Chapter 46: You’re so bad at this

<Am I going crazy, or is this jellyfish starting to look cute?>

<Damn, even the jellyfish voice sounds good.>

<Why the profanity, though? ᄏᄏ>

<Did you see how she glances at the chat after every kill? ᄏᄏᄏ So adorable!>

<Yeah, but it’s still just a downgrade from a face cam.>

<Stop pushing for face reveals. Why don’t you reveal your face when you’re chatting?>

<The world’s first remote learning-style broadcast ᄃᄃ.>

<Hey, no eating during class!>

<Sorry, Professor! But I was starving!>

The Challenger marathon resumed.

It was 2 p.m. on a weekday, after the Lunar New Year holiday rush had died down, with 7,000 viewers watching.

Compared to 90,000, it might seem like a small number, but for a newbie streamer who hadn’t even streamed ten times, it was astonishing.

And it was only 2 p.m. How many more viewers would show up around 6 or 7 p.m.?

Most of the viewers seemed satisfied with the virtual jellyfish model.

Sure, a face cam would’ve been ideal, but that wasn’t an option.

Having a character representing the streamer was a step up from just showing the game screen.

Of course, the obvious question was, “Why a jellyfish?”

Still, the virtual model had all the necessary features, like facial expressions and gaze tracking.

It was almost like a beginner-friendly VTuber concept for viewers who didn’t like anime-style characters.

“Carry.”

Legendary Streamer added another win.

The jellyfish’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

It was smiling happily.

<The streamer’s expressions are more dynamic than expected.>

<20.>

<Legendary Streamer is a god!>

<When is she ever going to lose? Damn it! Just how invincible is she?>

<Legendary Streamer ascended undefeated, never to lose again.>

<Did they really finish her off?>

Still undefeated.

Her ranked game record stood at 19 wins and 0 losses.

While a 19-win streak in ranked wasn’t impossible, she had maintained a perfect record in normal games too, making it a symbol of sorts.

Like the difference between a virgin and someone who’s not—it’s infinite between 0 and 1.

Just like multiplying anything by zero always results in zero.

Legendary Streamer, currently undefeated in Teamfight Arena.

Seol Ah thought to herself,

“I can’t win forever, but it would be nice to stay undefeated until I hit Challenger.”

<Voodoo magic worked! ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ.>

<Sht!!! I’m screwed!!!>*

<This is unfair!!!>

<ᄆᄎ ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ.>

In Teamfight Arena’s ranked mode, you can’t see the enemy team’s IDs until the game starts.

This was to prevent cheating, such as banning the opponent’s best champions or dodging games when victory seemed unlikely.

This safeguard was meant to promote healthy gameplay.

But her opponents this time were…

[TP Fervor]
[TP Woo]
[TP Haegol]
[TP Scary]

And finally,

[TP WILD]

“What the heck is this?”

<What else? It’s the full TP lineup.>

<Is this illegal team-ranked mode?>

Solo rank was designed to be solo, with up to two players queuing together in Diamond and below, and strictly solo queues for Master and above.

The rest of the team was filled with random players.

The mode tested how well you could perform in an uncoordinated team.

But now, an entire professional team had shown up on one side.

It was nothing short of a twist of fate.

<Don’t know Team Proud? They made an impact by debuting in Spring 2022 and taking second place. They followed that with third place in Summer and a semifinal finish at Worlds. This year, they struggled in Spring, finishing fifth, but rebounded to take second place in Summer and Worlds, cementing themselves as one of Korea’s top three teams. Their captain? The legendary player, Wild Lee Joon.>

<22runner-up.>

<Still just 22runner-up. Stop exaggerating it to four second-place finishes.>

<We’re doomed! Doomed! Doomed! Doomed! Doomed! Doomed! Doomed!>

<What if the streamer wins, though?>

<Do you think pros are a joke?>

<Pros aren’t that scary. She beat Victory, didn’t she?>

<Wasn’t that match too close to call beating?>

<These aren’t just any pros. This is the full Proud lineup ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ.>

<So they’re already warmed up? ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ.>

<So basically, we’re screwed ᄏ>

<How does matchmaking even pair teams like this without mixing them up a little?>

<Infinity’s conspiracy ᄃᄃ>

<There’s a pro on Legendary Streamer’s team too—Adios.>

<Adios is good, but…>

<It’s just one pro!>

Unfortunately, there was no miracle.

Legendary Streamer fought hard, but against Team Proud, the team that shone as World Championship runners-up, her team was utterly dismantled.

The final score was a devastating 19–50.

To make matters worse, except for the one pro player, everyone else on her team had over ten deaths and whined about why they weren’t surrendering.

<Even Challengers act like this; how are they any different from lower ranks?>

<Honestly, not surrendering against five Team Proud members doesn’t make sense.>

<Wasn’t it Adios and Legendary Streamer who refused to surrender?>

<Their mindset is as strong as a pro’s.>

<But to be fair, they did hold up well in the early game—Adios and Legendary Streamer.>

<The difference in mid-game strategy is huge, though.>

<Proud! Proud! Proud! Proud!>

<This is just bad luck. How do you end up against the full Team Proud lineup? ᄏᄏ>

<Fact check: Scary and Woo still have low scores; this was purely bad matchmaking luck.>

<If a scrim ended at this hour and the team queued together, it’s possible to land in the same game. There aren’t that many Challengers, after all.>

<But for them to all end up on one side? That’s ridiculous ᄏᄏ>

<Summary: Legendary Streamer got screwed over.>

[Telepathy Villain donated 10,000 KRW.]

“Legendary Streamer is probably thinking, ‘If there were five of me, we could’ve won.’ Thumbs up if true.”

<ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ>

<Thumbs up!>

<If there were five of me…>

<Shadow Clone Jutsu!>

<Am I the only one who’s thought this before?>

<I’m good, but I just have bad team luck.>

At that moment, an unexpected call came through Legendary Streamer’s Discord.

She answered, and it was Wild.

“Noob.”

Beep.

The call ended.

“You son of a…!”

<Explosion.>

<What?>

<ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ>

<What’s with the teabagging?>

<Isn’t Wild 186 cm tall? What’s with his smug moves?>

<Smug (but not short) and moves like a brat (but not a kid).>

<Noob~ Noob~ Noob~ Noob~>

“Time to give him a lesson.”

“Queue up right now. If you run, you’re dead.”

In the next match, Wild wasn’t there.

<Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward!>

<You’re trash at this (500 losses, 1 win).>

<The last person standing is the winner, right?>

<Wait… does that mean the streamer lost?>

[TP WILD donated 100,000 KRW.]

“I didn’t run; I queued, but we didn’t match. Tough luck.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Since they were friends on the platform, it was clear that while Legendary Streamer was queuing, Wild was too.

But that didn’t make her any less irritated.

“Hey! Don’t queue! Wait until I’m done!”

<After defeating the undefeated female warrior, she became obsessed with him.>

[TP WILD donated another 100,000 KRW.]

“Sorry, but if I don’t practice, the coach will scold me. Take care.”

Wild moved on to find another game.

Legendary Streamer changed her approach, actively trying to snipe Wild in the queue.

However, despite being in the same top-tier Challenger queue, they didn’t match again.

Ten hours later, Legendary Streamer had cooled off and reached Challenger rank.