Ch.177Everyone’s Doing Well – 2

“Here’s the team activity report for this month.”

“Thank you. You’re really getting the hang of it now.”

“I just make sure to complete any assigned tasks without fail, as a matter of principle.”

Inbeom Kang receives the report and smiles, saying it’s a very good thing.

Lately, the workload for each team has been piling up, causing some delays, apparently.

He can’t rush the clan members since the gates and dungeons assigned to the Magic Tower are all high-ranked.

They’re at least B-rank or above, and thanks to the Great Cataclysm, their difficulty has increased.

As a result, the clan members are inevitably slowing down.

“Even the top teams are struggling, yet the Arbiter’s team is the only one performing well.”

“Well, if we’re late, that creates its own problems.”

I may be S-rank, but my team members are barely hanging on to A-rank.

In that situation, taking on S-rank gates or dungeons would be absurd.

Naturally, we handle A-rank and below, because if a team with an S-ranker gets stuck, that’s an even bigger problem.

To be honest, I’m just watching them to let them gain more experience.

“Come to think of it, Arbiter, you must be very busy these days.”

“I am. With both Academy work and Association duties.”

“And on top of that, having to manage clan matters—it must be killing you!”

I laughed at Inbeom Kang’s joke, saying, “It could be!”

The truth is, it’s half-serious—lately, days have been passing by too quickly.

In the morning and afternoon, I continue working as an Arbiter at the Academy.

Whenever I have free time, I take on Association work, handling monsters, gates, or dungeons.

And I also make time to participate in clan activities with my team members.

This is already with Inbeom Kang being as accommodating as possible because I’m S-rank.

Being clan-affiliated means he can’t work me too hard because he has to be mindful of the government and other clans.

That’s why Jiyoon Han only retains final decision-making authority and delegates everything else.

“Ah, Clan Master. I have something to discuss.”

“Is it another overseas dispatch?”

“No, it’s not that. And sending me on another overseas dispatch would be too much.”

A thought that’s been seriously crossing my mind lately: was becoming S-rank really worth it?

There’s just too much to do. And being the country’s top combat force means being managed excessively.

I expected this would happen eventually, but this is a bit much.

“Not a dispatch? That’s a relief. So what did you want to talk about?”

“Well… it’s about our team.”

“Is there a problem with a team member?”

“No, that’s not it. …Actually, it is a team issue. Someone wants to join, and I wanted to get the Clan Master’s opinion.”

Inbeom Kang tilts his head with a puzzled “Hmm?”

His reaction makes sense since he had promised not to interfere with team matters.

As long as there’s no major issue, he’s completely entrusted team member decisions to me.

He even said he would definitely approve if it involved accepting someone into the clan.

So when I say I want his opinion on bringing in a new team member,

it’s natural for Inbeom Kang to be confused after giving me that authority.

“The person who wants to join the team is… Rina Lee.”

“…Huh? Wait, wait. Who did you just say?”

“Rina Lee. Yes, the Rina Lee you’re thinking of.”

Judging by his lip movements, he was about to ask if it was the Rina he knew.

After I quickly confirmed, Inbeom Kang was speechless for a while.

Then he shuddered and shook his head frantically.

“Please, I’m begging you, don’t do this. No, please don’t, Arbiter Seojin Baek.”

Wow. He’s even using honorifics automatically?

Seeing Inbeom Kang’s reaction, I could really feel how serious this matter was.

“One S-rank, you, is enough. Understand? Let’s pretend I never heard this.”

He’s completely panicking and trying to shut down the conversation.

Oh, Rina, Rina. You should have toned down the crazy a little bit.

Even a top clan in South Korea is having a fit over you.

“Um, Clan Master. What about just as an honorary team member, not actually joining the clan…”

At my words, Inbeom Kang looks at me with an expression that seems to ask why I’m doing this to him.

I’m sorry, Clan Master. The truth is, I’m only asking because she strongly insisted I do.

I met with Inbeom Kang to report on team activities and mentioned the Rina issue.

With that, today’s tasks are done. I’m off duty from Association work today, so I can truly call it a day.

‘I hope Soohyun or Rina aren’t at home when I get there.’

Of course, that possibility is extremely slim.

First, Soohyun said her father is going abroad again tomorrow.

So she asked my permission to spend a day with him.

“Is that okay, Arbiter?”

“Of course it is. Our Soohyun is so thoughtful to even consider that.”

I could feel Soohyun smiling brightly through the phone at my casual compliment.

The improving father-daughter relationship is definitely good news for me too.

It means our next encounter will be more pleasant than the last one.

Anyway, that’s Soohyun’s situation, and Rina is busy in her own way.

Family matters for her too? Unfortunately not. It’s her own work.

“I really don’t want to do this! Why are you being like this, oppa!”

She complained that she just got back from a dispatch and now there’s another regional business trip.

She insisted she absolutely wouldn’t go and wanted to stay with me instead.

“You still have to do it. Look, honestly, what would people say about someone who works hard hanging out with someone who only causes trouble? I don’t want you getting a bad reputation.”

In other words, working hard benefits both you and me, so please do it.

Rina seemed to realize something and clicked her tongue before nodding.

Thanks to that, I even got a call from the Association President thanking me profusely.

Anyway, this means today will be a very quiet evening.

And that means I can finally, after a long time, leisurely play a game.

– Game launching.

Wow. It’s been so long since I last logged in. I could cry.

I’m not game-obsessed, but I did enjoy playing.

However, with everything going on, I haven’t been able to touch games for about three months.

– JustGetSilverPlease

Seeing my game ID after so long… it looks pretty stupid now.

Somehow it matches my characteristics, so I haven’t changed it.

– Searching for game

– Game found!

This game is still the same. I do appreciate the quick matchmaking.

But why is the matchmaking normal while the allies I get matched with aren’t?

There was a time when I wished to be matched with humans instead of beasts.

I wasn’t even asking for competent teammates—just ones who could communicate.

‘Of course, that was wishful thinking.’

Finally, the pick phase ended and we entered the loading screen.

During picks, two teammates bickered over positions, but fortunately, it ended well.

Usually, trying to mediate in those situations just makes things worse.

Keeping quiet and letting them sort it out often resolves things naturally.

Though that’s not always the case, and sometimes the pick phase turns into a disaster.

“…Hm?”

Looking at the matching screen, I notice a familiar ID in the enemy mid lane.

It’s been over three months in real time, but I haven’t played at all during that period.

So that game from three months ago was my last, and it’s still relatively fresh in my memory.

I never expected to meet that mid laner again, the one I thoroughly destroyed.

*

“No way. Is that really him?!”

Madcat, or rather Eunsol Seo since she’s not streaming today,

screamed when she checked the matching screen.

That terrifying civilian slaughterer she never wanted to see again had appeared!

And of all times, when she was struggling in her demotion match!

‘I was happy not seeing him lately. Argh!’

Fortunately, Eunsol had already completed her silver mission and received the mission money.

So she didn’t feel desperate, but she still really wanted to win.

She’s been through all sorts of situations and prided herself on her mental fortitude.

No matter how good that guy is, he can’t win if all four allies are landmines.

Eunsol had heard this many times from her brother and experienced it herself.

“Grrrr!”

But still, this is really too much!

She was killed in a solo fight less than three minutes into the lane phase.

She had deliberately called a teammate to wait in ambush, but the enemy mockingly escaped, targeting only her!

That can’t be a regular player. It must be a smurf account!

‘Calm down, Eunsol. You’re not streaming, and there’s no mission. Even though it’s a demotion match…’

Focus. Focus! The lane phase isn’t the end. Don’t get swept away from the start.

Eunsol kept whispering this to herself as she gritted her teeth and concentrated.

In the past, she might have been teary-eyed and fuming.

She might have typed furiously in chat, protesting the flood of criticism from teammates.

Or she might have been angry, asking herself why she was like this.

But not anymore. Sure, she’s angry and feels wronged.

Her teammates are still typing about “mid diff” and calling her trash.

But instead of getting shaken, she started looking for ways to win.

‘The key is mental strength. No matter where you go or what bracket you’re in, it all comes down to mentality in the end.’

Recalling her pro gamer brother’s advice, Eunsol focused.

Instead of the huge wall right in front of her, she decided to attack elsewhere.

Her lane opponent might be too strong, but the other enemy team members were at or below her level!

‘I can do this. I can win.’

Even if she dies in team fights, she makes sure to take down at least one enemy.

Even if the enemy wins, she ensures they don’t gain more than they lose.

And most importantly, when the enemy mid “JustGetSilverPlease” isn’t around, she goes all in!

“Just a little more, just a little more… Ah, nooo!”

Despite her efforts, they lost another team fight.

She fought desperately, but the wall was too high. Now they’ll lose an objective.

If the enemy team takes that and pushes in, they’ll face defeat.

Eunsol, barely surviving, was about to press the recall button… when she had a thought.

The enemy team is also in bad shape after the fight. It will take time for them to secure the objective.

And just before that, her team had pushed one lane wide open.

‘…Winning head-on isn’t everything.’

There’s a way to win without fighting.

Having made her decision quickly, Eunsol chose to backdoor instead of recalling.

The lanes were already pushed, so it wasn’t difficult at all.

She destroyed towers, inhibitors, and reached the enemy’s main building.

Of course, the enemies secured their objective and recalled immediately, killing her in the end.

But that decision forced the enemy to defend their base, and eventually, a crack appeared.

A fight broke out in an unexpected location, and even the enemy mid had to join.

In that moment, Eunsol took one teammate and went for another backdoor, which succeeded.

– Victory!

“Kyaaaaa!!”

Having survived her demotion match, Eunsol let out a victory cry.

But with minimal conscience, she refrained from typing “mid diff.”

Meanwhile—

“…Everyone’s getting better now.”

After his unexpected defeat, Seojin Baek smiled as he looked at Eunsol’s game ID.