[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 168

“…Yes.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Kim Jae-min’s voice slumped.

Of course, to be precise, ShowMeTheAgal Kim Jae-min didn’t completely flake out on his responsibilities.

No matter how much supporting plays a major role in the laning phase, the fact remained that Kim Jae-min held his own pretty well against a challenger and a current professional gamer during the early laning phase.

‘He did pull his weight to some degree later on, too.’

If Kim Jae-min had really been that ineffective, our team wouldn’t have won this game in the first place.

No, even before that, he probably wouldn’t have made it onto the team at all.

Yet, Baek Seong-an’s snappy attitude likely stemmed from the growing need to rein in Jae-min.

‘I did intentionally let him play Jinx for this reason… but I do feel a bit bad about it.’

If, despite that, Kim Jae-min managed to navigate the whole game well, maybe it wouldn’t matter, but ultimately, his stubbornness regarding picks led to unfavorable outcomes.

Soon enough, he’d have to pay the price for that.

“We’ll have about twenty minutes for feedback, then jump into the next game. Everyone gather around.”

At Baek Seong-an’s words, the team members huddled in front of the massive monitor set up in the practice room.

This was the space designated for feedback sessions.

“First off, we did win this game, but it wasn’t without its issues. In fact, there were quite a few, right?”

“Yeah.”

This time, the response came solely from Seo Yeon-woo.

Well… to be honest, I thought I played pretty well in this game, so I didn’t feel the need to chime in.

‘The other two…’

Glancing quickly at the seating where Kim Jae-min and Kim Ji-hoon sat, I felt a chill emanating from their direction.

Hmm, the atmosphere seems off.

Let’s not mention it unnecessarily.

And…

The feedback session began under Baek Seong-an’s lead.

Of course, I chimed in whenever it seemed he missed something along the way.

“Ah, why did you choose to go home right then? You could have pushed one more wave. You could see where the enemies were. If you’d pushed another wave, they would have had to rush back to defend, which would’ve worked in our favor in terms of numbers.”

“That’s… uh, I think I misjudged. I thought it’d be better to regroup as quickly as possible.”

“We had a bit of time before the dragon came up, so pushing another wave would have been fine. Keep that in mind going forward. Rushing to regroup isn’t always the right choice. You need to assess the situation.”

“Yes.”

Given the unusual nickname, 3 Min Top School Honorary Member, I anticipated challenges, but surprisingly, Seo Yeon-woo willingly accepted both mine and Baek Seong-an’s feedback.

Not only that, but whenever she didn’t understand something, she pointed it out instead of just agreeing without thought.

“I believe I was right here, though?”

“That’s true in the end. But if it had gone this way….”

“Hmm. I think that makes sense.”

Now that’s what I call an ideal attitude toward feedback.

However, having observed the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member for a long time, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off.

‘There’s something suspicious about this.’

Was this kid really one to take others’ words at face value, with that innocent face?

A lingering sense of bewilderment bubbled up inside me, but I couldn’t voice that concern.

After all, our team had more than a couple of issues we were facing. I didn’t want to stir unnecessary trouble by nudging a seemingly stable player.

Anyway, that’s that…

The feedback continued.

Baek Seong-an seemed aware of his role as a playing coach engaging in the game, as he openly acknowledged his mistakes as well.

“And here… um, I messed up. I’m sorry, everyone. I’ll do my best to avoid such mistakes in the future.”

“No, it’s alright. I should have made clearer calls… I was too vague.”

“That was understandable in that situation. It’s on me.”

Up to this point, it seemed like a pretty ideal feedback session, but the crux of the problem lay with our bot lane.

“…”

Kim Jae-min was afraid of Kim Ji-hoon, aka Timid Person 190, who played as his support, but that was purely one-sided and temporary avoidance.

In reality, even when Kim Ji-hoon tried talking during the game, Kim Jae-min would flinch a bit but wouldn’t genuinely follow his instructions.

That was due to long-standing habits ingrained in him.

‘It’s not like a single game is going to change that habit.’

Though it’s called a habit, the outcomes of all Kim Jae-min’s actions reflect his current skill level.

So, merely saying, “Don’t do this,” wouldn’t address the underlying issues.

He needed to be guided slowly and thoroughly to correct the ingrained faults Kim Jae-min carried.

“I’d like to hear calls from you both in the bot lane.”

“…Yes.”

“Understood.”

Kim Jae-min and Kim Ji-hoon nodded respectively, but neither looked truly convinced.

Baek Seong-an shook his head and shot me a pleading glance.

No matter how I rattled my brain, I couldn’t think of anything particularly helpful, so I could only shake my head.

Sigh…

Twenty minutes slipped by, filled with all sorts of worries.

*

And thus, the second scrim officially began.

Switching things up for the second game, we found ourselves in the upper lane and thus the later pick.

[Lucian]

The opponent’s first ban was, as before, Lucian.

They likely didn’t think the previous loss was due to the ban/pick phase.

Generally, proceeding with the same ban/pick as a team that lost in a multi-game series isn’t deemed wise, but this case was somewhat different.

‘That’s a good call.’

Our team’s weakness was the ADC.

Even though we had reached an agreement to go with designated picks, that fact didn’t change.

Even if the opponents were aware of how we would respond, the ban strategy likely wouldn’t have altered either.

[“Uh… what should we ban?”]

At that moment, Baek Seong-an spoke.

[“Yujin, we’re planning to cut all the ADCs this game, what do you think?”]

“Um… wouldn’t that put our team at more of a disadvantage?”

[“It’s fine. We aren’t going to use ADC champions anyway. Let’s go with what we did before.”]

If we’re going with what we did before…

The only game that popped into my head was one I’d experienced firsthand.

Because I’ve already gone through a game where our ADC was a weak link.

“…Is that right?”

[“We’re just going to try it out. You said it’s a scrim anyway.”]

“Hmm… yeah, I guess. Let’s do it.”

Once the bans were concluded, Baek Seong-an said,

[“Jae-min, we’re going with an ADC rule, are you cool with that?”]

[“I’m not really good at playing support champions…”]

Kim Jae-min’s voice dripped with nervousness, clearly unprepared for being assigned a support champion.

[“But you know the skills.”]


[“That’s true but…”]

[“Just go for it.”]

At Baek Seong-an’s insistence, Kim Jae-min replied with his head hung low.

[“…Yes.”]

Thus, Ruler was picked for the ADC role.

Since Kim Jae-min had no choice in the matter, it was now set in stone.

And…

With that, the bans/picks were completed.

+

Top: Kamal / Malphite


Jungle: Graves / Xin Zhao


Mid: Morgana / Jui


ADC: Ruler / Miss Fortune


Support: Yuumi / Leona

+

The team composition was straightforward.

A 3-support setup.

It was somewhat similar to the combination I had used during a 5v5 with Jjuhsim, but it didn’t feel quite as burdensome as before.

That’s because our team had a top solo capable of holding its own against others even among challengers—the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member, Seo Yeon-woo.

‘Having a teammate you can rely on is a good thing.’

Of course, I did have my reservations about whether the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member was actually reliable, but I had to admit that the situation was better compared to the relatively lackluster mid and an adjusting bot lane.

“Everyone, let’s do our best.”

[“Fighting!”]


[“Let’s go for it.”]


[“…Fighting!”]

The enthusiasm had noticeably increased from before.

ShowMeTheAgal Kim Jae-min’s voice was now crawling.

‘Hmm.’

The game began.

*

– The enemies unanimously agreed to surrender with 5 votes for and none against.

It had only been 17 minutes since the game started.

The fact that they surrendered before even reaching the 20-minute mark left Kim Jae-min feeling uneasy and unfamiliar.

[Victory]

We won.

Not just a win but a sweeping one.

It was a far easier game, what people call a “bus game”, compared to the previous one.

“…”

It was hard to believe that just a little while ago we’d been through a bloody clash; now it was a one-sided affair.

Even though the bottom line battle had been excruciating, the game ended regardless of the bottom line control or cs count.

Kim Jae-min couldn’t grasp that fact.

He was an ADC.

Yet, despite playing in the ADC position, he performed with a support champion and still won effortlessly?

Though he couldn’t make sense of it, that was the current level of OLZ.

The lineup could overpower a first-division team like BOQ, even just with a support champion, simply providing buffs from the back.

It was unbelievable that this team was preparing for a promotion match to the second division.

But paradoxically, that very fact weighed heavily on Kim Jae-min’s mind.

“…”

The voices of teammates exchanging feedback echoed in his ears. Unfortunately, nothing stuck; he was too shocked.

‘This isn’t right.’

I didn’t boldly knock on OLZ’s door just to end up as a burden.

I wanted to do better…

No, I could do better.

“Um, I’d like to say something…”

Thus, breaking his long silence, Kim Jae-min hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Um, could I…”

He wanted to show that things were different from the first game.

This time, he wanted to carry like an outlaw and demonstrate to his teammates that he was no longer a burden.

“…Could I play an ADC champion next match?”

But…

“Jae-min.”

Opportunities were not always presented.

“I told you, today is about sticking to the designated picks. Didn’t you hear that?”

“That’s…”

Kim Jae-min couldn’t formulate any counter-argument to Baek Seong-an’s words.

It was all true.

“Just follow the designated picks today. If you had a champion you wanted to play, you should have made good on that when given the chance.”

That was the right thing to say.

Kim Jae-min had indeed been given a chance.

But he hadn’t proven himself.

“…Yes. I’ll do that.”

The prince’s pride crumbled.