Chapter 35

Match-fixing.

It was only then that I understood why Bae Yungi, far from improving the team, had tried to drive it in a bad direction.

It made it easier to fix matches.

The more he ruined the team, the higher the probability he could create the results he wanted.

As if she didn’t quite understand, Dami asked what a betting site was.

‘Betting is, to put it simply, when you bet money on a team’s win or loss before a match. There’s no limit to the amount, either. Because it’s illegal.’

<And then?>

‘If you guess the result correctly, you make money.’

<Then… did that person bet on Super Sylph’s loss?>

He probably did.

If he bet his own money on the team’s defeat and then ruined their Game Performance, the chances of him making money would have been high.

Of course, it goes without saying that players and other team personnel are forbidden from engaging in betting in any way.

It was grounds not only for dismissal but also for legal punishment.

Manipulating results in sports, which should be fair and square, is tantamount to undermining its very foundation.

‘He probably didn’t bet on a loss every time.’

They must have won sometimes.

A team that only ever loses would have terrible odds.

In fact, during her investigation, Shin Aram explained why the players hadn’t suspected Bae Yungi.

“Sometimes, the Coach would give us good strategies. If we followed his Orders, we would often win.”

So, sometimes he gave the players a proper plan.

I suspected those were the days he had bet on a win.

To manipulate the match results as he pleased, that bastard had ruined Super Sylph’s Game Performance.

It would have been easier to guide the results of a Lower Bracket team.

<How could he do something so terrible.>

‘It’s something that should never happen. But it pops up every so often.’

Players or coaches, or even directors.

Cases of personnel getting involved in match-fixing would erupt every few years, regardless of the sport.

The reason was almost always money.

The investigation revealed that Bae Yungi had been suffering from financial difficulties even before he got involved in match-fixing.

He had left the League three years ago.

Back then, the market for Annual Salaries was much smaller than it is now.

He probably couldn’t save as much money as he thought, and when his personal business failed on top of that, he was cornered.

‘Still, he shouldn’t have resorted to fixing matches.’

Not every retired player who struggles financially resorts to match-fixing.

This happened simply because the man named Bae Yungi was rotten to the core.

“Bae Yungi will face the judgment of the law. We will also confiscate all criminal proceeds he secured under his family’s name.”

“Then when will the investigation’s findings be announced?”

“It will be out by this evening at the latest.”

“Then the stream…”

“You can resume your normal broadcasts starting today. You’ve been through a lot. Thank you for your hard work, Seo Dami.”

“You worked hard too, Team Leader. Thank you for resolving this so quickly.”

I bowed my head to the PR Team Leader.

The Support from SP Group was a huge factor in resolving the matter so quickly.

If an ordinary person had tried to uncover Bae Yungi’s crimes, it would have taken a very long time, or they might not have been able to uncover everything even if they tried.

But once a major corporation decided to dig in, the process was a Blitz; it couldn’t have been faster.

With the nagging internal team issue resolved, all that was left was to charge forward.

Now that my worries were gone, it seemed I could also focus on my remaining mission before December was over.

I had started the Legendary Challenge to increase my say and power within the team, but there was no reason to give up midway just because I had achieved my goal.

The title of being the first Second Division League player to reach Legendary.

Besides, it was a chance to donate to a good cause in Dami’s name, so I was planning to put in a little more effort.

‘Shall we get started, then?’

“Hello~. The cute Dami is here again today~.”

-Seo-hi.

-Seo-hi~.

-It’s been so long since the last stream.

-Found it, the vitality of my life…

December 20th.

With less than a week until Christmas, I was finally on the verge of entering Legendary.

My average viewer count was a whopping 40,000.

It was a level of popularity that was hard to imagine for a Second Division player.

The fans who came to my stream today, as always, cheered for me to complete my mission.

-Is today the day she finally clears the mission?

-The trolls are starting to swarm, so it might be difficult.

-Even with 10 days left, you can’t be complacent. There’s a whole line of players who get their Mental broken by a Losing Streak and fail to enter Legendary in the end.

‘I hope it goes smoothly.’

With that thought, I immediately started a Rank Game.

Currently at the very top of Grandmaster.

My Win Rate was still maintaining the 60 percent range.

To reach the Legendary Tier from Grandmaster, a 50 percent Win Rate wasn’t enough.

That’s because if you win one and lose one, your points actually drop.

If my Win Rate continued to fall from here, this year’s challenge would ultimately be a failure.

Just as I was thinking I wanted to finish the mission before that happened,

new teammates entered the Waiting Room.

“Huh?”

“Oh!”

One User who recognized me grinned.

“We meet again~.”

“…Hello.”

“What’s with that reaction? Not happy to see me?”

“No. I was just thinking it would have been better to get a more skilled player, and it just slipped out.”

“What! You wanna die?”

The person who playfully punched my side was Park Chaerin.

After losing to me, she had given up on being a UA pro player and decided to focus on her personal stream.

Fortunately, streaming seemed to suit her well, and she said her channel had been doing quite well recently.

“To be honest, being a pro is a lot of stress. Training and all that. You have no personal time.”

“That’s true.”

“In that sense, I sometimes think it might have been for the best.”

“Then you should thank me. If it weren’t for me, you’d be stuck being a player.”

“Not really.”

We exchanged jokes and hyped ourselves up to do well in this game.

And so, the game began.

If things went well, it seemed I could complete the mission within the day.

“Wow, wow, wow!”

“Did you see that? I’m the one who does it for you~!”

I seriously thought I needed to apologize to Park Chaerin.

A victory in the first game.

And even in the second match, which we played together at Park Chaerin’s suggestion.

I mean, I always play well, but Park Chaerin’s play was surprisingly high-level.

To be honest, she seemed like a completely different person from when we had our one-on-one duel at the Star Prism Team House a month ago.

To think that I made someone like this give up on her dream of being a pro.

Well, maybe it wasn’t a dream, but still…

I’m sorry, Park Chaerin.

“Unni! Nice!”

How good must she have been for the word “Unni” to come out of my mouth automatically?

There were countless moments where Park Chaerin’s incredible sniping created opportunities for super plays.

Her aim seemed even better than Jinsung’s.

<Who’s Jinsung?>

‘He’s a kid I used to snipe with at Magnus.’

To feel that her aim was better than a First Division League Starter Sniper said it all.

I sincerely praised Park Chaerin.

I didn’t know if her Condition was just good today or if this was her usual level, but at least for today, her play was so good that no amount of praise was enough.

“Ah. But I guess I’m not getting the Promotion because we’re in a Duo.”

“What are you worried about? We can just play one more.”

As if asking why I was worried about such a thing, Park Chaerin slapped my back with a pang!

“I just got curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“Unni. How much was your Annual Salary when you were a player for Gaia?”

I was suddenly curious.

How much would a player who had been a Starter for years in the world’s largest sports league make?

“You know that Korea is one of Gaia’s four major leagues, right? In Asia, it absorbed even the Chinese and Japanese viewers.”

“Yes.”

“I received this much.”

Saying that, Park Chaerin showed one index finger on her left hand.

And all five fingers of her right hand, spread wide.

Looking at that, I blinked for a moment and then spoke.

“It’s not 1.5 billion Won, is it…?”

“Are you crazy? If I played for 1.5 billion, people would have said I was doing charity work.”

“Then 15 billion Won…?”

When Park Chaerin nodded, I felt the strength drain from my body without realizing it.

“Not everyone gets paid that much, right?”

“Of course not. In this field, if your Annual Salary is over 10 billion, you’re an S-class player. But why the sudden question about salary? Are you starting to get a sense of what kind of player I was?”

“Yes. It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

As I nodded seriously, Park Chaerin burst out laughing.

“You said you’re eighteen this year, right? It’s not too late, wanna prepare to go pro in Gaia?”

-Booo!

-Don’t take our Dami away!

-No way!

-We can’t give you that much money, but you can’t take her!

The viewers, who just a moment ago were saying “Park Chaerin is so good,” and “Thanks for helping our General Seo,”

rose up in protest at Park Chaerin’s surprise recruitment offer.

Park Chaerin apologized to the viewers, saying she was just kidding.

I bowed my head to her, bending at the waist.

“Why are you suddenly doing that?”

“Unni. I have something to apologize for.”

“Out of the blue?”

Thinking that if I didn’t say it now, I’d never get the Timing, I let out what had been on my mind today in a Rapid Fire burst.

That her skills had improved so much in just a month of playing together.

That her Talent was the real deal.

That regardless of her age, she would have definitely made it big as a pro player.

That if she was still interested, she should try going pro.

And that I was sorry for speaking so harshly back then, and so on.

After my confession, which I spewed out almost like a rap, Park Chaerin, who had a blank expression for a moment, giggled and laughed.

“Ah, what’s this. You were worried about that?”

“Yes.”

“How cute. Our Dami~.”

As she said that, Park Chaerin pressed close to me and pinched my cheek, and I felt a soft weight on my arm.

“Don’t worry about it. Didn’t I tell you back then? I said I just tried it because it seemed like fun.”

“You have every right to, Unni. You have that much Talent.”

“Did you eat something weird today? Are you just giving me lip service because we won as a Duo?”

“I’m serious.”

I apologized like that and lifted a weight off my mind.

I felt like it would have kept bothering me if such a talented person gave up on her dream of being a pro because of me.

Of course, it wasn’t like Park Chaerin was a Prospect.

To Park Chaerin, who coolly accepted my apology, I told her I had something to say after we were done.

“Something to say? What is it?”

“I’ll tell you after we win the next game.”

“Ah! I can’t stand being curious.”

“Please bear with it.”

“What if we lose? Then you won’t tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Hey! If you’re lying just because you want to get your Promotion, you’re really going to get it from me!”

“It’s not like that.”

“Haa. Hurry up and start the Matchmaking. I’m so curious, I have to hear what it is before I go.”

-fr I’m curious too.

-What is she going to say that she’s building it up like this.

-She’s not really lying just because she wants to win, right?

-If so, even if it’s General Seo, she’s gonna get mobbed…

-Maybe she wants to recruit her as a Sixth Man?

-lol no way.

-If that’s the case, wouldn’t Star Prism be pissed af lol

-But this is the first time General Seo has praised someone this much.

-Her skills do seem too good to have retired.

Amidst the rampant speculation,

our final game before my Promotion began.

Blue Team Victory.

The moment the game ended, a radiant light descended around my head, and shining wings spread out with a fwaat!*

I had finally achieved the Legendary Tier.

The total Mission Donation surpassed 150 million Won.

-Wow, she really did it.

-Legendary? Legendary? Legendary?

-Isn’t this a first for the Second Division?

-She’s reached a level where you can’t even diss her skills anymore;;

-At this point, wasn’t she actually right during the Asian Games?

-lmao fr

-Turns out I wasn’t the one who needed to apologize lol

-Super Sylph really hit the jackpot

-The Great Dami!

-Congrats on reaching Legendary!!!

Ahh- Have I achieved it again?

No matter what body I’m in, the person that is me has the Talent to reach Legendary at any time.

A thrill ran through my body.

Before I could even savor this feeling of overwhelming emotion, Park Chaerin grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, urging me to continue what I was saying earlier.

“We won! So hurry up and tell me!”

“Alright. Stop shaking me.”

I asked Park Chaerin, who was staring wide-eyed at me,

if it might be better to talk about this with the stream off.

At that, the fans unleashed another massive flood in the Chat.

-Ah, what is it!

-Tell us too!

-We’re curious!

Park Chaerin said she didn’t mind either way, and after some thought, I decided to just go ahead and say it on stream.

“Have you seen any news articles about our team recently?”

“Hmm? No?”

“Our team’s Coach recently vacated his position due to an unfortunate incident.”

“Uh… I think I might have heard something. Was the team whose coach got fired for match-fixing your team?”

“Yes.”

“So? No… wait. It can’t be, right?”

As if she had guessed what I was about to say, Park Chaerin’s expression was strange.

Why wouldn’t it be?

No matter how I think about it, there’s no one more suited for that position than you right now.

I cooed, “Unni~,” my eyes sparkling.

“Would you be interested in being our team’s Coach?”