NOVEL NEXT Chapter 133
In fact, solo rank is not that important to professional gamers. It may be different in other games, but in EOW, that was the case.
What truly matters for pro gamers is their tournament performance, not their solo rank tier. Just because someone’s tier is low doesn’t mean the team is going to pressure them or restrict their playing time.
For instance, there have been pros at the Diamond tier, but even then, it was a bit extreme, and the team didn’t look well upon that player. Fans also preferred pro gamers who had a tier only a little lower than theirs.
For pros, solo rank served as a testing ground for sudden bursts of genius and a practice space to maintain their form. It was a somewhat relaxed training ground, unlike tournaments or scrims, where everyone was extremely serious and focused.
Of course, winning feels good, and winning streaks feel even better! After all, who doesn’t feel happier when winning? No gamer would dislike raising their score and seeing their rank in the upper echelons. Recently, news spread that teams were scouting players with high ranks, making the competition subtly fiercer.
Still, it was undeniable that tournament performance and the performance in scrims directly linked to that was more important.
This was also true for Yang Jun Hyuk, a pro gamer from VIX7.
As his name suggests, he was Korean and began his pro career in South Korea. Spent four long years building a modest career with two E-Camps championships, and when he faced the threat of being sidelined in the competitive scene, he boarded a flight to North America.
At that time, it was an anxious decision filled with doubts, but now he thought it was the right call.
Because since he left, the Korean EOW league had started experiencing a dark age.
The Ed Cup wins, which had come around like clockwork, came to a halt, and the year before last, they didn’t even make it to the semi-finals. Yang Jun Hyuk’s successes felt too sweet to mourn the downfall of his domestic league. The year before last, he reached the peak of his career by coming in as a runner-up.
Of course, the past two years had been China’s reign. Now, it could be said that China was the unwavering number one in the EOW league.
But whether that would still hold this year was uncertain. That didn’t mean China had weakened. Li Chao still flaunted monster-level skills, not to mention many other strong teams around.
What had changed was Korea and North America. Both leagues were said to be thriving this year. Specifically, the Korean XBD and Yang Jun Hyuk’s North American VIX were particularly strong.
Within the team, there was an atmosphere of needing to lift the championship trophy this year. It was also due to the team captain, Yen Sunny. It was probably going to be his last year. He’d want to make a grand finale of his career.
Well, that was something Yang Jun Hyuk also hoped for. Winning the Ed Cup was a prestigious experience everyone dreamed of as a pro.
Amidst all this, Yang Jun Hyuk stared at the screen before him.
Round score 2:0. They were getting crushed since the game started. It was the Korean server. It had been a while for Yang Jun Hyuk with the Korean server. After switching to the North American league, he had been too busy adapting to think much about his homeland. Occasionally, he contacted his parents and watched the league once in a while.
The suddenly welcoming Korean server greeted him with a bang.
“Oh no…”
As he turned the corner, his character fell under a hail of bullets. That left only two teammates. The opponents were four. By both numbers and skill, it was evident that they would lose this round too.
And right on cue, they lost that round. Score was 3:0. He heard his teammates’s sighs through the team voice chat.
“Ah, this is tough. Let’s focus more. Those who can, please give detailed briefings.”
“Does the briefing even matter…? We’re just getting crushed here.”
“Isn’t it better than doing nothing?”
Challenger, in the top tier no less. Since intentional losses or trolls were filtered out, everyone shared the same will to win. Yang Jun Hyuk picked up his gun in silence after hearing the snarky replies.
There were two big reasons he didn’t join in the briefing. The team had asked everyone to be extra careful as they were middle of a ranked match to avoid any trouble, and like that guy said earlier, this wasn’t a situation that could be fixed by just talking.
“We need to do something about that Swordsman…”
That was spot on. The main reason they kept losing was centered around that ‘Swordsman.’
-Mollru 7/2/5
“What does that even say…”
Was it a foreigner? Someone who, like him, came to compete in the Ed Cup?
Busy adapting to life abroad, Yang Jun Hyuk was clueless about community memes. He gathered from his teammates’ conversation that the Swordsman user’s nickname was known.
“That Mollru guy is a real pain, beating down two of us alone…”
Users who play Swordsman at the highest levels aren’t common. In the pro scene, they rarely appear except in special circumstances, and their pick rates are low.
Apparently, he was quite a celebrity. Mollru, that nickname was something else entirely.
“Mollru? Korean Samurai?”
One of his teammates seemed to recognize the opponent. Jackson. Another North American league player. But what’s with this Korean Samurai nonsense?
‘Could it really be him?‘
Just the other day, his teammate Mike had run up to Yang Jun Hyuk, flailing arms about a Samurai in the Korean server. Always a bit quirky, Yang Jun Hyuk didn’t think much of it. Turns out, that’s who he was talking about.
Korean Samurai…
What a ridiculous name. Yang Jun Hyuk, a Korean, thought it was even more so. Korean and Samurai? Well, to foreigners, Korea and Japan might seem like two peas in a pod.
The agent ‘Swordsman’ wielded a katana, and through famous anime, that was likely what made it recognizable, resulting in that name.
But despite the ridiculous name, the skill displayed was no laughing matter.
“What a parry…”
Yang Jun Hyuk let it slip out loud without realizing. The Swordsman’s deflection was executed perfectly. The hard-earned chance for an attack turned to nothing, and he was worse off for it.
The Swordsman stood guard on the path heading toward the B objective. It could be said that it was quite arrogant. This time he attempted a breakthrough but ultimately failed.
‘It’s not like we’re dealing with some god level equipment.‘
Yang Jun Hyuk shook his head. He figured the game was a lost cause.
Another round was soon to pass. If they could at least snag one round before going down, that’d be a win in itself.
*
Mollru was undoubtedly performing the role of gatekeeper on the Korean server.
Just in the previous match, the influential foreign players on the opposing team had felt the wall and lost.
“Been winning a lot lately. Must be good team luck.”
[You’re just doing well as the teacher.]
[For real, doing double the work alone, which team beats that?]
[The last round was still a double and they lost, though.]
[That was the team’s…*]
[Whoops!]
[Pro hating is banned.]
Rank was climbing vertically, and Mollru’s nickname was spreading widely across community sites as well. It seemed to be the same among overseas users.
In that last match, the chat from the opposing team had called out the Korean Samurai. Though it appeared she didn’t particularly like the nickname.
However, regardless, this situation was enough to boost the pride of Korean gamers. After years of tournament results that had them looked down upon overseas, the stereotype of Koreans being good at games was now history, and Mollru had restored that honor.
That a mere streamer managed to do what pros could not elevated Mollru in everyone’s eyes. Even those who had despised her as just another streamer, sucking the life out of their wallets, were reflecting on their past actions.
“If we can just teach the Chinese a lesson, that’ll be enough.”
[Is Li Chao not coming on?]
[Those Chinese guys scared to show up, lol.]
[Kimchi is indeed spicy.]
So far, Mollru had mostly faced off against other Korean or North American pros.
People rejoiced just from winning against them, but now it was different. They wanted another venting target.
The desired opponents were none other than the Chinese pros. Often ridiculed by the Chinese, they wanted sweet revenge against those who had taken their throne. Even if it wasn’t a true victory in the pure sense.
And their wishes were soon to be fulfilled.
“Is Li Chao here?”
[Li Chao’s in the chat, lol.]
[Called him and he’s right here.]
[The pig seems tough, don’t you think?]
[Naw, Mollru will wipe the floor with him!]
[General Moll, please…]
[Korean Samurai! Korean Samurai! Korean Samurai! Korean Samurai!]
“Looks like the queue popped.”
Whether she knew it or not, Mollru appeared to remain peaceful. The fact that there was a Chinese pro on the opposing team didn’t seem to matter to her at all.