I Became a Malicious Streamer

There’s a saying called 쿠세.

In Japanese, it means habits or tendencies, but in Korea, it’s often used with a slightly negative connotation.

You might see examples like, “You have a bit of 쿠세 when you sing, you should fix that.”

bad habits.

Habits are scary.

As the saying goes, “A habit formed at three years old lasts until eighty.” Once a habit is formed, it’s hard to change it even as an adult.

Swoosh-

Sound of a sword being drawn.

A small voice of “Ah!” is heard.

I clicked my tongue and grabbed a switch.

“I told you not to hold your sword while moving.”

“Well, it’s just a habit… I keep doing it unconsciously.”

In addition to their primary weapons like rifles and pistols, agents are given a secondary weapon.

It’s a backup weapon, commonly referred to as a knife, shorter than an assassin’s dagger.

It was more about mockery than an affectionate nickname.

There’s no reason to use a fruit peeler for combat.

What’s the purpose of this short and weak backup weapon?

Holding a secondary weapon increases the agent’s speed.

Much faster than when holding their primary weapon.

Thus, when the game starts or a round begins, people commonly wield their secondary weapons while moving.

Additionally, some players enjoying extreme thrills or seeking agility often do the same even when facing an enemy.

Yeah, one of those “some players” was right in front of me.

“Why are you showing off your sword when there might be an enemy right in front of you?”

“I’m just feeling a bit frustrated…”

“This is a gun game. You need to carry a gun.”

“But Mollru, you’re a swordsman.”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks.

Realizing I made a verbal blunder, I corrected myself.

It’s not not a gun game.

“Carry your primary weapon, will you? Only draw your secondary weapon when the enemy location is clear or when you need to move quickly.”

“Got it.”

Her playing habits aren’t bad; it’s just that she needs improvement.

She shows willingness to learn.

I can see her trying hard to change everything I’m pointing out.

“Reloading. Why are you reloading when you still have 21 bullets left?”

“Well… doesn’t it feel uncomfortable if the magazine isn’t fully loaded?”

“I find your play uncomfortable, Tex.”

Whether it’s bullets, magic, or arrows.

When you fire a few for harassment, there comes a moment when the remaining magazine is ambiguous.

Just a little over half left or feeling like only a few rounds remain.

Should I reload?

What if I run out of bullets and lose?

People thinking like that tend to reload.

And countless people die while reloading.

“If the enemy isn’t rushing in, you don’t need that many bullets. You’ll probably die before using them all. Losing a fight due to lack of bullets is a losing fight even if you have a full magazine.”

“Yeah. But how long are we going to do this?”

“Until the things I mentioned are fixed.”

Tex is currently in a training ground, not an arena created arbitrarily.

The difference between the two is that the arena is against actual players and the training ground is against AI.

Of course, AI moves as programmed, so it’s easier to handle.

I didn’t mean to imply Tex should only deal with AI.

I was training her as if she were facing AI on the map.

The training is to simulate with bad habits suppressed.

Honestly, I was going to take her straight to the arena for actual training like with Sua or Daesik from the start.

But seeing her lack of basic skills, that would’ve been meaningless.

It would just be one-sided violence for my stress relief.

It made me realize how high the level of my past disciples was.

How many rounds has it been?

Now, Tex isn’t even touching her secondary weapon, killing AI without fretting about the remaining magazine.

It took a while.

Realizing she’s changing herself, she speaks up.

“Is this enough, Teamjang?”

“You’ve passed the first stage.”

“First stage?”

“Just come out.”

The simulation ended, and now it’s time to check it out in practice.

*

“That’s right, turn left there.”

“Yeah, yeah. What’s next?”

“After that… You should figure it out yourself. Why do you keep asking?”

“Ah, it’s so comfortable that I do it unconsciously. Following your advice, I just win without even thinking.”

“You’re trying to take the easy way out.”

Ahem-

A small cough, and the round ends.

It’s the time for the halftime transition after the first half.

Tex’s play was great.

Should I say her skills were underrated for her tier?

Playing in a ranked game without the bad habits she had, she showed more than usual.

I was trailing her play in real-time, pointing out areas for improvement.

But Tex seemed to want more, occasionally asking questions herself.

As an educator who always welcomes enthusiastic learners, I easily answered her questions one by one.

Before I knew it, I was unconsciously telling her the best plays to make at that moment.

Telling her repeatedly would lead to stagnation in her skills.

Of course, I would be giving orders in-game, but I couldn’t provide details for every situation.

Just setting the general framework and leaving the rest to individual judgment.

That’s the ideal direction for a team, in my opinion.

That’s why I was doing this training.

Tex, as the only dealer in the team besides me, needed to maintain her center.

It’s rare for me and her to be paired in-game.

You could think of us as a separate squad.

“Wow, you’ve really improved a lot.”

“Oh, Coach, what about you?”

“Cheolwoo just needs a final check, and now it looks like it’s just Papi left for me to inform.”

Coach Jacky marveled at Tex’s play.

He’s also conducting training to feedback on his teammates’ plays to elevate their skills, just like me.

I was training Tex and Ryuah, while the coach was with Cheolwoo and Papi Joah.

Two people focus on each side.

Even so, it’s obviously harder for me with the low-tier Ryuah and the bad-habit Tex compared to the coach’s side, where there’s not much to nitpick.

Moreover, it’s absurd for a mere player like me to be doing this coaching.

Other teams would probably freak out if they saw it.

There’s a reason why we’re training secretly without broadcasting.

The coach seems to know this as he awkwardly said to me.

“Actually, I should have coached the rest, but I got to catch a breather thanks to Mollru.”

“What if I didn’t get picked?”

“Right? Everyone said our team’s auction was a bust. Guess it turned out well.”

Feel free to look forward to the dinner. I’ll treat you all generously!

I wouldn’t hesitate for ten million won.

It was quite fun.

“Tex, I’m going to see Ryuah now. Remember what I said and play a few more rounds. Right now, it looks like you just need to maintain your momentum.”

“Yes, thank you, Teamjang. Go ahead!”

“Good job.”

Leaving behind the coach and Tex, I headed to the next student.

*

“No need to rush. Ryuah just needs to do one serving.”

“Okay…”

Although they improved from the first time, there’s still palpable tension on the screen.

With the teacher darting around, taking care of allies and occasionally firing a pistol.

Ryuah, who’s the lowest tier among the team.

I don’t expect much.

But that also goes for the enemy team.

If Ryuah is trained well, she could become a dagger in unexpected situations.

“And stop shaking your head; bzzzt. Don’t let your head drop again.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Maintain your headline. Remember. If you think you should shoot lower, you should sit instead.”

The aim, which were oscillating up and down, returns to normal trajectory.

With a sharp ding, an enemy falls.

It’s a headshot.

“Wow! Did you see that?”

“Yes, it wasn’t an easy shot, but you did well.”

“Hehe…”

It’s going smoothly.

Ryuah hasn’t been with EOW for long, but she doesn’t lack game sense.

Once I teach her basic plays, she follows well.

With only a week left until the tournament.

If she practices enough during the remaining days, her skills should increase.

I could finally fulfill my role as the hidden trump card.

While training Ryuah, I accessed the EOW gallery with one hand.

Unlike Tex, I don’t need to closely watch Ryuah’s play, so it felt a bit dull.

As I entered the gallery, my eyes caught a few posts.

[The Fortune Teller of the Ed Cup: Predictions for This Tournament’s Rankings]

-1st Panoro Team: Solid as a rock with O Daesik leading and team members with solid skills, a hexagon team. No gaps. 4 wins, 0 losses in scrims. Undefeated.

-2nd Kimgun Team: Streamers with decent skills, but they seem to lack coordination. The teamwork seems a bit off? Exactly a lower version of Panoro Team.

-3rd Hose Team: Just mediocre. Plays steadily and loses steadily. Their plays are analyzed by the opposing team, pushing them back. It’s a bit frustrating to watch.

-4th Jacky Team: Mollru one-man team. The coach picked strange players in the auction. Tanks that can only take hits and dealers that act sporadically. Supporters who don’t even know the agent skills. If Hose’s team is frustrating, this one’s downright infuriating. Unless Mollru carries as a one-man team, there’s no hope. Obviously, they lost all their scrims.

ㅇㅇ: Poor Mollru, picked by a strange coach lol

ㄴㅇㅇ: They might grant a waiver for the auction next time.

ㄴㅇㅇ: They need to have some protection for the players.

[Mollru << If this guy is just hype, thumbs down.]

The posts mocking me and my team were numerous.

Though a few comments defended me, they were clearly outnumbered.

Is this what public opinion looks like now?

I chuckled as I scrolled through them.

To think such a reaction came from just a few scrims on stream.

You could even say it’s pure.

Fortune teller?

Am I just hype?

Next week, the tides will turn.

I swallowed the rising excitement in my heart and thought.

Laugh all you want.

Let’s see how long you can keep laughing.

The day when those laughs turn into cheers is not far off.

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