[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 22

How flustered I was when my mother initially left a note like that and went out!

Now it's something of the past, but back then, it was a serious problem in its own right.

"...Heat up the soup?"

To the point that I couldn't even do that simple thing properly, panicking and even calling my mother separately.

"Uh... so how do I heat up the soup?"

I still remember the mixture of embarrassment and absurdity in my mother's voice at that time.

'I can't help it since I've never done it before.'

I tried to comfort myself like that, but the fact remained that a grown adult couldn't even heat up a prepared meal and called their mother.

I considered it a somewhat embarrassing memory for me.

Of course, that was all in the past, and I wasn't that inept anymore, so I skillfully scooped rice from the electric rice cooker, ladled the fully heated stew into a bowl, and sat at the table.

The breakfast menu was a simple meal of soybean paste stew, fried egg, and various side dishes served in moderation.

Originally, I preferred bread over rice for breakfast, but recently I've just been eating whatever my mother prepares.

The main reason was that complaining about the side dishes didn't work anymore.

"Just eat what I give you."

That day, I learned what it meant to swear with a smile.

'Well, that's not important.'

Clatter, clatter.

It didn't take me long to empty my rice bowl.

Perhaps it was because I started the day so impressively, but I was very hungry.

"I ate well."

I roughly pre-washed the dishes with water and then put them in the dishwasher.

I am newly aware of how convenient the world has become, and at the same time, I feel fortunate.

If it weren't for these conveniences of civilization, I would feel the absence of the housekeeper all the more keenly.

'Okay, then...'

Now that I've had a good meal, I headed to my room as always.

"What should I do today?"

Anyone watching might think I was deciding on an outfit for an exciting first date, but the equipment I was agonizing over wasn't what to wear today.

'Let's go with this one.'

Soon after, I chose a keyboard and mouse set and connected them to the computer in order.

When I pressed it lightly, the key feel seemed a bit stiffer than the one I had used before, but it was only relative, and there was no problem pressing it.

'There's no need to play another normal game, right?'

To be honest, the normal game yesterday was a bit tiring, which was a big reason.

The bizarre dissonance where even the enemy didn't seem to be in sync, let alone the teammates...

It would have been different if I had just wanted to enjoy it, but I was trying so hard to win that the fatigue was extraordinary.

To the extent that the purely consumed mental energy felt even greater than a ranked game?

[Practice Mode]

Of course, even so, I wasn't planning on going straight into a ranked game, so I set up a scarecrow in practice mode and used all sorts of skill combos for about twenty minutes.

'Hmm, this should be fine.'

There are no issues using skill combos, and it doesn't feel awkward in my hands.

Giving it a passing grade based on my personal standards, I immediately started queuing.

[Searching for a game...]

The time is currently 11 AM.

It wasn't too early, but it wasn't too late either, so it wasn't a time when queues were easily found.

While queuing, I habitually browsed the Legend of League community.

Unfortunately, there weren't many interesting posts, perhaps because the full-fledged professional league season hadn't started yet.

At best, strange memes about honeybees and the like?

'What's so funny about this.'

It felt like it was going beyond the point of being humorous, so I thought it would disappear soon.

Just as I was about to close the community, a strange title caught my eye.

-(Data Warning) Smiling Peaceful Normal.jpg

No way, it can't be.

It's just a normal game?

Even as I thought that, I naturally clicked on the post as if drawn by something.

───────────────

(Bot duo afk even though the game started over 1 minute ago.JPG)

(Scene of the game collapsing early due to afk snowball.GIF)

(Diamond players laughing while harassing Prisoner Sabungi.GIF)

(Bottom dying again.GIF)

(Scene of the jungle having a 2-level difference.JPG)

(Diamonds talking trash, thinking they've already won.JPG)

(Furious Prisoner. Diamonds immediately diving mid.GIF)

.

.

.

(They come back from this.GIF)

(Jungle 3 level difference.JPG)

(Your ultimate was awesome. Silas's Baron banishment kick.JPG)

(GG.JPG)

───────────────

Should I say it's what I expected?

Or did I finally develop psychic powers like precognition?

The main characters of this post were none other than the Diamond friends I met in the normal game.

To be honest, it was a bit absurd.

'...They're even looking up my normal games now.'

It's not that strange for replays to be saved in the Challenger tier.

No, in the tier I play in, it's rarer for replays not to be saved.

Because players use them for feedback and the like, or amateurs save them to watch and learn.

But this is just a normal game.

It's not like there's a famous person like an internet broadcaster involved either.

In other words, this means that they specifically saved the replay just to watch Prisoner's gameplay.

'...This is a little scary.'

Even so, I never thought I would be recorded even in a normal game, so I felt a little scared.

Amidst these thoughts, I looked at the comments.

-Challenger is Challenger. How do you come back from that?

-fr fr All those guys who said no one could win this game from now on need to bow their heads.

-Aren't Diamonds also in the top 1 percent? But Challenger is really insurmountable lol

-ㄴ It's not that Challenger is insurmountable, it's that he's ranked 2nd. Looking at the momentum, he'll probably take 1st place again today or tomorrow?

-Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!

-ㄴStop spamming

-Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!

Well, it's good to have fans, though.

Even if they're fans who will soon disappear, it feels good to have someone cheering me on and liking me.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

While looking at the hundreds of comments, the queue finally popped.

───────────────

qwdkmqwojfte has joined the lobby.

IIIIlIIIlIlIII has joined the lobby.

Prisoner has joined the lobby.

GoThere has joined the lobby.

1q2w3e4r1234 has joined the lobby.

───────────────

Perhaps it's because of the time, but there were more amateurs or unknown IDs than pros.

Those unknown IDs are probably Chinese pros or amateurs.

[Ban List]

Lee Sin / Rumble

Silas / Senna

Shaco / Morgana

Morgana / Kaisa

Kaisa / Lee Sin

Whether it was because it was early in the morning or for some other reason, the ban picks proceeded quite plainly without any separate requests for first picks.

[Ally / Enemy]

Top: Renekton / Saian

Jungle: Elison / Xerath

Mid: Galio / Akali

ADC: Ezreal / Jinx

Support: Maokai / Rulu

'We're definitely going to lose in the late game.'

A so-called time attack composition.

It wasn't a ban pick that I particularly preferred, but it wasn't like I lacked confidence either.

'It's not like I haven't done this before.'

The teammates also seemed to think it was doable, so the game started without a dodge.

[Starting the game!]

As the loading screen appeared and the opponent's IDs were revealed, I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

───────────────

3MinuteTopDoctrineHonorFollower - Saian

SY YunGi - Xerath

meiuvanfairer - Akali

SCV BlackDog - Jinx

SY GuineaPig - Rulu

───────────────

'...Almost all pros.'

Among them, I especially paid attention to the opponent jungler's nickname.

[SY YunGi]

Red Cup winning jungler.

Wild Horse of the Rift.

Rainbow's partner.

And...

The best jungler in the world.

The man with all those titles.

He appeared as my opponent.