Chapter 1: Hako Streamer
There are countless professions in this world.
From ordinary office workers to specialized professionals like lawyers and accountants, people live their lives tied to a single occupation.
And here’s a guy who chose to work from home.
What started as a hobby stream turned out to be decent enough, so he recklessly made it his job.
A first-year, no-cam, small-time streamer.
That’s me.
“Please, just stop!”
[LOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[This is the real bronze experience!]
“Why are you idiots going in there with no vision?!”
Every time I slammed my fist down, keys popped off my keyboard, flying in all directions.
I’m losing my mind.
Anyone would react like this if a game they were about to win got thrown by a careless dealer.
“Why would an ADC walk into a dark area with no vision?!”
[That’s why they’re bronze LOL]
[That guy’s actually silver LOLOLOL]
[Minerals are always thrilling!]
“Silver? That guy’s in silver? Man, this game is doomed…”
[That’s why he’s stuck in silver]
[Bet the streamer’s gold or higher, right?]
[The scariest part is there’s an even deeper abyss called Iron…]
I sighed, tidying up my keyboard with half its keycaps missing.
Today, my team luck was unusually awful.
It wasn’t just that ADC.
The support, the top laner from the game before, and the jungler from the one before that—none of the games I played today had even one player with common sense.
How does this even happen?
Is the game company rigging my matchmaking?
“Is this team luck for real? Isn’t this matchmaking rigged?”
[Your teammates are the real victims here]
“You’re banned. Good luck.”
[?]
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[Perfect timing to roast you LOLOL]
[Adios LOLOLOL]
Tararan~ Tararan~ Tan Kung-jjak-jjak
I hummed a tune that sounded like it belonged to a hanafuda card flip, displaying the chat window on my stream.
A flood of chats mourning the guy I just roasted.
Scrolling up, I spotted a single question mark.
It was from a user named Sharylong.
Checking their chat history, they were just a regular viewer who’d been watching my streams for a while.
Maybe I’d let them off if they apologized.
I hovered my mouse over the permanent ban button and spoke.
“Defendant, your final statement.”
[I’m sorry. Please spare me.]
“Spare you?”
That’s all you’ve got to say on the brink of death?
You think this is a joke?
“Is that all for your last words?”
[…One coin?]
[One coin?]
[One coin’s the rule LOLOLOL]
[LOLOL one coin, really?]
“One coin? You think I’d give you that?”
I said that, but this was a long-time viewer.
They hadn’t done anything particularly bad before.
I wasn’t planning to perma-ban them anyway.
Instead of a permanent ban, I clicked chat restriction and set it to 10 minutes.
“A ban feels a bit harsh, so go repent in the timeout corner for 10 minutes.”
Click.
I mercilessly clicked the mouse.
For the next 10 minutes, this person wouldn’t be able to chat.
But as a former jobless guy, I know better than anyone—10 minutes of chat silence is pure torture for them.
[He gave one coin LOLOL]
[Last time it was 30 minutes, now it’s 10.]
[Has the streamer ever perma-banned anyone? Isn’t he an angel?]
[I think the streamer’s secretly evil. 10-minute bans itch like crazy.]
“Name a streamer who doesn’t perma-ban.
Doesn’t that make me an angel? Thanks for the kind words, you get a sub gift.”
[Turn off your alt account]
[Manager, turn off your alt]
[Cut the sycophants]
[What, a chat shill?]
“Alt account? Shill? If I had that kind of money, I’d upgrade my streaming gear.”
I started queuing for another game while bantering like this.
A game streamer with around 100 viewers.
Not exactly small for a no-cam streamer, but my viewership hadn’t grown or shrunk since about six or seven months after I started.
I don’t know why.
I need a spark to bring in new viewers and show off my streaming charm, but I’m not sure how to make that happen.
Chat-heavy, game-focused streaming.
Maybe it’s time to try a game I’m unfamiliar with instead of the usual ones.
“Team luck’s trash today.
Let’s try a trending game for a change.”
[Oh?]
[New game?]
[Finally, something new to watch.]
[What about BattleSky? It’s hot right now.]
[Got anything in mind?]
“Is BattleSky fun? It’s been blowing up lately.”
A new game from a Korean company, BattleSky.
A battle royale where up to 100 players compete in a shrinking zone, with the last one standing as the winner.
Unlike the FPS games Koreans are used to, you start bare-handed, scavenging for weapons and gear while competing.
It sounded like a pretty fresh concept.
“I’ve never played an FPS before.
Should I give it a shot?”
[Go for it!]
[Newbie, let’s go~]
[Born in 2000 but never played FPS? That’s rare.]
“Hold on, let me change the stream title…”
[No-cam FPS Day 1: BattleSky Let’s Go]
[FPS newbie here to get wrecked.]
[Watch is definitely riding the BattleSky wave.]
[Newbies are always welcome.]
“Welcome, new viewers! Hope you have fun and stick around.”
As soon as I changed the title and game category, more viewers trickled in.
A globally hyped game definitely seemed to boost viewership.
I downloaded the game, launched it, and went through the tutorial.
The screen felt a bit choppy.
Checking the frame rate, it was fine normally but dropped sharply when throwing weapons.
I’d heard somewhere that frame rate is life in FPS games.
I opened the graphics settings and was greeted by a dizzying array of options.
“Isn’t there some standard optimized setting?”
[All medium, distance ultra.]
[Anti-aliasing ultra, rest very low.]
[Ultra for anti-aliasing, texture, distance; rest lowest.]
[Look it up online.]
“So, anti-aliasing, texture, and distance on ultra, everything else on lowest?”
[Yup, that’s it.]
[Some people with sharp eyes notice a difference between low and high settings.]
[You’re new to FPS, so it’s probably fine.]
I followed the viewers’ advice and applied the settings.
Returning to the game, something felt off visually.
The graphics looked weird.
“It’s a bit off, but maybe because I was on ultra before?”
[You were on ultra, so that makes sense.]
[Frame rate’s what matters. You can still spot people from far away.]
[Probably feels weird because shadows are gone.]
“Oh, right. No shadows—that’s what’s throwing me off.”
I moved the mouse, aimed, and checked the frame rate.
It felt much smoother than before.
Even throwing weapons didn’t tank the frames as much.
“Can I just start the game like this?”
[Yup, you’re good.]
[Let’s go~]
[First time? Dropping in will be fun.]
[LOL for real.]
I dressed my character in some free cosmetics and started the game.
After a brief loading screen, I landed in a crowded area and had to wait a minute.
This feels a bit dull to just jump into…
“It’s kinda boring to just start.
Watch added a point-betting feature recently—wanna try it?”
[Let’s go~]
[I’ve been waiting for this. Points ready LOL.]
[40k points, let’s go~]
“Option 1 is chicken dinner, option 2 is failure.
One minute to bet.”
But that betting never saw the light of day.
“I haven’t even touched the ground yet, you maniacs!!!”
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[This is the vibe LOLOLOL]
[This is peak newbie LOLOLOL]
Some guy who landed before me shot me dead while I was still parachuting…
This is straight-up newbie bullying!
Newbies are doomed!