Pro Teams Come Calling
‘Ugh…….’
Siwoo stared at the flood of friend requests with a troubled expression. There were just too damn many. Chatting with each one individually would take forever.
But he couldn’t exactly reject them all outright either.
It’d be rude.
‘……Well, might as well talk to them, right?’
Even if he didn’t sign, there was no harm in hearing their offers. Plus, he needed to cross-check everything, which meant reviewing the contracts from these teams.
Contracts were serious business, after all.
“Hmm.”
He accepted all the requests for now. It was early morning, so responses wouldn’t come until lunchtime or so—
Siwoo’s eyes went wide as he stared at the message window. No way—these guys had been waiting? He hadn’t expected instant replies the second he accepted.
‘Stay calm.’
He let out a deep breath.
Then he typed out careful responses.
It was a pain copy-pasting it multiple times, but no big deal.
They exchanged contacts, and Siwoo logged out of the capsule for a bit. He needed his smartphone to check properly.
‘Should I ask Uncle?’
Time to review the contracts.
No harm in getting adult help.
Siwoo stepped out of his private capsule room and headed to the counter.
“Uncle Jeong-gyu. You free right now?”
“Yeah, Siwoo! What’s up? Hungry for something?”
“Nah, not that. Teams have been contacting me—could you look over the contracts with me?”
“What……!!”
Streamer Pajukjuk, real name Lee Jeong-gyu, jolted up and grabbed Siwoo’s shoulders.
“Finally thinking pro?!”
“Uh, yeah……”
“Good, good call! You gotta go pro!”
Lee Jeong-gyu laughed heartily, booming with enthusiasm.
“I’ll help with the contracts. AI’s pretty smart these days—flags toxic clauses right away. Shouldn’t be any big worries. Back in the day, shady adults pulled crap with contracts; made the news a lot.”
Pro players or not, they were still kids. Even savvy adults got scammed on contracts—kids didn’t stand a chance.
“Anyway, with AI advancements and changing times, major issues are rare. Still, for the future, get an agent. If you’re interested, I can hook you up.”
“Thanks.”
Siwoo bowed his head. Having someone help so sincerely felt reassuring.
Moments later, after reviewing the contracts, Lee Jeong-gyu nodded.
“Checked with AI, double-checked myself—no problem clauses.”
Siwoo skimmed them too, just in case. Not that he doubted Pajukjuk, but thoroughness never hurt.
Nothing fishy.
“Thanks for the help.”
“Haha, take your time deciding. Scrutinize salary and playtime clauses especially.”
“Got it. I’ll let you know once I decide.”
“Appreciate it. Where our Siwoo ends up matters.”
Siwoo thanked him again and returned to his capsule room. He scanned the contracts, narrowing his eyes.
‘Hmm.’
The terms varied wildly.
Some started him as a trainee, others in the second team with debut chances.
Salaries ranged from a minimum 60 million won to 80 million max.
REDFORCE offered the best.
‘All pale compared to Kaiserst.’
Kaiserst promised first-team debut and a whopping 100 million won salary.
REDFORCE’s was the top rookie deal industry-wide, but still short.
REDFORCE had advantages, though. More complete roster than Kaiserst.
Per Han Jiyeon, Kaiserst had cut existing players and was rebuilding.
‘Decision time…….’
Still leaned toward Kaiserst.
Immediate first-team debut meant they trusted him.
Siwoo sent final messages.
Replies came instantly.
Seeing such earnest replies, they really wanted him bad.
‘This kind of attention……not so bad?’
Siwoo’s lips twitched into a grin. Industry pros acknowledging him felt different.
Validation always thrilled, but this hit unique.
But the smile faded as he powered off his phone.
‘That’s settled. Decide after the tournament.’
Terms could shift, so plenty of time. Plus, needed big sis and mom’s okay.
‘Focus on the matches now.’
Siwoo dove back into the capsule.
Offers secured—time to boost his value.
The quarterfinal opponent was set.
“Atakin. Tough matchup.”
Han Jiyeon bit her nail, eyes narrowed. Her dark expression was new—even against Rising and Madric, she’d been chill.
“They’ve got no weak spots. Pre-tourney favorites for the win—defender, attacker, supporter lines all elite. Famous academy kids stacked. This’ll be rough.”
She kept explaining.
“Nothing like Rising or Madric so far. Those teams had weak lines……”
Siwoo asked,
“How good are they?”
“Every line’s top academy tier. Remember the Kim Woo-hyuk/Park Jin-woo duo? Way better.”
“……Not easy.”
The others’ faces darkened fast.
Atakin would be brutal. If every line outclassed them, even Siwoo couldn’t carry.
“Strategy? New plan? Old way won’t cut it.”
Kim Jeongin asked. Han Jiyeon shook her head.
“……Stick to the original. That’s what we prepped. Others won’t work—skill gap’s huge.”
Atakin was just bigger weight class.
In Overlant, class gaps mattered—raw fights over ops.
“Hmm.”
“Tch.”
“……”
Even team leader Han Jiyeon, Kim Jeongin, Park Jongsu, Lee Jinseong—they all saw it.
Saseong’s run ended in quarters.
Not distrusting Siwoo, but quarters might be too much…….
Clap!
Siwoo clapped sharply.
“Let’s prep hard anyway. Won’t know till we clash.”
Siwoo brimmed with confidence. Quarters tough, but doable.
“……Yeah, prep’s all we got. Rally up! Made quarters—aim for semis at least!”
Han Jiyeon perked up.
Siwoo wasn’t wrong. Who predicted Saseong beating Madric/Rising? Next matches unpredictable.
“Hey Siwoo, ever think of attacker besides sniper?”
Han Jiyeon asked.
“Dunno, never tried. Why?”
“Might need it next.”
“Hm.”
Siwoo rubbed his chin.
“Could practice, but time’s short. Not a lightning-win against Atakin.”
Overlant attackers endless varieties.
Melee frontline holders like defenders, backline assassins, shotgun mid-rangers, flashy katana rushers.
No wonder “attacker mess” rep.
Unlike aim/break snipers, they needed grind, experience.
Why Siwoo picked sniper first: efficient scoring.
“Hmm, flex pick for variance tough then. Fine. Max our potential. Can’t climb higher leaning on Siwoo.”
Team leader Han Jiyeon decided.
“Yeah, makes sense.”
“Too Siwoo-one-trick.”
“Kek, Jinseong’s katana time?”
“Your practice katana shat the bed, what……”
Park Jongsu recoiled.
Lee Jinseong’s trial katana for options: nightmare. 300 DPS, 10 deaths.
“Okay. Direction: brute force ahead. All in?”
Han Jiyeon ignored the joke, polled the team.
“Aye.”
“No choice.”
“Practice time—let’s go!”
Others agreed.
“Siwoo, cool?”
“No issue.”
Siwoo replied without hesitation.
“Okay, lock it in!”
“Atakin’s good, but haven’t faced Siwoo yet.”
“Kek, can they handle greatSIU?”
“Siwoo, massacre time. Let the killing begin……”
Team morale soared.
Loss expected, but with Siwoo? Maybe.
Chance existed.
……And the next day.
Overlant Series Cup quarters: Atakin match.