APGD 02

Chapter 2 99th Year Pro Gamer

I rested my chin on my finger and fell into brief thought.

‘What was Yong-won hyung doing around this time?’

Since he hadn’t debuted as a pro yet, he was probably still living the life of a pro aspirant…

‘Ah, right! Didn’t Yong-won hyung once mention that tournament happened around this exact time?’

I recalled a conversation I had with Park Yong-won in my previous life.

“Actually, back in 2015, during my amateur days, I once entered the Presidential Cup. I got knocked out so quickly that I didn’t even make it to the main stage, let alone place anywhere…”
“If I could have placed back then, I probably could’ve debuted more than half a year earlier. The more I think about it, the more regrets I have about that tournament.”

The Presidential Cup National Amateur eSports Tournament.

In short, it was a competition to select regional representatives and determine the best team nationwide.

As the name suggests, the eligibility was limited to amateurs.

If you had any prior pro-level experience, you weren’t even allowed to apply.

But just because it was for amateurs didn’t mean the scale was small.

The Presidential Cup was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and overseen by the Korea eSports Association.

Numerous conglomerates sponsored it, and industry scouts paid close attention to discover rising talents.

In fact, among all the tournaments open to amateurs, it was the largest of them all.

‘The first qualifiers were held in mid-December, if I recall correctly.’

Today was November 25th.

That meant there were about three weeks left until the tournament began.

By now, Park Yong-won must be practicing diligently in preparation.

But the process would be anything but smooth.

Why?

Because, if my memory was right, he was suffering from a major mid-lane problem at the moment.

“Looking back, it makes sense why we got eliminated so fast. Our team basically entered the tournament in an unfinished state.”
“No matter how much we searched, we couldn’t find a decent mid-laner. In the end, on the last day of registration, we hastily dragged in someone we’d never even practiced with before.”
“If only I’d met you back then, Dosu, how great would that have been? Haha!”

At that point in my train of thought, the corner of my lips curled upward.

‘If I play this right…’

A plan quickly formed in my mind.

If I could join Park Yong-won’s team, fill the mid-lane gap, and help them achieve good results in that tournament—

‘Wouldn’t there be a good chance of us getting scouted together into a pro team?’

In this life, my intent was to build my ideal team from the very beginning.

And the first piece of that “ideal team” was none other than Park Yong-won.

But it wasn’t realistic for me to create a brand-new esports organization or buy out an existing one.

Korea’s top-tier league had already adopted a franchise system—where teams and the league partnered, shared operating revenue, and made decisions collectively.

Just the franchise entry fee was a whopping 10 billion won.

In short, operating an esports team required astronomical capital.

Even if I could somehow earn that money, the problem was time.

Three years—every moment of which I needed for the Golden Road—was far too short.

So…

‘As an amateur, this is my best scenario.’

In my previous life, Park Yong-won had debuted as a pro in the Spring Season of the Battle Of Legend Champions Korea (BCK), about 14 months from now.

But if I could enter with him earlier—

‘He could shave at least three times that much time off his debut path.’

Good.

I had my first step figured out.

I’d join Park Yong-won’s team and aim to debut alongside him.

But then—

My hand suddenly stopped scrolling on the screen.

It was at the section where the application deadline was stated.

‘December 3rd is the deadline?’

That meant there was only about a week left.

I didn’t have the luxury of time.

I had to contact Yong-won immediately.

The only problem—

I couldn’t fully recall his 8-digit phone number.

But that was fine.

There was a way to find it.

I logged onto a popular online community.

As I expected, there was a dedicated team-recruitment board.

And there was only one team I needed to look for here.

[Knife in Left Hand]

The moment I searched that nickname, a post popped up.

‘Found it!’

I immediately began typing out a message to the contact number listed for Park Yong-won.

Park Yong-won.

At 21, he was an aspiring pro gamer chasing his dream.

In-game, his position was Jungle.

Battle of Legend had five positions: Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, and Support.

The Jungler—sometimes jokingly called “butcher”—was akin to a central midfielder in soccer.

Roaming the entire map, they handled both offense and defense.

Naturally, among all roles, Junglers had the widest range of activity.

But—

There was one role with even greater, absolute influence.

The undisputed pillar of the game.

The role people even called royalty.

The Mid-lane.

And right now—

“Haah… why can’t I find a single decent Mid?”

Yong-won was pulling his hair out because of that exact problem.

With the Presidential Cup approaching, he still hadn’t secured a mid-laner.

“I was going to register the moment we got a Mid, but…”

He slumped back into the PC café chair.

His mind felt tangled, like a tightly knotted thread.

‘There’s really no solution.’

Excluding himself, the other three teammates’ ranks were honestly on the low side.

The only reason he formed the team was because they were close friends and had played together often.

But in terms of pure rank, they weren’t even guaranteed to make it past the regional qualifiers.

That was why—

The mid-laner he found needed to be the best possible option.

Since he had to recruit a stranger, he at least wanted someone with solid fundamentals.

‘Should I just give up and grab anyone with a high rank?’

Time wasn’t on his side.

Even factoring in practice time, the deadline was looming.

Applications closed next week, and just ten days after that, the regional qualifiers would begin.

“Sigh…”

At that moment, his long-time friend Kang Woo-seok, seated next to him, chuckled.

“You’re gonna make a hole in the ground with all that sighing, man.”
“Ah, was I? My bad.”
“I get you’re frustrated, but come on. Just sign up already and pick up anyone along the way.”
“I’d love to, but Mid is the most important lane. How can I just bring in anyone?”
“You’ve already rejected like a truckload of mids, dude! You think finding one like me is easy?”

Yong-won turned his head.

Woo-seok stretched, yawning wide.

He, too, was preparing for the tournament.

‘Damn, if only I could have him on the team. That would’ve been perfect.’

Woo-seok’s rank was Challenger, the very top tier.

And his main position? Mid-lane.

The problem was, he lived in Incheon.

The Presidential Cup’s regional qualifiers required proof of residence.

If your registered address didn’t match the region, you couldn’t compete.

So for Seoul’s Yong-won, Woo-seok was nothing more than a pie in the sky.

“Who said I was looking for a Challenger-level mid? I just want someone with solid basics.”
“Psh. Like I don’t know your standards? Just admit it—you want a Challenger mid.”
“I’m serious! I’d even take someone Grandmaster-level like me!”

Grandmaster—second only to Challenger.

Battle of Legend’s ranks were: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, Challenger.

With only about 300 Challengers total, Grandmasters were practically considered semi-pro.

“Any Grandmaster worth their salt would’ve already found a team. And they’re not exactly common.”
“Well, yeah, but still…”

Just then—

Woo-seok’s eyes widened as he fiddled with his phone.

“Wait! No way! Hey, Yong-won!”
“Yeah?”
“Remember that Grandmaster I mentioned? His team just disbanded, and he’s looking again!”
“What!? The one who lives in Seoul and plays Mid?”
“Exactly! Should I call him here to this PC café? His house is super close.”

Yong-won’s face lit up with excitement.

“Yes, please! Call him right now!”
“Man, what kind of friend am I? I practice with you when you’re short a Mid, and now I’m hooking you up with a Grandmaster Mid too. That’s beyond saint-level!”
“Seriously, thank you! If he joins our team, I’ll treat you like my big bro from now on!”

Woo-seok grinned.

“You know one drink won’t cover this, right?”
“Of course! I’ll buy you at least ten rounds, don’t worry!”

Woo-seok nodded, texting quickly.

“Good news, he’s coming after a quick shower. By the way, didn’t you say your teammates were coming to this PC café too?”
“Yeah, after our short practice match earlier, I called them here.”
“Perfect. Then we can all eat together after.”
“Great idea! I’ll take everyone somewhere expensive, hyung!”

Yong-won happily shared the news in the team group chat.

But just then—

Bzzz—!

A new message came in on his phone.

[Hello, I saw your post about recruiting a mid-laner. I can do any kind of test. Would you like to play a game together?]

Yong-won quickly typed a reply, curious.

Hello! What’s your in-game name and rank?

Bzzz!

[IGN: TacticMaker. Rank: mid-Master. But I’m confident I can beat even Challenger-level mids.]

Yong-won’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What kind of nonsense is this?”

Woo-seok glanced over.

“What is it?”
“He says he’s Master rank, but claims he can beat Challenger mids.”
“Pfft! Yeah right! A Master saying he can take on Challengers? Sounds like a cocky clown.”

Woo-seok smirked.

“Hey, what’s his IGN? I’ll look him up.”
“It’s ‘TacticMaker.’”

Woo-seok quickly checked the stats and snorted.

“Ha! He really is just a Master.”

Yong-won leaned over to look.

“Oh, but his winrate is 64%? That’s not bad.”
“Please. You’d pick him over the Grandmaster I just found?”
“Of course not! I was just impressed by the winrate, that’s all.”

But as Woo-seok scrolled deeper into the match history, his brow furrowed.

“Hold up. This guy’s not even a pure mid-laner.”
“What?”
“Look—except for Nine-Tails, he only plays Support champs. Is this guy really applying as a Mid?”
“Uh… his message said he contacted me for Mid recruitment.”
“His record screams Support main.”
“Figures. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

Yong-won scratched his temple and began typing a rejection.