“Haaaah, gimme a break! How come all of Yu-Min hyung’s matches go right down to the wire?”

Han Jin-Seong nervously chewed on his fingernails.

Jo Mi-Hye should have sprung to action and punished him by now, but not this time. Even she left Han Jin-Seong alone. That was because she was holding her trembling hands before her chest, her anxious gaze locked on to the arena.

Currently, the score was tied at 2:2.

This best-of-five final of the global tournament had reached the make-or-break round for both teams. They experienced winning, only to lose, then repeated that agonizing process again.

For the Seongsim kids, it was like being on a rollercoaster barreling through the twisting and turning course.

Han Jin-Seong groaned. “Urgh... I think I might vomit.”

“Calm down, Jin-Seong oppa! You know Yu-Min oppa will win,” said Jo Mi-Hye.

“I wouldn’t be watching if I knew he’d lose. So, yeah, him winning is obvious. Way too obvious! But is he allergic to winning easily or something?! Why is it always ‘lose, lose, win, win, win,’ or ‘lose, win, lose, win, lose’... Oops, I mean, ‘win, lose, win, lose, win’!”

“Are you trying to be a comedy rapper right now?”

“Urgh...” Han Jin-Seong roughly scratched his head. “I’m gonna get an ulcer at this rate!”

“Stop whining, will you? It’s gotta be so much worse for Yu-Min oppa right now!”

“Mm...!”

Han Jin-Seong nodded in agreement with that statement and stared intently at the arena.

He could see Park Yu-Min busy preparing for the fifth round, but it was impossible to figure out what the latter was thinking from his expressionless face, as displayed on the giant screen.

Is he nervous or not?

Since the match had reached the fifth and final round, one might assume that the competitors had loosened up a bit by now. Or maybe they were even more anxious instead?

Han Jin-Seong shook his head, knowing he was not tough enough to endure this level of pressure.

To think this one round would decide the result of the year-long hard work! Wasn’t this eerily similar to the year-end national college entrance exams?

Yup, occasional tests are infinitely better.

Han Jin-Seong preferred the idea of evaluation being performed periodically during the year. He didn’t want to go through an extremely stressful situation like this one if he could help it.

“Yu-Min oppa is amazing, isn’t he?” Jo Mi-Hye asked. “Watching him is already enough to make us feel a bit sick, so he must be having it really rough right now, right?”

Han Jin-Seong cautiously piped up. “Maybe... It’s kinda like me during the national entrance exams, don’t you think?”

Jo Mi-Hye shot him a side-eye.

“You’ll always be this pathetic idiot whether you mess up or do well in the exams, okay? How dare you compare yourself to Yu-Min oppa? Even if he loses, he’ll still be number one in the country! This is a global tournament, okay?!”

“You know, you have this talent at putting people down with your words.”

“No, it’s more like you’re clueless and can’t read the room no matter what you say!”

“See? What did I say?”

Han Jin-Seong sighed deeply like a man wallowing in sorrow, but that only made Jo Mi-Hye tut loudly.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the bickering couple before noticing the state of his palms. They were soaked in sweat.

This is unbearable.

Had he ever been this tense and stressed-out before? Probably, but he couldn’t quite remember.

Kang Jin-Ho was the type of man who didn’t get anxious even as the enemy thrust a deadly blade under his chin. And no, he wasn’t exaggerating here. Even when arrows and spears stabbed his body, and even as a sword pierced right through his abdomen to emerge on the side, the only thing he thought about was, ‘Oh, I’m going to die now.’

That was who he was, usually speaking, yet the tension in the air had gotten so unbearable that he could barely sit still right now.

“Oww...! I’m gonna keel over at this rate,” said Choi Yeon-Ha.

It seemed her sentiments were largely the same as Kang Jin-Ho. She busily wiped the cold sweat streaming down her forehead.

“Mister Jin-Ho, is it supposed to be this nerve-racking?”

“No, not really, but...”

This match certainly deserved to be called the final of the biggest global tournament.

Three of the rounds so far were intense battles of attrition. And, as if to stress out every audience member to death, the two teams traded wins and losses on top of that, too!

“But I heard it’s easy to win global tournaments...?” Kang Jin-Ho muttered.

Han Jin-Seong sighed. “Nah, that’s no longer true, hyung. Last year, never mind winning, the Korean team couldn’t even reach the semis.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That’s why the expectations riding on Yu-Min hyung’s shoulders are absolutely humongous this year, you know...?”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced away from Han Jin-Seong and at Park Yu-Min. Despite everyone’s worries, Park Yu-Min had been holding his own so far. In fact, one could even say he was doing extremely well.

As for his teammates? They were doing well, too. But they still couldn’t win this match because the opponents were playing equally excellently, too.

“Jin-Ho hyung, look! Online communities are losing their minds right now. They all say this is the best final they have ever seen.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced back at Han Jin-Seong holding his phone and browsing the internet, only for him to ask that one question he shouldn’t have.

“Who... do they think will win?”

“Uhm... They think our formation will put us at a bit of disadvantage.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-Ho resumed staring at Park Yu-Min in the distance.

“Hyung! Jin-Ho hyung! Yu-Min hyung will be okay, right? If I were in his shoes, I’d be too stressed to look at the monitor.”

“He’ll be fine,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his expression stiff. “Everyone competing down there is equally stressed out, after all. What’s important right now is performing at your best despite the stress, not trying to be as relaxed as possible.”

This was the burden everyone who vied for victory must bear.

Losing because one could not bring out 100% of their potential? Nothing would be more pathetic of an excuse than that. Being able to bring out one’s 100% also took skill. The mental fortitude to withstand the stress of the situation also was a part of one’s skill set, after all.

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. “Yu-Min won’t let himself get shaken up with this level of pressure. I just know it.”

Choi Yeon-Ha retorted sharply. “Say that after wiping away the sweat on your face, okay?”

“I’m sweating?”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.

It had been four hours since the final began. Simply watching it from the sideline was already this exhausting, so how much worse would it be for the competitors in the arena? He couldn’t even imagine it.

Actively moving one’s body around wasn’t the only way to exhaust one’s stamina. If that was true, office workers sitting behind desks the whole day wouldn’t be complaining about fatigue.

The longer a person concentrated on something, the faster their stamina would drain. Exponentially so, as a matter of fact. Unsurprisingly, the faces of the competitors, as visible on the giant screen, were filled with tension, fatigue, and nervousness.

He will be fine.

Kang Jin-Ho was certain. He knew Park Yu-Min wouldn’t lose his focus from this level of pressure and fatigue. After all, hadn’t his friend overcome situations far worse than this before?

Keep going, Yu-Min!

Just as Kang Jin-Ho tightly clenched his fists, the giant screen began displaying the images from the game again. The final round was about to start.

“U-uwaaaah?! It’s starting, guys!” Han Jin-Seong cried out, then urgently rubbed his face before opening his eyes wider.

One of the orphans whimpered. “I... I can’t watch anymore.”

“No! Keep watching! You better or else! Who cares if he wins or loses?! Yu-Min hyung has come this far to compete with the best of the best, right? Be proud of him! And don’t you dare forget! It’s our duty to witness this moment!”

“Y-yeah, I get all that, but...”

“Straighten your back, okay! Sit up straight and watch! Because I’ll be watching till the end.”

Han Jin-Seong glared at the rest of the orphans.

“That goes for you all! Do not miss a single second of Yu-Min hyung’s match! Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, hyung!”

“Got it!”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled gently at the sight of Han Jin-Seong marshaling the kids like an expert. That boy reminded him of Park Yu-Min from a few years ago.

Han Jin-Seong’s style differed a bit from Park Yu-Min’s, but the way the both of them cared about the orphans and led them from the front was practically the same.

That’s right, Yu-Min was like that.

Despite his career as a pro gamer taking off, Park Yu-Min continued to pay close attention to the Seongsim orphanage’s situation. Even though he barely had enough time to look after his own health, he tried his hardest to do whatever he could for the orphans instead.

But that was why everyone here was rooting for Park Yu-Min right now, wasn’t it?

“Mister Yu-Min, he... He’s going to win, right?” Choi Yeon-Ha asked, her voice trembling a little.

Despite what she had claimed earlier, the truth was that she still had no idea about video games. If it hadn’t been for the commentators declaring the result at the end of each round, she wouldn’t even have figured out who had won.

Yet someone like that was earnestly cheering Park Yu-Min on.

[Yes, here we go! The final round is about to start, folks! The winner of this round will walk away as this year’s world champion! This one round will decide who will be this year’s best team in the world!]

[That’s right! I have to say, competitors from both teams have given us some of the most outstanding display of skills I’ve ever seen. If you don’t mind me getting all flowery and stuff, folks, we’re being treated to a veritable banquet of peak performance by both teams here! No matter who wins today, we all can agree they fully deserve it.]

[They are all monsters! I’m telling you, pure monsters!]

[I don’t get why the final has to be the best-of-five format, though. If this was the best-of-seven format, the viewers at home and everyone here in the arena would’ve been even more satisfied, wouldn’t you agree? I’m gonna have a chat with the league officials later and see what they think.]

[Hold on, hold on! Are you trying to kill all these fine competitors?]

[Nah, of course not! I’m sure they’ll be happy about my idea. I choose to believe that.]

[But, uh, that’s not what the faces of the competitors on the screen say, though? I mean, it looks more like they are already squeezing out every last drop of energy from their bodies right now. Then again, this is why so many people have traveled so far to witness this final in person, isn’t it! Yes, this is precisely why the whole world is watching right now!]

[You’re totally right! Oh, look! SS_Chaser is on screen now. Hiyaa~, isn’t he amazing? That’s the legendary SS_Chaser for you! He’s been putting on an excellent show for us today. The return of the old legend, you could say! The old, grizzled veteran is here!]

[Now hold on a sec! Sure, he might have started his esport career quite young and achieved some outstanding feats early in his career, which makes him feel like an old man to us, but let’s not forget he’s still a young dude. In fact, he’s still in the prime of his life, you know? Calling him an old, grizzled veteran is a bit...]

[Hahaha! No, I agree with you. But the old, grizzled veteran has a nice little ring to it, don’t you think?]

[I’m pretty sure that term doesn’t mean what you think it does, though?]

Even as the commentators playfully bickered with each other, the match continued on unabated. Kang Jin-Ho kept his eyes open and observed every second and every movement on the screen.

Even though Yu-Min worked so hard, it’s still two wins a piece...?

Then again, members of the opposing team must’ve worked incredibly hard to get here, too. Indeed, the level of dedication they had for their craft must’ve rivaled that of Park Yu-Min’s. They all must’ve slept and rested fewer hours than everybody else to devote more time to perfecting their skills.

To other people, this video game was simply a pastime, a hobby to kill some time. But to these people, it was their life. It meant everything to them.

“Argh...! I’d rather walk down the red carpet of an award show or reshoot the same scene a hundred times over than endure this! How does he do it?”

Choi Yeon-Ha anxiously fidgeted in her seat, her feet tapping on the floor nonstop.

Kang Jin-Ho’s companions were caught up in an extreme level of tension, but the mood for the rest of the audience resembled that of a festival instead. Even though the round had only just begun, the crowd was raucously cheering on. Fans enthusiastically chanted out the name of their favorite team.

In the middle of this festival, this celebration, was Park Yu-Min, utterly focused on winning.

From where Kang Jin-Ho sat, he couldn’t directly see Park Yu-Min’s face.

The arena was circular in layout, while the grandstands were behind the competitors. That meant all Kang Jin-Ho could see was Park Yu-Min’s chair and the slightly visible back of his friend’s head.

Kang Jin-Ho roused up his qi to enhance his perception and sensed the flow of energy within Park Yu-Min’s body. He could sense excitement, tension, anxiety, and...

Was that joy?

A smile crept up on Kang Jin-Ho’s face without him realizing it. “Looks like he’s going to win.”

Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head. “Sorry? How can you tell? I don’t even understand what’s going on out there, you know?”

“Well, that’s, mm...” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “It’s just that Yu-Min’s condition looked great, that’s why.”

“...? How can you tell when all we can see is the back of his head? Do you guys talk to each other through telepathy or something? And here I was, wondering why you two seemed too close to be normal in the past...!”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho expertly avoided meeting Choi Yeon-Ha’s sharp gaze and continued to stare at where Park Yu-Min was.

What a strange feeling this was.

Kang Jin-Ho always respected Park Yu-Min. No one would deny that his friend had received a lot of help in the past, but even without Kang Jin-Ho stepping up, Park Yu-Min would’ve eventually found his footing. What Kang Jin-Ho had done was simply speed up that process a bit. That was all.

That was why Kang Jin-Ho did not view Park Yu-Min as someone who was under his wings, but as a close friend who walked his own path.

However, right in this moment... Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but stew in this inexplicable bitterness.

I guess I wasn’t fully thinking that way.

Should he say this feeling was similar to caring for an injured animal, then releasing it back into the wild?

Watching Park Yu-Min, who stood tall and proud on the world stage through his own strength, triggered various indescribable feelings to flit in and out of Kang Jin-Ho’s mind.

However, this was probably how everyone matured, wasn’t it? Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t be the only one maturing and moving forward. Everyone did, too. Whether that was Park Yu-Min, Choi Yeon-Ha, his friends and family, the people in the Martial Assembly, and even the kids in Seongsim...

They all fought and struggled on their chosen battlefield every day, got hurt, but overcame their troubles to become even better, more mature people.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered inaudibly.

“Sister Yi...”

Look. Yu-Min is down there, fighting his battles. By himself, without you or me helping him out.

Kang Jin-Ho closed his eyes.

—Then, what about you, Jin-Ho?

I’m not sure, Sister.

But I’m still trying. Trying to become the person you spoke of.

Kang Jin-Ho grinned while opening his eyes.

“You can win this! Go, Park Yu-Min!”

Kang Jin-Ho shot up to his feet and shouted, prompting everyone, even Lee Hyeon-Su, to get up and start cheering loudly.

Time continued to march forward as their loud cheering echoed in the arena.