Rolling the Dice
Around evening, Arang's mother showed up to pick her up and insisted on treating me to a meat dinner. The next day, we headed together to the E Revolution Gaming headquarters.
Since I hadn't revealed that I used to be a guy, Arang's mom seemed to really take a liking to me and was grateful too. She thanked me for becoming friends with her daughter, who spent every day holed up at home just gaming. Well, I didn't know the full details of Arang's situation, so I didn't have much to say, but at least I hadn't rubbed her the wrong way, which was a relief. It could've easily gone the other way if she thought I was filling her kid's head with weird ideas.
Once we arrived at the headquarters, we immediately met with the coach. Naturally, as the outsider, I stepped out first, leaving Arang, her mother, and the coach to talk things over among themselves.
Quite some time passed before the three of them emerged from the room, and I heard that they were about to start Arang's test right away.
The coach decided to oversee Arang's test personally, leaving me and her mother behind to wait for it to finish.
"Will she be okay?"
"I can't give you a definite answer, but Arang will do great. She crammed last night, after all."
"I knew she loved gaming, but I had no idea she was at a level to get pro offers like this."
"She definitely has talent. Even if she doesn't make it here, she'll probably get offers from other teams down the line, depending on how hard she works."
Of course, considering her gender, those offers might not pan out, but the fact that she could get them was sincere, no sugarcoating.
"Well, if she passes, she'll be on the same team as you, Yeonwoo, so that would be great."
"...Y-yeah, haha."
Her permission probably hinged at least partly on the idea that I'd be on the same team. She was even saying it outright.
But knowing I hadn't told her I used to be a guy made my chest twinge just a bit.
As I navigated this precarious, nerve-wracking conversation with Arang's worried mom, Yuseung showed up.
"Hey."
"Oh, you're here?"
The coach had told me separately that he'd already informed all the team members, including Yuseung, about this yesterday.
Reactions? Jang Seonho had blown up, saying why test anyone when they could just bring in Sharpness. Seo Seohui hadn't shown it outright, but she seemed pretty thrown off too.
Yuseung was the only one who hadn't said a word.
"This is Yuseung, our team's jungler."
"Ah, a teammate. Nice to meet you. I'm Arang's mom; she's here for the test."
"Oh, hi."
"You here to watch the test 'cause you're curious?"
It was a test for a potential teammate, so of course he'd be curious, but somehow it didn't feel like that was why Yuseung had come.
"Nah, not that. Sorry, mind if I borrow her for a sec?"
"Oh my."
"What's up?"
It was a bit bewildering how Yuseung suddenly called dibs on me like that, but I decided to just go along.
"What's the deal?"
"Nothing huge."
"What?"
"You looked uncomfortable, so I pulled you out. You told that kid you used to be a guy, right? But not her mom, apparently."
How the hell did he pick up on that? I was a little uncomfortable, sure, but I didn't think I'd shown it.
"Damn, you're sharp."
"That's not the only reason I dragged you out, though. Got something to ask."
"Shoot."
"What do you think of Sharpness?"
What did I think? What did he mean by that?
"You're asking which one I want. Sharpness, or that clingy Arang kid you're babysitting."
"When did I babysit her?"
"You tutored her yesterday, didn't you?"
"That was... just helping out. Couldn't just send her off like that. But I still think Sharpness is the right fit for the team."
"Even after tutoring her?"
"...Couldn't just send her off unprepared. The kid's an idiot."
Yuseung looked at me like I was the most pathetic thing he'd ever seen. Well, what could I do?
"Whatever. So you want Sharpness in the end? Good, at least. But the problem is..."
"The coach wants Arang?"
"Nah, it's about Seonho. He's got more resentment built up than I thought. I calmed him down, but if we bring in another top—specifically, bump Sharpness for her—he might not buy it."
"He can't just end his contract on a whim."
"You know he has some say in roster decisions. And Aranggaiger's just an unproven amateur in the end."
It wasn't something I hadn't considered. Jang Seonho had been pretty vocal about his discomfort with his partner being a girl and kept voicing worries about the team's future.
Filling the top lane with another woman on top of that? Regardless of what the coach and front office thought, he'd likely judge us as not serious about running a proper team.
And honestly, if I didn't know Arang at all, I'd have thought the same—it was a reasonable take.
"Tricky."
"Honestly, if she passes, team morale could tank harder than expected. Seonho wants Sharpness, even Seohui does, and you're saying the same."
"I'm not just saying it. But what about you—which side do you want?"
"Me...?"
Here, I figured Yuseung would obviously pick Sharpness over Arang too. Hell, I'd already assumed he had. But he surprised me.
"I think we should go with Aranggaiger."
"What? For real? You're nuts?"
Even I, who was close to Arang, thought Sharpness was the better pick, yet Yuseung went the complete opposite way. It was hard to wrap my head around.
"Why do you think Arang's the right choice?"
"Sharpness is too stubborn."
"Huh?"
"Stubborn as hell. And his personality's intense too. Not a bad guy or anything—actually, he's good people."
Could someone be good people and have a strong personality at the same time? As I stared at him in confusion, Yuseung added,
"You'll get it once you spend time with him."
"Talking like you've hung out."
"Nah, but I know someone from his old team who told me. Anyway, not the point. It's the stubbornness."
Sharpness doesn't listen.
"...That's a tough one. The guy called China's best shield doesn't listen? Maybe his Chinese sucks?"
Nah, I'd seen him speak fluent Chinese in interviews back in the day.
"It's secondhand, so maybe that guy was just talking smack."
"Still weak sauce for you opposing him."
Arang was stubborn as hell too, honestly. Her personality was the opposite, but thinking back to her trolling online, she wasn't exactly soft.
"That's the real reason. I need a top who can wield a blade."
"Sharpness isn't completely hopeless with blades."
"You know why they called him the ultimate shield? It's not just 'cause he's good at shielding. Even when he picks up a blade, he plays it like a shield."
...He had a point. Top laners tended to have massive egos, and Sharpness was no exception. But what set him apart was how that ego skewed too heavily toward stability.
Put simply, Sharpness hated gambling.
"Sharpness is a year older than us. Not young by any means. Stubborn, and probably impossible to change."
"So you're saying..."
"Stubborn, but his ceiling's low. Older than us, hard to manage. Thinking that way, better to go with a young, malleable kid like Aranggaiger. Maybe not right now, but for the future, definitely."
He was beating around the bush, but it boiled down to the same thing as the coach: for the future, we had to gamble.
Roll the dice named Arang.
"Didn't know you were such a gambler."
"I made a promise."
"What?"
"To drag Proud down."
...Oh, right.
I had said that.
"If I have to pick a die, I'll take the one that rolls 1 or 6 over the safe 4. The 4's more stable, higher average, and the 1-6 has way higher failure odds. But."
This wasn't about game dice. It was about the future.
And Yuseung was betting Arang's future would hit 6.
Because,
"If it doesn't hit 6, we couldn't beat Proud anyway."
We had a promise.
I was suddenly at a loss for words, unable to respond.
I just turned my head away a little, feeling kinda embarrassed.
~
The coach called everyone together. The test was over.
Me, Yuseung, Jang Seonho, Seo Seohui, Arang, and her mother—six of us in total.
No sign of Sharpness.
"Test's done, right? What's the result?"
"Did you pass, Arang?"
Jang Seonho and Arang's mom spoke up first, unable to hold back their curiosity.
"Not yet."
Arang shook her head, and the coach, watching, spun the pen in his hand.
"Basic tests are done. Now just a best-of-five 1v1 between the two, then I'll talk to the front office and decide. I gathered everyone 'cause they're likely to be teammates, so I wanted you all to see the 1v1."
"I see."
Arang's mom, not fully clued in, just nodded along, but the rest of us knew better. This wasn't standard procedure. Jang Seonho voiced the doubt first.
"You're making the test public?"
"Both agreed to it."
"That's not the issue, is it?"
These tests were usually private to protect the players' mentality. And entry wasn't decided on a single test anyway.
Going public like this, if the loser got picked, the team might not buy in—and honestly, it wasn't an easy call to understand.
"I've got my reasons."
But what could we say? It was already happening, and both had consented. I checked with Arang just in case,
"You cool with this?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna win."
Arang was her usual self.
"Where's Sharpness?"
"Practice room. Said he'd head in first. I'll ref inside; you guys watch from here. Five games, different matchups each time."
Right, couldn't judge on one matchup alone.
I thought Arang had the edge, but Sharpness was no pushover. He didn't rack up solo kills often, but he rarely got solo-killed either.
The coach and Arang headed into the practice room, and a custom game lobby went up.
"You wanna watch from here?"
"No, I wouldn't get it anyway... I'll wait outside. Just tell me the results."
Arang's mom, looking tense all around, said she wouldn't understand it anyway and stepped out to wait. That left just the four of us.
And so the 1v1 showdown between Arang and Sharpness began.
The matchups for each game were:
Blade vs. Blade
Blade vs. Shield
Shield vs. Blade
Shield vs. Shield
Blind Pick
Standard, textbook matchups. They had to pick from set champions, with each getting blue side twice. They'd apparently agreed inside on who picked first each game.
Last game: blind pick, their strongest champs.
All four of us were on edge, wondering how it'd play out, when Seo Seohui voiced her worry first.
"Sharpness'll win, right?"
"Duh. It's Sharpness, after all."
The two Sharpness fans cheered him on, naturally. I couldn't just sit quiet and tossed in a jab.
"Arang's mechanics are insane, so honestly, I think she'll win."
"You're biased 'cause you're friends? You said you wanted Sharpness too, sis."
"...Yeah, true."
Still, I didn't wanna see Arang moping if she lost.
"What about you, bro?"
"Dunno. Whatever."
Yuseung didn't repeat to them what he'd told me about picking Arang. Smart move—no upside to that convo.
Both picked their champs, and loading began.
"Kunoichi and Spearman?"
"Spearman's got a huge edge in this matchup, no?"
Was this Arang's blue side game? She grabbed Kunoichi, who dominated most melee matchups, but Sharpness countered hard with Spearman.
Spearman was melee but had mobility and a skill to dodge autos, making him one of the best at hunting carries. Not a usual Sharpness pick, so I hadn't expected it.
"Sharpness takes this for sure."
Kunoichi had top-tier melee trading, so she wouldn't melt like other carries, but it was still a big counter.
Were we cooked this game?
I figured we'd need Arang to turn it around on her red side games, and then the match started.
And,
"...What the hell is this?"
In the first game that everyone—even me—thought Arang would lose,
Arang boldly claimed victory against Sharpness.