[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 180

Thud-

"There's a saying like that."

Thud, thud, thud.

Sweat trickles down.

I want to wipe the sweat that stings my eyes right now, but I gritted my teeth because I couldn't avoid an unsightly end if I let go of my hands now.

"A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body."

Thud-

"In fact, according to a research result, it is said that concentration improves after aerobic and strength training. In other words, exercise is essential even for professional gamers."

What kind of damn research is that?

That word rose to Baek Seongan's throat, but unfortunately, only a desperate scream came out.

"That's it! Good! More, more, more!"

"Ugh...!"

It's heavy.

It's awfully heavy.

It's so heavy that I wonder if I've ever lifted this kind of weight in my life.

"I, I'm dying!"

My arms are trembling.

It feels like I could lose my strength at any moment.

"You won't die. You can do more."

Kim Jihoon, who suddenly transformed into a personal trainer, was cruel.

Baek Seongan was exhausted from fatigue, as the time to sleep had long passed, but Kim Jihoon pushed him and pushed him without a moment of mercy.

In the hazy mind, Baek Seongan recalled the past.

'How did I end up like this?'

The place where Kim Jihoon led Baek Seongan was the gym on the lower floor.

Normally, Baek Seongan's trips downstairs were rare, only occasionally going to the sauna and bathhouse for fatigue recovery or going to the coin karaoke alone to relieve stress.

The truth was that he hadn't even set foot near the entrance of the 10th-floor gym.

Therefore, the fact that Kim Jihoon led him to the gym was very unexpected and out of the blue.

「"Why is this...?"」

「"Let's get started right away since we don't have time."」

And now this is how it is.

Objectively speaking, Baek Seongan's physical condition isn't bad for a former professional gamer.

Because compared to Seo Yeonwoo, who has a very small physique, and Kim Jaemin, who is taller than average but skinny, Baek Seongan had a body at a just-right level.

But,

The way of the world is always relative.

"I, I can't do any more...!"

Watching Baek Seongan, who was panting, Kim Jihoon said in a louder voice than usual.

"One more!"

At the voice that was like a leader of a hunting group, Baek Seongan put strength back into his arms.

'Huh?'

Perhaps because he was momentarily dazed.

Baek Seongan felt the strength leaving his arms.

"Argh!"

I'm, dying!

The moment his instinctual alarm went off, Kim Jihoon's thick arm lightly lifted the bench press bar that was bearing down on Baek Seongan.

'...He lifted that with one hand?'

The weight of the bench press that Baek Seongan had been lifting so far was about 50kg.

It's certainly not a light weight, as he almost got crushed and died by it.

'He's not human.'

Baek Seongan shook his head.

Anyone with eyes could easily see that Kim Jihoon was doing some exercise.

But knowing it in your head and seeing it with your own eyes was a completely different story.

"Let's take a break for a bit."

"Hoo...."

Baek Seongan, after the rest order was finally given, exhaled a sigh of relief and just looked at the ceiling as he lay down.

The white light was visible.

'Hmm.'

Looking at Baek Seongan like that, Kim Jihoon quietly recalled last night.

「"What brings you here...?"」

When Kim Jihoon went to the gym for his evening workout, Lee Yujin was waiting for him in front of the gym.

「"I have a favor to ask."」

「"...Yes?"」

At first, he couldn't understand what she was talking about.

It was strange that she was waiting in front of the gym out of the blue, and the word "favor" was also strange.

「"Make sure our mid laner doesn't have any other thoughts. You know what I mean?"」

Other thoughts.

It was a word with many meanings.

But, at least, he could understand what Lee Yujin was trying to say.

「"...Alright."」

It could be seen as an order from the team owner, but Kim Jihoon also thought Baek Seongan was pathetic yesterday, so he split up his precious morning workout time.

Whether it was bad luck or good luck, there was no need to wake up someone who was fast asleep.

Because Baek Seongan happened to be awake.

"You've rested for a while. Let's do it again."

"What? I ca, can't!"

"You can."

If he can shout that loud, he can do a few more sets of weightlifting.

Kim Jihoon knew that fact better than anyone.

"You can."

At Kim Jihoon's strong declaration, Baek Seongan had to go back to the equipment again.

"Now, lift your legs. You must do lower body training."

"Ugh...."

In the time of pain, Baek Seongan felt the useless thoughts filling his head disappearing.

*

"Huk, huff...!"

"More, more, more!"

"Ugh!"

Kim Jihoon shouted, and Baek Seongan responded.

Baek Seongan knew it in his head too.

That a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body, and that training his physical strength is definitely not a bad thing for a professional gamer.

In fact, in professional matches, the more games there are, the more they often go to concentration and physical strength battles, so it was even more so.

But, there is a huge difference between simply knowing it in your head and putting it into practice.

Even so, he hadn't thought about exercise.

Because there was a health nut like Kim Jihoon openly on the team, it was true that he had been subtly stimulated.

I should exercise.

I should do it...

When should I do it?

So he made excuses for himself.

Because he had to schedule scrims.

Because he had to practice.

Because he had to do other things...

Baek Seongan admitted it readily.

That until now, he had just run away.

'He must have thought I looked pathetic.'

The reason Kim Jihoon was doing this out of the blue was obvious.

It's not because Baek Seongan showed a bad performance in the last scrim.

It's because he looked pathetic after showing that kind of performance.

'...Right.'

What is retirement?

What was I even thinking now?

He's a professional gamer who had to challenge again with great difficulty. Nothing is as ridiculous as giving up easily.

'Let's try again.'

Professional gamer.

However, this time, he won't give up halfway like before.

For once, he'll put everything he has and hit it head-on.

"One more!"

"Raaah!"

Shouting with a powerful yell, Baek Seongan pushed the leg press with all his might.

With the feeling of pushing away everything that had been holding him back until now.

* * *

Umm...

How many days has it been already?

The time, that guy, is really capricious, so if you lose focus for a moment, it will run away without you even noticing.

Of course, there's a question of whether it's actual time due to aging or weakening of abilities, but that's not what I want to talk about now, so let's put it aside...

Several days passed in a daze.

During that time, it was just days of solo ranking in the practice room without any special schedule.

'Still, it's not completely different.'

During that time, Baek Seongan reached 420 points and successfully promoted to Grandmaster.

Whether it was just good luck, or whether something really changed, he had an amazing winning streak.

Kim Jaemin also finally reached the promotion match to Master, but unfortunately, he failed to promote.

He said his team's luck wasn't good or something.

It was also a bonus that he was strangely disheartened after failing the Master promotion match.

Well, anyway, that's that...

'It definitely seems like something has changed.'

After the scrim with BLH a few days ago, Baek Seongan's condition was honestly pathetic.

So I asked Kim Jihoon.

To make our pathetic mid laner, at least, a decent human being.

'It seems like it worked too well though...'

The amount of protein supplements, which were originally purchased as part of the team's welfare to entice Kim Jihoon, increased.

It seems like I have to order more.

Whether Baek Seongan was moved by Kim Jihoon's muscle theory or whatever, that's how it turned out.

'I have a strange feeling, but... it's probably just a feeling.'

Isn't it good if something is good?

While I was concentrating on expanding my champion pool with solo ranking as usual, Kim Jihoon came to see me.

"Oh, what's going on?"

"I've decided on my nickname."

"Really? What is it?"

Kim Jihoon said the nickname he had finally decided on after a long deliberation.

Judging by his somewhat excited voice, it seemed like he was quite proud of the nickname he came up with.

"It's Trainer."

Huh?

"Trainer? Trainer?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Um... It's good that you decided on it, but there's already that nickname?"

As a matter of fact, there is already a professional player using the nickname Trainer in the domestic league.

The one who made MYE LaLaLa the slave of the jungler, and a player famous for the nickname "Top lane education master" in solo rank.

MYE Trainer.

That's the one.

Of course, since there are countless leagues and professionals around the world in League of Legends, it's not uncommon for nicknames to overlap.

But that's only when the country of activity and affiliated league are different, and there is no case where nicknames overlap within the same league.

"...Yes?"

As expected.

Kim Jihoon asked back with a look as if he really didn't know.

Even so, not knowing the nickname of a player currently active as a professional in the first division league...

Shouldn't you at least do a minimum search before deciding on a nickname?

'Hmm.'

It seems like Kim Jihoon will need a few more days to decide on a nickname.