[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 88

The YSG dormitory, which I found again after a few days, had a similar atmosphere to before, but it felt strangely different.

How should I put it... should I say it looked a bit busy?

Considering that the YSG dormitory originally had a peculiar atmosphere, almost like a dead space, where you could hardly feel any energy, it was quite a strange sight.

'What's going on?'

Of course, I couldn't possibly know just by looking, so I just passed through the hallway with vacant eyes.

After passing the front desk, Coach Park Tae-hyung, who was lingering in the lobby, greeted me.

"Oh, you're here?"

"Hello."

"Yeah. Come on in. The coach is waiting for you."

"Yes."

It felt like it had been a while since I started coming to the YSG practice room, but it was the first time for me to go to the coach's office.

Knock, knock-

"Coach, it's me."

"Come in."

The first thing that greeted me when I entered the coach's office was the stuffy smell of cigarettes.

"Ugh..."

Having lived a life meticulously managed by my mother for a long time, I have little immunity to the smell of cigarettes, not to mention all sorts of other unhealthy smells.

Perhaps for that reason, my face wrinkled the moment I faced Coach Choi Tae-dal.

"Hello..."

"Welcome."

As soon as the greetings were over, Coach Choi Tae-dal brought up the main point.

"Have you thought about the contract?"

"Yes, if it's under the conditions you mentioned first and the newly added clauses, I think it's not bad."

"You've thought it through well. Okay, then... here's the contract. Take a good look. It's exactly the same as what we agreed on before."

I took the contract Coach Choi Tae-dal handed me, glanced at it, and then put it away.

"Hmm, it seems that way."

"...Your signature?"

"I'll review it at home later. If it's the clauses you mentioned, shouldn't there be any problem?"

I needed to keep this part, as it was something my mother had repeatedly emphasized.

I didn't think they would mess around with the contract that had already been agreed upon, but still, there was always a chance of something happening.

"...Ho-ho. Right. Do it that way."

Coach Choi Tae-dal seemed to be displeased, but as I was currently the absolute authority, he didn't seem to openly reveal that fact.

'Umm.'

It was just as my mother, and my younger sibling, had simulated several times.

We talked about whether my mother should come with me if I were to do this, but as I said before, showing others that I was still under my parents' thumb at this age was a bit...

'...No, have I already shown that?'

I don't know.

Let's just live however it goes.

"Oh, I've kept a busy person for too long. Coach Park Tae-hyung."

"Yes."

Coach Park Tae-hyung subtly shifted his gaze to me.

"Then, let's assume the contract is done for now. We don't have much time, so how about starting practice today?"

"I will."

"You thought well. Then let's go to the practice room right away."

After following Coach Park Tae-hyung, the place he led me to wasn't the second-team practice room, but the first-team practice room.

"Are we going this way?"

"Yeah. You already know, right? You'll be starting as a regular from the second round, when the roster changes. Of course, you have to participate in the first-team practice from now on."

Leaving aside the contract details, I could understand why Coach Park Tae-hyung was anxious.

It's been quite some time since the L.O.L. Championship Korea Spring season officially started.

YSG's current record is 0 wins and 2 losses.

It would have been okay if it was just this, but they hadn't even won a single set.

In other words, YSG was currently on a losing streak of four sets.

'Can I do it?'

My heart was pounding with a different meaning than when I entered the second-team practice room.

Even though the reason I temporarily returned to YSG was to confirm my team affiliation, even so, scrimmages with the first team had a completely different meaning than scrimmages with the second team and trainees.

'The first team's scrimmages are with other real teams.'

I have to form a team with players who are currently playing professionally and compete against those teams.

Of course, I had teamed up with them and competed against them countless times in solo rank, but solo rank and scrimmages could not have the same meaning.

'The trainee internal scrims weren't easy either.'

Even though I recorded unbelievable results with a perfect record before the tryout, I don't consider that process easy at all.

'I almost lost a lot of games, actually.'

I didn't hard carry every single game from start to finish.

There were definitely games where I was somewhat underperforming, and in those times, it was the other teammates who supported me.

'That's what a team game is all about, I guess.'

Amidst these thoughts, Coach Park Tae-hyung opened the door to the first-team practice room.

Whether they were waiting for me or not, as soon as the door opened, many gazes were fixed on me all at once.

Even so, seeing that they didn't show any signs of chatting with each other, the rumor that the atmosphere was grim recently seemed to be true.

"Everyone's been waiting, huh? You all know the faces, right? It's Outlaw, Lee Yujin."

"Hello."

I could see the faces of the YSG players.

Even though we had passed by each other before, it was the first time I saw them up close like this.

"Oh, um, ah..."

"Ah, hello."

"...Hello."

Hmm, as expected.

I was already used to the reactions of the other guys my age when they saw me.

"As you've already heard, Outlaw will be participating in the first-team practice from today."

At Coach Park Tae-hyung's declaration, YSG ManGi, Kim Man-gi, the captain and oldest member of YSG, subtly asked a question.

"Was he called up?"

"You could say that. Just in case, you should know that he was called up purely based on his skills, not for any other reason. You've all heard the tryout results from the others, right?"

"…Yes."

It's not something I should say myself, but the stories about me were already quite a hot topic within YSG.

Setting aside the external things like appearance and gender, it was inevitable that it would become a hot topic, considering my 100% win rate account, as well as maintaining a 100% win rate in the internal scrims of the tryout.

Of course, that fact had to reach the ears of the first-team players, and in fact, some players secretly watched me from afar.

'They thought I wouldn't know.'

But I pretended not to know.

If I even made eye contact, I would have blushed and lost sleep for several days, and it would have affected my performance.

"Coach, I heard Outlaw's position is jungler... is he going to stay that way?"

The one who asked the question was YSG DieHard, Choi Woo-jin, the jungler of YSG.

After all, as I had participated in the scrims as a jungler so far, he was the most sensitive.

"For now, yes, but it could change depending on the situation. I know what you're worried about, but at least you don't have to worry about being unfairly replaced. It will be strictly based on performance and skill."

"...Yes."

Coach Park Tae-hyung said so, but for some reason, DieHard, Choi Woo-jin's expression wasn't so bright.

And seeing that, I felt a strange feeling.

'…As expected, they're keeping it a secret.'

Of course, it's ridiculous to openly tell the existing player to leave, promising the starting position to another player, but I didn't expect them to blatantly lie that it would be based on skill.

I thought Coach Park Tae-hyung would at least evade the answer or avoid the question.

Perhaps for that reason, Choi Woo-jin's expression toward me was somehow grim.

'He's staring too scarily.'

Choi Woo-jin said in a voice that lost strength.

"...I'll prepare for practice."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but will you practice individually today? As a test for Outlaw, Outlaw will participate in today's scrimmage."

Choi Woo-jin's lips twitched at Coach Park Tae-hyung's words.

"...Yes. Understood."

Choi Woo-jin left his seat after saying that.

Next, my gaze met with the mid laner, YSG GoGoSing, Ko Jeong-hwan.

"Wow, we meet like this. I watched your replays, noona. Really... it's unbelievable. Please take care of me."

"Oh, um. Yeah, yeah."

I was embarrassed by his sociability, which was quite different from the previous two.

'Is this... an insider?'

There used to be many of these types of people among former pro gamers, but it was quite rare among recent trainees, so I couldn't help but be flustered.

"I heard it from Minsoo. Oh, Minsoo is the Minsoo that noona knows. I'm really close to him. There's, like, a connection between mid laners, you know? Oh, I'm just talking about myself too much. Please take care of me from now on!"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. You too."

"Hey, feel free to talk informally. You're much older than me."

I felt a sense of defeat from those words, but I decided to accept it as it was, without thinking about it negatively.

Soon after, I greeted YSG's ranged dealer and then the support, in turn.

"Please take care of me."

"You too."

The ADC, YSG JuWon, Kim Ju-won.

The Support, YSG YYYSSS, Park Chan-sung.

Compared to the mid laner, who had an extremely impressive first impression, the bot lane duo was quite ordinary.

No, they were so ordinary that they became indistinct.

'The problem is that it's the same in the in-game...'

The journey ahead didn't seem easy.

'Well, it's not important right now, though.'

Even though I decided to join YSG, I didn't feel any particular sense of belonging.

Just as the contract said, I was ready to leave whenever I wanted to.

'Let's think coldly. If my heart moves, I'll stay, if not, I won't.'

While I was organizing various thoughts within myself, Coach Park Tae-hyung clapped his hands.

"Alright, let's start practicing today. You all know who our opponents are today, right? You should all be nervous."

I saw a familiar team name on the schedule at the end of Coach Park Tae-hyung's hand.

SCV.

Along with SY, one of the best leagues in the world, also considered a prestigious team in the Korean League, finishing the previous season in second place and reaching the top four in the Red Cup.

That was my first scrimmage opponent.