Chapter 136

[League of Legends].

After its official release in 2009, it gradually evolved and eventually became the number one game in the world, often referred to as the “national game.”

Many people enjoyed it, and it was loved by many.

And.

As with all things, there was an end.

Even [StarCraft], which once seemed eternal, declined, [MapleStory] became a musical, and [Lineage] turned into a money-printing machine.

Nothing lasts forever. That’s the way of the world.

However.

Even when it reached its end, it rarely disappeared completely.

“Wow.”

I let out an exclamation as I looked at the nostalgic client.

It hadn’t changed at all, which was slightly surprising.

So, they still haven’t fixed the spaghetti code, huh?

Well, it would require a complete overhaul, so it’s understandable.

[Really not going to duo?]

“Exploring memories is best done alone.”

[Well, I don’t care either way.]

I decided not to duo with Pape.

I wanted to enjoy it leisurely by myself.

I moved the mouse to check various information.

It’s been a while since I played a PC game.

The last time was when I played the PC version of [Fantasy Life] with Bunny Run, almost half a year ago.

Have I become a VR person too?

It felt good, like I was getting younger.

Though I was already young.

First, let’s check the patch notes… huh?

I noticed the personal message box with 999+ messages and tilted my head in confusion.

Who sent all these?

Let’s check. The first one was from Pape.

PapeTheLoser: Hey. Did you quit the game? (2027.04.07.)

That was it.

We had talked about various things before, but this was the only new message.

So, the culprit of the 999+ wasn’t Pape.

The culprit was…!

BbangbbangLover (999+).

It was Bbangbbang.

Opening it, a mountain of messages poured out.

Since when did he start sending these?

I scrolled all the way up to the beginning.

BbangbbangLover: Unicorn. Is something wrong? (2028.04.02)

April 2, 2028.

I had started my closed-door training to create [Infinity Zero] on April 1, so this message was sent just one day later.

The messages continued after that.

BbangbbangLover: Unicorn. Are you sick or something? (2028.04.03)

BbangbbangLover: Unicorn. Did you really quit the game? (2028.04.05.)

BbangbbangLover: Unicorn. I’m joining as a trainee. It’s thanks to you. Thank you. bbangbbang1357#9822 is my voice chat ID, so if you see this, add me as a friend. (2028.05.13.)

……

BbangbbangLover: I decided to join the pro team for a new game. It was daunting, but things worked out well. bbangbbang1357#9822 is my voice chat ID, so if you see this, add me as a friend. (2030.03.27.)

……

BbangbbangLover: Winning once is tough. I always get too nervous at crucial moments. I don’t know why. Ah. bbangbbang1357#9822 is my voice chat ID, so if you see this, add me as a friend. (2032.01.09.)

……

BbangbbangLover: Unicorn. bbangbbang1357#9822 is my voice chat ID, so if you see this, add me as a friend. (2035.12.31.)

Hmm.

I nodded and sent a message to Bbangbbang.

Han Yoorim: I added you as a friend.

Rumen: Is this crazy or what?

Judging by the immediate reply, it must be break time.

I sent another message.

Han Yoorim: Good luck at the World Championship.

Rumen: I’ll come back with a win.

Han Yoorim: Be careful. Players who escape the “no-title king” phase are at their weakest right after.

Rumen: They’re just ordinary no-title kings, I’m the strongest no-title king, so it’s different.

Seeing his overflowing confidence was reassuring.

At least it was better than being frozen.

I closed the voice chat program and opened the patch notes.

Just because a game declines doesn’t mean it ends.

Many games shut down, but many didn’t.

A prime example is [StarCraft], which even after its decline and the end of its downturn in 2024, still had tens of thousands of players logging in.

[League of Legends] was the same.

Although the glory days were nowhere to be seen, tens of thousands of people still enjoyed it.

After VR games became popular, many PC games found new life. The typical method was porting the original to VR, and of course, [League of Legends] adopted this approach.

That’s how [League of Legends 2] was born.

And now, as I’m playing the PC game [League of Legends] and people are enjoying [Eternal World], it’s clear that it wasn’t very effective.

After all, sequels are usually worse than the original.

Anyway.

The conversation took a slight detour, but what is the characteristic of such a declining game?

It’s the lack of new players.

I selected mid-lane and queued up.

The game was found in 1 second.

Even the most popular game of the current generation, [Eternal World], takes tens of seconds, but 1 second? You might think it’s a hit game, but no.

With no new players, even if the tier differentiation was thrown out the window, the priority was to make the game queue faster.

This way, Bronze to Gold players end up in the same game.

Normally, people would complain and even burn down the developer’s office, but here’s the second characteristic of a declining game.

People are just…

I understood and let it go.

We’re all getting older, so there’s no need to pick fights.

I chose a familiar champion.

“Ryze.” The most fundamental of fundamental champions.

The game begins.

I ran to the mid lane, glancing around the map, and smiled.

You really went all out to survive, huh?

The map had so many strange elements that I couldn’t tell if it was Summoner’s Rift or an amusement park.

I checked the enemy champion.

“Yasuo.” Even though dozens of champions have been added since I last played, for some reason, I only saw familiar ones.

I last-hit minions, traded damage, and then secured a first-blood solo kill with Flash Q-auto.

Maybe it’s because my MMR reset after not playing for years. The enemy’s skill level was way too low.

Are they Iron?

They must have been playing for a while, not a new player. But Iron stays Iron, whether you play for a year or ten.

I gained some knowledge.

After snowballing and building core items, I secured a special objective called “Transcendent Altar” and got a 1v5 pentakill.

[Victory]

I went back to the lobby and crossed my arms.

Is this really League?

It felt like a different game with a League skin on.

Why did Riot make League 2? They already made League 2.

This *is* League 2. Nothing else is League 2.

Ding ding. A voice chat came in.

I accepted, and Pape spoke.

[How was it?]

“You look best when you’re playing the game.”

[What are you talking about?]

“Being a counselor doesn’t suit you.”

[Confirmed.]

Ding. The call ended.

Running away, huh? What a coward.

I rested my chin on my hand and stared at the client.

I started the game to relive memories, but it was so different from what I remembered.

I couldn’t feel anything.

Sigh. Is this the method Pape recommended?

I’ll play one more game and then quit.

If even [League of Legends] doesn’t work, I might as well go climb the Himalayas.

TeamFightMe( Ezreal): Open

Our ADC confidently runs down mid.

Our support confidently flames them.

I’ll skip what they said.

Not only has the game been patched, but the insults have been patched too?

A bizarre argument started, something I hadn’t even seen back in the day.

And the important thing is this:

I have no idea why our ADC is mad.

Did our support troll? Our ADC ran it down mid at 20 seconds into the game. Minions hadn’t even spawned yet. How could they troll?

Did someone provoke them? No. From champ select to the start of the game, no one typed or pinged.

They just randomly decided to do this.

VirginUnicornLoveDog: Guys, we can still win. Just trust me and follow me.

TeamFightMe( Ezreal): Your mom

I tried to calm them down in chat, but Ezreal wasn’t having it.

A complete circus broke out.

The bot duo sat in the fountain typing, and the top laner quietly fed endlessly.

The jungler was the only one trying to win, but if trying hard guaranteed a win, we wouldn’t be in this tier.

Our top laner hit 10 deaths. Only then did our jungler stop moving.

Our jungler kept spamming the crying Amumu emote in front of me.

Did they give up?

Hmm.

I quietly grabbed my mouse.

If even one person on the team wants to win, I won’t give up.

That’s a rule I always follow.

*

I exhaled deeply as I watched the enemy Nexus explode.

[Victory]

After a grueling 60-minute game, I felt completely drained.

This is [League of Legends].

It was the first time I felt this way since my body changed.

NoEyesNoSurprise: Thank you

Our jungler typed in chat.

Ding. Ding. Two honor votes came in. It was from the top and jungler.

This top guy. I thought they were an AI since they didn’t say a word the whole game, but I guess not.

It was creepier than the bot duo not honoring me after I carried them.

I quietly closed [League of Legends].

I’m never playing this again.

Is this even a game?

Is it?

Well, at least my mannerism improved a bit.

It was a proper wake-up call.

If I ever make a sequel, I’ll put “Thank you, Pape” in the ending credits.

Oh, by the way, the reason Ezreal ran it down was because they didn’t like their own pick.

Did someone force them to play Ezreal?

No. They picked it themselves. No one forced them.

This is madness. Nothing else is madness.

Really, I’m never playing this again.