APGD 42

Chapter 42

Debut 99th Year
Professional Gamer

A heavy silence hung over the RY Dynos Academy practice room.

The starting members of the Rookies who had participated in the scrims stared blankly at their monitors.

Hands gripping the mouse gradually lost strength, and the only sound in the stillness was fingers lifting off the keyboard.

Then, suddenly—

“Haah… okay, everyone, good job. Let’s gather in the meeting room for a bit.”

The academy coach’s sigh-filled command broke the quiet.

Only then did the starting members slowly get up from their seats.

The substitute members who had watched the match with the coach trudged into the meeting room as well.

“Ugh… the game blew up from the start. We couldn’t even try anything.”

One of the starters complained, and the room quickly became noisy.

“Yeah… honestly, last game was basically decided at top lane. Sure, the enemy mid was on another level, but still.”
“Well, by that logic, I’m a victim too! If top lane had gone smoothly without interference, I would’ve easily crushed it myself!”
“Hey! How can you say you didn’t interfere? They were pushing top hard! Without our cover, would you have even gotten CS or XP properly?”
“That’s exactly it, idiot! If our mid and jungle had taken control from the start, we wouldn’t even be in that position! It’s your fault for being outpowered! Right? Wrong? Right? Wrong!!”
“Wow… now you’re dragging mid into this? Seriously, this is ridiculous. I went to cover top, risking lane losses, and this is the thanks I get? Is your conscience dead or what?”

At that moment, the coach, last to enter the room, bellowed:

“Quiet! No one did well, so why are you looking for someone to blame? Can’t you all get your act together?”

The coach sat at the head of the table, furrowing his brows.

A sudden headache made him press his temples with both thumbs.

He exhaled slowly, as if releasing his frustration.

“Phew…”

His breath trembled slightly.

The memory of the second match from earlier kept flashing before his eyes.

Who could have predicted such a one-sided result?

If it had been a match against other third-tier starters, at least they could have made excuses. But this was…

Against an amateur team, they hadn’t gained any advantage in lane, team fights, or vision control.

Especially in terms of strategy, the skill gap was at least three levels.

By mid-game, there was essentially nothing they could do. They were pushed, dominated, and overwhelmed throughout the match.

How are amateurs capable of such flawless strategy?

All accounts used by the Bears in today’s scrim, except for the support, were team accounts.

So it was nearly impossible to identify players based on the accounts alone.

According to Layunmok, all four players were amateurs about to join an academy.

At present, all they could do was speculate on their identities based on play style and skill.

At least for the other positions, but who is that mid-laner?

The opposing mid-laner had delivered the most absurd performance of the entire scrim.

Honestly, it was hard not to suspect that they might have brought in a professional first-tier player instead of an amateur.

Even with this much skill, they’re still an amateur…

Instinctively, one candidate came to mind.

The rising star rapidly gaining attention in the industry: Lee Dosu.

Coach Hana shook his head, quickly dismissing the possibility.

Lee Dosu was already a sought-after player by multiple top-tier teams. No such high-profile rookie would join a third-tier academy team.

Any team would at least place such a player in the first-tier substitutes or second-tier starters from the start.

Even if the Bears had managed to recruit him, his price would have caused significant damage. No way would they let such a talent sit in the third-tier team.

Of course, it was possible that Layunmok had leaked false information.

That possibility couldn’t be entirely ruled out, though given Layunmok’s character, it seemed highly unlikely.

For now, it was safer to assume that another elite mid-laner had emerged, and the Bears Academy was on the verge of securing him.

Must be nice for the top three teams to grab prospects just based on name recognition.

A pang of jealousy twisted through him.

If they could secure even one proper mid-laner, the team’s overall tier would completely change.

The coach slammed the meeting table with a frustrated thud.

“Everyone’s been getting a bit too full of themselves because of recent scrim results, huh? If you perform like this in the evening scrims, I’ll replace the entire roster! Got it?”

The players responded in unison:

“Y-Yes!”

It was okay. There was still time.

RY Dynos was also doing its best to strengthen the third-tier lineup.

Of course, as an academy, they aimed to discover promising players to develop into future franchise stars.

But they also needed solid results in the soon-to-launch third league.

Alright. We’ll find a monstrous prospect before the third league starts.

And in that third league, they would aim to secure the inaugural championship, marking the first page of their careers in gold.

The coach began giving scrim feedback with this resolute mindset.

Immediately after the scrim against RY Dynos Rookies,

Layunmok led a feedback session for about an hour.

My teammates and I used that feedback to continue scrimming with other teams.

We only took short breaks for the restroom or stretches—no extended downtime.

Why train so relentlessly?

Because the match that would determine whether the Dream Team members and I officially join a pro team—the so-called “Guillotine Match”—was just around the corner.

Only 48 hours left, huh.

The match was scheduled for 6 PM in two days.

After coordinating with the Bears’ third-tier coach, this timing was the best compromise.

For now, the focus had to be on the Guillotine Match.

Currently, the three of us Dream Team members were also competing in the Presidential Cup tournament.

However, the main tournament would begin in about two weeks, so there was more breathing room.

I asked teammates Kim Jehyup and Byun Sangjun to postpone our regular team practice for a few days.

It was crucial to prioritize the immediate challenge.

Fortunately, both were understanding:

[Jehyup]: Hang in there! We can’t help directly, but we’ll cheer you on!!
[Sangjun]: The Guillotine Match is way, way, way more important than the Presidential Cup for going pro. Don’t worry about the tournament—just win the match!
[Jehyup]: If you sweep the match cleanly, I’ll buy each of you a burger set hehe 😄
[Sangjun]: Hey, can someone snap a pic of the practice room and send it? I’m dying of curiosity lol

Both sent sincere messages of encouragement, rather than worrying about the practice gap.

Thanks, guys.

I took some photos of the practice room as requested by Byun Sangjun, stretched, and spotted Kang Haneul and Park Yongwon returning from the restroom.

They looked a little tired but smiled as soon as they checked the chat.

And a fiercer spark lit in their eyes.

Alright. Time to refocus and give it my all.

We didn’t have much time, but we were confident that we could prepare and grow significantly in this short span.

After leaving the Bears building, Jeong Jojun stretched widely.

“Ugh, tsukareta! (So stiff!)”

It was past 10:30 PM.

The outside air was chilly, untouched by the warm indoor lighting.

Yet the night air felt refreshing—today had been fulfilling and rewarding.

He turned his head and saw Park Yongwon and Kang Haneul.

Lee Dosu was still in the practice room due to the long strategy meeting, so the “going-home squad” consisted of the three of them.

“Wow, I’d heard Coach Layunmok was a strategy freak… but I never imagined this level.”
“Dosu should be home before midnight, right? Should we have dragged him out?”
“Relax! He’s not a kid. He’ll leave on his own. He even told me he’d wrap things up soon.”
“Yongwon can be surprisingly simple-minded! Maybe he just said that to ease our worry.”

Somehow, these two always seemed to bicker, even in casual conversation.

Jeong Jojun walked toward them slowly.

“Man… I can never tell if you two get along well or not.”

He smiled faintly and added:

“Well, anyway, everyone worked hard today!”
“Yeah, we really pushed ourselves.”
“Hehe, Jojun, you did well too! Honestly, I didn’t expect today to be so full of events. It was strange but fun.”

He looked up at the building, where faint lights still glimmered.

Among them was the practice room where they had spent the day.

‘A fun day,’ huh.

Indeed. But for Jeong Jojun, “fun” didn’t fully capture the day.

Looking at the building from outside…

“Doesn’t it feel like a dream? Scrimming in a pro team building, getting feedback from a current coach, holding strategy meetings—all of it.”

Everything felt surreal, almost magical.

Maybe it’s because I’ve longed for pro life so desperately.

“I might be exaggerating, but I think today was the happiest day of my life.”

Park Yongwon smiled faintly.

“Exaggeration, yes. But… honestly, I kind of get it. I feel like I’ve been floating all day, excited.”
“Hah, you guys are feeling sentimental today. We’re not even on a pro stage yet. But the food at the Bears building? Absolutely amazing!”

He clicked his tongue at Kang Haneul.

“You really kill the mood. Just nod and accept it when the seniors say something. You’re a master of ruining vibes.”
“Ugh, here comes Mr. Old-School.”
“What, punk?”

Now they were genuinely bickering.

Jeong Jojun shook his head and looked back at the building.

He held his phone vertically, snapped a photo of the building while looking up, and whispered:

Click!

“I hope, like Dosu said, we can officially join here and live the pro life together. Let’s not let this opportunity end as just an experience.”

The bickering stopped. Both looked toward Jeong Jojun, and then smiled sheepishly as if nothing had happened.

“Of course!”
“Definitely, Jojun! Let’s win the Guillotine Match!”

After everyone took a final look at the Bears building, they headed home.