Chapter 93: Pro and Amateur

What is the difference between a pro and an amateur?

A pro is someone who performs at a professional level, making it their career.

It is a recognized occupation—society acknowledges them as professionals.

But what about amateurs?

To be blunt, their status is closer to a hobby rather than a profession.

No matter how skilled they are or how many people recognize their talent, they cannot call themselves pros unless it is officially acknowledged.

A pro does it as a job, while an amateur does it as a hobby.

That’s why people criticize a pro when they perform poorly or fail to maintain their condition.

But no one criticizes an amateur for the same thing.

There is no point in blaming a casual player who isn’t even serious about the game.

If a pro endures the pressure and proves their worth in a competitive setting,

They receive cheers and recognition from fans—along with the rewards they deserve.

Unlike amateurs, who struggle in niche communities with only a handful of followers.

That is why the gap between pros and amateurs is massive.

No matter how skilled an amateur is, the difference between them and a pro is undeniable—at least, that’s what Jimin believed.

“Sigh…”

[LOL, RY is so bad hahaha]

[Keep the chat clean, please ^^]

[Mods, ban the one above]

[Not gonna lie, she really sucks]

[Her form has dropped a lot]

[Maybe she should just take a break?]

[This isn’t Jimin’s fault, her team just sucks]

[Sweet water buffalo, just shut up lol]

[Just end the stream already]

Jimin, a Division 2 pro gamer, was streaming live.

Unlike the well-known Division 1 teams, Division 2 teams are practically invisible to most people.

And on top of that, it was a women’s league.

A niche category with a small audience, few sponsors, and barely any recognition.

One of Jimin’s friends, a Division 2 women’s volleyball player, once joked that the only people watching their matches were betting addicts.

At least Jimin’s situation was a little better than that.

Her team, December Games, had originally been a Division 1 team.

But after a steady decline that began in last year’s Spring Season, they officially got relegated to Division 2 this spring.

For now, they hadn’t been completely forgotten, but if they stayed in Division 2 for too long, it was only a matter of time.

December Games was desperately trying to get back into Division 1.

To maintain what little fanbase they had left, the team required its players to stream for a minimum number of hours.

That was why Jimin was currently streaming solo ranked in Aeor War.

But the real problem wasn’t her stream—it was her current condition.

[Is she even a pro? LMAO]

[How many losses in a row is that now?]

[Just kick her already]

[Aren’t there any mods in this chat? This is a pro player’s stream, manage it properly.]

[What happened to Jimin? She used to be good…]

[She’s been bad since last Spring.]

[Let’s be real, she’s the reason December got relegated.]

The chat was unusually hostile today.

The team staff responsible for moderating weren’t even present—probably busy in another player’s stream.

But the worst part?

They weren’t wrong.

Jimin hated to admit it, but…

Her form had dropped.

And yes, she was part of the reason the team got demoted.

That was why, lately, she had been walking on eggshells within the team.

If things didn’t improve, getting kicked wouldn’t be surprising.

Even the coach’s attitude toward her had changed—his gaze felt different these days.

“…Things aren’t going well today. I’ll try to do better in this game.”

[You’re losing in the league and in solo queue. When the hell are you gonna win?]

[Just take a break and stream another time.]

[She said she’s gonna play, leave her alone.]

[Are the people telling her to end the stream even real fans?]

[She’s clearly in bad condition, that’s why.]

[Even if she rests, she’s not gonna get better.]

[How the hell is a pro player stuck in Diamond?]

[LOL, RY is barely Master, but Jimin is just Diamond hahaha]

There’s a clear difference between solo queue and team-based league matches.

A high solo queue rank doesn’t guarantee a pro contract.

And even if someone gets signed as a pro, it doesn’t mean they’ll perform well in actual league games.

That being said…

Diamond was still way too low for a pro.

Jimin lowered her head in frustration.

At the end of the day, results were all that mattered.

Reacting to each of these messages would only make things worse for her.

But then, a message appeared that she couldn’t ignore.

[Molru would’ve won this game.]

[Molru is literally Challenger, LOL.]

[She’s ranked 17th in Challenger, do you think she’s a joke?]

[Comparing a hardstuck Diamond to a god-tier player lol]

Clench.

Her teeth ground together.

That name again.

Molru.

It was impossible not to recognize it by now.

Molru, the top streamer on Switch.

And once upon a time, she had been part of December Games.

She was just an internet streamer.

No matter how high her rank was, there was a clear difference between a pro and an amateur…!

Jimin tried to convince herself that the chat and the club officials were blind to reality.

And then—

[LOL, the enemy team has Molru.]

[Molru-sensei has entered the game, hahaha.]

[? Where’s Molru?]

[That swordsman? That’s Molru’s smurf account.]

[She turned off her stream just to play on a smurf.]

[How do we win this game?]

[Come on, Jimin’s a pro, she’s still better, right?]

[Molru has stomped pros in solo queue so many times, what’s a Division 2 player gonna do? LOL.]

[Jimin, fighting!]

[If she was actually good, would she be stuck in Diamond?]

[Talk about speaking of the devil…]

Molru.

The source of Jimin’s recent stress had just appeared.

It felt like getting hit with a bucket of ice water.

Her whole body tensed.

Jimin’s gaze snapped toward Molru’s swordsman character—like she was staring down her mortal enemy.

“…I’m going to tryhard this match. I won’t be able to read chat, so please understand.”

[Like you ever read chat anyway, LOL.]

[Is Jimin about to pop off?]

[Our team comp is better, though.]

[Jimin, let’s go!]

[This is gonna be a big match…]

Jimin tightened her grip on the mouse—hard enough that her viewers could probably hear it.

For a brief moment, she forgot she was streaming at all.

The Zombie Survival collab with the Flare Crew had ended on Day 4.

She had been too distracted by chat and failed to react to an oncoming horde.

But for a completely newbie team, making it to Day 4 was a solid achievement.

They agreed to do a follow-up session later.

And today—was a rest day.

There was no special reason.

She just wanted a break.

She had been streaming consistently lately, after all.

Her viewers joked that she needed to break the habit of suddenly ending streams, but she ignored them as usual.

And so, today was a rare moment of peace—a day just for herself.

She had no plans to meet anyone.

She wasn’t going out anywhere.

Dressed in a baggy T-shirt and loose sweatpants, she scratched her belly lazily while sitting at her desk.

She hadn’t even bothered to shower.

With her hair growing longer, washing up had become a chore.

But what was there to do on a day off?

She usually just played games anyway.

She didn’t feel like watching any streams, so she booted up Aeor War.

For a moment, she considered turning on her stream—but that wouldn’t feel like a real break, would it?

She had always questioned why streamers played games off-stream.

But now?

She finally understood.

-Welcome, Molilru.

She logged in not on her main account, but on a smurf—one she usually used for duos.

Originally, this alt account was created for sniping Sua.

Even as a smurf, it was not to be underestimated.

Her visible rank was Platinum, but her MMR was at Diamond—so she was still getting matched with Diamond players.

Today, she planned to enjoy the game at a relaxed pace.

She even played copyrighted music—something she couldn’t do while streaming.

“This is easy.”

The match was going smoothly.

With her as the core player, her team slowly snowballed the game.

Victory was inevitable.

The only weird thing?

The enemy assassin kept targeting her.

If they actually wanted to win, it made way more sense to go after their retired veteran in the backline.

But instead, they persistently blew their ultimate just to kill her.

It was… strangely determined.

-Molilru // December Jimin

But there was no way she would lose a matchup where she had the advantage.

Especially in a clean 1v1.

To the rhythm of jazz music, she sliced through the final moments of the match.

“Haaah…”

After typing a quick “Thanks for the carry” to her teammates, she stretched her stiff shoulders.

“Huh?”

-December Jimin has sent you a friend request.

The enemy assassin had just sent a friend request.

There were several possible reactions to this.

Some players sent friend requests just to curse people out.

Some asked to duo.

And others just wanted to compliment someone’s skill.

Curious, she accepted.

-December Jimin: Hey.

-Molilru: ?

-December Jimin: 1v1?

A challenge—the kind only true warriors would issue.

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