Chapter 81

### Chapter 81: Tryout (2)

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"Ah, this is just impossible."

The atmosphere inside the YSG dorm was as heated as ever.

If this heat was due to the enthusiasm of practice like in other teams, it would have been perfect, but unfortunately, the source of this heat was far from positive.

"Why are you farming blue there? If you came for backup, you should have caught them all. Can't you see the enemy's health bars?"

"That's a result-oriented argument. At that point, going for Kha'Zix was the right decision, right?"

League of Legends is a team game.

It's not unusual for players to blame each other when playing, but the problem was that YSG was not just any amateur team; it was a professional team.

"And why are you pushing the top lane? If you had secured the lane push, you should have teleported to join the fight, right?"

"…The situation was already bad. It was better for me to gain an advantage on my own rather than join the fight."

Ideally, in a professional team like YSG, the coach or manager should lead the feedback sessions.

While it's not necessarily bad for players to lead feedback, this is only true when the feedback is constructive.

"Ha… When did I ever feed? Do you even know the bottom lane situation? You're still a noob."

"That damn noob, noob. It's hard to climb in top lane solo queue, you know? Why don't you try it? You're just a spoon who does nothing and complains."

The reason the coach and manager should lead the feedback is simple.

The players are generally young and inexperienced.

When inexperienced players lead the feedback, it naturally turns into a blame game rather than constructive criticism.

There's no problem when the team is doing well; they can easily brush off any comments. The problem arises when the overall team atmosphere is down.

Soon, this negatively affects the team's morale.

"Ha… I'll stop talking."

"Just shut up. I don't even want to talk to you."

This was the reality in the YSG practice room.

'Huh.'

Coach Park Tae-hyung was well aware of the team's issues.

However, by the time he was hired, it was already too late.

"Hey, everyone, calm down."

"Coach, you heard what that guy said, right?"

"What about this guy?"

"Stop it, all of you."

The players' voices finally quieted down when Coach Park Tae-hyung, who rarely lost his temper, spoke in a stern voice.

"…Understood."

"Let's call it a day. Everyone take a break today. Got it?"

"Yes."

After barely calming the players, Coach Park Tae-hyung knocked on the manager's office door, which remained closed despite the situation.

Knock knock

"It's open."

"Coming in."

When Coach Park Tae-hyung entered the manager's office, the first thing he saw was the manager polishing a golf club.

He had been boasting about his recent trip with the CEO…

"Manager, are you just going to let this continue?"

"Huh? Oh, I thought… Kids these days are all like that. Isn't it a good thing? I heard that in other teams, they don't even fight. In that sense, being young is good, right? Haha."

He wasn't entirely wrong.

From what he heard, in the lower-ranked teams, the players didn't even talk to each other.

But everything has its limits.

"…It can't go on like this. The team's atmosphere is getting worse. If this continues, some players will start to go off the rails. A few already are."

"So? What do you want to say?"

"We need time to regroup. If we push the schedule as it is, nothing will get done."

"No."

"…What?"

"Look, you're saying we should stop all scrimmages and focus on team building, right? But is that even feasible given our current situation? There are plenty of teams that don't want to scrimmage with us. Why? Because they don't think it will help. Do you know how I arranged these scrimmages?"

"I know you've been working hard, but…"

"Besides, the season just started. If the team starts to falter now, what will it look like for me?"

Ah, I knew it.

That's probably the real reason.

"Anyway, try to calm the kids down. You know we have a match tomorrow, right?"

"…Yes, I understand."

"Go on."

As Coach Park Tae-hyung left the manager's office, he let out a deep sigh.

At that moment, another coach who had been watching approached and patted Coach Park Tae-hyung on the shoulder.

"Coach, don't push yourself too hard. The kids will pull through, right?"

"…Yes, thank you."

The current situation at YSG was nothing short of a comprehensive crisis.

A manager obsessed with politics and self-preservation.

A coaching staff lacking in enthusiasm and competence.

A front office more interested in publicity than performance.

Coach Park Tae-hyung was overwhelmed by all these negative factors.

'If the season goes down the drain, they'll blame me or someone else. It's obvious.'

YSG's performance last season was 7th place.

It was a hard-fought achievement in a toxic team environment.

While there was still room for improvement, Coach Park Tae-hyung realistically didn't think it would happen this year.

'ManGi's form is off lately.'

The team's captain and oldest member, YSG ManGi (Kim ManGi), had seen a significant drop in his skills.

His solo queue tier had fallen below Master 100 points, and there were concerns he might be demoted to Diamond.

In professional gaming, results speak.

With the team's captain and oldest member in such a state, it was no surprise that the already struggling team was failing to function properly.

'This can't go on. We need a new wind. A new…'

YSG did have a second team of developing players, but the problem was that none of them met Coach Park Tae-hyung's standards.

In a way, it was understandable.

Coach Park Tae-hyung's standards were objectively quite strict, and the promising players who met those standards preferred to join well-established teams with strong academy systems and good reputations like SY or SCV, rather than a team with a bad reputation and a chaotic environment like YSG.

"Sigh."

At that moment, Coach Park Tae-hyung's smartphone rang.

[Just arrived. I'm on the 1st floor.]

'…Oh, right.'

He had recently invited an amateur who seemed promising to take a test.

With all the recent events, he had completely forgotten.

[Yes, please come up in the elevator. We're on the 9th floor.]

He wouldn't normally go to meet a prospective trainee, but Coach Park Tae-hyung decided to go out for some fresh air and left the office.

Waiting in the practice room was too suffocating.

'Here they come.'

Standing in front of the elevator, Coach Park Tae-hyung stared blankly at the floor numbers.

1st floor.

2nd floor.

3rd floor.

...

9th floor.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, Coach Park Tae-hyung felt his breath catch.

Neatly braided silver hair.

Eyes that, despite their ordinary color, seemed natural due to their unique aura.

An exotic appearance that felt almost unreal, as if she didn't belong in the same world as him.

"Hello."

Staring blankly at her, Coach Park Tae-hyung was momentarily stunned by the sound of her voice, which was as clear as jade.

He then looked around, confused.

That's strange… I'm the only one here.

"…Me?"

"Yes, are you Coach Park Tae-hyung?"

You know me?

How?

"That's correct, but… um, why are you here…? Oh, are you a family member of one of our players? Please come in."

"No, I… I'm here for the test."

"…What?"

Coach Park Tae-hyung, who had been momentarily stunned, nodded in understanding.

"Ah, you must have come to the wrong office. The 9th floor is the office of the professional League of Legends team YSG. I believe the office for the shopping mall is on the 27th or 28th floor."

As soon as he said this, Coach Park Tae-hyung felt a strange sense of dissonance.

The Outrow who had said they were on the 1st floor had still not arrived, and the elevator, which should have been moving, remained stationary.

'Wait a moment… Didn't she know me? Did I hear wrong?'

Realizing this, he looked at her again, and her lips, painted a light pink, slowly parted.

"I'm in the right place. I'm Outrow."

"…What?"

Coach Park Tae-hyung could only utter a confused question.

What did I just hear?

Outrow?

The person who was supposed to come for the test today?

"…Outrow, is it?"

"Yes."

"Ah… Just a moment. So, you're here for the tryout for the professional League of Legends team YSG?"

"Yes."

Coach Park Tae-hyung, struggling to maintain his composure, continued speaking.

Honestly, he wasn't even sure what he was saying.

"…Let's go inside."

He decided to take a moment to think.

Coach Park Tae-hyung was in a state of great confusion.

'Outrow… is a woman?'

Strictly speaking, there were women with high tiers, but they were rare.

In fact, there were no female professional players in the current domestic League of Legends scene.

'As far as I know, there are some overseas, but…'

They were mostly on entertainment teams or as secondary members, not as main players.

Given this context, it was understandable that Coach Park Tae-hyung hadn't asked about Outrow's gender when inviting her for the test.

'…But, the skills I saw were real.'

Coach Park Tae-hyung had discovered Outrow purely by chance.

While watching the solo queue of the team's captain, Kim ManGi, he had come across Outrow on the opposing team.

A playstyle like a prisoner.

Of course, it was unlikely that she was actually a prisoner, but it was a way of saying she was that good.

Fascinated by her play, Coach Park Tae-hyung immediately sent a test invitation.

Although her current tier wasn't particularly high, her abnormal win rate suggested that it was only a matter of time before she reached a higher tier.

'…It wasn't a prisoner. No, it couldn't be a prisoner.'

100% win rate.

The magical number made him wonder if the disappeared prisoner had created a new account, but if Outrow was a woman, that was impossible.

"Did you have any trouble getting here?"

"Yes."

The short answer.

The conversation ended there, for different reasons on both sides.

'First… I need to conduct the test properly.'

He couldn't just send her away after inviting her.

'And…'

It was unlikely,

It was impossible,

But if,

By some chance,

'If her skills are real…'

A superstar, unprecedented in the League of Legends scene, would be born.

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