Chapter 5: Solo Rank (2)

SY pro gaming team’s dorm.

After the Red Cup, it was supposed to be a time for vacation, yet the dorm was filled with the heat of players practicing.

It was all for achieving the huge goal of winning the Red Cup for the third time.

If you were to ask which player was practicing the hardest, all the SY players would point to one person.

Rainbow.

If there’s anyone who could be called the protagonist of this year’s Legends of League, everyone would unquestionably name Rainbow.

And right now, Rainbow was staring blankly at the monitor screen, nervously biting his lips.

“…So we meet like this.”

The moment he saw Prisoner’s nickname in the pick window, Rainbow seriously considered dodging the game.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to play with Prisoner.

Rather, he felt uncomfortable because it seemed that Prisoner had gotten into trouble after the last interview.

‘Should I just apologize?’

It had already been several years since Rainbow first met Prisoner.

They didn’t even know each other’s faces, let alone their names, but despite that, they had played hundreds of games together.

Naturally, it could be seen as a close relationship where minor conflicts wouldn’t easily arise, but in reality, the closer you are with someone, the more you need to show respect.

‘Why did I say that…’

Though he regretted it later, all that accumulated was self-blame.

There were many reasons Rainbow mentioned Prisoner in the Red Cup victory interview, but the biggest reason was simple.

He was frustrated.

Rainbow believed that Prisoner had the potential to be a successful professional.

Of course, there were some weaknesses, like basic combat mechanics, but considering Prisoner was a jungler, those weren’t huge weaknesses.

To be honest… Rainbow thought Prisoner was better overall than ‘Yoon-gi,’ the jungler who had won the Red Cup with him.

That’s why he mentioned Prisoner in the huge Red Cup victory interview.

“I think my victory this year was mostly due to luck. If Prisoner had debuted as a pro, the result might have been different.”

Still not coming out?

I acknowledged you.

Let’s meet on the big stage.

Looking back, it was an unbearably arrogant thought.

He didn’t know anything about Prisoner’s circumstances.

No, he didn’t even try to find out.

He just couldn’t understand why someone with such skill wasn’t in the pro scene or even streaming.

How long had it been since that interview?

He heard from his coach that Prisoner’s team had requested a test.

“Really?”

When Rainbow heard that, he couldn’t hide his joy.

Finally, he would be able to play with Prisoner.

Even if they weren’t on the same team, it would be enough to meet him in a pro match.

However…

He then heard something shocking from his coach.

“Anyway, it’s become difficult. Sorry. I know you were looking forward to it.”

Rainbow was told that Prisoner had a rare medical condition.

The moment he heard that, Rainbow realized the mistake he had made.

What did I just do?

For Prisoner, the fact that he had a rare medical condition might have been something he wanted to keep hidden.

But Rainbow, driven by his arrogance and stubbornness, had brought it out into the open.

It was clearly an overstep, something he absolutely needed to apologize for.

Rainbow opened the 1:1 chat window with Prisoner and kept typing and deleting sentences, unsure of what to say.

“I’m sorry… no, maybe that’s not quite right. Should I just say sorry? But that doesn’t seem right either…?”

While he was lost in thought, the ban-pick phase came to an end.

He had chosen Jui, while Prisoner had picked Rishim.

The combination of the two champions was quite good, but for Rainbow, it was a bit unexpected.

“Did I think Prisoner could play Rishim?”

He quickly accepted it.

Recently, Rishim had been considered an overpowered champion.

It wasn’t surprising that Prisoner, an old player in Legends of League, was using a veteran champion like Rishim.

And then… the game began.

Looking at Prisoner’s ID on the loading screen, Rainbow still felt conflicted, but he was a pro.

Moreover, a top-tier pro.

Before the game started, it was hard to know, but once the game began, this was the battlefield.

-Welcome to the Summoner’s Rift.

In a top-tier game, the moment you leave the base, the game starts.

To prove this, they entered the enemy red side through the top bush with perfectly coordinated pings.

The moment a ward was placed in the enemy red bush, the five members of the enemy team were revealed.

“Just as I expected.”

It seemed the same for the team, as the moment the vision was revealed, their Nautilus landed the first grab.

This was a fight they would win.

Without hesitation, Rainbow invested his unspent skill points into his W ability.

-First Blood!

-Double Kill!

-Triple Kill!

-Massacre!

At this point, it could be said that the game had exploded within the first two minutes.

Of course, Rainbow had experience being reversed despite such a lead, so he didn’t let his focus slip.

The game continued.

As expected, it was a one-sided game, but since the enemy team consisted of top-tier players, there was still a chance they could make a final move.

-Our ally has been slain!

-Eliminated!

When their top lane died in a 5-man dive, Prisoner’s ping went off.

And then, the 2v5 battle occurred.

-Dominating the battlefield!

-The Avatar of the battlefield!

-Legend’s Emergence!
-Finish!

The result was a decisive victory.

“Ah…”

After finally finishing off the last enemy champion and securing the win, Rainbow felt an indescribable, strange feeling.

It wasn’t because they had wiped out the enemy by themselves, but because of something he saw in the synergy with Prisoner.

“…What is this?”

The sense of unease Rainbow was feeling was none other than this:

“Did Prisoner play Rishim this well?”

No, it seemed like this was the first time he had seen Prisoner play Rishim.

With this level of combat ability, it was on par with Yoon-ki, the jungler who had won the Red Cup with him.

“Has he grown so much? No… it’s not just that.”

Rainbow’s assessment of Prisoner had always been consistent.

Relatively lacking physical ability, but compensating with a sharp mind and god-like mechanics.

But what Rainbow saw in Prisoner now was nothing less than a fully realized jungler.

Prisoner, who had debuted when Legends of League launched in Korea, was one of the oldest players around.

To think such an old player had not only avoided a decline in skill but had actually grown…

“…How is it that someone like this isn’t a pro?”

Rainbow once again felt the emotions he had felt before.

Frustration, regret.

Or maybe it was precisely because of this situation that Prisoner had grown even more.

Pain does, after all, make people grow.

“Apologize.”

Without consent, he had mentioned it, and he was truly sorry. He hadn’t meant anything bad. He needed to be honest.

Rainbow made up his mind.

The game was over.

-The enemy has agreed to surrender with 5 votes for and 0 against.

The result was, of course, a 15-minute surrender.

After the game, his KDA was 11/0/8.

The level difference between him and the enemy jungler was 4.

And in the lower right corner, a number appeared.

[2]

Rainbow received a 1:1 message.

[SY Rainbow: Good game.]
[SY Rainbow: Oh, and I have something to say to Prisoner.]

Just as he was about to reply,

Knock—

The sound of a knock came, and his mother opened the door to look at him.

“Yujin.”

It was then that Rainbow noticed the piece of paper in his mother’s right hand.

It was probably… what he thought it was.

Given the seriousness of the situation and his mother’s expression, this was not the time to be playing games.

He hastily typed a message.

[Me: Something urgent came up. I’ll talk to you next time.]

There was no time to wait for a reply, so he closed the Legends of League client immediately.

It wasn’t like my muscles were contracting all over like before, but turning my head felt so difficult.

Slowly, I faced my mother.

A brief silence followed.

In the end, it was I who ran out of patience first.

“So… what happened?”

My mother looked at me without saying a word.

What is it? Could it be that the results weren’t what I expected? If so, what happens to me now?

Amidst these thoughts, my mother’s lips moved.

“Yujin…”

She quietly called my name and pulled me into an embrace.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness…”

Along with that, the contents of a paper scattered on the floor caught my attention.

[DNA Test Report]
(Excerpt)
Paternity Probability: 99.9997%

“Ah.”

Only then did I exhale in relief.

So much had changed, but I was still my mother’s child.

Perhaps, after passing the biggest hurdle, a second challenge remained.

“…You still haven’t told them?”

“How could I say it?”

That’s true.

“Sigh…”

I slowly stood in front of the door.

It was time to meet my family.