Chapter 73: Unpredictable Moves and Unspoken Truths

“Rojon? Who’s that?”

“Even if others don’t know, shouldn’t MalangForehead know? You’ve played with them before.”

“Played before…? Oh, are you talking about the person who sniped us back then?”

At my explanation, Moss snapped his fingers as if he had finally remembered.

Then, looking puzzled, he asked,

“Doesn’t that person avoid live streaming? Would they even qualify for the competition?”

“They started streaming after that incident. Their average viewer count has steadily increased, and now it’s around 40 viewers. Plus, an anonymous expert regularly donates and gives them feedback, which has caused their Eternal World tier to skyrocket.”

“And how exactly do you know all this, Yurim?” Moss questioned, his tone skeptical.

I offered a benevolent smile, raising my index finger to my lips in a gesture of secrecy.

“It’s classified information.”

“Are you some cosplay-addicted time traveler?”

“To be precise, I’m a psychic.”

“More like an alien.”

Scratching his head, Moss checked the members of the “Unstoppable Rampage Potato” team.

“Their balance looks solid.”

“They’ve thought it through.”

Though they only had one Challenger player, the rest of the team was filled with high-tier players: Challenger, Grandmaster, Grandmaster, and Diamond.

At a glance, their composition seemed similar to ours.

However, their two weaker members were Gold and Silver. In terms of balance, they couldn’t compare to our team.

“Wow, our team really has a lot of point-eating hippos.”

“And who’s the hippo talking here?”

“That was directed at MalangForehead.”

“I’m a Grandmaster in terms of skill, so I’m a cost-effective pick.”

“I’m also a cost-effective pick when it comes to skill.”

I pulled up the pre-analyzed strategy against “Unstoppable Rampage Potato” in the VR room. Paepae looked at it, baffled.

“You prepared this in advance?”

“It’s basic preparation for tournaments.”

“I mean, true, but normally you’d analyze matchups after advancing past the group stage. The rules are that the group stage matchups are announced on the day itself. Did you analyze all 64 teams ahead of time or something?”

“Alright, the key to countering ‘Unstoppable Rampage Potato’ is simple.”

I tapped the screen, highlighting the team’s most notable player: a monster-tier VTuber with silver hair and eyes—Rojon.

“Rojon has gotten significantly stronger thanks to advice from an anonymous expert. If they fully awaken, even our team will be in danger.”

Paepae and Moss nodded at my briefing, then glanced at each other.

“MalangForehead, who’s that Challenger player in the Urban Core role?”

“They’re a former trainee. They’re good at team play. But since Han Yurim will crush anyone in the Urban Core role, we don’t need to worry about them.”

“Then it’s a guaranteed win.”

“Guys? Rojon is the main carry and plays Diamond. They’re neither an Urban Core player nor a Challenger.”

Ignoring my words, Moss and Paepae left the VR room to log into Eternal World for the group stage.

Similarly, the Korean university duo and Bunnyrun left as well.

Left alone in the empty VR room, I blinked before returning to organize the data.

It wasn’t easy to grasp everything in just one explanation. I’d need to go over it again later.

Meanwhile, Rojon took a deep breath. His team members chatted over the voice messenger.

“Wow, we’re up against a major team in the first match.”

“Paepae, Han Yurim, and even Bunnyrun are on that team?”

“If we carry this, won’t we hit 1,000 viewers or something?”

Rojon furrowed his brow. Even though the stream was live, his teammates spoke carelessly.

Typical behavior of small-time streamers.

They didn’t realize that just because no one was watching, it didn’t mean their words weren’t problematic.

Rojon silently reflected. He used to think like that too.

He used to believe that if he caught someone’s attention, if he got an opportunity, if he could latch onto the right connections, his live stream audience would grow to thousands, and his YouTube subscribers would hit a million.

He had thought the same about his Eternal World tier.

If he just had good team synergy, played well, or got the right breaks, he could climb to Master or even Challenger.

But really, there was no bigger frog in the well than he had been.

Without preparation, no one could seize an opportunity.

That was true. But in the end, it was only the prepared who could make the most of those opportunities.

Chasing opportunities without working on oneself was no different from being a gambling addict.

Rojon glanced at the viewer list. A regular viewer who always tuned in wasn’t there today.

‘They didn’t show up today?’

The viewer Rojon was looking for was like a benefactor—a mysterious individual who had supported him when he almost gave up on streaming after having zero viewers for a long time.

Their timely donations had felt like a sign to keep going.

What had they said back then? Ah, right:

[InfinityZero’s $1.00 donation: Sweet!]

“Rojon, your game sense is lacking. Your mechanics in chaotic fights are poor. You need to hang back and wait for your teammates to set the stage before you move in. For now, that’s your strength.”

Initially, Rojon didn’t take the comment seriously.

But since they had donated, he figured he might as well try their advice.

The results were dramatic.

[InfinityZero’s $1.00 donation: Sweet!]

“Did you not understand what I said? If your mechanics are weak in chaotic fights, pick a ranged damage dealer. Why are you playing melee?”

[InfinityZero’s $1.00 donation: Sweet!]

“You don’t have the game sense to initiate fights. Stop trying to start team fights.”

At first, Rojon was annoyed. Who are you to backseat game me?

But he decided to endure it for the money.

As he continued to follow their advice, things started to make sense.

Slowly but surely, he improved.

[InfinityZero’s $1.00 donation: Sweet!]

“Your reaction speed isn’t bad, but it’s not translating into gameplay because your decision-making is unorganized. You’re spending too much time deciding what to do in the moment, which creates delays. This applies to both macro play and team fights.”

[InfinityZero’s $1.00 donation: Sweet!]

“You can play melee, but you need to improve your game understanding first. Your reaction time isn’t terrible, but the delays are holding you back.”

As he implemented their feedback, his tier climbed step by step until he finally reached Diamond—the highest tier of his life.

InfinityZero’s advice didn’t just apply to the game.

<InfinityZero’s 1,000 Won Donation>