Chapter 62: The Character Draft

“I… what evidence do you have, then, that it *won’t* play this way? All of this is merely your speculation!” The talkative young man, somewhat dazed by the scolding, nonetheless stubbornly retorted, “Since it didn’t state the rules this time, that proves the rules are the game’s original ones. As for any changes, perhaps the enemies are just incredibly strong?”

“You two, please stop arguing! We’re all teammates; there’s no need for such heated tempers!” The newbie woman, having finally reached her limit, stepped forward to mediate. “Let’s just pick our characters quickly. Once we’ve chosen, won’t we understand how to play?”

“Speaking of character selection, I have a question. Why does this game require us to choose three characters?” The newbie man asked, his gaze fixed on the large screen before him, a puzzled expression on his face. “Don’t MOBA games usually only require one character? What’s the intention behind choosing three?”

“Successive battles.” Wang Tianming, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. It wasn’t that he was trying to be aloof; rather, the pain from his earlier fall to the ground had only just begun to subside. “When one character dies, another takes its place. My guess is that in this game, each of us has only three lives. Once all three characters are dead, there will be no resurrection.”

“Brother, despite your physical disability, your mind is quite sharp.” The arrogant man, hearing Wang Tianming’s words, cast an additional glance his way. “It seems you and I are the only clear-headed ones here. The group of idiots I mentioned earlier does not include you.”

“What? Only three lives? Are you kidding me? If someone targets me, won’t I die incredibly fast?” The talkative young man exclaimed in alarm. “Then I’m taking the top lane; don’t you dare try to snatch it from me!”

The talkative young man was not only verbose, but also remarkably swift with his hands; before he had even finished speaking, he had rapidly selected all three Shikigami (TL Note: Japanese spirits or deities summoned to serve a practitioner).

Wang Tianming glanced at the large screen before him, where several Shikigami avatars had darkened, indicating they were no longer available for selection. Here, ‘not available’ meant they had already been chosen by others.

“Taking the top lane” was a rather particular declaration, as in MOBA games, the top lane typically served as a solo lane, often occupied by tank-like heroes. The talkative young man’s choice to go top meant he intended to ensure rapid development of his experience and gold, while also being sufficiently durable to avoid easy death.

Observing the Shikigami he had selected—Kuro Doji, Hannya, and Tanuki—it was clear he had chosen characters renowned for their durability. However, given his apparent fear of death, it was unlikely anyone could rely on him to absorb damage in team fights.

“Then I’ll go mid.” The newbie man prepared to select his character, but upon seeing several more avatars darken on the selection screen, he spoke with clear dissatisfaction. “I already said I’m going mid, so who snatched Ootengu and Ara?”

“I, I chose them… I haven’t played this game before, but I’ve played Yangyangshu (TL Note: A common nickname for the popular mobile game Onmyoji), and SSR characters are usually stronger, right?” The newbie woman weakly raised her hand, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I, I also picked Youko, I’m sorry…”

“You… you shouldn’t hog both the mid-lane and jungle roles! How are others supposed to play then?” The newbie man said, a hint of anger in his voice. “Never mind. If you haven’t played this kind of game, putting you mid would probably just get you crushed anyway. Go support the bot lane, I’ll pick these instead.”

Without further hesitation, the newbie man promptly selected Kiyohime, Enenra, and Shiro Mujina.

“I’ll take support. If you let a newbie support, the bot lane is probably going to explode. As for that woman, just go jungle. It’s fine if you don’t gank; just spend an eternity farming in the jungle!” To everyone’s surprise, the arrogant man deigned to take on the support role. “Still, I don’t quite believe this will be a straightforward MOBA game. There’s definitely a trick to it.”

The arrogant man chose Yamausagi, Kaguya Hime, and Ebisu, thereby entrusting the crucial role of marksman to Wang Tianming, who was still lying on the ground.

‘There’s truly no other way.’ Wang Tianming understood their intentions; the marksman position was the most vulnerable in this game, meaning it carried the highest death rate. Even though the arrogant man claimed he would play support—a role usually sacrificed by the marksman when targeted in typical games—this was a life-or-death struggle. It was entirely possible the support would abandon him, as supports generally ran faster and were more durable than marksmen.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Wang Tianming selected Kanko, Jian, and Hakuro. His choices were, of course, well-reasoned, and as events would soon prove, the battle unfolded precisely as he had anticipated.