[TS] Malicious Sniper

What do viewers want from streamers?

Some streamers keep viewers captivated with incredible skills.

Others capture hearts purely through sheer entertainment.

Regardless of differing demands, there’s one common point:

It’s the satisfaction of ‘vicarious fulfillment’ through the streamer.

And this is also a pivotal reason why sniper viewers become notable in certain broadcasts.

There have always been audiences wanting to bother streamers.

Snipers serve to scratch those unresolved itches of such viewers.

Currently, Bazed, who appeared in Baratode’s broadcast, is no different.

It’s no exaggeration to say that all the worst offenders gathered here.

Bazed’s relentless torment provided a glorious relief for the viewers’ frustrations.

[Bazed, what’s he up to? LOL]

[He’s really making it happen over there!]

[Can’t help but feel the bromance! LOL]

[??? : Our jungle is always!]

[Why do I hear it just from the text?]

[Game’s not fun, right?]

Usually, Baratode is too talented.

While it may be a broadcast worth watching due to his prowess.

How could someone survive solely on sweetness?

Sometimes, you’ve got to indulge in spicy or salty too.

But Baratode’s broadcasts always had the same flavor; it’s bound to get boring.

Of course, that’s not the only reason for this tremendous cheer.

The most important reason is that the haughty Baratode, who lives in self-admiration, is doing the Zero Two dance.

If not now, we may never see Baratode breaking out the Zero Two dance again.

Thus, the viewers (the troublesome ones) fervently cheered for the Bazed and Wandering Swordsman duo.

Watching that, Baratode let out a chuckle.

“Hey, everyone. Is that what you really want to see?”

[Of course!]

[How much do we need?]

[Let’s raise 100 million!]

[Will Baratode really dance for 100 million? LOL]

[The viewers with suspiciously deep pockets are real troublemakers! LOL]

[With 30,000 viewers now, in theory, we just need 3,300 won each!]

[It’s like those bullies who take 200 won from junior kids; no thanks!]

[Classroom PTSD triggered!]

Seeing the viewers reacting more fiercely than ever, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Having been blinded by Zero Two in the chat, I refocused back on the game.

Currently, the game was in the mid-game phase, with various object battles heating up after lane phase ended.

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Having been consistently tormented by Bazed’s Eles throughout the lane phase, my growth was slower than intended.

However, winning a significant dragon fight earlier was enough to bridge the majority of growth differences.

‘I’ve got a long way to go; I can’t trip up here.’

I headed to the bottom lane to clear a big wave and started to split push.

Just moments ago, we took down the dragon, and there were about 30 seconds left until the second Rift Herald respawned.

Normally, I should have participated in a small skirmish in front of the Herald.

But I pinged the jungle, who was lurking near the Herald.

Even though I closed most of the growth gap with one teamfight win,

Other champions now had mostly two items while I still had just one.

I was in a tight spot for money, and I needed to push at least one more wave to get my second item.

It would take too long to return late for just the second item before heading to the Herald.

So, I called for us to give up the Herald.

Fortunately, my teammates kept farming instead of heading toward the Herald.

[The enemy team has slain the Herald!]

At this moment, with the turret gold gone, the value of the Herald wasn’t all that high anymore.

Of course, if we lost a major teamfight, we could quickly lose an inhibitor turret.

But since I had items like Steel Plated, all chances of losing disappeared.

The enemy team began to pressure mid, likely planning to engage before the Herald expired.

In response, our team grouped in mid to clear the approaching wave.

Neither side had particularly good poke compositions, so we were just waiting for the right angles.

I moved to an area out of the enemy’s vision to find an entry angle, and in that moment, our jungler Zarbon was hit by the enemy Eles’s cocoon.

In a flash, the fight broke out, and it seemed like Zarbon was about to die in the CC chain.

But with the stopwatch, I could briefly divert the aggro, and as soon as it ended, I used EQ ultimate to snatch up the DPS.

However, having gone too deep alone, I was focused down and died quickly, leaving my carry too far away to supply any damage.

But Yone had tremendous mobility to close such distances in the blink of an eye.

I dove into the chaotic maelstrom of Zarbon’s grave using my E-flash ultimate.

Unaware of Yone’s ambush, Yasuo and Samara, who were merely waiting for the wall to break down, were swept away by Yone’s blades.

KABOOM!

Late to react, Samara tried to flash away.

But Yone, with a peak E movement speed, relentlessly chased to the end,

Ultimately sacrificing his life, resulting in a 4v4 teamfight.

However, since I had Yasuo and Samara tied up,

The enemy front line was already on the brink of collapse due to our focused fire.

The enemy team had no champion with airborne skills besides Yasuo, so there was no variable to worry about.

[Finish!]

After winning the earlier dragon fight, we also triumphed in this mid teamfight.

Successfully pushing down the inhibitor turret allowed us to widen the gold gap.

*

For Curry, being backed by a skilled sniper like Bazed was quite a boon.

He was like a prince on a white horse, straight out of a fairy tale, and it felt like he would actually conquer the nasty Baratode.

The synergy between Bazed and Wandering Swordsman was so seamless that it was almost like watching the mighty Baratode shaken.

However, as time passed, Baratode began eyeing opportunities to grow.

The consecutive defeats in teamfights were enough to give Baratode wings.

In the early game, the momentum undeniably favored the Wandering Swordsman and Bazed.

But one misplayed teamfight sent the snowball rolling, flipping the game on its head.

Had it been an ordinary snowball, it might have been tough to turn things around.

Yet the snowball that Baratode rolled was like a snowball with fast-moving Nana, ready to stop any desperate flailings.

The perfect play, almost like a death sentence, blocked any chance of escaping from the worst-case scenario.

Baratode, better than anyone else, knew how to win in League of Legends.

When someone gives it their ‘all,’ who knows how a disadvantaged game can turn around?

[Victory!]

Was the word “victory” displayed on the broadcast screen such a bittersweet word?

Curry felt a shocking pain, as if a dagger had been stabbed deep in her heart, and turned off Baratode’s stream.

Seeing her points near 1500, she couldn’t help but visualize herself dancing Zero Two in no distant future, so she had to close the broadcast.

Exiting her room and stepping into the living room, Curry called out to the manager watching TV.

“Hey.”

“Why are you suddenly calling me that?”

“…Manager.”

“What’s up?”

With a grave expression, Curry spoke softly.

“Should we emigrate?”

“No way.”

*

Even having defeated the Bazed and Wandering Swordsman duo, climbing higher remained tough.

As part of the streaming king, I had to sleep while keeping my broadcast active.

Even when trying not to think about it, I found myself unable to sleep and had to log into League of Legends.

Two weeks had passed since the time I began living a life worse than a beast.

Now, my points finally crossed the 1000 mark, and I reached a stage where I frequently encountered famous pro gamers.

[Congrats on escaping the cursed threshold!]

[Did you really cross 1000 this time? LOL]

[Finally shoved the troublesome ones out!]

[Bazed… I miss you…!]

[How many games did I even play with Bazed?]

[Pros are now eyeing me for snipes… I’m finished.]

I had shaken off Bazed, who had desperately clung to keep me from exceeding 1000 points.

The Wandering Swordsman had also plummeted due to successive defeats against me.

There were no longer any troublesome snipers to bother me in this range.

While gaming in this clean environment, my score rapidly began to rise again.

Since it’s a realm that could be called otherworldly even among the celestial beings, no one was bad enough to exist there, making victories unbelievably easy.

The adage that if five people gather, one must be a fool didn’t apply to this level.

Occasionally, a pro from ‘that’ country might throw tantrums,

But on good days, I’d gain about 70 points.

On bad days, just 30.

Even upon losing occasionally, Baratode’s score wouldn’t drop.

As that happened, more and more viewers were starting to look for Curry.

[Curry, why haven’t you been streaming lately?]

[Info) Curry announced a break three days ago.]

[There’s a rumor she’s emigrating to the neighboring country.]

[Curry… how can you say contradictory things?]

[You should have handled your donations more carefully! Lol]

[The enemy was a mad troublesome Baratode!]

One week after crossing 1000 points, now three weeks later, Baratode’s points soared to 1400.

Given that the top rank was at 1539, it could be said I was finally closing in on the number one rank.

“I’m going to score rank number one today.”

So I confidently declared I would take the number one spot.

[Alright, let’s go!]

[Please, let him fail with a losing streak…]

[??? : A month? Three weeks is plenty!]

[Laughs just thinking of Curry trembling! LOL]

[You chose Zero Two. Tough it out with every ounce of your spirit.]

[That joke is seriously trash, I’m not kidding.]

Contrary to my expectations, viewer reactions were split.

There were those wishing for my failings as the reigning king and those searching for Curry, who had declared a break.

‘Do they really want to see that?’

I couldn’t understand why anyone would be eager to watch me dance Zero Two.

Pretty girls dancing Zero Two were already all over Mutube; did they really need to see me do it too?

Of course, I couldn’t fault them for wanting to watch it, but as the subject, it was hard to empathize.

So today, as was routine, I began my solitary queue.

I kept my focus and raised my score until dusk.

As a result…

[Congratulations!]

[Did this really happen?]

[This is insane!]

[Who am I? A ‘Baratode’ viewer!]

[Curry, let’s see your Zero Two dance!~]

[That’s true education; that’s real refresher! LOL]

I succeeded in achieving rank number one.

[It appears Curry has started streaming.]

Right then, a notification popped up that Curry had begun her stream.

The fact that someone who had just declared a break suddenly started streaming meant she was indeed watching my broadcast live.

Imagining what Curry might be feeling brought me pure joy.

[There’s no paradise where you fled.]

The title of the broadcast seemed to perfectly encapsulate Curry’s feelings, almost making me chuckle.

“Ha ha!”

It was impossible not to burst into laughter seeing her messy hair, a clear sign she had been raking at it in distress.

“Hey everyone. I’ll be hosting you over to the next room.”

[LOLOL]

[Oh no, that Curry guy is doomed! LOL]

[Something big is coming!]

[The mindless Baratode army is invading!]

[Ugh, I really want to see this terrible thing now!]

[If you don’t catch this, you’ll miss out!]

I successfully became the reigning king of solo queue and wrapped up the long broadcast by hosting Curry.

And that night, Curry received an oddly high amount of donations from viewers.

She ended up dancing Zero Two for a grand total of 30 minutes.

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