Title: Streaming Until I’m Tired Climbing the Ranks
[‘Gawol’ is currently streaming.]
[ON AIR | 00:03:29 | Jepirion Continent]
Nestled on a sturdy branch of an old tree, a small drone flew around me, looking like a little bird.
This was a camera drone used for streaming. It broadcasted the viewpoint of the drone and my sight depending on the need, essentially becoming the viewers’ eyes.
Right now, it was hidden behind a waiting screen, but once the broadcast officially started, I would be using the drone’s viewpoint a lot. I heard it’s better to use the camera’s view rather than my own since my viewpoint apparently made things way too dizzying.
Anyway, this drone. Its movement resembled a little bird. If I stayed still, it would circle around slowly, and if I approached it, it would back away as if startled. Its reactions were surprisingly quick, making it hard to catch.
– ?
– What the heck is this?
– ???
– What’s going on?
I tried reaching out several times, but I couldn’t touch it. Sure, I could stop it for a moment by fiddling with the settings, but that felt like cheating. I wanted to catch it using my skills.
This little game was pretty amusing, so I grinned. Pretending to lose interest, I suddenly snatched it as it came closer and hugged it tightly. The camera drone wriggled in my arms.
Turns out, you can catch it when it gets closer. I heard that in stealth mode, physical interaction is completely nullified. So, I guess you can touch and hold it now.
– Wait, this can be caught?
– Huh…
– Oh!
– Bottom boob lololololol
– Damn female cat, damn female cat, damn female cat, damn female cat, damn female cat
– Gawol is a filthy tub of lard, so no.
But surprisingly, this little bugger had quite the resistance. It felt like trying to drag a cat out of its spot. As I hugged it with both arms and pressed my chest and belly against it, it finally settled down a bit.
The reaction when I gently petted it felt like dealing with a small animal. No matter how much it resisted, it was futile. I caught it, so I won.
Do you know how badly I wanted you? I really wanted to stream in the game. You little cutie.
I wonder how many minutes I’ve been petting this drone? The viewer count had increased quite a bit.
Maybe it’s time to let go of the waiting screen now?
Yesterday, I learned that I needed to touch here to do that.
“Wait, what?”
I checked the broadcast screen a bit late. All I saw was an ‘Activate’ button where I should’ve deactivated the waiting screen. In other words, it was inactive, meaning the screen was not hiding right now, right?
A slight chill went down my spine. Checking the chat late, I realized it had already been flooded with comments about my chest.
I started my first broadcast with a catastrophe.
*
I didn’t start the broadcast haphazardly. Sure, I had a tiny… accident due to a lack of experience, but that’s just the disaster brought on by inexperience. I’ve learned enough about how to handle situations like this.
It was pretty clear that my viewer base had a higher proportion of nasty trolls or problematic individuals than other broadcasts.
I had listened to Sulbbang and Elderin’s advice thoroughly.
So, it was a game. Instead of rambling on about random things, I should jump straight into a rank game and change the situation.
Once the match was set, the chat filled with talk about me, so it was a bit cleared up.
I decided to ignore the chat.
I hadn’t seen anything happening in my broadcast.
[Rank Match – Black 0 RP]
[Battlefield: Arena of Duel]
[Rules: 5-Man Winner Takes All]
“Great start. I’m pretty confident in winner takes all.”
I said that, but to be honest, I was a bit jittery. I had to be careful to keep that tremor out of my voice. Though I wasn’t in too high a rank yet, this was my first time doing a broadcast alone.
Mistakes aside at the start, I planned to show a clean fight.
I was a shut-in who lived locked in my room. I still felt social anxiety, a complete zero in social skills.
There’s no way I possessed any flashy charm, so it was better to flaunt my skills.
– Is this basically home ground?
– Hype for winning, says the assassin lol.
– Aren’t you queuing with Kanu now?
– Why the heck is he in this match?
– Didn’t he just dump his points for the Spearman?
– Ah lololol.
I had heard Kanu’s name at least once. He mostly played in ranks, so I hadn’t encountered him, but I knew he was focused on the Gunslinger class.
Depending on the meta, he even reached the highest tier, Infinity.
This meant he wasn’t someone who should be in this rank, but whatever. It actually worked out. It isn’t fun if the fight is too one-sided.
Viewers need to see something entertaining; it’d be a pain if the opponent was too weak.
Class choice was of course Assassin.
I selected a build with no particular weaknesses. Since we were in a winner takes all match, I was ready to take down five alone.
“Why don’t I turn on team chat? Well, since it’s a winner takes all, I don’t think I’ll need to discuss with my teammates.”
The truth is, even in winner takes all, there’s a psychological element. Assigning turn order for players and choosing classes matter.
It might seem trivial, but it holds enough meaning at a tournament level.
But this isn’t a tournament.
In ranked games, you fight with a makeshift team, and at this level of play, it’s irrelevant.
Honestly, I didn’t even feel any tension.
Plan was simple: Charge out as the frontliner and finish the game alone.
However, to my surprise, I was assigned as the fifth leader.
It was a fierce competition for assignment spots.
“Well… since this has happened, let’s take a good look at their skills.”
*
In ranked game targeting, there are typically two types of players. One interferes as an ally, and the other persistently harasses as an enemy.
I happened to encounter both.
On the opposing team was a streamer who wanted to meet me.
On my team was someone who probably had a grudge against me.
‘Ugh, this is not great.’
– What’s he doing?
– lololololololol
– This is the level of the Black squad?
– This kind of is in the top 1%?
The first match.
The Paladin who went first laid sprawled on the ground.
He seemed to be shouting something, but I had muted the audio so I couldn’t hear him.
Naturally, there wasn’t anything special about his strategy. The Paladin didn’t get up until the game ended, and without any will to fight, he lost.
The Soul Master who came out next was no different. Thanks to him, the game quickly turned into a 2:0 score.
– ???: You should take some damage too.
– Good thing I didn’t watch the chat;
– Are you coming to your senses now? Are you coming to your senses now? Are you coming to your senses now? Are you coming to your senses now?
– Report it to the operations team.
I felt a little bit chill slide through me.
I had seen reactions that were quite filtered before.
Regardless, it felt like hard evidence I had garnered quite a bit of hatred.
I had known. I had prepared myself for it.
But facing it in reality hurt.
Still, in the third match, a teammate managed to score.
After a hellish battle, our Berserker claimed victory, causing the next opponent to lose about half their health.
The remaining teammate also held their own fairly well, gaining us a second victory, but the problem was the enemy’s mid-ground.
Gunslinger Kanu.
As a skilled streamer, he proved his name, tearing our ally to pieces with his precise bullets.
Leaving us with three opponents left, in peak condition, it was finally my turn.
My heart sank in that moment.
‘What should I do?’
Was there a chance we’d lose? Absolutely not.
In winner takes all, I was the strongest.
If things went my way, I could even wipe out an entire second-string pro team.
Though I was livestreaming, there was no reason for me to struggle at this low tier.
So the problem lay somewhere else.
It was the entertainment of the broadcast!
Would the viewers find it entertaining if I just killed three players at this rank?
I might not know about the fight with Kanu, but honestly, it didn’t seem like there would be much to see.
[Round 7]
[ＸＸＯＸＯＸ]
[Kanu (Gunslinger) vs Gawol (Assassin)]
[Deploying onto the battlefield in 3 seconds.]
The core of the fun of internet broadcasting is the continuous release of dopamine.
A streamer needs to offer intense excitement to their viewers.
Simply using my commentary to navigate this predicament was impossible.
I needed to find something entertaining…!
As I scanned the area, I spotted something.
Once you enter the Arena of Duel, you can see the opponent right away.
For an assassin, this negates the benefit of the first ambush, which is rather unpleasant, but right now, I felt quite grateful.
Seeing the enemy load up armed to the teeth sparked an idea in my mind.
“Hey, how about we do this for this match?”
I extended the blade of my dagger and pointed it at Kanu.
As a sniper rifle was aimed at me and the bullet was fired, I struck away the red-marked trajectory— and made my proclamation.
“This time, let’s win using guns. I’ll only defend with my dagger.”
– ???
– What are you saying? You don’t have a gun.
– Can assassins bring guns?
– Wouldn’t you?
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