Chapter 11: I Hate Talented People.

“It looks like this is about to wrap up.”

Given the nature of the game, it was indeed nearing its conclusion.

If I wanted to, I could drag it out longer, but I had no desire to do so.

It wasn’t a one-on-one match; it was a competitive game, after all.

[+HurryAndLeave: This is just brutally one-sided, LOL.]

[Wow…]

[How is there this much of a skill gap?]

[This is insane, LOL.]

[Glim’s on the verge of hanging herself. What do we do?]

[Pepe: RIP Glim.]

[Well, it’s a shame, but that’s how it is when you lose.]

The chat scrolled rapidly, which wasn’t surprising considering the viewer count.

[Viewers: 201]

It seemed like a lot of people from Glim’s stream had come over to see my reactions.
Still…

“Is this really something to be so upset about?”

Personally, I didn’t think it was worth all the doom and gloom.

But judging by the chat, people were saying Glim was “on the verge of hanging herself,” implying that the atmosphere on her stream had taken a nosedive.

Normally, I’d stay quiet, but in this situation, saying something might be better.

I didn’t want to see Glim sulking the whole time.

“Could someone let Glim know she did really well? She shouldn’t be so down about it. Honestly, she played great—I was a little shaken myself.”

That part was sincere.

She had improved a lot since our one-on-one matches, and it had caught me slightly off guard.

[+HurryAndLeave: Oh, LOL.]

[I’ll go tell her right now.]

[Isn’t that just sarcasm, LOL?]

[I’ll deliver the message to her immediately, LOL.]

[Pepe: If someone delivers that message, won’t Glim cry even harder?]

With that, I sent a messenger pigeon to Glim’s stream and refocused on my game.

Two more matches, and I’d wrap things up for the day.

“Hoo… It’s okay. Next time, I think I can win in a one-on-one.”

[If you just pick the right hero, you could probably win a one-on-one.]

[Really?]

[A one-on-one? LOL, you got destroyed in ranked matches too.]

[This is hilarious, LOL.]

[Glim, pull yourself together and start queuing again. You need to teach Jaehun a lesson!]

[Why are you sulking after losing to Jaehun? Come on.]

Even the chat was encouraging Glim to get back on her feet.

It seemed to fuel her resolve further.

“Alright, let’s start the next match,” I said confidently.

Shortly after, the trolling escalated:

[Breaking news: Jaehun declares Glim a total noob, LOL.]

[They’re saying Glim’s a complete pushover, LMAO.]

[Glim must be bawling right now, LOL.]

[Hey, stick to the facts, you jerks, LOL.]

[It is true, though.]

[Anonymous donated 10,000 KRW!]

—(CLIP)

Among the barrage of mocking messages, a donation with a video clip arrived.

Curious, I played the video.

It was a recording of my earlier words:

“Could someone let Glim know she did really well? She shouldn’t be so down about it. Honestly, she played great—I was a little shaken myself.”

The chat exploded as they realized I was also a streamer.

“…I didn’t realize he was a streamer too.”

[He started streaming pretty recently, LOL.]

[Apparently, he usually does art streams.]

[Isn’t this basically mockery, LOL?]

[Glim, hang in there. I think you’re doing great and have a lot of potential.]

[Yeah, Glim has what it takes to succeed.]

[Honestly, encouraging her like this feels even more toxic, LOL.]

“…Looks like I’ll have to stream longer if I want to beat him.”

The man spoke in a calm and composed tone, as if the situation was completely under his control.

Realizing she’d need more practice time to defeat him, Glim queued up for another game.

[Title: Live Glim Stream—Legendary Moment, LOL.]

[Content: Matched with Jaehun, LOLLLLL.]

L: How does a guy even have a name like Jaehun, LOL?

N: Wow.

L: Isn’t this guy basically her personal bully?

L: Yup, definitely her personal tormentor—she’s never won a one-on-one against him.

N: I’m seriously curious to see how much more Glim will get wrecked.

L: If Glim’s hands are trembling with nerves, upvote this, LOL.

N: Glim probably already upvoted this herself, LOL.

[Title: Glim Gets a Kill on Jaehun in Real-Time, LOL.]

[Content: (Video) She counters him perfectly, gets headshotted immediately, and goes down in one hit, LOLLLLL.]

L: Wow, this guy is insanely good, LOL.

L: Is he really a guy?

N: Yeah, he’s streaming on Twis.

N: Oh, wait, he streams? Someone drop the link.

L: Jaehun is completely obliterating Glim.

N: (No, seriously, he is.)

[Title: Honestly, isn’t Jaehun just genuinely good?]

[Content: I’m watching Jaehun’s stream right now. He plays casually, talks comfortably, and is still insanely skilled. No signs of cheats or anything.]

L: Yeah, no hacks—he’s just ridiculously good.

N: Anyone still claiming hacks at this point is just dumb, LOL.

N: Especially with how advanced anti-cheat systems are these days.

L: His stream’s surprisingly fun, LOL.

L: Nah, it’s boring as hell, idiots.

N: Baseless hate is peak delusional Glim-fan behavior, LOL.

N: Instead of whining, go tell your queen to improve.

[Title: Breaking News—Glim Dies 10 Times in a Row.]

[Content: (Clip) Is this even real…?]

L: Wow, seriously, she kept switching heroes and still got her head popped, LOL.

L: Ten deaths in the most embarrassing way possible.

N: Honestly, if it was just raw skill leading to ten deaths, that’s one thing, but…

L: ???: “When it comes to FPS, Glim is top-tier on Twis.”

N: LMAO, LMAO, LMAO.

N: Glim fans are seriously dumb as hell.

N: They genuinely believe their queen is the best player ever, LOL.

[Title: Glim on the Verge of Hanging Herself Right Now, LOL.]

[Content: (Clip) Wow…]

L: If she didn’t want this, she should’ve played better. (Totally not trolling.)

N: What do you mean you’re not trolling, dumbass? You know exactly what’s happening.

N: LOLLLLLLLLL.

L: But honestly, dying repeatedly without being able to fight back would break anyone’s mental. Even I’d lose it.

L: Hang in there, Glim.

[Title: Live—Jaehun Completely Wrecking Glim, LOLLLLL.]

[Content: (Clip) LMAO.]

L: Wow, and his voice is amazing too.

L: Legendary.

N: His voice really is top-tier.

L: Is this just straight-up bullying at this point?

N: LOL, yeah.

L: But when I listened closely, it actually sounded like he was trying to be supportive. Glim’s state was just so bad that it probably came off as mockery.

N: Yeah, I got the same vibe, but it’s still hilarious, LOL.

L: Big Jaehun Energy.

[Title: Breaking News—New FPS GOAT Has Arrived.]

[Content: (Photo of Yogurt)]

L: Big Yogurt Energy, LOL.

L: The true GOAT of all time, LOL.

N: Dolce latte vibes, LOL.

N: Morning milk energy, LOL.

N: Goddamn it, you guys are disgusting.

L: Only Yogurt can fix Glim’s mental state. Respect.

[Title: Glim Declares Endless Streaming Session, LOL.]

[Content: (Clip) Yup…]

L: She’s just gritting her teeth and pushing through.

L: If she still can’t beat Yogurt even after this, upvote, LOL.

N: Hey, hey, hey.

N: Hey, hey, hey.

N: Hey, hey, hey.

N: Chill, you can’t say stuff like that…

N: But honestly, it might be true.

N: Talent gap <<< That explains everything.

[Title: Live—Yogurt Logs Off, LOLLLLL.]

[Content: (Clip) Says he’s done for the day and is logging off to work, LOL.]

L: Is this for real?

L: Breaking the wrist of an FPS “rising star” and then logging off immediately is kind of extreme.

N: Rising star?

N: If Glim is a rising star, then even my grandma has potential.

N: Are you seriously disrespecting your own grandma right now?

N: LOLLLLL.

L: If you’ve crushed them, logging off makes sense, I guess…

L: But honestly, the viewer count was insane—he just stopped streaming anyway? Guess he really does this for fun.

N: Yeah, it’s just a hobby for him. Even when people troll his stream, he doesn’t react.

[The broadcast has ended!]

After confirming that the stream had ended, I sat down and resumed working on a commission.

As much as I wanted to stream longer, the rising viewer count forced me to end the broadcast.

“It’s easier to draw on stream.”

Talking with viewers while drawing seemed to boost my efficiency somehow.

Maybe next time, I could take on commissions that I could openly share on stream.

Just as I was focused on my work.

Ding!

A notification popped up from my rarely-checked Parangsae (Blue Bird/Twitter) account.

Since I’d set most notifications to off, it piqued my curiosity.

“Who’s this?”

Notifications were so rare that it made me wonder.

I checked, and.

“Huh?”

A famous account had retweeted my artwork on Parangsae.

Because of that, the likes and comments on the drawing were multiplying rapidly.

“…Well, it’s probably nothing too important.”

I used Parangsae frequently, but I didn’t know much about its ecosystem.

For me, it was just a platform to upload artwork.

Still…

‘Should I start a subscription model?’

Artists with strong skills often ran subscription-based platforms on certain sites.

But I wasn’t confident enough in my abilities to try that yet.

If there were enough people interested, I figured they’d reach out to me.

With that thought, I closed Parangsae and returned to drawing.