Chapter 42: Your support is trash! Oh wait, Mazi isn't a support player.

After several minutes of tactical maneuvering during the draft phase, the team compositions were finally locked in.

Ultimately, NoFe asked once more, unsure. "Cheng Xian, are you certain you want to play Malphite in the jungle?"

Cheng Xian glanced at the S-rank status he had just drawn.

[S-rank Debuff: Disaster of Misfortune]
[Description: The Goddess of Misfortune is smiling. You are carrying an aura of misfortune for this match, which will radiate within a certain range and significantly interfere with the gaming environment of both your opponents and teammates. Please proceed with caution (Effective for the duration of this match).]

It was a double-edged sword—or rather, a triple-edged one. It neither increased his own strength nor his own luck; instead, it slapped a debuff on all nine other players. It was essentially an "everyone suffers" scenario.

Soon, the lineups were finalized amidst the strategic posturing.

"Damn it! I know his scheme. He’s not here to steal the buff! He just wants to stall for time and purely annoy us!" Mid-laner Doinb let out a cry of frustration. "Think about it: his Malphite is just a throwaway life anyway. If he falls behind early, he falls behind. He just needs to reach level 6, and if he lands a good ultimate, he’ll still be effective. But you—you picked Jarvan IV, a champion who needs to get things done early. He’s just saying, 'Let’s neither of us farm, or we’ll just coin-flip the Smite.'"

"I’ll go to the wall and hold him off. If he flashes in, I’ll knock him up with my W," Crisp said, maneuvering Rakan toward the wall to further seal off all paths for the Malphite.

The blue buff was down to one hit point.

Mid-lane Sylas was busy stealing the Twisted Fate ultimate.

With no attempt to hide, Cheng Xian strode boldly, crossing the river bush directly from his own red jungle.

"But FPX has already set up defensive wards in that river bush area!"

At this moment, the lively commentary desk fell silent.

The Q skill, Seismic Shard!

At this point, chasing the Malphite away would not be worth the cost; it would likewise disrupt their own tempo.

IG’s opening formation was very conservative, a five-pointed star. With a Malphite in the early game, a level-one team fight was difficult to win; they only needed to prevent an invasion.

But if no one fought and everyone just stalled, the Malphite would be the one profiting.

IG (Blue Side): The top laner picked Yasuo to synergize with Malphite for a dual-knockup system.

Jarvan IV definitely couldn't let his tempo be dragged down by the Malphite early on.

When a skill deals damage to a champion, it summons a comet at their location, dealing small-area AoE damage.

At this distance, Smite definitely wouldn't reach.

"This is practically a 'husband witnessing the crime' situation."

The rolling stone fragment rumbled, carving a trench into the ground.

Xun, relegated to the support role, locked in Lulu to pair with Wink’s Ezreal, fully committing to the "leeching lane" strategy.

"I’ve never even seen a jungle Malphite in Gold rank, and you’re actually picking it in a pro match?"

At this moment, the Malphite moved.

Wink’s inner monologue: If I don't collapse during the laning phase, that’s a success!

Conversely, FPX had selected a relatively counter-heavy lineup.

The chat was in an uproar.

Just when everyone thought Cheng Xian was wasting his time, a thick wrist dropped, pulling a circular rock fragment from the ground and hurling it fiercely at the Rakan that was trying to intercept him.

But looking at the Yasuo and Twisted Fate already appearing in the top and mid lanes...

"Jungle Malphite? Shaqima, that guy, he’s gone to the jungle again? How many tricks does he have up his sleeve?" Miller’s voice grew soft as he saw the final draft.

...

"That makes sense." Lwx and Crisp both nodded in agreement.

Low-rank players love doing this kind of thing.

Walking solo over vision at level one to steal a buff?

Wink’s outward persona: "Brothers, do your best to get the kills!"

"Brothers! Someone’s here! We’re being surrounded!"

They took Rakan as a final support pick to compensate for the team’s lack of hard engagement.

After much deliberation, only the jungle position could cause the least interference to his own teammates; he could just wander into the enemy jungle whenever he felt like it.

"Watch your language in the chat, the support this game is my treasure, Xun."

The Blue Buff had never seen such a setup; before long, it was being poked relentlessly by a long, thick weapon, its health dropping to the bottom.

If you can't steal my buff early, won't you just explode?

Then, the seemingly clumsy Malphite hit a Blast Cone and, using the movement speed steal from his Q, swayed left and right, escaping the crime scene at high speed.

Seeing that both sides were about to pass the peaceful minion-spawning phase.

"Come on then, let’s stall! Who’s afraid of whom?"

If that was the case, they would just drag the Blue Buff to a position where the Malphite couldn't Smite it.

"Fight! Pull the jungle monster out so he can't Smite it!" Seeing that the Blue Buff had already hopped out of the mud, Tian made a quick decision.

Summoner Rune: Arcane Comet!

But the Blue Buff triggered its protection mechanism.

Tian was also putting in the effort, using the long, thick... halberd in his hands, striking the Blue Buff again and again.

As the players connected to the game, the match officially began.

Jungle Jarvan IV, with Varus and Jayce in the bot lane forming a dual-poke lineup.

"The buff is almost dead, why is the Malphite just standing there like a fool? Giving up the early tempo for nothing?"

If you come to surround me, I’ll just run; FPX’s level-one lockdown ability was very mediocre.

Clearly, FPX had also sensed the Malphite's movements.

The first reaction from the jungler, Tian, was:

"Brother Ma has studied so many tricks he’s lost his mind... he’s really possessed by the 'Big Smart' Malphite."

Top lane Jayce was specifically countering the Yasuo and Nasus.

FPX was perhaps intimidated by Shaqima’s previous performances; even though their lineup was superior, they remained honest and behaved, not daring to stir up trouble.

Unless he flashed in to steal it.

It wasn't just FPX who thought this.

But it was this last bit of health that kept the Blue Buff alive just until the comet fell.

A blue circle of light appeared under the Malphite’s feet.

Playing a jungle Malphite and trying to farm for levels with your life on the line?

But this is a professional match!

The moment the skill hit Rakan.

The bizarre playstyle, the whimsical ideas, yet breathtaking operations—every point required high-energy, passionate commentary.

Accompanied by a shrill scream from the Blue Buff.

Mid-laner Rookie had picked Twisted Fate, who could provide stable support to side lanes after level 6, helping the Malphite chain his crowd control.

Even the noob "cloud players" could feel that something was wrong.

"So, are we still fighting?"

"Just got here, don't understand, but seeing an IG match, I’ll just go through the motions: 'Support, your mom is gone!'"

Every time he commentated a Shaqima match, he felt like he was straining his throat.

"If you ignore me, I’ll just park myself behind your Blue Buff wall."

Inside the FPX team, Crisp stared, dumbfounded, at the Malphite that had already escaped to the river.

"Is Shaqima trying to stir up trouble at level one? Can you even cause trouble playing a jungle Malphite???" Jide’s voice instantly rose an octave.

A deep, blue shooting star ejected from the stone body.

"Oh no! Shaqima crossed the river and was spotted by all the vision! What is he doing? Stealing the buff in plain sight?"

The stone finally moved.

"Awoo!"

This was a game mechanism specifically added by the developers to prevent junglers from accidentally killing a buff that was meant for a teammate; it provided a "low-health protection" that left the buff at exactly 1 HP.

He headed straight for the enemy Blue Buff jungle! Then, beside a wall behind the Blue Buff, he pressed the 'S' key and stopped.

Tian was completely baffled.

"What the f*ck! Is it really a jungle Malphite? Just playing it? If you cover the ID, isn't this just a match between two patients?"

"Oh no!!" Tian’s heart skipped a beat. He was just about to use a basic attack to claim the low-health Blue Buff for himself.

But the Malphite showed no intention of moving, remaining behind the wall.

"A stalking play. Looking at the shape, the Malphite and the Blue Buff look pretty similar."

"Oh, oh, sorry, I didn't see him."

Even if he did manage to steal it, he wouldn't be able to run away, and his team getting First Blood wouldn't be a loss.

The rapidly scrolling chat had a moment of silence.

It was originally a good-hearted attempt to help Tian intercept the Malphite, but who knew he would become the stepping stone...

He swallowed nervously. "Brother Tian, I really didn't mean to... how was I supposed to know we’d be this unlucky..."

Tian’s thin face was now filled with numbness; he mechanically took off his glasses to wipe the lenses.

"Let’s just forfeit this game. It’s pointless, really."