Chapter 96: A Long Tail Brings Consequences

It was definitely fun to watch the match in person.

The cheers and chants of the crowd, the commentators shouting at the top of their lungs, the players with tense expressions.

Watching on-site lets you see all of it unfold right before your eyes.

Should I call it a sense of presence?

It’s a world of difference compared to watching the game on a computer at home.

Now I understand why people are willing to pay such high prices.

Why tickets sell out so quickly and why scalpers resell them.

It was exactly as fun as I had expected, but as they say, the taste you already know is the most addictive.

Or maybe it was because Camilla was picked in the first game.

Seeing my biggest reason and hope for coming to the match unfold before my eyes made it impossible not to get excited.

“Junhyeok’s Camilla secures another kill! Optimum Prime is completely unable to handle Camilla’s movements!”

Waaaah—!

With the commentator’s voice, a roar of cheers erupted from the audience.

Perhaps because they were the number one team in the country, Fusion Gaming received massive cheers every time they gained an advantage.

Optimum had fans too, but the difference in support was obvious—the sheer volume of cheers was completely different.

It was the first kill of the second set, secured not long after the match began.

Fusion Gaming had taken the first point.

They had picked Camilla again in the second set.

I wasn’t sure why Optimum hadn’t banned Camilla.

Did they think they could counter it after being destroyed in the first set?

Or had they lost so badly that they had already lost their mental composure?

Either way, it was a great outcome for me.

I could watch Camilla’s performance for another set.

The stadium’s large screen replayed Junhyeok’s play, showing Camilla’s kill in slow motion.

At the same time, the crowd’s cheers rang out again, filling the enormous dome stadium.

Feeling the excitement rise, I refused to be outdone and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Camilla! Camilla is the best—!”

“Unnie, please stop…”

Si-hyun looked at me with embarrassment.

She mumbled softly, gripping my hand tightly, clearly feeling secondhand embarrassment.

But I found it odd and a bit disappointing.

She had enthusiastically waved the “Camilla is the best!” sign during the first game, yet now she was suddenly feeling shy?

I soon understood why Si-hyun was acting like that.

For some reason, I could feel an unusual number of people staring at us.

I didn’t know the reason, but I could feel it.

It wasn’t like this during the first game.

Had something happened in between?

It wasn’t just because I had shouted—people were glancing at us even when we were just sitting still.

Their gazes flickered from the sides and behind, subtly but noticeably.

I found the constant attention uncomfortable but not unbearable.

I was used to getting looks whenever I went outside, and the stares didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.

They weren’t leering at me or looking at me with lustful eyes—just peeking out of curiosity.

Maybe they were staring because I looked a lot like Camilla.

That was my guess.

Meanwhile, the game continued steadily.

Before I knew it, it had reached the mid-game.

The score was 6 to 1.

Fusion Gaming clearly had the upper hand.

While scores aren’t everything in a match, this particular game made it obvious which team was dominant.

They were playing aggressively while slowly tightening their grip on the enemy team.

The meticulous pressure must have been suffocating.

If it was frustrating to watch, how much worse would it be for the players themselves?

It was time for a desperate gamble.

If I were on Optimum’s side, I would have made a move right now.

If they didn’t seize this opportunity, they’d be slowly strangled by Fusion’s strategy until their inner base was destroyed.

There was no way the pro players wouldn’t see the same opening I did.

Almost immediately after I thought this, Optimum made their move.

Three players rushed in, targeting Junhyeok.

However, the opponent was also a professional gamer—one recognized as the captain of a team hailed as the best.

Camilla performed an elegant dance.

At the same time, her dazzling dribbling began, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

‘They learned well.’

It was a somewhat irreverent thought to have about a player with a contract worth hundreds of billions.

The expressions of the Optimum players, whose final gambit had just crumbled to dust, were… well, I almost felt sorry for them.

One by one, their outer strongholds were destroyed, and in the end, even the inner fortress fell.

A smooth victory for Fusion Gaming.

“You’ve delivered an outstanding performance in two consecutive matches and have been selected as MVP. How do you feel?”

It was time for the winner’s interview.

The obviously good-looking announcer handed the microphone to the player.

And of course, that player was none other than Lee Jun-hyuk, who had played Camilla.

As soon as his face appeared on the screen, cheers erupted from the crowd, just as they had before.

Among them, piercing screams from female fans rang out.

So it was true that he had a lot of female fans.

Objectively speaking, he was indeed good-looking.

I watched Jun-hyuk’s face on the screen with satisfaction.

After all, he had won MVP while playing Camilla.

While the player using her was important, Camilla herself also played a role in his MVP selection.

This was all going according to plan—Camilla’s reputation was rising.

Naturally, she would get nerfed soon.

But before that happened, I had already achieved what I wanted.

I got to play in the league and do everything I had planned.

It was satisfying in many ways.

Feeling pleased, I squeezed Si-hyun’s soft cheeks as I continued to watch the interview.

“A lot of people were curious about your decision to pick Camilla—commentators, myself, and of course, the fans. In both games, you chose Camilla, a non-mainstream hero that had never been used in the league before. Could you share the reason behind your pick?”

“It’s a long story, but originally, Camilla wasn’t a planned pick. We had different strategies prepared for this season. Camilla was more of an impromptu choice.”

The preparation period was short—it was almost right before the season began.

Even so, for him to showcase such a complete performance proved why he was one of the world’s best players.

“An impromptu choice? Does that mean you originally had no intention of playing her?”

The announcer made a surprised expression.

She had good reactions—she would do well in broadcasting.

I was lost in these trivial thoughts when Jun-hyuk continued.

“Yes. I got inspired after seeing a certain player’s gameplay in ranked matches and immediately reached out to them to learn. The build I used in today’s game was entirely created by that player.”

Oh, uh…

The original build was made by me, but we tweaked it together, didn’t we?

What he used in the tournament was the modified version.

Of course, I didn’t dwell on it.

Jun-hyuk kept talking.

“I didn’t know at first, but apparently, they’re quite famous. Some of my teammates already knew about them.”

“Ah, like a hidden master of ranked games?”

“Yes, yes. They mainly play Camilla since they specialize in her, but even outside of that, their overall game understanding is incredibly high—on par with professional players.”

A buzz spread through the audience.

‘Someone like that exists?’

‘Who is it?’

I could hear people murmuring.

I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy about this or not.

From a broadcasting standpoint, it was great.

And in a way, it was a compliment to me.

But as the saying goes, too much of anything is bad.

Excessive attention could be just as much a curse as it was a blessing.

Jun-hyuk, seemingly sincere in his desire to see me in the pro scene, continued to hype me up until the interview ended.

Thankfully, he didn’t mention my in-game name directly.

Still, those who knew would already recognize it was me.

Oh well.

It’s not like I committed a crime or anything—I did something good.

Things would work out fine.

There was no need to overthink it.

Afterward, Si-hyun and I had dinner before heading home late in the evening.

<“LMAO Optimum fans, get out. Fusion just proved their class again.”>

<“Even the world’s best player learns from Camilla.”>

<“High-tier Camilla main = Kayak. This is basically confirmed, right? LOL”>

<“When did they meet? Was it during that period when Kayak wasn’t streaming much?”>

<“Is Kayak going pro? Was Lee Jun-hyuk hinting at it?”>

<“That adorable kid in the audience + the Camilla cosplayer.”>

<“Evidence that the Camilla cosplayer is actually Kayak.”>