Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Epilogue
The massive stadium in Paris, France, packed with countless spectators.
Cheering and wailing at every single movement of the game characters.
Some people nitpick, saying, "Why get so overly immersed in a mere game?" But honestly, if soccer or basketball vanished, the world wouldn't end, right?
In the end, that kind of over-immersion in play is just human nature. Being able to move so many people like this is truly amazing.
Seol-a, who was there in the finals stadium that day, thought to herself.
And she thought a little deeper.
I'm really good at this game too. I could compete up there as well.
But just the idea of joining a team terrified her.
Even talking to people scared her.
She hated having to face a new environment.
The harsh reality that female pros were extremely rare, and all the extra problems that would come with it.
There were all sorts of reasons to run away.
So her compromise had been streaming.
She could soak up praise from tons of people.
No teammates to deal with.
She could do whatever she wanted.
But in reality, it wasn't like that at all.
Streaming couldn't be done completely alone.
There were more and more people she had to worry about.
Dealing with strangers was unavoidable either way.
People on the other side of the monitor were still people.
She got hit with plenty of criticism and hate too.
In the end, living meant mustering the courage to face others.
There was no paradise in the places you fled to.
Unless she was filming a survival show on a deserted island, she'd have to face people's stares eventually.
And among all those realizations—perhaps hitting her even harder deep in her heart—
Lee Jun, pushing toward victory, looked like he was genuinely enjoying it.
It made her heart pound.
And on the flip side, she saw Woo-seung sobbing in defeat, which tore at her too.
"Having quite a bit of fun, huh? Pro."
"Of course it's fun."
"A blemish on your perfect career?"
"Losing makes it more fun. What's the point if you just win perfectly every time?"
"So you're saying Team Proud—who didn't get help from Seol-a—is trash?"
"I never said that. Does it sting?"
Thank goodness, Woo-seung didn't resent Seol-a.
Lee Jun didn't either.
"Hyung worked hard, that's why you won."
"Nah. It's 'cause I nailed the key points. He admitted it too, right?"
"Yeah, thanks. Thank you."
"Or maybe you'd have won even without my help."
"Admit what you gotta admit?"
"If you wanna prove it that bad, come to the arena!"
So she decided to do it.
Go pro.
Lots of teams were after Seol-a, but she signed with Mist Air—the team she'd synced up with while practicing in Europe.
Being a mid-to-lower-tier team? Perfect, actually.
Seol-a, with her slight case of hero syndrome, wanted to turn a weak team into a powerhouse to prove herself.
📰 Breaking News [Regarding the Retirement from Streaming...] Leaving behind even a formal streaming retirement notice, Seol-a set off firmly down the pro path!
💬 Comments — Fan We'll support you! Always be happy! — Loyal Viewer In the end, we're being thrown away like this... — Desperate Fan Now who's gonna stream for us... The next week.
"No, I talked it over with the team, and they said staying connected with fans is important too."
Due to the nature of e-sports, short personal streams were actually a plus.
She couldn't broadcast as often as before, but she could still chat with fans occasionally through personal streams.
And two months later, the Spring Season.
—"The season switch brought a massive shake-up to Arena, right? Team Proud's Worlds performance—especially Wild's one-man show—was insane! Infinity Games finally unsheathed the banhammer. That hyper-carry funnel comp, the so-called 'prince combo,' got utterly butchered!"
—"With teamwork mattering way more than before, we'll see how well the pro teams prepared."
—"And the debut everyone's been hyped for: the mega-rookie joining Mist Air! Legender!"
—"Chat's exploding! Weather's still winter, but it's summer in here!"
💬 Chat — HypeViewer Wow, is that face for real? — AntiHater All those cam-boost haters, go dunk your noses in the Han River and die lololol ⭐ Top Comment — SuperFan I love you, Jeon Jeonseol! — EnvyLord Beauty, skills, wealth—she's got it all. Just kill me already! — TrollKing Even Legendary has a weakness: she's short. — CuteSimp Short is better tho? Super cute. No such thing as purely good times.
No such thing as purely happy people.
So then, might as well do what you want.
Seol-a had seen a friend who never broke, no matter how many losses.
A friend who loved her work and had a blast doing it.
And countless people cheering them on.
She wanted to join them there.
And deep down, she always thought:
Among the three of us, I'm still the best, right?
Then she'd just have to prove it.
No other way but to prove it.