LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 45
Ryu Jin-hyuk spent the night wide awake.
He kept staring at his friend list, wondering if Prisoner might come online.
“…….”
At some point, Ryu Jin-hyuk found his eyes getting heavy.
The season was almost over after all.
Naturally, the practice schedule was just as tight as during tournaments, and Ryu Jin-hyuk, known for his dedication to practice, couldn’t hold back the drowsiness any longer.
If he had been in the mood to play a game, that would have been one thing, but he was just staring blankly at the monitor.
“Ugh….”
At first, he desperately tried to stay awake.
He didn’t want to lay around idle, especially knowing that an old friend might be in big trouble, completely oblivious to it.
But the body doesn’t always obey the master’s will.
‘…I can’t fall asleep.’
How many times had he dozed off and woken up again?
In the end, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t resist the temptations of sleep.
…
“Hyung!”
It was a familiar voice that woke Ryu Jin-hyuk.
“Jin-hyuk Hyung!”
The voice belonged to Yoo Sang-hyun, who played the supporter role on the team.
As was typical of him, Yoo Sang-hyun couldn’t just walk past Ryu Jin-hyuk, who was sprawled over the desk.
“Uh, uh. Right.”
Ryu Jin-hyuk wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and opened his eyes.
He had tried so hard not to fall asleep, but in the end, his mind couldn’t defeat his body.
“Why are you lying around here? Practice starts soon.”
“What?”
Today’s practice was set for 11 AM.
That meant he had been sleeping at his desk for at least nine hours.
“…….”
Ryu Jin-hyuk scolded himself.
He thought he was used to pulling all-nighters more than anyone, but he couldn’t even survive the boredom this time.
“Wh-where’s Prisoner?”
Still half asleep, Ryu Jin-hyuk stammered while looking for Prisoner.
Yoo Sang-hyun made a puzzled expression at his word.
“Why are you suddenly asking about Prisoner? Oh, did you see that?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s…”
Before Yoo Sang-hyun could finish his sentence, Ryu Jin-hyuk’s gaze shifted to the Legends of League client.
And…
“Oh?”
Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t believe his eyes.
+
[Prisoner]
In a game.
+
It was Prisoner.
He was currently playing a game.
“Ha…”
Only then did Ryu Jin-hyuk let out a deep sigh of relief.
He was alive…
He had been worried sick that something might have happened to Prisoner, but thankfully, it seemed he was okay.
If something had happened, he wouldn’t be able to play like this.
‘Something must have been going on.’
Looking at the words “In a game,” Ryu Jin-hyuk steeled his long-held resolution.
Today, he would finally say it.
Apologize for saying things recklessly before and congratulate him on achieving both first place and 1800 points.
While Ryu Jin-hyuk was lost in thought, Yoo Sang-hyun spoke up.
“I should’ve watched this from the beginning… Hyung, did you see it from the start?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t understand what Yoo Sang-hyun was talking about.
“Prisoner is about to hit 1900 points. It’s all over the place right now. You were just sleeping while watching it, right?”
“What?”
1900 points out of nowhere?
Wasn’t Prisoner’s score 1800 points?
And 1900 points…? This was too ridiculous to even say.
“Eh? You didn’t know?”
Ryu Jin-hyuk hurriedly accessed the stats-checking site.
Then he searched for Prisoner.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Rank
– Challenger
– 1890 LP / 259 Wins 172 Losses
– Win Rate 60%
+
“…….”
Ryu Jin-hyuk felt his mind going blank for a moment.
He had only been asleep for a little over nine hours.
Sure, nine hours wasn’t a small amount of time, but it wasn’t nearly enough for an 1800 score to leap to 1900.
Especially since the top-tier solo rank area where Prisoner was currently at had notoriously difficult queue times.
Just the average waiting time, including ban/pick, could easily exceed ten to twenty minutes.
And if a dodge happened once?
That waiting time would be completely wasted.
It’s not a joke to say that one could spend all day just trying to get a game in solo queue and end up giving up.
No matter how skilled Prisoner was, he couldn’t ignore the physical time… What was happening was far too strange.
‘What in the world is going on?’
In this bizarre sensation, feeling as if he were dreaming, Ryu Jin-hyuk slowly read down Prisoner’s record.
+
────────
[Victory] 13 minutes 41 seconds
[Victory] 19 minutes 12 seconds
[Victory] 15 minutes 06 seconds
[Victory] 15 minutes 14 seconds
[Victory] 34 minutes 33 seconds
[Victory] 29 minutes 54 seconds
────────
+
Ryu Jin-hyuk realized with astonishment that during the nine hours he had been asleep, Prisoner had pulled off a remarkable six-game winning streak.
‘…And most of them were quick games.’
Out of all the games, only two had lasted over 20 minutes.
That meant he was up against pro and amateur players in Korean solo rank who couldn’t even last 20 minutes against Prisoner.
‘So, it was during my sleep that he achieved that winning streak?’
Of course, that wasn’t the only question.
Prisoner usually played no more than three games a day at most.
Yet, during this early morning, he’d played a whopping six games.
This was behavior he had never seen from Prisoner before.
‘Why is that?’
Prisoner’s pattern had changed.
Of course, playing six games in a row was tough, but it wasn’t impossible.
Average pros often played over 12 games a day, even when it wasn’t tournament season, counting scrims and solo queue.
Well… on the flip side, lower-tier players who are not very dedicated sometimes manage to get in over 20 games in a day.
However, all of this was just the usual, and Prisoner’s situation was quite different.
‘Prisoner isn’t in the best shape. If he hadn’t played more than three games until now, there must be a reason for it…’
Of course, it was possible that his condition might have improved recently, but for some reason, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t shake the feeling that things were leaning toward the negative.
There’s a saying called “Kaihōkanjō” (a brief resurgence of life).
For some reason, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt like Prisoner was a flame burning brightly one last time.
‘…I need to check this out for myself.’
Even though the practice was about to start, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt a strong sense of duty.
He wanted to see with his own eyes.
What state Prisoner was in.
Just as Ryu Jin-hyuk was about to click “watch” on Prisoner’s profile in his friend list…
“Hyung, there’s a delay if you watch that. It’d be better to watch the broadcast.”
“Broadcast?”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t Prisoner not streaming?”
“There’s a riot going on, as streamers are trying to snipe Prisoner. Did you really not know anything?”
“Where can I watch it?”
“Most likely on Red TV.”
At that, Ryu Jin-hyuk rushed to access the internet streaming platform, Red TV.
And upon seeing the list of broadcasts, he couldn’t help but gasp.
────────────────
[C1 1300] Sniping Prisoner. Waiting Room for Sniping Prisoner]
[Watch Room] Prisoner’s 1900 Points Deciding Match. What will be the result?]
[C1 1244] Jjuhsim, If You Want to Go 1900, Get Past Me, Prisoner]
[Going to Challenger. Until the Day I Meet Prisoner]
────────────────
BJ, streamers, they have many titles, but one thing is certain—they live and die for their viewers and views.
Of course, there was no way they would overlook the trending actions of Prisoner right now.
‘…So that’s why Prisoner has been able to keep getting into games.’
Countless streamers were queueing up to snipe Prisoner.
Naturally, unless there was a dodge, it meant that Prisoner’s game interval would be relatively shorter than usual.
“Hyung, look over there.”
“What?”
What Yoo Sang-hyun pointed to was none other than the famous BJ and Challenger jungler, Jjuhsim.
[C1 1244] If You Want to Go 1900, Get Past Me, Prisoner]
“It looks like Jjuhsim’s on the opposite side of Prisoner.”
Jjuhsim.
True to his name, he was known as a master of Lee Sin, a top-tier BJ.
Even Yoo Sang-hyun admitted that his understanding of Lee Sin was commendable, making him quite a great player.
In fact, Ryu Jin-hyuk often encountered him in solo rank, either as an enemy or ally.
Ryu Jin-hyuk entered Jjuhsim’s stream.
The first thing that hit him was the overwhelming score of the game.
[0:9]
The game had only just passed the 11-minute mark.
Yet, it was already a disaster.
‘Well, of course.’
Prisoner was someone who even the Red Cup champion Yoon-ki couldn’t stop.
No matter how skilled a top-tier Lee Sin player might be, he stood no chance against the wildly rampaging Prisoner.
Given the situation, the chat and comment section were filled with Jjuhsim being roasted.
– Is this… a four-digit jungler?
– Info: The gap between Jjuhsim and Prisoner is like the gap between Gold and Diamond.
– Haha, if it’s a Gold player, what can you say?
– Is this… Gold Sin?
“Jjuhsim, you really shouldn’t have come out to play.”
While Jjuhsim, known for his non-stop commentary, couldn’t say a word and appeared dumbstuck.
[“…Seriously, this isn’t how it’s supposed to be…”]
– Me
– Claps
– Me
– Claps
– Rock
– Claps
“Get wrecked, Jjuhsim.”
[“……”]
The result was a resounding victory for Prisoner.
Before even the 15-minute mark, the Rift Herald charged at the tower, leading to an open game.
[Defeat]
– Please let the clap squad come out
– 👏👏👏
– Me
– 👏👏
– Rock
– 👏👏👏👏
“Gold level players just aren’t cut out for this level of play.”
“Gold Sin! Gold Sin! Gold Sin!”
Not wanting to watch BJ be mercilessly roasted, Ryu Jin-hyuk merely turned off the stream.
“Aw, why’d you turn it off? It was fun.”
Having come to enjoy internet streaming, Yoo Sang-hyun seemed quite used to that culture.
“…Go watch from your seat.”
“No time. Hyung, hurry and get ready. Are you just going to skip breakfast? You’ll get scolded by the coach for skipping meals.”
“Not feeling it today.”
“Oh? Alright then.”
As Yoo Sang-hyun reluctantly left, Ryu Jin-hyuk stared blankly at Prisoner’s record.
+
[Prisoner]
Rank 1
Solo Rank
– Challenger
– 1904 LP / 260 Wins 172 Losses
– Win Rate 60%
+
1900 points.
Just a moment ago, Prisoner had achieved 1800 points and written a legend, and now he’d crafted yet another overnight.
It should be impossible.
Yet, it had undeniably happened.
“…….”
Back when Prisoner first hit 1800 points, Ryu Jin-hyuk hadn’t felt anything like this.
Although he had surpassed his previous record, the difference in scores wasn’t that significant, and initially, Ryu Jin-hyuk figured he could easily reach 1800 points if he set his mind to it.
But the moment Prisoner hit 1900, Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t shake an indescribably odd feeling.
It was strange.
His feelings toward Prisoner had been one of fondness, regret, and sympathy until now.
But now, it felt different.
An odd feeling he didn’t even understand was making his heart race.
‘What is this?’
Jealousy? No, that didn’t quite fit.
Was it the sympathy or regret stemming from the fact that such talent couldn’t make it pro, just like before?
No, it wasn’t that either.
“…Ah.”
Ryu Jin-hyuk soon realized what this feeling was.
Competitive spirit.
He genuinely wanted to beat Prisoner right now.
If Ryu Jin-hyuk had previously only felt a sense of regret toward Prisoner, he now recognized him as a true rival.
Thus, he wanted to personally crush the legend that was being born.
‘Prisoner.’
But he couldn’t do it alone.
Ryu Jin-hyuk wanted to exert all his effort to defeat Prisoner, and furthermore, if he ended up playing solo queue, there was a chance he would team up with Prisoner.
That was not what Ryu Jin-hyuk wanted.
Having concluded his thoughts, Ryu Jin-hyuk approached Park Yoon-ki, who was sitting down.
“Yoon-ki.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“Do you want to duo later?”
“Bot duo?”
“No.”
Prisoner.
No matter how high you rise…
“Mid jungle.”
Let’s see if I can stop you.