The Unfairness of the World

The project, Climb to Glory, was the story of my journey to become a professional gamer.

The videos mainly focused on my growth as a trainee.

For SnowWitch, it was a way to promote the team's coaching capabilities, while for me, it was an opportunity to build public recognition early on.

To keep it realistic, the production crew avoided ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any artificial intervention.

In other words, this project didn't change my daily routine much.

Honestly, there's no grand secret to becoming a pro gamer.

It's an industry where if you simply get good at the game, opportunities will find you one way or another.

The only way to improve is through standard, old-fashioned effort and study.

I still received coaching from Hero, practiced on my own, and queued up for solo rank to raise my points.

If there was anything unusual, it was that my first scrim was scheduled in two days.

It seemed I would be participating in a practice match against the current academy team.

In any case, just because filming had started didn't mean anything particularly special had begun.

The most noticeable change was that Na Jia would occasionally drop by as an interviewer.

This time, the production crew showed up early to film my morning workout.

"Do you work out every morning?"

"Yes... *pant*. Almost every day, *whew*... I do."

"Is it for stamina? Or self-care?"

"A bit of both, I suppose. But stamina is definitely the main reason. And... Infinity Realm is a game where you use your body, after all."

Today, for the first time in a while, I went to a park instead of the gym.

The gym wasn't small, but I didn't want to be a nuisance to the other members.

It felt a bit much to drag a whole camera crew in there.

Actually, I'm sure they would have given us permission if we had asked formally.

But thinking about the future, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

The viewers watching the broadcast were one thing, but the gym members were just ordinary people.

Naturally, many of them wouldn't care about esports.

Even if my face became somewhat known through the broadcast, it wasn't like everyone would suddenly recognize me.

But the moment a camera appeared in front of them, the story changed.

It's human nature to get curious when you see filming in progress.

And my body already drew enough attention as it was.

I would still have to go to the gym after the filming was over, and I didn't want to attract unnecessary attention.

Besides, it never hurt to be careful.

I heard a fan had once found out which gym Na Jia went to and showed up there.

Just imagining it made me shudder.

"How are the results? Has your stamina improved compared to before?"

"Yes... *pant*. At first, even running two laps was hard. *Whew*, but now... I can manage five."

By the time I sat down on a bench to catch my breath, Na Jia's questions started up again.

"The first episode went up yesterday evening. Did you know?"

"Ah... I heard."

"Did you watch the video yourself? The reaction was pretty hot."

"I-I did watch it. But I was, um, just so nervous..."

"Why? That's your charm, Nabi."

"Thank you...?"

Strictly speaking, this project wasn't a live broadcast.

Since it was uploaded as videos on the team's official channel, there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a significant gap between the filming date and the release date.

From my perspective, filming had been going on for a while, but yesterday was my first official meeting with the viewers.

According to Na Jia, the reception was quite good.

I had checked the video itself, but I hadn't looked at the community reactions yet.

It wasn't that I wasn't interested; I just didn't have the time.

With my routine, I focused solely on gaming from the moment dinner ended until I went to bed.

I had only squeezed in a few minutes to watch the video right before falling asleep.

Well, even if that weren't the case, I was trying to minimize my time on community forums as much as possible anyway.

Compared to other fields, esports is particularly prone to controversies surrounding pro gamers' personalities.

Unlike traditional ball sports like soccer, basketball, or baseball, pros and ordinary players frequently mix in the same games.

The fact that many start gaming as a hobby also plays a part.

Once you become a pro, even your past comments are dug up and scrutinized.

The number of times comments on forums or social media have caused issues is countless!

It was an era where you had to watch every single word in chat if you wanted to stand before the public.

But I was someone incapable of normal social interaction.

I didn't know what level of speech was appropriate, and I might lose my self-control under sudden attention.

Roaming around online communities in this state felt like begging to become a ticking time bomb.

But... I actually want to get close to people too.

It wasn't that I wouldn't socialize; I couldn't.

The internet, where face-to-face contact wasn't required.

The mask of anonymity that allowed me to write freely satisfied my needs all too perfectly.

So perfectly that it would undoubtedly intoxicate me.

For long-term goals, one had to exercise some restraint over short-term desires.

Many pro gamers had already proven through their own examples that there are no absolute secrets in this world.

The conclusion I reached after much deliberation was to avoid all online communities entirely.

When in doubt, it was best to eliminate the very possibility of trouble.

I used to visit forums just to show off my daily snacks, but now I didn't even log in for that.

Thus, I had no idea just how "hot" the reaction Na Jia mentioned actually was.

As soon as my workout ended, I started solo queue.

The moment a match was found and I entered the lobby, the atmosphere felt strange.

The chat in this bracket was usually tense by default, but it felt strangely lively.

It wasn't that teammates had never recognized me before.

Anyone who climbed to this bracket was bound to be a core Infinity Realm player, and naturally, they were sensitive to any news.

Once a name became a hot topic on the forums, people were bound to hear about it.

But hearing a nickname didn't mean they actually cared.

In high-tier games, the value of a single point was even greater.

It was an environment where the more deeply invested a player was, the more sensitive they became.

In a bracket where famous streamers and pro gamers occasionally appeared, meeting someone like me wasn't that big of a deal.

So, normally, I could play in relative peace.

At least, that used to be the case.

Apparently, that was no longer the case.

People didn't care in the slightest why my username was "DoNotTalkToMe."