Genius Archer's Streaming

Almond initially thought Tako meant he had to do well again this time too.

Tako sounded odd, so Almond had to ask.

"... Do what?"

Then Tako replied with an entirely unexpected answer, "Jungle."

"???"

Almond became flustered.

\'He wants me to play as the jungler?\'

The jungler was the most unique position in LIL.

The supporter, ADC, mid laner, and top laner all leveled up by killing enemy minions and farming gold. This applied to every player but the jungler.

The jungler had to go and hunt monsters in the jungle. They also had to decide the order of killing these monsters and which routes to hunt them down. Even if the jungler planned ahead, they often had to adapt on the fly. They had to know the various buffs that jungle monsters gave and their respawn times.

Not only that, junglers had to decide which lane to help or which enemy to kill first in another lane.

In short, the jungler required a high understanding of the game. That was one of the areas Almond was worst at.

"Which champion should I choose then? We don\'t have much time. Let\'s just pick one."

Almond didn\'t back down. Instead, he asked Tako which champion to go for.

\'He could\'ve said no.\'

This was why Tako highly valued Almond.

Almond was the type who would always try first. If it didn’t work out, then he would think again and make changes.

What a perfect, practical human. Someone like Almond could’ve been a professional player. He couldn\'t dip his toes in the blood-spattering competition if he was afraid to clash from the start.

Tako smiled and squeezed harder on Almond\'s shoulder.

"Sana."

"Sana... as a jungler?"

"As a mid, to be exact."

Almond looked confused.

Tako smiled back, "To be more precise, we\'re both going to the jungle."

***

OrangeKing praised Solo Is Black\'s ban pick while Tako hesitated to pick, "Wow~! Picking Iron Ball is quite sharp of them, isn\'t it?"

"Is it?"

"Yes. Tako must want to tear his hair out right now! Look! He\'s already torn it out!"

— What kind of logic is that? LOL.

— LMAO.

— We began to call it genetic balding, haha.

— Stress balding from ban picks LOL.

"Ah, he\'s already torn it all out, hasn\'t he?"

"Yes. Solo Is Back already picked Dragon Tamer - Jeremiah. This will drive Balloon Stars crazy!"

"Why? Isn\'t that a pick for the mid lane?"

"Normally, yes. However, where is the top matchup between Solo Is Back and Balloon Stars?"

"It’s in the mid lane."

"Then choosing their mid-laner first doesn\'t make sense, does it? Why would they do that? Normally, they would pick the mid-laner last after seeing all five enemy picks and going over their allied picks."

"Ah-ha!~ I see! But I guess they picked it first?"

"Yes. That\'s what makes it so strange. Jeremiah can also go to the jungle. It’s less likely, but still!"

"Ohh, yes! I\'ve seen it before!"

"Moreover, they banned the top lane champion, Iron Ball, earlier. So Tako is now confused about whether Solo Is Back is targeting the top or mid lane."

— Whoa, this is going to be intense

— Does OrangeKing breathe through gills?

— OrangeKing\'s info dump, lol

— So who do you think will win, OrangeKing?

"Thank you for the detailed explanation, OrangeKing. Tako must be balding by now!"

OrangeKing suddenly stood up from his chair, "Uh. Is Almond playing as an ADC? Is he picking Sana? Then..."

Boom!

[Shadowless Samurai - Yul]

Almond chose a champion that Balloon Stars had never picked before. This champion was typically used as a jungler, but players rarely used such an extreme pick. Such a champion was often called a paper jet because their body was like paper, but they possessed incredible damage and speed.

OrangeKing suddenly stood up from his seat because of this champion.

\'This is...!\'

— The pride of a country champion, lol.

— Samuraaaai! Yul!

— What? Yul? lol.

— Holy shit, is this a Sa-Yul combo?

"This is… So it seems… Okay. For now, it looks like Almond is going to the mid lane. Heh heh," OrangeKing made a weird laugh.

"Why are you laughing?"

“Ah, I’m just getting ready to tell tales from the past.”

— From the past?

— Is this one of those popular picks from back in the day?

— Kids, you really don\'t know about this pick?

— Wow, I\'m surprised they don\'t know this.

— I bet ForeverAlone doesn\'t know because he\'s a baby too.

"Did you recall something from the old meta?"

"Yes, you see...."

***

They were right.

ForeverAlone did not know that champion. He tilted his head after seeing Almond\'s champion.

"What is this? Yul? Is Almond gonna play Yul?"

ForeverAlone thought for sure that Almond would play Sana when Balloon Stars chose her. However, they picked another ADC.

[Biker Gang - Paul]

StrawberryShooter would likely use Biker Gang. He could also be used as a jungler, but that wasn\'t a good choice.

ForeverAlone took a closer look at the other picks.

[Calm Wave - Aqua]

First, Miho would obviously play Aqua. No one else played her except Miho.

However, ForeverAlone wasn\'t sure where she would go. Would she play as a supporter or a mid laner?

ForeverAlone set aside Aqua for now.

[Great Stone - Kutan]

Kutan was a shield champion who resembled a boulder and could only be used in the top lane. Bubblegum definitely picked him.

\'Then...\'

Miho could be both a supporter and the mid laner.

\'But she can\'t be a supporter because of her position on the roster?\'

According to tournament rules, Almond had to play another champion if Sana was chosen as a supporter. Either Tako or Miho could play her instead.

\'But why would Almond give her to them?\'

Tako and Miho barely played Sana. They had a lower understanding of the champion compared to Almond and even StrawberryShooter.

\'Maybe Sana could be chosen for the mid lane?\'

ForeverAlone thought about another possibility.

\'No way.\'

Sana as a mid laner was impossible. It didn’t make sense for a healer champion to fight alone in the mid-lane.

Another possibility existed. The Shadowless Samurai - Yul could play in both the mid-lane and jungle.

\'Uh... My head hurts. What exactly is this!?\'

ForeverAlone had prepared a hidden card, but his head felt like exploding. He racked his brain to come up with the most plausible scenario.

"Yul is mid. Biker Gang is jungler. Sana is ADC. Aqua is supporter."

That seemed right.

Almond would play Yul and Tako would play Biker Gang. StrawberryShooter was good with Sana as well.

ForeverAlone didn\'t know Almond could play Yul. Still, he didn\'t think much about it because he knew Almond was crazy and often picked champions from the shop right before the match. Maybe that was why Almond took forever to pick his champion this time.

"Good thing I noticed their hidden card. Phew."

ForeverAlone exhaled a breath of relief and thought this was correct. He finally settled down at the very end.

\'Tako\'s ban picks are super tough.\'

Ban-picking against Takoyaki was always difficult.

Solo Is Back even prepared hidden cards like the Dragon Tamer this time. ForeverAlone should still have the advantage, yet it felt like they had been pushed into a corner instead.

"So I’m going to the jungle as Dragon Tamer?"

"Yes."

Pollock knew how to play the Dragon Tamer as a jungler. The fact that he could play this champion was unofficial. Why? Because they practiced the champion just a few days ago.

They had prepared this hidden card just to defeat Balloon Stars and secretly invited a Dragon Tamer expert for this ban-pick trick.

"Do you think they were deceived that this is for the mid lane?"

"I\'m pretty sure, yeah. They even picked a champion like Yul."

"... Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Alright, alright."

Pollock wasn’t entirely convinced, but he let it slide.

ForeverAlone seemed confident.

"I can instantly kill Yul with the Rope Assassin. Then, we can dominate the other lanes with Dragon Tamer. Don\'t worry!"

[Rope Assassin - Kai]

Solo Is Back chose their last pick and the final piece of the puzzle.

***

"Huh? Isn\'t this the first time ForeverAlone has picked an assassin champion?" The caster looked slightly confused.

The analyst also agreed, "Yes. It seems to be the first time he’s using Rope Assassin... There\'s nothing in the data."

"Ohh. Could it be a hidden card?"

"The Dragon Tamer as their jungler is also strange... You\'re right. It might be a hidden card. Those two champions could result in some interesting plays.

"What do you mean?"

"Dragon Tamer can ride a dragon and fly to another lane, right?"

"Yes, that\'s correct. To be precise, Dragon Tamer hangs onto the dragon\'s foot."

"Yes, but the Rope Assassin can also shoot his rope there and go along with him."

"Wow, isn\'t that a bug?"

"They’re not official yet. It\'s one of the implicit rules, but these two hardly ever come out together because they’re often both used in the mid lane. This must be one of Solo Is Back\'s tactics for the match!"

The match began while the casters busily explained about the Rope Assassin and Dragon Tamer.

"Now~ The game is starting!"

***

Summoners on the battlefield busily moved.

The casters shifted their focus to the in-game play.

"How come Almond is playing Sana? Is Sana in the mid lane? StrawberryShooter is Biker Gang and the jungler is Yul! What\'s happening here?"

Casters checked all the champions with surprise.

OrangeKing smiled as if he expected this already, "Didn\'t I tell you? This is an old meta combination. It seems like my prediction was right."

"An old meta combination?"

"Yes. An ancient weapon! Lost technology! It’s also known as the Sa-Yul combination!"

— Ancient weapon, LOL.

— Lost technology, WOW.

— Is this for real?

— They’re time-traveling, LOL.

The Sa-Yul combination was a portmanteau of Sana and Yul. This tactic comprised of Sana and Yul playing in the mid-lane and jungle respectively. Yul had to consume all the jungle monsters and minions though.

"Basically, Sana is in the mid lane while Yul takes the jungle. However, Yul takes all the mid lane minions that Sana would consume."

"Really!? Is that allowed?"

"That\'s the Sa-Yul combination. The advantage of the Sa-Yul combo is that Sana can support the Shadowless Samurai Yul, who boasts insanely high damage with a frail physique. During team fights, Yul can become invincible through Sana\'s ultimate skill and wipe out the enemy with serious damage."

"I see. This is my first time seeing this combo."

"In the past, many duos reached Challenger rank with this combo. They were derogatorily called the Sa-Yul couple because that was all those players could do."

"Really, you can reach Challenger just by using that combo?"

"It was too OP back then."

"But why isn\'t it used these days?"

"This combo makes it look like Yul is the main character, but Sana is the key. Sana was nerfed, you see."

"Nerfed?"

"Yes. A long time ago, her Light Arrow infinitely generated just like her Shadow Arrow."

Reactions from the viewers poured in.

— That’s insanely broken, LOL.

— Wow, really?

— LOL, don\'t be so surprised, babies.

"No way, Light Arrows infinitely generated?!"

"Yes. It just worked that way. At the time, players struggled to shoot the target on top of their allies... Everyone improved so much these days that anyone can hit the target now."

— Those days when everyone couldn\'t do it... LOL.

— It was our Dark Age...

— The True Real Dark Times in LIL.

OrangeKing went on, and the caster seemed to recall something.

"Hmm… If Sana being nerfed was the problem... and if creating Light Arrows has become difficult... then this won\'t be a problem since Almond is playing Sana, right?"

OrangeKing smiled and nodded as if that was the entire conversation\'s point.

"That\'s right. We might be able to see the old OP Sa-Yul combination in today\'s match."