NOVEL NEXT Chapter 441
After the last meeting,
I’ve been spending my days seriously practicing for the festival stage.
First, I handle my schedule, then head to Hyeon-su’s Workshop for practice, and once that’s all done, I hit the gym for some workout.
With so many activities piling up, my schedule became tight again, and naturally, the frequency of my broadcasts dropped.
During the diet week, I was broadcasting every day, so maybe that’s why the sudden drop in broadcasts feels that much sharper?
The viewer complaints skyrocketed as they couldn’t handle that abrupt change.
“Hello!”
– Who are you??
– Are you the new guy??
– I’m…
– Step aside, Buhwang!
– Rock!
Just like that.
“Ahaha, everyone, why are you acting like this?”
My lips were slightly pouting.
Well, even I think I’ve been a bit neglectful with my broadcasts.
– Is that why you’re asking?
– If you don’t know, who does??
– Dammit, stream more often!!
“…I’m sorry about this. I’ve been a bit busy with outside commitments lately.”
I completely understand how the viewers feel, a hundred times over.
Even if there are all sorts of curses flying in the chat, isn’t it because they just want to see me?
– Is just saying sorry enough??
– You should be streaming at least five times a week!
– Let’s take off the rankings and get real.
“You want to get real about the rankings? You know I’ve been working out lately, right?”
I absolutely do.
I’m the one hoisting pink dumbbells like it’s nobody’s business.
You could say I’m quite the gym enthusiast.
– Hahahaha
– Look at you flexing over how little you’ve worked out.
– Forget exercising, just turn on the stream, dammit!
– I saw it on Instagram!
“Anyway, I came today planning to stream for a long time.”
It’s not solely for the sake of the viewers.
I, too, want to turn on the broadcast.
My desire to stream has been building up.
– Really??
– Are you just going to stream for three hours?
– If you say a long time, it should be at least eight hours!
“…I’ll try my best.”
Eight hours might be a stretch, but I cleared my weekend schedule specifically to stream more.
I already went to the gym this morning.
– Hmm
– Let’s see how long you’ll go.
– So what are we playing today?
“I’ve got something you all love prepared.”
– Oh
– Dammit
– You really want to fight?
“No, not Civilization, though?”
– No, it’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, dammit!
– Oh
– F***ing Three Kingdoms!
“It’s not even Three Kingdoms!”
– Oh
– Sorry
– Hehe;; So what is it?
– I’m just wondering, haha.
…What’s going on?
What kind of broadcast image do I have that everyone reacts like that?
Seeing that reaction makes me wonder if I’ve gone too far.
But thankfully, I’ve really brought something the viewers will enjoy today.
“Last time we played League of Legends, right? Today we’re checking placements.”
– ???
– Really?
– Are you serious?
After contemplating what to do today, I decided to give League a shot.
Other streamers have been doing it a lot lately.
So, this Buhwang must hop on the trend, right?
I had played League a bit on my streams before.
And so, I fired up League and displayed it on the broadcast screen.
“What was my promise from last time? Was it to see placements and aim for Silver…?”
– ??
– Platinum, huh?
– Seriously? Lowering it two ranks?
“Oh, Platinum?”
…I wonder if that will actually work.
I mean, I’m not lacking confidence, but ranks can be unpredictable.
“That’s a promise I made three years ago, so can we lower it a bit?”
– ??????
– Don’t mess with me!
– If you do, we’re really going to riot!
– Platinum for sure!
“…Well, then I guess there’s no other option…”
I hovered the mouse over the exit button.
– Damn!
– Why is this person so extreme??
– Let’s reach an agreement!
“Ah, agreements are good.”
Negotiation, compromise.
How did they know I liked that?
“How about we aim for Gold?”
– No, we have to aim for Gold 1!
– But isn’t Platinum doable?
– You’re a former Diamond player!
“Eh, that was years ago.”
I’d love to challenge going from placements straight to Platinum…
But if I lose, it’s horror game time.
So, we’ve got to make a bet that’s actually achievable.
“Let’s settle on Gold 2, how about that?”
– Gold 2 is kinda lame…
– Let’s just go for Platinum!!
“Actually, I’m worried the MMR won’t be immediate.”
Besides, I still don’t know which rank I’ll be assigned from placements.
If I got Bronze 2 from the first game, wouldn’t that be a problem?
– How about we see placements and aim for Platinum?
– We could set a deadline too.
“Regarding deadlines… I guess I’m somewhat confident about that.”
I may not have time to play throughout the week.
But today, I can play nonstop.
If I just roll the dice, will things work out?
– So should we go Platinum?
– Buhwang has pride, so Platinum is a must!
– If you hit Platinum, you’ll be the highest rank in the Celestial Realm!
…Hitting Platinum is the highest tier in the Celestial Realm? That sounds tempting.
Yeah, Buhwang has pride, and I can’t settle for the brownish Gold.
“How about the deadline until the broadcast ends?”
– Is that even possible?
– If you don’t end the broadcast, you can keep playing, right?
“Then I’ll be streaming for a long time, so that’s good in your eyes.”
– Is that so?
– You’re right, hahahaha.
– Things are starting to make sense now, Mischief!
– Okay, okay!
– Let’s do it!
“Alright then, shall we give it a go?”
In an unexpected turn of events, I ended up becoming something like the King of Broadcasting.
But still, I’m confident until the broadcast ends.
“Just a sec.”
First, I concealed the screen.
With my rank being what it is, it likely won’t be easy to get targeted, but better safe than sorry.
“I’ll keep it hidden until we start the game.”
– But you need to check the ban/pick!
– Ugh, come on…;
– I’m ready for the ambush!
“Do you want to leave before the ambush? Come on, don’t do that.”
It’s got to be a fair match; targeting won’t do anyone any good.
Given the viewer count, it seems like several of them might try to target me with alternate accounts.
“Why isn’t the game finding a match?”
So, I resolved to avoid targeting as I queued up, acting while I waited.
[Accepting the game.]
After accepting the match, I ended up in the AD carry role.
I usually played mid on my streams, but this time, I needed to seriously boost my rank, so I chose it as my main role.
The character I picked is a male character with a sniper concept.
He only has four bullets, so if I shoot four times, I need to reload – a unique character.
And the support character who’ll be going with me is…
[Support, is that you?]
[This one’s good these days.]
“….”
He looks like a total scarecrow and doesn’t seem valuable at all.
His specialty is dropping crowd-control effects…but still…
“Sigh.”
– ??
– Did the game start?
– Why the sigh?
“Not that at all.”
Well, it’s a character that can be played as a support, so…
And it was three years ago when I primarily played, maybe there’s been some changes.
[The game is starting.]
And just like that, the game began.
“Alright, let me show you.”
No hesitation as I revealed the screen since it was the loading screen.
– Oh
– You’re the AD carry!
– Support’s not looking too good, haha.
– The team comp seems decent.
“That’s true. It’s looking alright.”
The top, mid, and jungle champions are all pretty solid.
If I do well, it’s all good!
“What’s the average tier here?”
– It’s probably around Silver~Gold.
– That’s pretty low.
– But since it’s a smurf account, they might do well.
“Hmm.”
Silver and Gold.
Honestly, I feel confident.
Considering it’s a smurf account… reaching Platinum really feels achievable.
With hope in my heart, I started the game…
About 30 minutes later.
[Defeat]
Red letters appeared in front of me.
– Hahahaha!
– You actually lost, haha!
– Ugh…
– Is the support really that useless???
– I did well, though!
“Ah.”
Looks like I lost.
I played well, but the support seriously dropped the ball.
“Okay, I know my level now.”
The tier assigned after my first placement match was Silver 1.
If I win the next four matches, I can at least start in the higher Gold tier.
“I’m going to try mid next.”
It seems like solo queue AD carry just isn’t for me.
There’s only so much you can do as AD carry.
The best strategy is to lead the game from mid.
That’s the best way to command lower tier matches!
**
[Win, Loss, Loss, Loss, Loss]
[Current Tier: Silver 1 – 22]
“Wait, what… does this even make sense?”
– Hahahaha!
– We need to stick to rank games?
– Silver 1, Silver 1, Silver 1, LOL!
– Fact: even with 15 wins in a row, you wouldn’t reach Platinum, LOL!
After placements concluded, I discovered a shocking outcome.
1 win and 4 losses, currently ranked Silver 1.
Had it been my prediction, I’d have been headed straight for a horror game right now.
“Ugh, the meta is seriously weird.”
– Silver tier is dizzying, right??
– Should we set a horror game in advance?
– Hahahaha!
“Why can’t I carry as a one-man army?”
This game…has some serious issues.
I’m clearly doing well, right?
From my last ranked match, I realized even if I got 10 or 20 kills, a single mistake can collapse the entire game.
– That’s because you’re getting kills and throwing the game!
– You need to carry like a log, but you’re throwing!
“There’s just too much crowd control!”
Furthermore, there are so many new characters.
Characters I don’t know keep spamming their skills, and they’re all CC moves, leaving me unable to move.
[Thank you for the 1,000 won donation, OOO!]
So what horror game should we play? Should I look for some options? Haha!
“…The bet’s still ongoing.”
Didn’t I say the bet lasts until I end the broadcast?
I have plenty of time before I switch off my stream.
– Hahaha!
– Oh, I see~
– Finally, I get to see a couple hundred thousand won horror game, LOL!
– I’ll order chicken~
…Acting as if I won everything.
Seeing that makes me even more determined.
“Let’s see how this goes.”
Has Buhwang ever been seen losing a bet?
Letting them win or losing to them?
Let’s see who will be smiling in this twilight hour.
And so, I queued up for another game.