"5v5 scrim?"
"I want to be on Barbatos's team!"
At Barbatos's suggestion, someone immediately spoke up, making their request known.
A 5v5 match meant setting up a custom game in League of Legends, where ten people would join, divided into two teams of five.
Everyone present was a streamer, each with considerable confidence in their gaming skills. Some were even retired pro players, and a few hadn't even retired yet.
Yet even so.
Among their group, the undisputed strongest player was undoubtedly Barbatos.
Barbatos was unquestionably a legend among casual players, having recently reached the top of the national server rankings at one point.
Even among Japan's League of Legends pro players, she would undoubtedly stand at the very peak of the pyramid.
The private room they were in was spacious, perfectly accommodating the possibility of ten people having an in-house scrim right there.
The only issue now was...
"Aren't we still short one person?"
Seven streamers had come from China to Japan to watch Barbatos compete in the Dream Cup, and with Mino Naru included, that made eight.
So, counting Barbatos, that was only nine people.
As for Seiun Sky, anyone who had watched some of Barbatos's streams knew that Seiun Sky didn't play League of Legends.
Fans had once suggested that Barbatos's roommate try playing a few rounds, but Barbatos had refused, clearly stating that Seiun Sky had never played the game before.
"Want to give it a try together?"
Barbatos looked at Seiun Sky beside her and made the suggestion.
She felt that with Seiun Sky's intelligence, even if she hadn't watched her play much, she'd be able to grasp it quickly.
Besides, in a situation like this, all they needed was for her and Seiun Sky to take the bottom lane together. Seiun Sky could play something like Yuumi, which would also be a solid choice for an AD carry.
The AD role was, after all, one she was fairly proficient in herself.
"Mhm, which position should I play?"
Seiun Sky nodded in agreement. She had secretly watched Barbatos's streams before and, while she hadn't played herself, she had some understanding of the game mechanics.
In a way, it wasn't particularly difficult.
"Just support me."
Once the scrim was decided, they quickly sorted out the teams, and everyone found their seats, sitting in two rows according to their assigned sides.
Barbatos also downloaded streaming software on the internet cafe's computer and, after a long while, started a live stream on her usual platform. She also sent out a notification in her fan group, tagging all members.
This was her first stream since the Dream Cup!
Teacher Piao and the others also sent out live stream notifications in their own fan groups.
But this time, none of them chose to stream themselves—they all shared Barbatos's stream link. A collaborative stream featuring eight streamers in an in-house scrim was, for many, an absolute dream come true.
Viewers began popping up in the stream chat—some were Barbatos's own fans, others were fans brought over by the other streamers.
But everyone greeted Barbatos quite amiably.
A Japanese genius Uma Musume who loved Chinese culture and was also incredibly skilled at League of Legends? Most people couldn't help but like a streamer like that.
Barbatos also took the chance to greet her fans after such a long time, and together with her friends in the private room, they entered the custom game lobby.
Although Seiun Sky didn't have a League of Legends account, for them, providing an account with all champions and plenty of skins wasn't difficult at all.
Five of them sat in a row:
Mino Naru, Li, The Stick, Barbatos, and Seiun Sky.
Compared to the opposing team led by Teacher Piao, they were at a disadvantage on paper.
Both Mino Naru and Seiun Sky were Uma Musume, so their reaction speeds and the like were a bit higher than a human's. But Seiun Sky was playing League for the first time, and while Mino Naru was a fan of Barbatos, League was a game of genuine skill.
The only real bragging rights they had were perhaps the fact that they had the sole active pro player on their side, plus an overpowered streamer like Barbatos.
"So, who are we banning?"
They were all quite familiar with each other. Even with all the on-stream antics, they still knew what champions each person excelled at.
Barbatos glanced at the stream chat and suggested, "How about we just ban nothing? Banning in a scrim kind of takes the fun out of it."
None of these streamers were one-trick ponies; there was no need to go back and forth with bans. If it really came down to it, they could all play multiple roles, so targeting specific bans might not even work.
It would also reduce some of the entertainment value.
Besides, she was confident she could handle any champion—that was her trust in League of Legends as a game.
Her game knowledge might fall short compared to former pro players, but her mechanics and reaction speed more than made up for it.
"Barbatos, you take the counter pick."
Li chuckled, "Help me lock in Nocturne first. I'll jungle, and gank bot at six!"
He was betting that his good buddy would go bottom lane. After all, back in his pro days, his Sona support had been quite famous.
As for Mino Naru and The Stick—Mino Naru wasn't highly ranked, and The Stick was a mid lane pro player—so him taking jungle made perfect sense.
Barbatos, in first pick, helped lock in Nocturne.
The opposing team promptly locked in Tristana and Sona for their bottom lane.
"Don't worry, I'll handle Barbatos."
"Oh man, you guys have no idea. The first time I lane against Barbatos, we were trading blows back and forth."
At Teacher Piao's boast, the former IG support couldn't help but retort, "You mean trading blows between your tier one tower and the fountain, right?"
"That's just because I'm not good at mid lane. Now we've got the old IG golden duo bottom lane—how could we possibly lose?"
With the opposing bottom lane comp already confirmed,
Barbatos's team picked Ornn top and a Lulu.
"Why are they picking Lulu? I thought since it's Seiun Sky's first time, she'd play Yuumi and lane with Barbatos?"
"Lulu's about the same. Just give Barbatos attack speed, shield her, and ult her."
"And then Barbatos will demolish our bottom lane. Isn't that just like carrying a newbie to rank up?"
"Looking down on our old IG golden squad, huh?"
"Wait, hold on. What if... that Lulu is going mid?"
"Huh?"
"Good point."
Teacher Piao's team stared at the Lulu pick, deep in thought. Normally, in the current meta, who played Lulu mid? Not in pro play, and even in regular ranked, she was mostly support. But their opponent had The Stick—a player who had pulled out mid Lulu in pro matches.
The only active pro player present was truly terrifying.
Both team comps were quickly finalized.
Blue Side: Top - Ornn, Jungle - Nocturne, Mid - Lulu, AD - Vayne, Support - Yuumi
Red Side: Top - Jayce, Jungle - Pantheon, Mid - Lucian, AD - Kai'Sa, Support - Sona
Fifteen minutes later, in the bottom left corner: [LEGENDARY] TheSky is Godlike!
That day, Barbatos's team fully experienced the joy of esports.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.