Chapter 65

4:00 PM. Ascend pro gaming team’s evening meal and free time.

The team members gathered around Victory.

“So, Mr. Jeon Wooseung, self-proclaimed former friend of Sol—what do you think of the incident that happened early this morning?”

“…”

“Breaking news! Victory, professional gamer and 19-year-old male, was revealed to secretly hold affection for Sol despite having never met them personally—a real shock!”

“Why did you go so far for someone you never even saw?”

The bad karma stack from Sol’s surprise drinking stream earlier that morning.

It didn’t only come back to Sol herself. It hit Victory as well—an honorable professional gamer who stood up to defend Sol’s reputation by conducting a debunking broadcast, even at the expense of his own reputation.

If they were just acquaintances, wouldn’t the proper response have been to stay silent? Or perhaps, if closer, quietly offer some support?

By going public with his support, he basically signaled that he considered them almost like a shared destiny.

Yet the person in question had, after consuming alcohol, simply complained on air about being lonely without any friends.

Even if he meant that no one made time to hang out with him, it certainly was quite awkward in appearance.

People don’t typically look into the fine details within someone else’s statement—it’s not that kind of world.

The Ascend team, still in their early twenties and still holding onto memories of the school cafeteria, seized this opportunity to tease Victory mercilessly.

This wasn’t the first time. It was the second time since it was exposed that Sol was a woman.

“I guess I didn’t make time to hang out. Maybe it was disappointing.”

Victory, who indulged in Sol’s magical fight genre broadcasts and secretly participated as a viewer, was caught red-handed immediately. Knowing everything thanks to a direct DM, he stubbornly denied it, causing possible frustration for Sol.

Perhaps that was the case, and Victory decided to understand her actions.

“The Buddha has descended! You’re the most compassionate!”

“Are you two dating?”

“He’s not gay, right??”

The teasing from the team showed no sign of stopping, each member throwing their own jokes.

“I messed up, sure, but is it really about romance? And, obviously, no—I’m not gay. Why does that rumor even come up?”

“What did you do wrong? What case are we even talking about?”

“Everything you do reeks of ulterior motives!”

“You’ve been so cold to female fans—it seemed justified to suspect your intentions. But seeing how you act with the ‘Legendary Lady,’ it doesn’t feel like it, right? Maybe you just didn’t meet the right woman yet.”

“Assi?”

“It’s a nickname that stuck because she’s from a wealthy background and has a soft voice.”

“I see Seol constantly tuning in to her broadcast during the evening.”

“Assi? Puhaat! What a weird mix of words!”

“Who knows if she’s older or younger? If we call her ‘that woman,’ it seems heartless.”

“Wooseung, is she older then? Or younger?”

“Hmm… a secret.”

“The secret kept only by two of you, right!?”

“No, I think it’s better not to relay what hasn’t been voiced by her.”

“Undoubtedly the number one controversy-free professional gamer!”

“You should learn from this, man.”

“Still, you could at least tell us!”

“It all starts with information leaks.”

And that’s how the discussion went as everyone watched the stream together.

Finally, the host-led “communication” ended—masked as an assault—and the broadcast of Teamfight Arena began.

“Alright, let’s start the queue.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Yay!”

“What? Why are you all suddenly acting like a group?”

“It’s simple viewer participation.”

And with that, all five members immediately started queuing up.

Though Victory wanted to intervene, there was no real ground for stopping them.

Why would you stop pros practicing during free time? Besides, Victory himself had done that countless times.

As the game started…

<9 out of 10 people are pros, really?>

[Wow, this is a legitimate top-tier stream, isn’t it?]

[Sol! Sol! Sol!]

“Why are you cheering even though the game hasn’t started yet?”

“That voice is quite unique.”

“Ah! Jooan’s the opposing team! Turn off the stream! Let’s report this guy for broadcasting?”

“The game hasn’t started yet, let me hear a bit more!”

“I’m on the same team, so I can keep listening!”

[4 Ascend members, lol. Aren’t they all watching the stream?]

[Ascend, controversy, and sniper play]

[It’s all coincidental, don’t worry~]

[Ascend caught 4 members except for Victory.]

[Breaking News: Wild and Victory meet in another queue]

[SSBB lmao lmao]

[Dramatically fake not-looking-at-stream but actually sniping each other—too funny]

[These two really are friends]

[Why didn’t you just team up together instead of going separately?]

[Rankers are splitting queues all over the place to reach top tiers.]

[Is this the effect of Sol?]

[If Ranking 97 can avoid being picked, imagine how crazy the queue must be?]

[Habitual NTR]

[Victory will lose points because of the game anyway, right? Top 1 ranking means minimal gains and heavy losses]

[Does Victory think he’s a noob like you?]

Sol’s rank was 97. Victory’s rank? Number 1. And Wild’s rank was 2.

With Victory, Wild, and over 8 high-tier rankers in the game, the queues split apart. And because of it, they couldn’t meet Sol during this game.

Naturally, all of those rankers weren’t solely fans of Sol and therefore weren’t intentionally sniping her. It just so happens that rankers typically get more out of playing together during high-tier games, since the content itself is more intense and skill-enhancing.

Outside the games, playing with low-tier players leads to situations where victory yields minimal points gains while defeat leads to substantial losses—a frustrating cycle. Naturally, sniper queues in the upper echelons are quite common and expected.

To be honest, sniping isn’t inherently bad. The problem with celebrity snipers is their behavior during the game, which can seem forced. But a normal, fully committed play has no issue.

In conclusion, while Victory and Wild left to form their own elite league, Sol ended up in a game with the 4 members of Ascend. The Ascend team itself further split into a 2:2 arrangement.

Was this balance golden?

[Come on Selen! Taiwon! Victory, appear already!]

[Sol! Sol! Sol!]

[Mommy, I want to marry Sol when I grow up!]

[??? : Probably not, right? Once you hit pro level, you don’t focus on individuals (real comment)]

[Pro level only matters in 5v5 team games anyway. Some hardcore players are really comparing solo rankers unfairly]

[The commenter above seems genuinely angry… Scary…]

[Why is one team Ascend and the other also Ascend? Why are you mad?]

[Why is chat box so chaotic?]

[Breaking News: Teacher settles at 88th place]

“Indeed, quite impressive.”

Selen, oldest brother of the team, 24 years old.

Until now, he believed that Victory’s assessment of Sol was exaggerated.

After all, memories are always romanticized, and truth often gets lost in the embellishment.

Even if someone was once at the top of one game, adapting to another wasn’t necessarily guaranteed.

However, after losing once, he started to truly feel why Victory might be so deeply captivated by her. Yes, she was a genius.

And onto the next game.

[Aaah! The legendary Sol! Her win rate is skyrocketing!]

[??? : The bubble will burst anyway in the end (real comment)]

[Cleanly dismantling the doubters… Just GOAT!]

[Sol is a god!]

[This is why I keep watching her streams! Kyaaa!]

[This is why I can’t stop watching her stream! Found my addiction]

Selen, completely wrecked in two successive defeats.

“Brother, aren’t you coming to eat?”

“I’ll order.”

If you lose a game, you don’t eat.

You play until you win.

Without that kind of dedication, you can’t become a professional gamer.

Finally, a win. However, not against an opponent, but a win as part of a team with Sol.

Sol, 3-0.

Selen, 1-2. (1 win only with Sol in the team.)

“…”

Boil, boil, boil, boil.

He feels like a boiling kettle ready to explode.

“Brother, we need to prepare for the next scrim.”

What do you think you can do?

After checking the clock at 7 PM, he hurriedly scarfs down dinner before heading to prepare for the scrim. What else can you do? Can you suddenly abandon all responsibility for a single streamer and keep trying to snipe her in solo queues?

He’s a professional gamer, after all. He can’t just whimsically decide whether or not to game.

So, boiling inside, Selen, Jooan entered the scrim.

“Sol! Argghhhhh!”

But Sol had no idea of this frustration.

She knew when people had grouped with her in games, but could she ever imagine someone might have become completely fixated on her?

“Sol! Crckckckck”

But Sol herself remained none the wiser to how much she was affecting others.

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