Gender Swap: The Introvert's Broadcast-Chapter 11: First Ranked Day in my Life

I had played countless casual games in preparation for ranked matches.

Through those games, I had learned a lot about Reore (League of Legends).

What kind of strategies were necessary to win a game.

There were plenty of things to consider, but right now, only one question mattered:

"Which lane should I go to?"

Reore is a game played by five people.

Thus, each player must choose one of the five positions.

From what I’d heard, once you choose a position, you often end up playing that position repeatedly.

It’s like choosing your starter Pokémon—it feels like a critical decision.

I couldn’t help but feel nervous. What position should I choose?

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Is there a need to stress about picking a lane?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Just go wherever you want to.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: Personally, I recommend the “girl’s lane,” the top lane.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: It’s one of the easiest lanes to practice on.]

[Hoo-min’s actually making sense for once, lol.]

[Hwanhee: Honestly, when you’re new to Reore, it’s best to start with support.]

[Hwanhee: Picking anything else increases your chances of messing things up for your team.]

“Hm...”

What should I do?

While I was mulling over the options—

Ding!

My phone buzzed lightly. A message from Yeram.

Since she was streaming, it seemed like she’d opted to communicate via text instead of talking directly.

For her to text during a stream, it must have been something important.

Curious, I checked her message.

[Yeram: Go top lane.]

[Yeram: I don’t know about anything else.]

[Yeram: But top lane is the most fun.]

[Yeram: Go go!]

Yeram strongly recommended the top lane.

Come to think of it, a lot of people in the chat were also suggesting the top lane.

Indeed, when I had played casual games, the top lane had seemed the most entertaining.

It was also the least influenced by others’ actions.

“Alright then, top lane it is.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That’s the spirit, lol.]

[Hwanhee: I’m telling you, top lane is the most fun.]

[Hwanhee: I suggested support earlier, but if you don’t care about others, top is the way to go, lol.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: As expected.]

[Oh no, another top lane addict is born...]

[Please, just grow into a normal top laner...]

Looking at the chat, I noticed a lot of concern about my choice.

I didn’t understand why they were reacting this way.

It was just a game, after all.

Games are meant to be fun, not to make people angry. Their comments didn’t make much sense to me.

“Well then, let’s start the game.”

With that, I queued up for a match.

Since I’d already gained a general understanding of Reore through casual games, I was curious to see how far I could climb in ranked.

Even reaching Gold would be a dream come true.

As I indulged in these happy thoughts—

Ding!

The sound of a match being found echoed.

The accept button appeared on the screen.

Click.

I pressed it lightly, and soon—

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The screen turned black-and-white, and the lane assignments began.

My lane was top.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

I hadn’t felt this excited while gaming in a long time.

I used to wonder why Reore was so popular, but now I was beginning to understand.

It really was that enjoyable.

At that moment—

[Top lane player, hello.]

[Would you mind switching lanes?]

[I’m confident I can carry.]

Someone typed in the chat.

Judging by the context, it seemed like they were asking me to swap lanes.

“What’s this? Should I switch?”

In casual games, lanes are assigned based on individual typing speed, so I’d never encountered this situation before.

Switching lanes?

Wasn’t it normal to stick to the lane you were assigned?

[Omniscient Cthulhu: What the hell...]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Why switch, lol.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Just go top lane. If you switch and lose, you’ll feel even worse.]

[Hwanhee: Yeah, it’s better not to switch.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: Switching lanes is for weaklings.]

[I’ve never seen someone who asks for a swap actually play well.]

Glancing at the chat, most people were adamant that I shouldn’t switch.

So, I cautiously typed in the chat:

[LondonIsInDanger: I don’t think I can switch.]

[LondonIsInDanger: Sorry about that.]

[LondonIsInDanger: I only play top lane.]

I tried to be as polite as possible, ensuring my message wouldn’t offend the other player.

Surely, they would understand, right?

[Ah, okay, okay.]

[Well, I guess there’s no choice.]

[Let’s go for two tops then.]

What? Two tops?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

It was a term I had never heard before, and I felt puzzled.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Two tops means two people go to the top lane.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s basically trolling, lol.]

[Hwanhee: How do you end up with a troll in your first ranked game?]

[I swear, I want to strangle someone, lol.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: The only solution is to get rid of such people.]

[Cold-blooded killer Kang strikes again, lol.]

The chat made it clear that this was some kind of disruptive behavior.

I had never encountered this in casual games.

Maybe it was because I always picked the leftover lanes?

Feeling flustered, I checked the role of the player who said they were going “two tops.”

“Hm... They’re support. Then I guess I’ll go support instead.”

While I really wanted to play top lane, I wasn’t willing to share it with a troll.

Besides, I found support enjoyable in its own way.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I can’t believe you gave in, lol.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Now they’ll think this behavior is acceptable.]

[Hwanhee: Say something once the game starts.]

[Let’s report them after the game, for sure.]

I couldn’t understand why people acted like this.

Would it kill them to just play their assigned role?

Sighing deeply, I typed in the chat:

[LondonIsInDanger: Fine, I’ll go support.]

[LondonIsInDanger: You can take top lane.]

My tone online was deliberately gentle.

It wasn’t worth risking legal trouble over harsh words.

Wasting money on pointless lawsuits wasn’t my style.

[You should’ve switched earlier, lol.]

[It’s disgusting how you only switched after I threatened to go two tops.]

"...What’s with this person?"

After accommodating them, they had the nerve to complain.

What an incredible individual.

“What champion should I pick?”

Since I’d played support in casual games, I pondered my options.

What would be fun while still increasing our chances of winning?

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Shyco support is fun, lol.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s satisfying to assassinate someone in one hit.]

[Hwanhee: Why recommend Shyco support, lol?]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: Go with Nautilus for a safe choice.]

I didn’t know all the champions yet, since I hadn’t been playing for long.

“Hm...”

After a moment’s hesitation, I chose a champion that seemed fun.

Soon, the game began.

“Oh, I’m nervous.”

My heart was racing uncontrollably.

It had been ages since I’d felt this nervous about anything.

As I adjusted to the game, I checked my champion’s abilities.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Seriously?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Picking Salus support in your first ranked game? That’s crossing the line, lol.]

[Hwanhee: To be fair, it’s fun.]

[Kang Hoo-min Here: I find Salus’s revealing outfit distracting.]

In this world, Reore had a champion named Salus who wore a very revealing outfit.

Talk about equality.

To top it off, she was beautiful.

This is what gaming is about.

I felt like my eyes had been blessed.

That aside, the game was quieter than the noisy pre-game chat.

It seemed everyone was realizing that something was wrong with the top lane.

“Well then... let’s play this game.”

To be honest, I wasn’t great at playing support.

But I had to win this first game.

Not for any particular reason—

I just didn’t want to start with a loss.

With that determination, I entered the game.

Everything would work out, right?