Chapter Eight: The Atmosphere Has Been Completely Set, Right?~

“Damn, we got played!” After a wave of casualties, Shanji finally scratched his head in frustration, realizing they had been outsmarted.

Everyone on the field was a seasoned veteran. Some things didn’t register at first, but once calm and reviewing the situation, many truths became undeniable.

“What’s going on in the top lane?” AKL, sitting nearby, asked upon hearing Shanji’s voice.

“Nothing much, tried to gank bot, but ended up fighting the fish instead.”

“???”

Unlike Shanji’s side, filled with regret, over at V5, XLB and Logic were grinning from ear to ear.

Perhaps because even their opponents didn’t expect a team running a Caitlyn comp to decisively abandon the bot lane and focus on the top, this move caught Shanji completely off guard.

Especially XLB.

He knew all too well how powerless the bottom duo would be once the Caitlyn comp established early control.

In this mythical version of the game, if the AD carry fell behind in either level, experience, or gold, most ADs would be like stray dogs on the roadside during teamfights—caught in the crossfire of battles between top laners, junglers, and bruisers, easily wiped out by AoE damage.

“Wait, let me continue,” he said.

“No rush,” Logic shook his head. “I’m updating my build. Gwen’s no longer a threat after dying once, so you just farm normally for now. I’ll take the lane control slower; I’ll come over when there’s an opportunity.”

Same old story.

Pyke struggles against Gwen—he's even countered.

Because if Pyke’s E initiates first, Gwen can dodge with her E, then dash away, leaving Pyke stranded. Also, since Gwen’s abilities are mostly AoE, it's tough for Pyke to gain lane advantage, so he can only harass Gwen bit by bit to chip away her health.

At least with a slight lead in gold and experience, this was the only way he could play against her.

However...

Just as he and XLB settled on their next plan,

Down at the bot lane,

Caitlyn and Lux, eager to push into the turret, fell into the same trap again.

A quick note: Season 12 changed the teleport rules so that before 14 minutes, TP could only be used on turrets. But during the Demacia Cup, the unaltered version was still in effect.

You can refer back to the famous Demacia Cup match that year between V5 and OMG, where mid laner Steel TP’d at 3:32 straight to the bottom brush with a ward, coordinating a double kill with their bot lane Caitlyn and Lux.

This time, the TP was slightly delayed, but the result was the same: a successful kill on their own bottom lane duo.

“Sigh, Xiao Yan.”

“Just asking, Rookie, is it still possible to come back now?”

“As a jungler, I’m losing my mind. The bottom half of the map is basically a no-go. Go there, and you’re dead.”

“To put it simply, V5’s bot lane is basically out of the game in the early phase. All we can do is watch what happens up top.”

The chat carried a sharp tone.

Thankfully, because there weren’t any big-name streamers this game, the toxicity wasn’t as bad as expected.

Logic knew that the original world V5 was losing at this moment.

But he only remembered it was due to bottom lane, without the full clarity—much like how many people remember a classic Hebei player’s legendary match but forget the exact title of the video. That’s roughly the idea.

A double kill in one wave

sapped the momentum that the top lane had struggled to build.

The young jungler XLB, despite his age, already owned three ‘houses’ in his heart: the left atrium, right atrium, and a completely broken defense.

This time,

even though Logic tried to calm the mood in voice chat, the effect was minimal.

After all, losing a support right from the start was like half the team exploding. Giving away a double kill now was basically erasing their presence for the first twenty minutes.

“Looks like the Demacia Cup is in trouble.”

Outside the screen, Karsa was voice chatting with Rookie, who was equally isolated.

They had been following the Demacia Cup closely from the start; if they advanced through the group stage, they could play in the knockout rounds.

But as things stood...

It didn’t look like that was going to happen.

“Don’t be anxious. I know you’re eager, but hold on. Some people haven’t even started to show their strength yet.”

On the other end,

Though Rookie frowned deeply, he still held a sliver of hope for the match.

It was clear from this wave how much the early deaths had affected the bot lane’s rhythm. This latest wave of casualties was even more likely to shake the players’ mentality.

After all, this was a freshly formed team.

If they had a famous veteran, he could stabilize the team’s mood quickly. But now, they didn’t. Old Deng was one, but PPGOD’s reputation and record clearly couldn’t hold the team together.

At times like these, they could only hope for a “miracle.”

On the field,

After updating his build, Logic left the base with an awkward amount of gold.

Though he had just secured a kill, his funds couldn’t afford both boots and Eclipse. It was like one couldn’t have both wealth and worry simultaneously.

Against Gwen, movement speed was crucial; boots were indispensable.

But now the team was clearly at a disadvantage. To try and open up the game from his side, Eclipse was essential.

After some thought, he chose to leave with Eclipse.

“Getting desperate!”

On the lane,

When Shanji saw that the enemy didn’t buy boots first but went straight for Eclipse, a sudden realization flashed through his mind.

Putting himself in their shoes, he’d be equally frustrated.

But that didn’t matter.

As the one seemingly getting played, he actively sought a fight to test his theory.

Coincidentally, Pyke was aggressive at this moment. Shanji instinctively started with his Q to probe, but Logic dodged it with nimble forward and backward movements, faking out the skill.

So the earlier act was a bluff!

When serious, a top laner's skill can’t be hidden. A few skirmishes reveal roughly where the opponent’s level stands.

After several exchanges, Shanji’s expression grew serious.

Something was off.

This guy clearly wasn’t normal.

All of them were professional top laners. Getting a solo kill during lane phase without jungle assistance was nearly impossible. Seeing even one kill in a day’s worth of matches was rare, yet he still didn’t let his guard down.

His play was too mature.

Despite the team being at a disadvantage and having Eclipse in his inventory signaling nervousness, he kept pulling and dodging without recklessness or impatience. Every move was a dance of feints and baited skills, yet he would decisively step forward to contest minions and trade health.

The biggest factors in top lane are jungle influence, followed by experience, courage, detail, harass, and mind games.

In just a few minutes, both top laners’ levels rose steadily, reaching six, but Shanji’s gaze grew more intense.

The arena’s air conditioning was warm, yet the atmosphere felt chillingly cold.

He felt he wasn’t facing a fresh LPL rookie but a top laner monster with seasoned experience and youthful reflexes. Had both started 0/0/0, maybe he’d be more relaxed, but the enemy had a real lead over him.

If not for champion mechanics favoring him here, he’d have been begging for help already.

Is this really a rookie!?

If every new player in LPL was this good every year, the veterans would have retired to compete in old-timers’ leagues long ago!

“Long Ge.”

“Huh?”

In voice chat, he hurriedly responded to Logic’s call.

As one of the few players allowed to participate in this exposure match, he truly didn’t want to be eliminated in the group stage. Now, Logic was his last hope.

When the boss calls, you answer fast.

“Can you help me intercept the enemy’s support?”

“No problem... wait! What are you planning!?”

XLB was surprised, but Logic was already preparing to push a wave into the turret. Both he and Gwen had just over half health. The only difference was that Pyke had gained a level advantage from the earlier kill—level 7 to 6—giving them the edge.

Is there a chance?

Logic himself wasn’t sure.

Opportunities depend not only on one’s own initiative but also on whether the opponent grants them.

Asking XLB to help intercept was doing all they could; the rest was up to Shanji. Or perhaps Logic could awaken the Red-Haired Shanks’ fruit from One Piece and ask for some leniency.

Shanji knew the wave pushing into the turret was dangerous but not fatal yet.

He carefully watched Pyke’s position and meticulously cleared the minion wave without giving away any openings, which disappointed Logic.

Of course.

These veterans were tough. It was impossible to strike without taking risks.

But there was no choice.

With emotions running high, even if they didn’t want to kill, they had to force it.

With only one minion left before the turret, Logic cast his W, Tidal Sweep, from bottom to top. Thinking there was just one minion left, Shanji relaxed slightly and instinctively used his E to dodge.

Opportunity!

Because the W was cast upwards and he was close to the wall, Shanji’s E hooked onto the wall, perfectly kicking Gwen’s face in sync with the W.

Stun successful.

Auto attack, sidestep, then another auto.

Now, Gwen had used all her skills, fighting and retreating while trying to escape and counterattack Pyke.

Since he had dived under turret, he knew the cost.

Taking turret shots, Logic unleashed his ultimate, Hextech Ultimatum.

“I never said you could leave.”

Then came the final pull of his second Q.

V5’s Mebius killed OMG’s Shanji.

As the kill sound played, the turret shot once more.

OMG’s Shanji killed V5’s Mebius.

They traded kills.

“Ah???”

“Wait, Shanji actually gave that chance? Using E like that?”

“This new V5 top laner seems pretty good, quite bold. That trade was solid and decisive.”

“Not sure yet, but let’s mark him as promising for now.”

In the live chat,

many viewers were stunned by the sudden kills, barely paying attention to the casters.

What good commentary could there be for Demacia Cup group stages?

Might as well mute.

Score!

In almost an instant, everyone on V5 reached the same conclusion.

Because of the ultimate dive, OMG’s backline minions in the top lane were distracted briefly. Combined with the last minion still alive near the turret and the wave being a cannon minion wave, there was no immediate worry about the minion wave.

Seize the moment!

Logic, revived, didn’t head directly to top lane but dashed swiftly to the upper river brush, aided by his E’s displacement. This was just before the eight-minute mark.

His mobility allowed him to arrive quickly and form a 3v2 scenario early in the game.

Seeing this,

OMG’s jungler AKI had to give up contesting Rift Herald, handing the tempo back to XLB.

“666666”

“Dream! So strong, Dream!”

“Two kills already; top lane just became big daddy. Big daddy, carry us!”

“Love you~ (づ￣3￣)づ╭～”

At this moment,

the most excited were the bot lane duo.

Only they knew the immense pressure they were under: heavily relied upon but underperformed horribly in the first few minutes. Normally, it would be game over.

Yet, the sudden top lane kill gave them back their morale.

“No need to be nervous. I told you, there’s still a fight to be had.”

Logic knew well that League of Legends was never a one-man game. The bot lane had fallen behind due to deaths but wasn’t unplayable once they caught up on items. He continued,

“Sometimes failing to meet objectives isn’t from lack of effort, but from setting goals too high.”

“For example, we can’t pull off Caitlyn’s early game snowball this match, but we can still aim for the Caitlyn dad who one-shots people in the late game.”

“Right, ShowGod?”

“Huh?”

Dream, suddenly called out, was stunned but then nodded vigorously.

The hardest thing about being a rookie mid laner like him was rarely speaking up and needing others to lead. The silence after bot lane’s two deaths almost suffocated him, but Logic’s energizing words made him feel alive again.

Disadvantage happens in every match.

But how to stabilize the team’s morale and find opportunities despite it—that’s a whole different story.

With the top lane secured,

Xiao Yan and PPGOD started adjusting their mindset.

Their top laner had already helped plenty; they couldn’t rely solely on a rookie top laner in this do-or-die first match.

Thinking so,

everyone seemed to refocus seriously!

At that moment, just as XLB was about to return to the jungle, another call from the top laner came, asking for help to harass Gwen’s health again.

This call was purely to annoy.

XLB’s eyes lit up.

This was his specialty—or rather, who doesn’t know this trick?

When Gwen finally returned to lane to push quickly and back for items, Olaf’s sudden appearance made him curse loudly.

Damn, this is intentional!

Any clear-eyed person would see this gank couldn’t kill him, but Olaf just wanted to throw a couple of axes his way.

At that instant,

Shanji silently cursed V5’s jungler from the bottom of his heart, radiating his fury in every direction.

But did it help?

No.

Pyke, leveraging his health, items, and level advantage, absorbed Gwen’s Q damage while trading back with Q+W, causing Gwen to lose almost half her health.

Tears welled up.