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—

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?