Relapse at the PC Bang
I wasn't the type to frequent PC bangs. Especially not after turning into this. My first experience there hadn't been great.
Still, staying home felt awkward in its own way, so when I wandered outside, a PC bang was the best option. I didn't have anyone to hang out with, so there weren't many good alternatives.
But today, of all days, it was packed. Ah, right around high school dismissal time. High schoolers and I didn't mix well. My face looked a bit young, so they sometimes mistook me for a classmate and struck up conversations.
After some hesitation, I grabbed a seat in a quieter corner with fewer people.
There wasn't anything special I had to do at the PC bang. It was just the weekend, and I didn't want to see my dad at home, so I'd come out by force. Nothing weird about that.
The first round of the LoE Champions Spring Season had wrapped up not long ago. I hadn't gone looking for it on purpose—it was the tournament I'd originally been slated to play in, after all. No way I could've missed the schedule.
Even if I had, I'd have heard about it eventually from all the chatter around me. Plenty of people at the PC bang were talking tournaments, and the internet was flooded with it everywhere.
Word was Tundra had pulled off a narrow 2-1 upset against Starforce in the first round. I hadn't watched, so I couldn't say for sure, but apparently Proud had struggled a bit against AOD.
At this point, I didn't feel any jealousy or anything. It was my old team, after all. Rooting for them was the right thing to do.
I killed time with internet memes and YouTube, but my mind kept drifting elsewhere.
...I didn't want to end up like this. For real.
This wasn't the plan. Seriously...
Before I knew it, my mouse cursor had drifted toward a very familiar game icon. Soon, the game I'd devoted half my life to filled the monitor.
"Haa."
This was addiction, plain and simple. I'd quit pro gaming, deleted my main and smurf accounts vowing never to touch it again—and here I was, not even two weeks later, queuing up LoE.
The trigger was nothing major. I'd just overheard Tundra beating Starforce that day and couldn't hold back anymore.
To reiterate, it wasn't jealousy or lingering regrets. Think about it: how does someone who spent years grinding 10 hours a day suddenly quit cold turkey? Lasting two weeks was impressive enough.
Honestly, I'd just been sentimental that day. In a normal state, I never would've. So the match result and me picking up LoE again? Totally unrelated.
The account was past the one-week recovery window, so no dice on restoring it. With a sigh, I made a new one. That was two weeks ago.
I wasn't playing all day like before, but I'd sunk enough time in to hit Diamond somehow.
Normally, I'd have climbed that on a fresh account in a day. But I wasn't grinding as hard or smurfing aggressively, so it took two weeks.
The new account's name was Pudge Dice—the term for those fluffy decorative dice. A touch self-deprecating, maybe. But seriously, not because of any attachments.
On this account, I'd been experimenting a lot—pure casual fun. No pressure on results anymore, so lanes were whatever, champs picked randomly.
Back in the day, I could've climbed this tier with a 90% win rate on a hot streak. That was peak me, though; not sure if I still could.
Anyway, I wasn't grinding that hard now. Less practice mode, more just playing for fun.
Hm, yeah. This was how it felt starting out originally. Not to win, but to enjoy. Pro days weren't joyless, but something mattered more than fun back then.
Now that I'd let it all go, a mindset shift was inevitable.
Though, winning was still the most fun part.
Before queuing, I opened the streaming platform HOOP and hit go live. With the new account, of course.
I'd started streaming again about a week ago. Not because I wanted to or had some grand goal.
Well, there was a purpose, but it was vague. I wasn't a pro anymore; time to find a new job. I had savings, but not enough for life. Planning ahead made sense.
But what could a high school dropout gamer do? Streaming was the only option that seemed viable.
This stream was basically future-proofing—getting comfortable. No cam, no mic. Just pure gameplay. Fine for a PC bang.
I could add mic and cam later, but right now, it was literally just leaving it on.
Obviously, no one watched a no-frills solo queue stream. In the past week, only one viewer total.
I greeted them in chat out of curiosity, and they admitted mistapping into a female LoE cam stream. They stuck around pity-watching one full game before leaving.
Today, viewer count: zero. Back when I started as a pro, people tuned in.
No expectations, so I queued right up. Hm, top lane. Old me would've chatted for mid swap, but whatever here.
Didn't want first pick, though. Yesterday, I first-picked Gladiator and got wrecked by a Fire Archer they were good on.
They weren't even true Diamond skill, but I snagged solo kill and flipped the matchup. Still, early beatdowns weren't my style.
I poked the jungler for reroll vibes. Nah, they weren't having it—couldn't even speak human.
A small sigh, bans ended. First pick: me. Safest choice, Blade Master.
One of the classic warriors—balanced all around, with projectile reflection for ranged counters.
Ever since pro scene launch, it dominated tiers in both pro play and solo queue. Mostly top, but mid viable when strong. My mastery was decent.
Opponent: Spatial Mage. Solid laner, teleports to impact other lanes. Tanky for a mage, tough kill for Blade Master. But irrelevant here.
Forget not: this was Diamond.
~
The game ended anticlimactically. Even off-form, I wasn't stalling in Diamond. Spatial Mage ate harass all game and recalled nonstop. No solo kill, but that's it.
They ulted for roams, but top became a highway, Blade Master snowballed—teamfights were obvious.
Surrender didn't take long.
Jungler never spoke human till end. No barking, so my play satisfied them, I guess.
Post-game, checking stream: anomaly. Chat had messages. Two viewers.
For real. No proof now anyway. No need. Them joking was easier for me.
Two viewers, one chatter. Grateful even for lurking. I queued again—proper mid this time.
Dark Priest: Rare laning priest from the support priest line.
I liked its cool design, but super situational performance kept me from picking it. Low pick rate followed suit.
My pick: Gladiator, usually a top laner. Weak to ranged, but not vs. Dark Priest.
Priest lanes via ult summoning evil god, turning area into their turf. Ranged but weak poke, strong close-up.
Gladiator? Unmatched in melee.
Banning Gladiator was mandatory vs. Dark Priest, but counters like Samurai or Revolutionary existed—ban one, pray no others.
Early laning wasn't easy, surprisingly.
Opponent Priest? Some artisan with unheard-of attack damage build.
Max poke autos to bully Gladiator. Strong early, sure. But later mana items weaken it vs. pure AP—pure gamble.
Caught off-guard by strong early, but that's it. Pre-ult, Priest lacks kill threat. Even post-ult, not favored vs. Gladiator.
Issue: top jungler kept losing skirmishes. Due to Priest's fast rotations.
Not big deal. Priest sacrificed CS for ganks, fell behind. Plus, AD build weakens more over time.
No need to fight; time favored us despite early losses.
Until jungler ragequit.
"Ah."
Fucking dualblade trash human. Peak LoE toxicity.
Chatting then leaving? Not disconnect—intentional. Sudden 4v5, game over basically.
Weird chat flashed by, but no time.
Bot dominated meaningfully, top tank Holy Knight still useful. No choice.
I had to carry.
~
40-minute bloodbath. 4v5 win. Huge without jungler—can't contest epic monsters.
Luckily, spawned Arena Dragon Incarnation—not jungler-dependent. Buff strong, but opens unavoidable arena mid-map.
First two entrants duel till death; winner sends one back, steals buff.
Seems unfair, and it was.
Advantaged team eats it fine, but losing flips epic gain to loss. Disadvantaged? Forced 1v1 steal attempt, low return.
Advantaged sometimes skip to deny reverse, but not tanky—risky burst steals happen.
Stays due to spectacle. Roars in tourneys, ego-stroking 1v1s.
Opp: full-build top Berserker. Never loses 1v1s, scales with low HP. No slouch.
Me: Gladiator specialist, full build. Arena Gladiators don't lose.
Over-minute slugfest. Winner: me.
4v4 with stolen buff: razor-thin win. Tough game, but arena thrill and 4v5 rush electrified me.
Lounging in victory haze, staring blankly, chat scrolled up with oddity.
...?
What bullshit was this?