Nirvana Top Laner, Reborn Tokyo Girl

Chapter 147, Section 144: Then Sword Maiden
At this moment, REST, on the field, truly experienced what it means to be 'drenched in sweat'.

As a veteran of many years, he always thought he had enough experience on the field and was a seasoned pro, so he would never be intimidated.

But now he realizes that his so-called lack of stage fright is largely due to his inability to feel pressure.

After all, what pressure could there have been with LMS and PCS before?
The audience has absolutely no hope. It's good enough if there are any matches to watch. Every year they go to the World Championship to embarrass themselves, and after the World Championship, they come back and the same guys keep making it to the World Championship.

What's the use?

Is scolding effective?

Since the audience has no expectations, the contestants naturally feel no pressure.

It's not that he's shameless and doesn't want to achieve results.

But given the objective facts, if he can't achieve results, there's no need for him to waste his time internally.

The main point is to do your best. Regardless of whether you play poorly objectively or not, as long as you don't intentionally give up, you won't have any major concerns.

But now, CFOs can actually achieve results, and may even become champions in the long run.
Moreover, in contrast, the starting top laner is a true prodigy.

Under this level of pressure, he realized that his mind was not as strong as he had imagined.

And the result, of course, was a complete rout.

Being completely outmatched by Zeus in lane and becoming a weak point directly impacted the rhythm of the entire top, mid, and jungle lanes.

With Zeus's near-invincible rhythm, this game was similar to the last one.

It was another crushing defeat.

Another speedrun.

He died within 10 minutes, and it took almost 30 minutes to bury him.

However, this time, the positions of the two sides have been reversed.

In the last game, the CFO crushed HLE, but in this game, HLE crushed him back.

Such a large gap makes it hard for viewers not to be upset.

What? Just changing a top laner makes such a big difference?
Although anyone with a bit of sense knows that Shimamura's ability to use Nessou Zeus is actually unrepeatable, it's just that he capitalized on Zeus's mistakes in the early stages to snowball his success.

In the next match, they might not be able to capitalize on Zeus's mistake, nor might they be able to snowball their advantage.

But other people don't care about this kind of thing.

The facts are clear: in two consecutive matches, just with a different top laner, the game dynamics completely reversed.

What else could it be but your incompetence?
"No, buddy, you'd better get off here already."

[The skill gap is just too big. Even setting aside the rotation of players like Duke and TheShy, you can't just feed right from the start, can you?]

This guy is seriously terrible at the game.

[Hurry up and carry Shimamura up from the rest room, she's had enough rest.]

Not only the audience, but even Zeus found the game somewhat boring.

He had been hoping that after his defeat in the previous game, he could immediately face Shimamura Yuna again and personally reclaim his honor.

He wanted to prove that the last match was just an accident, and that Shimamura Yuna was not actually that much better than him.

However, it wasn't Shimamura Yuna who came up in the end.

Moreover, it was such an ordinary and simple opponent.

This opponent is no different in essence from the many wildcard top laners he has faced in the past.

Perhaps the other person isn't feeling well right now.

Even when he's in good form, this kind of guy is no match for him.

He longed for a truly powerful enemy.

Like Yuna Shimamura.
Only by defeating such an enemy could Zeus become more acutely aware of just how powerful he truly was.

Conversely, if the enemy is too weak, he will not feel any excitement.

Especially since he had just lost a game.

Therefore, despite winning the game, Zeus was not happy at all.

For HLE, winning the CFO position was a given.

But for him personally, defeating Shimamura Yuna was something to celebrate.

"Stop running away."

"Let me face you head-on."

Zeus, the contestant, yearns for it so much.

At that moment, Shimamura Yuna had actually listened to the entire match from the rest room.

In order to recover her strength more quickly, she tried her best to keep her eyes closed and resisted the urge to watch the game.

Because she can't interfere with the competition no matter what it is like.

What she needs to do is to recover as much physical strength as possible in the shortest amount of time.

So, after eating something to replenish her energy, she simply lay down on the sofa and didn't move.

But in fact, she was listening throughout the entire competition.

She heard the narration on the screen.

Then, in the lounge, we heard sighs and groans from the CFO's team members.

She knew the situation was probably very bad.

But there was nothing she could do.

All she can do is rest.
rest.

Let's rest.

She didn't open her eyes until the match ended and she returned to the lounge with the other four players.

At this moment, REST, who had just been beaten up, looked extremely frustrated.

As soon as he entered the lounge, he found a chair and sat down. Then, with a sense of self-reproach, he said to everyone, "I'm sorry, I'm still far from good enough."

"For Zeus, someone of my caliber is indeed beyond his reach."

The others immediately stepped forward to comfort him.

"It's okay, it's okay. You haven't played in a long time, and what you did just now was already quite good. Suddenly asking you to go up and take the lead really caught us off guard."

"Okay, bro, that's not right, is it? Nobody's blaming you."

"Don't say that, you're talking nonsense."

Everyone was comforting him, saying, "It's okay, you've done your best."

It was definitely a comforting moment, and the atmosphere among everyone was indeed very good.

But behind these words of comfort lies another meaning: no one really has any hope for you.

You were originally a substitute.

You only came in to help out when Shimamura Yuna couldn't fight anymore.

So no matter how badly you play, nobody will say anything.

Your abilities are something that everyone has anticipated.

While it was meant as a consolation, it also subtly conveyed a sense of contempt. Of course, no one meant any harm.

However, Rest might not have felt so good about it.

Yuna Shimamura could sense these emotions.

As a true starter and also the "original sinner" who couldn't perform and had to be replaced by a substitute, she felt that she shouldn't be offering comfort along with the others at this time.

It would seem insincere and hypocritical.

She only opened her eyes after confirming that the match was over.

Trying to expel the fatigue brought on by the semi-deep sleep state, she stood up somewhat unsteadily.

I walked over and patted REST on the shoulder.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Next, leave it to me."

The girl's voice was not loud.

The girl's tone was very gentle.

But what it reveals is a strong determination.

At this moment, everyone in the lounge had a strong feeling.
'She is the true protagonist.'
-
At this moment, after experiencing a disastrous performance in REST's previous match, the audience was eagerly anticipating Shimamura Yuna's return to the field as a savior.

[Hurry up and carry Shimamura-nee back. If she's tired, have Faker bring her two bananas.]

[Which kind of banana did Fei-sensei eat? Could you please go and buy some for Shimamura-nee?]

[It's outrageous that Shimamura, who's not even 18 yet, can outlast an old man. Can she really play professionally with that kind of physical condition?]

Sigh, Shimamura-san is only good at best-of-three matches.

[REST is indeed far behind Shimamura-san, but we can't blame him. However, a CFO really can't do without Shimamura-san.]

Thus, during halftime, all the spectators were discussing Shimamura Yuna's condition extensively.

Even the commentators on stage were saying, "It seems that without Shimamura, the strength of CFO's lineup will be greatly affected. Shimamura is undoubtedly the core of this team. If possible, CFO might need her to return to the lineup as soon as possible, instead of staying in the rest room sleeping."

Dragon God kept sighing in the live stream: "Sigh, Shimamura-nee, come back quickly. If you keep sleeping, the CFO will be finished by the time you wake up. You have to wake up."

"When others say they fall asleep while fighting, they're just joking. How come you, Shimamura-san, actually fell asleep???"

Although the CFO only removed Shimamura Yuna from the game to allow her to regain her strength.

However, in reality, it led to a scenario where the hero temporarily departed, and then, after witnessing a world without heroes, everyone began to yearn for their return.
And so, amidst the anticipation of all the spectators, commentators, and even Zeus, their rival.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating Shimamura Yuna's appearance.

Yuna Shimamura has fulfilled everyone's expectations.

"Okay, we've received the news. CFO's top laner, Shimamura, has returned to the competition after some adjustments and will be playing in the next match against Zeus."

After announcing the news, the commentator exclaimed on stage, "As expected, it has to be Shimamura. This team just doesn't feel right without Shimamura. It has to be Shimamura."

Another commentator said, "It really is true. Shimamura's playstyle and skill level have been a pleasure to watch in this series."

"We also hope that after a rest and adjustment, she can return to the court and bring us a performance that is close to her previous ones."

At this moment, the comments section was filled with the feeling that "Shimamura-san is back, we're saved."

They have clearly come to regard Shimamura Yuna as their savior.

So, what about the savior himself?
What is her current situation?

Yuna Shimamura is now sitting in a chair, adjusting peripherals while trying to get all the muscles in her body, especially the muscles in her hands, moving.

Perhaps I was just too excited during the second game.

The feeling of excitement seemed to have exhausted all her energy, leaving her feeling completely tired after that state passed.

Right after the treatment, the most immediate feeling she experienced was exhaustion, dizziness, and a loss of control over her thoughts.

After resting for a game, my brain's thinking ability recovered somewhat, but my whole body still felt a bit limp and I couldn't muster any energy.

To be honest, he's capable of fighting.
That means they should be able to fight.

But he was definitely not in the same form as in the second game or even the first game.

She had long considered that her physical abilities would become a foreshadowing of future success.

She now only regrets that she didn't transmigrate here sooner, so that she could have started exercising earlier and had more time to improve her physical fitness more quickly.

But there's no point in saying all this now.

There's no time for her to rest. Even if she's not at her full strength, as long as she can still fight, she has to go.

Soon, the game began, entering the ban/pick phase.

The game had now reached its fourth round.

Although the temporary version changes for this competition are a good thing for Shimamura Yuna, theoretically it allows her to play more characters that suit her better.

However, under the global ban/pick mechanism, every time a hero is used, that hero will be permanently banned.
This actually leads to a situation where there aren't many heroes available later in the game.

Some of the most popular top laners are Rumble, Jayce, Renekton, and tanks like Quesant, Sion, and Ornn.

Once all these heroes are banned or used up, then you can only choose heroes from a lower-tier hero pool.

As for Shimamura Yuna, she just doesn't quite understand how to play heavy armor warriors and tanks.

That would further reduce the range of heroes she could choose from.

Among the strongest top laners, she is basically only good at playing Rumble and Jayce.

The top lane champions currently banned are Rumble, Jayce, Camille, Gnar, Renekton, and Quesant.

For Shimamura Yuna, there are no usable characters left in the pool, at least in the first-priority pool.

They can only be found in the pool of secondary priority heroes.

She has a huge pool of heroes that can be slowly built up to the late game, but when facing Zeus, she definitely won't be able to pull out most of them.

Only Gwen's pick is barely usable.

But HLE saw this and banned Gwen immediately.

That really leaves very few usable heroes.

Since she hadn't decided what to play yet, the coach didn't rush to pick a hero for her in the first three rounds, but planned to save it for the second round of bans.

On the other hand, HLE's Zeus doesn't seem to be fixated on playing warriors or carry characters.

For him, it doesn't matter which option he chooses as long as he can win the game.

The Zeus player who won two championships did not have the same problem as Shimamura, who couldn't play tanky characters, nor did he have the idol image of having to play carry roles.

The strongest damage-dealing top laners have almost all been picked and banned at least once, so he would rather choose a stronger tank character than pick from the next weakest damage-dealing champions.

With this in mind, he took the initiative and locked down Sion.

So the problem was left to Shimamura Yuna.

The coach asked, "Which hero do you feel most comfortable playing right now?"

Shimamura Yuna fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to do.

After a long silence, with the selection time almost over, she finally spoke up: "Then let's go with Fiora."

(End of this chapter)