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TGTG Prologue

by Shrimpy

I’m good at playing games.

This was undeniable. From my elementary school days, when I didn’t know much, to now, when I’ve grown a bit older, I was always within the top 1%, no matter the game.

But there’s always someone flying above the one who’s running. It was four months ago when I deeply felt the weight of that natural reality.

“Damn it!”

I cursed and slammed my keyboard. My expensive gaming keyboard flickered with colorful lights.

“Lost again, this shitty…”

The enemy team had invaded the base and was mercilessly attacking the Nexus. I was already dead, staring at the gray-toned screen with frustration when the enemy team’s chat appeared.

[All] LVS gamgack(Serrata): jg gp^[1]
[All] LVS gamgack(Serrata): right?
[All] LVS gamgack(Serrata): haha
[All] ifyouinterfereyoullbeblocked(Luna): LOLOL, totally agree.
[All] thatismyminion(Umpa): kyaaa such a comfortable ride^[2]

What? Jungle Gap? My eyes burned with rage.

No, damn it… A pro beats a regular user in a jungle fight and talks about the gap? Of course, there’s a gap! If I had the skills to crush you in the jungle, I would be making money as a pro instead of sitting here. Does that guy really have no shame?

“Ha, this is so infuriating…”

The game ended without giving me a chance to fight back. The screen changed, and the damage window popped up. My damage output was twice as much as the ones who roamed the jungle and ran the lanes. You damn bastards…

[LVS gamgack: Hey, Sleepy]
[LVS gamgack: By any chance]

When I closed the damage window, which only made me sigh, the enemy team’s jungler started chatting with me. But I wasn’t curious about what they had to say, so I quickly hit the exit button.

“Whew…”

In this state, starting another game wouldn’t help. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate properly. Just as I was about to quit the game, a yellow notification lit up in my friends list.

“What now?”

It turned out to be a friend request message from the enemy team’s jungler. It was a request from a celebrity who was currently a rising pro, known for playing exceptionally well, and who, with his good looks, attracted fans wherever he went. But my forehead wrinkled in irritation.

“How many times is this already?”

It didn’t matter how impressive he was. What mattered was that he was on the enemy team I had just lost to, and every time we would met before, I would suffered humiliating defeats at his hands. Smirking, I moved my mouse and clicked.

[Decline]

Did you think I would get excited and accept just because you sent me a friend request? While I was at it, I went ahead and did something I’d been thinking about but never acted on before. Putting that bastard straight on my block list.

‘Now I feel a little better.’

Gamgack, the jungler from the LVS team. An opponent I had faced dozens of times without winning even once. Unlike me, who had been stuck in Grand Master forever and struggled to climb higher, he reached Challenger within two weeks of the new season starting and now hovered among the top rankings.

If there weren’t a lack of players in the Grand Master and Challenger tiers, called the Heavens, I wouldn’t even have encountered that monster as an enemy. But since we both played jungle, we always ended up on opposite teams whenever we met.

In the end, every time I encountered him, I had to grit my teeth and endure the game, feeling just how high and thick the walls of the pro scene were. Dodge?^[3] My pride wouldn’t allow it.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, gulped down the cold water, and let out a deep breath.

Honestly, part of the reason I’m this furious is definitely because of that bastard. After every game we played together, at some point, he would send me a friend request message without fail. If that’s not mockery, then what is?

I was so stressed that one day I even dreamed of receiving a friend request from Gamgack and chatting with him. Even though it was just a dream, I got so enraged when he sent me a message, saying, ‘Want me to teach you how to jungle?’

“…Enough is enough.”

Recalling all the humiliations I had suffered at Gamgack’s hands, something snapped in my head, and a wave of emptiness washed over me. Now that I was 24, it felt ridiculous to get so worked up over a game.

Returning to my seat, I stared at the monitor for a moment.

HOL. The full name is Hero of Legends. It’s the number one online game in both name and reality, a famous AOS game that even holds massive global tournaments. Gamgack, a popular pro in this game, must make a lot of money.

‘Though he hasn’t been active since last fall’s world championships.’

There were rumors that he was taking a break, but regardless, it was an incredible game with a massive player base. I was also in the top 0.01% of this game, but now it all felt meaningless.

I had only stuck with the game because of one lingering regret. To beat Gamgack just once. Slowly closing and reopening my eyes, I shut down the game and deleted it without hesitation.

After all, school was starting next week. Since I was returning to school, there were plenty of things I needed to study and learn again. It was clear I wouldn’t have time to play games.

My guess was mostly correct. After returning to school and taking on a part-time job, my life became so busy that I barely had time to sleep, let alone play games.

But that was only during the semester. When vacation came, I suddenly had a lot of free time.

Even though I still worked part-time, my schedule was originally set based on the semester, so I only worked three to five hours a week.

During the first week of vacation, I was busy drinking with classmates, but by the second week, boredom hit, and I found myself crawling around my room in frustration.

“Should I play a game?”

The words slipped out reflexively, and HOL came to mind. Ever since I deleted it, even when I went to PC cafes with friends, I’d only logged in on a secondary account, leaving my main account untouched and gathering dust.

“What should I do…”

Muttering to myself, I opened an internet browser. I was about to check the forums to see what was happening these days when a familiar word appeared in the trending search terms.

[Genoris]

It was an MMORPG game that had been making waves recently. As if possessed, I clicked on the trending topic.

The buzz was all about a new job. Dark Mage? What’s with the edgy name?

I naturally clicked on a YouTube video. On the screen, a character, about five heads tall, wielded a staff with a sharp tip and showcased various skills.

“Hmm…”

After calmly analyzing the video and skill descriptions, I stroked my lips. With average controls, you wouldn’t be able to deal proper damage and would just end up dying. The skill combos were that demanding.

‘If the order is even slightly off, you’ll only get about 70% of the original damage, use up more mana, and the range drastically decreases.’

Everyone was excited because it was a new job, but in the end, it was clear that fewer than one in ten players would be able to handle it properly.

Clicking my tongue, I started installing Genoris. Ironically, the fact that it seemed so ridiculously difficult ignited a fire in me.

“Well, maybe I’ll try it a little…”

Even though no one was listening, I made excuses to myself as I patiently waited for the installation bar to fill.

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