I Became a Malicious Streamer

“Please let me know if you feel uncomfortable in any way.”

That was the staff’s way of helping with the game. If any bugs popped up or there were equipment issues, they’d probably rush over right away.

I never thought I’d hear this from the staff, just like real pro players.

The event match was scheduled for the last day of the Ed Cup, placed right at the end of the timeline.

Once this match ended, the closing ceremony would follow, and that would be it.

It was the time for basic setup: adjusting the headset to fit my head, setting keyboard shortcuts, and tweaking mouse sensitivity.

“Can you speak English?”

The foreigner sitting next to me—Michael from the North American league, VIX7—struck up a conversation. I’d met him before, though not in real life; only in-game.

He asked if I could speak English, his eyes shining uncomfortably bright. I could already picture him as some sort of character in my mind.

English, huh? My English level was just enough for basic communication, like most Koreans who completed higher education.

“Hi.”

“Oh! #$@#% nice. !%#$@^$?”

As I gave a short greeting, he visibly lit up and started rambling in English, but it was way too fast for me to catch anything.

The only word I could pick out was “nice.” Nice… so that roughly means good, right? I’m good too, buddy.

I nodded in a positive manner, and Michael turned back to his screen with a satisfied smile.

That was barely a second before someone else spoke up from next to him.

“我也是!我也是! %!$@#$^%?”

So this person… was it Bingbing from the same team as Li Chao? I think that was it.

He kept looking my way while chatting, probably wanting to share something with me, but unlike earlier, I couldn’t understand a single word this time.

Sorry, I learned Japanese in school instead of Chinese, so I really don’t know a thing.

Even if I had learned, I wouldn’t be at a level to converse with foreigners now. But I could at least say something like “I don’t know Chinese.”

Once Bingbing realized I couldn’t speak Chinese, he turned away with a disappointed face.

This is a mess, even before the game starts. As I took a moment to breathe, someone spoke again from beside me.

“It’s chaotic, right?”

This time, I recognized the words. It was Max from the Korean team, XBD, who placed second.

“Yeah, it’s a bit chaotic. How are we supposed to play like this?”

The team consisted of six players: two Koreans, two Americans, and two Chinese.

Didn’t they want to create a global village where everyone comes together? They say you can spin anything however you like.

There were more applicants than just a couple for the event match, so it’s hardly surprising. Should I feel relieved that it ended up with only three countries?

Theoretically, six countries could have teamed up, and imagine six different languages being spoken in one game… that would be a sight to see.

“Well, they’re all pros, so they should manage just fine. Just think of it as ranked games. Considering the conditions, it’s even better than ranked.”

That was true. The team composition was luxurious, to say the least. Just take a look at my team and Li Chao’s team; they were all the elite from their countries.

“If worse comes to worst, can’t we just use a battle cry?”

“A battle cry?”

“You know, when focusing, you just yell something like ‘Ay! Yap!’ and everyone will pay attention.”

“Can’t we just call out the agent’s name?”

“Maybe. I guess even if the languages are different, the pronunciation of the agent’s names would be similar…”

Max nodded along. What a goofy dude. If you checked off-record, you’d think he was the kind of guy who would give orders during the match while looking sharp; but here he is, a total goof.

While I was pondering this, Max suddenly mentioned something.

“Oh, I nearly forgot! I’m a fan of Mollru. I watch your broadcasts a lot.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“If any of us made it, we promised to tell you.”

“We?”

“Our team, XBD. Everyone here is a fan of yours. I won the lottery, so I’m the one here.”

He gestured toward the back. Sure enough, the other XBD members were glaring at him intensely.

“My neck feels hot.”

“Did you do something wrong?”

“We’re just jealous! We all wanted to play with you, and I happened to win. Should’ve played rock-paper-scissors better.”

“Ah, I see…”

So those folks are my fans. I never thought pros would keep up with my broadcasts.

After hearing Max, those glaring looks started to shift into something different, mixing fury with the intensity of ‘Molly’s scary face on JPG.’

And then one member locked eyes with me, and just like that, they all instantly brightened up and shot me big smiles. Of course, it was directed at me.

Seeing that made Max chuckle.

“Our boys are a bit funny, right? The team atmosphere is great.”

“Yeah, it seems that way. I didn’t think pros would watch my broadcasts.”

“Everyone watches Mollru’s streams. Not just our team, but probably others too? Your tier is so high, it’s great for understanding the meta, and you often meet other pros.”

So my streams are well-known among the pros, huh?

“That covers the practical side, but on top of that, your voice is nice, you play well, and you’re pretty, so if someone enjoys streaming, there’s no reason not to watch.”

“Do you usually watch Switch often?”

“If I don’t have anything else going on, then almost always.”

“Are there others you watch besides me?”

“Yeah, there’s someone known to you too. Initially, I only watched that person, then I started switching back and forth with your streams.”

Since it’s someone I know, I wonder who it is. A stream worth watching by pros… still, if they’re a pro, wouldn’t they feel irritated watching someone less skilled like me?

Then again, they might be enjoying something that feels like a silly variety show, just watching another idiot. It must be fun for a pro to see someone they’re better than.

Hmm, I’m still not sure. The list of candidates is not small. I decided to give up guessing.

Moments later, the streamer mentioned by Max was someone I never expected.

“Daesik. I watch Daesik’s streams.”

“…You mean the Daesik I know?”

“Yeah, I’m 대방어. Subscribed for ten months now.”

“What’s 대방어?”

“It’s the fan nick for Daesik. Most people don’t even know he has a fan nick.”

“I just found that out.”

Daesik’s streams are more underground than mainstream. I’ve heard he’s been relatively successful lately but remains in the shadows.

So people who know a thing or two about streams usually think, if someone says, ‘I watch O Daesik’—this person must not be quite right in the head. Of course, this doesn’t mean I thought that way. I’m open-minded like that.

I never thought a pro would watch Daesik’s streams. I’ll have to bring it up if I get the chance later.

– The match will start shortly. Players, please prepare.

According to the staff’s announcement in-game, I put my headset back on.

Max, too, had already donned his headset, looking fully prepared as if laughing and chatting with me was ages ago. Truly a pro appearance.

After a brief wait, the game began with the announcement message.

*

The first match ended with our victory. The process wasn’t smooth sailing. Since we were all pro gamers with similar skills, the match was truly fierce.

We won with a razor-thin margin.

And regardless, a win is a win, the atmosphere among our team was very good.

“Chun, Mu, Gong…?”

“Yes. Chung. Mu. Gong. King God Emperor Majesty Chung Mu Gong Mollru. Okay?”

Max had grown close with Michael and was now using their free time to teach him some Korean. Even without a common language, they were somehow matching up in the game.

That theory about calling out with some flair really worked. It turns out, Michael first shouted some weird battle cry. Max, excited by that, started shouting back.

“King God Emperor Majesty Chung… Mu Gong Mollru, okay. I got it.”

“Good, good. Michael. You’re a genius.”

“I’m a genius? King God Emperor Chung Mu Gong?”

“Yes, you! King God Emperor Chung Mu Gong! Wow, how quickly you’ve picked up on it?”

Max was impressed, and Michael looked over at me with pride.

Even if the Korean Max was teaching wasn’t the standard type, but more of a pirate version, it didn’t matter since we could still communicate.

Eventually, Michael would likely realize something was off when he used the Korean he learned and saw the reactions of the Korean players nearby. It wouldn’t be long, given that his team has a Korean player.

Seeing this, I suddenly thought about Daesik’s audience.

I raised my head and looked across the venue. Li Chao’s team didn’t seem hostile or anything; they just seemed to be having a conference about something, perhaps because they lost the last round.

The score was currently 1 to 0. With a best-of-three format, we just had to win one more game.

Who would clinch victory in the end?

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