[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 82

Pit-a-pat.

Thump-thump.

What words could express this pounding heart?

My chest is trembling, I feel like I'm going to die.

I probably don't know for sure, but countless amateurs who come here for tryouts must have felt similar emotions.

-YSG.

Once I fully passed the name written as YSG, the first thing I saw was the front desk in the lobby.

Perhaps because I entered with Coach Park Taehyung, the front desk staff simply gave a light nod and didn't place any restrictions.

"This way."

After passing the front desk, a hallway soon appeared.
The hallway was divided into two branches from the front desk, and Coach Park Taehyung, as if by habit, naturally started to head left but soon turned around and headed right.

"Ah, this side is where the 1st team uses... this way."

It seemed they were operating the 1st team practice room and the 2nd team practice room separately.

'Well, even so, it's the same floor.'

In the case of other teams with much more developed academy systems, there are even cases where the living quarters for the 1st and 2nd teams are completely separate, so being on the same floor in the same building could be considered more than enough for the 2nd team or trainees.

First of all, while being physically close between the 1st and 2nd teams has disadvantages, the advantages could be seen as much greater.

'Because the possibility for 2nd team members or trainees to participate in 1st team scrims holds significant meaning.'

Photos of players who had been part of YSG were hung in the hallway.
There was also something like a display case... but instead of trophies that should have been there, dolls that seemed to have been sent by fans filled the space instead.

'Guess it can't be helped.'

YSG's performance wasn't good not just last season, but always.

Was their best result making it to the playoffs the year before last...?

As I walked down the hallway thinking about various things, silence naturally flowed.

It was Coach Park Taehyung who first broke the silence.

"Ah, speaking of which, have you played some solo queue recently?"

"Ah, yes, yes, I reached Master 98 points."

"......Excuse me?"

Coach Park Taehyung was momentarily stunned.

Indeed, an account that was merely Diamond 3 just three days ago had suddenly become Master, so he couldn't help but be surprised.

"Well... you mentioned you didn't have a main account before, so have you not been playing Legend of League for long?"

It was a question I had anticipated.

Legend of League is a game that's been around for a long time, deeply entrenched.
For an unprecedented prodigy to suddenly appear in such a game and reach Master 98 points with a 100% win rate is inherently nonsensical.

Although I had said before that I didn't have an old account, having come this far, they couldn't possibly not know it was an obvious lie.

"Well... actually, I did have an account I used before, but I closed it a few years ago."

The lies flowed surprisingly easily from myself.

If I said I closed it recently, they might suspect a connection to Prisoner, so I deliberately said "a few years ago."

Well... if that's the case, due to the gap existing between 'a few years ago' and 'Outlaw', it would mean I took a break from Legend of League for several years, but I could just gloss over it appropriately.

"...Then, is the reason you hid the existence of your old account because there's a disqualifying factor for professional qualifications? Perhaps boosting or...?"

Coach Park Taehyung's voice deliberately lowered.
It seemed he was thinking something strange.

"Me? Absolutely not! Boosting? I didn't do anything like that."

I strongly denied it because I never imagined that boosting suspicions would arise when it wasn't even something I did.

I didn't want my path to be blocked by a strange misunderstanding before I even properly started.

"Really?"

"Yes, yes."

"In that case, that's a relief.
Excuse me, but what was the rank of that account at the time...?"

"I reached up to 1000 Challenger points."

Although the truth was I had reached a thousand points more than that.

Regardless, Coach Park Taehyung's face was once again dyed with astonishment.

*

'......As expected!'

Coach Park Taehyung celebrated inwardly, realizing that his discernment was correct.
Challenger 1000 points.

There were several meanings to that.

It's common to say that for gamers who dream of becoming pros, there are steps for each tier.

To be honest, it's hard to dream of becoming a pro below Master, and the way to become a pro is different for Master, Grand Master, and Challenger respectively.

Master requires proving oneself,

Grand Master involves competing,

and Challenger is about being chosen.

In that sense, the threshold of 1000 Challenger points could be seen as a kind of free pass for a pro debut.

Even just becoming Challenger attracts countless offers domestically and internationally, but 1000 points among those?

Considering that there are current professional players who can't exceed that threshold, it was quite encouraging.

"Hmm, I see."

Coach Park Taehyung tried hard to hide his twitching face.

This was because if Outlaw happened to change his mind, they might miss out on recruiting the promising player they had just found.

"Then, perhaps what was your nickname at the time...?"

Prisoner.

Coach Park Taehyung somehow felt like that kind of word would pop out from Outlaw in front of him.

"It was just a barcode nickname."

It was just a misconception, however.

"Ah... I see."

A Challenger 1000 point user with a barcode nickname...

If it was an ID that reached 1000 Challenger points, Coach Park Taehyung might have heard of it at least once, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember.

This was even more so as barcode nicknames were originally used to hide specific identities.

'That's not what's important.'

Who Outlaw was was no longer important.

What was important was what Outlaw would show from now on.

"This way."

Would he become hope for the collapsing YSG, or was it merely his own futile wish?

*

Perhaps because it was a place used by the 2nd team, the interior of the YSG dormitory and practice room was more ordinary than expected.

How should I put it... to put it nicely, should I say it felt much more 'human' than expected?

Despite being a space called a practice room, the seating arrangement was truly haphazard.

Although there were easily more than 10 computers visible, the 2nd team and trainees were practically squeezed into limited spaces, naturally increasing the occupancy rate.

'That spot is next to the sink. Isn't that inconvenient?'

It felt as if they had just roughly set up a practice room environment in a slightly large officetel.

Furthermore, the bedrooms I saw on the way in seemed to be used by at least 4 people per room...

'Even the entire 2nd team practice room combined is narrower than my room.'

That was my honest impression.

Of course, I would never say these words out loud.

"The tryout test is scheduled to be conducted through team scrims for about a week.
If you pass, you can consider yourself starting as a trainee, just like the other players."

"Ah... yes."

"Living together... would be difficult.
During the test, you'll need to come to the dormitory by 9 AM every day, do you think that's okay?"

"Yes, yes. No problem."

Because commuting was something I could ask Secretary Kim about.

And since I planned to commute even when I was actually playing professionally, I was rather pleased with this offer.

"And for the equipment you'll use during the test, you can either bring your own, or since there's a vacant spot just now, you can use the one over there as is."

He was referring to the spot next to the sink.

Since there was no space to put a new desk anyway, I nodded.

"I'll use what's available."

"If it doesn't suit you, you can take out whatever keyboard and mouse you want from the supply room over there and use it, or you can bring the one you were using when you come next time."

After the brief explanation finished, Coach Park Taehyung lightly clapped his hands.

"Alright, alright, everyone."

Only then did the gazes of the players who were engrossed in their respective games with their headsets on slowly turn towards this side.

"Uh..."

"...Who?"

"Huh."

From the gazes directed at me, a sense of confusion and unrest was fully palpable.

It was something that couldn't be helped.

The me right now... Honestly, even I thought I was exceedingly pretty.

"I told you last time, right? That there would be a test for a week.
Oh right, uh... what was your name again?"

You never asked.

"It's Lee Yujin."

As I bowed, I heard gasps from various places.

Yeah, I understand completely.

"......Anyway, that's how it is, so keep that in mind.
...Oh right. What did you say your age was?"

You never asked that either.

"I'm 23 years old."

"......Excuse me?"

Surprised again, are you?

"Well... ah, it's nothing."

It wasn't unreasonable for Coach Park Taehyung to be flustered.

First of all, putting aside my outward appearance, 23 is absolutely not a young age by Legend of League professional gamer standards.

An industry where 23 isn't young... thinking about it again, it was a difficult profession.

Seeing him ask about the most important age for a pro only now, it seemed that the test offer process itself was somewhat haphazard no matter how I looked at it, but it wasn't a very important issue for me right now.

What's important is that I'm heading towards being a pro right now, isn't it?

'Certainly... my heart is fluttering.'

Seeing that I can't calm down even though I know that, well... I guess that's just how a person's heart is, it can't be helped.

"These friends here are all, Yujin, uh... can I speak comfortably?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Then I'll speak comfortably.
These friends here are all younger than you, so you can speak comfortably with them."

"Yes."

"As much as I'd like to introduce everyone one by one... I'm quite busy since it's during the season, so I can't spare much time here.
I was thinking of starting the test right away, is that okay?"

In a way, it was natural.

The me right now was a test candidate who hadn't even become a trainee, and there was no way they would have the leisure to waste time on me right now, in the middle of the season.

"Yes."

"Okay.
Hyesung! Make a room right away.
On the live server."

"I've already made it."

"Smart as expected.
Ah, if there's anything you don't know, ask him.
He's the most senior among them."

"Ah, yes."

It starts now, doesn't it?

There was definitely a feeling that things were rushed, like frying beans in lightning, but as I sat in front of the computer, I felt my wandering thoughts disappearing one by one.

Of course, the calm didn't last very long.

This was because one of the trainees next to me carefully spoke to me.

"Um... your ID...? I need to invite you."

"Ah, Outlaw. Outlaw."

"Ch- I sent a friend request."

Despite being brief, it was an awkward conversation, to the point where I wondered if such a conversation existed in the world.

'Is this... the social skills of room-dwelling gamers?'

...Well, to be honest, I wasn't exactly in a position to talk about others either.

"I sent the invite."

"Ah, I'll just change some settings in practice mode for a moment."

"Ah, yes, yes."

Soon after, moving the mouse a few times in practice mode, I felt something strange.

'What is it?'

It feels like something is lagging...

'Hmm.'

......The monitor is 60Hz.

It doesn't seem like it will be easy from the start.