"What does that mean? A pro gamer?” Kim Jinhwan, the man who was sitting on the couch and watching a delivery app, raised his head and stared at Yoo Hyeonsu. Kim Jinhwan was one of the players who had reported Big Stars’ unhealthy internal matters to Hyeonu with Han Jaeyeol. In other words, he was a very bold and straightforward person.

“It is literally as I said. Right now, Crescent Moon is picking players. You know, right?” Yoo Hyeonsu answered Kim Jinhwan’s question with a smile.

‘He asked,’ Yoo Hyeonu thought.

Kim Jinhwan bit the bait. If he wasn’t interested in being a professional gamer, he would’ve rejected Yoo Hyeonsu’s proposal unconditionally.

‘There must be lingering feelings.’

Kim Jinhwan was now a fairly famous streamer in South Korea, but he was originally a professional gamer for Big Stars. Naturally, he had a unique desire to be a professional gamer.

“I know. The other day, Yeonghun asked me about something related to that.”

Kim Jinhwan was referring to the call that Hyeonu had with Cho Yeonghun a few days ago. It was Kim Jinhwan who had answered Hyeonu’s question about Choi Bongjun.

“Yes, that is related to picking players. Alley Leader—no, Hyeonu hyung wants to reduce the number of players selected through the audition as much as possible. That is why the supervisor and coach are running in every direction.” 

Yoo Hyeonsu explained up to this point, and Kim Jinhwan was able to figure out exactly what he was trying to say.

‘They need proven or reliable players...’

There was a big gap between a person who made their debut and those who didn’t. Hyeonu was looking for people just beyond this gap.

“Hyung told me to find as many people as possible. I thought of you. That is why I’m here to ask. Honestly, not everyone here can join Crescent Moon. I think there can be four people at most.”

In Yoo Hyeonsu’s opinion, it was four people. That was the limit. It was because two out of the remaining six spots in Crescent Moon would be filled using New Moon.

‘If he picks only one person... he will be criticized for it being just streaming content.’

Of course, he knew that Hyeonu was a person who wouldn’t even blink at such a thing. However, he also knew that he wasn’t a person to irresponsibly pass on responsibility to the other person.

“Four? In any case, the classes that can be selected through the audition must definitely be melee classes... Let’s say out of the four of us, there must be two magicians...” Han Jaeyeol muttered as he listened to the conversation between Kim Jinhwan and Yoo Hyeonsu.

Based on the information he knew, the resources needed for Crescent Moon were magicians.

‘Usually, four magicians is the standard...’

There was no other reason for it. This was the standard. It was also the part that Hyeonu was greatly mistaken about. Hyeonu saw the tank positions of Lee Hoon and Yoo Hyeonsu as independent positions rather than melee positions. Thus, there were only two magicians in the team, but he wasn’t trying to recruit more.

However, this loophole was being supplemented by Yoo Hyeonsu when he met with the streamers belonging to Crescent Moon.

“As far as I know, some of us still have nostalgia for our careers as professionals.” Han Jaeyeol glanced at those gathered in the living room.

In the past, a total of eight people remained as streamers when Big Stars was absorbed into Crescent Moon. Cho Yeonghun had left the team before that, and the other three left the team during the process of Big Stars being absorbed.

Kim Jinhwan looked at Han Jaeyeol and asked, “How do you know that?”

“Some people worked hard on streaming, while others were crazy about the Korean Arena League. How can I not know? I’ve noticed since you brought in the league game review content,” Han Jaeyeol answered while looking around at some of the faces.

Those who made eye contact with him coughed.

“By the way... the one who brought in the content... Was it you?” Lee Yeongjin, one of those who made eye contact with Han Jaeyeol, asked Han Jaeyeol.

“Of course, I want to do it too. Why else did I struggle under those trash? I would’ve left earlier if it wasn’t for being a pro gamer. ...Although I couldn’t stand it in the end and reported them,” Han Jaeyeol replied. It was true that Han Jaeyeol had lingering feelings about being a professional gamer. Therefore, he did as many things as possible to help the players return while living as a streamer.

“So that is why you often stream the arena? Oh my, Han Jaeyeol, you are really amazing.” Kim Jinhwan smiled at Han Jaeyeol.

“If you still have lingering feelings about being a professional gamer, go to the supervisor and talk to him in person. You will probably be welcomed happily.” Yoo Hyeonsu waved and exited the accommodation of Crescent Moon’s streamers. Now, he had done everything he could do. All that remained depended on how much regret they had left toward being pro gamers. 

Once Yoo Hyeonsu left, the eight streamers talked with serious expressions.

“What do you want to do? Do you really want to do this?”

“It doesn’t matter to me now. Honestly, it was so hard at that time.”

“Let’s order food first before talking about it. These jerks. I have to eat and make a living.”

They were talking all at once and said what they wanted to say. They never thought about listening to others.

Han Jaeyeol slightly frowned when he saw it and said, “First of all, who wants to be a professional gamer again? Hands up.” 

Then a really amazing sight occurred. There were exactly three people who raised their hands—Han Jaeyeol, Kim Jinhwan, and Lee Yeongjin. The three people who were the most active in giving their opinions just before Big Stars collapsed raised their hands.

“I thought it would be you.”

“Honestly, we gave up under that trash... You guys were the ones who worked hard.”

Looking at these three, the other players reacted like they had expected it. They weren’t stupid. They had just been pretending they didn’t know. It was a path they had failed at once already, so it was natural to fear re-challenging it.

“So what are we going to eat? Chicken?” One person who noticed the atmosphere was about to become serious spoke like this to relax the atmosphere. His timing was very appropriate.

“I want sweet and sour pork.”

“I want army stew.”

“I am chicken.”

“Can’t you unify the menu? These jerks!”

After fighting about the dinner menu for a long time, they were finally able to choose a menu that allowed them to order from one store. When the food they ordered arrived, everyone became busy eating. One person who didn't have lingering emotions about being a professional gamer spoke to the three people who did: “Do it if you want to. We will be fine. We’ve already given up, but... you haven’t.”

The three people who listened to him stopped moving at the same time. Then soon after, they moved again like nothing had happened.

***

‘It is time for them to come...’

Hyeonu was waiting for people with slight nervousness.

‘Nothing will happen today, right?’

The reason why Hyeonu was nervous was because he was introducing New Moon for the first time on the stream. It was the participants, not Hyeonu, who would be the subject of New Moon. In other words, it wasn’t a matter that Hyeonu could control at will. While Hyeonu was feeling worried, the people who qualified for New Moon appeared one by one.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Alley Leader.”

They all naturally approached Hyeonu and greeted him.

“Yes, welcome. Did you prepare a lot?” Hyeonu greeted the players happily. He welcomed them more warmly than usual because it might be his last time meeting some of them.

‘I have to leave a good image.’

It would surely leave good memories if he treated them well, even if they ended up dropping out.

Once all nine people gathered, Hyeonu explained to them in detail what would be happening on the stream today: “Let me start by apologizing to you. I think the schedule will be tighter than expected. I want to make accurate judgments while watching for a long time, but I don’t have the time. Next time, only six people from those gathered here will be meeting again.”

Hyeonu’s words shocked the nine people from the beginning. It was a declaration that he would eliminate three of the nine people today.

“What are the criteria for elimination?”

Yet rather than complaining, the nine people wondered how to survive.

Their failures made them perfectly aware of what attitude they should take.

“I have two criteria for elimination. One is decided by me, and the other is decided by viewers. I am going to look at your learning abilities and your passion. As for the viewers... it is your reputation. That is the other criteria.”

Hyeonu had firm evaluation criteria. Crescent Moon had no time to waste. It was ambiguous to say that the level of those in New Moon was similar to that of other professional gamers. If it was similar, they would’ve already been professional gamers. Obviously, they weren’t good enough. However, Hyeonu had the ability to fill what was missing. So it all depended on how quickly they could make up for what was lacking.

This was naturally the evaluation criteria for Hyeonu.

Jeong Cheolmin, the man whom Hyeonu had evaluated as the most passionate, raised his hand and asked Hyeonu, “Reputation... What do you mean by that?” 

“I am someone who thinks you should keep the minimum line when being a professional gamer. I won’t accept anyone on the team who will go somewhere and play PK,” Hyeonu said. It was only then that people understood what Hyeonu’s standards were. There had to be no future troubles. This was exactly what Hyeonu wanted.

“If you have any complaints, you can go right now. I won’t hold onto you,” Hyeonu gave an ultimatum with a firm expression. They didn’t show much reaction, so Hyeonu immediately turned on the stream.

[Crescent Moon’s open player recruitment audition, New Moon’s first public reveal.]

The title was good. It was a title that would be perfect for attracting people’s attention.

-Is it finally being released?

-How many people have passed?

-The conditions were tricky, so I don’t think there will be a lot.

-Still, shouldn’t there be around 100 people? There must’ve been a lot of applicants.

-However, I don’t think there are many people who want to be pro gamers in South Korea.

-Even so, it is a team with Alley Leader. Isn’t it worth a try?

The viewers showed explosive interest in New Moon. There were all sorts of auditions in the world, but this was the viewers' first time seeing an audition to select professional gamers. It wasn’t a produced show but an audition that was streamed live. Forget about manipulation. They needed to worry about their own words.

“Hello, everyone. More than 10 million people have already gathered. It is a high level of interest. Thank you very much.” Hyeonu’s greeting was no different than usual. However, it came completely differently to the nine people standing in the back.

‘10 million?’

10 million viewers—it was a number they’d never seen even in their dreams. They thought of all these people watching them and couldn’t help flinching.

-Let’s reveal one thing first. How many people are coming out today?

-How many weeks will it take?

-Is today’s stream going to be long? It will take a long time to show all the participants.

The viewers poured out questions about New Moon like a waterfall. They were that curious.

“New Moon will be held around three times. I am going to stream it once a week for a total of three episodes. In addition, today’s stream will be no different than usual.”

Hyeonu intentionally left the most important point—the number of participants—for later. It was so that viewers would focus more.

-So how many people?

-No, is it possible to end it with just a greeting today? Is it possible to stream as usual?

-Is it picking one per week for three weeks? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The viewers chatted with excitement at Hyeonu’s words. It was a short three-week thing, and the streaming time was as usual. They were words that the viewers didn't quite understand fully.

“It can’t be long. A total of nine people passed the documents screening."

-What?

-Nine people?

-Is that all?

-What is this? The eye of a needle? Even documents need to be screened.

(4/7) Weekly chapters. No set days. 

Editor: LD

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