Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Various Paths
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“Eun-seol!”
The friends who always stuck to me threw themselves into my arms, sniffling.
“Your face looks like half of it’s gone!”
“The coach has been making us hit the gym lately...”
“But why didn’t you skip here.”
Rub rub.
Today, too, my body was public property.
“Ah, right. I watched you play and gave it a try—my tier went up?”
I felt pretty satisfied hearing that from Eun-chae, who’d said she’d watched my debut match closely and enjoyed it.
“How far’d you climb?”
“Platinum! I’m higher than my boyfriend now!”
Hmm. No wonder she picks up gaming concepts so fast—she’s one of the top students in school. Guess she’s climbing well.
Suddenly, the guy receiving the carry instead of being the carry? My condolences to him.
“Anyway, how’d you even get here today? You must be wiped after yesterday’s match.”
“Gotta take finals...”
I’d given up on sleep a while ago, so as long as I could move, it was fine.
After I declared I’d become a pro gamer, my parents—who’d supported me right away—hadn’t budged on one thing.
Middle school graduation.
If I didn’t hit a certain number of attendance days, it’d basically count as dropping out, so I had to show up if possible.
A few more days this semester, and with Master League ending before the LOC World Cup next semester, I could fill the attendance requirement.
“Studied at all?”
“If I really wanted to ace these tests, I would’ve borrowed your notes a week ago.”
“Fair point.”
It was middle school, anyway.
Even if we bombed everything, they’d let us graduate.
“Speaking of, where’s Ji-hwan?”
“Probably got called by our homeroom teacher.”
Even one aspiring pro gamer in a class gives teachers a headache, but two? Rough for them.
Meanwhile, that Plook guy—who was far from innocent—showed up at the back door of the classroom right after we mentioned his name.
“Hong Eun-seol, teacher wants to talk to you.”
“They didn’t say much to you?”
“Eh, just ‘do well on the test.’”
He said that and pulled out his notebook to start reviewing.
“You studied?”
“Didn’t you?”
“This is betrayal. If you took notes, sharing them is basic loyalty between friends and teammates, right?”
“You wouldn’t have studied even if I showed you.”
“......”
Has surviving top lane honed his edges?
He was getting sharper.
“...I’ll go see the teacher, then.”
I slipped out the back door quietly.
Maybe because it was exam day, the teachers’ office was pretty hectic.
“Eun-seol, you’re here?”
Before I had to struggle remembering which desk was our homeroom teacher’s—the one I’d forgotten— she waved me over.
“Hi, Teacher.”
“Finally seeing our little truant.”
“Haha...”
“Kidding. Sit down first.”
The teacher smiled and pulled over a chair next to her.
“How’s pro life treating you?”
“Fun. And I’m doing well.”
I worried she might think “doing well” was bragging, but she didn’t seem to.
“I’ve heard all about it. You’re a star at school now.”
“Was I that famous already?”
“Of course. Everyone—guys, girls—is talking about you. Even the young male teachers chat about you on ST match days.”
Even with Master League’s limits, the ripple effect was huge.
‘Or not?’
Plook was already famous at school, so his pro debut probably just got cheers from people who knew him and shrugs from others. My case was different.
People had said going into entertainment would’ve been more natural than studying, so debuting as a pro out of nowhere naturally sparked buzz.
“Aren’t you worried about me, then, Teacher?”
“Honestly? Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Well, no military service means more time, and with your looks, you’ve got plenty of fallback options later.”
Hmm.
Super pragmatic.
The teacher eyed me for a moment, then pulled some exam supplies from her drawer and handed them over.
“Didn’t bring yours, huh?”
“Was gonna borrow from a friend.”
“Take these. I’ve got a whole pile in here.”
I thanked her and pocketed them.
“But Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you call me for something?”
“What more could I say to a student already working as an adult?”
Our homeroom teacher sipped her tea from the tumbler and continued.
“Master League or whatever—even at that level, getting paid under contract is tough. I know that much.”
“You’re super open-minded.”
“Heh. Did Ji-hwan say something?”
“No, just a feeling...?”
Younger teachers tell aspiring pros to think twice, so an older female teacher cheering on a pro gamer path was rare.
“Anyway, don’t worry too much, Eun-seol—just take the tests. I’ll handle attendance to get you graduated.”
“You’re not worried about my scores?”
I figured she’d say to try harder or study a bit next semester. Unexpected.
“It’s fine. Middle school grades don’t really matter.”
She gave me a light, reassuring smile.
“...Can a middle school teacher say that?”
“My middle school grades were trash, and look at me—thriving as a teacher.”
Ah. Teacher.
How do you live like that?
“If it bothers your conscience, just bring me a couple signed posters from your matches.”
“You’ll come watch?”
“Nah, my eyes are getting too foggy for that stuff.”
“Then what for?”
“Hang ’em up, and the kids’ll listen to me more, right?”
“Oh...”
At least she could wrangle the boys for sure.
“I’ll look into it and bring some.”
“Thanks, Eun-seol.”
“No problem.”
“The other teachers were asking about you, too.”
“Huh?”
Even the other teachers?
“Now I can tell the kids, ‘If you can’t beat Eun-seol at Rock, just study.’”
“Aha.”
My condolences to the countless school hopefuls crushed by that one line.
Though as far as I remembered, our middle school only had me and Plook debut. Should be fine.
Or not.
“Tests go okay?”
Back at the practice room, our ADC Strike greeted us.
FYI, he was high school age but had already dropped out—no more tests for him.
“You two look better in uniforms than our team ones.”
“That’s because our team uniforms...”
How could anyone love the uniforms?
They liked ST that much.
Wearing them debuffed anyone’s looks.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Went to grab snacks. Scrim soon.”
“Why didn’t you go, hyung?”
“Slept in.”
Our proud ADC, forever #1 in lateness.
Half the snacks they were buying now were probably his.
Anyway, we warmed up while waiting, and soon the coach and rest of the team arrived.
“Eun-seol, Ji-hwan. Tests okay?”
“So-so.”
“Who did better?”
“Haven’t graded yet.”
Answer keys were probably on the school site, but grading sounded annoying.
“Just do it now.”
“See who scores higher.”
“Wonder which is smarter: the royal mid or the delinquent top.”
“My bet’s on mid.”
“Hey, Ji-hwan studied evenings—delinquent wins.”
Somehow it turned into an IQ showdown between laners.
“I’ll grade.”
Plook—thrilled despite having no one to compare to—handed over the answer key, and we started.
“Hong Eun-seol average: 82.”
“Ooh.”
I didn’t study, but basics were there.
“Now Ji-hwan’s.”
“Jung Ji-hwan average: 75.”
Not all subjects on the first day, but core Korean/English/Math were enough to judge.
I grinned and poked Plook.
“Studied, huh?”
“......”
Speechless.
Top laners really did have great feedback.
The fun scrim started with some light amusement.
I have no idea what clicked for him, but in this scrim, Plook demolished the enemy with ruthless precision.
[Looks like top carry roles could work too...]
As we kept testing our comps and skills, the coach was thrilled our win conditions were expanding—didn’t even mute his mic.
We’d picked a one-trick lane-clear bot for support duty, and support roamed top often to stack him.
But eating that support was a skill too.
And like in his past life, Plook was an authority on this in this one too.
“Why take it out on them so harshly? Poor guys.”
“Pisses me off. That build, farming up front.”
Yikes.
Still, a solid mid-upper Master League team crumbling like that felt kinda sad.
Of course, that was just as a LOC senior; as rivals, wrecking their champ pool tiers was all upside.
“Should’ve run one more ranked instead of studying.”
...Kid’s breaking bad bit by bit. Nah, just my imagination.