Chapter 31: “Why Are People Bustling?”

“I personally don’t dislike the top lane that much.

It’s basically the lane I go to when playing solo queue.

But right now, I really wanted to give some harsh feedback.

‘This is the first time I’ve experienced such a catastrophic reverse carry…’

Since starting League of Legends, I’ve never lost because of just one ‘top’ champion before.

I never knew a male champion wielding scissors could be that strong once he grows.

I always won when facing him in the top lane, so I never thought much of it.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: But seriously]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: That joke is tempting…]

[Hwanhee: You’re holding back your anger]

[There’s no such thing as a saint ㅋㅋ]

[Kang Hoomin: You damn woman]

[Hey hey]

[Calm down, you friend with a nickname]

[Gonik, why are you making those dirty jokes?]

[But if I were in his position, I probably would’ve let loose with the dirty jokes too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[It’s weird not to make dirty jokes]

• Ah… that friend…
• Huh…

Salok and Mangming, who were playing with me, also seemed a bit angry.

Honestly, it’s more strange not to be angry.

He’s showing such a catastrophic reverse carry and not even typing “sorry.”

But—

“Okay, let’s slowly part ways now. We played one game.”

It was time to say goodbye.

When Salok asked to play together, we clearly agreed on just one game.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Ah, I’m done]

[Let’s play more]

[Please let’s keep playing, please let’s keep playing, please let’s keep playing, please let’s keep playing, please let’s keep playing, please let’s keep playing]

[There’s no point in streaming here ᄅᄋ]

[If we play one more game, we can attract viewers]

[There are over a hundred viewers now, let’s play more together]

[Kang Hoomin: I’m seriously done]

[Done ᄉᄇᄏᄏ]

Even though the viewers were saying I was done, I didn’t care.

What could I do if I didn’t want to?

“I’ll just do solo queue.”

While chatting and playing games is fun, I’ve realized the enjoyment of solo queue, so I didn’t want to play normals.

• Ah… are you leaving already?

Mangming asked with disappointment, but—

“Yep.”

I answered firmly.

If I gave them any leeway, we might end up playing normals again.

• If that’s the case, I’ll join too.
• What? Just one game and we’re done?

Let’s play together next time we get the chance, and I’ll leave too.

A little while later, Mangming and Salok left.

“Ugh… I’m tired. I need to get back to solo queue quickly.”

As I played the game while talking to others, I felt my energy draining.

If I were talking to myself, it would be different, but chatting with others while gaming isn’t really my style.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Did you really want to play solo queue that badly?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: You can do it later too.]

[You’re just kicking away your chance to succeed ㅋㅋ]

[Just don’t succeed.]

[Fact: Dama doesn’t want to see anyone succeed that much.]

[Hwanhee: It’s more fun when there are a decent number of viewers on the stream.]

[Hwanhee: If there are too many, it’s boring.]

[Try to increase the viewers a bit so they can say they’re watching ‘Dama’ somewhere.]

“If you’re embarrassed to say you’re watching me, then don’t watch my stream. What’s so bad about having fewer viewers?”

What does it matter that I say something like that about having fewer viewers?

Just because there are a lot of viewers doesn’t automatically mean it’s fun.

If a viewer is embarrassed about that kind of thing, then it’s better not to have them.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Wow]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: This is it ㅋㅋ]

[Hwanhee: If you’re going to complain about the number of viewers,]

[Hwanhee: then go watch another stream ㅋㅋ]

[Gonik, you’re so reliable.]

[The stream owner’s defense is really good.]

[Kang Hoomin: I’m just embarrassed.]

Ignoring the strange comments from the viewers I liked, I started the game.

As usual, I took the top lane.

Then, shortly after,

Ding!

I heard the sound of the game being matched, and I clicked to accept.

Then the lanes were assigned.

“Top lane, thank goodness. It would have been a bit of a headache if I got another lane.”

Even if I went to another lane, I wouldn’t be particularly worried, but top lane is fun.

That’s the only reason I chose to go top.

From my experience, playing the ‘jungle’ position has the highest win rate, but that’s not fun.

[What will you do in the top lane?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Are you picking randomly again?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: I’m curious~~]

[Why is the manager acting like that all of a sudden?]

[I want to punch Cthulhu in the face.]

[Random pick ᄀᄀ]

[You said you would keep doing random picks.]

Random pick.

Choosing a champion at random from the champions I have to go to the top lane.

“I’ll go with a random pick. There are already many ways to win, so there’s no reason to use a good champion.”

Saying that, I clicked to select a random champion.

Then shortly after,

“Oh, this isn’t fun.”

A champion known for being high-tier, the Yordle using a flamethrower, appeared.

I picked random to avoid using a purely high-tier champion, but this kind of champion came up.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Wow, how can a champion be this boring?]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Are you getting caught? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[This is a bit…]

[I’ll give you a chance to roll again.]

[But since I got caught, I have to do it.]

[Is there any reason not to play Rumble?]

[Kang Hoomin: You have to follow the rules.]

[Fairness is key, after all ㅋㅋ]

I thought about changing it, but— I had already picked the champion.

It seemed right to do my best in the game.

“Then I’ll finish this quickly.”

Rumble wasn’t that fun of a champion anyway.

Platinum 5.

I didn’t expect to reach this so quickly.

Someone from the gallery mentioned that even with talent, it usually takes at least a few months.

I was quite taken aback.

“The tier is rising quickly.”

That was a pure statement without any deceptive intent.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Why is it rising so fast?]

[Isn’t Platinum 5 already crazy?]

[It’s because you haven’t lost a game.]

[You’re just really good at the game ㅋㅋ]

[Once you debut as a pro, you’ll probably dominate.]

[Pro debut (currently Platinum 5)]

[Hwanhee: I don’t know about other things, but]

[Hwanhee: it’s ridiculous to climb the tier this fast with a random top champion.]

[Right ㅋㅋ]

[Kang Hoomin: It seems like a ‘normalization’ will be needed soon…]

[They say the League of Legends team will start normalizing the win rates, so wait for it.]

Now that I think about it, I had heard that before.

There’s a rumor that if your win rate is too high, the League of Legends team will manipulate it to only match you with weaker teammates.

I’m not one to believe in such rumors, but… still, I always keep the possibility in mind.

‘Even if they match me with those kinds of players… I think I can still win.’

They may have a bad win rate, but they’re not throwers.

If I lead from the top lane, we can win.

Thinking that, I spoke up.

“I’ve heard there’s match manipulation… but I think I’ll need to experience it to know for sure. I’ll stream at the same time tomorrow, so you can come around then?”

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Ah ㅋㅋ]

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Okay!]

[You’re ending the stream so abruptly.]

[Ending the stream is best when you don’t announce it.]

[Hwanhee: Okay!]

[Hwanhee: Let’s see you tomorrow.]

[Kang Hoomin: You’re just a coward who can’t handle solo queue.]

You have been temporarily banned!

To commemorate the end of the stream, I temporarily banned a frequently appearing viewer and ended the broadcast.

[The broadcast has ended!]

A notification popped up saying the broadcast had ended, and I immediately shut down my computer and lay down on the blanket spread out on the floor.

“Ah.”

These days, after sitting and broadcasting for so long, it felt comfortable to lie on the fluffy blanket.

I had to be careful about getting a turtle neck.

Sighing, I turned on my phone.

[Efreet Gallery]

I accessed the Efreet Gallery as usual.

But then,

a familiar phrase popped up in the top right corner.

[Currently ranked 15th in the bustling gallery!]

“Yikes.”

I wondered if I was seeing this correctly.

Ranked 15th in a bustling gallery?

The Efreet Gallery usually maintained a position around 40th to 50th since not many people used it.

Why did the ranking suddenly go up like this?

That meant the rate of posts in the gallery had increased.

Which means—

‘There’s been an influx.’

An influx of what?

Where did it come from?

There wasn’t really any reason for an influx.

Not many people knew about the Efreet Gallery.

Feeling uneasy, I clicked on the very first post.

[Author: Kang Hoomin]

[Why has there been such an increase in influx in the Fr Gallery?]

Title: No.

[Content: Everyone get out.]

L: Users who reject new people should just leave.

ᄂKang Hoomin: Unbelievable ㅋㅋ

L: Seriously annoying ㅋㅋ

L: I don’t understand how they knew to crawl in here.

L: Dama die, Dama die, Dama die, Dama die, Dama die, Dama die, Dama die.

Oh.

It seemed to be because of me.

It looked like people were curious about what the “Efreet Gallery” was after watching my broadcast.

I had intentionally not mentioned it much during the stream.

“Hmm.”

I felt like I needed to take action.