Just Talk to Us, Please

I, who should have been counted as out of the battle, had taken down the enemy marksman.

The fragile balance that had barely been holding together shattered in an instant.

Since the enemy team didn't have a composition capable of pulling off a miracle comeback, it smoothly transitioned into a victory.

And just like that, another victory was secured today.

I had successfully finished my very first game on stream.

The thought that I had actually accomplished something brought a natural smile to my face.

Now that the game was over, it was time to check the chat again.

But... did I really have to?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I couldn't look at the chat during the game because I had to focus on the battle.

In that case, if I just kept playing games, wouldn't that mean I wouldn't have to look at the chat at all?

That actually made sense.

I was convincing myself.

Besides, the viewers probably weren't that curious about what I had to say anyway.

I would only stutter frustratingly, and if my spirit broke, it would only drain the focus I needed for the game.

In that case, it would be better for everyone if I just poured all my energy into playing.

“Um. For now, I'll play a few more games. It's just... checking the chat breaks my concentration too much. I'll focus on the games first, and we can... talk a bit next time.”

Great.

I successfully got the message across.

Even though I couldn't see the chat, they could hear me.

A wave of pride washed over me at having reached a successful compromise!

I felt a deep sense of accomplishment and self-growth.

Now that I had their consent, it was time to get back to the game.

Once a decision was made, action had to be swift.

My hand clicked the start button.

After the eventful stream ended.

Naturally, Yu Nabi received a harsh scolding from Hero.

Having a guilty conscience herself, she listened to the nagging without a word of complaint.

Abruptly shutting down the stream, completely forgetting she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was live halfway through...

For any normal streamer, each of these would have been an unimaginable disaster.

Fortunately, Hero found solace in the fact that the stream itself had been a success.

They settled the matter by agreeing she would stream about once a week.

Thus, alongside scrims, personal streaming was woven into Yu Nabi's daily routine.

Meanwhile, in the latter half of the Spring League...

Lee Seul-bi had completely conquered the league.

The gap, which had shown no signs of narrowing, had widened even further.

Her dominance, once confined to the bruiser class, was now a thing of the past.

She had reached a point where she outclassed everyone in every single aspect.

It wasn't that the other players weren't trying.

It wasn't that they lacked desperation or failed to improve.

It was simply that their competitiveness had waned in the face of rookies who grew stronger by the day.

Above all, the timing was terrible.

At this critical juncture, with the battle for league standings heating up, SnowWitch had no time to wait.

This was especially true now that the internal scrims had been leaked through Yu Nabi.

Objectively speaking, the current SnowWitch academy team was quite good.

Since the team had a short history, they had initially fielded players who could perform immediately, but things were different now.

It was time for the trainees, recruited for their growth potential, to finally blossom.

Lee Seul-bi's debut and Yu Nabi's rapid growth had merely accelerated the process.

The tide of generational change had been approaching for a long time.

It was simply that the inevitable future had arrived much sooner than expected.

And now... even Hero could no longer delay Yu Nabi's call-up.

Yu Nabi absorbed Hero's coaching like a sponge.

She was a blank canvas, perfectly optimized for learning.

She possessed an incredibly strong will, backed by solid talent.

It would have been stranger if her skills hadn't improved... but the problem was that her growth rate was simply too fast.

During the last scrim of the month.

Ahead of the scheduled time, Coach Choi of the challengers team was racking his brain.

“Is there any need to put trainee Yu Nabi in today's scrim?”

“Well, it is a final check, so shouldn't we at least let her play?”

“I think it'll only contaminate the data. Her weight class is completely different from the others right now. It's not like a loss today would change the decision anyway.”

“We can't just exclude her entirely... How about we ban Berserker and then put her in?”

Scrims were not meant for just one player.

All participating players sought to improve their skills, and the team gathered data.

Matchups between classes.

Performance in the current ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patch version.

Strengths and weaknesses of newly devised strategies.

The accumulation of this data was directly linked to the team's performance.

Since they couldn't share precious information with other teams, they had no choice but to compile it themselves by reviewing matches, whether they were external or internal scrims.

However, Yu Nabi's recent performance had been far too dominant.

No matter how the teams were divided, the side with Yu Nabi achieved an overwhelmingly high win rate.

Because the matches became so unbalanced, the data was no longer reliable.

Scrims at the trainee level had practically become meaningless for her.

“Since today's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠schedule is already set, we have no choice. But starting next time, please make sure to exclude 'Player' Yu Nabi from the trainee scrims. Honestly, it's getting difficult.”

“Yes. Actually, Coach Seo said she would talk to the management about it today.”

“Understood. Then for today, let's adjust the plan slightly...”

Coach Choi looked at Yu Nabi as she entered the waiting room.

At first, he had resented that innocent face of hers.

She had walked in looking completely clueless, only to push out the players he had grown attached to.

But how could he not know?

It wasn't because Yu Nabi was a bad person that she pushed those players out, nor was it even her own intention.

She had competed fairly, relying solely on her skill.

It was wrong for a coach to harbor a grudge against an innocent trainee.

Moreover, Hero had recently given the existing players their chances.

Now, Coach Choi needed to look at Yu Nabi objectively.

And looking at her that way, she was someone he couldn't possibly hate.

She was a trainee who foolishly did nothing but play games.

She worked herself to the bone to complete any assigned task and spent all her remaining time practicing.

It made him wonder if she even had a life outside of gaming.

Effort never guarantees a reward.

But because people still put in the effort knowing that, it made him want to cheer for a good outcome.

Thus, Coach Choi had now become the most active advocate for Yu Nabi's call-up.

In the end, his argument was accepted.

Hero still seemed to have many worries, but it would be fine.