Chapter 80: For business inquiries, DM me

For about three days, I challenged myself for Camilla’s hotfix, and afterward, I was utterly exhausted.

No matter how many highlight reels I created and caused a commotion in the Grandmaster-Challenger tier, there was no hotfix.

The effort I put in yielded no results.

It felt like shouting at a deaf person who couldn’t hear me, no matter how loudly I screamed. Since they couldn’t hear in the first place, it was all pointless and had no effect.

Because of that, I might have experienced burnout; my motivation plummeted.

Thoughts like, “Why am I working so hard when Ionix won’t implement a hotfix anyway?” kept crossing my mind.

I had hit a slump. I couldn’t find any meaning in what I was doing, and because of that, I didn’t want to do anything at all.

Today, I decided to take a break from streaming.

For days, I had been playing Camilla to push for a hotfix, streaming over 12 hours a day.

Now that I had doubts about my entire endeavor and stopped playing, there was no reason to stream.

Of course, I needed to keep streaming consistently, not just for the sake of the hotfix, but I just wanted to rest for now.

Even my viewers had been sympathizing with me and telling me to take a break.

And so, I took advantage of the opportunity and stepped outside for the first time in a while.

It was my first outing after being holed up indoors playing games for several days, but I didn’t have anything specific to do.

I didn’t have anyone to meet or any particular errands to run.

What would other people do in a situation like this?

They’d probably do something they enjoy or take time to relax…

But with the current issues in Abyss, my favorite place, it felt like I had lost my sanctuary.

“Why do you seem so down today? Did something happen?”

“That’s the thing…”

While aimlessly strolling, I ran into Si-hyun and ended up spilling my heart out to him.

As an adult, I should be guiding a kid, not venting to him.

Even though Si-hyun is pretty mature for his age, I couldn’t help but feel like a terrible adult for relying on him like this.

But since I was already a useless adult who couldn’t even get a hotfix for Camilla, maybe leaning on Si-hyun wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I have something I really want to do, but it’s not working out.”

I didn’t go into specifics, only conveyed the general sentiment.

Even so, Si-hyun nodded as if he understood.

“It’s really frustrating when things don’t go the way you want, right?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of tough…”

“You probably worked really hard and put in a lot of effort. It must be tough if it’s still not working out.”

He always knew the right things to say.

There was a reason I liked Si-hyun so much.

He continued to comfort me, saying that even if he didn’t know exactly what was going on, I shouldn’t be too upset and that things would eventually work out.

In the end, he even hugged me with his soft, warm little body.

Holding onto his small, cozy frame for a moment, Si-hyun carefully asked.

“Uh… This isn’t because of my uncle, is it?”

“Huh? No, it’s not. Kim Jae joon is doing a great job. His VTube subscribers are steadily increasing…”

“Then that’s good.”

Si-hyun let out a sigh of relief.

Curious, I asked.

“Why? Is something going on with Kim Jae joon?”

I was concerned that there might be some trouble with one of my valued team members, but Si-hyun just gave a lukewarm response.

“I’m still the boss, though. If there’s something wrong, I should know about it. Maybe I can help.”

“Hmm… It’s nothing major.”

My own problem was a personal battle that no one could help with, but if Kim Jae joon had an issue, others might be able to help.

Those others could be Yushia or maybe even me.

However, what Si-hyun said next was a bit hard for me to understand.

“I think my uncle might be struggling a little… because of you.”

“M-Me? Why? I treat him really well. I’m a good boss! I’m not a bad person!”

“That… might be the problem.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t be too nice to my uncle. He might—”

Si-hyun’s words were cut off.

At some point, Kim Jae joon had appeared like lightning, scooped him up by the waist, and greeted me with a quick bow before disappearing.

“Good morning, boss! I know you’re working hard for the hotfix, but don’t overdo it!”

“Jae joon, I heard you’re worried about something. Let’s talk—”

“No, it’s fine! I’ll head inside now!”

As quickly as he appeared, he made an even quicker exit.

Left alone in the spot where the uncle and nephew had disappeared, I muttered softly.

“What was he worried about…?”

Meanwhile, at the Fusion Gaming practice room, intense training was underway.

More precisely, research was still in progress.

The focus was Camilla, a hero that had never been used in the league before.

The players were studying whether she could actually be viable in competitive matches.

“She’s not bad… Not bad at all.”

A man wearing his team jersey leaned comfortably back in his chair as he spoke.

He had received reports from two players conducting the research, both of whom believed Camilla could be useful.

Lee Jun-hyuk, known in the pro scene by his nickname Teles.

The leader of Fusion Gaming, the undisputed number one team in the ACK League, and a living legend—this was the man sitting before them.

“She seems a little rough around the edges, though. Like something’s missing… It feels like an incomplete build.”

That was Jun-hyuk’s verdict.

It felt like it was missing that final 2%.

In the high-level pro scene, where games are pushed to their limits in a team environment, the build lacked the polish needed for actual competition.

“Did you get this idea from some overseas league matches? The way Camilla’s being used, and the unique build—feels just like that.”

“No, hyung. It’s not that. Look at this.”

Finally, Min-hyung revealed where the idea had come from.

It was a solo queue replay.

Sensing that something was off, Jun-hyuk straightened his posture.

At his lead, the others in the practice room gathered around.

“What’s this? Solo queue?”

“Oh, it’s Kayak. That player’s really good.”

“I like their voice, too. I got destroyed by them and ended up subscribing to their stream.”

“Wait, this player’s a girl? And she’s this good?”

“She’s got an amazing figure too—”

“Ha-joon, watch your mouth in front of female fans. If you keep that up, you’ll get into a scandal one day.”

Even the second-string members who had been hanging around chimed in with their own thoughts as they watched Min-hyung’s replay.

Despite the noisy chatter, Jun-hyuk silently and seriously focused on the replay.

After watching all three clips, he nodded thoughtfully and finally spoke.

“She’s good.”

“Whoa, if Jun-hyuk hyung says she’s good—”

“If it’s Jun-hyuk hyung’s opinion, it must be legit. She must be really good.”

The practice room, which had been buzzing with excitement, soon fell silent.

Jun-hyuk continued speaking.

Top of Form

“Camilla received a lot of buffs in this patch.

I tried using her a few times after the update, but I thought she was only good in solo queue and wouldn’t work in tournaments.”

“But looking at how this person plays…”

“Hyun-gyu is right.

There’s something different about it.”

“The positioning is definitely different.”

Jun-hyuk rewound a specific part of the replay and spoke.

“This person’s Camilla is… special, I’d say.

Just from watching this, it feels like she could work in team games too.

In fact, their playstyle seems more suited to team fights than solo queue…

They sync well with their teammates.

And it’s not just the first match—it’s the same pattern across all three games.

Are they used to playing in a team environment?”

“Jun-hyuk hyung is in full analysis mode again.”

“Yeah, their gameplay is pretty fascinating.”

The team members mumbled among themselves, recognizing their captain’s familiar habit.

“If we could absorb this person’s playstyle, Camilla might be viable in tournaments.

It could even be a great surprise pocket pick…

The problem is, we need their know-how.

Like in the early game here, and in this part…

We don’t know why they made these decisions.

It’s that kind of insight that only comes with experience and deep mastery.”

“I’ll try whispering them in-game, hyung.”

“Come on, their friend request window must be overflowing.

You think they’ll even check whispers?”

“True.

Is there any way we can contact them?

This would be really useful to learn.”

This wasn’t the first time they’d faced a situation like this.

How did Fusion Gaming become the number one team in the league?

If something even slightly seemed like it could help their strategies, they spared no effort—or expense—to acquire that knowledge.

The accumulated insights from such efforts had been the foundation of Fusion Gaming’s diverse champion pool and unexpected picks.

And this time, the situation was no different.

The conclusion was clear—they needed to learn from the streamer Kayak.

The only problem was figuring out how to get in touch.

At that moment, someone spoke up.

“I can get in touch with Hangang.

Maybe I can ask him to connect us.”

“Oh, nice.

Give it a shot.”

“Go for it.”

“Finally, we get to talk to a girl.”

“Dude, we’re trying to learn from a pro, not hit on someone.”

Jun-hyuk nodded at his teammate’s suggestion and spoke.

“Yeah, try reaching out.

Let’s hope we get a positive response.”