[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 197

[“…Huh?”]

With Kim Jae-min’s voice filled with confusion, silence fell.

If Seo Yeon-woo were the type to chatter like Kim Jae-min normally does, everyone would have just brushed it off.

But Seo Yeon-woo had always displayed the ideal behavior of a top laner while playing the game.

Supporting when needed and carrying the team when necessary.

That’s why everyone couldn’t hide their surprise at Seo Yeon-woo’s reaction now.

[“Uh… Since we’re getting an advantage in bot lane, can you hold on a bit longer? We’ve almost got this game.”]

[“…I know that.”]

[“But why—”]

Seo Yeon-woo interrupted Baek Seong-an’s words.

[“I just want you to look at this once. Is that so hard to ask? Once, just once.”]

A cracked, hoarse voice.

It sounded incredibly angry or maybe even emotionally overwhelmed.

“…Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. But we’ve almost won this game, so please just hold on a bit—”

[“Hold on? What am I supposed to hold on to? We’ve already lost top lane. …It could have been a win.”]

There was a feeling of injustice in the voice.

I understood it too.

The matchup of Kennen against Kamal isn’t terrible for either side, but still, from Kamal’s perspective, if the jungler came, he could take down Kennen anytime.

‘…Is that so?’

Now that I think about it, it was strange.

I know Seo Yeon-woo.

No, to be precise, I know the amateur 3 Min Top School Honorary Member, not OLZ Honor.

3 Min Top School Honorary Member.

An amateur at the top ranks, worthy of being called a top believer.

His playstyle is almost black or white, with extreme tendencies, but he delivers as much as he consumes.

Ever since the 3 Min Top School Honorary Member joined OLZ, he completely changed his playstyle.

The top laner who always searched for the jungler and stubbornly pressed on when there was none has turned into a seasoned veteran.

Did he drop his previous style because it’s a team game? But is it that easy to just let go?

Many top laners become top believers because they’ve experienced the pain and data of defeat down to their bones.

It’s often said that top lane is a lonely lane.

That’s true.

Once you lose a skirmish in top lane, it’s hard to recover without help from the other lanes.

Even if those called top believers manage to score solo kills, they keep charging in for the same reason.

Even if it means one death turns into two, or three, they know instinctively and through experience that if they don’t try, they’ll never close the gap that’s widened forever.

For such a top laner, an amateur who had maintained that kind of play for a long time, to change in such a short period?

It was strange.

No, I should have thought it was strange.

‘Why?’

Confusion took the lead.

Why did Seo Yeon-woo abandon his established playstyle and fully comply with the team’s demands?

Why, of all times, did Seo Yeon-woo suddenly revert to his past self at this crucial moment of the qualifiers?

Why did Seo Yeon-woo…….

-The allied champ has fallen!

My thoughts couldn’t continue.

It was because the allied top, Seo Yeon-woo’s Kamal, who was barely enduring near the turret, finally died.

[“……”]

“Uh… it’s okay.”

I tried to offer a forced consolation, but the only response I received was silence.

The previously cheerful team voice instantly turned cold.

A long, drawn-out silence settled.

It was a long and quiet silence that felt like it would never end.

*

It’s hot.

I feel like I’m going to go crazy from the heat.

The hoodie I’m wearing in the name of team uniforms is suffocating, and the headset on my head, meant for communication, feels stifling.

I want to throw all of this off right now.

For the last few days, or maybe even longer, I feel like I haven’t slept.

My head is throbbing and everything in sight is irritating.

“Ha…”

The only thing that comes out is a deep sigh.

Countless words swirl around my tongue but can’t find their way out.

Why isn’t he coming top?

If he comes to top, I can catch him, right?

He doesn’t even have a flash. Just come and get caught.

Why is Kamal, who has his ultimate, just refusing to come?

Why does he keep going bot?

Why does he keep—

[“Hey, sister, can we see that scene again from earlier? It was insane.”]

[“What scene?”]

[“You know, where BlackDog….”]

[“Ah, got it.”]

That’s where he’s headed……

In the surge of frustration, Seo Yeon-woo felt himself losing control.

He was just so, so angry.

‘…Why am I like this?’

He slowly recalled the reason.

Ah, he thinks he got it.

Why he was so shaken.

There was someone he once admired.

Not a professional gamer.

He was an amateur like himself, someone he had depended on like no other.

-[All][3 Min Top School Honorary Member (Kamal): Mission completed.]

-[All][3 Min Top School Honorary Member (Kamal): I can’t let some random scrub take the sacred number one ranking.]

Seo Yeon-woo thought they were friends.

They’d never seen each other’s faces, didn’t even know each other’s names, but he felt like they shared something while playing together.

-[Prisoner (Diana): Excuse me?]

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member (Kamal): How was it? I just caught the opponent off guard.]

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member (Kamal): I’ve baked mid nice and fat. Just come over.]

Seo Yeon-woo liked him.

At first, he just liked how well he played, and then he liked him because they had so many similarities when they talked.

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Duo ㄱ?]

-[Prisoner: Hmm, okay.]

Every moment was enjoyable.

He once vaguely thought this moment would end someday, but he considered that a future thing.

Surely, it must have been like that….

-That summoner name doesn’t exist.

[“Huh?”]

The one who had been there suddenly vanished one day.

Without saying a word to him.

The end came without any sign at all.

[“What? Did he delete?”]

At first, he denied it.

He thought something was wrong.

But as time passed and rumors about him proliferated, Seo Yeon-woo fell into despair.

-[Special] The Prisoner, who made history by breaking 2000 points, disappears.

-Where did the Prisoner go?

He had died.

Maybe a long time ago.

[“Why, why, why…….”]

It was at that time.

-Outlaw.

When Outlaw appeared, Seo Yeon-woo instinctively understood.

He had returned.

The Prisoner didn’t die.

His old friend had come back to life.

But why?

His old friend, who returned as Outlaw, ignored him as if he were a stranger.

Could it be not him?

Although doubts briefly surfaced, he became certain after observing Outlaw’s plays.

Outlaw was indeed him.

For whatever reason, Outlaw didn’t acknowledge him as the Prisoner.

As if to start anew.

Of course, Seo Yeon-woo also went along with it.

After all, what mattered was that he had returned.

Then, it was time for him to come to Seo Yeon-woo and say.

-[Outlaw: Um, by the way.]

-[Outlaw: I’m thinking of starting a team. Are you interested?]

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: A team?]

-[Outlaw: Yeah.]

There was no reason to hesitate.

If he could play games with him again, he would do anything, whether professional or not.

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Hmm, yeah, I’ll do it.]

-[Outlaw: Huh?]

-[3 Min Top School Honorary Member: Where do I need to go?]

Thus, the amateur challenger 3 Min Top School Honorary Member became OLZ Honor.

Seo Yeon-woo thought.

He would be able to regain the joyful days once more.

But perhaps he thought too easily.

The road to being a professional wasn’t easy.

It was impossible to play games freely like he did as an amateur.

[“You need to give up top a bit here. We’re gaining an advantage on the other side anyway. Got it?”]

[“……Yeah.”]

Seo Yeon-woo nodded submissively, throwing aside all his previous stubbornness.

He didn’t want to be hated by him.

Because he felt that if he did, his friend would disappear before his eyes again.

That’s why he forced himself to fit into clothes that didn’t suit him and didn’t complain.

But there’s only so much one can endure.

And so, he arrived at this current situation.

[Victory]

The game ended without a hitch in victory.

Or perhaps, it could be seen as the outcome that was predetermined from the start.

Regardless of the slight suffering in top lane, the other lanes crumbled early.

In this game, the top lane’s role had been just that much.

“……”

“……”

Despite smoothly overcoming what seemed to be a perilous single-elimination, with 2 wins and 0 losses, the faces of Seo Yeon-woo and the team members did not lighten.

Right now, they had a bigger problem than the qualifiers at hand.

“Hey.”

A cold voice came from beside him.

Hearing that voice he didn’t want to hear, Seo Yeon-woo flinched like a scared puppy.

He’s mad…….

Of course, he would be.

It was my fault.

“We need to talk.”

He turned around.

The footsteps turned sharply in anger.

“Follow me.”

Gradually, the figure of his old friend faded away.