[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 114

Ryu Jin-hyuk reminisced about that day.

“Excuse me.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you over there.”

On that day, which felt utterly meaningless, Ryu Jin-hyuk encountered her at the convenience store.

“Here, drink this.”

“What?”

“You look dehydrated.”

The cold bottle of water she handed over. Those reddish-brown eyes that made him question if they belonged to this world. The long silver hair that danced away as she fled.

Ryu Jin-hyuk remembered it all. No, he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.

The not-so-encouraging encouragement from that day became a turning point for Ryu Jin-hyuk to regain his resolve, ultimately leading him to this very moment.

‘It’s definitely the person who gave me water at the convenience store.’

How did he not recognize that unique appearance at once? It felt ridiculous even to think about it himself.

‘But then again, was it really that surprising?’

A chance meeting with a female fan turned out to be a Grand Master—no, a Challenger? That was the kind of story even a passing dog wouldn’t believe.

‘……Well.’

Ryu Jin-hyuk came to accept it, albeit alone. It made sense that someone as passionate about Legends of League would also recognize him. That’s why she handed him the water bottle. It felt like puzzle pieces were finally clicking into place.

‘There are still questions lingering, though…’

He had uncovered the identity of the strange déjà vu he felt when he saw Outlaw. However, what he was not able to place was yet another sense of familiarity.

What that déjà vu was, Ryu Jin-hyuk knew very well. For some reason, Outlaw’s play style kept reminding him of Prisoner.

Was it just because he was a skilled jungler?

Sure, that was most likely it, but for some reason, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t shake off those other thoughts.

Common sense would say it shouldn’t be the case, yet that’s all it looked like to him.

“Looks like you’re really into it.”

As Ryu Jin-hyuk was lost in thought, Choi Won, who had approached without him realizing, teased him.

“…It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?”

Choi Won, as always, playfully tapped Ryu Jin-hyuk’s shoulder with a mischievous grin.

“If that’s how you feel, why not just send her a friend request?”

“…Forget it, why would I?”

A professional gamer suddenly sending a friend request to a rookie female BJ? It was not a good idea for either party, in many ways.

“Well, you could always try to snipe her during the queue.”

“Did it happen?”

“No, it’s you that’s spinning. Weird rumors have been going around. Just play it cool.”

“……”

Ryu Jin-hyuk was left speechless by Choi Won’s piercing words. Was it that obvious? He felt a need to exercise some restraint.

“…Fine.”

Ryu Jin-hyuk nodded and turned off the broadcast screen. It was true that he was still concerned about Outlaw, but the scrutiny from those around him made it hard to keep watching him as he had before.

‘Someday, we’ll meet again.’

Whether in Solo Queue or a tournament. Somewhere, somehow.

It was an unfounded certainty, yet for some reason, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt that way.

*

The game was ready.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Reject]

+

───────────────


BOQ Sergeant has joined the lobby.


SSC Super has joined the lobby.


MAX Lineover has joined the lobby.


Outlaw has joined the lobby.


SY Practice 7 has joined the lobby.


───────────────

+

-Not a bad member

-7th Practice has been pretty hot lately

-? I’ve never seen them before

-For real, totally a no-name

-There’s a mad movie on YouTube, check it out

-No thanks, I’m not watching it

As always, I shifted my gaze from the peaceful chat window to the ban/pick screen.

‘Hmm…’

The lanes were a bit tangled but not severely. We had two top laners, Sergeant and Super.

+

[Ban List]


Nidalee / Lee Sin

Jiksoo / Karthus

Jui / Kennen

Shaku / Thresh

Zed / Wukong

+

The bans were completed.

We had the first pick.

That meant we were on the bottom side.

Despite the first pick as top, Sergeant quietly made his choice without saying much. Typical of his team-oriented style.

[Jason]

Hmm…

Not a bad pick, but to be honest, Sergeant wasn’t exactly celebrated for his mechanical prowess. Although he confidently picked Jason as a first pick, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of concern.

‘Well, it’s Solo Queue…’

Almost no one is good from the get-go.

You need to play to get better, right?

Sergeant’s pick of Jason could be viewed in that light.

While it might not be known for amateurs, for pros, Solo Queue isn’t just a place to raise their scores; it’s also an opportunity to expand their champion pool.

[Malphite]

[Aphelios]

The opponent’s 1st and 2nd picks were Malphite and Aphelios. Malphite naturally counters most AD champions, making it an obvious pick following Jason.

Moreover, unlike Jason, Malphite’s champion difficulty is quite low.

Who would have thought it’d be fashionable to worship the massive rock in lower tiers?

‘I need an AP champion.’

With Jiksoo, the only current AP ADC, banned, it meant we needed to have a hard AP champion in either mid or jungle, or ideally both, to balance things out.

[Silas]

Good choice.

Given it’s a mid-first pick, it might be a bit tough in lane, but fundamentally being an AP champion, coupled with the fact that the opponent has Malphite, makes Silas’s pick strategically strong.

‘Now then…’

[Morgana]

Lineover picked Morgana. In doing so, we effectively negated some of the significance of the opponent’s Malphite pick.

And now it was time for their 3rd and 4th picks.

[Yasuo]

[Diana]

Yasuo and Diana. They rounded off a combination that not only had the upper hand in the top lane matchup but also an astonishing teamfight capability.

‘The opponent’s ban/pick isn’t bad.’

While our side’s ban/pick was decent, it was clear that the opponent team was leading the picks, while we were clearly following along.

‘An AP champion to gain an advantage against Diana…’

Admittedly, with Silas there, we could avoid needing to pick an AP champion, but still, to lower Malphite’s damage potential, a proper balance in damage distribution seemed necessary.

With all those considerations, a few champions came to mind.

‘Yeah, let’s go with this.’

[Ekko]

Ekko was an AP champion who could hold an advantage against Diana and seemed solid in our composition.

Of course, in one-on-one situations, Ekko wouldn’t be able to take the upper hand against a champion like Diana.

That being said, recent nerfs had put Diana’s tier down, and Ekko had benefitted from recent jungle speed buffs.

If it were a 1v1 mid matchup, picking Ekko against Diana wouldn’t be a good call, but this was the jungle.

There were a lot of other factors to consider besides simple 1v1 fights.

And…

The ban/pick phase was finally completed.

+

[Allied / Enemy]


Top: Jason / Malphite

Jungle: Ekko / Diana

Mid: Silas / Yasuo

AD: Ezreal / Aphelios

Support: Morgana / Leona

+

Overall, the top side was quite unfavorable, while the bottom side was advantageous.

Although the bottom side had an advantage, it was primarily limited to the laning phase; if teamfights broke out, things could change drastically.

Initially, since Leona came in as a counter to Morgana, it seemed the opponent was somewhat willing to concede in terms of lane.

‘In this early game, focusing on the top side and prioritizing growth would be wise.’

As I took a brief sigh of relief, the chat window grabbed my attention.

-Let’s go, time to hide

-Am I the only one holding my breath?

-Phew

-Why does the host look so serious during the ban/pick phase? LOL

-Lol

-For real

-Phew

-Lol

It seemed the serious vibe had spread to the viewers as well.

‘Honestly, this is better.’

Although it started off as a game with a rush, the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

I thought there would be time to discuss the remaining topics regarding YSG later on.

Even if I didn’t contribute much, I couldn’t sulk like a criminal forever.

‘Well, if the viewers don’t ask, that’s even better.’

If that were the case, I was more inclined toward that.

+

───────────────


Jungler’s Slave – Malphite

Top Lane Training Master – Diana

qq7785dd55 – Yasuo

GTD LastOrder – Aphelios

SY GuineaPig – Leona


───────────────

+

After a familiar set of IDs flashed across the loading screen.

-Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

The game has begun.