Chapter 29: Debut (1)

“Is she coming today?”

Ark’s jungler, Lesser (Kim Dojin), asked as he stretched his wrists.

“She has to be, it’s the opening match.”

Caster (Park Jinhwan), who had been Ark’s top laner for two years, answered nonchalantly while setting up his equipment.

“How pretty can she be to change our contracts like that?”

“I looked her up on YouTube, and she is really pretty.”

“They wouldn’t just bring her in for her looks, right? They even let Jinsu hyung go because of her.”

“Jinsu hyung was planning to retire anyway. The coach asked him to play just for the Spring season.”

“That’s true.”

Plea (Jin Yooseong) and KAI (Lee Yoochan), the newly joined bot lane duo, spoke simultaneously.

‘Just what level is she at?’

Lesser, Kim Dojin, still had lingering doubts as he looked at the empty mid lane seat.

In the esports scene, verbal agreements held significant weight.
Usually, contracts were signed based on pre-discussed conditions.

But an absurd clause had been added to the contract regarding the recruitment of one player.

‘If any player on the team approaches Yoon Seo-ha with romantic interest, that player’s contract will be immediately terminated with a penalty for breach of contract.’

What kind of vision did they see to add such a clause for Ark’s players and coaching staff?

Of course, according to the coach, they had negotiated it down to not making any advances or persistent contact.

Even so, it was a ridiculous clause.

“It’s a relief that her first match is online.”

The ADC, Jin Yooseong, spoke sarcastically, but Kim Dojin actually felt relieved.

Although the CK arena was small, with only about 150 seats, the pressure of a pro match was immense.

From Kim Dojin’s perspective, who had struggled through his offline debut, he felt a bit envious.

“Are you guys ready?”

While they were chatting about the upcoming match, a man entered the practice room.

It was Ark’s coach, Kim Hanseong.

“Yoon Seo-ha isn’t here yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, they’ve practiced together in scrims, even if it was online, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Kim Hanseong cleared his throat and spoke with a serious tone.

“I know the Spring season was disappointing, even though Jinsu filled in.”

Ark’s overall ranking in the Spring season was 3rd.

It was a disappointing result, considering only the 1st place in the regular season and playoffs advanced to the promotion tournament.

“However, I believe we will definitely get promoted in the Summer. And in the LCK? I think our team can make it.”

After that, Kim Hanseong went on to talk about aiming for MSI and Worlds, which might have sounded excessive or even delusional to others.

And a moment later.

“Hello.”

When the door opened and a girl walked in, Kim Dojin and the other four players were speechless.

***

‘Oh, right, today’s match was online.’

Unlike the LCK, which held matches on-site unless there were special circumstances, the second division CK held matches online from the team’s
gaming house.

There were two matches per week, one online and one offline.

‘I wonder if the gaming house is still the same.’

This was my first time going to the gaming house in this life.

My mother had told me to rest since the contract started on the first day of the Summer season, so I had only been scrimming from home.

I wondered if it would be the same as in my past life.

“You’re not wearing any makeup today, right?”

“No.”

“I really shouldn’t be saying this, but you don’t have the face for gaming.”

In the moving car, the woman at the wheel, smiling and chatting, was named Seo Yeeun.

She was known as Manager Seo, a young woman whose official title was accountant.

But she also handled various other tasks, essentially acting as a manager.

“I thought our white uniform might stand out a bit, but you look like a model wearing it.”

My current outfit was just the short-sleeved team uniform worn over my school uniform shirt.

Since I had left school after the third period to make it to the 2 PM match, I had just changed quickly.

As they say, the face completes the fashion.

“It looks better with the shirt underneath. Maybe I should suggest adding a collar to next year’s uniform?”

‘It’s the same.’

The feeling I got when I arrived at the gaming house was that nothing had changed from my past life.

Although not in the city center, it was a stylish three-story building located in Seoul.

Befitting the name “gaming house,” its square, angular shape stood out.

“Shall we go in?”

Manager Seo parked the van in the garage and led me inside.

“It’s already 1 PM. Can I show you around after the match?”

“Yes, we shouldn’t be late.”

“You speak as well as you look.”

Saying so, Manager Seo led me to the practice room on the second floor, where today’s match would take place.

“The players and coach should be inside, so go in and introduce yourself.”

With that, Manager Seo went down to the office on the first floor.

I took a deep breath in front of the door and turned the handle.

“Hello.”

I greeted as I entered.

The coach was nowhere to be seen, and only four players were sitting in their seats, staring at me.

Shouldn’t they respond when someone greets them?

Amid the awkward silence.

“You’re finally here.”

I turned around at the sound of a voice from behind and saw Coach Kim Hanseong standing there.

“The uniform suits you well. Your seat is in the middle, obviously the mid lane position. You can set up your equipment.”

Following the coach’s words, which broke the awkwardness with a smile, I went to my seat and set up my keyboard and mouse.

I connected the cables and checked the settings using practice mode.

After confirming that there were no issues, I exited practice mode.

“Hi.”

The guy next to me greeted me with an expressionless face.

Lesser, Kim Dojin.

We had played together in my past life as well.
He was a reliable jungler who anchored the team even after Ark ascended to the first division.

I returned his greeting and started stretching.

My neck and shoulders had been aching a lot lately.

Had I been playing too much with my head down?

After rotating my wrists, a referee from the association entered the practice room.

“The match starts in 5 minutes, so please be ready.”

Following the referee’s instructions, I turned on the tournament server client and logged in with my player ID.

“What’s our draft plan today?”

“Should we focus on protecting the bot lane? Crit items got a lot of buffs this time.”

“Maybe we can pick Gnar for top.”

“If they pick Ezreal, Kai’Sa or Aphelios could be good.”

“Support will probably be the usual utility distribution.”

The coach and my teammates were discussing the draft next to me.

The meta for this Summer season was an ADC carry meta due to buffs to critical strike items.

But.

“I have a champion I want to play.”

Critical strike items weren’t exclusive to ADCs.

***

“Hello, this is LOL Challengers Korea Summer, caster Yoo Seungchan.”

“And commentator Shin Haram, nice to meet you.”

[Is Para playing today?]
[Ban the people asking stupid questions. The starting lineup is on the team’s SNS]
[BU lost the promotion match, but they were 1st in the regular season, so it’ll be tough for a debut match]
[What’s tough about the 2nd division LOL]
[Why are 4,000 people watching CK today?]
[Para noona]

“It feels like more people than usual are waiting to watch CK.”

“I think so too. Let’s check out today’s roster.”

TEAM – ARK
TOP: Caster
JG: Lesser
MID: Para
ADC: Plea
SUP: KAI
VS
TEAM – BU
TOP: Row
JG: Route
MID: Poll
ADC: Hamin
SUP: Rama

“Although they lost the promotion match, BU’s roster remains unchanged, as they showed a strong performance in the league.”

“But for Ark, there’s a change in the mid lane.”

“And it’s her debut match, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. It’s Para, a rookie player whose age restriction was lifted this Summer.”

“Although she’s a rookie, she’s not quite a rookie. I think she garnered a lot of expectations from viewers during the VLL finals held alongside the LCK.”

“And that’s probably why so many people are tuning in.”

“Ark unfortunately failed to reach the promotion tournament. What kind of change will this new addition bring? Let’s take a look at the draft!”

[Para will carry today]
[That’s obvious]
[But it’s an online match for her debut?]
[LOL CK uses the arena for 3 days a week]
[Is that a Riot thing?]
[At least the 2nd division has an arena. LCS and LEC have all their 2nd division matches online LOL]

“Para’s carry potential is undeniable, but the current meta seems to heavily favor the ADC role.”

“With the overall buffs to critical strike items and tank items, it feels like a meta where you build up your tank and ADC and go for teamfights.”

“For now, both teams are filling their front line with Ornn and Ksante.”

“For ADC, it’s Aphelios and Jinx, hyper-carry ADCs.”

“Huh…? Lillia for Ark’s jungle? Lesser is known to like her, and it’s a safe pick, but does that mean they’re not going for a mage in the mid lane?”

“What is this pick! Para is showing her confidence right from her debut match!”

[Death is like the wind…always by my side]
[My blade has but one purpose…]

[This is Para LOL]
[It’s too arrogant of a pick, isn’t it?]
[With the stage buff, one Q auto will delete the ADC]