Stocks and LoL

The senior's nonsense.

She knew full well not to read too much into it.

He just blurted whatever came to mind.

It was absurd. There was no way a game carried any philosophical weight like that. He was simply venting his irritation.

She had dismissed it as nothing important at the time.

"For real?"

It wasn't a complete lie. Word was that one pro gamer had switched careers into stocks.

Is there really a connection?

Sora was baffled. She couldn't see how a game and investing could possibly link up.

The only way to scratch the itch of frustration was to try it herself.

The chat reaction was hotter than expected.

Plenty of users played LoL. A huge chunk of her viewers already knew the game.

I don't really get the whole "LoL-obsessed dude" thing, but…

It was famous, that much was true. Maybe it was worth digging into seriously.

"Ah, I see. Thanks for the explanation."

Thanks to the viewers' advice, adapting wasn't hard. She roughly understood what kind of game it was.

The more she played, the more uneasy she felt. Abnormal people kept showing up.

Why does he care that I'm a girl?

She couldn't focus on the game. They kept pestering her with random chatter.

Teammates fought among themselves too. She was arguing with allies more than the enemy.

"Why are they like that?"

None of it looked meaningful. The conversations weren't constructive in the slightest.

What the hell does this have to do with investing?

Her senior's words. She couldn't guess at any connection. Life, investing, the principles of the world—where were any of those supposed to be?

Just in case, she asked the viewers.

As expected. Zero connection to investing, not even a scrap of usefulness.

You son of a bitch!

She was the only idiot who had taken him seriously. In a fit of anger she was about to trash-talk him behind his back when—

"He's a complete psycho, seriously. When he explains something so earnestly you can't help but believe him."

An utterly ridiculous human being. Out of ten things he said, maybe one was actually helpful—and that one hit so hard it made up for the rest.

The chat erupted for an entirely different reason.

Because some of the viewers were already followers. She mentioned him on stream from time to time.

"The valuation is still overpriced, and Powell is absolutely not a dove…"

Every single time, he nailed it with eerie precision—crashes, rallies, and the exact reasons behind them.

He's famous as Sonik-jwa too, so it makes sense.

Only when he was trading stocks did he become a different person. As an investor he was worthy of respect, but—

"Top called a gank and the Lehman Brothers crisis hit our game. How am I supposed to react to that?"

Normally he was just a complete nutjob. There was no madman quite like him in the world.

Why the hell would a Lehman Brothers crisis happen?!

He spouted incomprehensible nonsense. But if you listened quietly—

"That bastard… I mean, that oppa?"

Sometimes there really was meaning. He would point out angles she had never considered.

He'd probably just laugh and say why are you taking it so seriously.

One out of ten, maybe. This time she had a feeling it belonged to the other nine. Still, curiosity was curiosity.

Sora messaged Chan-uk.

LoL.

A game that contained the principles by which this world operated.

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could say I learned life from LoL."

Haa…….

Investing was included in that too. He had never said it as a joke.

You think LoL is a joke?

Some people played it as one. They treated it as a simple game.

"Seon… I mean, oppa, have you ever taken a game addiction test?"

"I'm not weak enough to need something like that."

"When are you going to the psych ward?"

Ordinary people could think that way. An investor absolutely could not take it lightly.

I'll have to show her so she gets the feel for it.

It was understandable that Sora wouldn't get it. She had taken her first steps, but she was still a complete novice.

"I'm planning to drag him there after the stream."

The viewers too. They had no idea how profound investing truly was.

It's just that the viewers' level is low.

Coins, day trading, and the like. That was why they only watched flashy streams. They never cared about the principles that made the market turn.

"What does any of that have to do with a game?"

"All your nutrients went to your chest so of course you don't get it."

"You son of a bitch!"

If you played LoL, you could understand—provided you approached it from an investor's perspective.

Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times. Nothing beat trying it yourself.

Fortunately she already had the basics down.

"I've tried it before, but it just seemed like a fighting game?"

"That's exactly why your chest is so damn huge."

"What the hell did you just contribute?!"

Most people played it that way. They only looked for trees inside the forest.

You think a forest only has trees?

Living, breathing nature. You had to feel the whole thing. Nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠existed by accident.

"Do you know what an ADC is?"

"Chat says 'spoon'?"

"…Not that."

Even a spoon was part of the great natural order. Interpreting it from an investor's viewpoint—

You could call it a growth stock.

Early on it made no money. It had no value as a company. But if it endured and grew larger and larger—

"When the ADC scales it does get strong."

"That's why you raise the ADC."

"What's a support then?"

"A tool."

It possessed high growth potential. The structure of LoL closely resembled the stock market.

If I had to force it, support would be something like a cash cow.

You had to change your perspective. Not simply thinking you were playing a game.

"What's laning then?"

"You're staring at the order book."

"Ah."

"Buy already, you tool!"

Recognizing that and playing accordingly was a shortcut to improving your skill as an investor.

Well, it's still just a normal game, but…

You could at least pick up the fundamentals. Especially useful for the viewers.

"If you fight, you win!"

"We lost though."

"That's because you bought like garbage. Even the best stock is trash if you buy at the top."

The concepts of investing were complex. Plenty of people bought stocks without understanding any of it.

They can sit on bag-held stocks forever…

But they couldn't stand a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bad support. Those two facts sat on the exact same line. The importance of buying low became crystal clear at a glance.

From a League bro's perspective, there was no way not to know.

"I roughly get it, but…"

"You think you understand this profound game?"

"Isn't what you can learn from it limited?"

It drilled itself into her head. With LoL, Sora could stream in the direction she wanted.

Assuming she's good, that is.

For that, one thing was necessary: skill. You had to play well for the viewers to enjoy watching.

He hammered it into her in a short time. If you mapped every action onto investing, you improved fast.

"Gank incoming! What do I do?!"

"Stay calm."

"Calmly do what?!"

"Don't panic—bite Amumu."

A perfect situation presented itself. Enemy jungler Amumu had ganked bot lane.

No Flash.

Their CC chain was solid. Getting hit by just the ultimate would kill her, but—

Haa!

Sora's Leona bit Amumu. The root landed together with the Q stun.

And she died. In that window he casually walked away alive.

"I died!"

"Good job."

"What the hell is the meaning of this one?"

"Cutting your losses."

The League bro's specialized stock education began.