Chapter 0: Which way led me

In my entire life.

There has never been a day I’ve wanted to sit in a chair less than today.

—Click.

But my body, as if not caring about that at all, habitually turned on the computer and brought me in front of the screen.

—Oh.

—Stream’s on.

—It’s the last one, gotta turn it on.

—lol.

—Our game isn’t dead yet.

—Yeah, ‘no update day’.

—lololol.

—It’s basically a folk game now.

—Shouldn’t say bad things like it was like that since the pro scene ended.

—Why isn’t he turning on the screen?

Even though I just set up the waiting room, the number of people entering started to increase.

Watching the rapidly rising number of viewers, I moved the cursor and quickly logged into the game.

Right after that, I turned on the microphone I had turned off.

“There are a lot of events going on, probably because it’s the end of the world.”

At my words, the reactions in the chat window, which had been gradually decreasing, became heated again.

—This f*cker hasn’t logged in for so long.

—That event started two months ago.

—lololol did you really drop it right after saying you retired?

—Honestly, I wouldn’t play either.

—’Our game is operating normally’.

—If an AOS game doesn’t get any more updates, is that really operating?

—Um.

—It hurts when you hit with facts.

Even without looking at the chat window any further, the backlash against the game’s failure was certainly felt.

—So he didn’t even see his own skin release?

At the passing chat in the chat window, I moved my hand towards the store window and continued.

“Yeah, well. Actually, I forgot to check because the game company showed everything about how it looks.”

—I.

—knew.

—it.

—I.

—knew.

—it.

—It’s just a hassle since it’s not just one skin~.

—I.

—knew.

—it.

—True, g.g. if you made a prestige for your beloved character before the game explodes.

—lololol.

—Better than nothing, right?

—Suddenly, True having three skins seems amazing.

—Are you sniping ‘someone’ who doesn’t even have one skin?

—God.

—damn.

—it.

—Don’t say bad things.

—You said it all, you f*cker.

—This guy’s really triggered.

—lolol.

Leaving the burning chat window behind, I roughly pushed aside the events and notices announcing the end of service and entered the store, and five skins with a brilliant appearance filled the screen.

And among them, one skin in the center that particularly stood out.

[ST True Prestige Skin]

It was my skin.

—Wow.

—Look at that quality.

—LOC’s last prestige skin.

—True, g.g. if you remember last year.

—This quality is free?

—Wow.

—Praise the great True.

—If only it wasn’t the last one…

—It’s really something something.

I asked them to just release the highest grade skin for free because it was the last one.

It’s mine anyway, and above all, I can’t make fans spend money on a game that’s ending.

Of course, the regular skins were sold for money, but that wasn’t really my concern.

—So why did you suddenly turn it on when you acted like you wouldn’t come back?

—I really don’t know.

—I thought you went to a dinner with other pros.

“Well, there’s not much time left until the end of this season, but we should still reach Challenger before it ends, right?”

It was literally the end-of-the-world season, so the people who were going to climb had all climbed.

In the end, all that was left were a handful of demons who were trying to break through the wall of Challenger until the very last moment.

Well, in my case, it was a bit different because I was demoted due to inactivity after winning the LOC—short for Lock—World Cup.

“Well, looking at it roughly, it seems like I’ll reach Challenger if I win two games, so let’s go for it.”

—Let’s go.

—ggggggg.

—You said you haven’t played since the tournament ended?

—Even if you haven’t played for a few months, you can still beat all the normal people.

—Do you think pros are a joke?

—The game’s ruined for new players, who cares.

—It’s so stagnant that only the demons are left, and he’s the one who beat them all.

—True.

—But it’s still low HP, right?

—Yeah, anything less than an FPS game.

“Nothing really changes until the last day.”

Leaving the chat window, which was holding another common flame war, I pressed the matching button.

“The game company said they’re releasing a 25th anniversary closing video today, so I’ll try to finish before then.”

—Anniversary?

—Whatever it is, it’s an anniversary.

—It’s a funeral, not a festival.

—The mentally ill game is finally dying.

—Won’t everyone spread out when the mental hospital collapses?

—What?

—Whoa.

Meanwhile, I was trying to kill time by looking at the chat window, but the first match was caught in less than ten seconds, regardless of the waiting time.

—Oh.

—It matched right away.

—I think they’re all snipers.

—lol.

—The viewers are all stagnant too…

—It’s been a folk game for a long time, so it’s understandable.

I immediately pressed the accept button, and soon after, I entered the ban-pick window.

“I’ll pick first pick right away.”

A swordsman who uses two swords.

And at the same time.

The champion that symbolizes me.

—The guys climbing Grandmaster and Challenger, emergency!

—lololol.

—Hey, let normal people make some memories too, open the Challenger door!

—Just playing a game with True is enough of a memory for normal people.

—True.

—Please let me go to Challenger!.

“The four people on my team are getting free points. It’s the last one, so let’s think positively.”

As soon as the in-game screen appeared, pings instantly appeared in the chat window.

“Let’s go.”

I stepped back into the familiar battlefield.

In conclusion, climbing to Challenger was no problem at all.

—You killed it , you killed it.

—There were four guys on the opposing team who were 10 points away from Challenger-Grandmaster.

—?? : I always do my best even when playing against children.

—Beep beep, losing is ruining the game, bro.

—It’s already ruined!!

—lololololol.

—But really, in the old days, I would have gone non-stop until I reached first place.

—This guy’s bones will rot if he does that these days…

—Eommmm.

There were a few trolls in the second game, but the same was true for the opposing team, so I won both games without much difficulty.

[Victory]

Like that, with the victory sign appearing on the screen, the red banner turns silver.

The splendid silver banner greeted me.

“I think I’ve done my duty…”

I grabbed the bottle of alcohol I had set aside and drank it in one gulp. I don’t particularly like alcohol, but on a day like this, I wanted to borrow even intoxication.

I slowly threw the game window to the side of the screen and entered the game company’s YouTube channel, which was broadcasting live.

[Our Tior Game Company has made and sent off many games so far.]

[But this time, it’s hard to leave.]

The game company’s representative, whom I met briefly before the skin discussion, was rambling.

“If that’s the case, they should just revive the game.”

—Whoa.

—lololol.

—He says what needs to be said! True Cola!

—Revive Lock!

—This guy’s going all out after drinking.

Well, the familiar song and video that played after the general manager disappeared immediately silenced everyone, including me.

From the first LOC World Cup to the prominent players who appeared when it entered its full-fledged nascent period.

[And on that day. The history of LOC began again.]

The protagonist of the game, who was practically able to drag this game on for over 25 years.

[ST Fraud]

[The GOAT of League of Champions.]

[It was the appearance of a person who became the symbol of LOC itself.]

—Other players can be skipped, but Fraud must be mentioned.

—True.

—If only he hadn’t been injured…

—Here we go with the IFs again.

—[This comment has been blocked].

—Yeah 15XX.

—[This comment has been blocked].

“Let’s keep it civil, okay?”

At my words, the chat window became nice.

Anyway, the story continued.

ST’s victory, the rise and fall of Korean LOC, and its revival.

He was always at the center.

—Will True even be mentioned?

—Probably.

—He’s the last Lock World Cup winner, they have to.

Time passed and my debut match came out.

The moment that might have divided the rise and fall of this game.

[LOC World Cup Finals, Game 5.]

I made my debut at that most important moment.

[Ah! ST is collapsing! Even True, the last one remaining, can’t hold on any longer—!]

I tasted my first professional defeat.

‘It looks terrible even when I watch it again.’

Fraud, who was holding the center of ST, suddenly had to give up the 5th game of the LOC World Cup due to a serious wrist injury.

I made my professional debut that day, and as it was an unexpected moment, I lost.

It would have been fine if it ended with just my debut match being ruined, but there were so many things that were blown away by that defeat.

The Chinese team’s LOC World Cup victory, the end of ST’s undefeated record against China in the LOC World Cup, and the failure of the second three-peat in the World Cup.

And above all, the biggest thing was.

Fraud’s retirement.

With his retirement photo, the screen moved on again.

[But the new spark continued.]

And so I finally appeared in this damn video.

[ST True. He, who ultimately proved the fans’ endless doubts. He brought about a new wind once again.]

The video of me right after the final 5th set, when I was frustrated, has already popped up twice.

Fortunately, this time it changed to a video of me and my colleagues brightly lifting the trophy.

The revenge against the Chinese team and the trophy we brought back.

And at the very end, what we gained that was more important than anything else, and what no longer exists, was particularly noticeable.

—What.

—Is this guy crying?

—So emotional.

—If you don’t cry after seeing that, you’re a T.

—I’ve already been spewing up and down.

—That’s dirty, you f*cker.

The viewers who saw the cam screen after my tears burst out late became a funeral atmosphere, but I wasn’t crying because of what was coming out now.

It’s because the buried dark history came to mind.

I managed to get through the first time, but it hurts a bit when I get hit twice.

“Damn it. I really should have crushed them right then.”

The debut match that comes to mind again.

Sometimes it appears in my dreams, but it’s twice as bad because it’s so visually appealing.

—…?

—Sadder than Fraud’s retirement = Losing the finals.

—It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

—lololol.

—It’s understandable to be angry~.

—If he won his debut match, it would have been a LOC World Cup trophy copy.

—Too bad.

—lololol he’s not one to cry over sentimentality.

—This guy True is just this guy.

—Just a Lock demon… the guy who used to stream non-stop all day…

—His personality doesn’t change.

—He tells the viewers to keep it civil, but he doesn’t himself.

—This guy just doesn’t have a line.

—It’s understandable since his workplace is ruined.

I don’t remember much after that.

I let the slimy and disgusting words that my appearance of lifting the last championship trophy would remain in our memories until the end, even though there would be no further updates, flow in one ear and out the other.

And as the broadcast ended, I drank several bottles of soju.

—Thump!

I collapsed with my head on the keyboard.

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was a light body.

I expected a hangover, but there wasn’t even a similar feeling.

Judging by the feeling of fluffiness, it seems that I somehow threw myself onto the bed even while I was drunk.

‘……Huh?’

But strangely, my vision was low.

I removed the blanket I was covering and instinctively ran towards the mirror.

“…What?”

And that instinct gave me the answer.

Standing in front of the mirror was neither a former professional gamer nor a game-crazed demon.

It was just a girl.