9 - Won't Dodge the Fight? Let Me Share an Old Tale

[Estasha Latias de Kaizen, princess—someday I'll nail you to a cross and burn you alive before the Holy Kingdom's subjects.]

Talking about the imperial family right now would just sour my mood even more, so let's go further back. I used to live in a cramped semi-basement studio with the woman who gave birth to me—just the two of us. I don't know if she'd been there since I was born or if we'd moved in when I was very young. In my earliest memory, a child was wailing desperately. But amid the acrid smoke filling the space, the woman never answered his pleas.

I could never leave that semi-basement studio my whole life. My legs were the problem. The exact diagnosis was Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), but I only learned that later when I got interested in the field. The woman's emotions were always brimming with hatred. She hated the suffocating semi-basement, the drunks who stumbled home at dawn screaming obscenities, the useless burden that was me, and ultimately, herself.

When other kids were picking out their first school bags with their parents, she vanished without a trace. I hadn't cried from exhaustion since I was three, but that moment made me sob longer than ever before. I wailed until blood trickled from my throat, and miraculously, that led to my rescue three days later.

At a young age, I learned how harsh the world was. On a societal level, I was worthless. No matter what group I joined, I'd just be dead weight, an object of disgust. Unless I offered them something special, they'd discard me without a second thought. Luckily, I was more mature than my peers and turned that into my strength. I'd console myself that if I'd been born 10,000 years ago, I'd have been tossed off a cliff at birth, and obsessed over studying.

I didn't need to be overwhelmingly good. Like how middle school math feels easy after first grade, I resolved to stay ahead. I knew they'd catch up eventually, but I couldn't give up. But I overlooked something about this society. The world we live in isn't some simple knowledge contest. Even if scholarships covered tuition, what about a place to live? Food? While others studied, I had to scour everywhere, desperately hunting for any job I could do.

And when my first paycheck hit my account, I despaired. Due to debt collection letters from creditors and my mother's disappearance, the semi-basement had been sold off, triggering inheritance proceedings. Unknown to me, I'd inherited her 1.243 billion won debt. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That day, I shed my last quiet tears.

If there's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a next life, I want to live as the world's richest person.

"Nami! Game started! What do I buy first?"

Arin clings to me again, her face crumpling. Yeah, in contrast, the game had clear demands.

"Shaman's wand and one potion. Stick close to me."

We destroy the enemy nexus. The penalties we inflict on each other are equal. Simplicity clears the mind. That was the secret to surviving my third rock-bottom life.

A pleasant breeze rustles. A few clouds, but so what.

"Hello, Lili."

"Sniiiiff? Don't misunderstand, I'm not asleep at all! Eh? You know my name?"

The other three teammates are still in the starting village, but I can talk to the fox merchant Lili. Amazed, I pet her head.

"Thanks. I'll be relying on you today too."

I hand over five silver coins and slip on the Soul Harvester's Ring. Mid-grade potion's a bonus. The battlefield air is crisp and refreshing.

"This feels weird! But I can't leave Nami."

Arin turns into a fluffy cat, flitting around my head.

"It's the skill. Think 'get off' if you want, but it'd be dangerous. Stay attached and shoot arrows at enemies when you see them."

"Okay!"

"Read this in the meantime."

She's elementary school age, so she can read, right? I hand her the manual with skill explanations.

"No... I'll try!"

The familiar forest scenery unfolds for the 50,000th time. I even memorized how many red-spotted clown mushrooms are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where. The jungler waiting at red buff greets us.

So this is how chat normally looks. Trapped in the capsule, all text glitched out, so I always muted chat. After spawning red and smacking it five times, we head bot lane.

The champ I've possessed is Kai'Sa. A girl separated from her parents, isolated in the demon realm, who survived by embracing monster power and returned—a tragic backstory. Her lower body and parts of her upper are covered in rough crustacean shell.

Enemy bot: pirate beauty and anchor-wielding machine monster stand guard.

Soon, six soldiers clash.

"Target the red-haired girl with arrows. Even if you miss, it'll guide somewhat, so you can control it."

"Got it!"

The cat fires an arrow in a cute pose, but it's blocked by a soldier and cancels. Arin whimpers, but I reassure her it's fine. Level 1 focuses on clearing minions over trades. Enemy's strong at 2— they'll hit 2 first, force us to waste skills on minions.

Luckily, their poke's light. I clear minions fast with Kai'Sa's skill, stripping the machine's bone shield as bonus.

Second wave rushes in. We have one minion left from first wave. I feint pulling back, then as enemy finishes their last minion, I unload auto and Q on the pirate girl. Machine tries hooking with anchor too late—I'm already out. Pirate instinctively backs off, clueless about trade mechanics. She doesn't grasp disengaging here causes bigger losses.

Pre-damage before second wave arrives. They dash forward—unavoidable meteor to escape pressure, farm meanwhile. I bait forward, then sidestep. Only one pebble hits, no pain.

"Arin, heal!"

"Gotcha!"

Sudden move and attack speed boost. Kai'Sa's stats shine early but short range. With speed up, 525 range is trivial.

I auto once, back off. Pirate swings but range denies her. Gap close, auto-Q counter. Pre-damaged minions eat two missiles each from six, gone. Rest on girl. She reacts fast with auto, but my sped-up attack squeezes another in.

Our six healthy minions pile on pirate. Four on us is cute. Machine panics. I pull back satisfied, but Arin lands arrow.

"Hit this time!"

Pirate gripes at support. As she pots and clears, her passive stacks unreset.

[W-Flash-AA-Ignite]

Pirate flashes heal and flash, exhausts me—but all skills spent.

Lane war flows smoothly after. Top and mid rack 10 deaths total; 15-min surrender vote. But with my mission to carry Arin, no way.

I snag incoming mid and jungler trying to free bot, reset game.

Kai'Sa has physical or magic builds. Hybrid gets no love—mediocre coeffs curb ADC carry. But with overwhelming growth and stacked items?

Transforms into all-rounder: infight, poke, engage, kite.

"Wahaha!!! Charge! Nami, wipe 'em!"

Feels over 300 km/h dash into foes. Assassinate enemy team's sole hard CC, Nautilus first.

Arin's ult triggers in perfect sync without my call. Vs multiples, thin enemy numbers first. Universal, but Kai'Sa demands finesse.

Tank, bruiser, assassin—all fall equal before Kai'Sa and Yuumi. Top and mid already DC'd, we're 3v5... but Arin thanks jungler.

Promise to Arin kept—time to leave game.

"Fun?"

"Yeah! Play again later?"

"Homework."

"Th-that can wait."

"Came home late, got scolded by Teacher Cheonmin again."

Arin's relationships too Nami-focused. Need to teach mingling—not just friends, teachers too.

"PE teacher doesn't like me..."

"Come early, clean classroom mornings—he'll warm up."

"Maybe..."

"Now log out, board games."

"Yay! Halli Galli? Or Monopoly?"

"Whatever. Wait out, got stuff."

"Okay! Prepping!"

My few friends' window. Jebalbutak clanmates three, random Lammas OTP jungler TryHardWithoutAnger. Short notes left.

"Ugh, lost again."

Min-jun slams innocent floor. Loss stings, but taunting streamer's voice fuels rage more.

Why so good suddenly? My skill dropping? Vs streamer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠BebeGood, always full throttle. No excuses like "got cocky."

Min-jun clutches throbbing head, exits lounge.