Chapter 52: Genuinely

Prisoner has joined the lobby.

GTD GuGu has joined the lobby.

dwqkopkwrkty has joined the lobby.

BOQ Private has joined the lobby.

Dayou TV 015745 has joined the lobby.

dwqkopkwrkty.

The nickname belongs to TEAM SoSo’s Wilds.

Since the queue started quickly, I ended up meeting the support player from the previous match—this time, as a teammate.

For me, this couldn’t have worked out better.

‘I hope all five players on the enemy team are pros.’

That way, baseless nonsense like accusations of boosting wouldn’t even have the chance to surface.

Of course, there would still be those who persist with such absurd claims, but… the team management would handle that.

Sensitive matters like boosting are something the management would never overlook.

The pick-and-ban phase was complete.

[Team / Enemy Team]

Top: Lockton / Nyar

Jungle: Gwen / Xin Zhao

Mid: Sett / Renekton

ADC: Samira / Jinx

Support: Nautilus / Leona

Coincidentally, our support picked Nautilus again.

In many ways, everything seemed to be aligning perfectly for me.

[Choose Your Skin!]

The game began.

SY TheOne – Nyar

정글의신박찬기 (Jungle God Park Chanki) – Xin Zhao

997785dd55 – Renekton

SCV BlackDog – Jinx

MAX Lineover – Leona

As always, the enemy team’s IDs were familiar to me.

‘All pros on the enemy team—this is great.’

It’s not uncommon for a high-level game to have all five players on the enemy team be professionals, but given the current circumstances, this match felt particularly significant.

And it wasn’t just because of that.

‘So, we meet again.’

The enemy mid-laner, Renekton.

If my memory served me correctly, it was Nightmare, the mid-laner for GRS.

Not long ago, I had unintentionally caused some concern, so this was quite a coincidental situation.

‘Not that I’m planning to go easy on him.’

I had my reasons too.

– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift.

‘Now, let’s see…’

The enemy team’s composition was what is commonly referred to as a “fireball” comp.

It’s a team designed for aggressive early-game skirmishes and laning, with the goal of quickly snowballing into a dominant lead.

Of course, strictly speaking, our team’s composition wasn’t too bad either.

Both Lockton and Sett were champions known for their exceptional strength in skirmishes.

The issue, however, lay with my Gwen pick.

As a recently released champion, Gwen was primarily categorized as a laner.

Jungle Gwen had only started appearing occasionally in recent games, making it a less established pick.

The main reason was Gwen’s inherently weak ganking ability—a fundamental aspect expected of junglers.

This naturally meant that Gwen required sacrifices from her teammates.

In other words, she was what you’d call a “full-clear jungler.”

The reason I chose Gwen, despite the risks, was crystal clear.

Her growth potential was absolutely insane.

A well-fed Gwen’s destructive power could dominate the battlefield like no other.

However, picking Jungle Gwen still carried significant risks.

In a solo queue game where anything could happen, my decision to play Gwen wasn’t without reason.

‘It’s time to show them.’

One of the most common misconceptions people have is thinking that a well-farmed player is the one carrying the game.

While this is often true, it’s not always the case.

That’s particularly evident with what is often referred to as a “mindless full-clear jungler.”

My decision to pick Gwen was also influenced by this.

Not to crush the game early, but to create a scenario where, after intense battles, I emerge as the one carrying the game.

In this match, I intended to play in a way that anyone could clearly understand my impact.

There was no need for grandiose plays.

I just needed to farm well and grow strong.

As the loud pings echoed, I left the fountain.

[Victory]

Game duration: 37 minutes.

It was relatively long compared to my recent average game times, but it was unavoidable.

Growth takes time, after all.

[Gwen – Level 18]

[Xin Zhao – Level 13]

By the time the game ended, there was a 5-level gap between the two junglers.

Although my KDA was modest at 4/0/6, the overwhelming difference in growth made it clear to everyone: this was a jungle diff.

“Phew.”

I queued for the next game and casually glanced at the community.

– Jungle 5-level gap, lol, is this real?

– Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner! Prisoner!

– Wow, carrying the game like this, lol.

– This guy’s a 1900-point jungler?

– Did anyone see the last fight? The 1v5 was insane… The kiting was godlike.

– Rainbow and YunGi fans scrambling right now.

– Are you guys seriously blaming the loss on the support? Lololol.

– Let’s be real. Rainbow and YunGi have always struggled when going up against Prisoner.

– As someone who’s a YunGi fan, I admit it. Prisoner >>> YunGi.

– Actually, it’s Prisoner >>> Rainbow + YunGi. Stop pretending to be a YunGi fan, you fraud.

It was a dominant victory.

Naturally, the absurd boosting accusations, which had been dismissed as nonsense from the start, vanished without a trace.

‘Well, it was a ridiculous claim to begin with.’

However, I’ve seen countless pro players suffer unnecessary hardships for not addressing such baseless rumors.

I knew better than to let things slide.

– But that Nautilus was terrible again, lol. If it weren’t for Prisoner, we would’ve gotten crushed.

– If they switch supports and rematch, who knows?

The opinions on Wilds weren’t great, but at least the accusations of boosting had disappeared, which was a win in itself.

‘I’m not obligated to care beyond that.’

Strictly speaking, Nautilus falling behind was partly due to my “mindless full-clear jungling.”

However, as a pro, one’s performance and skills should do the talking.

And then, I went on to win two more consecutive games.

This made it four wins in total for the day.

[Prisoner]

Rank 1

Solo Queue

• Challenger
• 1941 LP / 264 Wins, 172 Losses
• Win Rate: 60%

‘Not much left now.’

Reaching 2000 LP was just a few steps away.

Rainbow was surely aware of this situation too.

‘Let’s see if you can stop me.’

Lying on his bed, Yuri Lee felt strangely restless, unable to sleep.

In the end, he couldn’t resist the urge and turned on RedTV.

[Jungle Support Channel: Is Prisoner Hitting 2000 LP?]

On the stream, the top-tier Lee Sin player, Jang Seokhwan, was spectating Prisoner.

‘Of course, they’re streaming.’

After all, no one could deny that Prisoner was the hottest topic in the League of Legends scene right now.

Internet streamers who chased viewership wouldn’t dare miss this moment.

Watching Prisoner on his smartphone, Yuri felt a fire ignite deep within him.

‘Prisoner.’

Before he realized it, the morning had arrived.

Yuri, who had fallen asleep with his phone resting on his head, woke up with a jolt.

‘…1940 LP? That can’t be right.’

Prisoner had achieved 1941 LP.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if he hit 2000 LP today.

And Yuri had no intention of sitting back and watching it happen.

‘I confirmed it yesterday—this isn’t something I can stop half-heartedly. I have to approach this like it’s a tournament.’

League of Legends wasn’t just mentally exhausting; it required an immense amount of physical stamina too.

And when it came to high-stakes matches, like in a team scrim, the intensity was even greater.

As a current pro player, Yuri could only play solo queue after finishing all his team’s schedules for the day.

Naturally, this meant he would already be physically and mentally drained before starting.

While it might sound like an excuse, Yuri firmly believed that if he were in peak condition, he could defeat Prisoner.

‘Just for today.’

With his mind made up, Yuri knocked on the coach’s office door early in the morning.

“Coach, may I skip scrims today? I’m not feeling my best.”

“Hmm… really? Alright, that’s fine. It’s actually good timing. I was thinking of letting YunSu participate in scrims anyway.”

Choi YunSu was a mid-laner trainee who had spent quite some time practicing with the team. Even Yuri thought he had potential.

“Thank you. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright, make sure to rest well today.”

To avoid any misunderstandings, Yuri quickly added another comment.

“Oh, and I might play some solo queue just to take it easy.”

The coach smiled knowingly.

“Because of Prisoner?”

“…You knew?”

“It’s my job to understand and manage your struggles. Of course, I knew.”

It seemed his intentions were as clear as day.

“Well, for today at least…”

“Alright, do what you need to do. It’s not the regular season anyway. If something’s weighing on your mind, it’ll affect your performance. You understand that, right?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Yuri.”

“Yes, coach?”

“Win. You know what I mean, right?”

It was an odd statement.

But Yuri didn’t overthink it and simply accepted it as it was.

“Yes.”