NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
Ugh—
With the familiar mechanical sound, my monitor, which had been buried in darkness for days, suddenly sprang to life.
“Phew….”
Is it because I sat in front of the computer for the first time in ages? My heart raced.
To be honest, I hadn’t been unwell since the first day. I just needed time. Time to organize myself, to become my complete self.
During the entire time I lay in bed, what I mostly did was watch Legends of League videos. I couldn’t sleep, and with nothing special to do, it was a natural outcome.
Lying down wasn’t difficult. In fact, it was comfortable.
For someone like me, who was used to lying around, watching something in that position felt incredibly familiar.
“Oh, I shouldn’t have done that there.”
Among the many videos I watched, the ones featuring my own gameplay were the most frequent. Of course, I hadn’t recorded them myself; I was watching someone upload my replays on YouTube.
Usually, these things are most often made by famous pro players or die-hard fans… I inadvertently benefited a bit from my fame.
So, while watching these videos of my gameplay, I gave myself some self-feedback.
“Ah, I did well here even I can see that. How did that happen? There were a few mistakes on the opponent’s part, but still…”
If I were to die someday, I’d definitely want that replay to be played at my funeral, labeled as ‘the best play of the deceased while alive.’
… Such meaningless thoughts occasionally flickered through my mind.
Anyway, as I kept watching my replays, videos of internet broadcasters who had faced me started popping up.
At first, I thought, “Do I really need to watch the same game?” and didn’t watch them. However, as they kept recommending clips related to mine, I couldn’t help but click on one at least once.
[“What? Did I just die like that?”]
I wasn’t much of a viewer of internet broadcasts. If I had to put it into words, I’d only check them out occasionally when there were patches or new information needed.
But it was my first time watching videos from the perspective of streamers facing me, so before long, I was fully immersed in watching the content.
Rather than being captivated by the stream itself, I found it fascinating to see how my opponents played against me.
“Oh, I thought I knew this but I didn’t read it? That wasted my movement. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
As I continued watching one or two videos, I gradually found myself alternating between viewing a video of my perspective in the same game and one from my opponent’s perspective.
[“Aaaaaaah!”]
As the streamer screamed, the chat and donations began to bombard the streamer as if they were waiting for it.
– mdcg mdcg mdcg
[“How is this a mid difference! It’s a jungle difference!”]
[“Mid difference, mid difference, blah blah blah mid difference, blah blah blah”]
Watching that meme culture was pretty entertaining from the viewer’s perspective, but knowing that I was the one who caused the streamer to be subject to it felt strange.
[“Man, you’re playing so sly! Fight me already!”]
– too much praise lol
– running around lololol
[“What is our jungle doing!!”]
– lmao
– This is hilarious lol
– Season 45741 shot gun
[“Is this the place with the compliment factory, Teacher Prisoner? Oh, wrong place.”]
After watching videos from various broadcasters, I suddenly realized one thing.
“My opponent doesn’t always make the best decisions.”
I used to think my opponents would make the best possible judgments, just like I would, when playing a game. It was a lesser risk to react with that assumption.
However, seeing them play in real-time, there were quite a few baffling decisions, clearly contrary to what they should have done.
It was like watching Yoon-ki flounder in solo queue.
“Is it the nature of streamers?”
Well, to entertain viewers, streamers need to perform brilliantly, and they rely on that viewer response to thrive, which is fundamentally different from the pure win-focused mindset of professional gamers.
I dove deeper and deeper into the videos.
As I watched, countless simulations began running in my head.
“I wouldn’t have done that.”
“Oh, if that guy had come in there, I would have died. I need to be careful going forward.”
“I messed up there… Well, the opponent messed up more, so I came out ahead in the end.”
As I watched my gameplay from various perspectives, I naturally started getting an itch.
I wanted to game.
I wanted to get up and jump back into solo queue as fast as possible.
“Ah….”
As my longing for the game grew, the depression that had once threatened to consume me melted away like snow in the sun.
The brief depression caused by hormonal changes was paltry compared to the serious gaming addiction that had dominated my life.
And…
Finally, on the fourth day, I shook off my seat and stood up.
“Phew.”
-AM 2:13
When I opened my eyes, it was already too late for it to feel like daytime.
But there was nothing to worry about.
At this hour, it was actually the perfect time to play ranked in Korea’s solo queue.
With a lot of thoughts running through my head while lying on my bed, the strongest desire was simply to play a game.
[Game found!]
[Accept / Decline]
As soon as I launched the Legends of League client, I burned with the determination for the games I had been piling up.
[Victory]
[Victory]
[Victory]
Three wins in a row.
Under normal circumstances, it would be time to stop, review my replays, and do some self-feedback, or perhaps take a break.
But I didn’t stop.
I was still thirsty.
.
.
.
[Victory]
Before I knew it, I had snapped back to reality and achieved a six-game winning streak.
My score stood at 1890 points.
Just one more win, and I would reach the legendary threshold of 1900 points, which is another significant milestone different from 1800 points.
Of course, that didn’t matter to me right now.
I just wanted to win.
So, I pushed straight into another game without a moment’s hesitation.
[Game found!]
[Accept / Decline]
I didn’t hesitate.
There was no need to.
[Victory]
It wasn’t until I scored seven consecutive wins that I felt my overwhelming thirst had been somewhat quenched.
“Phew….”
Before I knew it, I had reached 1900 points.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Queue
– Challenger
– 1904 LP / 260 wins 172 losses
– Win rate 60%
+
Even after reaching 1900 points with my own hands, I felt slightly dumbfounded.
Was this score so easy to achieve?
‘…No, it wasn’t easy at all.’
In conclusion, while there may have been easier games, the opponents were by no means simple.
I quietly glanced at the date written on my computer calendar.
‘…It’s almost time.’
The time my mother had mentioned was approaching.
‘It’s crucial to finish strong.’
Solo Queue at 2000 points.
That dream score which no one has ever set foot upon, much less come close to, would be a mark that couldn’t be erased, left by me.
As the last Prisoner.
“Phew.”
While I was taking a brief breath, I received a whisper.
[1]
[SY Rainbow: Prisoner-nim]
It was Rainbow.
Recently, I felt like Rainbow had been avoiding me, making our relationship seem a bit distant, but it was a long time since he had reached out to me first.
[Me: Yes]
[SY Rainbow: Congrats on being number one.]
[Me: Oh, thanks! Haha]
[SY Rainbow: And I noticed you’ve hit 1900 points today after almost reaching 1800 before. Wow, impressive!]
[Me: Oh come on, it’s nothing compared to you, Rainbow! Haha]
Even though we were a bit distant lately, it wasn’t awkward since we weren’t strangers to one another.
After exchanging some light pleasantries, there was a brief silence before Rainbow spoke again.
[SY Rainbow: And… I’m really sorry for what I said about you during that interview before. I know I made things awkward for you. I’m sorry for ignoring you until now.]
Though it was short, I could tell how much thought he had put into finally saying that.
He had probably avoided me because of that.
[Me: It’s fine.]
Though it’s true that I had dreams that didn’t suit me and tasted despair because of that, it was all in the past.
For the present and the future, it didn’t matter to me.
In any case, it was clear that what Rainbow said that day reignited my dream of becoming a pro.
[SY Rainbow: Well… I have some plans now, so I’ll see you later. Again, I’m really sorry.]
[Me: No problem, take care! I’m really okay! Haha]
[SY Rainbow: Glad to hear that. T-T Really sorry…]
[SY Rainbow: Oh, and]
A brief silence hung in the air.
It seemed like he was pondering what to say next.
[SY Rainbow: It won’t be easy from now on.]
The meaning of that was clear.
Rainbow, a two-time Red Cup champion, had declared that he would take me on now as a mere amateur.
[Me: You planning to snipe me?]
[SY Rainbow: LOL]
Look at that! Is that the same guy who just apologized?
In that case, I had my own way of playing.
[Me: I’ll delete you.]
[SY Rainbow: ;; Sorry.]
[Me: Just kidding.]
Though I said that, honestly, it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t interested.
If I was declared a war, it was only natural that I should respond.
[Me: You think you can pull it off alone?]
[SY Rainbow: I’m teaming up with Yoon-ki.]
How can this guy be so confident?
[Me: ;;; That’s a bit cheap.]
[SY Rainbow: I wouldn’t do it otherwise. You’ve been doing really well lately.]
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous pure praise.
‘There must be more to it than just that.’
Rainbow wasn’t really dueling me just to win; surely he was also teaming up to avoid ending up on the same team as me.
‘But to say it like that… he’s still the same.’
Now, having won the Red Cup twice, he had become a lot more serious, but the old Rainbow was always the playful type.
I felt like I had traveled back in time to when we played games together before he debuted as a pro.
[Me: ;; Okay, I’ll give you a chance.]
[SY Rainbow: Thanks!]
[Me: But I still won’t go easy on you.]
I declared that if you want to block me, I’ll try my best to break through you.
[SY Rainbow: Same here.]
Even if the opponent was the best mid-jungle duo in the world.