Chapter 29: As Expected, A Natural Sense for Streaming

I don’t judge people based on rumors.

There’s always information that gets distorted in the middle.

That’s why I prefer to base my judgments on what I’ve personally experienced.

And now,

“All three of us playing normals together?”

A suggestion came in for us to play normals together.

Honestly, it hasn’t been that long since I’ve played normals with others.

When I first started League, I played normals with Lee Yeram’s friends.

But this was the first time I’d been asked by complete strangers.

I couldn’t help but be a little suspicious.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Playing normals with three people is a bit…]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: But it sounds like it could be fun lolololol]

[What kind of situation is this?]

[This is gonna be hilarious lolololol]

[You’ve only been streaming for a few days, and now you’re already collabing with a major streamer hahaha]

[You’re blowing up now, dude lololol]

[Big time]

[Hwanhee: Is this for real?]

[Would it be fake?]

[I’ve never even considered this combination before lol]

[Mangming and Salok, I get, but why Dama?]

[What kind of team is this?]

The reaction in the chat was overwhelmingly positive.

To be honest, I was a bit flustered.

I had expected someone to say something negative in the chat.

So I could naturally refuse and let it go that way.

Still, I decided to reject the offer at first.

If I accepted right away, it might seem like I was just waiting for the invitation.

“Besides, I don’t even know Salok.”

“Jumping in right away would be a bit…”

Trailing off like that, I tried to subtly convey that it would be difficult to join in—

[Salok has donated 10,000 won!]

• I’m a fan of Dama, so…

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Fan? lol, you’ve only been streaming for a few days.]

[Isn’t Salok just someone you know, so of course he’s a fan?]

[If you know someone, you’re technically a fan lolol]

[Kang Hoomin: Look at him squeezing out another donation. Ruthless.]

[Conspiracy theory is Kang approved lol]

[But honestly, this doesn’t feel like a conspiracy…]

Unexpected money came in.

I hadn’t said that expecting a donation.

I was flustered.

“And we need Mangming to agree for this to happen.”

“So even if I want to, I can’t just jump in right away.”

I needed Mangming’s consent as well.

Although Salok had asked me, the proposal involved playing with Mangming too.

So Mangming’s opinion was important.

When I asked—

[Mangming: I’m okay with it.]

[Mangming: I don’t mind.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Wow.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Looks like you’re still sharp lol]

[Hwanhee: This is already fun lololol]

[This is gonna be hilarious]

[Mangming actually accepted this]

[Kang Hoomin: Crazy “man-misogynist.”]

[Self-reflection is Kang approved lol]

Mangming accepted, Salok wanted to do it, and I didn’t have a real reason to refuse.

So, why not do it?

We weren’t meeting in person; it was just playing normals together, which wasn’t too bad.

Plus, I had received a small donation.

“So, could you guys give me your usernames so I can send a friend request?”

[Salok: Sure]

[Mangming: Sure]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Don’t you already know Mangming’s username from last time?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Why are you giving it out again? lol]

[Mangming: Oh, right]

[Of course, stupidity is Mangming approved lol]

[They’re really dumb…]

[By the way, have the three of you ever actually talked before?]

[Hwanhee: It’s probably gonna be super awkward when you start talking to each other]

It probably would be awkward when we actually started talking.

But I didn’t really care.

If it’s awkward, we’ll just push through it.

With that thought in mind, I invited Mangming and Salok to the game.

“Ahem, hello, everyone.”

It was the first time we were actually talking with our voices, so I was a little nervous.

I was worried I might say something wrong.

Just when I was feeling slightly tense—

“Hello!”

A rather timid voice came through.

It seemed Mangming had spoken up cautiously.

And then, a moment later—

“Hey, everyone~”

Salok appeared, sounding relaxed.

A very laid-back voice.

I couldn’t understand where that calmness came from, as I opened my mouth to speak.

“Alright, let’s quickly play a game.”

There was no need to drag things out.

But Salok didn’t seem to think the same.

“Come on, we’ve come together like this, shouldn’t we chat a bit first?”

After all, Salok had set this up in the first place.

“Well… I haven’t been streaming for long, so I don’t really have much to talk about.”

I drew a line.

After all, I started streaming to interact with the audience, not to build friendships with other streamers.

“Wow, saying that makes me feel a bit sad.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. But if you feel that way, I apologize.”

“Hey~ No need to apologize. I was just saying it for fun.”

At this point, I could feel it.

It felt like Salok was trying to engage in some kind of power play with me.

I’d experienced this kind of thing a lot while gaming before, so I picked up on it right away.

And my viewers who were watching the stream noticed it too.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: This smells like a power struggle.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s strong.]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I can’t be the only one feeling this, right?]

[I feel it too lol]

[Why are these two in a power struggle?]

[Hwanhee: That girl sure knows how to talk like a guy.]

[Kang Hoomin: What are these two even doing…]

[Dama, please get destroyed.]

My viewers, being frequent users of online communities, were quick to catch on to this kind of vibe.

“Alright, let’s start a game quickly,” I said, pressing the start game button.

And at that moment,

Mangming finally spoke up.

“Dama, would you like to duo with me in the bot lane?”

Mangming suddenly asked to duo in the bot lane.

I thought about what that could mean for a moment, but I figured it didn’t hold any special significance, so I accepted.

After all, I’d played bot duo before.

Just as I was thinking that,

“If you haven’t played much League, have you ever duoed with anyone else?” Mangming suddenly asked.

I answered simply.

“Well, I just played 5-man queues with friends.”

“You seem to have a lot of guys around you who play League.”

“They’re girls, actually.”

“…What?”

A brief silence followed.

I began to think over what I had said, wondering if I’d misspoken.

Then, after a moment,

‘Ah.’

I realized what I had said wrong.

I had mentioned playing 5-man queues with friends, and the fact that they were all girls.

It could easily be interpreted as me being some kind of shameless guy who surrounded himself with girls.

So I quickly clarified the situation.

“It’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand. They’re all minors.”

“…Oh.”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: ???]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Dude;]

[What is this guy saying?]

[Hwanhee: Is this for real???]

[Kang Hoomin: Dude..?]

[This is bad.]

[What on earth is he talking about…]

Another misunderstanding arose from my explanation.

This time, I made sure to clarify properly to avoid any further confusion.

“I was playing with my younger sister’s friends, so please don’t get the wrong idea, everyone.”

Now that I thought about it, I realized I had said things in a weird way.

I should’ve explained myself right from the start.

The way I said it was just too easy to misunderstand.

“Oh, right? I misunderstood for no reason… I’m sorry…!”

“No, it’s my fault for saying something that could cause misunderstanding. Besides, I’m not even that capable of a guy anyway.”

“Haha…”

As Mangming and I were clearing up the misunderstanding,

Ding!

The game had been found.

I clicked the accept button, and we were moved to the pick screen.

At the same time, the League of Legends chat started moving at lightning speed.

In ranked games, your role is already set when you enter the pick screen, so this doesn’t happen.

But in normals, since roles aren’t predetermined, you have to type in the role you want in the chat, and you get assigned that way.

And right now—

[Salok: Supp]

[Salok: Supp]

[Salok: Supp]

[Salok: Supp]

I could see Salok furiously typing that he wanted support.

I was a bit taken aback.

I was sure I had said I was going to bot lane with Mangming.

“…Huh?”

Mangming seemed a bit flustered too, not able to continue speaking.

And then, at that moment—

“Oh, I was just kidding. Kidding. You and Dama go bot lane together. I’ll go jungle.”

Salok, laughing as if it were funny, switched to jungle.

“I told you to stop messing around.”

“I’ll only joke around once a day, so please let it slide~”

“O…kay.”

Judging by Mangming’s reaction, it seemed Salok teased them often as well.

I thought I was the only one who teased Mangming.

It definitely hits hard.

“Mangming, what ADC are you going to play? I’ll pick something that goes well with it.”

“Hmmm…”

Mangming thought for a moment—

“I’ll play Xayah…!”

They were subtly trying to push me into picking a specific champion.

It was obvious, but—

“Then I’ll go Rakan.”

I played along.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Mangming picking couple champs, this is hilarious]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I’m dying lolol]

[Hwanhee: So transparent]

[This is just too funny lololol]

[Let’s go, couple duo!]

[Kang Hoomin: This is gonna be fun.]

And so, Mangming and I ended up playing bot lane with the couple champions.

I couldn’t help but think that Mangming had a good sense for streaming.