Project Shining Star (4)
'...What the hell is this girl?'
She looked like an innocent, pretty girl with massive breasts at first glance, but the first words out of her mouth left everyone stunned.
It was a blanket diss on every participant who'd gone before her in the open audition.
The crowd and chat exploded, of course, and the emcee—who'd prompted her intro—was even more flustered, rolling his eyes around as he desperately tried to smooth things over.
"Ah, ahahaha... S-so, what Kim Seona means is that she's that confident in her skills—"
"Yeah, that's true too. But honestly, everyone before was just so bad. Like, are they even pros?"
"......"
"—I was almost gonna say! Hehe."
"N-next participant, your intro... Ah, this is the last one... Uh? Yes, we'll, uh, cut to ads! Ads, yes."
The emcee finally gave up on the spin and hurriedly moved on.
Kim Seona (18)
Physical: B
Mental: C
Judgment: E
Competitive Spirit: D
Teamwork: D
* A player brimming with confidence. So much so that she often doesn't know her place.
* Her form swings wildly depending on the situation. The trickiest type to handle as a pro.
'Physical B?'
Among all the auditionees so far, she had the overwhelming top score in physical stats.
After watching thousands over more than ten days, Yuseong knew E and D, or D and C weren't just a single letter apart—the gap was massive.
Even within the same rank, skill levels varied hugely; different ranks made fights impossible.
Considering how elite Cha Yuna and Shin Sera's C-rank control and reactions were, what did a B-rank physical like Kim Seona's even mean?
And her mental wasn't bad either—everything looked solid... except judgment.
'In one word: brainless.'
Her bold words and the stats confirmed it. Yuseong was dying to see her control firsthand—and just how brainless she really was.
Shadow Dagger (Q): Throws a dagger dealing damage and slow to the target. Basic attack enhancements, item effects, and ultimate effects apply.
Shadow Strike (W): Teleports to a target enemy or ally. If enemy, attack speed surges briefly.
Evasion Master (E): Passive. Greatly increases basic attack dodge rate. Undetectable on minimap when no nearby enemies.
Deathblow (R): Passive. 15% chance for devastating critical on basics and Shadow Dagger.
Kim Seona picked Shadow Assassin. Its passive ultimate could crit for over 4x—insane burst, making it the top "one-trick" champ, but dismissed as high-risk due to its demands.
Most players saw it as a late-game carry that ate hits early. Truth was different.
With a long-range poke/farm skill, it actually dominated lanes and packed early fight power.
As expected, picking the "weak early" Shadow Assassin for mid drew mockery. Yuseong knew its post-rediscovery strength; otherwise, he'd have laughed too.
Five minutes in...
Kim Seona was absolutely demolishing the enemy mid. Her ranged poke seemed counterpicked by the mage, but the chip damage was no joke.
"Why are you losing lane to a mid Shadow Assassin? Win your lane."
"This is weird. Lane's too strong? Come gank. She's too good."
The enemy mid panicked at the unexpected pressure and called for ganks.
Soon, two enemy supports vanished from map. Their path to mid was obvious.
But Kim Seona didn't back off—instead, she kept pressuring aggressively.
Even with her team's MIA call.
'What is she doing? No minimap? Enemy supports gone, MIA called—back off! Why fight past center?'
Stats didn't lie: she ignored the obvious gank, and it hit.
"Argh, what! When'd they get here?!"
'Tsk tsk, that's a free death... Huh?'
Yuseong, clicking his tongue inwardly, was shocked by her next move. Amateurs usually flee ganks and die anyway.
But she didn't run—instead, she charged.
"Wh-what?!"
The enemy mid, sure she'd die, freaked as she dove.
"Die! Die! Take me with you!"
"D-deal with this psycho!"
The mid backed up, but slowed by Q, escape was impossible.
Ultimate crit exploded—slash!—wiping a third of his health. Mid down.
"You little... "
"Haha! Gotcha! Gah! Ow! Help! Ugh, ack, eek!"
High on the reverse kill, Seona ate ganks, tower shots, and screamed as she melted.
Chat debated if her play was genius or trash.
Superplay, sure—but exposing to obvious gank was the issue.
Yet in a total loss spot, she near-zeroed the trade.
'Can't judge yet. Need more.'
But her game was superplays looped with throws. 1v1, she crushed; ganks, she fed easy.
Even viewers begged her to use her brain.
Tons of kills, tons of deaths.
Yuseong stopped judging mid-game. Flaws clear; question was her peaks' limits. These foes couldn't test her physical properly.
"Manager, a favor."
"Yes?"
"After this, 1v1 Kim Seona privately with me."
"With you? That good?"
"Game doesn't show enough. I'll test her myself."
"Public then? Rank 1 coach draw? Lines to watch."
"Uh... Broadcast favoritism drama. Private better."
"Right. I'll contact her post-game."
"No, I'll message."
Seona's super/throw loop won her team the game.
"Good game!"
"Whew, barely. Thought we lost when you died."
"Hehe, sorry. Win's a win."
She chatted with teammates, prepping to quit.
"Ugh, exhausting. Gotta brag to Mom."
Seona, about to close, checked and replied.
A few seconds later.
Temporary admin rights granted.
Realizing it was legit solo rank 1, Seona mumbled awkwardly.
Five minutes later, in a private game, Seona went full fangirl.
"Whoa! You're rank 1! Younger than I thought? Same age? Main champ? How to mid good? Why coach not pro?
Shining Star means coaching from you? Epic! Did I pass audition? Here to tell me? Right? Squeee! Mom, I'm pro!"
"Hey, not passed yet. Called to check something."
Her excitement deflated, lips pouting.
"Check what?"
"1v1 me. One game."
"Huh?"
"One game."
"Huuuh? Why sudden? Did I mess up? Makeup test?"
"Audition game—opponents too easy for you. Especially mid."
"Oh, that? Yeah, they sucked so bad... Gasp!"
Ignoring her hand over mouth, I continued.
"Obvious from start—lane mismatch. Flaws glaring, but peaks untested—"
"What? I got no flaws!!"
"...You serious?"
"Yes!"
...Overconfidence or brain damage?
In 5v5 she'd learn flaws hard, but later.
"Anyway, audition didn't gauge your level. Testing myself. Think elite candidate exam, not makeup."
"Whoa! Mid vs Yuseong? Win and I'm basically rank 1?!"
"...Sure."
Mental nuts too.
"Start now. Champ your pick."
"Yesss!"
Hyped, she repicked Shadow Assassin. I took main Elementalist, both to mid.
She chipped with poke like audition, whittling my health.
I ice-treed, regen-chilled CS.
'Amateur lane god. Could hang with men's div 3.'
Efficient, pressures smart. Huge for raw amateur.
But flaws shone: impatient at my sustain, she dove bad angles.
Such trades? No chance. Two skills, element swap, third combo—boom.
"Wha-what?! Gah! Urk!"
First solo. She returned, dove again soon.
"I win this time!"
Nope.
Post-solo, no support, retrying 1v1? Greed.
She flung wildly—easier solo.
"Gyaah!"
Two solos. Still dove for third, fourth.
I paused.
"Why? I can go more."
"Why dive after first solo?"
"Keep fighting, they mess up and die maybe."
"......"
Talking more might rot my brain.
Test done, I ended match.
"Aww! No kills yet!"
"Didn't 1v1 to feed kills. Test over—go."
"Did I pass?!"
"Check later."
"Hmph! Tells nothing! Brat! Bye!"
She stuck tongue out, quit.
I returned to judges, watched rest.
No more talents post-Seona. Audition ended.
"Phew... Finally. So much time..."
Manager stretched.
"Find team material?"
"Yes. Rough, but potentials here. List."
I handed five profiles.
, , , ,
Manager nodded.
"Got it. Contacting them. Thanks for audition, Coach."
"You too, Manager."
Thus, the women's academy team Shining Star was born.