Chapter 4: Is this real?

A moderately deep river, a mountain that can be crossed.

That’s one of the nicknames I got when I suddenly became ST’s mid laner, succeeding Fraud.

There were a lot of people who used this phrase to make fun of me, but conversely, it meant that I was, after all, a mountain and a river.

I’m absolutely not.

I was not a player that could be easily passed over.

‘A mid laner who has won the LOC World Cup more than twice.’

Even by the time the game’s lifespan was nearing its end, there were still less than five players who held this title, and I was one of them.

“So what’s your tier now?”

But to my friends, it seemed like my declaration to challenge pro was just a common deviation from the path of studying.

“It’s only been a day since I started playing ranked games, okay?”

“Oh yeah. So?”

“…Still Silver.”

“Eunchae, what did you say your Lock tier was?”

“I’m also Silver.”

“……”

It’s just deplorable that I have to suffer this humiliation.

It’s not like I played for a year, or even a week, and I’m at that tier, I just played a 5-man queue at the PC bang and then groaned in muscle pain at home until I finally recovered today.

I’ve only played less than three games in three days, but my skills haven’t disappeared.

Just looking at the way the boys look at me, it’s different from the feeling of just looking at something pretty.

It’s the kind of look you see when you look at someone you admire.

I know it well because I used to see it often from fans during my pro days.

However, among the girls, I was just a punching bag doll.

“So, you need to build up your stamina before you become a pro.”

“How can our delicate Eunseol possibly exercise?”

My friends poked and prodded me like a real doll.

The sad thing is that the only thing I felt in that touch was the trace of muscles.

If I put on a VR device and played Lock all day in this state, I might not be able to go to school, let alone get out of my room.

And as much as I know that, I’ve already made a plan for the past few days while groaning in muscle pain.

“Wouldn’t it be similar to dropping out if you don’t come to school?”

Of course, I’m not saying I won’t come to school right away.

‘I shouldn’t worry my parents.’

At least when I can prove that my declaration was not a joke.

And when I can objectively prove that I have talent, I might be able to bring it up a little.

Well, it won’t take that long.

Because I’ve made a plan.

“She’s laughing alone again.”

“Our Eunseol could just eat off her face, but she’s obsessed with something weird…”

“Who’s going to stop her?”

“Just leave her alone. Anyway, she said she wanted to become a famous streamer before because she wanted to meet a player, and she quit within a month after broadcasting.”

Wait a minute.

“I also streamed?”

“Wow, Hong Eunseol, look at you talking like you’ve never done it before.”

“You told us to watch your stream, and then you became less frequent and quit.”

I wondered why they had overall knowledge of Lock, it seems that they picked it up while doing viewership exchanges.

Hong Eunseol (was) touched by the friendship of her friends…!

“See. When she just sits there with her mouth shut, it’s just a pictorial.”

“Give up, Yeonseol-ah. What’s the point of us talking when she won’t even audition for idols.”

“It’s already over when she goes to see Lock when others are ticketing for idols.”

“The entertainment industry is losing another star…!”

Anyway.

Originally, the basic education of great players is high school dropout, but I’m going to try to renew my high point.

…Let’s skip whether it’s a high point or a low point.

The memory of my first first-person play at the PC bang is still vivid.

Since it was the first time, there were some immature parts, so it’s right to assume that pros move a little faster than me.

But. The opponents you meet in ranked games are not pros.

Especially from the rank I’m in now to at least Master, it didn’t seem necessary to use a VR device for first-person.

As Lock is a much more famous game than in my previous life, there were tons of related videos, so I was able to make a judgment.

Actually, the pro first-person video was a bit ambiguous because I could only measure the reaction speed by feel, and it was slower than I expected. But that’s something I’ll check when my tier goes up, or when I become a pro and we face each other.

What’s important now is the ranked game itself.

‘I need to raise my tier first to be comfortable.’

Even if it wasn’t a matter of promise with my parents, I had no intention of practicing at a low tier.

Judging from the average first-person reaction speed and play videos by tier, it’s better to get used to the VR device by hitting my body at the highest possible tier.

As it’s first-person, the immersion is higher, so if I get into a bad habit while messing around with low tiers, there’s no answer.

Anyway, I don’t know much about the in-game first-person system, let alone LOC itself.

So, in order to quickly raise my tier, I went straight home, threw my bag roughly, and turned on the computer.

Before LOC turned on, a familiar icon appeared on the screen.

A shortcut to a program for broadcasting caught my eye.

‘Since I’m at it, should I turn on the stream too?’

Originally, not only skill but also performance outside the game is important for a pro.

Especially for people like me, who haven’t even stepped into the aspiring stage, the easiest way to get into the eyes of a scout is, of course, internet broadcasting.

Of course, in my previous life, I steadily raised my tier without any 3-month limit condition and joined ST Academy and went through the steps to debut, but this time I need some fancy decorations.

I need to persuade my parents, and at the same time, I need to attract all attention to shorten the time until my pro debut.

Especially since what I’m aiming for right now is not Fraud, that is, the first-team mid laner position, but the Grand League—the second division—mid laner position.

‘The position with the most turnover at ST.’

Because there’s a god named Fraud in the first team, players with overflowing skills debut in other teams’ first teams, and the vacant positions are constantly filled, so there were always frequent changes.

I’m not worried about taking a seat and maintaining it, but there are too many obstacles to get there.

So what I have to do is increase my weight.

There’s no league official who hates hype.

It would be even more so if it’s the Grand League, which doesn’t even get much attention.

Besides, there was another reason I became impatient.

‘…This time too.’

Fraud’s injury was like a curse on his talent, tormenting him in any world.

Whether it’s an abnormal connection of nerves or something, there were already dozens of articles in the media saying that Fraud was experiencing great inconvenience in his life due to his wrist overreacting to the electrical stimulation from the device every time he played the game.

Even though you can play the game without having to move your body through the device, it was said that if the nerves themselves were stimulated like that, it would inevitably affect the in-game.

As a fan, before my pro life, I hoped that Fraud would continue his career without any problems, but the guy who made me like this and sent me back to the past seems to have no intention of allowing that.

In the end, this world will flow according to the great history, except that I have become a girl.

But the difference. That one thing is enough.

‘Because I’m here.’

The second debut match, absolutely.

I will never lose.

[Silver to Challenger : Day 1]

It was a simple title, and it was a small streamer’s broadcast where you couldn’t even find the previous broadcast date, but the viewers came in as if possessed.

—Wow.

—Heart!

—Hehehehe.

—Come here!

—Do you do anything other than Lock streams?

So the people who were used to typing in real-time chat, suddenly became good people at the notice of ‘I’m a middle school student’ roughly written in Notepad in the corner of the broadcast screen.

—You’re really good at Lock~.

—Praising you for dodging all the skills just now~.

—Middle schooler is good!

—Is this Gold if you win this?

—I don’t know.

—But what’s with the record?

—9 wins 1 loss after placement.

So, when the viewers who were attracted by the streamer’s appearance and felt a little interest in the overwhelming record chose it as their evening viewing.

Someone noticed the incongruity.

—Wait, but why is the hand moving?

—???

—?????

—Are you playing Lock with keyboard and mouse right now?

—Originally, Lock is played with keyboard and mouse, you b*stards.

—No, the cam, you idiot.

—The screen isn’t a virtual reality space.

—Holy sh*t, it’s true.

—You don’t use first-person at all??

—What’s that?

—It wasn’t just a rank climb.

—Crazy.

—A middle schooler is doing something that even old people don’t do?

—Great things are done by young people.

—Whoa.

It’s common sense to play the game in the first-person perspective in combat to avoid non-target skills and for precise manipulation, let alone that not using the existing function is the same as wearing shackles.

[Triple Kill!]

[Quadra Kill!]

But the girl in the screen right now, as if she didn’t care about that, was destroying the entire opposing team with only the keyboard and mouse.

Right after the team fight ended.

“What, why are there so many people?”

A childish, beautiful voice came out.

—Extreme.

—Lock.

—Subscribed immediately.

—Extreme.

—Lock.

—Subscribed?

—Extreme.

—You crazy b*stards, she’s a middle schooler.

—(It’s not a comment that has been roughly blocked)

—How do you do it with mouse and keyboard?

—Is this for real??

—Are you going to climb to Challenger?

In that chaotic situation, fortunately, Eunseol picked out the necessary questions.

“Yes. I’m going to Challenger, and I’m using the keyboard and mouse right now.”

It didn’t take long for that remark to be made into a clip and circulated throughout the galleries.