Chapter 145

The World Championship quarterfinals, the match between Janus Dragon and SkyDevil Games, caused a huge stir.

Score 3:1. Winner: Janus Dragon.

Series MVP was Rumen.

Sitting on the hotel sofa, Rumen turned on MTube.

The algorithm had already uploaded yesterday’s interview video.

As soon as it played, he saw himself staring blankly at the camera and the interviewer.

The interviewer, with a bright expression, held the mic up to Rumen. She asked in English.

“Rumen, you were chosen as the MVP of this series. How do you feel?”

“I feel good knowing I lived up to the fans’ expectations.”

There was a translator, but for some reason, Rumen, who had become quite fluent in English, answered the interviewer directly without translation.

The interviewer continued with more questions.

“You picked Thierry as a joker card, and it’s currently a hot topic. How long have you been preparing for this?”

“A little over half a year.”

Rumen’s reason for preparing Thierry was simple. Rumen is a pro. And if a pro prepares, it’s for victory.

That day. The day Pape sent a chat saying, “Hey, Unicorn is back.” Rumen tried to hide his joy and sniped Han Yoorim, getting beaten mercilessly by Thierry.

At that moment, Rumen thought.

If Thierry’s potential is maxed out, is this how strong she is?

Thierry’s theoretical strength is famous. She’s versatile and can do many things.

So, [Eternal World] users often considered Thierry the “theoretically best character.”

Everyone knew Thierry was good.

But no one truly understood her.

Knowing and understanding are completely different.

Users vaguely knew Thierry was theoretically good, but they didn’t know how good or in what ways.

Of course.

No one had ever shown Thierry’s peak, so how could they know?

Even pros only talked about how good she was but never tried her. In fact, being pros made it harder. It was obvious that to raise proficiency, you had to practice like crazy, but what if after all that practice, she turned out to be trash? No one would compensate for that.

So, people only started seriously trying Thierry after Han Yoorim appeared.

Only after Han Yoorim showed Thierry’s limits did people truly “understand” that Thierry was a genuinely good pick.

Han Yoorim: But do we really need to use Thierry?

Rumen: Not really?

Han Yoorim: She’s a good pick. Especially in the pro scene.

Rumen: Why?

Han Yoorim: Mechanically, unless you halve her skill damage, she’s bound to be good in the pro scene.

Thierry is versatile. She can handle any situation, which means she’s a universal piece that fits any combination.

In the pro scene, the value of such a pick is very high. Especially since she doesn’t rely heavily on the meta? It’s like equipping her gives you an ultimate skill.

Han Yoorim: It might sound like I’m bragging, but unless you raise her proficiency as much as I did, she’s not ultimate-level.

Rumen: So should I just drop her?

Han Yoorim: Bbangbbang is a super do… support, after all. With Bbangbbang-level talent, she should be usable, right? In a drawn-out melee fight, it might get messy, but at the pro level, those fights rarely happen.

Rumen: Main and side movement fights are the main focus.

Han Yoorim: If you really want to use her, I can make a training manual for you. Should I make one?

Rumen: Please do.

And so, Rumen followed Han Yoorim’s instructions and raised Thierry’s proficiency.

The process was really painful, especially with some seemingly meaningless training mixed in.

Even now, I don’t know why there was card-matching training.

But after completing it all, I reached a level where I could pick her in the World Championship.

“Rumen, what made you prepare Thierry as a joker card?”

“A friend helped me. Thanks to them, I prepared well.”

“A friend?”

“There’s a user famous for being a Thierry master. They’re an old friend, so I got help from them.”

“Ah, I see.”

In an official setting, he didn’t mention names specifically, but everyone knew who Rumen was talking about when he mentioned the Thierry master.

The viewers, the people at the venue, even the interviewer.

There’s only one person in this world who can handle a character like Thierry at a master level.

“Hyung, what are you watching?”

Suddenly hearing a voice, Rumen paused the video.

Turning his head, he saw Kim Young-soo, the team’s youngest and main carry.

Rumen replied curtly.

“Yesterday’s interview.”

“The MVP interview?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, if it weren’t for you, the MVP would’ve been mine.”

Kim Young-soo muttered, seemingly disappointed.

Then, someone else chimed in.

“Our Young-soo’s comedy skills have really improved.”

It was the team’s scout, Lee Si-hyung.

Lee Si-hyung continued slowly.

“I blocked the loss because of you. Even if I got it, would you have gotten it?”

“We won the second set because of me.”

“That was just you putting a spoon on the table set by me and Rumen hyung.”

“That’s what a main carry is supposed to do. If not, when is a main carry supposed to carry?”

“Now you see. Main carries are positions that can’t carry.”

“What?”

Kim Young-soo was shocked by Lee Si-hyung’s words. It seems like a hard truth for someone so young to accept.

“Is that so?”

“That’s why main carries are nicknamed ‘spoons.'”

“Then why is the word ‘carry’ even attached?”

“To trick naive kids like you.”

“How could this happen?”

In despair, Kim Young-soo, the team’s guardian position, was comforted by Woo Jin-mok.

“Young-soo.”

“Jin-mok hyung.”

“At least you’re good at eating rice. That’s enough.”

“Ah.”

“Our Young-soo just needs to grow up healthy. That’s all I ask for.”

“Ah.”

While the team members were teasing Kim Young-soo together, Rumen shook his head and reminisced about yesterday.

Maybe it was because he had burned all his nerves playing Thierry. He wanted to lie down and sleep right away.

In fact, as soon as he arrived at the hotel, he fell asleep as if he had passed out.

“Hyung?”

A shadow fell, and Rumen looked up. Lee Si-hyung, who had been staring at Rumen, asked in a worried tone.

“Still tired?”

“A little.”

“I told you using Thierry in actual matches would be tough.”

“But it worked out well in the end.”

Even in amateur tournaments, they only picked pre-coordinated picks. No matter how high one’s proficiency is, if the team doesn’t know the character well, the team game won’t work.

Needless to say, in professional tournaments, Rumen’s teammates already knew he would bring out Thierry on the World Championship stage.

“But wouldn’t we have won with a different pick yesterday?”

“But with a different pick, we wouldn’t have been able to handle unexpected situations.”

At Rumen’s words, Kim Young-soo, Lee Si-hyung, and Woo Jin-mok chattered.

“True. Thierry has good utility.”

“People must have been surprised? We really struggled to keep it hidden.”

“We didn’t even get to use it in scrims.”

“Isn’t this the true meaning of a joker pick?”

All the Thierry-related data was accumulated through private practice. It was all thanks to a scrim practice program created by an anonymous game developer.

Otherwise, Thierry-related information would have inevitably leaked.

“Shouldn’t we invite them to the team?”

“She’s practically an external consultant. Ms. Han Yoorim.”

“From ban-pick help to various practice programs. It feels weird to get all this for free.”

Han Yoorim’s influence on Janus Dragon was immense. Without her full support, they might not have won the summer championship.

“It does feel a bit guilty.”

“But even if we wanted to compensate, could we match Ms. Han Yoorim’s worth?”

“Hey. Even if we can’t match it, we should still show some gratitude. It’s not about money. It’s about sincerity.”

“I get it, but, um. What do you think, Rumen hyung?”

“I already asked. She said she doesn’t need anything.”

Rumen had already discussed this issue with Han Yoorim.

Han Yoorim flatly said she didn’t need money or anything else.

It’s not a big deal, she could do this much for a friend. That was Han Yoorim’s stance.

“Hmmmm.”

Suddenly, Kim Young-soo made a strange noise. It was oddly irritating, so Rumen narrowed his eyes.

Rumen calmly asked.

“Why?”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you dating Ms. Han Yoorim?”

“……”

Rumen made a dumbfounded expression.

Rumen’s team members whispered.

“He finally asked.”

“I told you the youngest would cause trouble.”

“So, what’s the truth?”

“We’re not dating.”

Rumen quickly dismissed the team members’ doubts.

We’re not in that kind of relationship.

“Not dating?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then.”

“Young-soo, your reaction is a bit off.”

“My reaction is always normal, hyung.”

That ‘I’ll believe you for now’ tone was bothering him, but Rumen sighed and got up.

“Where are you going, hyung?”

“Taking a walk.”

Leaving the dorm, Rumen went outside through the hotel lobby.

Moving his body made his mind feel refreshed.

The pressure from the World Championship was gradually easing, and the emptiness was being filled with other things.

Suddenly, Rumen wondered what Han Yoorim was doing.

Was she making another game? Or—.

“It’s a crime to be named Bbangbbang and not eat Parisian baguettes. Here, take this.”

“Thanks.”

Rumen took a bite of the baguette Han Yoorim handed him.

The outside was crispy, and the inside was chewy—it was like bread from a famous bakery—.

“What.”

“What.”

“Why are you here.”

“There’s no place in the world a Super Developer can’t go.”

Han Yoorim spoke confidently. So confidently that her presence here felt completely natural.

Seeing her like that, a thought flashed through Rumen’s mind.

No way.

“No way. Han Yoorim.”

“Yes?”

“Did you come here to see me?”

For a moment, Rumen’s heart beat faster. Rumen fixed his gaze on Han Yoorim’s lips.

Han Yoorim’s lips moved.

“No?”

“Okay then.”

“I came here for a collaboration with a luxury fashion brand. Business is important, you know.”

I see.

Okay then.