Anna Logged Back into the VR
Not to play the game, but to share her screen with Laura. Given that the in-game time of Labyrinthos was five times faster than real time, trying to watch it through her phone or PC in real-time wasnât feasible.
âNow that I think about it, this is the first time Iâll be seeing the teacherâs gameplay directly.â
She had seen the highlights on the forums and the videos edited by Rion, but never a live performance.
To be honest, watching those videos didnât help Anna fully grasp Lauraâs gameplay.
As a beginner, it was impossible for her to understand the underlying strategies and decisions that guided each move.
The gameplay was dazzling when it needed to be, precise at other times, and even understated when necessary. But what bothered Anna slightly was that Laura never seemed to lose her smile.
Anna had watched pro gamersâ matches and streams before, and those players rarely smiled.
Maybe it was because smiling could be seen as disrespectful to their opponents, or perhaps because they needed to maintain intense focus.
So Lauraâs constant smiling felt strange.
âMaybe she practiced smiling?â
Meeting Laura in person confirmed itâLaura hardly ever wasnât smiling. Anna wondered if Laura had been trained to always have a pleasant expression, as if she had undergone acting lessons or customer service training.
But somehow, it didnât feel like that. Whatever the reason, Laura left a strong impression. Every little action of hers lingered in oneâs memory.
That was probably why Anna had been drawn to her, why she had asked Laura to be her mentorâbecause Laura was, undeniably, an extraordinary person.
And this extraordinary person was currently...
[Iâll play as a Roamer.]
[Wait, what? Roaming as a Mechamancer?]
[Mechamancer Roaming? Didnât people experiment with that a while back? Does that even work anymore?]
[A ranged DPS as a Roamer? Great, weâve lost this one...]
...trolling.
âTeacher, is that really okay?â Anna couldnât help but ask.
Even as a novice, she knew this wasnât right. It was like trying to jungle as a marksman in a MOBA.
But Lauraâs voice remained cheerful.
[To be honest, the Mechamancer isnât well-suited for solo queue. Party members can sometimes get in the way.]
âIn the way?â
[The essence of playing a stealth character is not getting detected while cloaked. But sometimes, Supporters mindlessly cast buffs or shields on you. If the enemy spots the Supporterâs animation, they can figure out your location, which makes things very difficult for a stealth character.]
âTeacher, youâre not angry, are you?â
[Oh, of course not. Thereâs no one as kind-hearted as me, after all.]
There was a certain edge to her words...
But the point was clear. To fully utilize the Mechamancerâs Optical Camouflage, Laura needed to play solo, so she chose the Roamer role.
[You should try roaming as well if thereâs no spot for a ranged DPS.]
âThatâs a bit...â
After all, Anna was a well-known Virtuber. If she made a mistake, it could end up on the forums, and sheâd be mercilessly mocked on social media. She couldnât afford to troll around.
As the game began in earnest, Laura confidently broke away from the main group to farm neutral mobs.
Oddly enough, it started to look like a good strategy.
Ratatatatatata!!!
The sound of rapid gunfire echoed.
On the screen, there was a turret spewing bulletsâone of the Mechamancerâs skills, Turret Deployment.
Laura was using the turret as cover while firing at the neutral mobs.
The mobs were shredded by the barrage of bullets.
âThe farming speed is incredible.â
Laura continued to hunt neutral mobs. The more Anna watched, the more confused she became.
Was she always this fast?
Sure, turret placement and kiting seemed crucial.
But on the flip side, if your control was good, it looked quite stable. The turret tanked most of the damage, so Laura hardly lost any HP.
So why donât more people play Mechamancer as a Roamer? It seemed perfect for farming.
[The fundamental reason the Mechamancer isnât used as a Roamer is because it lacks the ability to disrupt the enemyâs main force.]
Had Laura read her mind? Suddenly, Laura provided an explanation.
And with her words, everything clicked.
If a Necromancer showed up leading a horde of undead, it would be terrifying. It would take ages to break through, and youâd lose a lot of health in the process.
But if a Mechamancer showed up alone?
Just focus fire with your tank at the front, and thatâs it.
An assassin might at least have the mobility to escape, but the Mechamancer doesnât.
Even if you tried to escape using Optical Camouflage, the enemyâs scouts would likely spot you, and youâd be hunted down.
Understanding this, Anna couldnât help but wonder⦠then why was Laura playing Mechamancer as a Roamer?
[Thatâs why the Mechamancer has to play differently from other Roamers. Focus solely on charging your ultimate.]
On the screen, Lauraâs eyes flashed. It was a sign that she had activated her ultimate.
In Labyrinthos, ultimates donât have a cooldown but require a charged gauge to use.
There are various ways to fill the ultimate gauge, but the basic principle is that it fills as you deal or receive damage. Itâs similar to the way special move gauges work in fighting games.
This also applies to neutral mobs. Killing neutral mobs fills the ultimate gauge.
In those brief 10 seconds,
Lauraâs mind must have processed the map layout, the location of neutral mobs, and the positions of both enemy and ally teams.
With this knowledge, Laura immediately started moving.
After running for a while, she suddenly stopped and hid behind a pillar.
There, gathered, were her ally teammates from earlier in the match.
[Archer, use your scout skill, please.]
[Just a moment... Oh, weâve got a hit. The enemyâs main force is heading this way.]
[Looks like itâs the enemyâs main force. Should we engage here?]
[Letâs do it.]
[Cavalry, initiate, please.]
[Roger that.]
Lauraâs allies were discussing their strategy.
But Laura didnât join the main force.
She didnât participate in their conversation; she just leaned casually against the pillar, seemingly unconcerned about whether her teammates were setting up an ambush.
Soon, as her teammates had predicted, the enemies appeared.
Some of the enemy team had scout skills, so it was inevitable that theyâd converge like this.
Both sides were looking for a fight.
The enemy cautiously advanced.
Seeing this, the Cavalry initiated the fight.
[Ah, that was a bit too early.]
Laura muttered quietly as she watched.
It was a common occurrence. Sometimes initiators engage without considering their teamâs position.
This was one of those times. The Cavalryâs mobility was so good that they initiated the fight outside the range of their alliesâ attacks.
Naturally, the allies couldnât follow up.
They were either out of range, or didnât have the high mobility skills needed to keep up.
[Damn it! I initiated, why isnât anyone following up??]
The panicked Cavalry shouted, but complaining wouldnât change reality.
The Cavalry, who had charged too far ahead, was quickly beaten down by the enemy Barbarian. To make matters worse, the enemy Bard added crowd control, leaving the Cavalry completely immobilized.
An 8-second kill.
Thatâs how long it took for the isolated Cavalry to become a corpse.
[Ugh, what a terrible initiation....]
The allied Brawler cursed.
With the Cavalry dead, the enemies advanced.
Lauraâs team was now down to four players, while the enemy still had all five. The numbers were in their favor, so they likely thought they could push forward and win the team fight.
And they were right.
The basic role of a tank is to maintain the frontline.
To block the enemyâs advance and protect allies by serving as a âwall.â
The Cavalry was supposed to fulfill this role, but now that they were gone, the allied team couldnât stop the enemyâs advance.
They were helplessly pushed back.
The Brawler tried desperately to hold the line, but he was a bruiser, not a pure tank.
Outnumbered, there was no way they could hold out.
â...But why isnât the teacher doing anything?â
Her team was being slaughtered, yet Laura watched calmly, not intervening. Was she really just going to let them lose?@@novelbin@@
Thankfully, that wasnât the case.
Only after the Brawler fell did Laura finally make her move.
[Anna, youâre watching, right?]
âYes, Iâm watching.â
[Remember this, if nothing else: the Mechamancer shines when you treat your teammates as disposable.]
â...What?â
Anna didnât understand what she meant, but Laura didnât elaborate. She simply activated Optical Camouflage.
With Optical Camouflage active, Laura was invisible to both her allies and enemies as she circled around behind the enemy team.
Click
Laura quickly set up a turret.
Then, she leisurely aimed her gun, the barrel pointing directly at the enemy Bard.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Lauraâs gun roared to life.
Her recoil control was perfect, and her aim was dead-on, the bullets tearing into the Bardâs head.
The Mechamancer already had powerful basic attacks, and after farming neutral mobs, she was well-fed and stronger.
Given that it was a headshot and the target was a Bard, there was no way the Bard could withstand it. As a support, the Bard was inherently squishy.
[The allied Mechamancer has slain the enemy Bard.]
[What? Where did that come from?]
[Behind! The Mechamancer is behind us!]
[When did she get there?]
[Tank!! Get back there and stop her! You have to stop her!]
The enemy team finally realized Lauraâs presence, but it was too late.
Their frontline was already committed.
With the Cavalry and Brawler down, only the damage dealers and supports were left.
If they could kill the damage dealers, they could win the round.
Seeing victory within reach, the enemies had already used all their ultimate and mobility skills.
With the enemy frontlineâs skills on cooldown, there was no one to stop Laura, who now had a clear shot.
Moreover, Laura was behind them.
From Lauraâs perspective, the enemy had exposed their backlineâwhere the squishy damage dealers were positioned.
Click
Laura aimed her gun at the enemy damage dealers and pulled the trigger.
[Wow, that was an amazing flank, Mechamancer.]
[Apologies for the earlier comments. I didnât realize you were so skilled.]
[If you were going to carry, you should have said so! You made me look like such a fool~.]
The same players who had criticized Laura for trolling earlier were now singing her praises.
Thatâs the nature of overwhelming power.
[Iâll roam again next round.]
[Fine, Iâll trust you again, just this once.]
[I still think youâd be better as a ranged DPS, but if you want to roam, I wonât stop you~.]
[Ha, if you go ranged DPS, Iâll guard you with my life.]
Even so, they werenât fully sold on the idea of a Mechamancer roaming.
As Anna watched all of this, a small smile crept onto her face.
â...But wait, didnât the teacher call me âAnnaâ earlier?â
That was odd. Sheâd only told Laura that she was a streamer, not a Virtuber.
Had she ever introduced herself as Shiroki Anna?
Maybe she misheard�