Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 204

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 204

[Minions spawning.]

Along with Seo Jun’s usual meaningless chatter, minions began to spawn from the Nexus and approach their lane.
Hwang So flexed his feet, thinking to himself.
‘Can I hold? Well. Is it possible?’
The tension crystallized into a short answer in his head.
Hwang So had never fought Seo Jun in the League. He’d never even properly faced him in a game before.
He’d been hit by the Frying Pan in Ground Zero once, but that was just a fleeting moment.
Yet he couldn’t help but feel the tension.
He lacked the confidence that a skilled player should have, and the competitive fire too.
He was a man full of sensitivity—the type who watched documentaries every night.
Winning fights were fine, but losing ones? He just wanted to avoid them.
‘That’s why no-ban Kael.’
He’d even picked the hard counter just like the opponent suggested, essentially pushing him to go mid at full force.
Of course, there had been much debate among his teammates about whether to spare Kael or not, and in the end opinion had tilted slightly toward keeping him, but if Hwang So had wanted it, he could have banned Kael anyway.
The only reason he didn’t was that the only way to send his opponent to mid was to force him out with an extreme counter.
‘Lain. Help. Failed.’
Unfortunately, the effort he’d prepared to make shine for his team captain’s survival had come to nothing, but it was fine.
‘Wind Sword is threatening enough too. So if I hold steady, I’ll end up carrying beyond just doing my share.’
As he organized his thoughts about the situation, the tension naturally dissolved.
‘Everyone has their role. Like nature. I just need to do my part well.’
Lain endures, keeping the enemy team’s B-Tier in check so they don’t snowball too hard.
The B-Tier ADC and C-Tier Jungler lay the groundwork for victory.
And him, A-Tier—he stops.
That man.
The user who slings a rifle over his shoulder waiting for minions to come, the one pros warn about again and again if they want to win.
‘Hmm. Is it possible?’
Could he do it?
Hwang So swallowed dryly.
Being disadvantaged in the laning phase was unavoidable. But he had confidence he could endure.
He had a Shield, and his attack range wasn’t badly short either.
Then what happens when the laning phase ends?
His Ultimate traps his opponent in an arena with him.
Basically a skill that drags the opponent into the Truth Room.
‘That’s enough. After that point, the opponent won’t be able to harass me easily.’
Though his confidence wavered back and forth, Hwang So didn’t mind.

* * *

The minions came. They met in the center and clashed. Seo Jun took his position accordingly.
Normally you’d position yourself behind your own minions.
Even though the ranged minion is just the size of a head, it’s good cover from behind.
You could call it a kind of meat shield.
But Seo Jun stepped past his minions.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Slowly.
First came the line of ranged minions standing in a row.
Then the center line where the enemy and his melee minions collided.
Crunch, crunch.
Usually, once you cross this point, the enemy ranged hero behind their minions would attack.
Or rather, most players would thrust an attack the moment they were in range.
“How far are you going to push?”
But.
Hwang So had no choice but to keep backing away.

-Damn top ADC bastard
-Ugh… PTSD… ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I’m literally tearing up from level one
-Why’d you have to ask that, Seo Jun?

Finally, he’d even crossed past the enemy’s melee minions.
In a situation where the minions’ aggro was already drawn to each other, as long as Seo Jun didn’t land a hit on the opponent or a minion that was attacking didn’t die, the aggro wouldn’t shift to him.
In other words, he was free.
“Ha ha. It can’t be helped, can it?”
Though he probably saw this coming from a mile away.
Seo Jun stepped closer toward the Bush on the left side, speaking to the viewers.
Even if he’d predicted it, there were definitely people who’d be thrilled about it.
“If you’re sore about it, you should’ve picked better in draft.”
Seo Jun said through team comms, making sure Hwang So wouldn’t hear.

-Ah ㅋㅋ Real talk, top doesn’t even prevent ranged mages from coming, and if you first-picked, you gotta accept the karma
-Top…ADC…insane…guy
-Bang bang bang! It’s Hwang So’s fault
-Please lose Seo Jun please lose

[What?]

“I was speaking to the viewers.”
Seo Jun answered while his eyes still tracked Hwang So’s movements.

[Oh, yeah. I get the situation.]
[Heh.]
[Don’t hold back—demolish top!]

“Will do.”
Seo Jun enters an Aiming Stance. Then he turns his body and aims at a dying enemy minion.
Hwang So, who should have been attacking from this position in this direction, could only watch from afar.
Bang!
He secured the minion with a shot timed perfectly as its health hit rock bottom.
The bullet struck the minion’s head and bounced, continuing in a straight line.
And the moment Seo Jun took the minion, one of his team’s minions also disappeared.
“You’re not letting me even get experience?”
Gold requires a Last Hit, but experience comes just from being nearby.
“I got it.”
“Is that so?”
Seo Jun stepped forward one more pace. Hwang So was pushed straight back.
Seo Jun smiled with satisfaction.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Evil bastard
-Is there even an answer to this?
-Just lay down ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-No answer except jungler
-Or level 6

Of course he didn’t plan to end it there.
Bang!
A magic-infused bullet snuffed out another minion hanging on by a thread.
The bullet bounced off the minion’s head and continued forward.
Hwang So glanced cautiously for a moment, but the moment Seo Jun’s rifle barrel swiveled back his way, he retreated again.
“You’re being awfully patient, not even flinching to grab a scrap of experience.”
“It’s the basics.”
“Is it really?”
“You wouldn’t understand the sorrows of the top laner.”

-Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Suddenly so sad
-Hwang So throwing away his tough-guy concept???
-He could at least harass with the spear or initiate close combat, but he’s holding back

Indeed.
Seo Jun thought that perhaps Hwang So was the most patient person he’d met in all his time streaming.
Normally, when facing a top ADC, the key is managing your health.
If you fight before the wave crashes in, you’ll just get shot repeatedly due to range and have to go home.
Of course, if you have a Mobility Skill or CC Skill, you can trade blows from the start.
But if you wait, the wave pushes in, and when you call your jungler or teammate—easy kill.
That was the way to counter a top ADC.
‘He’s delaying that by pushing the wave as late as possible.’
By attacking only minions nearly dead, he minimizes his involvement with the wave.
But even so, the wave will eventually push in.
“Jungler’s coming.”
Hwang So warned Seo Jun as he watched. Basically telling him to back off a bit so he could grab some experience himself.
“I don’t think they will?”
Seo Jun let out a soft chuckle.
Hwang So probably didn’t even get the initial minion experience.
“Surely our jungler won’t miss such easy prey.”
“If they come, that’s even better.”
“You’re an ADC though. Two versus one. Can you handle it?”
Bang!
Seo Jun swiveled his rifle to take down the third minion.
“Do you think I picked this champion for nothing?”
“Is it because of the Mobility Skill?”

[Magitech: Teleportation]

A solid mobility skill that lets you instantly move a fixed distance.
“No.”
Since it doesn’t move far, he can’t escape if the jungler comes. There are conditions too.
So that wasn’t the reason.
“The first reason I picked this champion is…”
When three ranged minions remained and those minions moved slightly closer to center to attack each other,
Seo Jun stepped forward more.
Pushing Hwang So completely into the tower.
“…because this champion has the longest attack range.”
“What? What do you mean—”
He raises his rifle. Supports it with his left hand, shoulders it in an aiming stance.
Standing boldly in front of the tower.
Bang!
He fired.
The opponent raised his Shield, tilting his head at the odd trajectory.
But soon he sensed something, and quickly swept his arm to wield the Shield.
But he was a moment too late.
The bullet hit the left wall and ricocheted straight into Hwang So.
Bang!
The next shot came immediately after.
Hwang So tracked Seo Jun’s rifle barrel with his eyes through the sudden shift.
Right!
He swept his arm to counter.
But.
A ricochet attack that bounced off a wall was far harder to read than a normal shot.
Bang!
Left wall and right wall.
The third bounced off the tower behind Hwang So and came back. At Hwang So.
Though Hwang So’s reactions quickened, it was coming from behind, so he couldn’t block it this time either.
As he spun to block, he shifted his focus from the Shield in his left hand to the spear in his right.
The next Wave of minions passed by at just that moment, blocking his vision.
‘Longest attack range?’
Looking only at his basic attack itself, his range was on the short side even for a ranged dealer, but if the shot bounced off a wall beside him, the projectile’s total distance traveled doubled.
Total distance traveled. By that metric, this champion had the longest range of any hero.
So if you used walls and minions well, it was powerful.
The problem was that walls and minions weren’t always in the positions you wanted.
Which meant you could never consistently achieve maximum range—the most effective harassment.
Just as his opponent now advanced all the way to the tower’s edge, utilizing the tower itself to attack.
That’s right.
Whoosh!
The opponent was close enough now that if he thrust his spear, it would land—and Hwang So attacked like that.
Trading blows when you’re far apart is avoidable, but when someone closes the distance like this, it’s a blessing.
He can escape with a Mobility Skill—what about that?
Then perfect. He won’t be able to follow up with his long-range attack.
If he takes the hit instead?
I’ve already landed three basic attacks on him to make up for it and more. Push him harder after that.
And at the moment he thrust his spear while turning—

[Explosive Spear]

Seo Jun wasn’t where he’d been right before he turned. The spear detonated in empty air.
Seo Jun stood just barely to the side, dodging the skill by a hair’s breadth.
‘He predicted that?’
From spear-length distance away, Seo Jun was already back in an Aiming Stance.

-Wow!
-Restrained minimal movement
-Hwang So spinning while thrusting his spear was creepy on its own, but he read it
-Wasn’t he trying to block?

Seo Jun continued firing even as the second Wave of minions hit him.
Bang!
Only then did Hwang So truly grasp the terror.
Normal calculations didn’t work. Attacks were predicted.
Just like in the videos.
‘Run. Fast.’
After that, the choice was simple.
Since his skill whiffed, trading blows until the end here meant death. Trying to trade even a little would force him back anyway, taking continuous damage. Then it was just slow death by a thousand cuts.
Even with minions hitting alongside him, his health was already below half.
‘Gunblade, Life Steal.’
The sustain was decent, and surviving one more round was possible, so he’d lose.
Then blocking with the Shield and retreating was right, but.
Bang!
Bang!
Mixed in with minions, Seo Jun’s shots came unpredictably.
Leg, shoulder, arm.
Like a top laner facing a top ADC,
Hwang So made one reckless charge and taking hits, was pushed all the way past the tower’s opposite range.
Seo Jun smiled with satisfaction, then entered the Bush and dropped aggro.
His health was also worn down from minion shots,
“Hwang So, that’s your first back.”
Hwang So had to return to base.

* * *

‘He said “first reason” back then.’
Hwang So thought he understood the second reason too. The Life Steal skill.
Heroes with two weapons sometimes used two skills as well.
He was the same.
One skill for the spear, one for the Shield.
‘His health refilled really fast.’
Hwang So rushed back to lane. From now on, he vowed absolutely no trading until level 6.
‘He knows the jungler won’t come. Or he knows it now.’
The reason the jungler wasn’t coming lay in the jungler’s objective.
The jungler had to prioritize Bot Lane, and top and bot were on opposite ends.
You couldn’t count on Mid roaming either.
So he endures.
‘For the team’s victory.’
Hwang So steadied his resolve once more and returned to top.
Before long.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
After sweating profusely and returning to base again, he said,

[Gank. Please.]

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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