I said all that, but honestly, I didn’t really intend to nitpick and start an argument over everything.
After all, Rize was someone I knew.
There was no need to get too serious about this.
I figured I’d just point out the few key mistakes.
With that thought in mind, I started watching the replay.
But then—

“Wait a minute, why did you go in there?”

It hadn’t been long since the game started, but I already noticed something strange.
There was no reason to go into the enemy jungle, but there they went.

[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: For real]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: That’s kinda weird lol]
[Why are they going in there?]
[Gang Hoo-min: If you’re going to throw, at least do it properly, smh]
[The wicked curse, haha]
[What kind of pro gamer needs feedback like this... lol]
[Bali, is this really right? Bali, is this really right? Bali, is this really right?]

This wasn’t some other champion, it was Sejuani.
A tank champion.
So there was no need to dive into the enemy jungle. It would’ve been better to just jungle a bit and help top or mid.
Was that really that hard?

“Bali? Are you listening?”

Oh, yeah, yeah!
Hmm.
It seemed like they were distracted, but that was probably just my overthinking.
After all, I had been explaining the pathing pretty clearly, so there was no way they were distracted.
I thought to myself that I’d been getting more paranoid lately as I started explaining again.

“So, structurally speaking, Bali, you shouldn’t be doing anything suspicious here. It’d be better to just farm the jungle. I bet Rize would tell you the same thing if you asked her.”

...But if I don’t farm and go into the enemy jungle to take them down, doesn’t that give me more advantage?
“I know where their jungle is.”
Well, if I meet them, I can take them down.
“But you lost.”
It was a shame, I guess.
“No, seriously.”
I was giving feedback, and the response was, “It was a shame.”
That made no sense at all.
What was the point of giving feedback if they were going to respond like that?

“How can you answer like that while I’m giving feedback?”

Ah, sorry about that.
“You don’t need to apologize... Let’s just end the feedback here.”
Normally, I’d give a lot of detailed feedback, but after hearing Bali’s response, it seemed like it wouldn’t matter how much I said.

[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: He’s not even trying to listen to the feedback]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: This is so funny lol]
[No will to improve is hilarious lol]
[Even if Bali’s a pro, who would want to hear feedback from an amateur?]
[Gang Hoo-min: Honest opinion, I think Dama plays better than Bali]
[Ignorance is the best feedback, haha]
[Dama in the pro scene? Just getting shredded, what are you talking about?]
[Dama’s a guy, that’s why he’s fast, but once he’s in the pro scene, he’ll get eliminated fast...]

Then, suddenly, the arrows came flying at me.
It was an unexpected situation.
But I didn’t get flustered and responded calmly.

“Why are you suddenly saying I’ll fail in the pro scene?”

This was really ridiculous.
I hadn’t even started anything, and now they were talking about me failing in the pro scene?
With that thought, I ended the Discord conversation with Bali.

[Rize: Dama-nim]
[Rize: I’ll definitely give feedback to Bali]
[Rize: Don’t take it too hard]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: Oh, what’s this]
[How’s Rize, who’s younger, going to give proper feedback? lol]
[Rize is the power player in her team, ㅇㅇ]
[Gang Hoo-min: Rize has been a major figure in every team she’s joined, lol]

Rize said something that made me feel proud.
She was going to give Bali feedback on my behalf.
Honestly, I wanted to do it myself, but it was obvious that Bali wouldn’t take my words seriously, so this wasn’t too bad.

“Just tell her to stop pushing it so much when giving feedback. If she does that in a competition, she’ll probably be the first to surrender.”

There were moments during the ranked match when I wanted to scream.
I didn’t say anything because I knew Rize was a pro player.

[Gang Hoo-min: Lol, for real]
[Gang Hoo-min: There have been games where Bali’s mistakes cost the match]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: But in important games, Bali pulls through, ㅇㅇ]
[Just keep playing ranked, Bali]
[Go on and play ranked, Bali, keep playing ranked, go ahead and play ranked]
[Temporarily banned!]
[Sudden protest, haha]
[That protest is hilarious]

After speaking, a moment later—

[Rize: Yep]
[Rize: I’ll make sure to pass it along]
[Rize: Fight for Challenger!]

[Rize: Don’t worry too much]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: Oh, okay, okay, take care]
[Gang Hoo-min: Rize, carry us in the next game]
[Bye bye]
[Hwanhee: Let’s get into the next ranked game, one more match]

Now, I set everything aside, and there was only one thing left.
Winning one more solo queue match.
That was the most important thing.
Not only was Challenger on the line, but I had my pride and my editor to consider.
With that thought, I started queuing up.

“This match is huge. Really huge.”

There was so much riding on it.
Getting a formal editor was on the line, and beating 'Gang Hoo-min' was also on the line.
My personal pride was at stake too.
Anyway, it was a very important match, so I was going to give it all my focus.
How much time had passed?

Ding-

The game was matched.
I immediately clicked accept and checked my teammates' names.
Just in case there was anyone I knew.
But sadly, there was no one I recognized.

“No one I know.”

The only person I recognized was Rize.
But since there were no snipers, that was a good sign.
Having a sniper on your team was the worst thing.

“I don’t see any snipers on my team, so that’s a relief.”

Having no snipers on my team was the most important thing.
If there were snipers on the enemy team, fine, but if there was a sniper on my team deliberately throwing the game, it would be impossible to win.
It would be completely impossible.
At low tiers, it’s one thing, but at high tiers, people catch every little mistake and use it to win the game.

“Then, I’ll play Yone this game.”

Yone is quite versatile.
Of course, Gwen is also good, but she’s very dependent on team composition.
If picked as the first pick, she’s very susceptible to counters.
That’s why Yone is often preferred.
With that thought in mind, I was about to start when—

“Oh, what?”

The enemy top lane picked a muscular purple guy.
A purple tank wielding a cleaver.
And this champion—

“If that’s the case, I have to pick scissors.”

The champion I originally wanted to play would do much better against this.
So, I chose without hesitation.

[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: Ah, this is it]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: This is how Dama plays]
[Gwen is a god! Gwen is a god! Gwen is a god! Gwen is a god!]
[Gwen really is fun]
[Gwen is legit, haha]
[Didn’t you just say you were going to play Yone earlier?]
[Hwanhee: Games change every second, ㅇㅇ]

I picked scissors and waited for the game to begin.
Then, something unexpected happened.

“Wait, what?”

It was impossible.
The enemy 5th pick chose a ninja champion.
If it had been any ordinary ninja champion, I wouldn’t have cared.
But they specifically picked the counter to Gwen.

[Hold on, lol]
[Does this even make sense?]
[Jungle Mundo, what the heck, lol]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: Mmm]
[Gang Hoo-min: This is it, lol]
[Going straight into Kali, lol]

It seemed like the enemy was deliberately trying to force me into playing Gwen.
This was ridiculous.
This wasn’t a pro game; it was just solo queue.
What were they trying to pull here?

“I really hate this kind of pick trolling...”

With this, I wouldn’t be able to take control of the laning phase.
It was a clear counter-pick.
I wanted to dodge, but that felt lame.
It would look like I was scared to play.

So, I decided not to dodge.

“I’ll win.”

Muttering this to myself, I took a deep breath.

[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: But if Gwen plays well, she can still beat Kali]
[🗡️ Jeon Ji-Jong Neung Han Cthulhu: But only if Kali plays badly]
[They won’t get the initiative]
[Her skillset is just too unfavorable]
[Well, this is on me, I picked Dama too recklessly, ㅇㅇ]
[Gang Hoo-min: Please lose, please lose, please lose]
[Voodoo ritual feedback, bb]

I just hoped the enemy top lane was inexperienced as I entered the game.
And not long after—

“Rize?”

There it was.
The name I definitely should not have seen.
And on the enemy team, there was also a user who seemed like my snipe target.
This was a very awkward situation, so I immediately sent a whisper to Rize.

[Me -> Rize: Rize]
[Me -> Rize: Why are you sniping?]

Then, a little while later—

[Rize -> Me: I really didn’t snipe]
[Rize -> Me: There are barely any people playing right now, so we only meet the same people]
[Rize -> Me: By the way, we met again, didn’t we?]
[Rize -> Me: Let’s have a good match!]

Rize’s one-sided whisper ended, and the chat cut off.