Chapter 99: Worlds Selection (5)

LOL Gallery

[Title: Para Declares She’ll Kill VXG in Real Time ㄷㄷ]
[This time, no matter what, I’m going to take you down, so wait for me.]
The Great Seo-ha’s declaration of war ㄷㄷ
Declares she’ll really kill them this time.

–Wow.
–But VXG’s form is insane right now; can they really win?
–ARK has no holes now, they’ll definitely win.
–’ARK will win’ <<< People were saying this in the gallery even before the MSI finals lol.
–Ah lol, this time it’s different, I tell you! (It really is different.)

LOL Gallery

[Title: Para’s Legendary Moments from the Qualifiers]
(Para walking into an unwarded bush and dying in the 3rd seed qualifier)
(Para attempting a 1v3 in the side lane and dying in the 3rd seed qualifier)
(Para letting the enemy mid laner pass by, leading to her jungler’s death in the 3rd seed qualifier)
Is this the same person as today…?

–Many things have happened…
–But seriously, like an old person with dementia, what happened to her for two months?
–That wasn’t Para, that was streamer Yoon Seo-ha~
–Fact: Streamer Seo-ha also hit Challenger rank 1 and even stomped and won in low elo…
–Honestly, I’m a Para stan, but yesterday’s Para was a bit too much.
–Still, it’s a relief she’s back to her senses now. Upvote if you agree lol.
–Good job.
–Seriously, each of those scenes makes me dizzy lol. It’s a relief she’s back to her senses now.

LOL Gallery

[Title: Para’s Ceremony Compilation]
(Para making a heart with her hands)
(Para pointing to the logo)
(Para sweeping her hair back)
(Para drawing a line across her neck)

–There’s one that’s not a ceremony in the middle, isn’t there?
–Why is Para’s neck so red?
–Now that you mention it, the color looks weird lol.
–Must have been heated remembering the MSI finals lol.
–That’s probably why she did that ceremony.
–Her skin is so fair that even a little flush shows immediately lol.

“Everyone, cheers!”
At the coach’s words, the team members raised their glasses. It wasn’t alcohol in the glasses, but soda, yet the atmosphere was as lively as any drinking party.

“Right, in the end, the strong ones are those who survive. If we prove ourselves at Worlds this time, we win!”
It was natural for their dopamine to surge, having won the qualifiers where they were treated as underdogs until yesterday.

‘Everyone’s excited.’
Since losing in the finals, there had been no team dinners, even after wins.
At most, the team would order delivery food at the dorm after I left.
Knowing that they did all this out of consideration for me, I felt grateful.
As I observed my teammates, sipping my drink, I noticed meat continuously piling up on my plate.

“Eat this too.”
Kim Do-jin was constantly grilling meat and placing it on my plate, as if he intended to make up for all the meat I hadn’t eaten.

“I can’t eat all of it.”
“Then just eat as much as you can.”

I wondered if it was a retaliatory food torture for wasting the summer season because of me, but judging by his expression, it wasn’t.
It felt rude not to eat what was offered, so I started eating one by one.

‘…He grills well.’
Perhaps because it had been a while since a team dinner, it tasted delicious.
Kim Do-jin, who had been staring at me as I ate with my cheeks full, then…

“Um…”
He placed another piece of meat on the grill and hesitated, speaking softly.

‘…No way.’
I wondered if he was about to make a sudden confession at this timing, but what he said was completely unexpected.

“Um, you’re the youngest, and I wonder if we put too much pressure on you. Now that everyone else’s form has improved, you don’t have to push yourself too hard like before.”
So that’s what he meant. He must have been bothered by my outburst in the practice room this morning.

“Don’t worry too much about it.”
“Huh?”
“Sometimes, playing games, opinions don’t match, and you might argue.”

I refilled my empty glass and extended it towards him.

“Isn’t that what a team is?”
Kim Do-jin watched the glass I offered, then chuckled to himself, and finally raised his glass to clink it against mine.

“Yeah, that’s what a team is. Anyway, are you confident?”
“Confident?”
“You told VXG to wait for you in the interview earlier.”
“Oh… well.”

Thinking back, it was a bit of an embarrassing interview.
I’d done it in the heat of the moment, after being hyped up for the first time in a while. The thought of that scene circulating in online communities made a belated wave of embarrassment wash over me.
But embarrassment aside.

“I’m confident. If we meet again, I, no, we will definitely win.”
“VXG will definitely make it to the finals, do you think we can make it to the finals too?”
“The finals isn’t our goal.”

Unlike MSI, Worlds allows four teams from each of the four major leagues to participate.
Not just the first seeds, but even the lower-ranked teams have hidden potential that shouldn’t be underestimated.

‘Still.’
I was confident now that things were different.

“Let’s go all the way to win.”

[?]
[????]
[?]
[Wow, sudden stream]

“Ah, ah. Can everyone hear me? It’s been a while, so let me know if the settings are weird.”
As soon as I got home from the team dinner, I turned on my stream.

“Can you see me well? Ah, the camera’s tilted again.”
Even as a pro, I had streamed once a week during the Spring season, but I took a complete break during the Summer.
I thought it was fine if viewers left, and I’d have nothing to say even if they were angry with me.

[She’s finally back.]
[I’m cold… I’m cold… I’m cold…]
[Why now why now why now why now]
[Thoughts on qualifying for Worlds?]
[Can you really win Worlds this time?]

The chat was filled only with playful comments about why I was so late; no one seemed genuinely angry.

“…I’ve been a bit rough lately, and some things happened, so I couldn’t stream. I’m sorry, everyone.”
Still, I had to apologize, so I looked at the camera and expressed my regrets.

[ㅇㅇ (user) sponsored 1000 won]
Well, it’s not like she didn’t stream during the team’s designated streaming time.
A pro streaming is up to them ㅇㅇ

[Good.]
[Agreed.]
[Well said.]
[Streaming is good to watch normally, but there’s nothing better than streaming after Worlds and sharing stories.]
[Well, that can happen.]
[It’s weird to curse a pro for not streaming lol.]
[Other teams don’t get flamed for not streaming if their performance is bad either.]

Even though I had gained recognition through streaming and continued to stream after my debut, I was grateful that everyone seemed to view me as a player rather than just a streamer.

“Still, I’ll stream more often whenever I have time from now on.”
[Nice!]
[So, winning Worlds is possible?]
[What skin will you make if you win this time?]
[Why did you suddenly awaken today?]
[Please tell me tips for playing Yone ㅠㅠㅠ]

As the stream continued in a warm atmosphere, a donation with a video came in for the first time in a while.
Normally, I turn off video donations when I’m focusing on solo queue, but today I was only planning to chat, so I left them on.

[This time, no matter what, I’m going to take you down, so wait for me.]
As the video played, my interview scene from earlier was replayed.
…Watching it now, it’s definitely embarrassing.
As soon as I covered my flushed face with one hand, the chat exploded.

[The Great Seo-ha]
[Honestly, even I thought that was a bit embarrassing ㅇㅇ…]
[I can’t tell anyone I stan Para now.]
[But it was cool, right?]
[Still cute, so upvote.]
[Kill (no fabrication)]

“I’m banning this video now. Anyone who plays it again will be banned…”
I couldn’t stand the continuous stream of similar video donations and issued a ban.
I couldn’t stop people from playing it in other streamers’ rooms, but it was banned on my stream.

“How did I become friends with Ray? It’s a bit complicated, though.”
[High school girl duo ㄷㄷ]
[Ray revealed her face recently, didn’t she?]
[Her face kinda rivals Para’s]
[They’re both my wives.]

After that, I shared my MSI experience and how I became friends with Seino, and two hours passed in no time.
Time had flown by faster than I expected, so I brought up the purpose of today’s stream.

“My team is holding an event this time, you know?”
I pulled up the event post from the team’s SNS on the screen.

[What?]
[Fan art?]
[Oh!]
[Worlds tickets ㄷㄷ]
[Worlds tickets and a fan meeting, that’s a steal.]

The event the team prepared was a fan art contest.
To celebrate qualifying for Worlds, fans could submit fan art, and winners would be chosen to receive Worlds tickets and a chance to visit the team’s headquarters and meet the players.

“The submission period is until the end of the Play-in Stage, because we’re from the LCK, so we start directly from Groups. So, we’ll accept submissions until the Play-in Stage ends.”
Furthermore, this year’s Worlds was being held in Korea.
Giving away Worlds tickets in Korea, where E-sports popularity is very high right now, was a surprisingly generous offer.

[ㅇㅇ (user) sponsored 1000 won]
If I visit the headquarters, can I meet Para?

“Of course. You can even get coaching in the practice room and eat with us.”
It wasn’t just a simple visit to the headquarters; it was a generous event where you could eat at the headquarters and even get feedback if you played League.

[Oh!]
[Wow!]
[Going to sign up for art academy.]
[I’m going too!]
[Why wouldn’t you do this?]

“We’re choosing a total of 5 winners, so everyone, give it a shot.”