Chapter 76: It Was Just as He Said.

It was exactly as he said.

Viewer count—what the hell was this? Had my stream ever broken four digits even once? I hadn't seen numbers like this even back in my pro days. The count, which had easily surpassed three digits, was now casually hitting four and climbing at an insane rate.

Six... thousand... 6,400 people?

It was a dizzyingly unimaginable number. Maybe viewers were flooding in from the ECK stream that had just ended.

I'd set a 5-minute wait time on the chat, but even so, the chat window was scrolling up at an absurd speed.

...No need to wait any longer, right?

Hoo...

Yeah, I could wait a bit more, but I couldn't find a reason to. I'd planned to chill out and calm my nerves before starting, but with everyone waiting like this, I didn't want to keep them hanging.

I turned on the pre-set cam and showed my face.

The reaction was explosive.

Ha, figures. I couldn't help but laugh. If you could look at this chaotic chat and not crack up, you'd be a sage or something.

"Uh, uh, can you hear me okay? Hello, it's Dice."

"Wow... you guys really showed up in droves. Whoa, this is my first time seeing viewer numbers this high. Did everyone come from the ECK broadcast?"

"Ahem, most of you probably know already, but let me say it properly one more time. Hello. I'm Dice, the pro gamer who announced my retirement recently and is now returning as the mid laner for E Revolution Gaming in the second division league. And at the same time, I'm also PudgeDice, the streamer on HOOP. Yep, same person. Ta-da~..."

"Not aegyo... Anyway, um, yeah. If you didn't know and came in blind, you're probably shocked, right? Truth is, I was originally a guy. I got this disease and turned into a girl like this. The ECK official replay should be up by now—check that if you want. Oh, the documents? Yeah, yeah, I'll upload them all here."

"Not surgery. Why would I get surgery like that, haha. That's all I revealed in the interview. Yeah... that's what happened. Nice to see everyone again. I'm pro gamer Dice. I really wanted to say that. I'm so, so, so happy you're here—thank you. Even though I'm totally different from my old self, I'm still Dice. Thanks."

"Yeah, I never expected it either. Predictions... I saw some jokes like that sometimes, half-joking half-serious? It blew my mind. And um..., everyone, I know flipping my retirement so quick must've been confusing. To everyone who worried about me retiring, and everyone hurt by the sudden announcement—thank you and sorry. And thanks for coming back. I didn't think I'd return either, but guess I'm just a hopeless pro gamer."

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I figured the stream would be a total mess, of course. I even expected a ton of hate or insults.

But it was going smoother and calmer than I thought. There were trolls and haters, sure, but overall, it was better than expected.

Having so many people who'd waited for me, worried about me, welcomed me back—it was almost touching. Enough to make my eyes tear up without realizing.

"Really..., thank you all so much for saying that."

"Ah, no. Just got sleepy, tears from that. Yawn! You know how yawns make tears. Yawwwn. Definitely not crying."

"Ah, anyway! Nice to see you all again—wait I said that. Anyway, happy, thankful, grateful, love you all. Thanks."

"So um, I wanna stream long but not quite yet. It's late too. So today I'll answer your questions. Any Qs?"

I knew these were coming.

"I like LoE though."

"No, not that. Absolutely not."

"Don't fight, guys. Um, my chat's always been like this. But pro fans from back then might be shocked, so please tone it down a bit."

"Ah... I was pretty young back then. I'm sorry. I should've treated viewers and fans better even then. Too late now, but I'll do better from here."

Lots more questions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠poured in after that. About the TS disease, pro life, if I really cried after losses (…), even near-sexual harassment stuff. I cut all that junk, of course.

And yeah, the ones I expected came late.

"Uh, yeah Crisu... Seohui is our support. Arang too."

"No, Seohui was already accepted before I joined. I scouted Arang but she passed proper tests, 1v1s with Sharpness and Hanseo hyung too. And badmouthing gets you banned."

I knew this would come up.

"Me? Said that? Don't remember."

Whatever. I'm a girl now, so what you gonna do.

"Oh that. Arang lost 3-2."

"Hanseo hyung? No idea...? Even if I knew I can't just spill. Arang... lineup announcement probably has her apology up too. Promised no more, got pre-punished. She trolled online a lot but she's good and cute deep down, so go easy pls."

"Soloq score isn't everything, right? Yeah? Um, Arang's climb was cuz I taught her. Basically I got her to Challenger."

"It'll climb soon so don't hate. Still rehabbing. Oh, and bad words = ban. Won't see 'em next time."

My chat was always like this, but now that I'm pro again, couldn't let it slide anymore.

"Uh... no idea."

"Dunno? Doesn't seem interested. I'll ask."

Team questions, soloq scores, all sorts—think I covered the good ones. Viewers ran out of real Qs, started weird ones; I skipped or ignored.

Stream end time approaching.

Insane bullshit.

"You nuts?"

"No, gotta draw line at straight-up nonsense. Why would I date that bastard. Am I gay?"

I'd been cutting sexual Qs, but couldn't ignore this. Ignore is right but damn frustrating.

"Dropping this. Even if sky splits, never happening. Never ever never."

"How's that mean that. Anyway end! Late now, stream time up, Qs done. Bought chicken for the kids, streaming solo. Gotta eat mine."

Late and wanted chicken were true, but also didn't wanna field more of those Qs. Once you bite, it never ends.

Right as I went for final goodbye, one Q caught my eye.

...Ha.

Yeah, it'll be tough. Obvious troll Q mocking if I can do it with my skill, team a joke.

But it didn't piss me off.

Made me happy instead. Gave excuse to say what I couldn't before—my real feelings.

"Yeah, real."

I wanted to say it.

"Not just that?"

"Hard to say on official broadcast, held back. This my personal stream. No need."

"Worlds win, and..."

"That's my goal."

And then a nuke dropped on the stream.

The chat exploded.