[TS] Malicious Sniper

Jericho watched Barcode’s stream for a while.

The stream itself wasn’t that entertaining.

But Barcode’s gameplay was worth watching just for that.

How many of the viewers watching Barcode’s stream truly understood her playstyle?

Why did Barcode make such plays? What was the reasoning behind her gestures?

When viewed from just her perspective, the gameplay made no sense, but when watching from an overall viewpoint, it all clicked perfectly.

It was as if she was toying with the Rift in her hands.

Even in preseason, the area where Barcode played was upper-tier Challenger.

That was the realm known as heaven, where the top League of Legends players gathered.

Just because they’re all Masters and Grand Masters doesn’t mean they’re the same.

Even among Challengers, not all had the same skill level.

Sky beyond the sky.

Jericho could only express Barcode as reaching that sky beyond the sky.

She thought Barcode was only good at ‘Yone,’ but watching the stream clarified everything.

Barcode wasn’t just good at ‘Yone’; she excelled at the game of League of Legends itself.

Moreover, her physical skills were just as outstanding as her mental prowess.

She wasn’t compensating for a lack of physical ability with game knowledge.

It was the summit of physicality, brainpower, and champion understanding that enabled her playful style of play.

Jericho had met a player who played like that once.

Not in solo queue, but in a professional league where they faced each other once, on the opposing team.

Jericho’s position was jungle, so being in that role, he could tell just how monstrous that player was.

The very reason Jericho retired from pro gaming to become a streamer was all because of that individual.

People don’t know much about that player.

They never reveal their true abilities in solo queue.

Because of that, many question their skill and belittle them as a fallen king.

Just looking at the history shows how great their achievements were and what kind of person they were.

Who wrote the living legend of League of Legends?

After understanding what type of genius, no, monster Barcode was, one thought dominated Jericho’s mind.

He had to recruit Barcode onto his team, no matter what.

If he succeeded in recruiting her, he was certain they would win the Platform Tournament without fail.

Jericho stopped everything he was doing to enjoy her stream.

*

“I’ll play until the last match and then end.”

[Finally]

[Patience has paid off]

[The tired ones have left, leaving a mess]

[Who left? Ah, lol]

[Info: Since the face reveal declaration, the viewers have increased by ten thousand]

[Where did the viewers come from? ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Why are there so many people?]

I stashed the sunglasses and mask from the corner of my desk into a drawer.

Still wearing my hoodie, I debated whether to wear a cap but decided not to.

Having finished my preparations, I adjusted the camera angle to face my face as promised for the face reveal.

“I don’t like this…”

[Whoa, whoa]

[Ugh… sis, I’m dying…]

[The face reveal photo was not flattering]

[The quality of the ugly photo was better than the camera]

[But are you Korean? You look really exotic]

[Must be dyed hair and colored contacts]

I did my best to ignore potentially awkward questions.

I didn’t even know why I had red eyes and red hair.

If I was going to become a woman, I wish I had transformed normally instead.

To pass the waiting time for matchmaking, I cherry-picked a suitable question from the incoming chat and replied.

“Why did I close donations? I have plenty of money. If anyone wants to donate, just use that money to buy something delicious.”

[Plenty of money, a Challenger in League of Legends, and a beautiful sis…?]

[What happened to the sis I knew?]

[What the hell did balance adjustments turn out like this?]

[For real, this planet is a disaster; it should just end service soon]

[That pet dog of mine, please adopt it]

As strange comments flooded the chat, I quickly moved my mouse to forcefully stop the viewer who typed that nonsense from watching.

“Dogs can’t type in chat normally, so I made sure they can’t. If you’re satisfied, type ‘woof woof’ in the chat.”

[LOL]

[LOL]

[Dogs can’t type, right? LOL]

[??? : Your Honor, my cat types…]

[Doggo’s mysterious loss]

Playing around with the viewers, I suddenly got matched.

The ban-pick process flew by, and soon enough, the game began.

The game was just like previous ones.

Winning the lanes and carrying, the familiar flow continued.

Of course, my team declared an open, forcing us to lose a game we could have won.

Maybe because it was preseason, I wasn’t that upset despite being opened.

After all, I was just doing this broadcast mechanically.

Still, thinking about how this was the last match lifted my spirits unexpectedly.

It felt similar to how an office worker feels when finally heading home after a long day.

“I’ll stop here.”

[Is it really the last?]

[Nooooo]

[Don’t go… please don’t go…]

[Sis, I’m lonely… don’t leave…]

[Bye-bye]

[Barcode means a break~]

[Bye-bye~]

Some viewers seemed disappointed, but most appeared satisfied.

Thanks to that, I could end the broadcast without any regrets.

“Phew… how many hours left?”

After roughly calculating, I realized I needed about 20 more hours of streaming to qualify for the Platform Tournament.

The thought of needing to do this for another 20 hours was despairing, but I couldn’t give up now.

I had come too far to back down.

Just as I was about to close the Twitch site and play something else.

jerryco123 whispered: “I’m Streamer Jericho. Are you thinking of participating in the Platform Tournament?”

A whisper popped up in the chat room of my closed channel.

An ID so recognizable that any regular viewer of League of Legends streams wouldn’t miss it.

A message from Jericho, someone regarded as a rival to Curry.

The content of that message was simple.

It was asking whether I would participate in the upcoming Platform Tournament.

When I checked last time, Jericho was already in a complete team.

But I had no idea why he was sending me this whisper now.

Taking it as an opportunity, I quickly typed a reply.

jerryco123 whispered: “I’m considering it. Just don’t have a team.”

jerryco123 whispered: “Then would you consider joining our team? Ain had an accident and can’t participate…”

From Jericho’s reply, I could roughly ascertain the situation.

I understood why Jericho wanted to recruit me.

However, the recruitment offer didn’t just come from Jericho.

I was going to join his team anyway.

But if I just accepted easily, it felt like I would lose something.

jerryco123 whispered: “Hmm… not sure. I have had many offers from other teams…”

I indirectly stated to Jericho why I should join his team.

jerryco123 whispered: “My team is the best out of them. It might be a bold claim, but I believe that. Of course, I will fully respect your decision, but I’ll just say one thing: If you join another team, winning will be impossible.”

jerryco123 whispered: “So, can I interpret that to mean if I join your team, I could win?”

This was a kind of test and a bit of a joke.

Would Jericho respond positively to my question or not?

If he was filled with confidence, he would answer positively, while if he lacked confidence, he would respond negatively.

jerryco123 whispered: “Yes, you can interpret it that way.”

In that aspect, Jericho was indeed confident.

Just three seconds after I sent my question, he sent back such a definite answer.

jerryco123 whispered: “Alright. I’ll join your team, Jericho.”

jerryco123 whispered: “Thank you for believing in me. I will send the Discord address separately.”

Shortly after that whisper, another message arrived with the Discord link.

jerryco123 whispered: “Please enter the channel called ‘Strategy Room’ when you join.”

jerryco123 whispered: “Sure, I’ll do that.”

After that, no more whispers came.

I accessed the Discord address Jericho provided.

The Discord program opened up automatically, and I connected to the server.

Just as Jericho mentioned, I entered the channel named ‘Strategy Room.’

[Strategy Room]

[Voice Channel]

– Jericho

– Antenna

– Cool Dog

There were three participants in the voice channel.

Where had the fourth member gone?

Looking at the connection list, I noticed one was offline.

Putting that curiosity aside, I joined the voice channel.

“Ah, you’ve arrived?”

“Yes, you must be Jericho, right?”

“Yes, indeed. Is there someone here you don’t know?”

At Jericho’s question, I scanned the nicknames of the participants.

Each one was familiar—they were all known names.

Antenna.

Reputed to be the best amateur support streamer on Twitch.

Commonly considered a ‘major’ streamer, he usually was quite mute but was famous for giving lethal briefings during games.

And so, his nickname, ‘LoL PAGO,’ was a testament to Antenna’s briefing skills.

…At least that’s how it was.

I knew who the other participant was as well.

Cool Dog.

A Challenger-ranked streamer primarily in the ADC position, he was known for often duoing with Antenna.

Contrary to the silent Antenna, he was always bright and positive.

However, when Cool Dog was angry, he was said to be genuinely terrifying, although I’d never seen it.

Col Dog was considered one of the top three amateur ADCs, just like Antenna.

I quickly summarized the information regarding Antenna and Cool Dog in my head and opened my mouth.

“I know about both of you.”

“Well, I am quite famous, after all.”

“Cool Dog, please, just staying quiet is half the battle.”

It was Cool Dog and Antenna who answered me, not Jericho.

Cool Dog, who spoke confidently, was countered by Antenna’s teasing.

“Hello! I’m Cool Dog! If mentioning my full name is awkward, feel free to call me ‘Cool’!”

“I’m Antenna. Yes, pleased to meet you.”

“I’m glad to meet you both. Oh, I’m Barcode, a recently started streamer…”

I almost let out a laugh at the moment of coming out as a streamer.

How did I, who usually mocked and harassed streamers, end up in this situation?

It was all because of Curry.

“It seems like we’ve exchanged greetings, but Latte has yet to arrive…”

“Jericho, aren’t you going to introduce yourself? Or is it because I’m already a ‘caught fish’…?”

“What? No, that’s not it…”

I teased playfully out of boredom, and the reaction wasn’t bad.

“I really didn’t see that coming. If you bring someone in, you have to take responsibility.”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard!”

“Hehe, I’m crazy, so I don’t know what I just said~”

Ding!

Is this what you call an ADC?

Cool Dog enjoyed a quick jab at Jericho before he swiftly left the voice channel.

He even managed to kite out of the way of Jericho’s impending attack to avoid the backlash.

That was the perfect example of an ADC at its finest.

“Cool Dog’s comments are a bit chaotic. Well, I’ll take a break until Latte arrives.”

Ding!

After Cool Dog, Antenna left the voice channel as well.

This left only Jericho and me in the channel.

“Aah… I apologize. I didn’t mean to skip introductions.”

“Just kidding.”

“…I see why Curry didn’t pick up Barcode a bit more clearly now.”

“Surely, it’s because I’m not good enough…”

“Twice won’t work on me.”

“Tch.”

I wished that Curry could have tried at least twice.

With a disappointed click of my tongue, a brief silence followed.

Suddenly, feeling curious, I asked Jericho.

“So, have you not decided on a team name yet?”

“Huh? No, not yet.”

They haven’t chosen a team name yet?

Most teams would have likely already settled on theirs.

Seemingly catching my curiosity, Jericho continued.

“We don’t have anyone with a good naming sense in our team… still haven’t decided.”

“Then how about this?”

I shared a team name I had been holding onto in my heart for a while and spoke.

“Curry Breakers.”

After hearing the name I suggested, Jericho fell silent.

However, the silence didn’t last long before it was broken.

“…That’s quite a team name I like.”

Jericho’s voice held a hint of laughter, sounding satisfied.

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