Is It My Fault This Time Too?
“I didn’t really think I had much talent in League of Champions back then.”
After endless match queues, I suddenly spilled the story to the viewers chatting away.
- SilverPantheos: Boss?
- Tti-hwak-jjit: ????
- Nong-eo-yang-sim-dol-chuk: If you say it like that, it’s straight-up lying, dammit!
- DMDorg: That’s all because you stole my Nong-eo-yang-sim, right?! Hand it back!!!
- Gah-am-maj-eun-do-tuk: Even if it’s pros, 90% of the Riot users are Silver players, so saying it in front of them is still lying, lol lol
The viewers exploded, firing off a chat rush because I had clearly riled them up.
Of course I knew my words would sound like that, but they still snapped my attention in a single second.
Since that was exactly the point, I answered calmly.
There had been times when explaining after every broadcast started to feel routine, but anyway…
“Ah, sure, if you look at it objectively, I’m in a high tier, right? People here would think I’m a billionaire pretending to be middle-class if I said I can’t even play. It’s just… back then, that’s what I thought. I was Silver back then. In middle and high school, I only played with friends for a little while, and even then, it was so close between wins and losses that I couldn’t tell which was which……”
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Yeah, that’s true… probably didn’t play much when Nong-eo was studying hard.
- SilverPantheos: Ah, so Boss was originally Silver… that’s why he shot up from the moment he started playing seriously.
- SDDHHD: ?? Was Nong-eo originally Silver?
- Chik-in-nara-pizza-gong-ju: Yeah, the perfect example of human victory… in just two months, he climbed from Silver to almost Grandmaster.
- GSOC: Wait, if it’s only a month, is he not a genius? How come we never noticed his talent before?
- Che-da-rol-geu-hem: Maybe they were holding back because they were playing with friends, lol lol
“Ah, they probably weren’t holding back. Everyone had that wild-beast-master aura, that unyielding pride, you know? They really did carry the game and all.”
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Yeah, Joker is one, the sweet-potato-yushi thing is a national rule, lol lol
- SilverPantheos: Boss… isn’t that just bragging, lol lol lol
The viewers quickly sympathized with my story and helped me calm down.
I kept staring at the lengthening queue time and continued speaking.
I wanted to ease the tension right before my dream of becoming a pro gamer.
“Of course, looking back now, it probably was just bragging. At the time, they really were landing a lot of kills objectively. Anyway, I couldn’t carry like them, so I didn’t think I had any talent. Then, once I started grinding games nonstop, I started looking up other information. I just followed the paths others had already paved… and before I knew it, I was sitting at the Grandmaster tier. That’s why I’m saying this—everything is fresh in my mind.”
- SilverPantheos: Boss, you sounded so moved… you usually don’t talk this long…
- Rek-sia-yeo-wang-nim: Nah, you did talk long last time too.
- Jol-yeo-juk-ket-ne: When?
- Rek-sia-yeo-wang-nim: Why do you have to keep going mid even though you only have top champs?
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Yeah, especially when top is the most important, you have to push sides to hand the turn to your team and waste the enemy’s turn, that’s the basic lesson.
- Jol-yeo-juk-ket-ne: Ah, that lol lol lol
- Top-sin-byeong-ja-gim-man-deok: I didn’t get it before, but now that I’ve tried it, it really is effective, yeah.
- Jol-yeo-juk-ket-ne: How was it?
- Top-sin-byeong-ja-gim-man-deok: After I dropped to Tier 2, the junglers started coming to my lane a lot, so it was good.
- Tti-hwak-jjit: This guy’s a total thrower, so he needs to be sit-ted down, lol lol lol
- GSOC: Anyway, it’s effective, lol lol lol
The viewers’ jokes lightened the tension a little.
The score drop felt a bit my fault, but I was sorry anyway.
It wasn’t my fault to begin with, and besides, I might even get thanks for it someday.
For now, it would look like I dropped the score.
But if I kept playing that way, I would improve, realize why I moved like that, and my skill would grow.
Long-term, I believed that skill would get me to an even higher score.
“Um, you’ll probably understand just by playing. Anyway, that’s why I got to dream of being a pro… and it’s all because of you guys, so I’ll always be grateful.”
- SilverPantheos: Why are you suddenly so warm and fuzzy lol
- Tti-hwak-jjit: He’s the one who died and raised himself up, then suddenly says it’s our fault.
- AlanDaviri: Always thank you.
- Sigma5268: It’s just empty words, why are you getting so shy?
“No, I really mean it. You might think it doesn’t matter, but I think of it as the butterfly effect. Jae-min… no, I mean Celesty… if I hadn’t met my friend, hadn’t made that one apology… any one of those things not happening would mean I wouldn’t have the one-on-one event match at the pop-store with that pro gamer, and I wouldn’t have gotten that pro offer either. So, don’t you think you guys are at least ten percent of the credit?”
- SilverPantheos: That’s way too little lol lol
- BpdP: Compared to that, it’s like giving generous change, yeah.
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Just like we can’t buy a 300 gold item without 300 gold, if we didn’t exist, Nong-eo wouldn’t exist now either.
- Mu-eos-i-pi-reul-bu-lge: It’s all because of us lol lol
Both the warm chats and the shameless viewers claiming their own share felt good.
After all, everyone was listening to my sincerity and being kind about it.
That was enough for me to feel happy.
After waiting nine minutes, now ten, the ranked game finally matched.
After a short loading, the ban-pick screen slid up smoothly.
But, of all times, here we were.
With only one win left to reach Grandmaster.
My lane had twisted.
My main lane was, of course, top.
Sub lane was jungle, the most influential role in the top lane.
Yet I had matched into a mid laner with almost no experience.
- SilverPantheos: Whoa, Boss, mid is okay?
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Does Nong-eo have mid records? He tried Irelia, but that’s not top Irelia?
- TotallyAccurate: It is top Irelia, yeah, I got one-shot by Nong-eo.
- TotallyAccurate: Because in ranked he never picked Irelia and he got destroyed, I thought it was a smurf.
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Where did you meet?
- TotallyAccurate: Probably in DA2.
- Rek-sia-yeo-wang-nim: But Nong-eo’s champ pool is all top champs, how’s mid okay? He doesn’t even know how to play mages.
Even the viewers were worried while searching my records.
I felt a little nervous about the twisted match myself.
Still, since it was already matched, I had to communicate with my teammates.
Hope was not gone yet.
[Team] Noel : Top-nim, could you switch lanes? I’m a top user.
[Team] Noel : Can I top?
[Team] Du-mu-ri-neuk-da-wol : Jjseu
[Team] Noel : Gae-chim
But the request to switch lanes was mercilessly denied.
Of course, the higher the tier, the more self-confidence they had.
Unless the opponent was a pro gamer, there were few who would willingly give up a lane.
Moreover, everyone naturally matched themselves to the lane they were confident in.
Those who could give up their comfort lane were rare.
If I had to complain, I should blame the League of Champions game company for pairing me wrong like this.
Rumors said that if you won a certain streak, they would force a loss, but I had to treat the rumor as just a rumor.
Still, after experiencing it, I felt a strange satisfaction, wondering if maybe that was true after all.
So, should I just dodge?
Should I quit the game now and accept the penalty for dropped score and unmatched queues?
I didn’t want to.
If I quit, my one step closer to Grandmaster would be even farther.
I would have to win two more games even if I lost.
Accepting the dodge penalty would still require two more wins.
That meant a serious internal conflict here.
Should I bet all four teammates’ scores?
Or, just like that, would I endure the penalty while cursing the League of Champions company and protecting their scores?
- SilverPantheos: Uu… if the time is going to be that long, at least don’t dodge the lane… I don’t get why they keep asking to switch lanes.
- Tti-hwak-jjit: Yeah, I can wait for a long queue, so dodging the lane would be better if they checked for me.
- Reseinus : If that’s the case, why even make the lane-agnostic option lol lol
- Larvella : What’s Nong-eo going to do… if it’s a sure loss, does that mean he has to win two more for Grandmaster? Or three?
- Tti-hwak-jjit : There’s already a score, so two, but if I lose again it becomes four.
- Tteok-sun-tue : The swing is brutal.
Normally, we would just accept the penalty alone to avoid making enemies.
Some people who used Death Notes to remember those who ruined the game and then exact revenge on sight in the next encounter.
But my dream of becoming a pro gamer was right in front of me.
How could I give up?
I, too, was desperate for victory.
While I was thinking, the bans on both teams were over.
They had banned the overpowered champs for this version and the ones that were annoying to counter.
And right from the opponent’s first pick came out Napi.
The moment I saw it, a portrait of a champion that quietly waited for my call appeared in my vision.
It wasn’t the strongest, but the steadfast warrior who kept rising even after getting impaled to the ground multiple times.
But was that the appearance of a loser?
Because he was not strong enough to kill the ruthless demon, he was betrayed by the divine being he trusted, his body stolen.
Because of that power limit, or perhaps because the demon was too strong, the star constellation that stole his body was killed.
There was a prophecy that he rose with the anger of betrayal and the revenge against the demon who killed his comrades.
Also, if the demon still lived, his family and comrades would be constantly threatened, so he rose with the duty to fight, holding his shield and spear that were crushed.
When I was male, I could only feel drawn to that indomitable will, and the champion was attractive.
But now, looking at the situation, I understood the warrior’s heart bone-deep.
He thought the star constellation who protected them was trustworthy, but he was betrayed.
Yet he could not let go of what was precious, the foolish warrior.
Pantheon.
Although it might not be the best matchup against the assassin-type Napi picked by the opponent team.
Immediately searching for Napi’s counter showed that Pantheon was definitely not it.
Objectively, Napi had a slight edge.
Still.
I ran a quick simulation of the lane wave structure in my head.
Before my turn, I carefully examined the structure of both teams.
A reasonable plan came out.
Mid lane was not like top lane, where you just pressure the line to win.
[We will be reborn in war!]
So, I swapped the support and pick order and immediately picked Pantheon.
[Team] Sa-jok-bo-haeng-chik-in : Yeah? Napi against that, is it a sure loss?
[Team] Noel : Yeah, you’re not going AP jungle, right?
[Team] Yong-am-ge : Yeah.
[Team] Noel : There’s a ban order, so they’ll assume it’s support Pantheon, so take advantage of this.
[Team] Noel : Mid is doable.
[Team] Sa-jok-bo-haeng-chik-in : Aha… okay.
Since Pantheon could also be played as support, the teammates seemed to understand the strategic value.
But the viewers were sending quite deep worry.
- SilverPantheos : Whoa, it’s moving… Nong-eo is going to Grandmaster with Pantheon!
- Tti-hwak-jjit : Haha, but isn’t that a sure win?
- E-xel-lia : Oh, Nong-eo doesn’t even know mid structures… he’s going to end up a sure loss with a bread-te…
- Rek-sia-yeo-wang-nim : But Napi can still be dealt with, right?
- MidOrAfk : If you can’t, then you can still deal with it, but Magma Napi? No way, lol lol
“It’s okay, it’ll be fine. My teammates will do well. I’ll try carrying the bus once too.”
- Tti-hwak-jjit : Haha, were you planning to throw the crown to your teammates after roaming?
- SmallDer : If that’s the case, it’s a decent pick, lol lol I thought Nong-eo was going to be a menace even in mid.
I said it lightly, and the viewers quickly agreed with my words.
But that didn’t mean I was actually going to carry the bus.
I wasn’t going to quit the game; I was just thinking about winning.