Chapter 9: The Lane Executioner
1.
“You’re really unlucky.”
The enemy hero stood not far away, clad in a classic knight’s armor, wielding a longsword.
He approached, taunting me relentlessly.
‘So you can voice chat with enemies too?’
In normal games, I’d seen voice chat among allies, but never an enemy talking like this.
“I checked your match history—you’re a newbie, huh? Don’t feel too bad. You’re up against me. It’s like getting wet in the rain—inevitable~”
『Voice chat function activated.』
『Allies』 『Enemies』
‘This is how it works, right?’
I moved toward the taunting enemy, who was snapping his fingers.
“What a cocky bastard.”
“…Wait, you’re a girl?”
The enemy let out a sleazy laugh.
For such a cool-looking avatar to make that expression—VR is something else.
“If you’re a girl, go to bot and play support like a good little thing. How dare you crawl into the man’s lane, top? Someone’s got bad habits!”
“Save that crap for your buddies.”
“Call me oppa now, and who knows? I might go easy on you.”
No point talking further. I leapt forward, greatsword in hand.
Boom—!
A burst of acceleration.
I soared into the air and slammed my greatsword down.
The enemy, caught off guard, blocked too late.
Clang—!
The blade, fueled by gravity and momentum, threw his stance off.
He stumbled back, a black brand marking his body.
“Fcking hell…!”
I kicked off the ground, closing the distance.
「Shadow Slash」
Dark energy swirled around the greatsword.
As the blade turned black, I swung.
“Argh!”
The dark greatsword sliced across his side. His armor blocked the blade, but not the impact.
The heavy blow sent him rolling across the ground. Just two exchanges, and his balance was gone.
“Sht…!”
He scrambled to get up, but I gave him no chance.
I rushed in, smashing his face with the flat of my blade.
Bang!
He collapsed. I climbed atop him, driving my sword through the gaps in his shattered armor.
Stab—!
The blade pierced his body. His upper and lower halves nearly split, he died instantly.
『First Blood』
The victory chime echoed across the battlefield.
‘Hope that streamer Elena likes this.’
I didn’t know her, but maybe she’d remember me and collab later.
Could help my sister’s stream grow too.
“Waaaaaaaaa—!”
Soldiers charged toward the top lane. Enemy and allied minions clashed.
Whoosh—!
My hero towered over the minions. Each swing of my sword pushed their formation back.
Slash—!
I cut through sword-and-shield soldiers, then took out the archers in the back.
“Hey, you fcking btch—!!!”
An enraged voice. The enemy hero I’d just killed charged back with his minions.
『Level up』
After clearing six minions, I leveled up. I allocated a skill point and raised my greatsword.
「Dark Leap」
My body turned pitch black. With a burst of acceleration, I launched toward the enemy hero.
Clang—!
The greatsword, fueled by speed, tore through the air, striking his torso. A dull thud rang out.
Scrape—!
He slid back from the impact, his metal boots scraping the dirt, kicking up dust. Using the obscured vision, I closed in.
Whoosh—!
Hearing the air shift, I angled my greatsword to block.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out, red sparks flying everywhere.
“Knew you’d try that, you btch!”
His voice came through the dust.
“Not a total idiot, huh.”
At least he had basic combat sense. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have reacted like that.
“Unbelievable. I was careless last time, but if I’m serious, you’re no match, you pathetic btch. Got it?”
“Oh? Then get serious.”
I charged, crushing the ground beneath me.
「Shadow Slash」
The blade turned black again. Through the settling dust, I saw him hastily retreating.
「Dark Leap」
I used the skill to close the slight gap.
Boom—!
His body rolled across the ground. After tumbling, he twitched, trying to push himself up.
Thud!
“Guh!”
I kicked his head. With a crunch, his body crumpled. I stomped his abdomen and drove my sword down.
Stab—!
The blade pierced through his broken armor. Blood sprayed as he met his end.
『An enemy has been slain.』
“…Lame.”
I’d expected ranked to be different from normals.
I didn’t even hope to be beaten—just to face some resistance. Guess that was too much to ask.
“Tch.”
I lost interest. Time to end this game quick.
2.
Elena stared blankly at the collapsing fortress.
『Game Time』
『21:42』
Barely 20 minutes had passed since the game started, yet it was already ending.
“…Is this real?”
The cause? None other than the top laner, ‘Carrier.’
“A newbie who just finished normals not only beat a Master top laner but crushed their soul… Is that even possible?”
– Can’t believe it;
– It wasn’t just talk lolol
– Damn, that’s insane;
– First time seeing someone play Chiron that well in this tier ㅇㅇ;
– Even in Master, I doubt anyone has that level of mastery…
The viewers were just as shocked.
Everyone expected a loss. Yet a newbie top laner turned it around!
The enemy was a notorious Elena sniper, a former Master. The demon who always shredded her allied tops.
[Enemy] MoonSpy: Man, what the hell is this game with that top shtting the bed?
[Enemy] CenturyGuest: Told you not to overextend and stick to the tower, but you keep diving lolol
[Enemy] OhNoes: Heard in whispers they’re sniping a streamer lol, just die already you fck
And now that demon was getting flamed.
“…Turning off all chat.”
The profanity was escalating, so she disabled it. It wasn’t a pleasant sight.
– Damn, so satisfying lolol
– Seeing that jerk get flamed feels so good lol
– Evil sniper cut down!!!
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 10,000G!
💬 If you’re feeling great right now, Elena, like this lol
“…Big like.”
She smirked, raising a thumb. Seeing her tormentor get roasted honestly felt amazing.
“Didn’t think we’d actually win. I was hoping we’d at least hold on…”
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 5,000G!
💬 “No special reason? Let’s just play. I’ll carry.” << This was legit ㅇㅇ;
– Yesssss~~~~
– Insane lolol
– They meant it!!!
– Damn! I didn’t believe~~~~~~~~
『Victory!』
“Oh.”
The fortress must’ve fallen while the enemy was respawning.
“What a sweet bus ride. Too sweet!”
She grinned as the results screen appeared, showing overwhelming stats.
[Top Lane] – [Chiron]
[KDA: 21/2/5]
[Damage Dealt: 67,372]
[Damage Share: 52.3%]
[Summary: Overwhelming skill.]
“Wow, they really carried us single-handedly.”
Amazed, Elena sent a friend request to ‘Carrier.’ Surprisingly, they accepted immediately.
[Private Chat]
[ImElena: Hey there!]
[Carrier: Hi. Any reason for the friend request?]
[ImElena: You were just so good! Wondering if I could do a short interview. Is that okay?]
[Carrier: Hmm…]
– Clinging mode ON lolol
– Shameless, Elena ㅇㅇ
– Elena, my horns hurt…
– Look at her cozying up to someone good at the game; so shameless ㅇㅇ
“I’m not cozying up! I’m just curious! No ulterior motives, okay?”
That was true. She was genuinely curious about who ‘Carrier’ was.
[Carrier: I need to play… How about an interview while duoing?]
[ImElena: You mean, like, interview during a normal game?]
[Carrier: No? Ranked, obviously.]
– Uh, that’s a bit;
– Hmm, that’s not great…
– Interview during ranked isn’t cool, right?
“Uh… what do I do?”
Honestly, she doubted a game during an interview would go well. But she also wanted to ride Carrier’s bus.
Why hadn’t she reached Gold? Skill? No. Bad team luck!
The chat’s vibe wasn’t great.
Even if her stream persona was a “guy-like gal pal,” playing with a guy was another matter.
‘But I want to…!’
Her curiosity about Carrier and her desire for Gold gave her courage.
For the first time, Elena went against the chat.
[ImElena: Alright! Let’s game and interview!]
– Fck;
– What’s that!!!
– My horns really hurt…
– Stop it!!!
– What a clingy btch lol, finally cozying up to a guy to climb tiers ㅇㅇ; << Message deleted by manager!
“Don’t make a fuss! It’s just gaming together. Right? And don’t you guys want to know about them too?”
She calmly quelled the fiery chat. Two years of streaming had made her used to this.
– Fair point
– Fine, just this once…
As the chat settled, she invited Carrier.
She checked their avatar for clues about gender or vibe, but it was the default purple one.
[ImElena: Text interviewing might be tough. Can you join voice chat?]
[Carrier: Sure. One sec.]
[‘Carrier’ has joined the party voice chat!]
Someone joined. Elena grinned, greeting them energetically.
“Hey, Carrier!”
“Hi.”
Elena froze. The voice, though low, was unmistakably female.
– ??????
– What!!!
– F*ck~~~~~~lololol
– We believed in you~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The chat exploded.