Chapter 119

Seoyeon felt incredibly wronged.

Clearly, when she played alone, she didn’t get caught by people who performed this well.

However, when it was 5v5, something seemed different from the games she usually played.

What exactly was this “top”?

A place where only the logic of power prevails, to the extent that it’s called “the man’s line.”

That’s why Seoyeon liked top lane.

‘Pathetically weak little things spamming toxic needles.’

That’s why Seoyeon disliked Teemo. A character that looked weak to anyone who saw him, spamming toxic needles and giggling eerily.

-Teemo: Are you new to the game???

To be humiliated by such a character with its toxic needles was enough to fuel uncontrollable rage. Of course, this wasn’t Seoyeon’s first time facing Teemo, but this one seemed much better than the ones she was used to. Not just better, but absurdly better. No matter what, she couldn’t land a stun.

‘If only it was pre-patch.’

She could have easily taken down that guy then. Her hands trembled.

‘Why doesn’t this world have virtual reality games?’

Usually, as soon as TS (probably referring to top-tier gaming), she annihilated opponents in VR games, then got matched with streamers and annihilated them too! Attack, parry! And everyone goes, “Wow, that’s amazing!”

Seoyeon had the physical abilities and reaction speed for that kind of gameplay, but…

Pffft!

Parry!

Aaaah!!

Pffft!

Parry!

Aaaah!!!!

Teemo: Haha

The game doesn’t support parrying toxic needles. If it were a VR game, she could have parried the needles and heard exclamations like, “Wow, how do you even parry needles?”

Instead, she was just getting her head punctured by them.

“Just wait a sec. Let me eat this, then I’ll go back up.”

“…No.”

While Baek Geun-soo hesitantly tried to intervene, glancing at Seoyeon, she shook her head. It was still fine. Seoyeon prided herself on having a strong mental fortitude, and it was true. She rarely got angry.

Not even when she encountered ‘Summer Girl’ and other teammates treated Cha Na-hee poorly had she reacted the way she was now.

Seoyeon recalled her mother’s words to her often gaming father:

“Relax, it’s just a game.”

Seoyeon agreed with Sua’s sentiment. Isn’t the point of gaming to have fun?

“I can win!”

Seoyeon declared confidently. Honestly, she couldn’t tolerate external help in what she considered the sanctity of top lane. It felt as if admitting she couldn’t handle it herself.

Thus followed deaths—three, four. Gradually, the time staring at the gray respawn screen overtook actual gameplay, yet it was still okay.

All would have been fine if Teemo hadn’t said something.

– Are you a girl??

Exactly at that moment, Seoyeon’s mouse exploded.

“Is your hand okay?”

Baek Geun-soo exclaimed, startled. He bolted upright, abandoning the game altogether, and the same reaction rippled through the other students.

‘Are you hurt?’

‘The actor? Is something seriously wrong here?’

A mouse exploding—it was unimaginable. Perhaps the battery had exploded? Wasn’t the mouse Seoyeon had a plain old Logitech one?

As Baek Geun-soo left his character mid-game to rush over, Seoyeon raised her hand.

And it was flawless—smooth as jade, unblemished by the supposed explosion.

“I’m fine.”

An oddly calm voice, but everyone around could sense the deep rage embedded within that serenity. Enough that one might think: if she ever met Teemo in real life, he’d be torn in half.

With a sigh, Jiyeon handed over her own mouse.

“I use this for gaming, so… don’t break it?” Surprisingly, Jiyeon had planned for this since she heard about Seoyeon’s visit to the eSports club. Better to break personal property than school equipment.

‘A gaming mouse.’

Seoyeon took the relatively new mouse from Jiyeon. Probably bought for broadcasts—it was the mouse Ramiel used.

As the rage towards Teemo cooled, a new drive arose. At this point, the 0/7/0 KDA didn’t matter.

***

Baek Geun-soo thought. LoL isn’t just a game of physical skills. It involved memorization, strategy, and critical thinking in fights.

To win, one had to understand the nuances of engagements and leverage advantages strategically.

“Surprisingly good, isn’t she?”

When he first saw Seoyeon play, Baek Geun-soo was inwardly impressed. Her CS was good for silver, and her control was commendable. If not for targeted skills from the enemy, she’d shine more.

“…Engagements, cough.”

Of course, he was watching out for Seoyeon, monitoring top closely. And naturally, he observed that Seoyeon tended to dive in recklessly without much thought. It was almost like she was saying, “Even if you’re invisible, I’ll still hit you.”

Of course, that wasn’t possible, leading to her death.

Thus, the seventh death. Yet surprisingly, the game wasn’t too difficult. The situation was evenly matched despite Teemo’s impressive performance.

And their own Irelia had also farmed decently, though through sheer resilience.

Still, Baek Geun-soo didn’t expect too much from Seoyeon. After all, LoL is not a game solved by physical prowess alone.

Until…

“Uh?”

The start of a chaotic Baron fight where Irelia suddenly dove in. Characters like Irelia were capable of pulling off successful plays even with subpar performance.

With the “Blade of the Ruined King,” she was almost unstoppable! Even if poorly executed mid-game ultimates were thrown, she tore through the field.

But really, could this be happening? Her reaction time was incomprehensible; most skillshots missed her.

With Teemo focusing on Baek Geun-soo, there was little to stop Irelia. Plus, most enemy skills were untargeted anyway.

Triple Kill!

Despite her death, an incredible achievement for such an amateur play.

‘The triumphant return of the charging dinosaur…’

Baek Geun-soo’s eyes widened at the revelation: sometimes raw physical skills can overcome technical gameplay. Even against an opponent estimated at at least Diamond-tier due to his club’s skill levels.

Thus…

[Victory]

The word flashed on the screen just as Seoyeon sprang up holding two mice—Jiyeon’s intact one and her shattered one, like war trophies.

***

“I’ll ask about the keyboard and mouse next time.”

In the end, Seoyeon successfully completed her visit to the eSports club. Though, the shattered mouse and pockmarked keyboard needed payment.

‘If I’m coming often, better upgrade to something fancy.’

Equipment matters in gaming—a belief Seoyeon lived by. She also decided to properly submit an application to join.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jiyeon was a little taken aback. Who would have thought she would fill out the membership form right there?

Recalling the club members and Baek Geun-soo’s astonished expressions, Jiyeon admitted it was surprising. Would she even have the time to game with such a busy schedule?

‘But, she could probably do it.’

Joo Soo-yeon had an abnormal level of stamina. Honestly, Jiyeon had never seen her tired in all her life.

She seemed to live in a fast-forwarded version of reality, twice the pace of others.

It was both admirable and enviable.

Even with such stamina, not many people worked as diligently as her.

‘The pros truly are different.’

Actors too, it seemed. Watching Jiyeon play alongside high-level gamers was a unique experience, unlike simply observing streams.

There was much to be learned, making it a thoroughly satisfying experience.

“This might work for when I do VTuber stuff.”

It had become a running joke when she wanted to try something new, but this time it was serious. Especially since she needed to improve to game with Jiyeon.

“Anyway, Lam…uh, Jiyeon, what’s your rank?”

As far as Jiyeon remembered, she’d been gaming for about two months. During a stream, she had reached Platinum…

“Diamond.”

“…”

Meanwhile, Seoyeon’s rank was Silver. The gap between them felt insurmountable, especially given Jiyeon didn’t seem to play that much.

“By the way, Joo Soo-yeon.”

“Hm?”

“I got the script.”

Seoyeon knew exactly what “script” meant. It was undoubtedly the audition script for [Gyeongseong Yeong-nyeo].

‘Are they giving it out beforehand instead of at the audition?’

It felt quite considerate compared to the usual method of doing a cold reading on-site.

“…Can we practice it sometime?”

Did she mean asking for help? Seoyeon was about to nod when Jiyeon added…

“Can you ask Jo Seohui to come by?”

That made Seoyeon pause. In her busy life, they’d become closer than expected.

***

[Hyper Action Star].

A cable variety show, yet it gained recognition surpassing many terrestrial channels due to its impressive ten-minute preview. While audition shows had been done for various genres before, they mostly stuck in people’s memories as idol-focused.

Most failed, often resulting in substantial losses based on their scale.

“This edition of [Hyper Action Star] has five main characters we’re focusing on.”

Director Lee Ki-tae addressed the production team. The actors investors particularly hoped to see were clear.

“Joo Soo-yeon.”

The first name mentioned. No introduction needed. The preview’s hype stemmed from none other than Seoyeon, who literally “jumped off” a three-story building.

Despite her strong heart allowing her to leap so confidently, it drew some criticism later for safety reasons. Although the air mat was there, nothing was 100% certain, making the production staff seem somewhat careless.

No excuses, really. The crew promised to be more vigilant moving forward, but…

‘Who could have guessed someone would jump down like that?’

‘That’s what, right? Who expects someone to leap down without a harness on?’

There wasn’t even time to stop her. What could they do when an actor briefly looks down and just leaps?

Still, if this kind of buzz could be generated, perhaps enduring criticism was worth it.

“Alongside Jo Seohui and Han Soryu…”

He muttered, holding a particular picture.

“Min Doha is a bit disappointing.”

“She performed too conventionally well.”

“Still, people like that tend to win these.”

Frankly, having someone like Jo Seohui win would be great, but she didn’t have much experience with action acting. In contrast, Seoyeon had garnered praise for her action roles in [The Chaser] and was highly commended by Professor Kim Hong-bae.

“But it’s different working with real stunt actors.”

Passion and tenacity were traits they embodied.

The lead role was everything to them, and whether these ordinary actresses could top them remained uncertain.

An actress specializing in action and an actress who merely does action are categorically different. However, [Hyper Action Star] heavily emphasized “action.”

That’s the variable.

“So, for the next part, we’ll assign missions by group and shoot scenes. What scene did Team A choose?”

As PD Lee Ki-tae asked, the crew reviewed the next content. Team A, which included Seoyeon, was currently the most watched.

Incidentally, scenes were randomly drawn by groups, and that particular one had already been filmed.

The scene Team A pulled was…

“A gunfight, with a bit of chase involved.”

An urban gunfight was the mission, set to be acted out by the cast.

This became the mission content of this season’s [Hyper Action Star].

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