If the Tail Is Long
If the tail is long…
Watching live was definitely a blast.
The roar of the crowd, the cheers, the casters screaming themselves hoarse, the players' tense faces — all of it. Live, you get to see every last bit of that spectacle right in front of you. Call it atmosphere, call it presence. Compared to watching a match on a computer at home, the difference was night and day.
So that was why the tickets cost so much. Why they sold out so fast that scalpers started circulating. It was exactly as fun as I'd expected — but then, the taste you already know is always the scariest kind, isn't it?
Or maybe it was because Camilla had come out from game one. The biggest reason I'd come to watch in person, my dearest wish, was unfolding right before my eyes. How was I supposed to keep my energy down?
"Jun-hyeok's Camilla picks up another kill! Optimum Prime simply has no answer for Camilla's dance!"
Waaaaah—!
The casters' voices and a wave of cheers rolled through the stands. Being the top team in the country must have had something to do with it — every time Fusion Gaming gained an advantage, the roar that came back was enormous. Optimum had fans too, from the sound of it, but the firepower gap — the sheer volume of the cheering — was on another level.
It was the first kill of game two, not long after the match had started. Fusion Gaming's opening score.
They'd brought Camilla out again in set two. Why Optimum hadn't banned her, I had no idea. After getting dismantled like that in set one, did they think they could answer her? Or had they simply been crushed so thoroughly that their mental game had already cracked?
Either way, it was good news for me. I got to watch Camilla shine for two sets in a row. On the big board, Jun-hyeok's play — Camilla's first-blood moment — started replaying, and once again the crowd's cheers filled the massive dome. Riding the high myself, I refused to be outdone and raised my voice.
"Camilla! Camilla's the best—!"
"Unnie, stop…"
Sihyeon looked up at me, clearly embarrassed. She muttered under her breath and squeezed my hand tight — she was more than a little mortified.
I found that both baffling and a little hurtful. Back in game one she'd been happily waving a picket that said Camilla is the best! — and now she was suddenly shy?
It didn't take long to understand why.
For some reason, the stares of the people around us had started to feel excessive. I couldn't put my finger on why. It hadn't been like this during game one at all. Had something happened in between? It wasn't just that people turned when I shouted — even when I was sitting still, I could feel glances from the sides and from behind.
My sharp senses kept picking up those eyes, which was uncomfortable, but not quite enough to truly bother me. I got about this much attention whenever I went out anyway, and none of the looks felt particularly unpleasant.
Nobody was ogling me or staring with lust. They were just curious, peeking over. Probably because I looked so much like Camilla, I figured.
Meanwhile the game kept rolling steadily along.
Before I knew it we'd reached the mid-game. Score: six to one.
The momentum had clearly swung to Fusion Gaming. Score alone doesn't tell the whole story of a match, but in this one, the numbers made the dominant side obvious.
Aggressive play, then methodically tightening the noose around the enemy team off the advantages they'd already taken. The pressure coming in was so precise it looked suffocating. If it felt that way just watching, I could only imagine what it was like to play against.
This was the moment to throw a decisive play. If I'd been on Optimum's side, I would have gambled right here. Miss this window and they'd just get farmed until their inner citadel went down.
There was no way pros would miss an angle I'd spotted.
Optimum threw their all-in right after the moment I'd been thinking of — three players diving for the ace, Jun-hyeok.
But the one answering them was a pro gamer too: the captain of a team widely considered the absolute peak.
Camilla unfurled a dazzling dance. At the same time a dazzling dribble sequence began, and the corner of my mouth curled up.
He learned well.
A slightly irreverent thought to have about a player whose contract ran into the tens of billions of won.
The faces of the Optimum players as their last gamble turned to foam… yeah. I almost felt bad for them.
From there, outer citadels crumbled one after another, and finally the inner citadel went down. A smooth, clean win for Fusion Gaming.
"You've put on great performances two games in a row and been named MVP — how are you feeling—"
Next came the winner's interview.
A clearly pretty announcer held out a mic to the player. The one taking it was, of course, Lee Jun-hyeok — the one who'd been playing Camilla.
The moment his face hit the screen, the same kind of roar as before erupted from the stands. Mixed in were women's screams that could have split eardrums. So the rumors about his huge female fanbase were true. Objectively speaking, he was pretty handsome.
I watched Jun-hyeok on the screen with a satisfied face myself. Of course I did — he'd just taken MVP on Camilla.
The pilot mattered, sure, but Camilla had a stake in that MVP too. This was exactly how her standing was supposed to rise, right on schedule.
Then the nerfs would come naturally, and before they hit I'd have already done the league run and everything else I wanted. All around, it was a weight off my chest.
Things going according to plan always felt good. I kneaded Sihyeon's soft little cheeks while we watched the winner's interview.
"A lot of people have been curious about the Camilla pick — the casters, myself, and the fans too. In both the first and second games you picked Camilla, a fringe hero who'd never been used in the league before. Can you tell us why?"
"It's a bit of a long story, but originally Camilla wasn't a prepared pick. We had other picks ready for this season. Camilla was… somewhat of a last-minute addition."
The prep time had been short, yeah. Practically right before the season started. And he'd still shown this level of polish — truly worthy of being called the best player in the world.
"A last-minute pick? So you hadn't planned on playing her at all?"
The announcer put on a shocked face. Generous with the reactions. She'd probably do well if she ever streamed.
I was thinking that idle thought when—
"Yes. I saw a certain player's play in ranked, got inspired, and immediately brought them in to teach me all sorts of things. The build I just used in the match — that person put the whole thing together."
Uh… well. The original version was mine, sure, but the rest we'd revised together while talking it over. And what he'd actually used in the tournament was the revised version.
Of course I wasn't about to stand up and say so. Jun-hyeok kept going.
"I didn't know it at the time, but they're apparently quite well-known. A few of my teammates already knew who they were."
"Ah, so like a hidden master who mainly plays ranked?"
"Yes, yes. This person is a Camilla specialist, so they mainly play Camilla — but even setting Camilla aside, their fundamental game sense is incredible. Compared to us pros, they don't fall short at all?"
A murmur rippled through the stands. There's someone like that? Who is it? — that kind of talk started floating around.
Whether I should be happy about this or not… From a streaming standpoint it was pure gain, and he'd basically gilded my face for me, so maybe I should be glad. But too much of a good thing is still too much — excessive attention was poison.
Whether or not his earlier talk about wanting to meet me in the pro scene had been sincere, Jun-hyeok spent the rest of the interview elevating me more than a little before wrapping up.
At least he hadn't dropped my nickname directly. That much was a relief… though the people who would know already knew it was me.
Whatever. I hadn't committed a crime — I'd done a good thing. It would work out. No need to clutch my head and overthink it.
After that, Sihyeon and I grabbed dinner and headed home late.