Chapter 17: Overcoming a Slump

48,000 won.

That’s a staggering 48,000 won.

In this era of high prices, it’s enough to order fried chicken twice or buy 8000-won rice soup six times.

Moreover, I could buy several kilograms of cheap bean sprouts or even a few pieces of underwear that awkwardly hold down my shaking chest…

In short, the amount of 48,000 won, which is close to 50,000 won, can surprisingly allow me to do many things.

Suddenly, what nonsense is this?

What I’m saying is that I earned 48,000 won.

In just one day.

At first, I couldn’t believe it.

It was only a broadcast lasting less than 4 hours.

I just turned on the stream and chatted about games or shared random thoughts about Camilla, just like usual.

And yet, such a large sum of money came in.

Even calculated by hourly wage, it’s far beyond the minimum wage, leaving my mouth agape.

There had been sponsorships before, but those were like funds gathered at the gallery level…

It felt like money collected for a campaign to save a bad game.

That money had to be spent purely for broadcasting.

But this money was different.

It was unexpected, something I didn’t think I would receive; it felt like a pure reward given to me.

With a fluttering heart, I started to examine each item in the sponsorship record.

• “Please turn on the mic for the third time.”
• “I love you, unnie. T_T I love you, unnie. T_T I love you, unnie. T_T”
• “Please do ASMR.”

…I was a little taken aback, but they were good people.

They gave me money for free.

Actually, the money couldn’t be used immediately.

Withdrawing sponsorship funds could only be done after a certain period following the sponsorship.

But whether it was now or later, that didn’t matter.

What mattered was the fact that I had earned money from broadcasting.

My first broadcast, my first income.

Any first experience is unfamiliar and brings excitement.

I decided to cherish my first experience for as long as possible.

“Wow…”

As I opened the paper box with steam rising from it, a tempting pizza revealed itself inside.

The chewy and delicious appearance made my mouth water.

Today, I didn’t want to settle for ramen or bean sprouts like usual, so I ordered this.

Still, I didn’t want to splurge extravagantly just because I earned money.

I ordered from a place that had discounts and even participated in a review event.

I thought this expenditure was acceptable.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Your sponsorship has been transformed into the pizza before my eyes.

I bowed my head towards the invisible viewers.

“AAAAAH! No!”

Anyone who heard it would think something serious had happened.

A woman was clutching her head and screaming in agony.

It would not have been strange for someone from the next apartment to come running in at this point, but fortunately, that wouldn’t happen.

The room she was in was filled with gray soundproofing material.

A soundproof booth.

She was currently screaming inside the soundproof booth.

“Why, why is this happening….”

The woman was staring blankly at the computer inside the soundproof booth.

Two computer towers. And two monitors.

On one monitor, a brilliant golden curtain was swaying.

On the other monitor, black text was climbing up the screen as if to mock her.

[Ni Gold Dakk! Ni Gold Dakk! Ni Gold Dakk! Ni Gold Dakk! Ni Gold Dakk!]

[Ni Gold Dakk, I’m going to sing a fun song too]

[Ugh… Why is the memory…? Ugh… Why is the memory…? Ugh… Why is the memory…?]

[??? : I’m a different species, so diamonds are quick for me]

[Turns out I was a gold species pretending to be a diamond ㅋㅋ]

[I’m Gold 4, we’re friends, right? ㅎㅎ]

“Craaak!”

After glancing at the golden curtain and then at the black text,

the woman repeated her actions several times, twisting her body again in a voice filled with pain.

In the soundproof booth, with dual monitors and a suspiciously high-performance computer and microphone,

all the clues had practically been given.

That’s right, the woman was a streamer and was currently broadcasting live.

The black text appearing on the screen was real-time chat messages coming in.

Streamer Nicang. She had just been demoted from Platinum to Gold tier.

[Are you conscious? Are you conscious? Are you conscious? Are you conscious?]

[Wow! Gold!]

[It’s almost the holidays, so seeing you come home early… warms my heart]

The reason she couldn’t say anything in response to the viewers’ mocking chat was simple.

Yes, this was a kind of karma.

It was the retribution for mocking lower-tier players while portraying herself as a gifted player.

Nicang had quickly climbed the tiers with her innate skills and game sense, often unknowingly looking down on lower-tier players.

She had a history of saying that even Gold, which she had just fallen to, was too easy as soon as she reached Platinum, stating that Gold shouldn’t even sit at the same table as her.

[I can’t eat while watching Nicang’s stream as a Plen-de!]

[No dining with anyone below Platinum ㅋㅋ]

[Where is the talented AD carry Nicang, and who is this Gold Dakk bug AD carry…?]

“Ugh..!”

It stung.

Looking at the chat window, feelings of injustice and sadness welled up inside her.

Nicang usually maintained a strong front while streaming to create a better show, but lately, it had been rare for her to mask her emotions.

That’s because she was genuinely furious.

Nicang herself didn’t realize how frustrating and annoying it could be to drop tiers and lose games despite trying hard.

‘Why am I falling?’

Leaving behind the noisy chat and donations, Nicang began to analyze the reasons for her continued losses.

Maybe it was okay to lose a game or two.

But after experiencing a losing streak severe enough to drop her tier, she couldn’t blame others anymore.

While she didn’t want to admit it, her influence on the losses was not non-existent.

However, no matter how much she wracked her brain, she couldn’t think of any immediate issues.

Nicang had played similarly in the past and present.

The only thing that had changed was the game results—victories turned into defeats.

“Guys, I really don’t get it, so I’m asking. Has my form actually dropped?”

[??? Really?]

[You got way worse ㅋㅋ]

[For a Gold Dakk, you’re doing alright though ㅋㅋ]

[Hmm. I have a lot to say, but I won’t bother.]

In times like this, it’s best to borrow the power of collective intelligence.

Indeed, there were many irritating comments, but within them, a solution emerged.

[M1) The leader used to be good, but for some reason, they’ve been performing poorly. Unlike before, they can’t seem to grasp the damage angles during team fights and awkwardly fumble around before dying. Now they’re just at the Gold Dakk level.]

…It was painful, but Nicang inwardly acknowledged the truth.

She had been performing poorly for some time now. When did it start?

‘It feels like I almost know something.’

While she couldn’t pinpoint it clearly, she had a vague idea. It was true that at some point, she had fallen into a losing streak.

When was that again…?

[Wasn’t it after losing to Kayak?]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Kayak absorbs Nicang’s skills ㅋㅋ]

Looking at the chat was embarrassing, but it was helpful.

Once again, collective intelligence provided assistance.

“Kayak…”

Nicang quietly muttered that name.

Currently, she was someone who had climbed to a tier that Nicang couldn’t even reach.

She found out that Kayak was actually a woman. She had heard that Kayak recently started streaming.

Thinking back to what the viewers said, it matched up in timing.

Yeah, it was from that time. The day she lost badly to Kayak’s bizarre Camilla.

From that day on, Nicang strangely found herself unable to win games.

It was as if she had fallen under a witch’s curse—a kind of slump had taken hold of her.

So, now she had a rough idea of what happened. It was probably the shocking defeat against Kayak that caused it.

The problem was that she still carried some trauma from the overwhelming assault.

Because of that, Nicang, who had once been a confident AD carry, lost her characteristic aggressive playstyle.

‘But how do I fix this…?’

She had identified the cause.

The problem was that this issue had seeped into her gameplay so unconsciously that Nicang wasn’t even aware of it.

Of course, it was not impossible to fix, but she would have to pay meticulous attention to every move and skill in each game.

Such corrective measures would undoubtedly be tiring for Nicang, especially after just experiencing a losing streak and being demoted.

That said, she couldn’t just end her stream now.

While she scratched her head in frustration, a notification popped up.

<CamillaStrength has donated 10,000 won!>

• How about trying out other heroes now that you’ve been demoted, teacher? Our Camilla is better than you might think ㅎㅎㅎ

“Camilla?”

[Oh, don’t do that.]

[Camilla is trash ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Only Kayak plays that.]

[I thought it looked good when I watched Kayak’s stream.]

[If you lost to Camilla and fell into a slump, then it makes sense to play Camilla ㅇㅇ]

[Looking at the leader’s playstyle, a bruiser would suit you better.]

[But still, Camilla is not the way to go;;]

[Abyss says – Camilla is a hero with 5-star difficulty.]

[Gold Dakk playing Camilla??]

The heroes Nicang primarily played in Abyss were all long-range, capable of ranged attacks.

This was to leverage her experience from playing FPS games.

In fact, perhaps because of that experience, she achieved Platinum shortly after starting the game, despite being a newbie.

But now, what good was that? She had dropped to Gold.

Maybe, just like the donation suggested, trying out various heroes after being demoted wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

In the past, Nicang would have ignored such advice and insisted on only playing long-range heroes, but today, that suggestion sounded quite enticing.

‘It’s like a reorganization.’

To climb again, a basic understanding of all heroes was essential.

Having developed a genuine interest in Abyss, and having decided to seriously aim for a higher tier, it was only right to take some time to do this.

Finishing her thoughts, Nicang slowly nodded.

“Alright, since I’ve fallen anyway… Let’s practice and try something different.”

Thus, the first hero Nicang chose was one that was familiar to both her and the viewers.

• Please dance with me.

The silver-haired girl on the screen danced and made eye contact with Nicang.