The LoL Grind
After joining the big server.
Or more precisely, after filming that mad movie with Gang Cheolton.
Naturally, a ton of viewers flocked to my stream.
I was pretty shocked at the time.
The viewer count right after ditching my car and fleeing the city...
I could kinda understand why Yeongukno and Haenam Guy were so obsessed with big servers.
People are born to head to Seoul, horses to Jeju.
And streamers? Straight to the big servers. It's not just a saying for nothing.
Didn't I suck up Gang Cheolton's lifelong audience in one go?
Anyway.
After hitting that peak.
Just as expected, viewers drained away like the tide going out.
In a way, it was inevitable.
These were people who'd come in for blockbuster scenes.
But then? Trailer over, they switch channels, and boom—A Day in the Life of Pohang Fishermen: Late-Night Overripe Pollack Dinner Edition.
No wonder they bolted.
And honestly, the biggest issue was the breaks.
I took time off for work, so of course viewers dipped.
I had to accept that.
Sure, if I'd popped in on Gang Cheolton now and then or accepted that duo queue invite from last time, I could've gotten a booster shot...
But why bother?
I'm satisfied with the gains I got.
Anyway, viewers dropped back, but there was a positive leftover effect.
My recognition shot up.
You can tell just from the collab invites piling up in my inbox these days.
Used to be nothing but dust; now they're actually coming in.
FYI, I turned them all down.
Honestly, I never did collabs before either.
I'm not some isolationist Heungseon VTuber who flat-out refuses them.
But gaming suddenly with strangers? Kinda awkward.
And above all...
"This fucking...!!"
I was busy climbing ranks.
Week two of grinding my Gold smurf, as previewed.
Had some breaks in between, but I poured a ton of time into streaming.
And the result?
Emerald 4
My smurf's tier matched my main.
"Why isn't my LP going up?"
FYI, I hit Emerald three days ago.
Yeah, stuck in this tier for three straight days.
"Matchmaking rigging...!!"
Clearly, the game company is manipulating my matches.
To keep user fairness, forcing my winrate to 50% convergence.
Hell, my winrate from lower tiers—where I was snapping kids' wrists—flattened right out.
"Okay... that's it for now."
So I quit LoL.
Can't do anything if I've been flagged by the matchmaking radar.
Sometimes, knowing when to quit makes you a great VTuber.
Took me two days to admit it, but yesterday was a break, so really just one day.
Even I get tired of nothing but LoL.
Lately it was win-lose-win-lose-lose-win-lose-win-lose—no LP gains, just stress.
"Nah, ending stream."
"Kidding."
Sucks that my epic challenge fizzled, but...
Time for a new game.
That said, the last two weeks weren't all LoL.
I dipped into games during schedules or breaks here and there.
"What do you think of this?"
In that spirit.
I opened my Steam cart and showed them a game.
A war simulator.
Start as a pathetic medieval European house, build to an empire.
Sure, might be snoozeworthy for viewers, but perfect pace for me...
Wayo Love Group has sent you a game gift.
"Huh?"
...Right as I thought that, a gift popped up on the game site.
"Game gifts out of nowhere."
You can send gifts without being friends, so I get them occasionally.
I've scored some fun indies that way before.
Grinning, I opened the gift...
Walk Simulator
Gift Comment: Do that game forever
...A game gift disguised as a threat.
"Okay..."
No way, too gross.
What kind of threat is this?
Overwhelmed by this walk dog's packed lunch bomb of personal attacks I'd never seen before.
"But what do you guys wanna see?"
"Fine, I'll do it. I love my viewers too."
"Of course."
Yeah, Wayo admits defeat.
Three weeks of pure fishing, then two weeks of LoL grind.
Plus breaks sprinkled in—I'm a terrible VTuber, aren't I?
...Seriously a shitty one.
Moment of self-reflection.
Game aside, yeah, lots of breaks this month.
'Ahyeon~ You know about the backed-up photoshoot contracts?'
'Huh?'
'? Didn't you say you'd do them?'
'Oh...'
Reason? Photoshoot contracts I pushed for myself.
No excuses.
'Pay? Bumped up nice~ Exclusive contracts are the best, right? Auto-branding.'
'How much?'
'Like this much?'
'Holy crap!'
What can ya do when Andel contracts jack your pay sky-high?
Gotta milk it while it's hot...
So schedules linger.
Meaning? Stream break tomorrow too.
Viewers, oblivious or not to my mixed feelings, spammed their dream games in chat.
Pure as kids asking Santa.
Good thing is.
Santa eats wishes and hits up parents for bribes.
But this Wayo stuffs every stocking with a gift.
Of course... after a little process.
"Hold up."
I raised both hands, staring at chat.
Wayo's hands popped up on screen via tracking.
Wanna gift everyone, but too many kids with wishes.
Random draw? Unfair.
Wish sizes vary.
Some life's dream, some just a casual chat line.
Ideal VTuber Wayo must sort 'em.
"Oh man~ Screen won't turn off."
Yep.
"Game gift window's blocking my view..."
Gotta gauge wish size first.
"No games over 30,000 won."
29,900 is fine, right?
Skip a day's living and make dreams come true?
Of course, easy to misinterpret.
Shouts flooded in like waves.
Familiar reaction.
Always see it during donation draws.
Honestly? I enjoy it.
Post-reincarnation, chances to get cussed are rare.
That vocab brings back Yaga days nostalgia.
"Teachers, it's not about the money."
And yeah, they're not seriously cursing.
Just how we play, right?
The real cursers are log bois who spam no matter what game.
The lurkers? Probably duking it out underwater right now.
"I donate yearly. Can't verify 'cause real name."
Winner should emerge soon...
FuckingBastardYou has gifted you a game.
Muhyeopjeon
Gift Comment: Money-grubbing bitch...
Ah yes, like this.
"Whoa, a gift already."
Underwater battle victor emerged.
Muhyeopjeon.
I read the final winner game's description and summarized for viewers.
"Basically a wuxia dating sim."
Join a dying sect, save it, flirt with heroines.
"How's the freedom? Lots of routes?"
I hate linear story games, so I asked—solid answers.
Diverse branches, changes per choice?
Hm... gets why they recommended.
Sounds great.
"Let's go."
Biggest reason this won?
"Haenam it is."
I love wuxia too.
Men do wuxia.