Chapter 6: The Duel of Fates: The Game of Wits and Strategy

[(Official) Moonhwa’s Official Team Change]

I’m pretty sure, but switching to Shin Yuseong was the right choice, huh, guys?

Current nickname: [God] RecklessOfficeWorker.

[Should’ve thrown him away. Lmao, that guy got scammed by that loser, huh? LMAO]

[Watch your language. What’s with calling people a loser? It sounds so low-class.]

Wasn’t it your specialty to go and curse at people you don’t like? Isn’t that what the old women do? LMAO

[Is that woman still alive? LMAO]

[But who is Shin Yuseong?]

[That guy who threw away Wheel Nine in the game.]

[He’s amazing at the game. He’s streaming right now, so go watch him. I bet he’ll be big soon.]

[Wheel Nine should be grateful. He could’ve sued him for fraud, but he just switched teams instead. LMAO]

[ [God] RecklessOfficeWorker: Want to duo with me?]

“Duo? You play LoL, Moonhwa-nim?”

It was a bit unexpected.

He’s such a big figure, so I thought he’d be older, maybe in his early 40s? But he seems younger than I thought.

The viewers in the chat had a similar reaction.

[Moonhwa plays LoL??]

[He never duoed with Wheel Nine though, did he?]

[What’s this? Don’t people like him just play mobile games like Ranija on their phones?]

[Not an official building owner, huh?]

[But I bet business meetings would be fun with him LMAO]

[[God] RecklessOfficeWorker: I’m not a building owner.

Hehe. I’m just an ordinary office worker.

What do you think?

Yuseong, want to play a game with me?]

“Yeah. Of course, I’ll play. It’s the chairman’s request.”

Moonhwa became the chairman in a single day, donating 2.6 million won (about an average person’s monthly salary).

I can’t return everything he gave me, but I should at least fulfill his requests as much as I can.

If I keep going, I’ll rise to the top tier.

Once I do, I won’t be able to duo with viewers anymore because of the tier difference.

Since I’m focused on skill-based content, I don’t plan to use regular games as content.

In fact, this placement test is probably my last chance.

I agreed without hesitation.

“Can I know your tier and position?”

[ [God] RecklessOfficeWorker: I’ve never played ranked, and I only know how to play Sona and Yuumi.]

“Okay… then let’s go with Yuumi. We’ll duo bot.”

He’s a total newbie with only two champions, but it’s a good thing Yuumi is one of them.

She can hop on me, provide buffs, and with just her ult, she can contribute more than enough.

“Moonhwa, do you want to voice chat? Do you have a headset?”

[[God] RecklessOfficeWorker: Yes, I do. Please wait a moment.]

I invited Moonhwa and suggested voice chatting from the waiting screen.

In a bot lane duo, we often have to communicate quickly, and typing on the keyboard can make us slow to respond.

“Oh! Oh! Can you hear me?”

Soon, Moonhwa’s voice came through. A much younger-sounding voice than I expected. Wait, is he maybe around my age?

“Yes, I can hear you well. No need for any extra settings. But, how old are you?”

“Do I have to tell you?”

“No, I just asked because you sound younger than I expected. You don’t have to answer.”

[Oh my, such an active guy LMAO]

[Hehe…]

[Man crush incoming LMAO]

[But Moonhwa’s voice is really unexpected LMAO. Sounds like someone our age.]

[What age? LMAO, what does that even mean?]

The game started right away.

The estimated waiting time was 4 minutes, but because of our low tiers, it took much longer to find a match.

During that time, Moonhwa and I chatted about bot lane strategies.

“Moonhwa, pick Yuumi. Do you want a specific ADC?”

“Hm, I’d like to play Vayne…”

“Vayne?!”

[Moonhwa, you little troll LMAO]

[They’re against a bot lane Lux combo, and you’re picking Vayne LMAO]

[Can you handle getting shoved in lane?]

[Nope LMAO]

[Still sticking to your promise for the stream, huh? LMAO]

[Big picture play LMAO LMAO LMAO]

“Did I say something wrong? I just like Vayne.”

“It’s okay. its not bad in the late game.”

If we make it to the late game, that is.

Vayne’s range is so short that she struggles in the early game, and she’s usually weak from the start, becoming a liability.

Sure, once she gets items in mid-game, she’s capable of carrying, but surviving until then is tough.

Especially with Yuumi, whose lane phase got nerfed even more.

“I’ll just go with Vayne. If Moonhwa wants it, I’ll do it. Let’s team up and dominate later.”

It’s fine.

No matter what bad matchups we get, I will never lose.

It’ll be fun to show the viewers some unique picks too.

Without hesitation, I locked in Vayne.

[All Chat] [Yonae: I hate our bot lane duo combo LMAO. Insta win LMAO]

[Olivebear: I told you not to pick Vayne, you idiot! Didn’t you see the enemy comp?]

As soon as the game started, the enemy team started spamming insults in chat.

Normally, I would’ve blocked them, but since this was a stream, I left them there for the drama effect later.

“Early game is going to be tough. I’ll do my best to hold on, you just hop on me and poke them with Q.”

“Yeah, I’m good at that. Spinning around and hitting them.”

“Yep! I trust you.”

I should’ve known better. I shouldn’t have trusted him.

“Oh! Moonhwa! Please, hit your Q! And why didn’t you use your heal? Did you cook up some soup with your E key?!”

“No, I was just distracted…”

“Distracted? You’re just riding on my back! How are you distracted?!”

[Yuseong’s mad LMAO]

[Moonhwa is in trouble LMAO]

[He said he was cooking soup with his keyboard LMAO]

[It’s kinda hot to see a guy getting serious and mad, though LMAO]

[Industry award for him LMAO]

[Moonhwa, jealous…]

The lane phase was harder than expected.

Moonhwa was playing terribly.

He kept wasting skills in the weirdest places. He didn’t even seem to know how to ward.

When I asked how he reached level 30, he said he only played AI matches when he was bored.

We were basically doing a 2v1 from level 1. Dodging Lux’s poke while trying to last-hit CS. It was pure pain.

Ugh, this is bad. The goal of 10 consecutive ranked wins is at risk.

At first, I was letting it slide, thinking mistakes happen, but the game was so hard that my competitive spirit kicked in.

Old habits from my pro gamer days.

Without realizing it, I started criticizing.

“Wow, Moonhwa, just admit it. You’re trying to sabotage me, right? You’re trying to make me lose the game, huh?”

“No, it’s just… I mixed up my keys… and escaped by mistake.”

“Unbelievable.”

[Moonhwa is crying, haha]

[Isn’t this nearly a mental breakdown? Isn’t this a runaway? Haha]

[Yuseong style hospitality, haha, it’s so spicy, haha]

[Assassin for the president, haha]

[Ah, hurry up and escape, haha, I want to see Yuseong messing around, haha]

“Shut up! Do you think this situation is a joke?!”

[Yeah, we actually like it, haha]

[Shut up, haha]

[Juji public 10 minutes left, haha]

[The rewards are pouring in, oh yeah]

It’s okay.

It’s harder than I thought, but the turret hasn’t fallen yet.

There will definitely be a chance.

I just have to focus and keep holding on to the thread of hope.

And then, the chance finally came.

“Now, we’re going for a gank, okay?

We’re going to dive the turret.

You have to follow my instructions from now on. Got it?”

“Yes…”

“Say it louder?!”

“Yes!”

The line is pushed heavily, and we’re in a turret dive situation.

This is the moment to strike.

If successful, we can take control quickly; if not, I may be in a situation where I can’t guarantee victory.

Yuseong hit me with his Q skill and rushed toward me.

I immediately used my ultimate to boost my attack, rolled forward with Q, and used my E skill to push him into the turret and stunned him.

At the same time, a skill shot from Jiksho and Lux’s ultimate came flying in.

I quickly flashed to avoid them.

Shin Yuseong aggroed the turret.

I landed a few basic attacks to add damage.

Next, the bottom duo’s normal skills were coming at me relentlessly.

I dodged with my movement, minimizing the damage without getting hit by their CC, and landed the final basic attack on the fleeing Yuseong.

[Baen killed Yuseong.]

Next target. I used my roll again and rushed out.

Thanks to my ultimate, I’m in stealth and undetected by the enemy.

The enemy’s mage bottom duo had just exhausted all their skills, so they couldn’t stop me from getting close.

“Heal and ultimate now!”

“Yes!”

Yui yelled with excitement, throwing her ultimate at the enemy bottom duo. Good job.

They were all stunned, standing still in place.

Now, it was time for a one-sided massacre.

They tried to resist with Exhaust or Flash, but they couldn’t shake off Baen, who was riding on Yui’s back.

[Triple kill!]

“We got them all!” Yuseong!

“Yeah, see? I told you we could do it! Why were you messing around? Haha.”

“I was a bit playful, right? Hehe.”

[What’s the mood here? Haha]

[Suddenly, the mood is all cozy, haha]

[This is so annoying, haha;]

[Ah, I envy that. I also want to play games with a guy. I could teach them well, haha]

“Hahaha, yuck!”

“Why are you reacting like this?

I just wanted to bond with the respected president.”

[Respect? Stop saying that, haha]

[This person is just a psychopath.

They forgot everything about being an assassin, haha]

[Expert at changing the mood, haha]

[If I had died here, I’d have cursed so hard, haha]

[Haha]

“Come on, I’m not swearing. How do you see people?”

I returned to the well and casually interacted with the viewers.

I had completely taken control. I could start a fight anytime by just locking eyes.

The enemy bottom duo only had two choices left: die or hug the turret.

And the game proceeded as expected.

[Pentakill!]

[Legendary appearance!]

In the fight around the dragon, Baen, already with 11 kills, achieved a pentakill with Yui’s buff on his back.

Especially Baen’s W fixed-damage basic attack skill unleashed incredible firepower.

He melted the enemy team in seconds, regardless of whether they were tanks or damage dealers.

[Overall chat][Naru: What the heck, how much did you level up Baen? Never dying.]

[Overall chat][Jiksho: What do you expect? The bottom turret broke because Yuseong ganked. Until then, the laning phase was fine.]

[Overall chat][Yuseong: They’re blaming me even though they messed up the gank, haha. They couldn’t even land their skills properly.]

[Overall chat][Yuseong: And even before I got there, you were behind on CS. 20 CS difference, was that a good laning phase?]

[Overall chat][Jiksho: Ugh, shut up. I’m done. You don’t deserve to win.]

The enemy was already in disarray.

They had lost all motivation to win.

Jiksho and Yuseong ran to the mid turret to compete, but ended up suiciding.

Lux seemed to have quit, as she didn’t appear in the game screen anymore.

[Victory]

The enemy surrendered.

The game lasted 21 minutes.

We had an unexpectedly fast victory.

I was worried after struggling in the early game, but thankfully, things worked out.

[Bus, haha]

[I feel embarrassed after cursing at the beginning, haha, this is weird. This combination should have broken by now, haha]

In the game result screen, our team apologized.

They didn’t explicitly say sorry, but with their pride, that was almost the same as a public apology.

[[God] Moonhwa Company gave a donation of 200,000 won.]

[Well done. Sorry, it was fun. I can’t say we’ll play together again, haha. I have work, so I’ll go ahead.]

“No, what are you talking about? We were almost a duo of souls. I was honored too. Let’s play again next time!”

Moonhwa left the broadcast after saying his goodbye.

It was tough playing with a newbie who didn’t even have basic concepts, but there was a sense of accomplishment.

Well, it was worth trying once.

Just once.

“Ugh, why is the matchmaking taking so long? I need to rank up so I don’t have to duo with these people.”

[?]

[Did I just hear… my inner thoughts? Haha]

[Moonhwa, are you here? Haha]

[Already left, haha]

[This is hilarious, haha]

[A streamer who takes 3 million won and then insults the president?]

Honestly, I didn’t expect much.

There are occasionally good male streamers who play games well.

But most of them have faces that are hard to watch.

Many of them were awkward-looking guys who gave me a physical rejection.

I had only gone to check out the stream out of curiosity.

Then, for some reason, I ended up donating as usual.

After that, I had the chance to see the streamer’s real appearance.

Was there a man like that in the world?

His skin was pale and neat.

And his eyes?

They were so beautiful, like they had been drawn.

Even though his face was covered by a mask, I could tell he was handsome.

I couldn’t stop staring at the broadcast screen for a while.

“Moonhwa, are you watching?”

I couldn’t even hear my own voice calling him, I was so entranced.

Alright. Let’s trust the streamer once more.

I’ll shake off the scammer and start again from scratch, like I always do.

Slowly, as always.

Maybe I should start with KakaoTalk friend request first? I’ll ask him.

That was my plan, but—

“Would you like to play a duo with me?”

Before I knew it, I said something ridiculous.

A duo?

After being busy for three months and not touching the game, what could I possibly play with him?

Ah, I don’t even know why I said that.

I could just take it back and ask for his phone number now.

Why am I pushing for this so calmly, asking him to play games with me?

“Are you trying to make me lose on purpose? Is that it?”

Thus began the game.

For the first time in my life, I was humiliated.

I became the laughing stock in front of hundreds of viewers.

Why am I letting this happen over just a game?

How dare a man talk back to me?

My pride was hurt.

He was so arrogant.

But strangely, I didn’t feel bad about it at all.

What is this feeling?

I don’t understand. There are so many things I don’t get.

The only thing I’m sure of is that I’m increasingly attracted to this Yuseong guy.

[Is this streamer Shin Yuseong?]

[I’m a fan, I’ll play hard!] so cute

[Wow! I can’t believe I’m playing with Shin Yuseong.]

Back in the ranked game ban-pick phase.

What is this?

There’s no way I’m this famous.

As I read the greetings in the game chat, I suddenly realized… something was wrong.