Chapter 53: Challenger 2000 LP

The morning had arrived.

Of course, “morning” meant the sun was already high in the sky, but isn’t the world centered entirely around oneself?

There was no need to worry about minor details.

After hastily having cereal and milk for breakfast, I sat down at my computer.

– Welcome!

As always, I launched the League of Legends client, but something felt a bit strange.

‘Huh?’

[SY Rainbow]

Online.

Rainbow was online.

It was rare to see him active at this hour.

‘What’s going on?’

Since Rainbow debuted as a pro, this was practically the first time he had logged in during this time outside of the offseason.

‘Hmm.’

It was possible that he had just left his account logged in, but I felt an odd need to check.

No greetings were necessary.

I already had the perfect message to send.

[Searching for a game…]

As soon as I queued, Rainbow’s status changed, as if he had been waiting.

[SY Rainbow]

Searching for a game…

‘I knew it.’

Rainbow was waiting for me.

The reason wasn’t hard to guess.

‘He knows I hit 1940 LP.’

Even if I didn’t say it out loud, Prisoner’s rank was one of the hottest topics in the League of Legends scene.

For Rainbow, who had openly declared his intention to snipe me, there was no way he wouldn’t know.

‘Logging in at this time means… he must have no schedule today.’

Today was Wednesday—a weekday.

Of course, I couldn’t know the inner workings of pro teams, so I just let it slide.

Still, it was a bit curious that all the other pros on my friends list were offline.

Regardless, one thing was clear.

‘Rainbow is in peak condition right now.’

Most of the pros I had faced were rarely in their best condition when playing against me.

For them, solo queue was usually something they did after wrapping up their packed team schedules, either as personal practice or as a way to unwind.

Considering Rainbow is one of the biggest stars in the League of Legends scene, his schedule must be brutal.

Yet here he was, waiting for me, fully prepared.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart race.

‘So, today is the day.’

I instinctively felt that today would be significant.

I had always anticipated that this day would come, though it arrived a bit sooner than expected.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

There was no hesitation.

‘Let’s do this.’

Let’s see if you can stop me.

After completing all the picks, Yuri Lee closed his eyes for a moment of meditation and quietly checked his condition.

The current condition: optimal.

All the teammates were players Yuri Lee personally acknowledged as skilled.

Everything was set up for victory.

However, one variable remained—the fact that Prisoner was on the enemy team.

[Prisoner]

Champion selection in progress.

“Phew…”

Even though Yuri, or Rainbow, was in peak condition, unlike his usual solo queue matches, he couldn’t hide his tension.

It wasn’t the first time he felt this way.

The first time he stood on a finals stage.

The first time he played at the Red Cup.

The first time he won the Red Cup.

All of these were games that would go down in the history of League of Legends, yet now, Yuri felt the same nerves for what was just a solo queue match.

‘But I’ll win.’

Just as he always had.

– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

The game officially began.

Yuri, playing as Rainbow, aggressively pressured the enemy mid-laner from the start.

His strategy was clear—dominate the mid lane and crush the enemy jungler, Prisoner, by denying resources.

– First Blood!

Not even three minutes into the game, the first kill happened in the mid lane.

The enemy mid-laner, known as a skilled amateur, had no chance against Rainbow in his current form.

When the mid-laner dies in a solo kill, the effects ripple directly to the jungler.

As Rainbow pinged to support his jungler invading the enemy’s raptors, he followed to back them up.

Then, he froze.

Only one small raptor remained from the camp.

The message was clear.

‘…Counter-jungling on your own?’

How many steps ahead had Prisoner planned to make such an absurd decision this early?

‘Did he predict I’d get a solo kill in mid?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

Even if it wasn’t a guaranteed solo kill, Prisoner must have been certain that Rainbow would win the lane.

In fact, Prisoner trusted his enemy, Rainbow, more than his own mid-laner.

‘…Ha.’

Rainbow let out a bitter laugh.

League of Legends was a game where even long-time teammates often found it hard to trust one another.

Yet Prisoner trusted Rainbow—his enemy—without hesitation.

That realization stirred something strange within Rainbow, which quickly turned into a fierce competitive spirit.

‘…Prisoner!’

A fierce battle ensued.

When Rainbow killed two enemy champions, Prisoner countered by killing three of Rainbow’s teammates.

It was a knife’s edge duel.

The victor shifted repeatedly, but in the end, it was always Prisoner standing tall.

By the time Rainbow came to his senses, Prisoner had grown into an unstoppable monster.

‘…No, it’s not over yet.’

No matter how strong Prisoner had become, he was still just one player.

If the team could orchestrate a fight to exclude him, they could still turn the game around.

But…

It was as if Prisoner had read everything, appearing like a phantom.

There was no way to shake him off.

Prisoner was everywhere—blocking every escape route, always standing in the path to victory.

– An ally has been slain!

– The enemy is unstoppable!

Despite a fierce struggle, the team managed to secure the fourth dragon. Unfortunately, that was all they could achieve.

In the end, the enemy team, armed with both Baron and Elder buffs, stormed toward the allied Nexus.

[Defeat]

As with anyone who plays League of Legends, losing is never something one can easily get used to.

For Yuri Lee, who had spent most of his career on the side of victory, the taste of defeat was particularly foreign.

While Yuri sat in a daze, one of the statuses on his friends list changed.

[Prisoner]

Searching for a game…

Prisoner had immediately queued up again.

‘…Right. This isn’t the time to sit here idly.’

It was only the first game lost.

No matter how important the first game might seem in a best-of series, this wasn’t a tournament.

In the end, what matters is being the one who stands victorious at the final moment.

[Game found!]

[Accept / Decline]

Yuri pressed accept once more.

Then, he was stunned.

Prisoner has joined the lobby.

SY Rainbow has joined the lobby.

Yuri was solo-queuing, purely playing alone.

This meant no duos—just coincidence.

Yet, meeting the same player who had just handed him a defeat, now as an ally, gave him an odd feeling.

Especially when that player was Prisoner.

‘Should I dodge?’

Yuri shook his head.

Know your enemy, know yourself, and you’ll never be defeated.

To adapt and prepare, he needed to experience this firsthand.

[Victory]

Game duration: 13 minutes and 11 seconds.

It wasn’t a surrender but a pure Nexus destruction.

The team had dominated every lane from the start.

Among the shining stars of the match, Prisoner stood out the most.

As with most players who perform better in favorable games, Prisoner was no exception.

‘What on earth… are you?’

Puzzled and curious, Yuri immediately queued up again to match Prisoner’s pace.

In the following matches, Yuri played with Prisoner as an ally three more times and faced him as an enemy four times.

Out of those matches, one game as an ally and one game as an opponent ended in dodges.

This left Yuri encountering Prisoner twice as an ally and three times as an opponent.

[Victory]

[Defeat]

[Rematch]

[Victory]

[Defeat]

And in every single one of those games, Prisoner claimed victory without exception.

Even Rainbow, giving his all, could not stand in Prisoner’s way.

Yuri Lee felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and helplessness for the first time in his life.

He had lost.

Completely lost.

This was different from before.

In past defeats, there were always small excuses to cling to.

His condition wasn’t great.

The scrims had been exhausting.

It was just solo queue.

But not this time.

This time, Yuri had poured everything he had into his matches against Prisoner.

Like something unyielding eventually breaking, Yuri realized that his own strength had shattered against the unmovable wall that was Prisoner.

And then, Yuri saw it.

He saw where Prisoner had finally arrived.

[Prisoner]

Rank 1

Solo Queue

• Challenger
• 2000 LP / 271 Wins, 172 Losses
• Win Rate: 61%

2000 LP in Solo Queue.

What could already have been called a new legend when he surpassed 1800 LP was now a myth, as Prisoner reached a new milestone, changing the number in front of his rank.

“Prisoner.”

When people encounter something they cannot comprehend, they have two reactions:

Fear or awe.

Ironically, Yuri was feeling both at the same time.

He feared Prisoner.

He revered Prisoner.

He…

“Prisoner…”

As Yuri, half-dazed, kept muttering that name, something happened.

[2]

[Prisoner: Rainbow.]

[Prisoner: I have something to tell you.]

Prisoner had sent a private message for a one-on-one conversation.