An Unexpected Price Tag
Things were not going well. At all.
I had told Hanul I needed a little time to think before giving him an answer.
It seemed the official announcement for the event would go up tomorrow evening.
If I declined, he would have to find someone else, so I needed to make up my mind as quickly as possible.
Fretting over it alone in times like this never helped.
I didn't know what the right answer was, and my crippling social anxiety would only keep urging me to run away.
Fortunately, I knew one person who could give me a clear answer.
Look at you, Yu Nabi, actually asking someone else for help.
My own personal growth was starting to get scary.
"So, you got invited to an event tournament? The one with all the streamers?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that a great opportunity? I don't see what the problem is."
Apparently, my "growth" was in an area that normal people didn't even have to think twice about.
She was a trainee for the prestigious team Blue Serpent, scheduled to debut in their secondary roster.
Lee Seul-bi continued, sounding genuinely baffled.
Her tone over the voice chat stung a little.
She really had no idea why I was agonizing over this.
"There's no downside to an aspiring pro gamer getting popular. It's not like you're getting famous for some bad drama."
"It's just... I'm worried I'll ruin the tournament. If I think about all the pe-people watching... I know I'll freeze up."
"Hmm. Well, you were really shy when we first met, too."
Ever since our first meeting at my mother's office, Seul-bi and I had kept in touch.
To be precise, it was Seul-bi who constantly reached out to me.
I rarely initiated conversations, but I wasn't the type of person who could just ignore someone else either.
To Seul-bi, that apparently made me look like a good, quiet listener.
Our polar-opposite personalities had somehow clicked in a strange way.
Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming for me at times.
But it was fine because she gave me enough useful advice to make it worth the effort.
Like right now, taking my worries seriously and listening to me.
Maybe we've actually become friends?
I had never had a friend before, so I couldn't say for sure.
"I've been thinking, though. If you do mess up, wouldn't that actually be a relief in a way?"
"W-what? A relief?"
"It's an internet broadcast. Sure, winning matters, but entertainment value is more important to the viewers. Depending on how things go, you can laugh it off. Besides, Hanul has a good reputation. I'm sure he'll do his best to cover for you."
"But I still shouldn't mess up..."
"Of course not. But it's much better to mess up now than after you turn pro."
Huh? Is that how it works?
"You know what? I was shaking like a leaf during my first scrims, and those weren't even official matches. I was terrified because my debut might have depended on the results."
"..."
"You're not the only one who gets nervous on a big stage. Everyone does. The intensity might differ, but until I get more experience, I'm going to keep shaking too."
Even if it was an unofficial amateur tournament, it was still an event with a massive crowd.
There would be plenty of spectators, and I would inevitably freeze up.
If I was just going to stand there paralyzed, maybe it was better not to participate at all.
That was my line of thought, but Seul-bi's perspective was the exact opposite.
Facing an audience was inevitable for a professional gamer.
And very few people were immune to stage fright.
It meant everyone had to go through a nerve-wracking debut at least once.
"If you're really going to turn pro, it's a mountain you have to climb eventually. And opportunities like this—where it's actually safe to fail—are rare."
Gaining experience was crucial, even if it ended in failure.
And if I was going to fail, it was better to do it where the fallout could be managed.
Having it end as a minor broadcast mishap was infinitely better than ruining an official match after going pro.
"Do you think opportunities like this come around often?"
"No."
"Then what are you hesitating for? Just go for it."
I decided to accept Hanul's offer.
[Schedule]
• Team Draft Broadcast: March 2nd (Sat)
• Group Stage: March 6th (Wed)
• Main Tournament: ...
[Streamers (Captains) List]
• Shredder
• Hanul
• Na Jia
...
[Gamers (Players) List]
• Havoc
• Eclipse
...
• PunchingBag
• DoNotTalkToMe
...
Why on earth was time so cruel?
When I ordered imported chocolates, time crawled by with agonizing indifference. Yet, when it came to a day I desperately wished would never arrive, it rushed forward at breakneck speed.
The first day of the Challengers Cup.
The draft broadcast had arrived.
I had to participate in the draft broadcast in person, using my in-game avatar.
This time, I couldn't just slip under the radar like I did during Hanul's stream.
The Challengers Cup was a proper tournament with strict rules and procedures.
Since I had agreed to participate, I had to follow them.
Swallowing hard, I entered the private room code and password.
You have entered the private waiting room 'Challengers Cup'.
Current players connected: 25
My vision went dark for a moment before returning.
Inside the waiting room, people were already gathered in small groups, chatting away.
I recognized a few faces, but most of them were complete strangers.
While I loved the pro leagues, I had never cared much for internet streams.
Streamers tended to talk a lot about their personal lives.
As a former quadriplegic, I had never been able to enjoy a normal daily life.
Listening to streamers talk about their mundane, everyday activities was rather painful.
For some reason, those trivial stories hurt me far more than the grand, unachievable dreams ever did.
Anyway, because of that, I didn't know much about streamers.
If I hadn't done some research beforehand, they would have been complete strangers to me.
Even Hanul, who was currently walking over to greet me, was someone I had only heard of by name before meeting him in person.
"You're early! There's still quite a bit of time left before the broadcast starts."
- I thought it would be better than being late. I wanted to look around beforehand too.
"Uh... can't you speak instead of typing now? You'll have to turn on your voice chat once the broadcast starts anyway. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that."
- I know. But it's still fine for now.
"Fair enough. Since you're early, let me give you a quick rundown."
The Challengers Cup teams consisted of six players each.
Due to the system limitations of Infinity Realm, six was also the maximum party size.
Unlike the pro leagues, which allowed for substitute players, there was no room for error here.
The draft phase was critical for that very reason.
Simply cramming high-tier players into a team wasn't enough.
They had to build a team capable of adapting to randomly selected battlefields and enemy compositions.
If they blindly drafted based on tier alone, they could easily end up with a team of only tanks and supports.
"It's not that complicated. We're the ones who have to do the brainwork anyway. You just need to step up to the center stage when it's your turn, DoNotTalkToMe."
Fortunately, as Hanul said, I didn't need to rack my brain.
Bidding points was strictly the team captains' job.
I was merely an item up for auction.
I wouldn't draw too much attention either.
There were plenty of players with higher tiers than me participating in this tournament.
Some were former pro trainees, and others were even retired professional gamers.
My value was probably just that of a decent budget pick.
Not worth overpaying for, but worth a shot if the price was right.
I doubted any team would actively fight Hanul to draft me.
Therefore, the only thing I had to worry about was when I stood on the stage.
The team captains would ask me questions.
What other classes can you play besides Berserker? Can you play other roles at all?
Questions like that.
As a participant, I had a duty to answer them sincerely.
So, I had memorized answers to all the expected questions beforehand.
I was prepared, but my anxiety refused to fade.
Will I be okay?
What if I stutter like crazy and get mocked as a "loser Berserker" again?
Even if it was true, my heart was fragile.
As if sensing my inner turmoil, Hanul patted my shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry. It'll all work out. I'll make sure to draft you to our team, so just relax."
Things did not work out. At all.
By the time my turn came, Hanul didn't have enough points left.
Actually, he had possessed plenty of points, but they suddenly became insufficient.
Contrary to our expectation that there wouldn't be much competition, two other teams bid for me with terrifying intensity.
Before I knew it, my price tag had soared higher than that of most high-tier players.
As the hosts raised their voices, my mind grew increasingly faint.
"Team Shredder bids 250 points! Things are heating up!"
"Defying everyone's expectations, player DoNotTalkToMe has become the hottest commodity of the night!"
"Team Hanul counters with 280 points! He's pouring in every last point he has! If he wins this bid, he'll have to fill the rest of his roster with undrafted players!"
"And Team Na Jia bids a whopping 320 points! It looks like she's trying to end this fight right here!"
In the end, Hanul was knocked out due to a lack of points.
The other bidder, Shredder, chose to save his points.
And just like that, the winner was decided.
"Player DoNotTalkToMe has been sold to Team Na Jia for 320 points!"
I was now grouped with a streamer named Na Jia... someone I had never spoken a single word to in my life.
Seriously, nothing in my life ever went according to plan.
How on earth did things turn out this way?