Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Why Is It So Easy?
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ST's official recruitment post on social media instantly went viral.
"No way, for real?"
"She's going straight pro just like that."
Even talented prospects who dominated Solo Queue often crumbled in academy teams without ever debuting in the third division. There were tons of them.
Putting a rookie straight into pro play—third-division league was still pro—without scrims or any verification was unprecedented.
"Can you spill some details? Like, what the hell happened?"
Durant, a huge ST fan, was naturally hyped and started grilling me with questions.
"Right after I hit Grandmaster, teams started reaching out."
From ST to mid-to-lower tier league scouts, everyone sent love calls my way.
"Huh? So, were there teams with better offers?"
"Yeah, there were."
In my memory, one team whose Mid had bolted to North America—straight-up—had to promote a second-division player, so they offered me a spot as their immediate second-division Mid Laner.
I knew better than anyone how groundbreaking it was to skip academy and Master League for the Grand League, the second-division league.
Especially for an untested rookie whose First-Person View mechanics were unproven. It was an insanely good deal.
Some overseas league teams even guaranteed a starting spot.
It wasn't just my skill; my looks probably played a part too. Still, the offers were wildly generous.
"But I turned them all down."
"Why?!"
"ST's coach, An Jae-hoon, called me personally."
"......Oh."
It was a mid-sized game dev's title, but Rock from the keyboard-and-mouse-only era had been a massive hit back then. There was even a league for it.
Like ancient "BC era" Rock, sort of.
And ST's Mid Laner at the time? An Jae-hoon.
"He was super passionate in convincing me."
"Did he say anything about VR?"
"He said he'd take full responsibility for that, so just come on board."
(FYI, he pre-approved me sharing this much.)
In the entertainment-heavy e-sports scene, these little stories snowball into major narratives.
"But seriously, have you even tried First-Person View?"
"A game or two? Just at a PC bang with friends. Haven't touched it since I started ranked seriously."
"Cool with doing First-Person on stream today then?"
"Of course. That's why I asked for it."
Multi-nampy and Durant seemed worried I'd flop using unfamiliar VR after signing my pro contract, but I didn't care.
The deal was done.
Like it or not, as long as I didn't bomb half the season, ST3—ST's Master League team—had to use me for at least one full season.
I didn't skip other teams for nothing.
Of course, I had zero intention of bombing.
"If I'm gonna learn, might as well crash against the top."
Durant naturally segued into explaining the stream's second half.
"Knew you'd say that, so we prepped. Challenger achievement stream, followed by Challenger civil war!"
As soon as he finished, nine famous Challenger names and faces popped up on screen.
A quick scan showed tons of one-trick ponies who'd mastered a single champ to the extreme.
Anyway, prep went quick.
"Alright, folks, this is the latest VR Device from sponsored Hior Games—"
I half-reclined in the egg-shaped cradle chair I'd seen at tourneys and donned the VR gear.
A brief floating sensation.
Blink, and I was at a desk in the broadcast room.
"You're in?"
"Yeah."
"Set it to a former pro's config for now."
No chair, desk at perfect standing height for keyboard and mouse.
'...Nice.'
Switching to First-Person gave instant ground-under-feet feel—easier to adapt standing.
Virtual space, no leg pain from standing long.
Tweaking settings, a portal-ish thing spawned nearby, avatars popping out: two normies, an orc, an elf.
"True, right?"
"Whoa... default avatars? No customs?"
Suddenly surrounded, then familiar streamer Durant chimed in from above.
Figured as much—desks lined up beside mine.
Quick intros for viewers and me, then game time like the Rock diehards we were.
"Easy first game?"
"Huh?"
"Enemy team's five one-trick artisans."
No brainer.
"Can you close ban phase and just pick?"
"Sure thing."
"Do whatever we want today."
No clue how Multi-nampy wrangled them, but his connections obeyed instantly.
Enemies predictably took their lifeblood one-tricks; we went teamfight-oriented tourney picks.
Into Twisted Canyon.
Post-load, I switched to First-Person.
First game, goal was adapting to FP, so early pre-minions was smooth.
But as game kicked off, enemy Mid ignored me hard.
Me: short-range melee champ banking on one ult for 5-sec survival. Him: long-range mage Zenox, infamous reach.
Levels 1-5, pre-ult: pure punching bag matchup.
Or, perfect practice dummy.
'This is it.'
Artisan skillshots on point.
Others might barely dodge; his range tweaks were mechanical.
Tanked all skills once—time for FP trial.
Charging skill: watch motion to end.
Arm rises, pauses—sidestep.
—Whiff.
Same skillshot as before, but I changed, so result did.
No need for ground indicators.
Pre-skill tells clearer than Top-Down.
That sufficed for dodges.
I slipped back to the PC between skill cooldowns, grabbed keyboard/mouse—not greatsword—and read chat.
"Just move as soon as I see cast animation. Was it always this easy?"
"Makes me sad why I waited to use this great feature."
The chat exploded.