Chapter 45 of 100
Chapter 45
7 min read1,833 words
### Chapter 45: Competitive Spirit
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Ryu Jinhyeok spent the night with his eyes wide open.
He stared at his friend list, hoping that Prisoner might log in.
“……”
At some point, he noticed his eyes starting to close.
After all, the season was almost over.
His practice schedule was as tight as during tournaments, and Ryu Jinhyeok, known for his dedication to practice, couldn't resist the overwhelming drowsiness.
If he had been playing a game, he might have been able to stay awake, but he was just staring blankly at the monitor.
“Ugh……”
At first, he tried desperately to stay awake.
He didn't want to be comfortably lying down, oblivious to the fact that his long-time friend might be in trouble.
However, the body doesn't always obey the mind.
‘…I can't fall asleep.’
How many times did he doze off and wake up again?
Ryu Jinhyeok couldn't resist the persistent temptation of sleep.
.
.
.
“…Bro!”
Ryu Jinhyeok was woken by a familiar voice.
“Bro Jinhyeok!”
The voice belonged to GuineaPig, Yu Sanghyun, the support player on the team.
As usual, Yu Sanghyun, who takes good care of his teammates, couldn't ignore Ryu Jinhyeok, who was lying on the desk.
“Eh, eh. Yeah.”
Ryu Jinhyeok wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and opened his eyes.
Despite his efforts to stay awake, his body had eventually won.
“Why are you here? Practice is about to start.”
“What?”
Today's practice schedule started at 11 AM.
In other words, he had been asleep on the desk for at least 9 hours.
“……”
Ryu Jinhyeok scolded himself.
He thought he was used to staying up all night, but he couldn't even resist boredom.
“Prisoner?”
Still half-asleep, Ryu Jinhyeok mumbled and looked for Prisoner.
Yu Sanghyun's expression changed at the sight.
“Why are you suddenly looking for Prisoner? Ah, you saw that too?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well……”
Before Yu Sanghyun could answer, Ryu Jinhyeok's gaze shifted to the League of Legends client.
And……
“Huh?”
Ryu Jinhyeok couldn't believe his eyes.
+
[Prisoner]
In Game.
+
Prisoner.
Prisoner is in a game right now.
“Phew……”
Ryu Jinhyeok finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
He's alive……
He had been worried sick about what might have happened to Prisoner, but it seemed Prisoner was safe.
If something had happened, he wouldn't be playing a game.
‘There must have been some reason.’
Looking at the "In Game" message, Ryu Jinhyeok's resolve, which he had been building for a long time, solidified.
Today, he would say it.
He was sorry for speaking so carelessly before, and he would congratulate Prisoner on reaching first place and 1800 points.
While Ryu Jinhyeok was lost in thought, Yu Sanghyun spoke up.
“Shouldn't you have seen it from the beginning? Did you see it from the beginning, bro?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ryu Jinhyeok couldn't understand what Yu Sanghyun was saying.
“Prisoner is about to hit 1900 points. It's causing a stir everywhere. Weren't you watching it here?”
“What?”
Suddenly 1900 points?
Wasn't Prisoner's score 1800 points?
No, and 1900 points…… it's absurd.
“Huh? You didn't know?”
Surprised by Yu Sanghyun's reaction, Ryu Jinhyeok hurriedly accessed a match history site and searched for Prisoner.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Queue
Challenger
1890 LP / 259 Wins 172 Losses
Win Rate 60%
+
“……”
Ryu Jinhyeok felt a moment of dizziness.
He had only been asleep for about 9 hours.
While 9 hours isn't a short time, it's not nearly enough for a score of 1800 points to reach 1900 points.
Especially in the highest tier of solo queue, where it's already difficult to find a match.
The average queue time, including the ban/pick phase, is at least 10 to 20 minutes.
And if there's a dodge?
The waiting time becomes meaningless.
It's not a joke that someone might give up after waiting an hour just to play a single game.
No matter how skilled Prisoner is, physical time can't be ignored…… what's happening is too strange.
‘What's going on……’
In a surreal feeling, as if in a dream, Ryu Jinhyeok slowly read through Prisoner's match history.
+
────────
[Victory] 13:41
[Victory] 19:12
[Victory] 15:06
[Victory] 15:14
[Victory] 34:33
[Victory] 29:54
────────
+
Six consecutive wins.
Prisoner had achieved six consecutive wins during the 9 hours Ryu Jinhyeok was asleep.
‘…And almost all of them were quick games.’
Out of the total game time, only two games lasted more than 20 minutes.
In other words, the top-tier players and amateurs in the Korean solo queue couldn't last 20 minutes against Prisoner.
‘That's why he could achieve six consecutive wins while I was asleep?’
Of course, the questions didn't end there.
Until now, Prisoner had played at most 3 games a day.
But he played 6 games in the middle of the night.
It was a pattern that had never been seen from Prisoner before.
‘Why?’
Prisoner's pattern had changed.
While playing six consecutive games is certainly difficult, it's not impossible.
Many pros play 12 or more games a day, including both scrimmages and solo queue, even outside of tournament periods.
And, as a side note, lower-tier players who don't focus much on the game often play 20 or more games in a row.
Of course, these are general cases, and Prisoner's situation is quite different.
‘Prisoner isn't in the best physical condition. If he hadn't played more than 3 games before, there must be a reason……’
While his condition might have improved recently, for some reason, Ryu Jinhyeok's thoughts kept leaning towards the negative.
There's a saying, "A dying flame burns brightest."
Ryu Jinhyeok felt that Prisoner was burning like a final flame.
‘…I need to check it out myself.’
Despite the upcoming practice schedule, Ryu Jinhyeok felt a sense of duty.
He wanted to see with his own eyes.
What state Prisoner was in.
Just as Ryu Jinhyeok was about to click "Watch" on Prisoner's friend list, Yu Sanghyun spoke up.
“Bro, there's a delay if you watch it that way. It's better to watch the stream.”
“Stream?”
“Yeah.”
“Prisoner doesn't stream, though?”
“Streamers are going after Prisoner. You really didn't know anything?”
“Where can I watch it?”
“RedTV probably has more.”
Hearing this, Ryu Jinhyeok hurriedly accessed RedTV, an internet streaming platform.
The list of streams that appeared shocked him.
────────────────
[C1 1300] Hunting Prisoner. Prisoner Hunting Waiting Room
[Watch Room] Will Prisoner Reach 1900 Points? What Will the Result Be?
[C1 1244] Jusim: To Reach 1900 Points, You Must Beat Me, Prisoner
[Challenger Noob Streamer] I'll Stream Until I Meet Prisoner
────────────────
Streamers, or BJ (Broadcast Jockeys), are known by various names, but one thing is clear: they live for viewers and views.
Naturally, they couldn't ignore the current hot topic, Prisoner.
‘…So, that's why Prisoner could keep finding matches.’
Numerous streamers are queuing up to hunt Prisoner.
Naturally, with fewer dodges, Prisoner's game intervals are relatively shorter than usual.
“Bro, look at that, look at that.”
“What is it?”
Yu Sanghyun pointed to a famous BJ and top-tier jungler, Jusim.
[C1 1244] Jusim: To Reach 1900 Points, You Must Beat Me, Prisoner
“Jusim's opponent is Prisoner, right?”
Jusim.
A top-tier jungler known for his mastery of Rengar.
His understanding of Rengar is so deep that even Yun Gi, the Red Cup winner, acknowledges his skill.
Ryu Jinhyeok had often met Jusim as an ally or opponent in solo queue.
Ryu Jinhyeok entered Jusim's stream.
The first thing he saw was the overwhelming game score.
[0:9]
The game had only been going for about 11 minutes.
But it was already a blowout.
‘Well, of course.’
Prisoner, who couldn't be stopped by even the Red Cup winner Yun Gi or Ryu Jinhyeok himself.
No matter how skilled Jusim was, he couldn't stop the raging Prisoner.
The chat and the stream were filled with taunts directed at Jusim.
Is this... a four-digit jungler?
Info) The score difference between Jusim and Prisoner is gold and diamond.
Ah, what can you do if you're a gold jungler?
This is... a gold jungler?
“‘Jungle difference, jungle difference, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’”
Usually, Jusim, as a pro streamer, never stops talking, but in this situation, he couldn't say a word.
[“…Ah, this wasn't supposed to happen……”]
Na
Lock
Na
Lock
“‘Jusim, you're so bad’”
[“……”]
The result was a crushing victory for Prisoner.
Before the 15-minute mark, the herald had already pushed towards the inhibitor turret, and the game was naturally over.
[Defeat]
Please come out, applause
Na
Lock
“‘You're not that good for a gold jungler’”
“‘Gold jungler! Gold jungler! Gold jungler! Gold jungler!’”
Seeing the streamer being trolled like this was uncomfortable, so Ryu Jinhyeok turned off the stream.
“Ah, why did you turn it off? It was fun.”
Yu Sanghyun, who often watches internet streams, seemed quite familiar with this culture.
“…Go watch it at your desk.”
“I don't have time. Bro, hurry up and get ready. You're not going to practice without breakfast? You'll get in trouble with the coach.”
“I don't feel like it today.”
“Okay, got it.”
Yu Sanghyun left his seat, and Ryu Jinhyeok stared blankly at Prisoner's match history.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Queue
Challenger
1904 LP / 260 Wins 172 Losses
Win Rate 60%
+
1900 points.
Prisoner, who had just achieved 1800 points and written a legend, had now written another legend overnight.
An impossible feat.
But it had clearly happened.
“……”
When Prisoner first hit 1800 points, Ryu Jinhyeok didn't feel this way.
Although Prisoner had broken his record, the score difference wasn't significant, and Ryu Jinhyeok believed he could reach 1800 points if he wanted to.
But when Prisoner hit 1900 points, Ryu Jinhyeok felt a strange, indescribable feeling.
A strange feeling.
Until now, Ryu Jinhyeok's feelings towards Prisoner had been affection, regret, and sympathy.
But now, something was different.
An unknown, strange feeling was making his heart race.
‘What is it?’
Jealousy? No, it's a bit different.
Is it sympathy or regret that he can't become a pro despite his skill?
No, that's not it either.
“…Ah.”
Ryu Jinhyeok soon realized what this feeling was.
Competitive spirit.
Ryu Jinhyeok genuinely wanted to beat Prisoner.
While his previous feelings towards Prisoner were closer to regret, now he recognized Prisoner as a true rival.
Therefore, he wanted to defeat the living legend that Prisoner was creating with his own hands.
‘Prisoner.’
But he couldn't do it alone.
Ryu Jinhyeok wanted to use all his strength to beat Prisoner, and if he played solo queue, there was a 50% chance he would end up on Prisoner's team.
That wasn't what he wanted.
After thinking it through, Ryu Jinhyeok approached Park Yun Gi, who was sitting at his desk.
“Yun Gi.”
“Yes, bro.”
“Want to duo queue later?”
“Bot duo?”
“No.”
Prisoner.
I don't know how far you'll go……
“Mid and jungle.”
Let's see if I can stop you.
* * *