Solo Play Possible (1)
For strears, the viewer count was a asure of their standing. Among those, a change in the leading digit was the most intuitive indicator.
Lee Gyeongbok felt satisfied at the fact that the leading digit had changed, and was burning with even more enthusiasm.
"Alright, now for the much-awaited 3rd ga. The quest success is right in front of us!"
Maybe his passion had been transmitted.
The chat window grew even livelier.
- Lol, such good hype!
- Quest?
- Lmao, Agent Q has a quest, huh.
- Yami 3-win streak? Still shaless lol
- In Purple's stream, it's always Qdari lol
- Wow, but already 2-win streak as Yami?
- Qdari guys are shaking right now, right?
- Ha, no one can stop Purple.
anwhile, the ga was found.
As soon as they entered the lobby, everyone rushed to pick their champions.
- Wow, look at that pick speed, insane.
- Since the MMR went up at Platinum, it's probably close to Diamond?
- Oh, makes sense.
- Whoa, yami appears at this kind of MMR?
- Crazy, crazy.
The viewers couldn't hide their anticipation at this rare sight. Lee Gyeongbok intended to et those expectations.
[〉What's this?]
[〉Ah, F***...]
[〉Seriously]
[〉A troll at this rating?]
The reactions from his teammates were as expected. He'd already experienced this in the previous ga.
But this ti, it was different. Unlike before, there was now a record of gas played with Platinum rank users.
He figured that once they checked that, their aversion would decrease.
"I'm not trolling. If you look at my records..."
But before Lee Gyeongbok could even finish speaking—
[〉Is living like that fun?]
[〉Seriously disgusting.]
[〉All life losers are like that.]
[〉So obvious you're out here dragging everyone down, laughing about it.]
The chat was filled with insulting language.
- What is this?
- Are these guys crazy?
- Honestly, this kind of reaction is normal tho lol
- For real, of course they'd think it's a troll.
- Skill and personality aren't proportional...
- Not just one, all four are trash, wow.
- Sensei Jirobo? That's not what you said? Wasn't it just one?
- Honestly, picking Yami in placents would piss off too.
Viewers reacted instantly.
So seed to sympathize with their situation.
Because of this, Lee Gyeongbok was also upset, but instead diated through the viewers' chat.
"I'm fine. You know, right? I just have to prove it with skill. Yeah, once you get to high rank, everyone gets on edge."
As MMR increases, people who stake everything on their ga appear more frequently. Especially in placent matches, nerves can increase exponentially.
If he won here, he'd get that much closer to Diamond rank—a feat that would normally take countless hours.
- What a personality!
- Is he really going to bus even these kinds of people...
- Truly a bus driver, Purple-legend ㅠㅠ
- If it were , I'd have dodged in anger.
- Want to see them shocked by Perfect Yami lol
Since Lee Gyeongbok himself took it this way, the viewers also restrained their anger.
But his teammates didn't wait even a mont longer.
[〉Let's just ignore him.]
[〉No point in trash-talking, only feeds the troll.]
[〉Right. Anyone who picks Yami in placents is the real deal.]
[〉Seriously, what an attention seeker.]
They knew all too well how to deal with trolls, given their experience.
[〉Blocking now.]
[〉So pathetic, honestly...]
[〉Let's report after.]
[〉Let's just do our best among ourselves.]
That was their last chat. Lee Gyeongbok hadn't expected that he wouldn't even get a chance to explain.
- Look at those insta-blocks, scary.
- Honestly, this is normal in most cases.
- Is ignoring people normal?
- Ugh, is this Mystic average?
- They must've poured their lives into Mystic, lol
- They'll imdiately bow down after seeing Perfect Yami lol
Checking the chat, Lee Gyeongbok frowned slightly.
"Well then... Next round, I'll reveal my record before picking."
If he showed them himself, they'd believe it. Just like the previous ga.
The countdown finished and the ga began. As the background changed, the players arrived at base.
The teammates who arrived together gave him looks of ridicule and contempt, then scattered to their lanes.
- Wow, those are so deadly stares.
- Hey! Try opening your eyes a bit nicer!
- First ti eting, but it's like they're mortal enemies lol
- Haha, opening up notepad.
- New text docunt.txt (7GB)
- How much do they have to write, lol
Nevertheless, the chat window's mood was bright. The viewers knew Lee Gyeongbok's skill and had no doubt he'd prove it.
"Alright, let's get started."
Lee Gyeongbok thought so too.
But things didn't go smoothly.
- Wait, why are they backing there?
- That was the perfect gank timing!
- What is this? Are these really Plats?
- How did the MMR end up like this?!
At first, both Lee Gyeongbok and the viewers thought it was just a coincidence. They thought his teammates' judgnts were lacking, so Yami just wasn't getting a chance to intervene.
'... No, they're doing this on purpose.'
Lee Gyeongbok was the first to realize the truth. To be precise, his sixth sense kicked in.
Amidst sharp and chilling threats, a sticky, unpleasant sensation spread.
That sensation didn't co from the enemy, but from allies.
- Are these guys doing this on purpose?
- Yeah, whenever Purple cos to gank, they push so he has to retreat under tower.
- Wow, filthy play.
- They're trying this just so he can't get kills/deaths, huh?
- Even a Gold can see their intention.
The viewers quickly picked up on their sche as well. Since MMR isn't decided only by wins and losses, it was clear the teammates had colluded to ostracize Lee Gyeongbok.
Even when he tried ganking other lanes after that, his allies gave him zero cooperation.
"Heh, if I try to solo-dive, they'll probably sabotage instead."
Lee Gyeongbok didn't try to hide his displeasure. The uneasy feeling he got from them only grew stronger.
- Feels like they're trying to tank Purple's MMR.
- Isn't winning the ga the most important thing?
- They're not letting him show up at all, damn.
- So frustrating.
He let out a light sigh and shook his head.
What should one do in these situations?
If it was just plain insult, he could just get angry or blow off steam.
But Lee Gyeongbok was on broadcast, being watched by countless people. So the only conclusion he could reach was one:
"But if I give up now, I'm not living up to my na."
He reconsidered what the viewers really wanted.
- ???
- What's he going to do?
- What's he implying?
- He's not leaving?
Lee Gyeongbok's eyes widened at the keyword 'leaving' (탈주).
"Co on, leave? How could I turn my back now? That's not 'Perfect' at all."
His remark split the chat into two camps.
- Seriously, no one would bla you for leaving.
- True.
- If those guys report him, they deserve to be punished instead.
- With Purple's skill, he'll get a 3-win streak again soon anyway.
- No lies detected.
First, the new viewers who didn't fully trust him. From what they saw, Lee Gyeongbok had only won by leading his teammates so far. So, without team support, they thought he'd quit this ga.
- Haha, Purple's self-confidence is showing!
- If it's Purple, he'll do sothing anyway lol
- It's over, it's done.
- Comfortable~
- Nonbelievers must be confused af lol
On the other hand, the longti viewers who knew his record were different. They already knew 'Purple' was built different.
"I have a way to win on my own."
Lee Gyeongbok said confidently.
That line filled the chat window with question marks again.
- Alone? Alone how?
- Just a waste of ti and stamina. Just leave.
- Even if he shows skill, those attitudes an he won't get recognition.
- That's 'yeah.' (맏따)
- If Purple can't perform, it's basically a 4v5 and a loss...
Unfortunately, re words weren't enough to allay the newcors' concerns. The veteran viewers could only laugh.
Among the chat, there were also so odd ssages.
- If you're so confident, play with a penalty.
- Yeah, talk is cheap.
- If you leave now, quest fail, agreed?
- Declaration of stupidity incoming?
At a glance, these looked like comnts from regulars, but there was a subtly different nuance.
The troublemakers lurking in chat were showing their faces.
- That's crazy talk.
- 〈Manager has kicked the viewer.〉
- Don't mind it.
- They just like getting attention.
- 〈Manager has kicked the viewer.〉
- Manager is wielding the banhamr!
- Out with the trolls, lol
But their ssages were swiftly deleted by the manager.
"Even without cooperation, I have a way to win. This ti, I'm thinking of actually gearing up."
- Gear?
- Ah!
- Co to think of it, Purple hasn't built any items until now lol
- Wow, you're right.
- Is he going to go full-item Yami?
- Insane, lol
This made the viewers realize anew that Lee Gyeongbok hadn't been building any items.
"For that reason, I'm going to start farming now. Let's wipe out the creeps."
Lee Gyeongbok read the last chat and smiled again.
- That killer smile!
- This is real... scary.
- His will to kill everyone...!
- This strear is 'serious.'
- Purple, opening his eyes to the waves of murderous intent!
- Lol, this is impossible to skip.
The viewers mirrored his smile through the screen.
* * *
anwhile, geno was in the middle of his scheduled advertisent broadcast.
"Geez! Why are these guys' ntalities so weak!?"
He shouted, brushing his face with his hands.
- Even Geno can't withstand RNG gas, lol
- Physical skill is pointless if you're alone!
- Welco to Darkest Ruin, first ti?
- Enemy: Ah! Singular Strike!
- That hit feeling, so clean!
- Hyung? Is this howork? Howork!
- Hey! You crying?
Viewers took delight in seeing his suffering.
"Whew, guys. I'm going to the bathroom for a sec."
Geno huffed and left the capsule. But the place he rushed to wasn't the restroom.
"How did it go?"
He imdiately asked his manager. The question was abbreviated, but the manager knew what he wanted.
"Purple accepted your friend request."
"Really? Wow, thank goodness."
Geno let out a sigh of relief. The issue that had been nagging at him during the advertisent broadcast was finally resolved.
"Hyung, does it bother you that much?"
"Obviously! Didn't you watch the monitor? There's really no one that good—no one. Just no one."
Geno waved his hands emphatically.
He was genuinely awed by strear Purple's skill.
"Honestly, he's good enough to play pro right now. With that kind of skill, he'll blow up soon."
"He already seems to have gotten popular?"
"What?"
"I looked it up, and he's pretty famous with Bark. They even call him the Bark President over there."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
"Well, then it'll be easier to propose a joint broadcast, right?"
Geno's eyes shone with a smile. Joint broadcasts between strears only really work if both sides are on a similar level.
It wasn't that he was trying to pick and choose people; it was viewer perception that mattered. If the gap in size was too big, the smaller strear could look like they were leeching off the big one.
It could even look like what the industry called 'strawing' (빨대), plugging into soone bigger.
"Well, whoever he is, I'll get to know him little by little."
Geno was glad Purple wouldn't get treated that way.
Now all that remained was the strear's personality. If there had been a problem, the manager would have already brought it up.
"Hyung, but I think you should be careful about a joint stream..."
"Hm? Why? Is he problematic?"
So when the manager's expression turned strange, geno's face grew just as serious.
"No, you told to check out Purple's stream, but if you do a collab..."
The manager glanced at Geno. He wrinkled his nose, urging the manager to go on.
"Ah, what is it? Just say it. The viewers probably think I have constipation from waiting."
"... You might beco the sidekick, not the main."
"What?"
The manager pulled up a hologram screen via smart link, instead of explaining.
The screen was relaying Purple's broadcast.
Geno's eyes grew wide as he watched the screen.
"No way... is this even possible?"
* * *
Lee Gyeongbok's team couldn't avoid struggling. Every player in this ga had skills befitting near-Diamond rank.
anwhile, with Yami excluded, the balance had been broken from the start.
They had to fight 4v5 not just in lane, but in every teamfight, consistently losing and failing to farm enough gold.
As a result, even their item setups fell behind, and the skill gap only grew wider.
Were they regretting their actions in this situation?
No, not at all.
"Ugh, because of that damn troll..."
"There should really be a way to kick people during picks."
"Ah... If we win this, I'd hit Diamond."
"Ruined, all because of that guy."
They had started 'politics'—shifting bla instead of analyzing the loss coldly, to preserve their fragile pride.
Maybe it was consensus, but they even turned on voice chat to trash talk. Their complaints had an obvious target.
"For real. It's not a normal ranked ga, it's a placent, why pick Yami?"
"Ha... Everyone's suffering because of that crazy guy."
"Look at what he's doing. Just farming creeps like mad?"
"He calls himself a jungler after that? What a psycho."
The problem was, they weren't trash talking without basis. Lee Gyeongbok, in fact, hadn't succeeded in a single jungle gank.
Of course, they conveniently ignored the fact that they blocked his chat and deliberately refused to cooperate.
"What, is he planning to scale into late ga or sothing?"
"If he picked a late-ga champ, maybe I'd get it. But Yami's not one."
"Definitely just here to troll."
"We're at a funeral and he's partying."
'Late king'—scaling into late ga by passively farming gold, gearing up, and then carrying in late-ga fights.
Many champions can truly change with items, but only if teammates hold out until then.
But in this situation, yami was neither. No team support, and Yami—a troll pick—could maybe get a lucky gank or two, but couldn't turn the ga's flow.
"Unfortunately, this round's hopeless."
"Ha, pisses off the more I think about it."
"Agreed. Let's just manage our KDA."
"Let's hug the base tower and pick up kills in teamfights if we can. Report the troll at the end."
They agreed to focus on defense and minimize lost MMR after 'successful politics'.
"They're coming!"
Right as the minion wave spawned, enemy champions crowded in. The enemy team seed determined to end the ga and ca all together.
Another 4v5 teamfight. As promised, they defended the tower and held the enemy back.
With all focus there—
〈Temple's tower has been destroyed!〉
The system voice rang in their ears, making everyone turn. Was this the end?
"Wait! It's not ours!"
Their tower was still standing.
For a mont, they were dumbfounded—then they noticed a blinking red dot on the minimap.
'Enemy base?'
'What the...?'
The minimap showed activity at the enemy base. But everyone was grouped for defense.
Only one possible cause remained. But they couldn't believe it.
The first to accept reality were—
"What?!"
"What happened!?"
—the enemy team who actually suffered the damage.
〈Temple's tower has been destroyed!〉
Another system ssage, and the enemy team's faces twisted in frustration.
At that mont, everyone there had to accept reality.
"What the hell...!"
"Backdoor with Yami?!"
Lee Gyeongbok's plan had been a sneak attack—'backdoor.'
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