The Diamond tier, statistically achieved by less than 1% of players, is a rare and exclusive tier.
Most players here are either professionals, aspiring pros, or legends of Lesik, making it a fearsome place.
-Wow… I can’t believe I’m watching a Diamond promotion match.
“If things had gone as usual, I’d have hit it about a month ago… But some things came up.”
I got demoted, couldn’t play ranked much due to collab streams, and lately, I almost didn’t touch ranked matches.
When Chocoa started enjoying Lesik and asked me to play with her, I often canceled matchmaking to join her in unranked games that didn’t affect our tiers.
“Still, I think I’ll make it pretty easily since I’m already Diamond 4.”
Matchmaking was set, and the tiers of the enemy team were revealed.
The opposing team had one Diamond 2 and four Diamond 4 players.
On our team, there was one Plat 1 (me), and one each of Plat 2 and Plat 3.
Diamond 4. It’s about 10,000 players in the top 1%.
But Diamond 4 has a peculiar vibe.
Many players with talent and countless hours stop playing ranked after reaching Diamond, thinking, “I’ve made it.”
That’s why it’s considered the tier with the most inflated ranks, but people still admire it for being Diamond.
On the smaller monitor to the side, I could now see the chat even while in the game.
-How can someone be so confident in a promotion match lol.
-Especially for Diamond lmaoo.
-But for real, they’ve been on fire lately.
“Canal, huh… A good map for Caveira.”
The map was Canal.
Large overall, with high verticality and many hiding spots.
If the enemy team was good at droning, it could be dangerous.
But in high tiers, droning often stops after locating the bomb site, with players relying on sound for the rest.
As Caveira, I could stay hidden by silencing my footsteps.
We started on defense.
I pressed the headset firmly over my ears and entered try-hard mode.
Rat-tat-tat!
As soon as the game began, I rushed up the stairs from the basement site to the first floor.
Reaching the first floor, I activated my ability while keeping an eye out for drones.
Turning right immediately, I slipped into a lounge filled with gym equipment and arcade games, hiding in a corner.
Even when no enemies are nearby, a match begins the moment you can move.
Whirrrrr—
Though I thought I hid well, drones scurried noisily around the first and second floors once the basement site was revealed, searching for me.
“Tch…”
Annoyed by the meticulous drones, I shot them down and moved positions.
It was frustrating.
The preparation phase was nearly over, and as the team’s sole roamer, getting caught meant I had no choice but to retreat to the site.
Caveira excels at assassination but is equipped with a slow-firing SMG or a shotgun.
Her pistol hits hard but is useless against shield operators.
The enemy team would likely sweep the map, excluding the site, searching for me with two or three players.
If my location was revealed, I’d have to retreat and focus on site defense with my team.
As my teammates shifted slightly to make room for me, I reinforced unprotected areas and destroyed obstacles with my shotgun.
Explosions erupted from the ceiling, and bullets and grenades rained down the external basement stairs.
There were three enemies on the first floor and two in the basement corridor.
A classic and effective strategy.
The basement distractions created time and pressure for the soft breachers to joyfully destroy floors on the first floor.
If I went upstairs to stop them, the basement enemies would attack.
If I tried to deal with the basement enemies, they’d simply retreat.
“Hmm… They’re pretty good at this…”
The game’s level was higher than expected.
The site ceiling was completely breached.
We traded two of our teammates for one enemy on the first floor.
Overall, the situation was unfavorable, with a minute still on the clock.
Without a reversal move, we’d lose slowly but surely.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Something felt off.
Though two enemies were holding down the basement, I only heard one gun.
It had been about 10 seconds since the second sound disappeared.
It’s unlikely they ran out of bullets; they probably masked their movement with a grenade’s explosion.
After a few seconds of thought, 40 seconds remained.
Two low-health teammates held off enemies from the site, but no new footsteps came from above.
“……”
I left my teammates to their positions, activated my ability, and sprinted off.
Tap… Tap-tap…
Though my steps made some noise, the chaotic battlefield drowned it out.
Reaching the diving room, I approached the barricaded window.
Thud-thud-thud—
As expected, a single set of footsteps approached.
When the sound reached its closest point, I fired my shotgun.
The kill log appeared instantly, and I bolted toward the Yellow Stairs, firing my gun to turn the tide.
Hearing my movement, enemies closed in with a shield.
I stuck to a doorway, waited for the footsteps to approach, disarmed the shield with a melee attack, and shotgunned the operator.
Another enemy turned into a donut.
Hearing footsteps close by, I threw an impact grenade at the wall where I’d hidden earlier.
The grenade detonated instantly, blowing a massive hole in the wall.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
An enemy rushing to support the shield operator met the same donut fate.
The last first-floor enemy, Sledge, hid behind a table after witnessing their teammate’s death.
Bang-bang!
Thinking I’d reload after emptying my magazine, Sledge dropped through a broken trapdoor.
However, I intentionally saved one round and fired.
Thunk—
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Wounded and forced into a fall, the enemy was finished off by a teammate covering from the site.
With no footsteps nearby, I quickly followed the downed enemy, drew my knife, and whispered softly.
“Where’s the last one…”
The interrogation revealed the last enemy’s position, and they were subdued easily.
“Hmm-hmm… Why are they so good at this…”
This match was tougher than I expected, especially Sledge’s plays, which were remarkably irritating.
During the break, I glanced at the chat and discovered why.
-The enemy team has Professor!
-The Sledge earlier was Gunkoo.
-Wow, lol, the ultimate gatekeeper’s here.
No wonder the level was so high—Gunkoo was on the other side.
I grabbed a drink of water and carefully selected my operator.
“Whew~”
-…….
-Um… Gatekeeper?
-Grats-grats-grats-grats-grats Diamond grats.
“Aaaaah!”
The screen gleamed with a radiant blue tier, proof of my skill.
The result was a successful promotion.
Exhaustion hit me hard, and I ended the game.
After quitting, the quiet room contrasted with the slow, calm scrolling of the chat, mostly congratulating me on reaching Diamond.
“Yawn… That’s it for today…”
Gunkoo – What the heck, give me my points back.
-Sir, you can’t do that here.
“Good game… You were really good. I never beat you in a 1v1, though.”
-Lolololololol
-Seriously, who can beat that aim?
“Just kidding… Champion? Well… Maybe within the year. For now, I’ll just play Lesik with Chocoa this month and get more practice…”
-Is it over for today?
-You’re already up late; just do a 24-hour stream.
“That’s too much…”
A 24-hour stream… Unthinkable.
Even a few hours of streaming tires me out.
Not the act of streaming, but the trolls and exhausting viewers make it draining.
I think 24 hours would be impossible for me.
“I’ll do something else instead…”
-A horror game?
“What’s that?”
-Horror games!
“It doesn’t seem like it’d be fun…”
-Scared?
“…I’ll do it, just not today.”
I chatted with the viewers for a while before ending the stream.
In an instant, the room became silent, and the monitors and ceiling lights dimmed.
I took off the jacket I had been wearing over my short white t-shirt, hugged Strawberry, and slipped under the blanket.
I didn’t know until morning that the ominous phone alarm was ringing loudly.
***
“…Damn it… What do I do with this…”
Eun-ah nervously bit her nails, waiting for Su-yeon to contact her.