17. When Aggro Clashes with Aggro, the Lunatic Wins.
Deputy Manager Cha emphasized it to me.
"Viewership won't be that high at the start."
Don't get shaken by something as trivial as viewer numbers, he said.
"...Are you treating me like an idiot?"
"No, not at all. I'm just warning you in case you get disappointed. Fewer people are jumping into streaming these days compared to the old boom, but plenty still try to make a living off it, so the competition's fierce as ever."
Cha put on a playful grin as he stuck a sheet of paper to the whiteboard with a magnet he'd pulled from somewhere. The neatly graphed chart on it was upside down.
"That's upside down."
"Oh? My bad, Chairman."
He flipped the paper right-side up and cleared his throat before launching into a slow, deliberate explanation.
"The number of new individual streamers is trending downward. But revenue keeps climbing steadily. That means the market's stabilizing. In simple terms, all the low-hanging fruit is gone, and only the top-tier pros who’ve grinded their way to the peak are left. Park AD?"
At Cha's nod, the guy standing nearby handed us each a slim binder.
He'd looked a bit listless at first glance, but for some reason, his eyes lit up with a gleam the moment he saw Miley's and my faces. Had something good happened?
Cha smacked the whiteboard enthusiastically as he flipped through the binder we'd been given.
"These days, Pachichik viewers won't give new streamers the time of day unless you're extraordinarily talented or pulling aggro like a total madman! They might glance over during some hot issue, but it never turns into steady viewership."
He jabbed at the binder in our hands.
"And the people listed right there? They're the streamers who've successfully broken into the market lately. So we've got no choice but to follow their playbook. Fast follower strategy—you know it?"
"So what exactly are you suggesting?"
Miley snapped, bored with the teasing buildup. Cha's lips curled into a wicked grin.
The kind of mad-scientist smirk that radiated insanity down to the bone marrow. Even Miley's eyelids twitched in response.
Yeah, madness must be contagious after all.
It had spread from Miley to David, and now it had reached Cha. In times like these, maybe I should borrow the wisdom of the ancients and dox Super Delicate Broadcaster Miley's personal info and whereabouts.
"Just like it says there—stream like a total psycho."
Cha shrugged.
"Build your brand with consistent concept grinding to climb the ranks. Without some unhinged approach, it's the only way for a newbie to survive this market."
Fine, whatever.
That was why I'd turned into a spamming lunatic.
I stood before the fainted enemy Racer.
Fainted meant movement restrictions but no death penalty—you could still chat or talk. Naturally, you could see the opponent's chats and speech too.
So I squatted down in front of the downed Racer and tapped out a message on the virtual keyboard.
"Ugh, come on. Cut the self-promo spam."
"You fucking asshole, stop it. You want this?"
"I'm losing my mind."
If Racer had to watch my stream, subscribe, like, and set notifications, it'd be tragic for his mental health—so I tossed in an emoticon for good measure.
A cute yellow bear character thumbs-upped, and Racer twisted his body in delight at the adorable bear.
"Argh, enough! Where the hell's my team?"
Promoting my stream right in front of this abandoned enemy felt oddly satisfying.
I fired off Cognitive Acceleration and unleashed a telekinetic wave—the enemy was closing in from between the back tower and the side building. Timing suggested it wasn't C.
"Fuck off."
A massive magic circle bloomed around me, wide and ominous. It was an AoE crowd control spell—shock and damage unless you defended.
Unless you defended, that is.
Acceleration, barrier.
The world slowed to a crawl in an instant, and I swiftly layered two telekinetic shields around myself.
Save stamina.
No enemy could pierce double barriers at this stage, no matter how fed they were. Why waste stamina when fights lay ahead?
I waited as the AoE spell crashed down from above.
-KABOOOOOM!!!
A translucent giant hammer materialized in the air and smashed the magic circle's range with brutal force. The ground quaked violently, and Racer rolled around cursing from the shockwave.
"Argh, fuck. This is dizzying!"
"Piss off!"
As we bantered, something came bounding across the wide eight-lane road in the distance, pounding the pavement.
It was a magical girl.
Flashy pink outfit loaded with frills on the hem, lace on the sleeves, and ribbons fluttering like tails—charming accents whipping in the wind.
And the wand? A kid's toy wand, straight out of a toy store.
The epitome of a "magical girl" brought to life.
The hero known as Magicals, nicknamed "Meguming."
But the one in that cute magical girl getup was a dude.
Or more like a hulking brute?
His bulging muscles strained against the dainty outfit like it might burst. That grim mug screamed outlaw middle-ager, not magical girl—yakuza or triad vibes. Was this for real?
The guy looked like he'd stepped out of a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk wuxia comic. He glared at me, then slowly pointed a finger my way.
"How dare you kill my comrade..."
"Ugh, shut up. He ain't dead—revive him quick."
Racer grumbled from the ground, but the monstrous brute stayed in character.
"I won't forgive you! You don't deserve to live today!"
What the hell?
My brief shock at that overwhelming—whether overwhelming or just grotesque—appearance faded fast.
I triggered Cognitive Acceleration and blasted telekinetic bursts at Snake and Ras sneaking toward me from the blind spot of the crumbled left wall.
-BOOM!
"Gwahk!"
"Fuck, he spotted us!"
"Hey, freak! Drop the roleplay and DPS already!"
Ras and Snake flew back from the blasts but recovered their stance quickly.
They're getting better.
Opponents were adapting more as my rating climbed. Early foes would just blank out and die from a telekinetic burst.
Now it's getting fun.
Perfect.
I kicked off the ground leisurely, leaping into the air. Using telekinesis to bounce off terrain, I peppered Snake and Ras with basic attacks as they tried to stick close. Melee heroes—if they closed the gap, I'd be at a disadvantage.
But even basics needed moderation. Don't over-DPS Ras.
As the name implied, Ras was a rage-concept hero. He built a special resource called Rage—basically, lower HP meant higher attack power.
One-shot him with ult.
Magicals was the real priority, though.
That... horrific muscle mass was confusing, but he was a pure mage DPS, not a brawler. Name was Magicals, after all.
That hammer earlier was his ult, right?
Miley's chart said so.
Tch, those repulsive muscles must've stunned my brain. I knew this, but... muscles... muscles...
Ugh, so that's why concept matters.
Every glance bleached my mind, forcing me to concede Cha's point.
That bizarre Magicals player, FistKingGirl, was one of the streamers who'd succeeded with Cha's exact strategy: braindead aggro-pulling.
Yeah, gaming in Diamond-to-Ranker lobbies dressed like that? Bound to pull eyes.
Hell, even I'd watch.
No—maybe subscribe while I'm at it?
But that bruised my pride. I couldn't sub first, no matter what.
If FistKingGirl subbed me, sure—but me subbing an enemy first? No way.
Never aid the foe!
Decision made, I eyed the overextended Ras and triggered Cognitive Acceleration. Time froze; Ras twisted, realizing his mistake.
Too late.
Telekinetic Burst.Telekinetic Burst.Singularity.
Ras crumpled like wadded paper. Faint status popped instantly.
No matter the DPS, you couldn't kill a full squad in one turn—faint was the limit. No need to overkill and waste DPS.
I blasted Snake away mid-Stealth Leap, then stacked telekinesis on myself with another Acceleration burst, rocketing toward FistKingGirl.
"Hmph!"
She flinched mid-cast, opting for an instant defensive skill after channeling her attack spell. Betting I'd follow with bursts up close.
But.
Stamina's too tight for a one-shot yet.
I'd never planned to skill. Stamina was borderline for bursting her down stacked.
Her buy into my bluff bought me time to recover. As I landed smirking, she realized her mistake—face hardening.
Prime time for real promo.
I pointed at her. Her face froze like a wooden puppet.
"...!"
Acceleration ended.
-CRUNCH!
FistKingGirl crumpled and toppled backward. I typed as I watched.