Lee Se-yeon's Petty Victory
That "someone" was, of course, Lee Se-yeon.
"Yes!"
Lee Se-yeon pumped her fist and cheered. Watching her, the members of Yuseong Gaming wore expressions filled with a complex mix of emotions. There was respect for her ability to devise such a strategy, awe at her sheer skill, and...
Is it really necessary to go that far?
Couldn't we have just played normally?
Just how deep is her grudge against Kim Tae-hyun...?
It was a look of sheer exhaustion at Lee Se-yeon's obsessiveness! And it was only natural. Unlike Team KL, who had casually set a tournament record with no other thought than to breeze through the qualifiers, Lee Se-yeon had targeted Tae-hyun from the very beginning.
Let's see how you like this!
In truth, this sniper attempt involved several calculated moves. First of all, Yuseong Gaming was a team that had only recently been revived. Although it had garnered a lot of attention when Lee Se-yeon took over as captain, its public image was overwhelmingly negative.
To completely wash away this image and turn things around, they needed a heavy, decisive blow. Lee Se-yeon believed that blow would be taking first place in the qualifiers.
"Kim Tae-hyun will take first place," she had declared.
"Pardon? Aren't there plenty of other strong teams?"
"No matter how amazing Player Kim Tae-hyun is, predicting he'll take first place instead of just qualifying seems a bit much... Besides, isn't he busy fighting the Beijing Fighters right now? He barely has time to practice."
"No! If it's Player Kim Tae-hyun, he will definitely take first place! I trust Captain Lee Se-yeon's judgment!"
"..."
Ryu Tae-su was the only one who trusted Lee Se-yeon's judgment. But Lee Se-yeon wasn't happy about it.
I really need to ship this guy off to Kim Tae-hyun's team...
His skills weren't bad, and his personality was decent, but praising Tae-hyun every five minutes was incredibly annoying.
No. No, let's calm down. I can't let this opportunity slip away.
"My judgment isn't wrong. Kim Tae-hyun will take first place. And knowing his personality, if someone steals that spot, he'll rack his brain to take it back. He certainly has the ability to do so. But what if we snatch first place with only an hour or two left on the final day? With his personality, there's a high chance he won't even notice until it's too late."
Having finished her explanation, Lee Se-yeon looked around at her teammates.
"We will practice the dungeon until the final day, but we won't log any official records. We set our record on the very last day."
"...!"
"My strategy is as follows."
The players were all filled with admiration as they listened to Lee Se-yeon's dungeon strategy. Lee Se-yeon was truly remarkable. She was someone whom every ranker in Pan-On inwardly acknowledged! True to her reputation, her strategy was unique and highly viable, unlike those of other teams.
"We'll keep practicing like this and then set our record on the final day! Got it?"
"Yes!"
However, the players still harbored a sliver of anxiety. Would things really go as smoothly as Lee Se-yeon planned? Of course, even if things didn't go perfectly, setting a record on the final day would still guarantee they passed the qualifiers... But was it really necessary to go to such lengths? Wasn't Lee Se-yeon overreacting?
Just as Lee Se-yeon had predicted, when Team KL posted an overwhelmingly dominant first-place record after only a few days, the other players' jaws dropped.
"!!!"
"See? What did I tell you?"
She's incredible!
She didn't become captain for nothing!
Loyalty and respect began to blossom in the players' hearts. They nodded with solemn faces.
"Now we understand what you meant, Captain. There was no need to set a record early on. If we set our record on the final day, we can overtake Kim Tae-hyun's team... We finally get it!"
"Yes. We'll secure a definitive first place and show everyone. Yuseong Gaming is not the team of the past."
"...!"
The players clenched their fists. They, too, were well aware of Yuseong Gaming's reputation on the internet. The very definition of a weak team! There was no way they liked having that image.
"We will do our absolute best!"
Lee Se-yeon nodded with satisfaction. It finally felt like the team was uniting as one. These players were all highly prideful individuals. To lead such people, she had to prove herself through raw skill.
"Let's show them what Yuseong Gaming is made of."
"Yes!"
"And while we're at it, we'll give Kim Tae-hyun a nice, proper screw-you."
"..."
For a brief moment, doubt crept into the players' minds. Wait, is that her actual main goal?
Regardless, Lee Se-yeon's strategy seemed highly plausible, and the players practiced desperately under her direction. They poured almost all of their time into it! They even halted their personal quests to focus entirely on practice.
Even so, Tae-hyun's 32-minute wall seemed incredibly difficult to break. Even Lee Se-yeon began to worry halfway through.
I talked a big game, but what if we can't break it? That would be the ultimate embarrassment...
News of Tae-hyun's activities constantly reached her ears through players in the Atali Kingdom. Apparently, since he had already secured first place, he was only practicing lightly once a day just to keep his senses sharp before calling it a day!
From Lee Se-yeon's perspective, it was mind-boggling. She already knew how skilled Tae-hyun was, but how could he break the top record within just a few days of the dungeon opening? And by such a margin that other pro teams couldn't even catch up despite endless attempts!
She briefly considered giving up and just setting a decent record. After all, their projected record was more than enough to pass the qualifiers. But Lee Se-yeon was different from the players of other gaming teams. Her stubbornness and tenacity were on a completely different level!
She ran all 18 dungeons, matching their unique characteristics, and calculated the exact scenario where her strategy would be most effective. And she tried again and again until they achieved the best possible result under those conditions.
Finally, with only one day left, Lee Se-yeon's team succeeded in narrowing their record down to the 32-minute mark.
"We broke into the 32-minute range, but... it's too inconsistent. The gap between our good runs and bad runs is too wide. And we have to set our official record tomorrow."
"What should we do?"
"In the end, let's leave it to luck. We've done everything we can."
"!"
Hearing such words from the meticulous Lee Se-yeon shocked the team members. But Lee Se-yeon was entirely serious.
"What? We've done everything in our power."
Now, the only thing they could rely on was the hope that the tension of the actual run would work in their favor. And on the final day, with only one hour remaining, Yuseong Gaming succeeded in reclaiming first place. No one was watching, but it was an incredibly close, fierce battle.
"Bwahahahahaha!"
"...??"
When a laugh fit for a madman echoed from the chairman's office, the secretaries looked at each other in bewilderment. Chairman Yu checked the internet with a proud, deeply satisfied expression. The qualifier rankings had just been announced. And proudly sitting at the very top in first place was Yuseong Gaming! Articles were already flooding in.
In the past, they had to request media outlets affiliated with the Yuseong Group to write forced, promotional articles. Now, praise-filled articles were popping up without him lifting a finger.
[How Did Yuseong Gaming Become a Powerhouse?]
[Yuseong Gaming Beats Powerhouse Team KL to Take 1st in Qualifiers—They Are Not the Team of the Past!]
[An In-Depth Look at the Formidable Roster Led by Captain Lee Se-yeon.]
He felt full even without eating. To think that recruiting Lee Se-yeon as captain would yield such results. Chairman Yu felt like he was awakening to a new sensation. The sheer ecstasy of buying top-tier players with cold, hard cash and winning!
"Hehehe... Hehehehe..."
Chairman Yu clenched his fists, trembling with excitement. What he wanted to see most right now was Tae-hyun's face. In truth, although Yuseong Gaming had taken first place, no one was mocking Team KL. The time difference between them was practically negligible, and both teams had set records that utterly dwarfed the rest of the competition.
People were busy discussing what kind of records these two teams would set in the main tournament and what strategies they had used, rather than mocking Team KL. But Chairman Yu knew. He knew exactly how Tae-hyun would be feeling right now! He must feel like he had been hit with a massive sucker punch.
"Bwahahaha! Hahaha! Ha! Bwahahahahaha! Ahahaha! How does that taste, you punk?!"
"I suppose we shouldn't schedule any guests for today."
Watching Chairman Yu, who had been laughing non-stop for thirty minutes, Secretary Jeong made a deadpan executive decision.
"..."
"..."
An icy, freezing silence! The five members of Team KL were gathered in their lodging. Yet, no one dared to open their mouth. That was how heavily Tae-hyun's gloomy aura weighed on the room.
Cain stared at Choi Sang-yun. He spoke with his eyes.
You say something to him.
No way, man. If I say the wrong thing, I'll take the fall.
But seriously, why is he acting like this? Second place is still amazing! I literally just bragged to my family about it!
As soon as he saw the rankings, Cain had excitedly bragged to his family. But then, when he walked out thinking, Wait, why are we in second place?... He had run straight into Tae-hyun, who was radiating a terrifyingly low-pressure atmosphere!
Are you and him even on the same level?
The qualifier rankings don't even matter!
Why don't you go tell him that yourself?
N-No way. I feel like he'd actually beat me up.
Surely he wouldn't?
While they carried on their silent conversation, Tae-hyun ground his teeth. Lee Se-yeon!
I was too complacent. I shouldn't have let my guard down just because no records were being posted.
It angered him that if they had just tried a little harder to shave off some time, they easily could have. Because their advancement to the main tournament was already guaranteed, he hadn't wanted to waste unnecessary time. Now, that decision had come back to bite him.
To think there would be a team that read his mind, held back their record until the very last day, and then made a run at the final moment... He should have expected it. Lee Se-yeon was exactly the kind of petty person who would do such a thing!
Tae-hyun took a deep breath to regain his composure. In truth, looking at it objectively, Tae-hyun hadn't lost anything. If anything, while Yuseong Gaming had poured almost all of their time into barely scraping past, Team KL had easily secured their spot and moved on. If anything, it was a win for them.
But human emotions didn't work so rationally. Especially when it came to the relationship between Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon! Of all people, it had to be Lee Se-yeon!!!
"Tae-hyun."
"!"
"!!"
"!!!!"
The first to speak was Lee Da-bi. Cain, Choi Sang-yun, and Jeong Su-hyeok stared at Lee Da-bi with eyes full of reverence. To think she dared to speak right now!
"What is it?"
"Congratulations on making it to the main tournament."
"What's the point? We lost to Lee Se-yeon..."
"Our goal from the beginning was to qualify with the absolute minimum effort, not to take first place, wasn't it? Compared to how worried we were before the qualifiers about whether this roster could even make it through, I think this is an incredibly good result."
"..."
Tae-hyun, who had been lying down on his side, slowly sat up. Choi Sang-yun gasped inwardly at the sight.
Lee Da-bi is on a completely different level!
To make Tae-hyun sit up with just a few words! It was something Cain could never have accomplished! For some reason, Cain felt annoyed by the way Choi Sang-yun was looking at him.
Why is this jerk looking at me like that?
"Is that so?"
"Honestly, I thought I was the biggest weak link in this roster, but I was so happy that I was able to play a part. So please don't feel too bad about not getting first place. This was a meaningful achievement for everyone here."
Faced with Lee Da-bi's heartfelt words, Tae-hyun's expression softened slightly. Sensing an opportunity, the others quickly chimed in.
"Y-Yeah! I didn't even know I could perform this well! I thought we'd be lucky just to make the main tournament! We barely even ran the dungeon!"
"Exactly, exactly! And our roster was incredibly bizarre to begin with!"
"That's right, Senior! You know how my magic is. If I got unlucky, it could have backfired terribly, so I was really worried too!"
Hearing everyone's words, Tae-hyun let out a sigh.
"Yeah. You guys are right. There's no need for me to get worked up over—"
Ding!
A text message arrived. Without thinking, Tae-hyun tapped to open it. At that exact moment, his intuition screamed at him not to open it, but it was already too late.
"..."