Chapter 16: “Meeting the GOAT of Awkwardness”

I had played a lot of League of Legends, and as a result, my skill as a top laner had improved exponentially.

When it came to “laning,” I was quite confident.

Against most players, I didn’t really feel like I would lose.

“I’ll try to do well in lane,” I thought.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was guaranteed to win, so I laid some groundwork in advance, just in case I didn’t get blamed if things went south.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That groundwork seems excessive.]

[Stop laying the groundwork, stop laying the groundwork, stop laying the groundwork…]

[Hwanhee: How about Rambles with Daous?]

[Rambles should be fine, right?]

[I don’t know about anything else, but if Daous gets the main cannon, the game’s just over lol.]

I hadn’t played much League of Legends, so I wasn’t familiar with the matchups yet.

I didn’t know my opponent’s skills well either.

But I figured I’d learn as the game went on.

And so, the game started…

[You have been slain!]

[Zad → Corki]

“Huh.”

Our mid got unexpectedly killed.

It meant the mid laner, who was supposedly a diamond-level player, had gotten solo-killed.

I was shocked.

I had assumed the mid lane was going to win, so this unexpected bad news caught me off guard.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That idiot Mangming again.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Getting solo-killed again lololol.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: How does he even get solo-killed in Gold?]

[Absolute legend lolol.]

[Getting solo-killed by someone in Gold… wow.]

[Hwanhee: Apparently it’s a smurf account.]

[If it’s a smurf, that can’t be helped lol.]

“I didn’t see that coming.”

As I was processing the surprise, I saw a message in chat.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Ah lol.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Was that really a kill angle?

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: These days, even Gold players are good.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Lolololololol.

“Why is he suddenly talking like this?” I wondered.

No one had said anything to him, yet he was explaining the reason he got solo-killed.

No one in the game had even asked.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Just leave him be…]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: He’s embarrassed.]

[It’s obvious he’s embarrassed lol.]

[I wonder how embarrassed he must be.]

[Kang Hoomin here: From my experience watching Mangming’s streams, there’s a high chance he’s getting roasted hard in his chat right now.]

[As expected, real-world analysis based on statistics, lol.]

[Hwanhee: But does he really need to talk so pathetically like that?]

[Being pathetic is part of Mangming’s identity, lol.]

Looking at the chat, it seemed like being pathetic was just part of Mangming’s persona.

I could understand that.

There weren’t exactly a lot of streamers who adopted such a concept, but it wasn’t unheard of.

It made sense to think of him that way.

With that thought, I typed in chat.

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: Getting solo-killed is one thing.

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: Let’s just focus and play hard.

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: Let’s go!

“We need to keep our spirits up and win.”

Getting solo-killed didn’t mean the game had taken a disastrous turn.

I just hoped Mangming could regain his mental focus and do well moving forward.

Even if being pathetic was his gimmick, he certainly didn’t get solo-killed on purpose.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Winning is what matters.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Even if we win ugly,]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: it’s better than losing ugly.]

[Winning ugly is way better than losing ugly.]

[Better to be a winning fool than a losing fool…]

Anyway, that was that.

I still had to deliver results in the top lane.

Ramble was a champion who performed decently even in the late game.

Daous wasn’t bad late game either, but compared to Ramble, he was weaker in team fights.

‘That’s why I need to finish this early.’

Just looking at my skill set, it was clear I wouldn’t do well if the game dragged on.

So, I focused on finding opportunities to kill the enemy top laner—

[You have slain an enemy!]

[Daous → Ramble]

“Got him.”

I easily took him down.

I only had to use the summoner spell “Ghost,” which increases movement speed.

Ramble had let his guard down, and I took advantage of it.

[Ka]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That’s it, that’s it.]

[This is how you get a solo-kill, yup.]

[If you get solo-killed like Mangming, it’s embarrassing.]

[If it were me, I’d end the stream and leave the game, lol.]

[How does a Diamond get solo-killed by a Gold player…?]

[Hwanhee: Mangming’s probably feeling really ashamed right now, lol.]

I hadn’t realized it before, but ever since I started streaming, there was a certain thrill in checking the chat after securing a kill.

It was like there were always people in chat breaking down exactly how I had taken down my opponent.

It gave me a sense of satisfaction.

“This isn’t too hard.”

It really wasn’t that difficult.

“Ah, man. How did I get killed there?”

[Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost! Mangming lost!]

[Getting killed like that is seriously a bug-level moment.]

[Of all things, why get solo-killed by a gold player, seriously…]

[This is legendary.]

[Please tell me this is a joke.]

[Is this even real?]

[A Diamond top-laner getting solo-killed by a Gold player, lol.]

You have been temporarily removed from the game!

I hadn’t been looking at the chat since getting solo-killed by the enemy mid-laner, but when I glanced at it, the chaos hadn’t died down.

It made sense.

I hadn’t just been solo-killed in my Diamond tier; I was in Gold and got solo-killed.

“Hoo…”

I had nothing to say.

So, I just communicated through chat.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Ah, lol.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Was that a kill angle?

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Gold players are good these days.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Lol.

“Ahem.”

Even though I felt like my chat response was a bit pathetic, a lot of others did it too.

I figured it would be fine.

[Man, seriously…]

[How pathetic.]

[Is this guy for real right now?]

[Why is he so pathetic?]

[For real, so pathetic.]

[Mangming OUT Mangming OUT Mangming OUT Mangming OUT Mangming OUT Mangming OUT Mangming OUT.]

[LOL. If Mangming leaves the stream, what’s left of it? LOL.]

[That’s like taking Yoo Jae-suk out of Infinite Challenge; what’s even left then?]

But the chat was still going wild.

It was clear that if I didn’t do something soon, it would spiral out of control.

I was just about to say something when—

[You have slain an enemy!]

[Daous → Ramble]

“Oh, what?”

A victory message from the top lane.

I was surprised.

From what I’d heard in the chat, the player had only just started learning League of Legends, yet they managed to pull that off.

[Man, of course men get things done.]

[Seaweed.]

[Not seaweed, you jerks!]

[Getting a solo-kill in top lane—our Seaweed GOAT, lol.]

[Impressive.]

[Why is everyone so hyped about a Gold player solo-killing another Gold player? <<< That’s literally what just happened when Mangming got solo-killed by a Gold player.]

[Why are you using formal speech to reply?]

[So sweet, lol.]

[Is “Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady” a thing now…]

[These modifiers are killing me, lolol.]

[Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming! Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming! Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming!]

You have been temporarily removed from the game!

“Please don’t use hate speech in the chat.”

I had to pretend I was managing the chat to avoid any controversies later.

My goal was to stream for as long as possible.

At that moment—

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: By the way, the top lane got a solo kill.

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: Any news from the mid lane?

“Well…”

There were calls from the chat for a solo kill in the top lane.

Normally, I would play it safe and focus on farming, but I didn’t want to stay passive in the Gold rank—it would be too embarrassing.

So, I responded simply:

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Lol, okay.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: I’ll show you.

With that bold reply, I charged in and traded hits with the enemy.

Moments later…

[You have been slain!]

[Zyad -> Corki]

“Ah…”

I got killed instead.

It was then that I realized…

The enemy mid-laner wasn’t just an ordinary mid-laner.

“The enemy mid-laner is a smurf.”

[Why are you using formal speech to reply?]

[So sweet, lol.]

[Is “Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady” a thing now…]

[These modifiers are killing me, lolol.]

[Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming! Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming! Sweet-Rel Daehan Lady Mangming!]

You have been temporarily removed from the game!

“Please don’t use hate speech in the chat.”

I had to pretend I was managing the chat to avoid any controversies later.

My goal was to stream for as long as possible.

At that moment—

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: By the way, the top lane got a solo kill.

[Ally][UncoveringLondon’sSecret][Daous]: Any news from the mid lane?

“Well…”

There were calls from the chat for a solo kill in the top lane.

Normally, I would play it safe and focus on farming, but I didn’t want to stay passive in the Gold rank—it would be too embarrassing.

So, I responded simply:

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: Lol, okay.

[Ally][ClearSkies][Corki]: I’ll show you.

With that bold reply, I charged in and traded hits with the enemy.

Moments later…

[You have been slain!]

[Zyad -> Corki]

“Ah…”

I got killed instead.

It was then that I realized…

The enemy mid-laner wasn’t just an ordinary mid-laner.

“The enemy mid-laner is a smurf.”