[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 346

We won.

Against a team that made it to the Red Cup finals.

Of course, scrims are just scrims, so there wasn’t much meaning to it, but considering the timing right before the Red Cup finals, it felt significant.

Have we gotten stronger?

That’s not entirely wrong.


However, personally, I felt it was more about SY getting weaker than us actually getting stronger.

“……What?”

Baek Seong-an looked equally puzzled, staring intently at the word ‘victory’ for a long time.

“We won, huh.”


“Right? Why did we win?”

Kim Jae-min interjected casually.

“Because we played well?”


“No. The opponent messed up.”

That was true.


As much as I wanted to say we defeated SY, the team who made it to the Red Cup finals because we played well, the reality was that SY hadn’t performed like themselves.

It wasn’t just that they didn’t play well, but they were really off.

‘Hmmm…’

Winning is, of course, a good thing.


But the reason our team couldn’t purely enjoy that fact was that SY felt oddly different from usual.

In professional gaming, victories can often hinge on the slightest margin.

Yet, today, SY had lost in those barely-there moments.

Our team should have lost, but for some reason, we won due to SY’s little mistakes.

“But isn’t this bad? Don’t tell me their form is dropping right before the finals?”

Kim Jae-min was right.

“Yeah, this doesn’t look good. Maybe they’re nervous on the big stage?”


“But SY is a team with Red Cup championship experience, right? Especially Rainbow has done it twice.”


“That’s true.”

That was correct.


Given the pressure of the stage, you wouldn’t expect SY, who are veterans with Red Cup winning experience, to buckle.

So what could be the reason?

‘Was it because of the SU5 match?’

Training in Legends of League doesn’t always yield positive results.


Sometimes, the unnecessary data accumulated from practice can disrupt and ruin a player’s existing style.

In that sense, matches against SU5 could have been a legitimate reason for why SY performed poorly.


SU5 was a team known for their joker plays, so SY had to adapt and shift away from their established style to face them.

But if that change made SY weaker, then?


Ahead of the Red Cup finals, it could spell disaster.

“Alright, let’s have some feedback. SY is important, but our team is more important.”

At Baek Seong-an’s call, the team members gathered.


True to his words, even though we were currently in a supportive role for SY, it was all intended to help our own team.

“Overall, things worked out here, but it was too risky. We benefited from the opponent’s mistakes, we would have lost otherwise.”


“Really? It looked like a sharp kill angle to me.”


“No, it wasn’t.”

Feedback continued.

“Yujin, you seemed a bit too scared here, didn’t you? I know it’s Rainbow, so understandable, but…”


“If I hadn’t pulled back, there might have been a kill angle. I didn’t think that would happen, though.”


“Is that so?”

Baek Seong-an turned his gaze.


It was Seo Yeon-woo.

“Yeon-woo was nearly perfect today, but you really need more champion familiarity. There were too many little mistakes in lane and team fights.”


“Okay.”


“And Ji-hoon, nothing much to say… you did well today.”


“No, there were a lot of mistakes. I think they were covered because the opponent made errors too.”


“Well, that’s true… but since the result was good, we still need to improve.”

Feedback for set one.


Feedback for set two.


Feedback for set three…

The more feedback we gave, the more I felt a strange unease.


‘Rainbow seems a bit off…’

It wasn’t just other SY players, but particularly Rainbow felt strange.

Of course, he didn’t play terribly or anything.


But considering the symbolism and significance of Rainbow in SY, it wasn’t acceptable to just be average.

Attention to detail in plays.


Judgment during critical moments.

All of it felt different for some reason.

‘Was it because of the match against SU5?’


But that felt odd.

As far as I knew, Rainbow hadn’t lost his usual self in the match against SU5.


Unless he performed differently and still won, Rainbow led the team to victory with his usual style in that match.

Given that situation, a question naturally arose.


‘Is something going on?’

Unfortunately, that was something I couldn’t figure out.


Even if I once claimed to be friends with Rainbow, that was the old me, and now our relationship was almost one of strangers.

“Are you even listening?”


“Oh, I just got lost in thought for a second.”


“Focus. Even though we won, if we face them again, our chances of losing are higher. Got it?”


“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

In the midst of unanswered questions, the feedback continued.


‘Well, I’m probably just overthinking it.’

To be precise, I hoped that was the case.


If SY couldn’t adapt, this Red Cup finals would be very challenging for us.

*

SY Dormitory.


Since the Red Cup is being held in a foreign land for the Korean team, the hotel chosen as SY’s dormitory was equipped with everything to ensure the players’ convenience.

However, even so, being in a foreign place is still being in a foreign place.


From the food we eat to the basic water, it would be a lie to say there wasn’t any discomfort.

Meanwhile,


After the grueling battle against SU5, the mood at SY’s dorm was a mix of happiness and seriousness.


Because we would soon face GRS in the Red Cup finals.

“GRS isn’t an easy team. Everyone, get your heads on straight and prepare.”


“Yeah.”


“Sure.”

On the verge of a crucial stage, GuineaPig Yoo Sang-hyun approached Ryu Jin-hyuk after just stepping out.


“Hey, Jin-hyuk. Someone asked me to give you this in the lobby. They spoke in Korean, so I think they’re Korean?”


“What is it?”


“Not sure. But it seems pretty important? They specifically asked me to deliver it.”


“Who gave it to you?”


“Someone I don’t know.”

Ryu Jin-hyuk said incredulously,


“…You just accept things like that? What if it’s something weird?”


“Then I’d just toss it.”

At Yoo Sang-hyun’s words, Ryu Jin-hyuk shook his head.


He had just gone to get a hotdog, and now he was coming back with something suspicious…


‘Is it a fan letter?’

But receiving a fan letter in the hotel lobby is a rare occurrence.


We get plenty of fan letters, but they usually come through official mail; waiting in the hotel lobby for one is almost unheard of.

‘And the fact that they waited until Sang-hyun got back… hmmm.’

Worried it might be something suspicious, Ryu Jin-hyuk took precautions with gloves and a mask before carefully opening the letter.


If it turned out to be a terrorist act with some sort of substance inside, it could lead to irreversible consequences.

Swish—


Fortunately, the letter was an ordinary letter.


However, the contents inside were by no means ordinary.


‘This is…’

Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t conceal his agitation after reading the letter.


“What are you doing?”

Just then, TheOne Choi Won’s voice made Ryu Jin-hyuk instinctively hide the letter.


“What are you doing?”


“…Nothing.”


“The coach wants everyone to gather. He said he has something to say.”


“Okay, I’ll go.”

The coach’s message was about a simple schedule.


It was about their upcoming scrim schedule.

“OLZ? Coach, we’re scrimming them too?”


“Yeah. Thankfully, they agreed.”


“Oh, we’re going to clash with Outlaw. What about Yoon-ki?”


“…What about me?”


“Remember, you got wrecked last time you met Outlaw in solo queue.”


“Solo queue and tournaments are different.”


“Outlaw wrecks everyone in tournaments too.”


“……”

Yoo Sang-hyun’s words made Yoon-ki shut his mouth.


It reminded him of the records where they had been pushed around in the jungle during the previous scrims with OLZ.

“……”

Amid the light atmosphere, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t smile.


What he’d seen in the letter earlier weighed heavily on his mind.


‘…That can’t possibly be true.’

As Ryu Jin-hyuk desperately tried to deny it, the date for their scrim with OLZ gradually approached.


“Alright, as you all know, OLZ is helping us practice. Though they just got promoted, we all know they’re a strong team, so let’s give it our all.”


“Yeah.”


“Sure.”


“Alright.”

Ryu Jin-hyuk quietly stared at the lobby screen.


Maybe it was because this was a scrim against SY, or perhaps it was just how meticulous OLZ players are, but they were already waiting in their spots.


“……”

And among them, one particular nickname caught Ryu Jin-hyuk’s eye.


OLZ Outlaw.


As soon as he saw that nickname, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t help but remember the content of the letter.


The phrasing in that letter was simple, but the matter it contained was enormous.


[Prisoner is alive.]


Prisoner is alive.