The Trap Closes In

< p >The chat moderator had been stalling from the very beginning.

< p >It was hard to log into the game right now, he kept saying in his message. I’ll do it later from home, and then we’ll send you a friend request. That sort of thing.

< p >I wondered, for just a moment, if I wouldn’t be able to tighten this noose after all.

< p >But the viewers, far more familiar with streaming and the internet than I was, weren’t that easy to fool.

< p >- SilverPantea: Doesn’t the mobile LoL chat app exist?

< p >- QpyeEpyneegeesu: Yeah, and the size is small enough that it downloads in under a minute even on 3G.

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Data is short…

< p >- Solong3221: If you’re short on data, how do you even watch the stream lol. Stop the nonsense and shut up.

< p >- ISISWASWAS: Wait, maybe he’s a pro player or coach and it’s too awkward? lol

< p >- ETB373: Oh, that could be. lol lol Does that mean his secret is just the manager?

< p >- SideManGam: If only Noel had accidentally opened his account it would be hilarious lol lol

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: Don’t tell me he can’t even verify… Well, I gave him a lecture and he’s at least Diamond or higher lol

< p >- CasterNuts: The expected tier is way too high lol

< p >The holes in Ttihwakjjit’s escape plan were closing one by one.

< p >The chats aimed at him were full of mockery, no matter who was watching, but they were also the kind of messages that would let him slip away if he really were high tier.

< p >Everyone had been tricked by me once and now they were trying to be careful with him.

< p >It had reached the point where I couldn’t tell who was the real bully.

< p >But someone was taking care of a bothersome person for me, and I had no desire to stop them.

< p >I just had to keep my content calm and moving forward on my own.

< p >First, I had to protect everyone’s personal information, so I moved the clients for notepad and paintbrushes to the top and hid part of the League of Champions client.

< p >On the broadcast screen, only the friend list, whisper chat position, and the username that would appear when someone viewed information would be visible.

< p >Just the tier would show.

< p >“This way it should be well hidden, right? Please send friend requests to those who are ready first. Ah, one came in just now… …uh. This is clearly Ttihwakjjit, the manager.

< p >That was the first friend request to arrive.

< p >I didn’t even need to ask who it was.

< p >- Ttimoljujia: Yeah

< p >- Ttimoljujia: It’s fine if my nickname shows on the stream

< p >- Noel: But it’s troublesome to hide and unhide the thing I already hid…

< p >- Ttimoljujia: Yeah

< p >After the simple self-introduction, when I checked Ttihwakjjit’s info on the friend list, I was surprised to see he was in a high tier.

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: lol lol The manager is skilled

< ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠p >- 🗡Norgeunjeomdojeod: If even the first-predictor is a hacking expert, what do we do?

< p >- SilverPantea: Wow… he was really skilled

< p >- Mobility: Do you pick managers by tier here?

< p >A score that would shock the viewers: solo rank Grandmaster 517 points.

< p >The most champions were Renegar, this Xin, and Noonu and Wollamp.

< p >Anyone could see he was an aggressive jungler.

< p >That was the question.

< p >“Uh… you’re a jungler, yet you watch top-lane broadcasts?”

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: I watch everything except support broadcasts

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: When you jungle, don’t you need to know the meta on other lanes too? lol

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Of course you have to study if you want to do it properly

< p >- Insaupjeoksinseouldae: Teacher seems to have studied way too much

< p >- MozzieBurger: If you want to reach Grandmaster, you probably need that much…

< p >But when you looked closely, it seemed like he was always connected the moment I turned on my broadcast.

< p >He even showed his face sometimes on Celeste’s broadcasts too.

< p >I said I was watching other people’s broadcasts when I wasn’t streaming.

< p >…Living like that and being Grandmaster.

< p >Even Master tier was something I knew took more than a month of nonstop gaming a day.

< p >I knew that reaching Grandmaster was something a normal person couldn’t do just by trying hard.

< p >Of course, with good knowledge and outstanding innate skill, a high win rate could push the tier up.

< p >But even then, to raise the score you had to play an awful lot of games.

< p >Watching the stream that much, and reaching high tier—how was he managing his real life?

< p >Did he even eat properly…?

< p >I was quite puzzled by the strange identity of Ttihwakjjit the manager.

< p >It wouldn’t be polite to go deep into this in front of the viewers anyway.

< p >I accepted the next friend request and moved the conversation to that person.

< p >Even if he was my manager, it wasn’t good for only manager talk to keep coming up on my stream.

< p >“Well, I’ll skip the detailed personal information of the manager. Next, let’s check another friend request. Hello, who is this person?”

< p >- 🗡Norgeunjeomdojeod: It’s me

< p >- 🗡Norgeunjeomdojeod: I thought I wasn’t getting singled out anywhere, but first-predictor Grandmaster makes me feel so insignificant…

< p >- SilverPantea: Even if it’s Diamond, it’s still skilled lol

< p >- Irondominic: lol lol Even Diamond puts you in the top 4% lol

< p >- Baeagi: 4% is already top grade lol It’s really good

< p >Yes, it felt like I was meeting a normal person now.

< p >A Diamond tier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level was something a normal person could reach if they played reasonably well.

< p >Master tier was possible if you were good enough.

< p >If you were a student or had a job, you probably couldn’t play League of Champions constantly without any other hobby.

< p >I accepted it without much enthusiasm.

< p >The viewers seemed to feel the same way too.

< p >Probably because the manager who first verified the tier had been too shocking.

< p >After that, a short friend request came in, and it turned out to be a prank by a viewer pretending to be the manager.

< p >But anyway, what we all wanted was Ttihwakjjit’s verification.

< p >- 🗡UniverseYaGwanggwalMonge: I’m only Silver lol

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: The tier could be low lol

< p >- SilverPantea: Even if the boss is Silver, you can climb up by listening to the boss’s lecture and following lol Hang in there

< p >- 🗡UniverseYaGwanggwalMonge: If that were the case, I would have climbed long ago… I also play the butt-poke dinosaur!

< p >- BB16: It’s not butt-poke dinosaur, it’s hit dinosaur, right?

< p >- Yongil9366: O O U hit dinosaur…

< p >Since a manager in the lower ranks had already verified, the pressure was building that the ones who didn’t verify were suspicious.

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Wait… it’s installed now

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Now checking friend requests

< p >Finally, Ttihwakjjit sent me a friend request I couldn’t delay any longer.

< p >When I checked the info after accepting, this side was surprisingly also Master tier.

< p >The nickname wasn’t especially special.

< p >We had crossed paths a few times while playing, but there was no standout super play from this user.

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: Oh… if it’s Master, we could give a lecture too

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: He was skilled lol

< p >- 🗡UniverseYaGwanggwalMonge: I’m only Silver, I’m only… I feel so pitiful…

< p >- RollingThunder: Even if it’s pitiful, the fun of the heavenly realm is different… They can never feel that kind of fun…

< p >- SilverPantea: The boss started from Silver, so he must have felt the fun of the heavenly realm from the start? It’s enviable

< p >- ThirstyThiry: That’s right, the real taste of ranked games by tier is known by the manager lol lol

< p >The viewers seemed to accept the explanation that Ttihwakjjit’s tier was that.

< p >But it made me uneasy.

< p >Looking at the most champions, even if he hadn’t shown clear dominance, this person seemed quite versatile as a top laner.

< p >Irelia, Ayaolai, and K’sante player.

< p >He would have used the exact playstyle I knew, so why had he said strange things?

< p >If he was Grandmaster, I could say I was wrong and he was right.

< p >If he was low tier, he could have just talked about what he knew.

< p >But a user in the score range that wasn’t that different from me had said such things?

< p >If the most champions had included K’sante and tank champions, I could have understood.

< p >Especially Irelia and Ayaolai were champions where everything was on side-lane control.

< p >More than anything, I had to engrave and practice what I said to the bone.

< p >So I subtly set a trap.

< p >“All my managers are gamers who know the game well. Of course, Silver is also playing Silver in their own way. The most champions were varied too, and most were people with very clear personal tendencies. Ttihwakjjit the manager is an extremely aggressive jungler, UniverseYaGwanggwal the manager is a sturdy tank user, and… this person’s playstyle is hard to guess. People’s tendencies don’t change that easily. But I remember that when we met last time, he played extremely well. Do you have any experience switching between kal-chaem and bangpae-chaem?”

< p >I asked because I doubted if he was really him.

< p >If it was him, he would answer lightly.

< p >In fact, whether a tendency was aggressive or defensive was also extremely subjective.

< p >Champions like Horn are called bangpae-chaem, yet sometimes you can push the opponent with the shield.

< p >There were also users who went all out as aggressive champions like Darius, died together, and thought whoever couldn’t grow bigger was the winner.

< p >But if the answer hesitated, it would be suspicious.

< p >Well, he could hesitate a little.

< p >And if his tongue got long, the chance he wasn’t the real one would increase.

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Um…

< p >As I expected, no immediate answer came.

< p >Was he suspicious of me asking the account owner?

< p >Or maybe I had misjudged.

< p >The intuition of the top-sin-byeong-ja player was screaming that my instinct was correct.

< p >- HonorOfHorror: But doesn’t the manager also switch between kal-chaem and bangpae-chaem?

< p >- SilverPantea: No no, the boss also does bangpae-chaem like kal-chaem

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Judging by how he plays with Horn, there’s no separate thing lol

< p >The chat between viewers was quiet for a moment.

< p >The answer to my question finally came.

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: I don’t have any special knowledge to call it… It’s just different depending on the champion

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: It’s just a feeling that I do what I can

< p >That kind of answer shouldn’t have been given.

< p >He could have just said he played K’sante like a kal-chaem.

< p >So I set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠traps on both sides this time.

< p >“Well, I heard you played really well last time. I almost never lose line fights, but every time I met this person I was talked down to. I wasn’t wrong to give a lecture.”

< p >- Noel: You remember meeting Ttimol when I played Ayaolai last time?

< p >- Noel: Did Ttimol get very angry?

< p >- TrickyJane: Yeah, it was super bad lol lol

< p >- TrickyJane: No, how was he even dodging everything and tearing me apart all day? It can’t be that bad

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: hehe; it was just good luck

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: Because you were very aggressive, I just let it slide a bit and countered… when I showed the kill angle, the rest was different

< p >A completely different topic.

< p >Honestly, even if I borrowed the account, I had wondered what to do if I asked the real owner and got an answer.

< p >But he was giving off a vague impression of admitting it, so he seemed to swell with pride.

< p >If the same person was chatting in-game, I would have asked why he said such things.

< p >So I didn’t even need to set traps on both sides.

< p >There were still two or three more traps left to set.

< p >“It’s strange. Why did you say that? I’ve never lost a line fight in solo ranked.”

< p >- Ttuetaetaetaeta: Ttihwakjjit account didwogud2746

< p >- Ttuetaetaetaeta: Nickname AlexPaco from other game community sites using that battle tag

< p >- SilverPantea: If the world burned, I’d be happy to see you come back lol

< p >- Ttuetaetaetaeta: Roll nickname AlexPaco ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Bronze 3, Roll CE Gold, Free Rank Gold

< p >- Ttuetaetaetaeta: Purchased with foreign car installment and posted on Instagram, hello Mr. Didwogud2746. The car is so cool, I want to try it once

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: That crazy bastard lol lol lol

< p >- Guljulinchobungi: ??? What is this??? Really what is this???

< p >- RexiaQueenNim: Then what is the current verified account?

< p >- 🗡Ttihwakjjit: What kind of borrowing is this lol lol lol

< p >No, maybe I hadn’t even needed to set a trap from the beginning.

< p >The viewers had figured it out on their own.

< p >I hadn’t imagined that account name could be traced like that.

< p >This was beyond imagination.