Chapter 62 : Encounter

The much-anticipated first game of Curry’s climb to Grandmaster began.

Unfortunately, Na-yeon Queen wasn’t on the opposing team, but that was fine.

It would take Curry at least three days to reach Grandmaster anyway.

“For the first game, I’ll just observe. I’ll give feedback after it’s over.”

Curry had locked in Renekton, the quintessential bruiser champion.

On the other hand, the enemy top laner was Malphite, running the Comet rune setup—a staple choice for its oppressive poke early on.

Given Malphite’s early harass potential, starting with a Doran’s Shield for better sustain would have been the sensible choice.

But as the game began, Curry bought a Doran’s Blade and a single potion instead.

While Renekton is known for his decent sustain, starting with Doran’s Blade was a risky move.

I wanted to step in and offer advice right away, but I had already committed to giving feedback only after the game.

And honestly, item choices are up to the player. As long as they can back up their decision with results, there’s no issue.

Curry spent the entire laning phase suffering under Malphite’s relentless poke.

He attempted a trade at level 3, but he barely missed stunning Malphite, who had sped up.

If he had used his E defensively to disengage, the trade wouldn’t have been so punishing.

But instead, Curry burned his stored Fury and dashed forward with his E, taking significant damage in the process.

If he’d started with Doran’s Shield, he could’ve at least healed up a bit and managed the awkwardly frozen wave better.

But trying to push the wave recklessly would have certainly resulted in his death.

With no other option, Curry teleported back to lane after recalling, only to find the wave in a horrible state.

The lane was frozen awkwardly near Malphite’s turret, leaving Curry in the worst possible position.

If the enemy jungler had been waiting in the wings, Curry would’ve been dead for sure.

Thankfully, the enemy jungler revealed themselves on the bot side, and our jungler, Elise, executed a perfectly timed dive with Curry to take down Malphite.

[First Blood!]

“This is what a real jungler looks like! This is what it means to jungle diff!” Curry shouted triumphantly.

I had so many things I wanted to say to Curry as he yelled “jungle diff,” but I held back.

Instead, I mentally jotted down a note: “That was all Elise, and you were just a liability.”

Elise continued to focus on top lane after that.

Unlike those “wannabe” junglers who force ganks for the sake of the stream, Elise showcased the precision of a true pro.

Elise snowballed bot lane, counter-jungled with surgical precision, and even set up a flawless countergank based on the enemy jungler’s pathing.

There was no way Elise was just some random player; this was classic “jungle diff,” and it completely broke the game’s balance.

“Guys, I might hit Grandmaster today!” Curry said smugly.

“…Sigh.”

I couldn’t hold back a sigh at Curry’s obnoxiously boastful attitude.

Sensing my annoyance, Curry glanced nervously in my direction and finally shut his mouth.

Even if his over-the-top reactions were meant for entertainment, this time it was just too much.

[Looks like the teacher is officially pissed at Curry’s antics.]

[No words, just disappointment.]

[This is definitely jungle diff, lol.]

[Curry’s silver-level gameplay is better than this, haha.]

[God-tier jungler is saving the world.]

[If I were Barcode, I would’ve just slapped Curry across the forehead.]

Thanks to an overwhelming jungle carry, the game was finally wrapped up.

I couldn’t help but watch Curry, who was nervously avoiding eye contact, clearly not knowing where to look.

“Curry.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Are you ready to be scolded?”

“Wha—what did I do… No, never mind. I’ll just stay quiet…”

Curry was about to ask what he had done wrong, but I gave him a sharp look. He immediately clammed up, letting out a small whimper.

I grabbed the mouse from his hand and downloaded the game replay.

Curry, like a criminal awaiting punishment, lowered his head in silence.

Though I felt a little sorry for him in that moment, I had to say what needed to be said, so I clicked play on the replay.

Once the video started, I quickly hit pause and shifted my gaze to him.

“Stop bowing your head. Watch the screen.”

“Yes…”

I pointed at the item list in Renekton’s inventory on the screen, focusing on the Doran’s Blade.

“Why did you buy this?”

“Well… because it’s Doran’s Blade, you know?”

“Don’t joke around.”

“If I bought Doran’s Shield, I’d feel kinda… cramped, I guess.”

Curry’s response was so ridiculous that I couldn’t hold back a laugh.

It wasn’t laughter because it was funny—it was the kind of helpless, “what am I even hearing” laugh.

“What do you think when you see that Malphite is running Comet?”

“He’s trying to poke with his Rolling Boulder…?”

“So what should you buy to deal with his poke?”

“Doran’s Shield, right?”

“Good. You know this well, hehe…”

To think he already knew the right answer, but still chose to go with that absurd choice earlier.

I had originally planned to teach him while gently poking fun at his mistakes, but as a fellow Renekton player, I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

“No more Doran’s Blade against champions with poke.”

“That’s crossing the line…”

“What did you say?”

“…Nothing.”

Correcting this top-lane maniac’s fundamental flaws was crucial if I was going to get him into Grandmaster. While I managed to address this one issue, many other problems still remained to be fixed.

Starting with his bad habit of picking Domination over Resolve for lane sustain…

Not to mention his complete lack of awareness of the enemy jungler, using the mindset that if both junglers gank at the same time, they’ll both die—such an ignorant thought process.

“Curry, do you think you can fix all of this on your own…?”

“I’ll fix it.”

“Good.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you’ll fix everything, but if I keep riding you like this, you’ll probably get better whether you like it or not.”

[Do you hate this? Haha.]

[Look at his stiff face.]

[You gotta do what the teacher says, student.]

[Thanks for the personal coaching, I should be grateful.]

[Hee… Teacher…]

[If you’re jealous, you’re gonna lose… if you’re jealous, you’re gonna lose…]

Curry looked like he had a lot to say, but I ignored him and turned my attention to the game queue, signaling for him to start it.

Ah…

Curry let out a small sigh, barely audible through the mic, and began the matchmaking process.

“Remember, don’t buy Doran’s Blade against champions with poke.”

“Pay attention to the positions of both junglers and trade accordingly.”

“By the way, why did you engage there? You saw the enemy jungler.”

Since the first game, Barcode had been giving live feedback on Curry’s mistakes.

It felt like my mind was about to explode, but ironically, the games were going smoothly.

This was the classic “diagonal law,” where if one side gains, the other side loses. Curry was always the one who caused losses in this situation.

But thanks to Barcode’s real-time feedback, Curry ended up on the winning side for once.

[Victory]

Having secured another easy win, Curry was left with a strange feeling.

It was clear his body was resisting the feedback, but there was no denying its effect.

The real problem was that following Barcode’s teachings drained a lot of mental energy, but achieving five consecutive wins with just that mental drain wasn’t a bad outcome.

“You did well this game.”

“Really?”

Barcode’s praise was something that had never come during the five-game streak.

Perhaps due to getting too immersed in the teacher-student dynamic, Curry couldn’t help but smile genuinely.

Trying to act nonchalant, he turned his head, but it was already too late, and Barcode was smiling.

It was the kind of smile one would give when seeing a cute animal, and Curry felt strangely shy under that gaze.

“If things go like this, we might reach Grandmaster by tomorrow.”

“Really? No way, it feels like a lie…”

“I can’t guarantee it, right? The result depends on your ability, Curry.”

The result depends on one’s own ability.

It was a simple truth, but one that I had easily forgotten.

If Curry continued improving like this, maybe he’d escape this hell faster than expected.

Thanks to the five-game winning streak, a promotion match to Master had been created.

Even if he couldn’t keep the win streak, if the momentum and luck with the team continued, reaching Grandmaster by tomorrow wasn’t impossible, just like Barcode had said.

Before long, a new match was found, and the ban/pick phase passed quickly.

And so, the long-awaited first promotion match began.

[Na Yeon Queen]

The enemy team’s mid, Talon’s nickname.

It was a nickname that made me annoyed just by looking at it, and it represented a deep, ongoing grudge that had lasted for years.

And the infamous sniper I had thought was the same person as Barcode.

But Barcode is right next to me now?

A situation where Barcode and NaYeonQueen coexist.

Could it be that someone else is using NaYeonQueen’s account?

Curry, who had firmly believed that they were the same person, began to have doubts.

“You’re a famous sniper, huh? Let’s deal with that person and hit Master.”

“Ah, yes. We should.”

Seeing Barcode respond in the same usual manner as before, Curry’s suspicions began to fade. In fact, a new doubt arose about the assumption that NaYeonQueen and Barcode were the same person.

After all, there was no decisive evidence that NaYeonQueen and Barcode were the same person. It was possible that their most-played champions overlapped by chance, or that their active times were different by chance.

Could it be that I had been seeing things through tinted glasses all this time?

NaYeonQueen’s sudden appearance was starting to make Curry’s mind spin.

In a situation where everything seemed confusing, Curry refrained from making hasty judgments.

Maybe that ‘NaYeonQueen’ was really a decoy.

Throughout the game, whenever there was a break, Curry observed NaYeonQueen’s Talon.

If Barcode had hired a stand-in for ‘NaYeonQueen,’ that player would surely play differently from the original NaYeonQueen.

With that in mind, Curry focused on observing the enemy’s Talon, and by mid-game, he was certain.

That was the Talon he knew as NaYeonQueen.

It was NaYeonQueen herself, who could be called a perfect downgrade of Barcode.

“Stay in lane. You’ll have Teleport in 20 seconds. Let’s go bot and do the split push our Curry-nim loves?”

“Got it.”

As the game progressed, Curry’s doubts about Barcode faded even further.

As the image of ‘NaYeonQueen’ slowly peeled away, Curry realized how great Barcode actually was.

The chairman, who had always supported him during his toughest times.

The streamer Barcode, who had happily accepted a sudden collaboration request.

Come to think of it, Barcode had only done things that were beneficial to him.

Of course, Curry still wasn’t used to Barcode’s scolding.

But, thinking about it, it was thanks to that scolding that he had been able to grow this much, and it felt rather strange.

The game was being dominated by Curry’s well-developed Qiyana.

To stop Qiyana’s split push, two or more members of the enemy team were required.

The difference in numbers led to easy control of large objectives.

If it were the usual Curry, he would have pushed the lane too hard and gotten killed.

But with Barcode, his personal suppressor, by his side, that was never going to happen.

They smoothly secured Baron and chipped away at the enemy’s health through steady macro play.

As the ice-like operation continued, the enemy team began to waver, and an intense team fight broke out in a precarious situation.

Naturally, with the unstable state, there was no way the enemy team could win.

[Victory]

In the end, Curry finished his first promotion match with a victory.

[NaYeonQueen? Don’t even mention that washed-up fool.]

[Wow, hahaha, you know the exact movements of Talon?]

[Barcode-sensei is definitely not human.]

[If you see his face, he’s not human, he’s a goddess though.]

[Curry-sha evolved from a top lane freak to a general.]

[Always be thankful to Barcode-nim.]

After the game ended, Curry turned his head and saw Barcode smiling softly.

Seeing Barcode smile like that made Curry feel a bit guilty.

Although he was now sure that the NaYeonQueen he encountered earlier was really ‘NaYeonQueen,’
the doubt that had settled deep in his heart hadn’t completely disappeared.

For all he knew, Barcode might have hired someone with a similar playstyle to NaYeonQueen.

The possibility was still there, and Curry knew better than to ignore even the smallest suspicion.

There was no decisive proof that NaYeonQueen and Barcode were the same person,
but there was also no definitive proof that they weren’t.

“Hurry up and let’s get to Grandmaster, let’s queue up for the next game.”

Barcode’s voice, still calm, urged Curry on.

It sounded just like usual, but somehow it felt different.

“Yes. I’ll show you my Grandmaster rank soon.”

For the first time, Curry responded without his usual mask,thinking that maybe Barcode wasn’t NaYeonQueen after all.