Academy's Silver Gatekeeper #Chapter 22 - Read Academy's Silver Gatekeeper Chapter 22 Online - All Page

Chapter 22

“I’m home.”

Baek Seojin was an orphan. In other words, there was no one around now to reply to this greeting. Even so, this habit was stubborn and refused to go away.

Maybe it was a quirk the old Baek Seojin developed out of loneliness. After finishing a hard day and returning home, he probably waited for someone to welcome him. Now that I had become Baek Seojin, I was carrying on that habit.

“Hoo…”

I felt unusually exhausted today. It was as if my superior had cracked down on me like crazy.

My body was weary from judging those kids for their exams, plus sparring with Jung Yuhyeon. My mind was frazzled thanks to Kim Suhyeon.

“I’m about to lose it. What is this seed that supposedly got planted, anyway?”

The moment I saw the detailed info through the Third Eye, I was floored.

I barely stopped her from getting dragged off by the Elder, twisting that future where she would become the Crimson Witch. Then it turned out the seed that got planted was called ‘Wrath.’ That was making me really uneasy.

It was driving me crazier to think it happened because of me. I went to all that trouble. I hoped I didn’t end up ruining what I had just saved. I regretted bringing it up at all. I should have kept my mouth shut instead of blurting it out.

At least one bit of luck was that her trait remained exactly the same so far. If I had triggered her transformation into the Crimson Witch by mistake, her trait would have changed right away. Before we parted, I made sure to check and saw that nothing had shifted.

I told myself it was probably nothing and that I should relax. It was only wrath for someone else’s sake, so maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. It wasn’t as though she was furious at the entire world or the human race as a whole.

“I should keep an eye on Kim Suhyeon starting tomorrow. I want to be absolutely sure nothing is wrong.”

I had planned to recommend a Silver exam for her soon anyway. If I made use of that ‘No Pain No Gain’ trait, it might become an incredible source of power for her. If the Crimson Witch sided with us, it would be a huge advantage.

Though she couldn’t jump straight to Silver the way Lee Hyunwoo did.

She needed to stack up as much as possible before heading up. That way, even if her rank was Silver, she could potentially aim for Gold or beyond.

She might rise to Silver and still fight evenly against Gold-level foes. That could change her outlook in an instant, especially considering her current struggles with inferiority. And maybe Lee Hyunwoo could also ascend faster if he leapt forward at the right moment.

All of that could happen if students took the Silver exam often enough.

“I wish the other kids would avoid taking the easy way out and start looking further ahead.”

It crossed my mind that maybe I was expecting too much from the students. They had no idea what was coming in the future. Disasters beyond imagination would descend on the world, completely unlike anything happening now.

I didn’t know the details, either. Unfortunately, I had only skimmed the story before finding myself in this body.

I took a shower, got changed, and threw together something quick for dinner. I had barely done anything since coming home, yet I felt sluggish already.

I wondered how people managed to go straight to the gym after work. Some of them worked out before going to work, then went to their jobs, then returned to the gym again in the evening.

“Those folks are built differently. It’s impossible for ordinary humans.”

It was a problem. I realized I really should start exercising, but I felt no closer to it.

The Silver Gatekeeper trait allowed me to push my body to its limit, but it also caused me to feel that double fatigue setting in. My basic stamina was still holding up, yet if I misstepped once, it could all fall apart.

They always said that building endurance was as tough as collecting mileage, and losing it happened in an instant.

“Still, here I am plopping myself down in front of a computer, so maybe I’m the crazy one.”

There was nothing I could do about it. The old Baek Seojin and I both had the same habit: sitting down at the computer as soon as we got home from work.

From the moment I opened my eyes for my commute until I got off work, it was nothing but stress, stress, and more stress. At least gaming offered a slight release.

It felt like it only relieved about ten points of stress, then added back eighty, but commuting built it up to around five hundred, so it was worth it.

[Game Launching.]

I remembered my amazement that the same game I used to play actually existed here, exactly the same.

“Legend of League,” the most popular AOS game around.

It was the place that had been stained with my tears and frustration, all for a chance at advancing to Silver.

Apparently, the old Baek Seojin had played this game too. Unlike me, he managed to escape Bronze. Technically, now that I was Baek Seojin, I guess I was the one who reached Silver.

I had been stunned at first. My dream was to reach Silver just once, and it came true in a bizarre way. Anyway, the old Baek Seojin—no, the me of this world—had crossed the deep, treacherous river known as Bronze.

“It’s been a while since I logged in.”

I realized it might have been nearly two weeks since I last played.

Right before my Academy dispatch, I had so much overtime that I practically blacked out as soon as I got home. Then when overtime eased up, I got sent to the Academy. Then the Academy got attacked and I ended up in the hospital.

“PleaseLetMeSilver”

That was my username. It was almost too on the nose. It felt as if the old me and the old Baek Seojin had joined forces to come up with it. Now I had ended up surpassing Bronze and stepping into Silver.

I intended to just queue for a single normal match to get the first-win bonus and then call it a night. I still had work tomorrow and was already feeling worn out.

I was in Silver now, so I didn’t see the need to grind for a higher rank. My original goal was always escaping Bronze. I knew my limitations better than anyone and doubted I could pull off more than that.

“Hmm.”

Click—

Why was I hovering over Ranked instead of Normals? Did my hand slip? Or did my muscle memory automatically pick Ranked?

[Searching for a game.]

I planned to cancel right away. There was no point in playing if I ran into a bunch of beasts…

[Game found!]

Oh, crap.

I hesitated for a moment. There was no major penalty if I canceled now. I rarely ever did this.

“Why am I…?”

The Confirm button looked strangely tempting. I felt myself drawn to it.

***

[ ‘Madcat’ is Live: Today I Must Reach Silver ]

[Hiya]

(Madcat’s hello emoticon)

[Hiya]

(Madcat’s hello emoticon)

[Wow, she’s Brooooooonze!!]

[Hiya]

(Madcat’s hello emoticon)

Madcat was a streamer who mostly did chat and karaoke content, with quite a large following. She was known for having witty banter and easily switching between laid-back and cutesy. Until recently, she had been broadcasting happy streams.

“Hello, everyone. No need for a long intro. I’m going to focus really hard today. I stayed up late last night to get to two wins and two losses. I just need one more win for Silver, then I can ascend in peace, so nobody stop me.”

[Hahaha]

[You think it’ll happen? Haha]

[No way you’re getting Silver]

She had been going through a brutal experience lately because of a sudden mission that popped up.

[ Legend of League: Achieve ‘Silver’

327 hours 57 minutes – Prize: 2,000,000 won ]

It started as a casual request while she was chatting about the game.

It hadn’t started off so huge. The initial offer was just 30,000 won.

Madcat wasn’t that interested in gaming content, so she had intended to decline.

However, the amount kept going up until it surpassed one million and then two million won, and there were additional side missions attached to hitting Silver, climbing to nearly five million total. Even top-tier streamers couldn’t turn away that kind of money.

“Once I finish this mission, I’m uninstalling. Raaagh!”

She slammed her desk and shouted, then after a moment, there was a loud pounding followed by the door behind her opening.

- Ah, the noise!

- FBI! Open up!!

Thanks to her webcam angle, it was hard to see exactly what was happening. A man’s voice could be heard faintly in the background.

Soon, Madcat returned, snarling in annoyance.

“Fine, I’m sorry already. You make noise during your own stream too. Ugh, get out. I’ll keep quiet.”

She chased him out, let out a big sigh, and sat down again. The viewers in chat started spamming one particular name.

[Clover!]

[Clover, show your face before you go]

[Haha, the older brother was a pro, but the sister is stuck in Bronze]

It wasn’t her husband or boyfriend. The man scolding her was actually her older brother. He was the recently retired pro-gamer “Clover” of Legend of League, a genuine star who had claimed multiple championships in the domestic league.

That was why someone placed that game mission on Madcat’s stream. Viewers teased that it made no sense for a pro-gamer’s sister to be unranked.

She had insisted that it was none of their business, but all was fair when big donations came into play. Besides, she thought that reaching Silver would be easy, given her pro-gamer brother. Turning the offer down wouldn’t be pro-streamer behavior at all.

“What would I tell my past self about this?”

Madcat paused, thinking about it for a moment.

“I’d probably say: ‘This path is hell. Turn back now.’”

Her heartbreaking comment made the chat roar with laughter.

It had been a little over a month since that mission started.

She had played the game here and there before, not a lot, but enough. She just never touched Ranked.

She assumed Silver would be no big deal and that she’d breeze right through it. She figured it was an easy mission, a free donation.

Then she learned that there was a bottom even below rock bottom.

“How many failed promos, you ask? Didn’t I pin it in the public notice? Today is my fourteenth attempt.”

“…Are you saying this is about skill, not team luck? Well, I admit it. Even so, I have to at least make it to Silver. I bragged about having a pro-gamer brother named Clover. If I don’t make it, he’ll kick me out of the family.”

The match began while she was venting.

Her fourteenth Silver promotion series. ‘Please let me finish this mission. Please.’ She sent out a desperate prayer to some unknown deity.

And then…

[Defeat!]

[Promotion Failed!]

“No! No way! That person must be playing on a second account. This can’t be happening!”

Madcat grabbed her head and screamed. The chat’s responses varied.

[Now you’re heading for your 15th attempt, haha]

[Though the enemy mid-laner was crazy good, no way that’s a Bronze-tier]

[That was definitely a sniper]

[Yeah, obviously a sniper]

[Right, that mid-laner annihilated you. The wall to Silver is high. It hurts, doesn’t it?]