Chapter 12

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 12

Chapter Title: I Want to Quit Everything Now

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1.

Elena's eyes widened. Her mouth fell slightly open, and her body went rigid. For a moment, she couldn't find her words, her eyes darting around.

"...What did I just hear?"

She thought she must have misheard. After all, Carrier had spouted something utterly ridiculous before vanishing.

"...So yeah."

That was exactly how Elena felt right now—dumbfounded to the point of bewilderment.

"It has to be a joke, right? Who announces they're sniping someone outright? I swear, even the exit was entertaining!"

At first, she'd thought it was just a joke.

But one viewer's donation shattered her assumption.

"What? For real? Hold on a sec..."

Elena hurriedly jumped into Noir's stream.

The viewer count was way higher than average.

Carrier's parting shot had clearly pulled in the aggro. Elena herself was proof—jumping in mid-stream.

The loading screen showed the enemy top laner's name, all too familiar.

"Wow, this person's actually insane..."

2.

Noir's face froze for a moment. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at the chat.

"Wh-why did the viewers spike like this?"

Seeing the chat explode, her heart started racing wildly. A low 'hum' vibrated in her ears like a buzz.

'Did someone snipe me? But I haven't done anything like that...'

Maybe it was that turkey chicken deduction at the end of the last stream? But that was purely her reasoning skills...

Her vision narrowed sharply. The battlefield in front of her blurred in and out, her chest tightening like she might suffocate.

"Wh-what brings you all here?"

She barely held onto her composure. She was still streaming, after all.

The chat scrolled so fast it was impossible to read everything.

Staring at it made her dizzy; she squeezed her eyes shut. She felt like she might collapse any second, but she swallowed hard and spoke.

"So, the 'Carrier' in enemy top was duoing with Elena, then suddenly ditched to snipe me, right?"

She'd pieced together the situation. The reactions confirmed it. But one thing didn't make sense.

"...Why me?"

The viewers didn't know either. They'd just followed the dopamine rush here.

'Why me though...'

A surge of emotion welled up from deep in her chest, choking her throat. Injustice and anger swirled, battering her heart.

What grudge could lead to such a public callout, dragging her into this chaos? The fragile peace she'd rebuilt shattered.

'I wanna quit...'

She took a deep breath, forcibly steadying her shaking emotions. She bit her lip hard.

'Stay calm, Seoyun.'

She couldn't crumble now. Whatever the intent, the viewer spike was a good sign.

Other streamers chased collabs and tournaments for influxes and retention. She hadn't, and here it was.

'Opportunity favors the prepared.'

Noir swallowed and spoke.

"I don't know why Carrier decided to snipe me, but let's get on with the game for now."

She forced a calm voice as she headed to the battlefield.

"But they must be pretty confident, huh? Daring to snipe the Goddess of the Battlefield?"

Noir spoke arrogantly. It was an act, but the viewers wouldn't notice.

Inside, her stomach churned. Her face and voice were bold, but her fingertips trembled faintly.

"...Never lost a single game so far? Is that even possible?"

"Then I'll hand you your first loss. Pay dearly for sniping me!"

She smirked. Checking the reactions, Noir let out a secret sigh of relief.

'Good.'

It was still shaky, but the stream was going. She couldn't relax yet—the momentum could die anytime.

'No mistakes.'

One slip, one tiny error, and they'd tear her apart. Terrifying, but she kept acting. She couldn't break now.

'Just keep it going.'

She didn't even hope they'd stick around. Just a smooth end to the stream, no drama.

"...Report?"

The Legendary Arena had a dedicated streamer team. They handled ads and collabs, but their key role was punishing snipers.

A streamer reports a snipe, the team investigates, and can suspend the account.

"Isn't that too harsh? I was flustered, sure, but it boosted my viewers..."

Deep down, she wanted to report. But it might paint her bad to viewers. Even legit reports rub some wrong.

"Messing with the Goddess of the Battlefield isn't light. You'll regret it to your bones soon!"

"...I'll report Carrier."

Noir muttered glumly.

The results screen showed the stats.

The sniper Carrier had a devastating carry performance.

She, meanwhile, had racked up over 10 deaths. An overwhelming skill gap.

"N-need improvement? Me? Saying I need to step up? Ha...! This is ridiculous!"

When the influx hit, panic had nearly overwhelmed her. Now, anger had steadied her somehow.

Fuming, she hit report without thinking. Pure instinct from rage.

Only after confirming the report did the chat sink in.

"...Carrier. You said you're starting a stream?"

The stream mention startled her. She hadn't considered it at all.

"C-can I cancel the report?"

The realization crushed her.

"Really? That's a relief. I was worried I'd ruined another streamer's future..."

She smiled, but her heart wasn't at ease. Something felt off.

'I just lashed out...'

Had a moment's emotion tripped someone up? The thought gnawed at her.

'No. Technically, I'm the victim.'

She bit her lip, nodding to convince herself.

'They sniped first. Said it outright on stream...'

But doubt crept in another way.

'Is that really ban-worthy?'

Did this warrant a suspension? Just words, one game?

'Is it right to push this far over being mad?'

Chat poured like a storm. Her head spun. Even eyes closed, the words swirled.

'...Why am I like this? Why am I such a mess? When did I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠break? When did it start?'

Self-loathing surged, nausea rising. Rage before, now just vomit-inducing despair.

'I want to quit everything now...'

She'd started streaming for human warmth online, but exhaustion crushed her. She wanted to give up.

But the stream continued. She had to finish. Courtesy to viewers, at least.

'Even if I run, apologize first.'

Above all, she wanted to apologize to Carrier directly. Even if retiring, that much was right.

"Carrier. If you're sniping me that hard, you're probably watching my stream right now."

Noir swallowed and continued.

"Could you hop on a quick call with me?"