Arena Finals (1)

[Author: ㅇㅇ(341.223)]

[Title: Gawol’s current situation]

(Attached image: Gawol being pushed by expectations composite)

Gawol! Gawol! Gawol! Gawol!

Show us your armpits!

Please beat Cerberus!

(Attached image: Gawol sweating from pressure composite)

How did it come to this? I’m scared. I’m scared!

The expectations are too high! The opponent is last year’s mid-season champion.

But I’m just someone who came for fun after PKing in the field.

(Attached image: Gawol trembling in fear composite)

What do you mean by Korea’s last hope? Are you crazy?

Leave that to the pros!

[Comments]

– LOL hahahaha

– But is it right to call someone who beat Reaper an ordinary person?

└ You laughed too, honestly

– The situation is really funny

└ All the domestic pro team aces are dead, and Gawol is all that’s left lol

[Author: IThoughtYouBelievedDamnit]

[Title: Recent state of domestic Inbul community]

(Attached image: Gawol search results in the community a month ago)

Those bastards who said what skill does a sniper have

(Attached image: Recent Gawol search results in the community)

Now seriously saying she can win wtf

You trash bastards

[Comments]

– You’re our game’s hero, Gawol!

– I believed in you!

– Welcome! Good job!

[Author: Peropero]

[Title: Translation of Cerberus’s semifinal winner interview]

Q. Congratulations on your victory. Please share your brief thoughts.

A. Victory is always joyful. However, I took an unexpected blow. I think the opponent prepared well, but it seems there’s still much to improve.

Q. Your set win streak was broken for the first time.

A. It’s regrettable as a record. But I’m not thinking of it only negatively. I’ll prepare well for the next match and show a better performance.

Q. Luche said she would wait for a reunion in future international competitions.

A. It’s a welcome thing. I’ll be waiting with pleasure.

……

 

Q. Coincidentally, you’re facing Gawol in the finals. Is your evaluation from the group nomination still the same?

A. Absolutely not. At that time, she was a player who hadn’t proven anything, but now hasn’t she properly shown her skills?

Q. If you evaluate the opponent’s weakness?

A. I won’t answer for the sake of the final strategy.

Q. Then can you tell us about Gawol’s strengths or what you’re wary of?

A. I can. She’s a player with exceptionally good basic physique. I’d like to give even higher scores for psychological warfare and tactics. She’s thorough and cunning. However, there’s a part that’s difficult to understand.

Q. That’s an unusually long answer for Cerberus. What exactly is difficult to understand?

A. This expression is cautious, but her play style doesn’t match. She’s extremely cautious compared to her power. It’s like a lion acting like a fox? This is usually a characteristic seen in players who have fought opponents stronger than themselves. But who on earth could it have been?

Q. That’s an interesting analysis. Do you have any players in mind?

A. I looked into pro players from other games as well, but couldn’t figure it out at all. That’s why I’m curious about her growth background.

……

 

Q. If you have any aspirations you’d like to share?

A. None. The one who should leave aspirations is the challenger.

 

* * *

When I woke up, the room was filled with deep darkness.

It’s the color unique to night. When I checked the time with a hazy mind, it was close to midnight.

I had woken up a bit earlier than the alarm I had set.

Well, I’ll catch up on sleep sometime again.

It’s a good thing as long as I’m fine when it matters.

It’s a good thing. It means my body has rested enough.

The time difference between Iceland, the original venue for the tournament, and Korea is nine hours.

While it might be dark night in Korea, for Europeans, it’s the middle of the day right now.

I should adjust my condition in advance too.

[Chat with Lee Ga-yun]

– Thank you for comforting me!

– Although I couldn’t complete the journey this time, there will be good things someday, right?

– I’ll work hard for the next season too 🙂

The messages I checked yesterday were still on the phone screen.

I received the messages a few days ago, but fan sentiment is like a child’s heart, even such small gratitude immediately makes me feel good.

If I could use my legs properly, my body would probably have been much stronger and healthier than average people.

One of the proofs is that even if I use my body roughly like this, I’m still strong in waking up.

After getting up, washing my face with cold water, and drinking some cool water, my mind quickly became clear.

It was like my ritual for starting the day.

For meals… I decided to avoid ramen since it’s an important day.

It might be night for others, but for me now, it’s morning.

“Whew. It’s been a long time since I had salmon. I couldn’t even think about it before because it was expensive.”

I took out the salmon that had been sleeping peacefully in the refrigerator.

The one I had ordered and cherished for today.

It was a preparation for starting the finals morning perfectly.

On days when there were important exams or games.

Mom always bought and marinated salmon she personally selected the day before.

It was because she saw something like ‘the benefits of salmon’ on some TV program.

The doctors who appeared as panelists said it’s good for strength and concentration.

I heard they said something like that.

So breakfast before games was always grilled salmon.

I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t dislike it either.

Well, I was the type to eat pretty much anything well.

Regrettably, there’s no one to grill salmon for me now.

So there’s no reason to struggle from dawn to cook something I’ve never properly done before.

But I really wanted to eat this salmon somehow.

– Always start with the skin when cooking. That way, the flesh won’t tear as it dries.

– If it’s overcooked here, it can become dry and tough.

I must have been staring at the pan for too long due to anxiety.

My legs that had been supporting my weight continuously started to complain of pain.

I had to sit in my computer chair, but I couldn’t see the fish properly, so I had to rely on my phone camera.

This is harder than I thought.

I thought I just had to put some oil and grill it.

Why are there so many things to pay attention to?

Too greasy food isn’t good for breakfast before a tournament.

How did mom do it? I feel like I’ve seen it many times, but I can’t remember properly.

I remember seeing her sprinkle something while grilling.

I have no idea if it was salt, pepper, or something else.

In the end, unable to figure it out, I decided to just follow what a famous chef was saying.

To think I can learn cooking from a chef in my room.

It’s really nice, isn’t it?

[Message from Elderin]

– Good luck with the finals today ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)

– If you win, I’ll buy you Korean beef! The expensive one!

– I’ll buy you anything delicious, so make sure you win~

– Crush that Cerberus or whatever neighborhood mutt!

As I was doing it, I had some spare time and checked the messages in the game.

Quite a lot of messages had arrived.

Elderin, Sulbbang, even guys like Traveler and Dongjak Station Agent.

They each left messages in their own way telling me to win. I couldn’t reply because it felt too embarrassing to say thank you.

I felt like the moment I said those words, my emotions would become something uncontrollable.

Anyway, the time of arduous cooking ended.

I prepared the dish that seemed to have turned out better than I thought, along with steaming rice.

There was still kimchi from Master’s place in the refrigerator.

Alright. Setup complete with this.

Eat well, fill my stomach, do a final check, and then participate in the tournament.

The unique aroma of salmon rose up, stimulating my appetite.

Sitting at the table and taking a spoonful, it tasted quite satisfactory, perhaps due to the good ingredients.

I guess cooking is something that follows along to some extent if you just do as you’re told.

It was delicious as expected from a chef’s recipe… but still, something felt lacking.

The memory called by that emptiness tormented me.

– Wouldn’t it be better to eat a bit more? Won’t you be hungry when you go?

– It’s better to be a little hungry, mom.

– But… are you really okay?

– I’m fine. I’ll just eat this.

No, mom.

I’m not okay anymore.

Actually, the rice I’m eating now doesn’t seem very tasty.

It’s greasier than what I used to eat, a bit overcooked and dry.

So I want to eat that grilled salmon I used to eat before.

Cheering is nice, but I want to hear nagging too.

It’s too selfish. I even thought it was a bit annoying back then.

I can’t even recall clearly now the voice that used to hurry me saying we’d be late even though there was plenty of time left.

“Ah, damn… on the rice.”

Because of unnecessary thoughts, the precious rice got wet.

It was too wasteful to throw away, so I just ate it.

I didn’t know tears were quite bitter.

The quiet house bothered me, so I turned on some music.

I hate loud music, but our house was always noisy the night before a tournament.

I feared silence more than noise.

After finishing the meal, let’s wash in warm water.

Feeling the warmth will make me feel a bit better.

An hour later, I entered the access terminal to prepare for the match.