Ch.22Not on Purpose – 1

“I’m home.”

Seojin Baek is an orphan. In other words, there’s no one to receive my greeting.

Nevertheless, this habit is something I just can’t seem to break.

Was this a habit that the past Seojin Baek created because of loneliness?

After finishing a hard day and returning home, waiting for someone to welcome him.

Now I, who have become Seojin Baek, was following that same pattern.

“Haaah…”

I’m especially tired today. It feels like I’ve been hounded mercilessly by my superior.

Physically, I was worn out from evaluating the students and sparring with Yuhyun Jung.

And mentally, Soohyun Kim gave me a tremendous headache.

‘This is driving me crazy. What kind of seed was supposedly planted?’

The moment I saw the details with The Third Eye, I was horrified.

I barely prevented her from being dragged away by The Elder and twisted the future where she would become The Crimson Witch.

But the planted seed happens to be ‘anger’? This is extremely concerning.

What’s worse is that I think it might be because of me, which makes me feel even more insane.

After all that effort, was my struggle in vain? Did I ruin everything?

I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have kept my mouth shut. Why did I have to speak so carelessly?

If there’s any consolation, it’s that her characteristics remain unchanged.

If the trigger for becoming The Crimson Witch had activated because of me, her characteristics would have definitely changed.

But even when I checked right before we parted, her characteristics hadn’t changed at all.

It’s probably nothing. Yeah, it’s nothing to worry about. Let’s just rest.

Come to think of it, even that anger is ultimately for someone else’s sake, so maybe it’s okay?

It’s not anger toward the world or all of humanity.

‘I’ll need to keep checking on Soohyun Kim starting tomorrow. To make sure there really isn’t a problem.’

I was actually planning to recommend the Silver grade evaluation to Soohyun Kim.

Using the Bittersweet Triumph characteristic would be incredibly beneficial for her.

Having The Crimson Witch as an ally instead would be tremendously reassuring.

However, like Hyunwoo Lee, Soohyun Kim can’t immediately advance to Silver.

She needs to accumulate as many stacks as possible before advancing.

That way, even with a Silver rank, she could potentially aim for Gold or even higher.

Imagine being a fresh Silver but having enough skill to fight Gold ranks?

That could instantly transform Soohyun Kim, who suffers from inferiority complexes.

Hyunwoo Lee could also leap forward and become stronger much faster.

All of this future is possible just by doing more Silver evaluations.

‘I wish the other students would stop looking for easy paths and develop a broader perspective.’

Perhaps I’m expecting too much from the students.

After all, they have no idea what situations will unfold later.

All kinds of disasters, incomparable to the present, will descend upon the world.

Though I don’t know the details either. Unfortunately, I was possessed after only reading parts of it.

After showering and changing clothes, I had a quick dinner.

I haven’t done anything since coming home, but my body already feels lethargic.

How on earth do those people who rush straight to the gym after work do it?

Some even exercise before going to work, then work all day,

and after coming home, they go back to the gym to complete their routine.

‘They’re not human. Normal people can’t do that.’

This is bad. I really need to exercise, but I just can’t get along with that lifestyle.

Thanks to The Silver Gatekeeper characteristic, I can push my body to its limits.

But I could clearly feel that it consumed twice as much energy.

I’m holding up now because I originally had good stamina, but one slip and it’s over.

They say stamina is like mileage—hard to build up but lost in an instant.

‘Yet here I am, sitting in front of the computer like a madman.’

This is truly unavoidable. Both the original Seojin Baek and the current me

would immediately sit in front of the computer after coming home from work.

From the moment I open my eyes to go to work until quitting time,

it’s nothing but stress, stress, and more stress.

At least gaming was a space where I could relieve some of that stress.

More precisely, it relieves about 10 units of stress but then adds 80 more.

Still, since going to work accumulates about 500 units, it’s bearable.

– Game launching…

Strangely enough, the game I used to play exists here too.

‘Legends of the League’. Currently the most popular AOS game.

And for me, a place stained with tears and the agony of Silver promotion matches.

Seojin Baek seems to have played this game too. And unlike me, he escaped Bronze.

More precisely, since I am now Seojin Baek, it’s fair to say that I’ve become Silver.

At first, I was dumbfounded. To think my wish to reach Silver would come true like this.

Still, Seojin Baek—no, the me in this world—has crossed the deep and vast river called Bronze.

‘It’s been a while since I logged in.’

It seems I haven’t logged in for almost two weeks.

Before being dispatched to the Academy, overtime became frequent, causing me to pass out right after work.

When overtime finally disappeared, I was immediately dispatched to the Academy. Then the Academy attack happened, followed by hospitalization.

– PleaseSilverPlz

That’s my game nickname. How accurately it was created.

It feels like the past me and the past Seojin Baek joined forces in their desire to reach Silver.

And somehow, I really did leap over Bronze and reach Silver.

As usual, I was planning to just play one normal game for the first win bonus and then log off.

After all, I have work tomorrow and my body is extremely tired.

Since I’ve already reached Silver, I didn’t feel the need to raise my rank further.

My goal was simply to escape Bronze, nothing more.

I know my skill level better than anyone, so anything beyond seems impossible.

“Hmm.”

*Click*

But why am I clicking on ranked mode instead of normal mode?

Did I click wrong? Or did my hand habitually move toward ranked?

– Finding game…

I should cancel the matchmaking quickly. If I run into those beasts again…

– Game found!

Oh shit.

For a moment, I was torn. I could just cancel without any issues.

I wouldn’t receive a major penalty since this rarely happens.

‘But why…’

Why does the confirm button look so tempting?

My mouth is watering.

*

[“MadCat” is streaming live: Today I’ll definitely reach Silver]

– Maeha

– (MadCat greeting emoticon)

– Maeha

– (MadCat greeting emoticon)

– Wow! Broooonze!!

– Maeha

– (MadCat greeting emoticon)

‘MadCat’. A streamer whose main content is casual chat and singing, with quite a following.

Her specialty was witty commentary and oscillating between being rough and cute.

Until recently, she had been streaming happily, but…

“Hello everyone. I won’t talk much, but I’m going to be super focused today. I played until dawn yesterday and barely managed 2 wins and 2 losses. Today I’ll get one more win, reach Silver, and achieve enlightenment, so don’t try to stop me.”

– LOLOLOLOL

– Think you can do it? LOLOL

– Absolutely impossible, right?

Lately, she had been experiencing extreme agony.

The reason was a sudden mission that appeared recently.

[Achieve ‘Silver’ in Legends of the League

327 hours 57 minutes – Prize: 2,000,000 won]

It was a mission that popped up unexpectedly during a gaming chat.

It didn’t start with such an enormous amount. The initial prize was 30,000 won.

And since MadCat wasn’t particularly interested in games, she was going to refuse.

But the mission prize kept increasing until it surpassed 1 million won and reached 2 million.

Combined with other Silver-related missions, the total prize money approached 5 million won.

Even with a major company backing it, no one could resist such a mission reward.

“Today I’ll complete the mission! And delete this game!! Aaaaargh!!”

MadCat shouts loudly while pounding her desk.

Shortly after, with a bang! bang! sound, the door behind her opens.

– Ah, noise complaint!

– FBI! Open up!!

Due to the camera position, the situation isn’t clearly visible.

Only a faint male voice can be heard beyond the empty screen.

After a moment, MadCat reappears and exclaims “Aoh!” in frustration.

“I said I’m sorry, come on! You’re noisy when you stream too, brother! Ah, just go. I’ll be quiet.”

MadCat, who had rushed out, returns with a sigh and sits down.

The viewers who had been observing the situation enthusiastically call out one name.

– Clover!

– Clover!

– If Clover showed up, at least show your face before leaving

– LOL his sister is Bronze while her brother is a former pro!!

He’s neither her husband nor boyfriend. The identity of the man who scolded her is MadCat’s older brother.

The recently retired former professional Legends of the League player, Clover.

A true legend who had won multiple domestic league championships.

That’s why the gaming mission was suddenly assigned to MadCat’s stream.

How could the sister of a famous pro gamer be unranked?

At first, MadCat protested, asking what that had to do with anything, but everyone is equal before a mission.

The price was right, and honestly, being the sister of a pro gamer, Silver seemed achievable.

In such a situation, refusing the mission would mean she’s not a professional streamer!

“What would I say to my past self who thought that?”

MadCat ponders for a moment with an “Hmm.”

“I’d probably say, ‘What lies ahead is hell. Turn back.'”

Her heartfelt words turned the chat into a sea of laughter.

It’s been just over a month since the mission came in.

It’s not that she had never played games before. She had played, though not extensively.

She just never played ranked matches, only normal games.

That’s why MadCat was careless.

She thought reaching Silver would be quick. A piece of cake.

She assumed it was just a generous donation from a viewer.

But she soon realized.

That even at the bottom, there’s a lower bottom.

“How many promotion failures? Didn’t I post it? Today is my 14th attempt.”

“…At that point, isn’t it skill rather than team luck? Honestly, I admit it, but I should at least reach Silver. I even bragged that my brother is Clover; if I fail, I’ll be disowned.”

Meanwhile, the game started.

14th Silver promotion match. Please let me complete this mission. Please.

She desperately prays to some unknown deity.

And then…

– Defeat! –

– Promotion failed. –

“No!! Really! Isn’t that person a smurf?! This isn’t fair!!”

MadCat screams while clutching her head.

The viewers’ reactions were varied.

– Now it’s the 15th time LOLOL

– But the enemy mid played really well, doesn’t seem like someone from this tier

– Obviously a sniper, right?

– Yeah, anyone can see it’s a sniper

– The great MadCat, how was the mid diff? Was the Silver wall high? Are you mad?

“Aaaaargh!!”

Looking at the results screen, MadCat had to scream again.

The mid laner who absolutely destroyed her and her team.

A game-destroying terrorist who could only be described as a catastrophe.

– PleaseSilverPlz: 47 / 0 / 5