Chapter 159

CHAPTER 159

He doesn't seem that busy.

Of course, Seojun didn't genuinely believe that.

But after looking into it, he learned that professional players were currently in their offseason.

Their training schedules were supposedly still packed, but—

I taught him, so surely he can skip that much training.

Lee Dong-su had practically said as much himself.

Or maybe I should just make him train alongside my teammates? As thanks for helping us?

Nodding to himself while considering conditions that would make Lee Dong-su immediately refuse the coaching job if he heard them, Seojun waited.

After a brief silence—

The team members exploded.

"Lee Dong-su? The Lee Dong-su?"

"Holy crap, are we actually meeting an active pro player? That's a first for me."

"Seojun-nim, you're not talking about some ordinary college student named Lee Dong-su who happens to live next door, right?"

"Yes, it's the Lee Dong-su you're all thinking of."

• ??????
• Is this guy seriously just gaming as a hobby?
• No way LOL. How are they even friends?

As virtual reality gaming became widespread, streaming had grown tremendously.

Professional gaming had grown even more.

Of course, pro gamers weren't unfamiliar figures.

Many of them streamed occasionally despite busy schedules, and countless retired pros became full-time streamers.

But an active professional player—

Especially one from a team that had competed for world number one—

Was an entirely different story.

These people were stars.

Out of countless talented players, only a tiny fraction were selected.

Then those selected few competed among themselves.

And only a handful of teams could even dream of reaching the top.

No matter how highly people rated streamers, if asked seriously, most would still acknowledge one deeply ingrained belief:

Active pros were a wall that couldn't be overcome.

• LOL was the streamer secretly a pro?
• There's no way someone with those skills and that face is real. That's actually a surgery face? LOL
• Please recommend your plastic surgeon.
• I swear I'll uncover your true identity someday!

What kind of nonsense are they even talking about?

Then—

Seojun looked away from the chat.

His teammates had somehow moved closer and were practically shoving their faces toward him, eyes sparkling.

"Please! Please recruit him as our coach! We're begging you!"

"Forget four days from now, let's start lessons tomorrow!"

They looked more interested in getting autographs than coaching.

"HAHAHAHA! Our team won! Did you all see that, viewers? And people said I was wrong for drafting Seojun-nim!"

Hayunho was still talking about the auction.

• Meeting Lee Dong-su alone already made the auction worth it.
• Forget that. Just participating in League of Saviors made it worth it.
• At this point, even getting eliminated is profitable LOL.

The funeral atmosphere instantly transformed into a celebration.

Maybe he should have mentioned it from the start.

Anyway—

"Then I'll try contacting him."

"Ah! So it's not confirmed yet?"

"Well... he was actually the one who offered to help first. I told him I'd think about it after seeing how things went."

• WHAT LOL. He offered first?
• Is the streamer secretly the son of Ohsung Electronics?
• Why though?
• Wait... does Lee Dong-su like men?
• OH NOOOOO

As far as Seojun knew, Lee Dong-su had been dating the same secret girlfriend since middle school.

Since it wasn't public information, Seojun didn't bother correcting them.

"After today's match, I think I should probably ask him."

"Thank you, Alpaca-nim. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Lumi rattled off the words rapidly.

"Because Alpaca-hyung got destroyed so completely today, we get Lee Dong-su as our coach...!"

Even Babam Sword joined in teasing Alpaca.

Oddly enough, Alpaca didn't seem upset.

"It feels bad, but somehow it also feels good!"

Hmm.

Is it really that big of a deal?

Seojun wasn't sure.

"Alright. I'll contact him."

After the game ended and the stream was over, Seojun contacted Lee Dong-su.

[...So that's what happened.]

[Kuh! The day has finally come when I can help you, hyung! By the way, would you mind letting me hit you just once?]

[No.]

[Got it. Anyway, I've actually been watching the streams, so I already knew the situation.]

See?

He wasn't busy.

[Oh, and like I told you before, the organization gave me complete freedom during the offseason.]

[They really approved that?]

[Of course. Honestly, I think they're hoping you'll squeeze even more out of me. They're fascinated by you. Seriously, they keep asking how someone can improve so fast. I'm literally just getting beaten up, but somehow I'm improving.]

[Good. I was planning to train you too as thanks.]

[Hyung... I have professional pride, you know...]

[Didn't your management tell you to do it?]

[Then at least don't make me train together with your teammates...]

[...]

[Yeah. Anyway, management wanted me to ask you something again.]

Lee Dong-su gave up quickly.

He knew Seojun well.

[What?]

[Any interest in becoming a player? Or maybe a coach?]

Seojun had lost count of how many times he'd heard the question.

[Tell them I'm not interested.]

[This time they offered triple the pay. Probably higher than anyone else in the industry.]

[No thanks.]

[Got it. I'll pass it along.]

The offer itself clearly showed how highly they valued him.

Professional organizations had approached Seojun many times by now.

Anyone could see his talent and potential for success.

Most top-tier teams would typically ask if he was willing to come in for a test.

In other words, they weren't desperate.

But Free Fall was different.

They skipped straight to discussing contract terms.

Even though their starting roster was already full.

Yeah, no thanks.

It was obvious they wanted him badly.

But Seojun wasn't interested.

If his goal had simply been making money, there were countless other ways to do it.

The talent from his previous life had carried over into this one.

More specifically, because he had retained memories of his previous life since childhood—and because those abilities had effectively been reborn with him—his brain's motor functions had developed to an unusual degree.

[Then see you in four days? Where should we meet? What should I teach them?]

[We'll talk later. And thanks.]

[Got it.]

After ending the voice call, Seojun turned around.

His teammates were staring at him with desperate eyes.

"It'll work."

"WOOOOO!"

"And by the way, would anyone like to do morning workouts with Lee Dong-su?"

A grin spread across Seojun's face.

"ME!"

"Of course!"

"As expected of a top player. Productive from the very morning."

"Seriously? Then I'm going to bed early starting today."

They were all in.

Lee Dong-su had even said Seojun could use his name if necessary.

After Seojun gave them the gym location, it turned out everyone lived close enough to attend.

Alpaca said he'd drive.

Lumi and Hayunho lived nearby and could come together.

Guess I didn't need a car after all.

As for Babam Sword—

He hesitated.

The struggle in his eyes was obvious.

He knew perfectly well that the morning workouts were in Hapjeong.

He couldn't refuse when Lee Dong-su was involved.

But if he agreed to come, the lie about living in the countryside would be exposed.

Chuckling, Seojun said:

"Babam Sword-nim, just come. We all know you live in Seoul."

Babam Sword jumped in surprise.

Then he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and laughed.

"Haha... yeah. Well, working out won't kill me. And I can't pass up meeting Lee Dong-su."

Thus, thanks to the premium bait known as Lee Dong-su, Seojun's fishing operation ended with remarkable ease.

Meanwhile.

Many discussions arose from today's scrim, but two topics dominated.

The first was Seojun finally facing karma.

[LOL and this guy said he'd win the tournament?]

[One jungler completely dismantled them.]

[To be fair, he really doesn't make mistakes. Impressive.]

But that discussion never gained much traction.

Because—

[So why didn't Goblin gank mid?]

Goblin's mid-lane boycott overshadowed everything.

Everyone knew Goblin hadn't gone to farm jungle monsters because he was hungry.

And the center of the controversy ultimately became—

[Was Seojun really scary enough for an A-rank and B-rank to avoid a 2v1?]

[Maybe they were just testing something?]

Seojun himself.

[Hey, he never specifically said he'd win the scrims.]

[They're just practice games!]

[LOL. If you lose, pack your bags.]

[Wealth Gap isn't winning a single game.]

[What confidence was he basing that championship talk on?]

However—

The moment Seojun mentioned the coach, everything flipped.

[What confidence? We have Lee Dong-su!]

[Anyone want to bet points on Wealth Gap winning now? Moooo~]

[Why is Lee Dong-su suddenly here???]

[How are they connected?! Is this real?!]

[Pros aren't streamers, idiots LOL.]

[Wait, you actually believed him?]

[Don't the other teams have connections too?! HUH?!]

"Things are getting weird. And honestly pretty entertaining. Seriously, why is he involved?"

Baek Doyul rested his chin on his hand while scrolling through his phone.

He had roughly grasped the situation.

The coach sitting across the table spoke.

"This is probably just something between the player and Seojun. Not an organizational thing."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. What would the team gain from having a player coach a streamer tournament team? It's not even an official event."

"That's true. But doesn't it seem fun?"

"What? Coaching?"

"Yeah."

The coach snorted.

"Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to help other people improve? Even if it's amateur competition?"

"Sure. But you can still teach them things. Strategy, drafts, habits..."

"That's true."

"What if I do it too?"

"...What?"

"Become a League of Saviors coach."

"Why?"

Baek Doyul grinned.

"Because it looks fun."

Baek Doyul—the man who had once donated an absurd amount of money and accidentally become a Heavenly Demon—felt his competitive spirit ignite.

Getting close through Movie Soft would probably take too long.

Maybe he should start by stream-sniping them?

The day after the scrim against Goblin.

Seojun's team worked on strategies, studied jungle concepts, and played practice games against streamers Hayunho had recruited.

It was the same routine as before.

In fact, this was how League of Saviors teams were supposed to train.

Adding a coach simply made things more structured and provided an outside perspective on what needed improvement.

Of course, because the coach was a professional player, everyone expected something more.

But Lee Dong-su still hadn't appeared.

There was an unspoken rule:

Scrims first. Coaching afterward.

The following day.

Hayunho's team was scheduled to face Mental's team.

• LOL they're not losing again, right?
• At least their mid laner is strong.
• The problem is Alpaca still hasn't awakened to the jungle role LOL.
• Babam Sword really only plays Kael. It's painfully obvious he barely knows other heroes LOL.
• Another loss seems basically guaranteed.

Ever since the previous scrim defeat, the chat had remained like this.

It was as though years of frustration were finally being released.

Seriously.

What had Seojun ever done to deserve this?

"You're all acting like this because you'll never get another chance to make fun of me, right?"

That was the only explanation he could think of.

• LOL sure, keep telling yourself that.
• The delusions of a loser~
• Win first, then talk.
• How are you going to win when two teammates are worth half a person each?

"Easy. I'll just be worth two people."

More accurately—

Today Seojun planned to play a hero that literally became two people.

Shadow Summoner Zen.

• It's still 5 people versus 5 people though?
• Bro failed basic math.
• "Basic math" LOL.

"Why is it five versus five?"

Seojun looked genuinely puzzled.

"The enemy mid laner won't even count as one person because of me."

It was so obvious that he hadn't bothered mentioning it.

Yet somehow nobody understood.

• The opponent is Challenger, you lunatic!
• If it's Wave, he might survive.
• Let's go! A real pride match!
• A-rank mid-lane showdown incoming! 👀