Chapter 104: WORLD 4th Quarterfinals

“Are they going to finish it this turn?”

“Honestly, ARK fans can probably lie down and watch now.”

“They gave up the first set, but followed it up with a one-sided victory in the second and third. And in the fourth set, they’ve entered ARK’s signature style of squeezing the opponent dry.”

“ARK’s poke composition is truly terrifying. When you open your eyes, they’re just constantly spamming skills in front of the enemy Nexus turrets.”

[Is this really the semifinals?]
[Seriously, they got steamrolled in Set 1, how did they win?]
[Because they’re ARK.]
[God exists, and he plays for ARK under the name Para.]
[The Great Seo-ha.]

“RRK showed some innovative ban-picks in Set 1! And clean execution to pull it off, too!”

“But ARK is strong. They truly showed the difference in sheer power! There are no holes! If all five players are playing this well, what are the other teams supposed to do!?”

“What can they do! On the other side, waiting for them is VXG, a team where all five members are considered the best in the world, on the verge of becoming the greatest team in history!”

[With this level of performance… maybe I can get my hopes up?]
[Whoa, don’t get your hopes up.]
[ARK that had expectations <<< Go watch the MSI finals.]
[Do not mention the MSI finals ever.]
[Ah~ HUN’s Corki is too strong. Ugh! Spread’s backdoor~]

“Ah~ RRK tried to force a final play with Leona’s engage, but…”

“As expected, the difference in scaling and range is too great.”

“They’ve taken down all five members of RRK, and now only the Nexus remains!”

“And with the destruction of the Nexus! GG~”

[They can actually win.]
[Yeah, ^Runner-up^.]
[No matter how good ARK’s form is, VXG are even crazier b*stards.]
[Didn’t VXG come up without losing a single match since the LPL regular season?]
[They gave up sets but never lost a match.]

“With this, ARK has once again earned the right to challenge VXG!”

“VXG inflicted a painful wound on ARK in the MSI finals. However, to grow new, stronger skin, isn’t it necessary to suffer wounds?”

“That’s right! Clearly, VXG won back then, but there’s no guarantee they’ll win again against this re-emerged ARK!”

“Nice!”

As soon as the game ended, the team members hugged each other and cheered.
Anyone watching might think they had won the championship, but reaching the finals as a 4th seed was certainly an achievement worth celebrating.
And I, too.

‘Not bad.’
Certainly, in the past, reaching the finals felt both good and unwelcome at the same time.
Because I thought the finals stage was just a place to get another ‘runner-up’ tag attached to me.
But now, it’s different.

‘Happy.’
Pure joy at reaching this stage again.
And a confidence bordering on certainty that this time would be truly different.

“Nice, guys!”

Coach Kim also ran out from the waiting room and hugged the team members.

“Seriously, the ban-pick in Set 1 was rough, but everyone played so well.”
Hearing that reminded me of the insane ban-pick RRK showed in Set 1.

‘It was sharp, alright.’
While Europe is currently considered the league of creativity, the pocket picks shown in today’s ban-pick, as if they were showing the original Western League of Legends, were breathtaking.

“Who countered their top pick and ended up with twice their CS? That’s me, Park Jin-hwan. My talent is frightening.”
“That’s only possible because I started on the top side early, so the opponent didn’t come.”
“And that’s all possible because mid lane is winning.”
“Is the renowned Jin Yu-seong praising others instead of bragging about himself?”

After enjoying the brief victory, the team members and I went out to the center of the stage.

[Please give them a big round of applause, everyone!]

As I bowed, countless applause and cheers erupted.
I had definitely felt popular in Japan as well, but the atmosphere of the home crowd was simply incomparable.

[Indeed, there were many concerns when this Worlds was decided.]
[That’s right. Objectively, the LCK was difficult to evaluate as strong right now, so there were worries that there might not be any LCK teams at Worlds, which is being held in Korea.]
[Ultimately, ARK. This team, which made its name known from the very first match of the LCK Spring Split this year, has survived until the end and is heading to face VXG to engrave their name on the Summoner’s Cup.]
[Then, let’s take a short break and meet them for an interview!]

The commentators’ voices echoed from the speakers set up all around. They were also fans of the LCK, so their overwhelming emotions were palpable.
.
.
.

“Hello, we will now have an interview with ARK’s Lesser and Para, who secured a 3-1 victory against RRK!”

“Hello.”

After a brief preparation, I went back up to the stage and started the interview.
Usually, the seats are empty during post-match interviews, but the audience seats were still filled with fans.

“Alright, let’s start with a question for Lesser. ARK has advanced to the finals of two consecutive international tournaments. How do you feel?”

“First off… I’m satisfied to have gotten the opportunity.”

“What opportunity are you referring to?”

Kim Do-jin took a breath.

“I have some painful memories from MSI, and I’m happy to have the chance to avenge them on a bigger stage, Worlds.”

“I see!”

‘Huh?’
Kim Do-jin usually didn’t express his opinions or thoughts much during interviews.
He would only give concise answers, close to the truth, like “This happened,” or “That was like that.” It was surprising to hear him speak like this.

“Next up is Para!”

As the announcer called my name, another round of applause erupted.

“You’ll be meeting VXG again. How do you feel?”

“After VXG secured their spot in the finals yesterday, HUN said in an interview that if I wanted to beat him, I should make it to the finals first.”

I didn’t do the extreme ceremony like in the qualifiers.
Tap, tap. I just tapped my neck twice with my fingers and spoke.

“I’ve made it to the finals, so don’t worry and just wait. This time, I’m really coming for you.”

A few days after the Semifinals match, we arrived at a hotel in Seoul the next day.
Coach Kim said we would start ban-pick and strategy discussions tomorrow, so today was free time.
Seino was busy preparing for her performance, and Choi Eun-seo seemed busy until the day of the finals as well.
For those reasons, I was just lying on the bed doing nothing when a thought occurred to me.

‘Why do I want to win?’
Winning Worlds.
Countless players strive for this one goal, but only a select few are chosen to reach it.
Talent? It’s good to have, but you can’t seize it with talent alone.

‘I know that best.’
I saw a comment online once.
Reaching the finals is about effort and talent, but winning the championship is only possible with luck and an immense obsession to seize that luck.
As someone who has reached and fallen from countless finals, I think that’s true.
If so, what kind of purpose and motivation do the players who win championships have to reach that point?

‘Looking at our team…’
Park Jin-hwan is a player who started playing League of Legends and became a pro because his girlfriend, whom he’s been with since elementary school, likes games.
The reason he wants to win Worlds is so his girlfriend would be happy.
But with such a small motivation, he endures criticism from countless people and works harder than anyone else on the team. It’s strange yet admirable.

In Kim Do-jin’s case, it’s admiration.
He liked pro players since he was young, and his reason was simply wanting to become one of them.

Jin Yu-seong’s goal is to prove to everyone that he’s the best ADC.

Lee Yoo-chan seems to just want to make a lot of money.
Something about how much money it costs to buy items in games.

If so.

‘What about me?’
What is my reason for wanting to win now?
I had long since abandoned the goal of being acknowledged by others.
Yet, why was I still obsessed with winning, and thinking about winning the championship?

‘…’
In the finals held in Seoul, only two teams remained, so every player was given their own room.
I lay face down on the bed, continuing to think without worrying about anyone else watching.
And at the end of it all.

“…I want to leave a mark.”
The reason, I realized, was that I wanted to leave my mark.

That I had existed.
That I, the player Para, was higher than anyone else in this era. I wanted to leave that trace.
Even if the game were to decline and the league ceased to exist, even if the nickname Para were no longer spoken by people…
I just wanted someone, someday, to remember me when they logged into the game or saw a super play.

‘Because names engraved on trophies are eternal.’
Worlds champions aren’t given the real trophy.
What the winning team receives is a replica trophy. The real trophy has the names of the past champions engraved on it, stored separately.
It was the opportunity to engrave my name there.

‘That’s enough.’
That was more than enough reason.