[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 84

After the test officially began, Coach Park Tae-hyeong, who had slipped back into the practice room, couldn't help but express his admiration.

‘This is…….’

It’s real.

It wasn't that Coach Park Tae-hyeong had seen it wrong, nor was the story of Challenger 1,000 points just a ghost of the past.

Even though it was only one game, the Outlaw's skills were entirely genuine.

‘She does those plays here?’

Coach Park Tae-hyeong also knew very well that the environment of the 2nd team practice room was so poor that it couldn't even be compared to other places.

The mice and keyboards were the same as those used by the 1st team players, so they were okay, but the problem was that the basic computer specifications and monitor specifications were very poor.

So much so that the players would joke that they would get better scrim results at a PC bang in the neighborhood than in the familiar practice room where they usually practiced.

No, it would actually be like that.

‘They wouldn’t listen even if I said it.’

How much could that possibly cost…….

The team belonging to the Korean League, which is supposedly the world's best league, was too harsh on its players.

‘Damn money-grubbers.’

YS, the parent company of YSG, is a typical private equity firm.

A group that pursues extreme profits.

Naturally, they wouldn't reach out to anything that wasn't profitable, and the professional gaming team and its players were only used for making money.

‘…To be honest, she’s an invaluable talent to come to this team.’

Outlaw.

She was clearly in a strange environment with a game against strangers, but from the middle, she gave orders without hesitation. She even possessed a certain charisma.

‘…I still can’t believe it. Those blockheads follow orders so obediently? And master orders at that?’

The trainees don't know that Outlaw has a Challenger 1,000 point ID.

Coach Park Tae-hyeong wasn't hasty enough to tell the players a story that hadn't even been verified.

Therefore, to the trainees, the existence of Outlaw was just a mere newbie, an amateur who came to take the new tryout.

And yet they follow her so well?

Coach Park Tae-hyeong, who held the title of coach, couldn't even do that until now.

‘Of course, her win rate isn’t that of a typical Master. But it's still amazing. Because she’s older? …No. More than that…….’

Coach Park Tae-hyeong soon came up with one inference about what that strange charisma Outlaw had shown was.

‘Siren.’

Should I say that they couldn’t help but follow, like the voice of a Siren who seduces sailors in mythology?

The absolute charisma that Outlaw exuded gave a feeling like that.

Well... the metaphor wasn't very satisfying, but anyway, Coach Park Tae-hyeong evaluated Outlaw like that.

Also, this was undoubtedly the ability that YSG had been looking for so desperately until now.

‘I’ll have to wait and see a little more….’

If that skill was as genuine as he saw…….

‘No, there are many players who are good by chance. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.’

It’s not for nothing that the team looks at tests for a week to a month when selecting trainees.

Coach Park Tae-hyeong shook his head and turned his steps towards the 1st team practice room.

It was because he didn't have much time to spare to pay attention to this.

‘If it's real, she'll prove it.’

Coach Park Tae-hyeong moved his steps.

*

Coach Park Tae-hyeong was busy going back and forth between the 1st team practice room and the 2nd team practice room.

Originally, it would have been normal for him not to have the time to go to the 2nd team practice room during the season, but Coach Park Tae-hyeong ignored even the gazes around him and headed for the 2nd team practice room.

The results of the 2nd team's internal scrims held during the afternoon were concise.

The Outlaw team was undefeated.

It was a total of 3 wins and 0 losses.

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Then everyone, gather around.”

Coach Park Tae-hyeong, as he always did, squeezed out the little time he had and provided feedback as quickly and briefly as possible.

“Minsu, you shouldn't have taken blue here, but rather stuck with the bottom lane. It's not that the situation changes because you take the blue buff, but if you had gone 3 seconds earlier, the situation could have changed.”

“I thought mana was ambiguous, so I didn’t think it would be of any use.”

“I can understand. But, look, you only had to use one skill. Right?”

“…That's right.”

The treatment of the 2nd team and trainees within YSG is miserable.

That's why, originally, the coaching staff doesn't even give this kind of feedback during the season, but only Coach Park Tae-hyeong cared about the 2nd team and the trainees.

Of course, the reason behind it was that he was desperately looking for a savior to save YSG from the crisis.

“And here, the call didn’t match. Why is everyone moving separately?”

“That's……”

Perhaps because of the process of reflecting on the game together while providing feedback, Coach Park Tae-hyeong could not help but solidify his thoughts.

‘…She controlled the game alone.’

So much so that he wondered if the results would have changed even if he had played the game according to Coach Park Tae-hyeong's feedback.

Unfortunately, the physical aspect seemed a little worse than when he first saw it in solo queue, but that was understandable considering the worst environmental situation.

Of course, it wasn’t a very good point as a professional to be so affected by the game environment, but even so, it was this much skill.

“Let’s just do individual practice today.”

We could turn the team scrims like this, but unfortunately, there was no more time to give feedback to them.

Coach Park Tae-hyeong asked Outlaw.

“What are you going to do? The test is up to here today. Are you going to stay and practice more?”

Usually, it is correct to live together during the test, but it was impossible to do so under various circumstances.

“Then I’ll go today. I'm not feeling so well……”

“…Really?”

‘Not feeling well?’

Come to think of it, her complexion has looked a little bad since earlier.

Surprisingly, Outlaw showed this kind of play even under unfavorable conditions and with a not-so-good condition.

“Oh, yes. Go ahead and go in. You should come here by 9 a.m. tomorrow.”

“Yes. Then, goodbye.”

Outlaw, who bowed her head and said goodbye, then looked around the other places and lightly waved at the countless gazes towards her.

“Um... See you all tomorrow.”

Even though it was a short greeting, the sound of trainees gasping could be heard.

They were frozen in place.

‘Ugh, you guys.’

Coach Park Tae-hyeong smiled softly, as it was natural, in a way, because they were not immune to the trainees of professional gamers.

In fact, Coach Park Tae-hyeong himself had his heart flutter at Outlaw's faint smile a moment ago.

‘…No matter what, that face is a little too much.’

It goes beyond simply being pretty, and the atmosphere itself makes you wonder if she’s even of the same species, a human being.

Why doesn’t she just become a celebrity instead of a pro gamer?

…No, but her gaming skills are too good to waste, right?

‘Unnecessary thoughts.’

Coach Park Tae-hyeong shook his head and headed back to the 1st team practice room.

The match was not far off.

* * *

Her body is heavy.

But her steps felt lighter than ever.

As she left the building, darkness had already fallen outside.

She didn't know while she was inside, but it was already evening.

‘Oh, right.’

The moment she hurriedly pulled out her smartphone to call her mother.

“Yujin!”

Her mother's figure waving her arms in the distance was visible.

“Um... Sorry I’m late.”

She thought she would be angry, but surprisingly, her mother's face was expressionless.

“You said it was an important test. How was it?”

“Uhm, I think I did well.”

It would be a bit too much to say it was like usual, but it was a win in the end.

“Really?”

“And I’m taking the test for a week from now, so please ask Ms. Kim to drive me for a while. I think it will start early in the morning and finish around dinner time.”

“A week?”

“Yeah.”

“Uhm, alright. I’ll tell her that. Since you're out, let's eat out for dinner today. As a family, after a long time.”

“Okay.”

The reason why our family doesn't eat out usually was simple: I was very annoyed to go outside and eat.

But today was a pretty special day, and she was already out, so there was nothing to be particularly annoyed about.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Not really? And isn't it usually meat or seafood?”

“That's true.”

Her mother chuckled.

That's because her father's taste was that of a typical middle-aged man, and he was secretly picky even though he pretended not to be.

So, the place chosen for dinner was a high-class Hanwoo restaurant in Cheongdam-dong.

It was a perfect place to have dinner with the family after a long time, as it had a separate private room.

To be honest, she didn’t have an appetite.

She was in bad condition, and she was also very nervous, so her appetite had dropped.

But even so, when she put the beef in her mouth, it melted in her mouth.

Meat is always right.

“The name of the gaming team you're testing for is YSG, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Her mother asked, sensing something strange in her father's voice.

“Why? Is that a place you know?”

“It's not that... The name sounds familiar. I'll find out the details later and tell you.”

“Alright. Tell me right away if it's a strange place.”

“I will.”

A strange place…….

The facilities were a little poor, but is that the only thing?

In various thoughts, I focused on the meat again.

Well, he'll tell me later if it's a strange place.

*

The next day came.

Since she had to arrive by 9 a.m., she woke up early in the morning, took a shower, and wore a hoodie she usually wore instead of the same outfit as yesterday, and wore a ball cap.

She thought she might wake up early and do the shop tour, but fortunately, that didn't happen.

It seemed that her mother had compromised to some extent with the words that she would be taking the test for a week.

‘Condition is... still not good.’

Still, it was a blessing in disguise, as it would be okay tomorrow, based on her experience.

‘I have to get used to it.’

A pro is also a human being.

Of course, it would be nice to always maintain the best condition, but it might not be the case.

You have to be able to perform your skills even in such situations to survive as a professional.

‘I can do it.’

The second day of the tryout.

I headed to the YSG practice room.