Chapter 87: Preference

[The things she’s saying after turning on the broadcast after 5 days…]

[Hey, Kay, stop messing around and turn on Abyss already]

[As expected from Kayak, never disappoints]

[Didn’t even prepare for the broadcast and is trying to improvise again]

[What’s the concept this time? It’s so new]

[Stand up straight, Kayak, why did you take a 5-day break?]

[You think we’re gonna let that weird talk slide??]

[Sis, you’re really funny lol]

As soon as the broadcast started, Kayak said some random nonsense like how even watching Camila no longer makes her heart race, and it immediately made the viewers laugh.

They were used to this kind of behavior from Kayak, so they weren’t particularly shocked by it anymore.

“…I’m not kidding, I’m seriously asking for advice. I thought you guys might have some solutions.”

However, Kayak’s tone was different than usual.

It was lower than usual, somewhat muffled, as if she was trying to express confusion.

Her movements, like her mouse cursor twitching, made the viewers start to realize something was off.

[Is this for real?]

[Why is she acting like this suddenly??]

[Why is she tired of Camila?]

[Kayak’s tired of Camila? This is really serious…]

Kayak had always been extremely fond of Camila.

She even referred to Camila as her “girlfriend” and was known for her obsessive love for the character.

Her affection for Camila had been unwavering for years.

Kayak was the Camila master.

The person who loved Camila more than anyone.

A weirdo who loved Camila to a suspicious degree.

These were all titles that described Kayak.

It had been such a common thing that it was almost a given, a kind of unspoken truth.

But now, that belief was shattered by Kayak herself.

[Is she dying or something??]

[Why are you like this?]

[Honestly, isn’t it about time to get tired of her? These people are so dramatic]

[Stop sticking with Camila, and switch to Renok already]

[It’s abnormal to get excited over the character’s performance]

[I still get excited though]

[When I see Camila, my heart races up and down, I just want to let it go with Ice Queen Camila]

[Get out of here]

[Whoa]

[Look at how slow the mod is banning people now]

[The gambler can stop gambling, but Kayak stop loving Camila? Does that make sense?]

[Has the love faded?]

Kayak’s bombshell statement and her gloomy appearance left the viewers startled and unable to hide their confusion.

Despite it being a long-awaited broadcast, 3,000 viewers gathered quickly.

They began frantically coming up with different solutions.

<Someone donated 1000 won!>

– To get back to your roots, how about a no-skin, no-cam, no-mic Camila tryhard session?

“I already tried that, but it didn’t really work.”

[Why would you do that off-stream?]

[So that’s what that match history was about]

[Everyone thinks the same way, huh? lol]

<“Room Relationship Expert” donated 1,000 won!>

– It’s just relationship fatigue. You’ve been with Camila for too long.

“Relationship fatigue? Uh… then how do I fix it?”

[She’s seriously taking this advice lololol]

[You gotta break up, obviously]

[How about switching to cute little Lily instead?]

[But Camila is the most beautiful woman in Abyss…]

[You’re really gonna abandon Ice Queen Camila’s underboob?]

[A lot of people break up during relationship fatigue]

[You’re getting relationship advice from Twitch chat?]

[Everyone here is an alpha male, why would you trust them?]

[Of course, nothing beats Twitch chat relationship takes lolol]

<“Universe’s Ultimate God Game Envision” donated 1,000 won!>

– Since you’re tired of Camila, wanna try Envision instead? lol

“Envision is a bit…”

[Get those Envision rats out of here!]

[Where do these Envision dogs keep crawling in from?]

[If you’re gonna play Envision, might as well just quit gaming]

[Envision isn’t bad, though…]

[Ever since that sponsored stream, Envision players have been lurking in Kayak’s chat, and it’s hilarious lolol]

<“EndgameConcrete” donated 1,000 won!>

– Teacher, how about taking a break from Abyss and healing with some fun indie games?

“Mm… sorry. I don’t think I’m in a state to play something else right now. I need to figure out this problem first…”

[Indie game spammers make me wanna smash my head in]

[Do you not see how serious this is?]

[Can’t even read the room]

[And when she actually plays the indie games they ask for, they leave halfway through lol]

But nothing was really progressing.

Kayak had thought that gathering collective intelligence from a large group of people would lead to a solution, but that turned out to be a mistake.

With a slightly exhausted voice, she muttered.

“If this is how it is, there was no point in turning on the stream…”

[Whoa, no, no, don’t go!]

[STAY!!!]

[She’s seriously having a breakdown right now]

[So this is why she didn’t stream for so long?]

“Yeah… I just don’t feel like playing games, and if I force it, the stream will just feel low-energy…”

That’s when Kayak finally started talking about her situation—the very thing her viewers had been most curious about during her absence.

“So, I tried to solve it on my own, but it didn’t work out… so I came to you guys.”

[Oh no…]

[What do we do about our streamer]

[Maybe she just needs more rest?]

[Why is everyone acting like she has a terminal illness? Just drop Camila already.]

[Let’s just do a 24-hour stream. If she keeps the stream on, a solution will come eventually.]

Then, amid all the noise, someone finally presented a pretty reasonable theory.

<“The Analyst” donated 1,000 won!>

– You said you started getting tired of Camila about a week ago, right? Maybe it’s just because she got buffed too much and became too strong?

“Huh?”

<“The Analyst” donated 1,000 won!>

– The timing lines up perfectly. Camila never got a single buff before, so no one played her. But now that she’s OP and everyone is using her, your attachment probably faded.

Kayak fell into thought for a moment.

But the chat reacted even more strongly than she did.

[Wait, was that really it?]

[All the mysteries have been solved.]

[Your love fading just because the character got stronger… what kind of logic is that?]

[A lot of people are like that. It’s the classic hipster syndrome.]

[lol If the character I used to play alone suddenly becomes mainstream, of course I’d lose interest.]

[Kayak got NTR’d by other players stealing her Camila…]

[My precious little Camila… she’s not mine alone anymore.]

[Wait, was Kayak a hipster all along?]

Hearing the donation message, she seriously considered it.

According to the donator, the problem was that Camila had become too powerful.

Since more people were playing her, her own interest had naturally faded.

Now that she thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense.

On top of that, Ionix had released an insanely well-made skin for Camila.

No matter how expensive it was, with that level of quality, of course players were going to buy it.

As a result, Camila’s pick rate skyrocketed.

Whether in ranked or casual matches, she had become a common sight.

Kayak had to admit it.

Ever since then, she had slowly lost interest in Camila.

The donator’s theory was probably right.

“So I have hipster syndrome…?”

According to the chat, that’s exactly what it was.

Honestly, it was a bit of a shock.

She had never thought of herself as someone like that.

Sure, she liked taking a different path than others.

She enjoyed overcoming challenges by starting at a disadvantage.

But when she first picked Camila, it wasn’t because of her stats or pick rate.

She simply liked how she looked.

It just so happened that Camila was a trash-tier character at the time.

Since she had already chosen her, she decided to stick with her no matter what.

But regardless of how it started, the reason behind her disinterest now was exactly what the viewer had pointed out.

And deep down, Kayak couldn’t deny it.

“Yeah… I think that’s it. Camila is doing too well, and for some reason, that just makes me sulk.”

[W-w-w-what?!]

[That sounds like a husband jealous of his wife’s success.]

[Camila is super popular these days.]

[So are you looking for a new character?]

“No, I would never abandon Camila. The solution is simple… I just have to wait. She’s going to get nerfed anyway.”

In the end, the whole issue came down to Camila being too popular.

But that popularity wouldn’t last long.

A nerf was practically guaranteed.

Fusion Gaming had already promised to use her in the league at least once, so there was no way she would avoid the nerf hammer.

[Imagine hoping for your main character to get nerfed lol.]

[Finally, she’ll go back to being my little Camila…]

[How hard will they gut her this time?]

[What if they completely destroy her?]

[Kayak would still play her anyway.]

Now that she understood the reason behind her feelings, she felt much more at ease.

With a more relaxed mindset, she continued chatting with her viewers.

<“Kayak’s Secret Taste” donated 1,000 won!>

– So basically, the streamer has hipster syndrome, trash-tier sommeliers’ disease, and elitist main syndrome? lol I’m gonna go spread the word to every other chat.

Why do the labels just keep getting longer?