The Autograph
It is rare for people to recognize a pro gamer on the street.
After all, few people look closely at the faces of passersby, and even if they do, they usually assume it's just a lookalike.
Unless someone is famous enough to have their face burned into the public consciousness, most people just brush it off with a passing thought: I think I've seen that person somewhere before...
Esports had grown significantly compared to the past, and the market size had become massive.
But no matter the culture, it was impossible to be loved by every age group and social class.
Even now, pro gamers who enjoyed nationwide popularity were a tiny minority.
Let alone a pro gamer like me, who was still just a tier-two player.
It was only natural that no one would recognize me just from walking down the street.
...Or so I thought.
This area was near the SnowWitch headquarters.
Just as it was easy to spot celebrities near broadcasting stations, this neighborhood was a place where it was easy to spot pro gamers.
Having stepped out briefly to buy some snacks, I was suddenly faced with an unexpected encounter.
"Excuse me, are you Yu Nabi? I'm a huge fan. Could I please get your autograph?"
"Y-yes? Um... I-I am, but... Uh... A-an autograph? I don't have any paper..."
"I have some! Just a second, let me grab a pen too."
"Okay... I'll do it."
It was a major event that I had imagined at least once, but never actually expected to happen!
A fan was actually asking me for an autograph.
Oh my goodness. Something like this was really happening to me.
Although meeting a stranger was terrifying, the excitement outweighed the fear just a little.
Isn't this a scenario that every pro gamer has fantasized about and gotten ahead of themselves over?
I was no exception, and my heart fluttered.
At least, until I realized one crucial problem.
My fluttering heart suddenly began to pound violently, signaling an emergency.
Wait. I... I don't have an autograph design. What do I do?
When you thought about it, it made sense.
How could I have practiced when I never expected to sign anything?
Since I had never even imagined it, I naturally didn't have a signature ready.
My mind raced in panic.
In the brief moments it took for the man to pull out paper and a pen from his bag, my brain maintained a level of hyper-focus that rivaled an intense in-game battle.
Just scribbling my three-letter name was out of the question.
Having been an avid fan myself, I knew exactly what a pro gamer's autograph meant.
To the person giving it, it might just be a brief moment of fan service, but to the receiver, it becomes a symbolic keepsake to remember that moment forever.
And for someone like me—who had felt the approach of death—a player's autograph was something money couldn't buy, a bucket-list item.
"Here you go."
"Okay..."
I hadn't made one before because it felt like I was getting ahead of myself.
The moment I got back to the gaming house, I was going to design a proper signature.
I couldn't keep winging it like this.
But... if my first autograph was different from the ones I did later, would this person be disappointed?
On the flip side, to avoid disappointing them, should I keep using whatever I came up with now for the rest of my career?
I didn't know. This was a much harder problem than I thought.
For now, I started by writing the four letters of my nickname.
I wrote "Nabi" in the center and drew butterfly wings on both sides.
Fortunately, my drawing skills weren't too bad.
Drawing was one of the talents I had discovered when I was young.
Even though I hadn't pursued it deeply, I could at least draw a few pretty lines.
I drew it large so there wouldn't be too much empty space.
My favorite butterflies were those of the Morpho genus.
I switched the multi-color pen to blue and added some texture to the wings.
It took some time, but the result was a pretty decent drawing.
"Please tell me... your name."
Now that it was done, I felt quite proud.
I wrote his name in the bottom right corner and added a message of thanks.
Since I put so much effort into this one, he probably wouldn't be disappointed even if my signature changed later.
My heart fluttered as I handed the autograph back to the fan.
Since it was my very first autograph, I hoped the person keeping it would cherish it.
With that sentiment in mind, I swallowed my embarrassment and spoke.
"Um... since it's my first one. Please cherish it."
For some reason, my fan looked incredibly flustered.
Was it because he didn't know it was my first autograph?
Seeing him nod his head vigorously, it seemed my guess was right.
It was a satisfying day in many ways.
Today, I grew once again.
Even after our match ended, the playoffs continued.
In truth, our team's match couldn't really be called an upset.
Although my Grim Reaper had turned ranked games upside down for a while and even received a patch, that was outside the tournament.
Looking strictly at the tournament, our team was the undisputed top dog.
Thus, the real upsets began in the other matches.
The slump of Team Aegis, a powerhouse that had finished second in the regular season.
Conversely, the blooming performance of the fourth-place team, Galaxy Gaming, threw the playoffs into chaos.
The second round of the playoffs, which we played under immense tension.
The match against Team Aegis wasn't much different from our game against Wild Spirits.
Not once did we find ourselves at a disadvantage.
Our team held the upper hand from start to finish, securing a clean 3-0 victory without a single crisis.
Since I had expected a difficult match, it felt almost anticlimactic.
If there was any consolation, it was that we avoided exposing our strategies.
Because there were no particularly dangerous moments, we didn't need to try anything out of the ordinary.
Pulling out the Grim Reaper and ranged DPS composition was enough to keep the opponent off balance.
It would have been nice if the conclusion was simply that we had gotten stronger, but...
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Just like our team, our next opponent, Galaxy Gaming, had advanced with a 3-0 score against Team Aegis.
As the commentators said, their performance left nothing to be desired.
Then again, there was no way any team surviving to this point would be weak.
While Team Aegis was a highly defensive team, Galaxy Gaming was well-balanced overall.
A balanced stat distribution meant they had a wide variety of options to choose from.
They could opt for any strategy and easily adapt to whatever we threw at them.
Until now, their lower raw power had held them back, but if they had overcome that issue as well, only a formidable opponent remained.
We call a player or team with a massive, perfectly balanced hexagon of stats a "complete package."
Half-baked tricks probably wouldn't work against them.
If we didn't prepare properly in every single aspect, we would be the ones eliminated this time.