, a chanical arm shot out from 'Magnetcrank' and grabbed his teammate. As the teammate was pulled between the enemy champions—
Lee Gyeongbok leapt from the brush and rapidly ford hand seals.
"What the...?!"
"Roots?!"
Roots burst from underground and ensnared the minions and both enemy champions.
The seal he ford was the 'Wood' elent, level 4—a wide-area binding skill.
― Oh!?
― That's so fast, wow
― He morized Wood elent too?
The viewers were shocked. Didn't he only use Earth elent in training?
"Attack!"
Lee Gyeongbok drew his shuriken and shouted at his teammate. His teammate, finally snapping to, swung his greatsword.
"Die!"
But their opponents didn't stay idle. A magnetic field from Magnetcrank pushed his teammate quickly backward.
Even while bound, it wasn't a stun, so they could still use skills.
"Whoa!"
It was escapable if you remained calm, but that was a tall order for a newbie. Lee Gyeongbok frowned slightly.
Normally, he would pull back and wait for another chance.
"No choice. I'll finish them."
He thought differently.
― What?
― Hyung?!
― You should retreat!
There was no ti to read chat—the situation changed fast.
When the roots vanished, both Magnetcrank and Berserker Ralph targeted him.
A giant robot arm and enormous axe filled his vision.
"Damn it...!"
His teammate, already low on stamina, couldn't help but cry out. For squishy Yami, just those attacks would be fatal—with follow-up minion hits, death was certain.
But it didn't happen.
With a clang, the attacks of both champions bounced off. Both looked bewildered.
― Huh?
― He used tal too?!
― Wow, that's crazy
― He matched that timing?
Lee Gyeongbok had used the survival skill: a tal-elent seal that briefly hardened his body.
And he didn't miss the opening. With shuriken in both hands, he ravaged Berserker Ralph.
"Argh!"
"What is this...!"
They imdiately counterattacked, and the minions rushed at Lee Gyeongbok.
In Legend League, there'd be no escape. But this was not the world inside a PC with keyboard and mouse.
In Mystic League, you could move as the player wished in VR.
"Huh...?"
He dodged both champions' attacks, used the minions as a foothold, and leapt away.
His chakra replenished from basic attacks, he spun, forming another seal.
The symbols on his uniform shone again, and a massive blaze swept the area.
[PerfectPlay NotDodging]
[PerfectPlay DynamicLabor]
[Double Kill!]
A kill notification popped up.
Lee Gyeongbok caught his breath on the scorched earth.
― What is this lol
― Wowwwww
― God—Is he Purple? God—Is he Purple? God—Is he Purple?
― Pro tip: If you're low on stamina, just don't get hit.
― Fire Release there? Fire Release there?
― What village are you from?
― Hokage Punch! Hokage Punch! Hokage Punch!
The chat exploded.
With a faint smile, Lee Gyeongbok looked at his dumbstruck teammate.
"Top's yours. I'm heading to another lane."
"Huh? Uh, okay...!"
With that, Lee Gyeongbok darted back into the brush.
"Starting to get the hang of it."
A smile stretched across his lips.
* * *
Limitless Action
That sumd up Lee Gyeongbok's gaplay.
― Was Yami ever this good a champ?
― No, absolute trash.
-lol, if we picked Yami our fingers would get tied up and we'd be instantly killed.
― Purple's movents are truly ninja-level
― Domo minasan, Purple Death!
-ndss, get out!
The mood in the chat shifted rapidly.
Because Lee Gyeongbok slaughtered the enemy team wherever he went—top, mid, or bot.
― What did he do originally?
― Whatever, instant follow.
― Physical, insane.
― At this point, he could stomp with any champ.
― It's not just his physical skills—the gank timings are insane, lol
― Wow... This is a real jungle diff.
Naturally, new viewers who joined mid-ga were curious about him.
But among them, there were those Choi Byeonghun worried about.
― Viewer hype is overblown, lol
― Yeah, he's got chanical skills but it's possible only because everyone else is completely new
― If his rating goes up, he won't be able to do this
Troublemakers wanting to rain on the parade. But the manager, Park Juho, didn't restrict them.
There were too many new viewers swarming in, and their remarks were on the borderline, not enough to deserve a ban.
And with so many enthusiastic comnts, their negative tone went largely unnoticed anyway.
― Not following Purple channel yet?
― Oh lol, he's not Korean.
― Just think of him as the "Twitter Best Player," lol
― Beca Twitter's Best in two weeks of starting his broadcast, lolol
― But it's kind of true lol
Lee Gyeongbok's performance was that shocking, and the outco of his first ga was all but sealed.
〈The enemy has surrendered.〉
〈Victory!〉
The system voice sounded as Lee Gyeongbok tilted his head.
"Huh? It's over already?"
He hadn't even invaded the enemy base, but the ga ended.
-33 kills and it's already over? Alreeeadyyy?
― The enemy was newbies too!
― Please stop the newb massacre...!
― Not just no deaths, but no damage taken, lololol
― Quit reason: Purple
Lee Gyeongbok's eyes went wide as he checked his stats.
[PerfectPlay – 33/0/4]
"33 kills? Oh, it's true. Did I really kill that many...."
His record: 33 kills, 0 deaths, 4 assists. By luck, his teammates got 4 kills as well.
But those wouldn't have been possible without him, so it was practically 37 kills.
With no deaths the whole ga, even in a placent match the opponents grew exhausted and gave up.
"Oh man, I feel bad—I feel like I was the only one having fun."
He grinned sheepishly.
― Finally! That was fun!
― The killer smile's back!
― Mr. Knight! It's the last stop, please let us off!
― What's with this warp-speed bus, lol
― Bus zero to a hundred in one second
― Hiiik! Monster! Get out of our town!
As viewers carried on, his screen flipped back and he returned to the lobby.
"Well, first match is a success. Two more wins to clear the quest!"
As Lee Gyeongbok raised two fingers, the chat was flooded with laughter.
― Qdari, are you watching?
― At this point, isn't it Qdari who should admit to being the idiot?
-lol, he's losing to Purple's chanics and still not learning
― Too complacent, right?
Before the chat got too heated, Lee Gyeongbok redirected attention.
"But honestly, this isn't quite the match I was hoping for. I wanted to give orders and do so teamfights... well, everyone's new, so that couldn't be helped, but I am a little disappointed."
AOS gas aren't ant to be played solo at heart. The real fun cos from working together with teammates toward a win.
This ti, it was more like an exhibition for the champion's abilities. There hadn't even been a real teamfight.
― But wasn't your first ga too?;;;
― Deception cos as naturally as breathing.
― Ah, this is the 'Perfect' perspective.
― Is this the max-level newbie or whatever?
"Co on, I'm not that good. My rating should go up now, so the next ga should be more fun."
He waved dismissively and queued again for ranked.
"This ti, I'll do it for real."
Hoping for tougher opponents.
* * *
anwhile, in Choi Byeonghun's officetel.
"Did you see?"
Choi Byeonghun turned to Park Juho with a self-satisfied smile. Park was acting calm, but his dilated pupils betrayed him.
"... People said he was good but I didn't expect this level."
"Told you, he's on a different level. Gyeongbok, that guy, he's playing a totally different ga."
Choi Byeonghun let out a laugh, stretching his body.
"Ha, how many clips can I pull from this session? I'll get the highlights, so you handle the monitoring."
"Sure, I got it."
Choi smiled mischievously at his friend's profile.
'He's already hooked, he's already in. Honestly, anyone who doesn't see how crazy this is after watching, must be inhuman.'
He settled in at the editing computer, putting the broadcast in the corner.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Park Juho. He'd leave chat duty to his friend and focus on video material.
"... Huh?"
But then Choi couldn't start editing.
"What's wrong?"
"Wait, hold on..."
Park Juho tilted his head. Was there sothing wrong with the broadcast?
'It's just that the second match got paired up, right?'
The answer ca quickly.
"Holy crap!"
Choi Byeonghun jumped to his feet.
Even before Park Juho could ask why, Choi's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth.
"It's Geno! Geno!"
"Geno?"
"Geno! You don't know? The strear with 700,000 subscribers who's famous for being good at gas at the genetic level!"
"... What's that?"
"Aish! Watch more streams, would you!"
Choi smacked his own forehead in frustration.
Geno.
A top-tier strear known for incredible gaming skill and leader of the "wholeso" broadcast trend.
"And now Gyeongbok got paired with Geno for the placent test!"
Sohow, he ended up facing Lee Gyeongbok.
"What the hell! How much did his MMR jump? Why is a Plat player here!?"
Geno, a player who had reached the fourth rank of Mystic League—Platinum.
Bronze (?) versus Platinum.
An unimaginable showdown was about to begin.
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