Chapter 29: Various Paths

“Eunseol!”

My friends, who always hung out with me, hugged me while sniffling.

“Your face has become so thin!”
“The coach has been making me work out lately…”
“But why isn’t it coming off here?”

Squeeze, squeeze.

My body is public property today as well.

“Ah, right. I watched you play the game and tried it, and my tier went up?”

Eunchae, who said she came to see me at my debut match and watched it well, said that, and I was very satisfied.

“How far did you go up?”
“Platinum! I have a higher score than my boyfriend now?”

Hmm. Maybe it’s because she’s a student who’s in the top ranks of the school, she’s learning game concepts quite quickly, and she seems to be climbing well.

I express my condolences to Eunchae’s person, who has suddenly been carried instead of carrying.

“By the way, how did you come today? You must be tired because you had a game yesterday.”
“I have to take the final exam…”

Since I’ve already given up on sleep for a while, I just need to be able to move.

The only thing my parents, who had been actively supporting me since I said I would become a professional gamer, didn’t compromise on.

Middle school graduation.

If I don’t meet a certain number of attendance days, I’ll be in a state that’s practically the same as dropping out, so I had to go to school if possible.

If I come a few more times in the first semester, I can fill the attendance days itself in the second semester, as the Master League ends before the LOC World Cup.

“Did you study?”
“If I really wanted to do well on the exam, I would have asked you to lend me your notes a week ago.”
“That’s true.”

It’s middle school anyway.

Even if I get zero on everything, they’ll let me graduate.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Jihwan come with you?”
“He must have been called by our homeroom teacher.”

It must be a headache for the teacher to have one student who wants to be a professional gamer in the class, but there are two, so the teacher is suffering.

Meanwhile, Fluke, who can’t be a gentleman, opened the back door of the classroom not long after we mentioned his name.

“Hong Eunseol, the teacher said he wanted to talk to you.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Well, he just told me to do well on the exam.”

He said that and took out his notebook and started reading.

“Did you…study?”
“Didn’t you?”
“This is betrayal. Isn’t it friendship and camaraderie to share notes if you wrote them?”
“Even if I showed you, you wouldn’t have studied.”
“……”

Maybe it’s because he’s been living in the top lane for a long time.

His kill angle is getting sharper.

“…Then I’ll go see the teacher.”

I quietly opened the back door and left the classroom.

Because it was exam day, the staff room was very crowded.

“Eunseol, you’re here?”

Fortunately, before I struggled to remember the seat of the homeroom teacher in the staff room that I had forgotten, the teacher waved to me.

“Hello, teacher.”
“I finally see our absentee.”
“Haha…”
“I’m kidding, sit down for now.”

The teacher smiled and pulled up the chair next to him.

“How’s professional life?”
“It’s fun. And I’m good at it.”

I was worried that he might think that saying I was good was bragging, but there was no sign of that.

“I’ve heard a lot about it. How famous Eunseol is at school.”
“Was I that famous at school?”
“Of course. All the students at school, regardless of gender, talk about you, and on days when ST plays, all the young male teachers talk about Eunseol.”

Even though there’s a limit called the Master League, I wonder if the ripple effect was this big.

‘Or is it?’

Fluke was already famous at school, so even if he debuted as a pro, only the kids who knew him would cheer and everyone else would just be like that, but my case is a bit different.

I heard that it would be more natural for me to debut in the entertainment industry rather than studying, but I suddenly debuted as a professional gamer, so it was natural for it to become a hot topic.

“Then aren’t you worried about me, teacher?”
“To be honest, yes?”
“Why?”
“Well, first of all, you don’t have to go to the military, so you’ll have more time, and with Eunseol’s looks, there are many other things you can do later, right?”

Hmm. He’s really realistic.

The teacher laughed, pick, and handed me the writing utensils needed for the exam from the drawer.

“You didn’t bring it, right?”
“I was going to borrow it from a friend.”
“Take it. The teacher has a bunch of these inside.”

I put the writing utensils in my pocket with thanks.

“But teacher.”
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you call me because you had something to say to me?”
“What more can I say to a student who is already working as a member of society?”

The homeroom teacher sipped the tea in his tumbler and continued.

“Whether it’s the 3rd division league or whatever, I know how hard it is to work while signing a contract and getting paid.”
“You’re very open-minded.”
“Haha. Did Jihwan say something to you?”
“No. Just a feeling…?”

It’s rare for a young teacher to tell you to reconsider if you want to be a professional gamer, but it’s very rare for an older female teacher to support a career as a professional gamer.

‘Ah. Come to think of it.’

I forgot that one of the puzzle pieces needed for ST after Fraud’s retirement was rotting.

Well, there’s still some time, so I’ll deal with it later.

“Anyway, our Eunseol, don’t worry too much and take the exam. The teacher will somehow make sure you graduate regarding absences.”
“Aren’t you worried about the exam grades?”

I thought he would at least tell me to try a little harder, or to study a little for the next semester’s exam, but it’s unexpected.

“It’s okay. Actually, middle school grades aren’t important.”
“…Can a middle school teacher say that?”
“The teacher had bad middle school grades, but I’m living well as a teacher like this, right?”

Ah. Teacher.

How did you live like that?

“If you really feel guilty, just bring me one or two tickets to the games Eunseol plays.”
“Are you going to watch?”
“No, the teacher’s eyes are getting blurry, so I don’t know those games well.”
“Then what are you going to use them for?”
“If I put that up, wouldn’t the kids in the class listen to this teacher a little better?”
“Oh…”

At least I could be sure to tame the boys.

“I’ll check and bring them to you.”
“Thank you, our Eunseol.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And the other teachers also asked about you.”
“Yes?”

Even the teachers?

“Thanks to that, I can tell the kids to study if they can’t play LOCK better than Eunseol.”
“Aha.”

I express my condolences to the countless promising players at school who will be crushed by that one sentence.

But as far as I remember, the only players who debuted from our middle school were me and Fluke, so it’ll be fine.

Or not.

“Did you do well on the exam?”

When I returned to the practice room, Strike, the AD Carry, greeted us.

For reference, this guy is high school age, but he has already dropped out, so the concept of exams no longer exists.

“The school uniform suits you both better than the team uniform.”
“That’s because our team uniform…”

How can I love even the uniform.

I like it because it’s ST.

Anyone who wears that will get a visual debuff.

“But where did everyone else go?”
“They went out to buy snacks for a moment. It’s scrim soon.”
“Why didn’t Hyung go out?”
“I overslept.”

As expected, our proud AD Carry is number one in lateness fines.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that half of the snacks they went to buy now were bought by Strike.

Anyway, while I was warming up and waiting, the rest of the members arrived, including the coach.

“Eunseol, Jihwan. Did you both do well on the exam?”
“So-so.”
“Who did better?”
“We haven’t graded it yet.”

I guess the answer sheet is on the school website, but it’s annoying to grade it.

“Then just do it now.”
“Let’s see who got a better score.”
“Who is smarter, the royal mid or the thug.”
“I think mid.”
“Hey, Jihwan studied in the evening, so it’s the thug’s win.”

It became an intellectual battle between the lanes.

“I’ll grade it.”

The spoon, who has no comparison, is excited and starts grading with the answer sheet that Fluke handed over.

“Hong Eunseol’s average is 82 points.”
“Oh.”

It’s not that I didn’t study for the exam, my basic skills haven’t gone anywhere.

“We have to see Jihwan’s score.”
“Jeong Jihwan’s average is 75 points.”

It’s the first day of the exam, so I didn’t take all the subjects, but I took all three core subjects, Korean, English, and Math, so there’s no shortage of criteria.

I smiled and approached Fluke, poking him.

“You said you studied?”
“……”

There was no answer.

As expected, the top lane has good feedback.

A pleasant scrim that started with a little fun.

[ST Fluke is dominating the Rift!]

I don’t know what he realized, but Fluke brutally crushed the opponent in this scrim.

[With this, the top carry roll might be okay too…]

As we continue to check our combinations and abilities, the coach is happy that the way to win is increasing, so he didn’t even turn off the mic.

Well, in order to focus on raising the top, the bottom lane picked a champion that’s called an AD Carry imposter and is a one-tool lane clear, and the support also went up often.

However, receiving that support is also an ability.

[The opposing team surrendered with 5 votes in favor.]

And Fluke, as he did in his past life, was an authority in that field in this life as well.

“Why are you taking out your anger on those poor guys?”
“I’m angry. The way they’re holding on with those items.”

Geez.

Anyway, it’s a pity that a team that’s in the mid-to-high ranks in the Master League collapsed so futilely.

Of course, this is a thought as a LOCK senior, and from the position of having to compete, it wasn’t bad because it messed up the opponent’s champion tier arrangement.

“I should have played another game of ranked instead of studying.”

…I guess it’s just my imagination that the kid is getting worse.