I can't let this brother who spoke up for me suffer even the slightest grievance!!
This was Faker's only thought after both his mentality and form returned to their peak.
No! Absolutely not!
And so, this grudge match began as hoped.
Back at his peak, whether it was his laning details or his understanding of champions, he completely crushed that unfamiliar pro player in lane.
Unfortunately, he had picked Ryze this game. Faker regretted it deeply. Had he known he would be helping his brother win a grudge match, he would have picked something stronger. This thing was far too weak now and far too difficult to get solo kills with! Besides, the enemy had picked Corki, an absolute T0 mid laner in the current patch.
Even after giving it his all, he had only managed to force the opponent back to base. Then good news suddenly came from top lane—a solo kill!
That brother who had spoken up for him had actually solo-killed that guy who had been smugly flaunting the fact that he was a pro player.
And that was only the beginning.
Over the following stretch, top lane kept producing solo kills—creative tower dives, nimble evasions, and precise hunts!
Wave after wave of plays, wave after wave of kills left Faker dumbfounded. He kept blurting out things like, "Whoa~!" "Whoaa~~!" and "Amazing! So amazing~!"
Interestingly, midway through, this brother minnaaQAQ typed a word in all chat: "BUG?"
Faker did not understand, but after seeing the enemy top laner suddenly lose his mind and furiously interact like he had completely snapped, he vaguely understood something and could not help chuckling.
This was the first time he had smiled since his failure in the S7 World Championship finals—and it was a sincere, thoroughly satisfied smile.
Whether it was for his own satisfaction or to help brother minnaaQAQ feel good, he felt truly happy in that moment.
Later, their jungler disconnected, which indeed caused quite a stir. Faker regretted picking that bald champion again. If he caused brother minnaaQAQ to lose this grudge match, he would regret it to death. But with things having reached this point, all he could do was fight with everything he had.
Then, another scene that surprised him—and even shocked him to the core—appeared one after another.
Camille—brother minnaaQAQ—suddenly exploded as well. It was as though they had suddenly developed a perfect mutual understanding. Their coordination was even more outrageous than Faker's old synergy with Bengi. The tactics came one after another, dazzling him, yet they were overwhelmingly powerful. Only because he had suddenly returned to his peak could he keep up with brother minnaaQAQ's pace at all.
As for those two unfamiliar pro players on the enemy team?
What a joke. They could not keep up either! It could even be said that the two sides were not on the same level at all.
Under this relentless, airtight wave of powerful coordinated attacks, they won the grudge match despite being in a 4v5!
At the very end, brother minnaaQAQ typed in all chat again and asked the other side, "you pro?"
Faker burst out laughing again. Although those two pro players he did not recognize did not respond after the "you pro," anyone could tell just how furious and humiliated they must have been.
That felt so good!
So damn good!
In his entire life, only the feeling of winning a championship could probably compare to this. Faker grinned so widely that his mouth nearly split, seeming to forget his recent worries for a while.
And just like that, the game ended. The grudge match was won, and he had also ended his Alternate Account's losing streak.
But after everything was over, Faker's thoughts suddenly wavered. An idea arose that even he found incredibly unbelievable.
How about asking brother minnaaQAQ to duo queue with me?
Those familiar with him knew that he had three habits when playing ranked: he did not use skins, he did not duo queue, and he did not talk.
Yet today—just today—Faker did not know what had gotten into him. For some reason, he suddenly really wanted to invite this bold and heroic brother to duo queue.
By the time he came back to his senses, he had already sent the other party a friend request and politely sent over a "thank you."
From their earlier chat logs, he could tell that the other person was Chinese as well, so he simply used the English he was fairly capable of to communicate.
Ding!
After sending a second message explaining why, Faker waited intently. Before long, minnaaQAQ replied, also in English.
MinnaaQAQ: "It was nothing. I just shouted when I saw injustice on the road. Besides, I already had a grudge against those idiots. I just habitually cursed them a couple of times when I saw them. Don't overthink it."
After reading it, Faker used his browser to translate several words he did not know. His heart was immediately filled with mixed emotions.
Not only did he not feel relieved, he felt even more grateful toward the man. He even thought that this person had an exceptionally good personality, open and aboveboard. Whatever he had to say, he said it directly instead of hiding it.
Faker typed, "No matter what, thank you. Also, we worked well together last game. Want to duo queue?"
For the first time in his life, Faker sent a duo queue invitation to a stranger, a faint smile and anticipation appearing on his face.
Even those brats Bae Joon-sik and Lee Jae-wan had never received such treatment.
Ding!
MinnaaQAQ: "Forget it. Next time for sure."
"???"
Faker was full of question marks. Two seconds later, he realized he had been rejected! But then he understood—his account's match history seemed rather terrible, and the other person did not know who he was. Wasn't rejection perfectly normal?
After thinking for a moment, Faker did not directly reveal his identity. Instead, he continued coaxing him: "Isn't playing alone boring? Think back to last game. When it was 4v5, didn't we work together incredibly well? Didn't it feel amazing to play like that?"
MinnaaQAQ: "..."
Faker considered it in confusion. What did those six black dots mean?
Soon, the other party sent another reply.
MinnaaQAQ: "I'm in a hurry to climb right now, sorry. Wait until the new season. I'll definitely carry you then."
Faker's mouth suddenly twitched violently, especially as he stared at the words "I'll definitely carry you in the new season" for a long time.
So the other guy was worried Faker would hold him back? That was just too fucking much!
Since first getting into League of Legends, this was also the first time Faker had ever been talked to like this. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.
But in a hurry to climb?
It was already preseason. There were only two kinds of people who would be in a hurry to climb at this time.
One kind was streamers. They wanted to climb now to raise their hidden rating, so that in the new season they could compete for honors like "Korean Server Rank 1 Challenger" and flaunt them in their stream titles.
Streamers did value that greatly, true, but they could hardly be described as being in a huge hurry.
The other kind was pro players—or, more precisely, unsigned free-agent players looking for work.
If they were not that sort of player, anyone with even a little competitive experience, or anyone currently signed to a club, could simply use their records and credentials to find a new team. They would not have to rely solely on something as basic as climbing the Korean server ladder.
"So that means there's a very high chance he's a free-agent player?"
For some reason, the thought made Faker even more energized. He hurriedly typed and continued inviting him.
Before you continue