Chapter 37

〈 Chapter 37 〉 In a situation like this

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Male Classmate 1 glanced at my face once, then made a puzzled expression and looked around.

"…Was I wrong?"

He then, perhaps thinking he had misheard, shifted his gaze back to the screen.

After all, it was a crucial moment, so he had no spare attention for anything else.

'Did he let it go?'

Well, it's not like he would have thought I would give advice.

In a way, my unusual appearance had its own power.

'Huff...'

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.

I almost caused a big problem.

'I need to be more careful.'

Fortunately, it was during the game, so it passed by without much trouble. If Male Classmate 1 had pressed the issue, it would have been very awkward.

'Especially since people get sensitive when they're losing a game.'

No matter how frustrating it was, to actually say it out loud... I really am something.

And...

'Ah.'

I then realized a significant fact and hurriedly shifted my gaze to the left.

If my younger brother had seen this scene, I would have been in for a rough day.

"Hey, I was going to use a smoke grenade to save you, not a grenade!"

Should I call it luck?

Or should I say the heavens were on my side?

My younger brother was now fully engrossed in playing Survival Grounds, wearing a headset.

'If he had seen this...'

I would have been teased all day with a sinister smile.

Shaking off the terrifying thought, I finally managed to look away from Male Classmate 1's screen and shifted my gaze to my own monitor.

There were some trivial news articles I had opened earlier as a kind of smokescreen.

- 50-year-old man accused of killing an acquaintance claims 'mental weakness.'

- Coin craze in the low-interest era: Is this okay?

- High school student missing; all-out investigation underway.

The world is truly a strange place.

...But I'm not one to talk.

'Should I check the community?'

But I soon gave up on that too.

I was worried that if Male Classmate 1 saw me looking at a League of Legends community, he might connect it to what happened earlier.

'...Just because I said something unnecessary.'

Stuck in a situation where I couldn't do much, all I could do was skim through some uninteresting internet articles.

Of course, I changed the category.

It was the esports section.

Although most of the articles were about League of Legends, I thought it wouldn't look too suspicious if I read them.

- MAX signs new marksman 'KingGodEmperor' to lead the bottom lane.

'Ah, he's joining this team.'

The professional League of Legends scene is currently in the middle of the off-season.

While I enjoy watching professional matches, I don't pay close attention during the off-season, so there were quite a few interesting articles.

- MYE LaLaLa extends contract for two more years. From rookie to a solid team pillar.

It was an article about JungleSlave, a jungler I often encountered in solo queue.

A two-year contract extension... It seems he plans to stay with MYE for the long term.

'Well, it's not a bad team.'

I checked other articles as well.

'Ah, this guy is retiring. Yeah, his form has dropped a lot recently.'

Professional gamers, by nature, have a relatively short career span.

While a few players enjoy long careers with honor and popularity, they are the exception.

Professionals must prove themselves through performance, and those who don't perform well ultimately face a lonely end.

Of course, the end of a professional career is not the end of life.

It's an era where many former professional gamers have successfully transitioned into streamers and other internet personalities. There's no need to be overly pessimistic.

I then checked other articles.

'This team looks pretty good this year. The roster is solid. They might even make it to the Red Cup?'

In the Korean league, known as the best in the world, only three teams get tickets to the Red Cup.

Naturally, the competition is beyond imagination.

If a team still dreams of the Red Cup and had poor performance in the previous season, a major rebuild or new player acquisition during the off-season is not a choice but a necessity.

This means that the desire for talented players and promising prospects is hotter than ever.

Even I, a complete rookie, received an absurd offer with an 800 million won base salary and all sorts of options not long ago.

'There aren't many definitive rosters yet.'

I skimmed through various articles, but it seemed that the overall team compositions were not fully determined yet.

Either the signings haven't been finalized, or there are embargoes in place.

Having read all the related articles, I found myself back in the realm of boredom.

If I were outside, I might have walked around and enjoyed the scenery, but here, all I could see were the screens in front of and to the sides of me.

'Not being able to play games even with a computer in front of me... What a strange situation.'

Wishing for my identity issue to be resolved soon, I shifted my gaze to my younger brother's screen.

"Behind the tree at 240 degrees! Ah, this is a scoped shot. Let's back off."

If I were to ask if it was interesting, the answer would be yes.

Still, my gaze kept drifting to the League of Legends screen on the right.

The situation didn't look good.

'Indeed, my earlier advice was crucial.'

If he had followed my advice, he wouldn't have been caught in the enemy's strategy, and the situation would have been different.

It was a significant mistake.

[Defeat]

Eventually, Male Classmate 1 lost the game.

"Huh..."

Even though he lost in solo queue, Male Classmate 1 only let out a small sigh and showed no further reaction.

Well, even though League of Legends is known for destroying people's personalities, it doesn't usually do so in the first game.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions, but they are rare.

On average, it takes about three consecutive bad games for someone to naturally start using shotguns.

"...Do you watch League of Legends tournaments?"

"Huh?"

Perhaps because the game was over, Male Classmate 1, who had been looking around, showed interest in the articles I had open.

He seemed to think we shared a common interest.

Not expecting him to speak to me, I was momentarily stunned before responding.

"Ah... Yeah, sometimes."

Thinking about my earlier mistake, I should have just said, "I opened it by mistake," but my mind was too scattered to think clearly.

Regret always comes too late.

"Ah."

Male Classmate 1 had a strange expression for a moment.

Did he catch on? Did he suspect something?

...I shouldn't have responded like that.

I should have just pretended not to notice.

As various thoughts raced through my mind, Male Classmate 1 spoke.

"Are you not playing games yourself?"

What does he mean?

Is he suspicious?

Well, technically, I did play...

My mind went blank.

But they say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger's den.

"Ah, I do play, but not right now."

"What games do you usually play?"

"Um... All sorts of games."

Silence followed.

I just realized that not only am I not very social, but Male Classmate 1 doesn't seem to be either.

'Is this normal?'

I don't know.

I have no idea.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

While we were having this trivial conversation, Male Classmate 1's screen showed that he had found a match.

It was fortunate for me.

'I hope this passes without any issues.'

Of course, it's normal to be suspicious in this situation, but I hope he lets it go.

"Hmm, what should I do?"

"What should I do?"

"Is this good?"

During the ban and pick phase, Male Classmate 1 seriously considered his pick.

As if speaking to someone.

"I wish someone would tell me..."

The way he trailed off was strange.

Only then did I realize where his gaze was.

'Look at this?'

This is a blatant test.

I know it.

But.

"SyLAS might be good."

As a current Challenger and the top-ranked player.

The blood of a coach in me couldn't stay still.

"Huh?"

Clearly surprised that I would take the bait, Male Classmate 1's face showed confusion.

"Well, I've seen a lot of people pick SyLAS in this situation in tournaments. Isn't that right?"

I decided to be bold.

My casual response made Male Classmate 1's expression change strangely.

"...Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case."

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