Chapter 49 – 49. Academy League (3)

The first set match has started.
And as expected, the match went a little lousy.

“I can’t show the same performance as yesterday.”
“It feels like both teams are out of focus. It seems that I have physically reached my limit because of the competitions that have been held for the past few days in a row.”
“Anyway, women might be more like that.”

In particular, a series of mistakes occurred on the bottom side.
Ryu Seo-yoon, as well as Neto, the opponent’s one-hander, were showing skills that were less than half of their usual physical abilities.

[Battle Angels are not working today.]
[Ascension]
[Ascension is such an assholehahathis is a fallhaha]
[Is this the level of the finals?]

Ryu Seo-yoon’s expression his as he played the game almost looked like he was about to cry.
Last night, after being abandoned by me, I don’t know if he really cried.

And now, he must be holding back his sadness and fighting the game with a clenched fist.
To never be abandoned by me again.

However, the more you obsess over something and try harder, the more twisted it becomes.

This was exactly the case with Ryu Seo-yoon.
For some reason, every time I tried to work too hard, I was ganked or played too much.

Ryu Seo-yoon’s expression gradually hardened.

[BA Wisdom: Start slowly with your upper body.]

Jihye Lee’s voice came from Team Voice.
But she also showed her worst play.

Where did his usual intelligent play go? It wasn’t once or twice that he was eaten by the opponent’s jungle while showing clumsy head fights.

Eventually, the worst that could happen began to happen one after another.

The white white, which can be said to be a hole in the team, started to break again, and Han Yu-na, who was watching those tails, also got a solo kill while playing too much..

‘He perished like a dog.’

Truly, our team was doomed.
To some extent, the result was expected, but the taste was very bitter.

Only Ryu Seo-yoon and Lee Ji-hye, the condition of the two players was not good.
Nevertheless, our team was showing less skills than most ordinary people enjoy a game party.

This shows how highly our team trusted on a particular player.

Especially Ryu Seo-yoon.
No matter how coolly you draw a dragon, it will not be complete if you do not take a point.
Even if you open the inish and protect the one deal, you can’t win if you don’t put in a deal.

The first set was lost like that.

I nodded calmly.
Here, the 3rd class is to blame himself for ruining Ryu Seo-yoon’s condition on the eve of the final.
Regretting the past will not change anything.

And maybe the 2nd class, which can lead to worse results than the 3rd class, is to take care of Ryu Seo-yoon so that she can focus on the rest of the game.
If you follow that method, you should be able to improve your performance a little more.

However, if he started caring for him once, he could have been caring for him every time something like this happened in the future.

‘Can I really call that a selling coach?’

That’s why I decided to take the first-class method.
At times like this, sell one more time!

The players who came back after being ridiculously defeated in the first set didn’t even dare to look into my eyes.
Because it was obvious that I would not hear good things.
And usually bad hunches hit.

Looking at me with a pitiful look, I killed the spirits of the players who were still intimidated.

“That’s great, you scumbags.”
“……”
“It was the most pathetic game I’ve ever seen. This is the first time I regret becoming a coach.”

Ryu Seo-yoon biting her lips tightly.
His hand trembled from how tightly he clenched it again.

Other players reacted violently as well.
All of them were quite resentful because they were distracted by the first miserable defeat and my beating.

I then showed the replay of the previous match, and began to pummel the players in a bit more detail.

“Are we playing games while talking to each other? But how can a play like this come about? Are you determined to make the audience lose their eyes?”

“Ryu Seo-yoon, are you a rebel by any chance? Did you die here on purpose? Why are you so excited than usual?”

“The judgment was overall poor. In the second half, you were just being swayed by the opponent’s management all day long. Even if there is a loss, there must be a profit to take, so there is a possibility of a reversal.”

Every time I threw a word, the players’ bodies shrank more and more.

[I sold Kang Yul. Growth rate increases by 10%.]

[I sold Lee Ji-hye. Growth rate increases by 15%.]

[I sold Han Yuna. Growth rate increases by 5%.]

[I sold Ryu Seo-yoon. Growth rate increases by 15%.]

[I sold white white. Growth rate increases by 10%.]

[Acquired 5 selling points.]

‘This should be enough.’

In my mind, I wanted to use this opportunity to increase my growth rate, but the time to enter the next game was approaching.

“Next game, do your best.”

After adding the last word, I left the waiting room with the players.

Then the second set started.

Is it because he gave me sincere advice?
Ryu Seo-yoon and Lee Ji-hye, who continued to be sluggish, seemed to come back to life a little.

It didn’t show 100% of my usual skills, but it was much better than the first set.

In addition, Kang Yul, who is a veteran pro gamer in his own way, was able to bring a good atmosphere thanks to his solo kills at the top and his active use of teleport.

As a result, the second set ended with our victory.
Only the last 3 sets remain.

When I see the players entering the waiting room, I realize that things are getting serious.

Ryu Seo-yoon gasping for breath with a flushed face.
There were small tears in the corners of his eyes, and it seemed that he had even shed tears.

For me, a former pro gamer, they were quite familiar.

Although virtual reality games are obviously much less physically demanding than old computer games, that’s not a formula that works even at the pro level.

Like Ryu Seo-yoon, if you focus on the extreme mentality and exert your concentration throughout the game, you will quickly burn out.

I grabbed Ryu Seo-yoon’s face and made our eyes meet.
When our faces suddenly came closer, she took my hand in embarrassment.

“No, Coach… ?”
“…Hmm, doesn’t seem like a big deal.”

I have never seen a case where I went to the emergency room or called an ambulance during a competition.
Ryu Seo-yoon was simply tired.

This time, I gave a little break after proceeding with simple feedback.
And he proceeded with a sale that he could not get into the capsule.

[BA Battle: Ryu Seoyoon]
[BA Ryu: Yes… ]

Her voice drained of energy.

[BA Battle: If you played so badly this time… ]
[BA Ryu: …… ]
[BA Battle: … You’d better be prepared.]
[BA Ryu: Yes, yes… ]

Ryu Seo-yoon, stuttering and not daring to look me in the eyes.
After stepping on her even more, she turned her gaze to Ji-hye Lee.
She also avoided my gaze.

[BA Battle: Lee Ji-hye]
[BA Wisdom: Yes]
[BA Battle: I’ve been praising you lately, so did you think anything went well?]
[BA Wisdom: …… ]
[BA Battle: You don’t even answer anymore?]
[BA Wisdom: … No.]
[BA Battle: If you’re going to play like a bug, fuck it up. There are many other junglers besides you.]
[BA Wisdom: …… ]

Jihye Lee’s eyes shook.
She was always the one who used to look like she was playing with the top of her head for her others, but there was no sign of that at all right now.

She covered her own face with her hand, as if she was no less shocked.
She probably didn’t want her expression to be seen by me and the rest of the team.

[BA Wisdom: … I’ll do my best.]

After holding something in her, she finally said a word.
I nodded and applauded to cheer up the atmosphere.

[BA Battle: Alright. You must win this round. If you lose, you have to play a few more games in the promotion candidates match.]

Even if you don’t win the academy league, it doesn’t mean you can’t go to the promotion playoff. However, according to the rules of the promotion candidate match, more matches were played.

‘Maybe that would be better.’

I usually take a vacation when there is no game.
In that case, it might be good for her to experience many real matches.

The match started with my bluff.

###

For the NTR team, Neto was in a puzzled mood throughout the match.
I’ve played a lot of scrim matches with Battle Angels, and we met in the finals of the last tournament.

However, it was the first time that the performance was lacking like today.
In particular, the condition of his opponent, a one-dealer Ryu, was very strange.

‘Where is your mind?’

He is playing a game, but he seems to be wandering alone in the game.

Still, the 2nd set match was a little better than the 1st set.
Even so, I didn’t go crazy with my usual flashy physical.

The 3rd set of bot lane battles were a combination of Artemis and Hermes VS Helios and Yeti.
The Battle Angels side was a combination of Helios and Yeti, but if we simply compared the laning aspect, we could see that it was a defensive style pick, not a physical character that Ryu usually handles well.

The Battle Angels’ coach knew that Ryu’s condition was at its worst and gave him a slightly more comfortable pick.

‘But it won’t be easy to win if I do this.’

It would be an irrelevant combination for any other team, but it’s a different story if it’s the Battle Angels, where Ryu must carry them unconditionally.
Even during scrims, it was not difficult to win unless Ryu had a carry pick.

And as she expected, the match started to flow with the Neo-Trance team’s advantage.
Even though Neto won, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable and hopeless.

###

In the car on the way home from Korea University.

The atmosphere of our team was so immersed that I wondered if it could be more depressed than this.

Even when I was appointed as a coach, the atmosphere wasn’t quite like this, but it felt like anyone would hang themselves right away.

I cleared my throat quietly.

“Hmmmm… “

Then, one player visibly flinched.
It was Ryu Seo-yoon.

She remembers what I said before the three-set match started, and burst into her tears as soon as the match was over.
No matter how sadly he cried, even the staff and audience there looked worried.

Thanks to that, even though we showed the worst performance ever, public opinion on the Internet about our team wasn’t too bad.
Perhaps Ryu Seo-yoon’s good looks played a part.

[See Ryu Seo-yoon crying? It was very salty]
[What happened today? The performance wasn’t the same as usual.]
[Juicy Seoyoonhaha]
[Don’t drag it. I cried because I was sincere.]
[Those who scold Ryu Seo-yoon] The only thing I’ve tried is using it when I get pocket money from my mom in the corner of the room]

I also lost the game, but I didn’t feel too bad.
It was because the share of defeat was on me, but it was also because defeat was not a big deal.

Every team suffers defeat.
Mad Tiger Gaming, my team before retirement and the best team in Korea in name and reality, also suffered numerous defeats.

Compared to that, the Battle Angels, who were less than crumbs of cookies, had only lost one match.

“Black… “

Ryu Seo-yoon started crying again.
I frowned at her and looked at her.

“Sorry, sorry… “

Moist eyes and a messed up face.
Her plucked hair is in clumps here and there.

White White was sitting in her arms and comforting her, even if she didn’t fall down.

How desolate she was, to the point that even Han Yu-na, who usually tickled her, kept her mouth shut.

“You keep quiet. What did you do well?”
“……Yes”

But I behaved relentlessly.
Even director Jeong Pal-soo, who was driving, looked at me in surprise.
It was an expression that he did not understand how he could punish a child who was crying so sadly.

I thought it might be necessary to take care of the image a little bit.

“Don’t cry over nothing.”
“……”

The car became quiet as if silence had been struck.
I continued talking.

“Death is what you go through dozens of times during your career as a player. The ones whose Battle Angels aren’t the first team will know better.”

Kang Yul’s expression was calm.
In her 4 years she moved teams 5 times she was the one who never shone.
Perhaps defeat like today is more familiar than victory.

“You keep acting like you’re the main character of tragedy, so think about how to improve your skills at that time.”

Turning her body back, she looked at Ryu Seo-yoon.
I don’t know if it’s because she’s surprised or because she does n’t want to show her tear-stained face of her, but she turns her head away.

“As I said before, if I work hard, I have no intention of abandoning my players. Even if I can’t get out of the 3rd division forever.”

I’m going to sell it though.

“……Yes.”

Ryu Seo-yoon replied with her slightly brighter face.
She seems to have noticed that what she said this time was not to all of her teammates her, but only to her her.
I turned her head forward again.

“Everyone gets a good rest today.”

It is difficult to create a warm atmosphere.

As I lay down on the seat, I felt director Jeong Pal-soo, who was in the driver’s seat, give me a warm gaze.

Why are you so burdensome?
But when he saw Ryu Seo-yoon resting in Baek Ha-yeon’s arms with a comfortable face before he knew it, he realized that he had managed well in his own way.

Now, it felt like I was good at training Ryu Seo-yoon.

###

Thiririri…
Thiririri…

When the cell phone rang, Han Ah-reum reflexively answered the call.

“Yes. This is the heart of Arena Insight.”
“……”

There was no word on the phone for a while.
Feeling her doubts her, she finally looked up to see who had called.
It was the first number I saw.

‘It’s spam…?’

Are there spam calls you make and don’t say anything?
As I was thinking about that, I heard a voice over the phone.

“It is you… ?”
“Yes?”
“Are you the one who wrote that article?”
“I’m sorry, but there are so many people who would say that to me.”

She was always the one who threw her body to uncover her truth without thinking behind her back.
Thanks to her, there were many people who bought her a grudge.
It wasn’t once or twice that I received such a threatening text message or phone call.

In the meantime, a shout came from the phone.

“Academy League Suzaku Incident! I thought it would be safe even if I wrote an article like that…?!”
“… Ah, are you talking about that?”

Han Ah-reum laughed.
The guy’s threats continued.

“I know you touched the wrong person. Do you know who I am You can’t be a journalist anymore.”
“Because that’s not something I’ve heard once or twice… Besides, to say such a thing over the phone, you must have a fairly large liver.”
“……”

For a while there was no word over the phone.
It seems that the automatic call recording function in the cell phone was not thought of.

‘He’s a really clumsy person… ‘

Soon after, a confused voice came through the phone.

“Ah, anyway, I’m going to sue you! You can’t just spread rumors like that and be active! Looking at the article you wrote, it looks like you wrote what you heard from that psycho coach. Didn’t you think that it was fabricated with words?!
“Yes?”

I was not interested in his clumsy threats.
There was only one sentence in her gibberish that caught her attention her.

“A coach like Psycho, you mean coach Kim Jung-soo of Battle Angels, right?”
“Why ask something obvious! You just listened to that bastard and wrote a nonsensical article!”
“Hmm… Why does Coach Kim Jung-soo look like a psycho? ?”
“……”

The phone goes silent again.
Han Ah-reum let out a deep sigh.

‘What. Did you just say that?’

As a journalist trained for a long time, I stabbed it once, but it seems like it was in vain.
She put her hand on her cellphone to hang up her phone.
If it wasn’t for the urgent words, Han Tae-seop’s phone number would have been blocked.

“… Do you know that bastard molested his players? There’s a girl named Lee Ji-hye that I almost dated before…”

And the information that follows is of little interest.
Han Ah-reum let go of everything and only pricked up her ears at really important moments.

“When you broke up with me, you rubbed Ji-hye’s breasts her proudly!”
“Hmm…Aren’t you two just dating?”
“Oh no! I’m sure Lee Ji-hye was in a bad mood!”

No matter how you look at it, it was a tone that seemed to be lying, but it seemed to be true that he had massaged her breasts.
Even through the phone, I could feel the vivid shaking!

“I know. Let’s investigate. Thank you for the good information.”
“Okay… But more than that, could you please take that article down?”

Pop-.

Han Ah-reum hung up her phone and smiled, raising the corner of her mouth.

‘This guy… I rejected it because I was old, but I’m having a good time with a young player, isn’t it?’

Heh heh heh….
Han Ah-reum, an old maid and career woman looking toward the end of her 20s, gave a creepy smile.