Chapter 32: Hope, Hype, and Collapse

1.

『Stream has started.』

I began streaming right after breakfast. Noona offered to do the dishes, so I gladly let her.

‘She’s even cleaning on her own. She’s improved a lot in just a few days.’

She might still be down when I’m not watching, but I took it as a sign of healing.

– Gaming till dawn and streaming in the morning? Damn dedicated

– What brings you here this evening?

– Evening?? It’s 10 AM

– Shutupshutupshutup

『Live Viewers: 842』

I read the chats as they came in. Once enough people joined, I turned on the mic.

“Hey, good morning, everyone.”

– Hiii

– So damn early

– Why so early???

I thought for a moment before answering their questions.

“Nothing else to do. I’m on a university break, got no friends in Korea, and my only hobby’s Legends. Streaming’s better than playing alone.”

– University break and no friends… we’ve got a lot in common~~~~!

– No friends is kinda relatable???

– How’s Noona doing lately???

A question about Noona caught my eye.

“Noona? She’s thriving. We’re living together now, and I cook three meals a day and clean everything.”

Envious reactions flooded in. I smirked.

“Those watching probably live like my Noona, so I don’t get why you’re jealous.”

– What?

– Take that back right now…!

– Shutupshutupshutup

– This chick???

“Just kidding~ You’re all watching while slacking at work, right? Admit it.”

– For real lol

– Yup lolol Totally~~

– Yesss~~~~~~~

– Not true?

– Do unemployed folks count as having a job?

I chuckled at their reactions. They were fun to tease. As I chatted lightly with them—

– Hacker chick’s here lol Hacker chick’s here lol

– Queen Bee lol Queen Bee lol Queen Bee lol

– Smurfing feel good??? Smurfing feel good???

Suddenly, the chat filled with malice. I banned them on sight.

– What was that???

– Dozens spamming at once

– Felt like the apocalypse…

– Group chat raid lolol

The sudden spam startled even the viewers.

“Looks like they planned this in a community or group chat.”

I’d heard about it from Noona this morning, so it wasn’t surprising.

Even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.

“But if you’re gonna stir drama or fabricate stuff, at least unify your story.”

If they wanted to hate, focusing fire in one direction would’ve been smarter.

Why scatter their attacks like that?

– Just idiots lol

– YouTuber gallery’s trying to dunk on you???

“Oh, I knew they were trashing me there. No idea why I’m so hated…”

Not that I cared to understand.

Just as humans can’t grasp demon logic, I had no interest in decoding malicious minds.

“No matter how you provoke me, no cooking streams for a while. Even if I do them, it won’t be how you want.”

My stance was firm and wouldn’t change.

『Live Viewers: 2,349』

“Looks like the controversy brought in a lot of gawkers.”

The chat was quiet due to the follow restriction, but numbers don’t lie.

This many viewers in the morning? All because of the drama.

Hacks, smurfing, boosting.

Few genuinely believed those claims.

In VR, hacks and boosting were impossible, and smurfing didn’t apply to a fresh account post-placement.

The real reason people flocked here?

—‘Is she really that good?’

They came to see if I was skilled enough to spark controversy.

My gender likely amplified their curiosity.

This was my showcase. Prove my skill, and I’d gain meaningful viewership.

‘And that’s what I’m best at.’

Grinning, I launched Legends of Battle. Showtime.

“Let’s cut to the chase and show you how devastating it is when a Challenger-bound player lands in Master tier.”

—

【Virtual Streamer Gallery】

[General] Got banned right after spamming;

Carrier << This chick’s ban speed is insane, and she doesn’t even have a mod

– Me too.

– Didn’t expect it to be that fast ㅇㅇ

– Idiots lolol You gotta poke subtly, not spam like that

└ (Commenter) Ffs, banned;

[General] Why the hell are her viewers increasing

She should be losing viewers, why are they going up, ffs

– You guys spread “controversy” across communities, that’s why, idiots

– Basically free promotion…

– Told you not to do it…

– Why’s her business booming—!!!!

[General] At this point, we can only pray she flops…

Otherwise, we can’t even fuel the drama??? Everyone pray, c’mon…

– Can’t someone snipe her? Troll as an ally or crush her as an enemy

└ Her MMR’s insanely high, you’d need Grandmaster skill… Anyone here that good???

– Please flop, please flop…

[General] Wait, is Carrier the enemy jungler against Yura right now???

– For real????

– Yup, opened both streams, same pick-ban lol

– Is this Yura crushing Carrier???

└ Totally possible? Carrier’s not even a jungler

– Yura, you’re our only hope!!!

—

2.

‘What’s going on right now?’

Yura was utterly confused. She’d just woken up early and started a Legends stream for once.

– The only hope of the YouTuber world!
– Yura, you’re all we’ve got!!!
– Only you can take down that vile Carrier chick!

Suddenly, a swarm of viewers flooded in, and somehow, she’d become the YouTuber world’s hero and hope—without knowing why!

“Why am I a hero all of a sudden? What’s happening? Is it okay for a Japanese person to be Korea’s hero?”

Yura tried to make sense of it, bewildered.

– Don’t worry, just bugs from toxic places;

– Who the hell promoted this, ffs

– You guys bashed her speech style before, now you’re crawling back?

– Her speech reeks of weeb lol

– My pure stream ㅠㅠㅠ

– Lowlife antics smh lol

But the chat had already turned into a coliseum.

Her mods worked hard, but the sheer volume was overwhelming.

“No idea why you’re here, but thanks for coming! First time with this many viewers, I’m so happy!”

Staring at the chaotic chat, Yura giggled.

Her Korean wasn’t great, so she didn’t catch everything, but she was thrilled!

💸 [Nickname: YuraYuraYa] donated

🪙 10,000G!

💬 Here’s what’s going on…

Thanks to a loyal viewer’s brief explanation, Yura grasped the situation, but it got muddled with the chat’s mess.

“I get it! The enemy jungler’s a bad streamer! So you want me to take her down!”

– Yesssssss!!!

– Nooooooo ffs;

– YuraYuraYa, please!!!!

– Damn, we’re screwed~~~~~~~~

Her words sent loyal fans and trolls into a frenzy. Some cheered, others despaired.

“You’re typing too fast to read. Please calm down…”

The chat speed intimidated Yura. For a YouTuber averaging 80 viewers, this was overwhelming.

『Live Viewers: 1,623』

‘This is my chance…!’

She bounced in place with joy. Over a year of obscurity—finally, a shot to break out!

“Trust in me, everyone!”

Yura dreamed of carrying the game and being worshipped by viewers!

“Hehe…”

Just imagining it thrilled her—actually doing it would be even better!

『Entering Legends of Battle!』

“I’ll take her down…!”

Unaware she’d grabbed a poisoned chalice, Yura dove into the game.

—

Yura stared blankly at the burning stronghold.

Engulfed in red flames, it slowly collapsed. The heat melted the surrounding snow, turning the ground to mud.

[ChocoPieEater: Jungle diff, ffs]

[PlayAloneNoob: Enemy top’s a top lane god, how’s a jungle-only player supposed to win???]

[SoulPub: Please, jungler, quit the game]

Standing in defeat, Yura bit her lip and typed.

[YuraDaYo: Sorry I played bad… I’ll win next time…]

Her Korean was shaky, but she knew their words were insults. Still, she lost, so she apologized.

[SoulPub: Screw you lolol Never wanna see you again]

[PlayAloneNoob: Let’s never meet again, please!]

‘Weren’t kind words supposed to bring kind replies…?’

But all she got was abuse. Worse, her stream’s chat was a nightmare.

– Ffs, as expected

– So damn bad lolol Did she climb with boosting? Hacks??

– Just leave and die, weeb chick

– Go back to your country, b*tch!!!

– Drop the idiot speech, ffs lol

Mockery, scorn, and blatant insults flooded the chat. Yura bowed her head.

“Sorry… really sorry…”

Overwhelmed by the barrage, her body trembled.

She felt like collapsing, but a shred of responsibility held her.

“I-I’ll do better next time! Please keep watching!”

Yura forced a smile, trying to sound bright. But reality was ice-cold.

– Screw you lol

– Yup, I’m out~

– Thanks for the toy~

『Live Viewers: 63』

The 1,000+ viewers vanished instantly, dropping below her usual numbers.

The price of touching a poisoned chalice.

“…I’ll sign off for today.”

She’d planned to stream longer, but the viewer drop shocked her, forcing her to end the stream.

– Stay strong ㅠㅠㅠ

– Damn those jerks…

– Sigh…

“I-I’m fine. Just a bit tired… S-See you tomorrow…”

『Stream has ended.』

As the chat vanished, her forced smile faded. Tears streamed from her eyes.

‘Wasn’t hard work supposed to pay off?’

Even as a small-time streamer, she believed effort would eventually shine.

But reality was a cesspool.

A year’s worth of viewers scattered, and her heartfelt stream was used and discarded like a rag.

Everything she believed in was shattered.

Could she stream happily again? She wasn’t sure.

The viewers and insults from today would haunt her.

She never imagined a morning stream, started for her viewers’ joy, would end like this.

‘What do I do now…?’

In a faraway land, Yura lost everything.

No path forward, no place to anchor her heart.

All that remained was homesickness and deep wounds.

But she didn’t know then—this was the start of a new opportunity.