Chapter 39

### Chapter 39: The First Gate

* * *

A week had passed.

That day, after returning home, I had dinner with my family for the first time in a while, and we chatted about various things.

"Really, that's what happened?"

"Why did you even say that…"

Of course, most of the conversation revolved around my younger brother teasing me, but it was still a somewhat enjoyable time.

However, it couldn't be entirely enjoyable because of the shockingly impactful words my mother said.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me just now."

On the day my mother practically kicked me out, it turns out that plainclothes security guards were secretly following me.

No matter what, bringing along plainclothes security guards in secret was just too much.

It was something I never could have imagined.

What made it even more infuriating was that my brother had known about it since his phone call with my mother.

I had a feeling something was off…

Of course, I wasn't upset with my younger brother.

I still remember when he found me, the beads of sweat on his forehead.

Even if the security guards were secretly following me, he must have been worried.

Anyway, I thought the plainclothes security guards were a bit excessive, but considering my mother's usual behavior, it wasn't entirely surprising.

'Well, now that I think about it, my mother has always been overly protective of me.'

Even if the reason was to foster my independence, the sudden eviction was too abrupt.

'Wait, does that mean she knew about me acting silly in the park too?'

Even though my brother had already seen me at my worst, that was only after he joined me.

The fact that my mother knew about me acting silly in the park and running away…

'…Should I just die?'

Embarrassing memories started to resurface one by one.

The feeling of losing my dignity as a human being.

Of course, I understand that my mother didn't mean it in a bad way, but it was still too much.

'I'll get revenge.'

I'll complain about the side dishes, drink a lot of coffee, and stay up all night.

…Wait, wasn't I already doing that?

Well, that's not the important part.

Even without those incidents, a lot happened over the week.

I started preparing for the move and went through various steps to sort out my identity.

…To be honest, I didn't do much.

At most, I answered questions like, "Which house and room do you like?"

So, what did I do?

Of course, I played games.

During this time, I achieved a five-game winning streak.

Since becoming a woman, I've had a 13-game winning streak.

+

[Prisoner]

Rank 1

Solo Queue

- Challenger

- 1792 LP / 252 wins 172 losses

- Win Rate 59%

+

The current highest solo queue score is 1789 points, set by Rainbow in the previous season.

I not only surpassed that but also reached the first wall, which no one has ever broken, at 1800 points.

I was about to set a historical record for the highest solo queue score.

Naturally, the community exploded.

+

[Prisoner's Recent Status.jpg]

────────

[Victory] 34 minutes 44 seconds

[Victory] 15 minutes 11 seconds

[Victory] 13 minutes 03 seconds

...

[Victory] 25 minutes 41 seconds

[Victory] 39 minutes 01 seconds

[Victory] 9 minutes 31 seconds

────────

16-game winning streak in solo queue 😂

And it's in the highest tier of the Challenger division.

+

The comment section was also massive.

- Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god?

- 16-game winning streak in the highest tier of Challenger 😂😂😂 Really insane

- Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god?

- Stop spamming

- Wow, Rainbow's record is broken 😎😎

- Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!

- Is this... the solo queue warrior who dominated the Red Cup winners?

- It's not that he dominated them; it's just that Rainbow and Yun-ki played casually in solo queue... 😂 That's why noobs are noobs

- You're next. You lost, so what's with the long tongue?

- Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god? Is Prisoner a god?

- Fact: Both Rainbow, a two-time Red Cup winner, and Yun-ki, a one-time winner, have been dominated by Prisoner.

- Fact is bullshit 😂 Please stop comparing an amateur to Red Cup winners. ^_^

- Wow, is he really a rare disease patient? And he can play like this?

- Probably, otherwise it wouldn't make sense for him not to debut as a pro.

- If he can play like this, regardless of his condition, he's worth recruiting, right?

- Did Prisoner recently get a blood transfusion? This is ridiculous 😂😂😂 He might really hit 1800 points.

The posts weren't limited to just these.

- Breaking News: Prisoner sets a new record for the highest solo queue score in League of Legends history

- Data Alert: Today's compilation of Prisoner's super plays.GIF

- Future Shrine: Prisoner heading to 1800 points

- Live Poll: Prisoner vs. Yun-ki

Just the visible posts were this extensive.

Moreover, new posts were continuously being uploaded, so there were likely countless mentions of Prisoner if I searched.

Prisoner was attracting significant attention in the League of Legends community, and the question of whether he would be the first to break 1800 points was a major topic of discussion.

While I was monitoring the community,

* * *

Vroom...

My smartphone vibrated.

'Hmm.'

An unknown number.

Since this had happened a few times in the past few days, I naturally switched my phone to silent mode and ignored it.

'Here we go again.'

I didn't need to think about where the call was coming from.

Since I didn't answer, a text message soon followed.

"Hello, this is James Lee, a scout for the North American professional team TTU. Is this Prisoner?"

The rumor about my rare disease was widely known, even among regular community users.

In such a situation, receiving a scouting offer meant that my value had reached a level where the risk was manageable.

'Probably the influence of the pros I've played with.'

Recruitment offers were more common from overseas teams.

It seemed that overseas teams were more flexible compared to the relatively rigid Korean teams in this regard.

"I am, but I'm sorry, I'm not in a position to debut as a pro."

"Can we at least have a conversation? Maybe a phone call?"

"I'm sorry."

Of course, even if I could, joining a team in my current situation was out of the question, so I rejected all offers.

It was a bit disappointing, but it was inevitable.

'I guess it's time to change my phone.'

I couldn't do it yet because my identity issues weren't fully resolved, but that was about to change.

After politely declining, I, as usual, launched the League of Legends client.

It was the start of my daily routine.

[2]

As soon as I logged in, a 1:1 chat window flashed.

[SCV KING: Hello]

[SCV KING: Is it okay to chat now?]

SCV KING.

One of the top laners in my friend list, he had initiated a conversation with me.

Judging by his unusually serious tone, my guess was correct.

[Me: Yes]

[SCV KING: Actually, do you have a team now or are you planning to join one?]

That's what I thought.

Of course, I wasn't upset.

It was good to know that many people recognized my value.

Moreover, SCV was a prestigious team that had reached the semi-finals of the Red Cup.

While I had received contact from the runner-up team GRS before, this was the first time a domestic team of this size had reached out.

'It's a bit disappointing, but…'

[Me: I'm sorry, but I'm not in a position to join a team right now.]

[SCV KING: Ah... If you change your mind, please let me know!]

[Me: Sure]

After finishing the private message, I queued up.

It was time to aim for 1800 points.

'For some reason, I'm not feeling well today.'

Actually, it's a bit ridiculous for me to say this.

I've never had a day in my life where I felt good.

For me, "condition" was just a matter of being a little more or less sick, not good or bad.

'Well, it should be fine.'

If I told my mother, she would probably make a fuss about going to the hospital or being admitted to the ICU, so I just queued up.

Even if I wasn't feeling well, it was just a bit of a heavy head.

My condition wasn't going to stop me from reaching the 1800-point milestone.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

I pressed accept.

* * *