Chapter 29: No Skins, No Excuses
1.
【Virtual Streamer Gallery】
[General] What’s this chick doing???
Loaded up tons of cash to secure a collab with our Loa, but donations are blocked, and she’s ditching cooking for Legends of Battle, ffs;
– Freaking absurd lolol
– Straight-up crazy,
– With all the fans here, she could’ve made over 10 million won in donations, and she’s throwing it away lol
└ With the firepower of the fandoms jumping in, probably 3-4 times that ㅇㅇ
– One thing’s clear: she’s not normal ㅇㅇ,
└ Definitely something else lol
—
“People keep asking the same question. Guess you didn’t get it, but I’m not doing cooking streams until I hit Challenger.”
Viewers thought I was joking. But I was dead serious.
– What?
– No, that’s insane,
– At least open donations then
– You’ll never make it lolol A woman hitting Challenger? Never happened ㅇㅇ
– Isn’t this just WWE? Or was it UFC???
“Donations are the same. No unlocking until I hit Challenger. I’m tired of repeating myself, so I’ll put it on the screen.”
I went into the stream settings, typed a message, bumped up the font size, and pinned it to the corner.
[No cooking streams or donations until I hit Challenger in Legends of Battle]
Seeing it displayed, viewers finally started believing me.
I mean, what streamer breaks their paddle when the tide’s in?
But to steer my streams the way I wanted, this was necessary.
Getting swayed by donations would cost me control.
I’ll never be someone’s puppet again.
I’ll choose and decide on my own terms—even if it leads to a pit of fire.
『Match found!』
– So when can we see a cooking stream, unnie? ㅠㅠ It was so cool and fun, that’s why I came…
A chat stood out as I focused on the game.
‘Some are like that.’
Not everyone’s here with ulterior motives.
Some genuinely want my cooking streams. Ignoring them wouldn’t be right.
“When can you see a cooking stream? I don’t know. Too many tiers left to Challenger.”
– Guess we’re not seeing it lol
– Not a support, and a woman hitting Challenger as a top laner? Literally never happened ㅇㅇ
– Don’t worry too much ㅇㅇ She’ll fail Challenger and tank her stream, then start cooking lol
– For real lol
“Wow, so much salt. Doesn’t mean I’ll collab with your favorite YouTubers.”
I banned the haters without hesitation. Since anyone can make a new ID, I set a follow restriction.
『Chat restricted to users following for 24+ hours.』
– 24-hour lock’s tough ㅇㅇ,
– Gotta do it to block trolls
– True lol
“Okay, I’m focusing on the game now. If you came for cooking or to donate, please leave.”
Finally, I checked my assigned lane.
『Assigned position: Top Lane』
“Oh, got top. Lucky.”
Was worried I’d get another role, but luck’s on my side.
– If your MMR’s higher than the average tier, you usually get your preferred lane
– Yup ㅇㅇ Keep winning, and MMR stays high, so lane mismatches are rare
– That’s a thing?
– No wonder, ffs, losing streaks always screw my lane;
“Really? That’s good to know.”
[Carrier: I don’t need a ban card. Anyone need a specific ban?]
[MyIdol: Oh, can you ban Inferna?]
[Carrier: Got it.]
I banned the hero the teammate requested.
『Hoduya has requested a pick swap.』
[Hoduya: Top, I’ll pick first. Please accept.]
Checking their lane, it was ADC.
[Carrier: Nah, I’m good. I’ll go first. I can handle pretty much anything.]
[Hoduya: Confident, huh? Alright.]
“My teammates are super polite. Is this the Platinum vibe?”
– Never seen this before,
– Kinda weird ㅇㅇ,
– Stream sniping?
– Could be
– Or they checked her match history?
– Pretty brutal lolol
『Kairon』
I picked my usual hero and scanned the chat.
Still moving fast, but the follow restriction killed the trolls.
『Live Viewers: 1,214』
Over a thousand viewers.
‘Peak was over 10,000, right?’
Compared to that, it’s modest. But for no cooking, this was decent.
“Might sound weird, but why are you all watching my stream?”
– Huh???
– Just watching, y’know
– Is that something you ask your viewers?
– Kinda threw me off lolol
– Telling us to leave?
“No, not telling you to leave. I’m not doing cooking streams, and I haven’t shown much in Legends of Battle yet, so why stick around? Just curious.”
If I had a loyal fanbase from long-term streaming, fine. But I’ve barely streamed a week. Why this crowd?
– It’s just fun?
– Most unique YouTuber I’ve seen???
– Your I-do-what-I-want vibe is cool lol
– You’re good at Legends
– Wanna see if you actually hit Challenger lol
– Your avatar’s pretty ㅇㅇ.
Answers varied, but they all found something appealing about me.
“I’ll make sure my streams are fun so you don’t regret watching.”
Feeling warm inside, I smiled.
– So cooking stream when?
– Cooking would be a great reward
– What? Cooking stream incoming?
“…Except cooking.”
These guys. I’m doubling down on Legends streams now.
『Entering Legends of Battle!』
—
Opening my eyes, I was in a snowy landscape.
White snow poured from the sky. A biting wind brought chilling cold. My breath formed white clouds.
“The map changed?”
Dozens of games, and I’d never seen this one.
– Map rotation must’ve hit
– Legends swaps maps periodically ㅇㅇ
– Snow map’s meh lol
– Hate it; the cold’s brutal ffs;
“Really? Seems like assassins, snipers, or ice-based heroes would have an edge.”
– Yup ㅇㅇ
– Map changes do shift hero tiers
As I thought, map changes affect hero tiers.
‘Kairon’s probably screwed.’
Black armor stands out in this white landscape. No way to use the environment.
“Hey, Kairon-nim, no skin change?”
A voice came from beside me. Turning, I saw a female hero in a white robe, but the voice was distinctly male.
『Voice Chat』
『Allies』 『Enemies』
I turned on my mic, which I’d kept off.
“Skin?”
My short reply made her—him—flinch. Understandable, I’ve been there.
“Yeah. When winter hits Legends, some heroes need skins. Kairon’s armor’s too obvious, right? ‘Snowfield Kairon’ skin’s a must.”
“Didn’t know that. But skins being mandatory? Is that okay?”
“If you don’t like it, swap heroes for the rotation, skip playing till the map changes, or quit.”
– For real lol
– Don’t wanna buy skins? Swap heroes lol
– You a genius?
– Shady business~~~
– Still cheaper than mobile gacha…
Viewers agreed, so it must be the consensus.
“Or just don’t play. But these days, skipping Legends makes it hard to chat with friends.”
“True.”
I don’t go out much, so I just nodded.
“So most swap heroes or buy skins. They’re not that expensive, and the quality’s good.”
“Thanks for explaining.”
“No prob.”
Time was ticking, so I rushed with the minions toward top lane.
At the battlefield, I spotted an enemy hero in the distance.
Clad in white armor, they blended perfectly into the snow, barely visible.
“So that’s why skins are a thing.”
From their perspective, I must stick out like a sore thumb.
– They’re practically invisible
– Bet they’re impossible to spot in bushes
The fight hadn’t even started, and I was already at a disadvantage. But it was fine.
I believed in one thing: myself. No need for skins. And if I couldn’t see the enemy—make them visible.
Shing—
「Shadow Slash」
I swung my blackened sword through the clashing minions.
Slash—!
A minion’s neck was sliced clean.
Blood sprayed like a burst artery.
I kicked the collapsing body, sending the blood-soaked corpse flying.
Thud!
It crashed into the enemy hero, splattering their white armor red.
Their eyes shook.
They didn’t see that coming.
“Now I can see you.”
I raised the corner of my mouth slowly.