Chapter 7

In the early stages of Season 3, the initial ranking system was determined by the first ten matches. For new accounts, these ten matches not only decided the initial rank but also the hidden score.

When Park Ji-sung returned around 4 PM, Lee Sang-hyuk had already completed seven ranking matches, and without a doubt, he had a 7-0 record. In this tier, his Zed was not fixed in the mid lane. Apart from ADC, his Zed had played all the remaining positions in the past seven matches, basically filling in wherever needed.

Seeing Park Ji-sung return, Lee Sang-hyuk realized it was getting late. He checked his wristwatch and found it was already 4:14 PM. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to finish the remaining three ranking matches.

"Ji-sung, Uncle took on a new endorsement account for me at noon. I still have three ranking matches left. I'll go call Mei first. If you don't need the computer, I want to finish the remaining three matches later," Lee Sang-hyuk said to Park Ji-sung, who had just entered the inner room.

"Is it a hero leaderboard endorsement? Brother, you're so awesome! No problem, I still want to learn Riven from you. I'll just sit beside you and watch you play," Park Ji-sung said excitedly.

"Okay," Lee Sang-hyuk replied, then turned to dial the home phone.

After a few beeps, the call was answered.

"Mei, I have something to do tonight and might be back late. Go buy some ready-to-eat food. Don't forget to remind Dad to cook when he gets back," Lee Sang-hyuk instructed over the phone.

"Got it, brother. Don't worry, I'm not a kid anymore! Alright, alright, I'm watching Piglet's match, bye!" Li Mei'er pouted and hung up the phone, slightly annoyed.

"This girl," Lee Sang-hyuk said helplessly, looking at the disconnected call. He turned around to find Park Ji-sung standing in front of the computer, looking shocked as he flipped through the match records from earlier.

"All... all wins?... Brother, I didn't expect you to be so good at Zed. Teach me, you must teach me!" Park Ji-sung, extremely excited, lunged at Lee Sang-hyuk.

"Brat, sit down and watch carefully. I'll explain the details to you," Lee Sang-hyuk laughed and pushed Park Ji-sung away.

"Okay, okay, brother. I won't learn Riven first; I want to learn Zed. I've always thought this hero is very strong, but my classmates say it's useless. Look, look, how can such a cool hero not be strong? This time, I'll definitely prove it to them, hahaha!" Park Ji-sung began to fantasize.

---

What Lee Sang-hyuk didn't know was that after he finished his first ranked match, in a broadcasting studio of a Korean entertainment show called "The Plastic Squad" in Busan, a young man with a very comedic appearance excitedly took off his headphones and said to his assistant, "Hahaha, no need to rush, we've found the material for this episode."

"Brother Ji is amazing! Who's the hero for this episode?" The assistant, seeing the work completed so quickly, was naturally delighted and immediately started to praise him.

"Hahaha, it's him, Zed!!!" The young man, known as Brother Ji, pointed at the computer screen with a proud smile.

On the screen was the League of Legends client's homepage, and the ID in the top right corner was the jungler Lee Sin who played with Lee Sang-hyuk in the first ranking match— "Great Korean Pro"!

This Brother Ji, whose real name was Jeong Hwan-ji, was a League of Legends entertainment show commentator, similar to the comedic entertainers in the Korean entertainment industry. Unlike the skill-based commentators, due to his lack of gaming talent or possibly because of his hand disability, Jeong Hwan-ji's rank was always very low. However, he found a unique path and became famous for his humorous and witty commentary style, gaining a significant fan base in the esports community.

After the start of Season 3, a PD from an esports entertainment show wanted to create a new entertainment program and thus invited Jeong Hwan-ji to be the host and commentator. "The Plastic Squad" was the name Jeong Hwan-ji came up with based on the tier distinctions of this season. The show aired weekly, mainly recording funny operations of low-tier players and turning them into videos, accompanied by Jeong Hwan-ji's comedic commentary, often making people watching at home laugh out loud. It was very popular among Korean esports fans.

"Zed? This hero is good, indeed very suitable for our show," the assistant suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Brother Ji, I watched some low-tier videos earlier. In those videos, the Zeds often cast their shadows and then press buttons randomly, not even knowing where their own bodies are, and die. Hahaha, it was so funny."

"NO! NO! We're going to do something different this time! The theme of this episode will be 'The Plastic Squad's Ninja Zed.' Isn't it generally believed that this hero is weak? Some people are even calling for Riot Games to rework it. Trust me, once this video comes out, it will shock everyone! Hehe, then our show's ratings will skyrocket!"

---

At 6:10 PM, in the Jiseong Audio-Visual Store in Gwangju, Lee Sang-hyuk stretched and said, "Alright, today's task is done!"

On the screen, a badge representing Honor Gold slowly formed!

"Ten matches! All wins! Honor Gold 5. I've been playing for two seasons and am still in Silver. Brother, you only used half an afternoon to reach Gold?" Park Ji-sung, besides marveling at Lee Sang-hyuk's talent, didn't know what else to say.

"Don't be discouraged, Ji-sung. I think your operations are fine, but you're missing some details or, let's say, tricks," Lee Sang-hyuk pointed to his head and said, "I don't know about other esports games, but I think this game requires not just operations but also some strategy here!"

"Brother, so you're so good because you study well..." Park Ji-sung said with a bitter face.

"This isn't just for studying," Lee Sang-hyuk rolled his eyes, "Alright, you figure it out on your own. I'll go home first and come back tomorrow."

Lee Sang-hyuk said goodbye to Park Seok-beom and rode his bike home.

On Sunday, after greeting Park Seok-beom at the Jiseong Audio-Visual Store, Lee Sang-hyuk sat in front of the computer again. By the end of the day, he had a record of 17 wins and 2 losses, with the two losses due to 3v5 situations where two teammates were AFK, confirming that this game is ultimately a team-based competitive game.

Currently, his rank was Platinum 4, with a total of 29 matches and a win rate of 93.1%. During the promotion from Gold 3 to Gold 2, due to his previous winning streak, his hidden score was very high, allowing him to jump directly from Gold 3 to Gold 1.

Lee Sang-hyuk walked out of the inner room and saw Park Seok-beom arranging goods on the shelves from the warehouse.

"Uncle, let me help you," Lee Sang-hyuk hurriedly walked over.

"It's okay, I can handle this. You go work on that account. Since you've taken on the endorsement, you need to work hard. I believe in you, keep it up!" Park Seok-beom, thinking that although Lee Sang-hyuk had good talent, he might be discouraged after losing a few matches, came out to help.

"Uh, Uncle, I've already met the first stage requirement of the store owner. I'll play a bit every day, and I think I can reach the top of the Zed leaderboard by next week!" Lee Sang-hyuk said with a smile.

"Really? That's great." Park Seok-beom patted Lee Sang-hyuk's shoulder hard, "I knew you could do it, hehe."

Lee Sang-hyuk could only scratch his head and smile awkwardly.

Gwangju Science High School had a routine class meeting every Monday morning to summarize the previous week's class status and learning outcomes, and to plan for the next week's learning. The homeroom teacher was a middle-aged woman in her forties named Kim Soo-young. She usually wore black-rimmed glasses and dressed in black, appearing somewhat stern, but she was actually very kind and approachable.

"Next, please let the study committee member, Lee Sang-hyuk, present his personal study plan," Kim Soo-young stepped aside and gestured for Lee Sang-hyuk to come forward after the summary.

There was a sparse applause from the audience. Although Lee Sang-hyuk was an excellent student, he was not well-liked in the class. Moreover, after Choi Kyung-phil's "promotion" last Friday, a rumor had spread in the class that Lee Sang-hyuk was part of a "socially cared-for group."

"Uh... to be honest, I've been busy these past two days and forgot to write this week's study plan..." Lee Sang-hyuk cleared his throat and suddenly said.

"Busy with part-time work, right?" Kim Dong-min, sitting in the back row by the window, winked at Choi Kyung-phil and whispered, causing a low murmur of laughter in the classroom.

"Indeed, it's part-time work," Lee Sang-hyuk smiled, not caring. Although he had taken on the endorsement account, he didn't plan to enter the professional esports scene again, so it was indeed part-time work.

"Hey, don't you think Lee Sang-hyuk has changed a bit recently?" Lee Sung-mi, sitting next to Jung Soo-kyung, nudged her and whispered.

"Changed? What's different?" Jung Soo-kyung subconsciously looked up at Lee Sang-hyuk standing on the podium. The morning sunlight at 9 AM in winter shone through the window, casting a warm glow on Lee Sang-hyuk's face, accentuating his slightly upturned smile, making him look like a handsome young man.

Jung Soo-kyung gently lowered her head and blew into her palms, the white mist swirling around her light blue floral scarf, suddenly feeling a bit warm.

(The three updates for the weekend are here, please follow and recommend!)

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