Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: I'm a Fan
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Ranker might sound all fancy and impressive, but until just recently, society slapped the label "ruined person" on folks like that.
They used the same "waste" prefix slapped on junk products, wastewater, used cooking oil, and garbage—waste person.
People who poured excessive time into games inevitably had something broken in them somewhere.
Though there were exceptions.
Once never imagined the place would devolve into this kind of chaos.
If he'd known, he never would've invited Jeon Jeonseol to the server.
He'd just wanted a pure discussion about the game, figured it was a spot for like-minded people, so he'd invited her without a second thought.
But the spot that had been so peaceful with just guys around exploded into this dramatic mess the moment someone of the opposite gender showed up.
These people weren't hyper-focused on gaming because they'd given up on dating or had zero interest in it?
It was only natural for such doubts to arise.
Nope, not quite.
A few who'd already given up on romance due to lacking the confidence or ability showed manic interest in a woman who shared their passion for games.
For Jeon Jeonseol, that whiny punk who'd gotten annoyed and stormed out actually seemed way better than these weirdos trying to cling to her.
Of course, the absolute best would be for people to ignore gender altogether and just treat her like any other person.
There didn't seem to be many as purely game-focused as Once, so she nearly despaired.
As expected, that kind of thought crossed her mind too.
'What the heck are they even planning to do?'
Once said he'd sort it out quick, so she shouldn't leave the server—just wait.
He seemed tight with the admins, but what method was he gonna use?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Notice regarding new server rules. This is not a fan server for any specific broadcaster. Even if you're thrilled to encounter them up close beyond broadcasts, please don't approach in a burdensome way. (No DMs or mentions except for in-game issues) The Gladiator Gathering is a place for discussing and sharing info on Teamfight Arena—broadcasters participate as fellow gamers. Don't flaunt excessive fandom or demand personal ties that make broadcasters uncomfortable. 1st offense: warning. Repeat offenses: server ban. Let's build a healthy community together. A pretty clever notice—they'd put some real thought into it.
Didn't single out Jeon Jeonseol or mention "woman" at all.
Most challengers, Once included, dabbled in streaming to some degree.
Though truly talented streamers who blew up big were rare.
Calling it "broadcaster" covered a decent chunk of them.
Of course, none had stirred up server-wide chaos like Jeon Jeonseol.
Might look like covering eyes to snatch chestnuts, but as the Korean saying goes, "ah" and "eo" are worlds apart.
The admins also set up voice channels for game discussions—A, B, and C—each capped at 10 people.
That'd prevent the kind of 20+ pile-on chaos from before.
The next morning—or late enough it wasn't quite breakfast or lunch—at 11 a.m., Once pinged Jeon Jeonseol.
She hopped into Game Discussion Room B as called, and six people were already waiting.
How were these folks able to game at 11 a.m., when normal people should be at school or work?
Someone might wonder, but the world has all sorts of lifestyles.
Best not to pry.
"Hi there."
─"Hey!"
─"Nice to meet you."
─"Welcome."
Way calmer vibe than yesterday.
Different lineup of folks too.
─"Jeonseol, you mentioned your rank's climbed lately, right? We always huddle up here, watch replays and streams together, do all the research and analysis."
─"I'm learning tons."
Jeon Jeonseol—ranker of rankers, challenger of challengers.
She'd massively influenced the rank equalization trend.
In a game so bogged down by RNG it was tough to pin down any meta, she'd proven and popularized one with overwhelming win rates.
She'd never handed it out nicely—they'd had to puzzle it out and study on their own.
Yeah, this was the challenger circle.
A place packed with folks so passionate they'd cram game theory like they never did for school.
Jeon Jeonseol ended up feeling like she'd stumbled into a fan sign event... only to realize she was the one supposed to sign.
Embarrassing, but for a different reason than streaming.
Stream viewers felt like distant spectators, but these were familiar nicks she'd clashed with dozens of times in challenger solo queue.
The sense of inward familiarity hit different.
For the record, familiarity and likability were separate beasts.
During that unretirement fiasco, the surprisingly positive public opinion had touched Jeon Jeonseol a bit, bumping her viewer favorability up a notch.
Familiarity, though? Still rock bottom.
No matter how long you stream, you can't memorize every single viewer one by one out of massive crowds—and it's not zero, but not quite "many" either. How to handle viewers remained an eternal headache.
Wasn't dislike.
Precisely because they mattered so much, it was tricky.
Fear of screwing up and watching them all bail made it hard to engage easily...
Compared to that, the people on this server were a manageable number—easy enough to remember who was who.
Maybe they could even become friends, she thought.
─"Jeonseol, could you take a peek at one replay? We have no clue why we lost."
"Sure, let's check it."
Replay reviews were incredibly efficient practice.
Just taking a test without checking answers—would that even count as studying?
Reviewing was the answer-checking process.
Sadly, Teamfight Arena had no official answer key.
But with Jeon Jeonseol—the closest thing to one, long-time rank 1 solo queue queen—joining the review, they'd get way better insights.
Jeon Jeonseol got hooked on the debates with these eager students, blasting through replays for a solid three hours.
Super fun.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Breaking News [Author: ㅇㅇ] [Jeon Jeonseol that bitch backrooming with Once on Discord?] (Screenshot of Jeon Jeonseol logged into Discord channel) Ignores viewers, backrooming with challengers lmao Bet she's off eating meat with Once on your dono money? Electric dogs ditched again kekekeke Teamfight Arena Gallery and Tryit Gallery got hit simultaneously with this sniper post from ID Juicy.
The same dude who'd grilled Jeon Jeonseol yesterday: why accept Once's invite but ignore his? They dating or what?
Truth was, he wasn't even a challenger.
He'd been one when he joined the Gladiator Gathering, but couldn't hold it and got demoted—chopped challenger.
Gladiator Gathering wasn't brutal enough to boot chopped challengers outright, so he lingered like a ghost.
Naturally, he was a Jeon Jeonseol stream viewer.
Past: fanned hard, sent Tryit message invite to server—ignored.
That was mere disappointment at first, but her accepting Once's stacked Anger 1. Seeing them party in a cozy 10-man limit room stacked it to full—sniper post time.
💬 Comments — Anonymous What about it? — Anonymous You got no friends? That's why you're gallery trolling, huh. └ Anonymous Why the AOE splash damage? — Anonymous Chall Discord existed? How come I couldn't get in? └ Anonymous 'Cause you're not chall. └ Anonymous How'd you know lol But Juicy didn't get the reaction he expected.
Usually it'd be like: female streamer backrooming with male streamer? Time for chaos!
NTR this, unicorn that, light the fires!
But weirdly, zero buy-in from the crowd.
Blame Jeon Jeonseol's image.
Pick a fight, she crumples. Carried off. Tiny stature, glass-crafter mentality.
Looked too fragile to mess with for laughs—felt like you'd end up a legit murderer.
Unless you'd shed every last shred of humanity, deciding to torment that small, frail Jeon Jeonseol wasn't easy.
Not unless you were like Juicy—chance at friendship kicked away, grudge deep as hell.
📰 Breaking News [Author: ㅇㅇ] [WTF idiots, she's dating Once on YOUR donos?] [Once motel bill paid with your donos too lol] No crowd buy-in, so Juicy ramped up the bait with edgier posts out of rage.
But astonishingly, total radio silence.
Fuming, he fired up a game—but shit team luck, lost anyway.
And three weeks later, got slapped with an insult lawsuit notice.
Yes! Finally meet Jeon Jeonseol at the station!
Or so he thought—but defendants don't get free access to plaintiffs.
No settlement, so he coughed up a 2 million won fine.
But what could you even do?
Just seethe and rage—what else?
And since it was online bullshit that got him sued, he couldn't even shitpost on the net anymore.