Chapter 30: Solo Play is Possible (1)

For streamers, viewer count was a measure of their influence, and nothing indicated this better than the number of digits on display. Lee Kyungbok felt satisfied with the increase in his viewer count, which fueled him to work even harder.

“A-all right! It’s time for the highly anticipated third game. Quest success is within reach!”

Perhaps his enthusiasm was contagious, as the chat window also became more animated.

-LMAO Great energy, keep it up!

-Quest?

-LMAOO There’s a Cue Agent quest?!

-Yami going for three wins?! Still no mercy LMAO

-Qudali’s in trouble in Purple LMAO

-Wow, two Yami wins already?

-Must be shaking in fear now, Qudali?

–Oh haha, no one can stop Purple.

While they chatted, another game started. As soon as everyone entered the lobby, champions were selected without delay.

–Wow, look at how fast they’re picking! ᄒㄷㄷㄷ

–Since their MMR went up from the flag quest, it’s probably a match with diamond-rank players?

–That sounds about right.

–Haha, Yami showing up at this MMR level?

–It’ll be interesting to see.

The viewers couldn’t hide their anticipation for witnessing such a rare occurrence. Lee Kyungbok intended to meet their expectations.

[>What is this?]

[>Shit…]

[>Seriously?]

[>A troll at this rating?]

His teammates’ reactions were predictable; after all, he’d experienced something similar during the previous game.

But this time was different. Unlike before, he now had records of playing with Platinum-rank users. He figured that once his teammates saw those, their resistance would decrease.

“I’m not trolling. My record shows—”

Before Lee Kyungbok could finish…

[>Is life that boring for you?]

[>Seriously pathetic.]

[>That’s what all losers do.]

[>It’s obvious from how they sabotage others and then whine about it.]

The chat window filled with insults.

-Like seriously, wtf?

-Are these guys nuts or what?

-To be fair, this reaction is understandable. ㅋㅋ

-Obviously trolls. ㅋㅋ

-Skill has nothing to do with personality…

-Hey, trash isn’t just one but four of them. ㄷㄷ

-Lirobo sensei? That’s not true, right? They’re one team, aren’t they?

-I get why they’re mad about Yami being picked for this particular role.

Viewers immediately reacted to the situation, with some empathizing with the players’ predicament. Although Lee Kyungbok felt disheartened by their comments, he stepped in to mediate.

“It’s fine, really. You know how it is, right? We just need to prove our skills. It seems like tensions run high as we climb the ranks.”

As MMR increased, encountering players who took the game extremely seriously became more common. This was especially true during placement matches, where sensitivity levels skyrocketed exponentially. A victory here would bring them closer to the coveted Diamond rank, typically achievable only after countless hours of gameplay.

-What kind of person is this?!

-I can’t believe you’re letting these jerks on your bus…

-LMAO bus driver purpleheart heart heart

-I would’ve dodged if I were you

-Want to see his reaction when he sees Yami’s perfect aim

Lee Kyungbok’s comment cooled down any potential outrage from viewers. However, his teammates didn’t miss a beat.

Just ignore them.

Engaging with trolls only feeds their egos.

True. If they dare to use Yami during a placement evaluation, they’re desperate for attention.

They really have no shame.

As experienced players, they knew exactly how to handle trolls.

Blocking first.

Seriously pathetic…

[>Let’s report him after the game.]

[>We’ll do fine without him.]

That was their last exchange. Lee Kyungbok hadn’t anticipated not having a chance to explain himself even once.

-Look at his stats, seriously.

-In truth, these numbers are quite normal for someone like him.

-Normal? Ignoring everything others say is considered normal?

-Ugh, this is Mystic’s average level?

-Haha, he’s invested his whole life savings into being a Mystic!

-Once they see Yami’s perfect stats, they’ll be crawling back to me! Hahaha

Lee Kyungbok frowned slightly as he read through the chat log.

“This… Next round, I’ll reveal my stats first before picking champions.” They would believe him if they saw it with their own eyes, just like in the previous match.

The countdown ended, and the game began as players spawned at their respective bases. His teammates sneered at him with contempt before dispersing to their lanes.

LMAO, what’s up with those death stares?!

Hey! Lighten up already!

We’ve never met before, but you’re looking at me like we’re sworn enemies. LOL

LOL, just opened Notepad.

New Text Document.txt (7 GB)

How much did he write?! LOL LOL LOL

Despite this, the chatroom had a lively atmosphere. The viewers were well aware of Lee Kyungbok’s skills and had no doubt that they would be on full display soon enough.

“Well then, let’s get started.” Lee Kyungbok shared their confidence.

However, things didn’t go smoothly for him.

WTF, why did you leave it there?

-It’s exactly time for his farm reset though?!

-What? Are they trolling him?

-How is their MMR so high?!

Initially, both Lee Kyungbok and the viewers chalked it up to coincidence. They assumed that his teammates’ lack of judgment was simply worse than expected, giving Yami plenty of opportunities to intervene.

…No, this is deliberate.

Lee Kyungbok realized what was happening first—more precisely, his intuition kicked in. Amidst the sharp and ominous sense of threat, he felt a sticky, uncomfortable sensation emanating from one of his own team’s champions.

-I think these jerks are doing this on purpose.

-Yeah, whenever Purple’s minions spawn, they’re forcing him back toward his tower.

-LOL, how pathetic.

“They’re trying to deny you kills right now. Heh-heh-heh-heh.”

“Even I can tell their intentions clearly as a gold digger. Heh-heh-heh-heh.”

The viewers quickly caught on to what was happening. Since MMR wasn’t solely determined by wins and losses, it became evident that Lee Kyungbok’s teammates were conspiring against him. Despite attempting ganks from other lanes, they received no cooperation from their allies.

“Tsk, if I try solo diving, they’ll just get in my way.”

Lee Kyungbok couldn’t hide his displeasure. The hostility emanating from them continued to intensify, making the situation increasingly unbearable.

“These bastards seem intent on lowering Purple’s MMR.”

“Isn’t winning the game more important than anything?”

“Yeah, they don’t want me to shine at all.”

“So damn frustrating.”

He let out a soft sigh and shook his head at the viewers’ reactions. What should he do in this situation? If it were just about feeling insulted, he could vent his anger or find some way to relieve his frustration. However, Lee Kyungbok was live streaming with countless people watching him. He quickly reached one conclusion:

“But if I quit now, I won’t be able to uphold my reputation.”

He considered what the viewers truly wanted.

-???

-What’s your plan?

-Huh? Are you hinting at something?

-Are you not running away?

Lee Kyungbok’s eyes widened at the keyword ‘running away’.

“Oh no, running away? How can I show my back like that? It wouldn’t be ‘perfect’ at all.”

His statement divided the viewers into two camps.

-Nope; If he just escapes, nobody will say anything.

-Agreed.

-Even if those jerks report it, they should be punished instead.

-With Purple’s skills, he can quickly achieve three consecutive wins again.

-Not a single wrong word here.

Firstly, there were the new viewers who hadn’t fully trusted him yet. All they had seen was Lee Kyungbok leading his team to victory. As such, without the support of their teammates, these viewers expected Lee Kyungbok to give up this game.

-Ah hahaha, isn’t Purple showing off now?

-Purple always manages somehow, haha

-It’s over for them.

-G-o-n-e

-Unbelievers are baffled, hahaha

On the other hand, the existing viewers familiar with his past achievements had different expectations. They already knew that ‘Purple’ himself was exceptional.

“There’s a way for me to win this alone.” Lee Kyungbok spoke confidently.

The chat window once again filled with question marks.

-Alone? Alone?!

-Waste of time and stamina. Just escape!

-No matter how skilled he is, his unsportsmanlike attitude ruins it all.

-Seriously?

-If Purple doesn’t step up, they’ll lose anyway since it’ll be four against five…;

Unfortunately, mere words couldn’t alleviate the concerns of new viewers. Meanwhile, long-time viewers just laughed at their reactions. Amidst these exchanges, some peculiar comments started popping up:

-If you’re so confident, why not risk a penalty?

-Ha! Is talk enough to get things done?

-If they escape here, won’t the quest fail?

-Are you declaring war?

At first glance, it seemed like they were echoing the sentiments of other viewers, but there was a subtle difference in their tone. The trolls lurking in the shadows had emerged.

-This is crazy talk again.

-The manager has expelled the viewer.

-I don’t care.

-They’ll be happier if you feed them.

-The manager has expelled the viewer.

-The manager is on fire!

-Love seeing those troublemakers get what’s coming to them! HAHAHAHA

However, the manager swiftly silenced their chats with a hammer-like authority.

“There’s a way to win without cooperation. This time, I want to try adjusting my item settings.”

-Item?

-Ah!

-On second thought, Purple has been playing no ping all along. LOL

–Wow hahaha, he’s serious.

–He’s going for full gear optimization?

–Crazy haha

The viewers realized that Lee Kyungbok indeed hadn’t been optimizing his items earlier.

“In that case, I’m off to do some farming now. Let’s wipe out those creeps.”

Lee Kyungbok smiled as he read the last message.

–Killer smile detected.

–It’s real… Hhhhddd…

–His determination to kill them all is palpable…!

–This streamer means business.

–I can feel murderous intent radiating from him!

–Haha, this is unacceptable!

On their screens, viewers mirrored his grin.

Meanwhile, Kyungbok was in the middle of his scheduled ad segment.

“Aghhh! Why do these kids have such weak minds?!”

He angrily yelled and rubbed his face.

-LOL! Even he can’t handle it ha-ha-ha

-Yeah, physical strength ain’t everything LOL!

-Welcome to Daciiest, noob?

-Enemy: Ah! Singular Strike!

-Felt that impact, huh? Hurt?

-Huh? Is this homework?! Homework!

-Hey! You okay?

The viewers couldn’t hide their glee at seeing him struggle.

“Whew, guys, I’ll be right back. Need to use the restroom.” Kyungbok exited the capsule with a huff, but his destination wasn’t actually the bathroom.

“How did it go?” He immediately turned to his manager. Though vague, both knew exactly what question Kyungbok meant.

“Purple accepted your friend request!”

“Oh yeah? Wow, that’s great.” Kyungbok breathed a sigh of relief. The issue he’d been fretting about throughout his commercial break was finally resolved.

“It really bothered you that much, hyung?”

“Well, duh! Were you not monitoring him? There aren’t many—no, there’s no one else—as good as Purple out there.” Kyungbok waved his hand dismissively, genuinely impressed by Streamer Purple’s skills. “Honestly, with those abilities, he could easily become a pro gamer. He would skyrocket to fame in no time.”

“But isn’t he already famous?”

“What do you mean?”

“I looked it up, and apparently, he’s well-known among Bark streamers. They even call him ‘President’ Baek.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Nice, then proposing a merger should be easier, right?”

Kyungbok’s eyes twinkled as he smiled. For two streamers to merge their channels, they had to be at similar levels of popularity. It wasn’t that Kyungbok was being picky; it was more about how viewers perceived such mergers. If there was too much disparity between them, people might think the smaller channel was merely trying to cling onto the larger one for fame—a situation often referred to within the industry as “sucking up.”

“Well, I don’t know much about him yet, but we can look into him further.”

Kyungbok was relieved that Purple didn’t have to worry about being seen as a freeloader. The only thing left now was assessing his personality, but if there were any red flags, his manager would’ve mentioned something already.

“Hyung, though…I think we should proceed with caution…”

“What? Why? Is there some issue with him?”

Seeing his manager’s odd expression, Kyungbok grew concerned as well.

“No, it’s just that I’ve been watching Purple’s broadcast like you asked me to, and if we merge teams…” The manager cautiously gauged Kyungbok’s reaction.

Kyungbok frowned at him. “What is it? Just spit it out already. Don’t make me feel constipated!”

“…I think you might be more of a sidekick than the main character.”

“What?”

Instead of explaining further, the manager brought up a holographic screen via smart collar link. It displayed Purple’s live broadcast.

As he watched, Kyungbok’s eyes widened dramatically. “Wait…is this even possible?”

Lee Kyungbok’s team was struggling against their opponents. All players on both sides were of similar diamond-rank caliber, but excluding Yami from the start had thrown off the balance. Not only did they have to fight four versus five during lane battles and team fights, but being constantly outmatched also meant they couldn’t farm gold efficiently. Eventually, this led to a significant disparity in items, which widened even further as time went on.

Did these circumstances make them regret their actions? No, not at all.

“Oh man, it’s because of that crazy troll!”

“There should be a way to kick people like him when picking heroes.”

“Ahhh… If we win this, though, we’ll get promoted to diamond rank.”

“This bastard ruined everything.”

They began what is known as “blaming,” where instead of objectively analyzing their defeat, they sought to protect their fragile egos by pointing fingers at others. In this vein, they turned on voice chat and started badmouthing someone very specific.

“I mean, it’s not even a regular ranked game but a placement evaluation match. What was he thinking picking Yami?”

“Ha…we’re all suffering because of one crazy bastard.”

“Look at him now. He’s just farming off creeps like mad!”

“And he thinks he can call himself a jungler? That lunatic.”

The problem was that their criticisms weren’t unfounded. Lee Kyungbok had failed to perform his primary duty as a jungler—ganking—even once throughout the entire match.

Of course, they conveniently ignored that they had blocked Lee Kyungbok’s chat and refused to cooperate with him.

“So, is he trying to be Monarch or something?”

“If he picked Monarch as his champion, I could understand, but why Yami?!”

“He’s clearly just here to troll.”

“We’re at a funeral while he’s partying it up over there.”

The term “Monarch” was short for “Return of the King.” It referred to players who farmed gold relentlessly while risking their lives early on to acquire items, then shone later in the game. Many champions transformed drastically once fully equipped, but this strategy required support from other team members until then.

Unfortunately, neither condition applied to Yami in this situation.

Needless to say, Yami required support from his team as he wasn’t capable of turning the tide of the game even if he managed one or two successful ganks with some luck.

“It’s unfortunate, but this match is hopeless.”

“Haah… Thinking about it still pisses me off.”

“I hear you. Let’s just try not to get killed too much.”

“Let’s focus on taking down enemies near our tower and rack up kills that way. The trolling report phase is over.”

They decided their best course of action was to concentrate solely on defense to prevent their MMR from dropping further. They quickly reached a consensus without any further debate.

“They’re coming!”

As soon as minions spawned, enemy champions swarmed toward them. It seemed like they were determined to end the game this time, as every single opponent charged at once.

Another 4 vs. 5 battle ensued. As promised, the four teammates focused on protecting their tower while keeping the opposing champions at bay.

As everyone was intensely focused on the skirmish…

[A temple tower has been destroyed!]

The system’s announcement made them all turn their heads. They thought it was over for them, but…

“What?! It wasn’t ours!”

Their tower still stood firm. Initially stunned, they soon spotted blinking red dots on the minimap.

It’s at our opponent’s base?

How is that possible?

According to the minimap, the destruction had occurred at the enemy team’s home turf. But weren’t all the champions gathered here for defense?

There could be only one explanation, though they refused to believe it.

On the other hand, those who quickly accepted reality were…

“What the hell?!”

“How did this happen?!”

…the opposing team directly affected by the damage.

[A temple tower has been destroyed!]

The subsequent system announcement caused their expressions to twist even more grotesquely as they were forced to accept reality.

“This is insane…!”

“It’s Yami’s backdoor trick?!”

Lee Kyungbok’s strategy had been to use Yami’s backdoor exploit.