[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 217

SY Practice Room.

“Phew…”

After finishing the game, Ryu Jin-hyuk leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.

Even though it was supposed to be an easy game, he ended up exhausting himself more than ever, probably because he was super focused, feeling like he just played an intense match.

‘…’

Lying back halfway on the chair, Ryu Jin-hyuk slowly raised his head.

There was something that had bothered him throughout the game.

‘…That can’t be right.’

Despite trying to brush it off, he couldn’t help but question Outlaw’s weird behavior during the match.

‘Why on earth?’

What was with those plays?

Sure, they won the game easily, which could mean that Outlaw was on point, but Ryu Jin-hyuk thought if Outlaw had played the usual way, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome at all.

‘…Could it be that he’s streaming right now?’

An idea popped into his head.

Even though Outlaw hadn’t been streaming lately, he just got promoted to the second division not long ago, so it wouldn’t be weird if he turned on the stream.

‘…Should I check?’

Ryu Jin-hyuk entertained that thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Why would I…”

He had worked hard to avoid creating any weird misunderstandings so far. There was no way he’d let all that hard work crumble in a day.

‘Plus… it could cause trouble for me.’

He still remembered the incident where Outlaw got exposed to illegal gambling sites because of him. Sure, those sites were gone now, but there was no telling if something similar would happen again.

‘Let’s just play a game.’

Having just lost to SCV, who had recently suffered a humiliating defeat in MSL, how would his teammates view him if he started watching a stream?

As Ryu Jin-hyuk was about to queue up, he felt a strange sense of alienation.

‘What’s going on?’

Rainbow and Outlaw were friends on the friends list.

This strange state had continued ever since Ryu Jin-hyuk sent Outlaw a friend request to apologize for the illegal gambling site incident a long time ago.

Of course, there had been no greetings or anything special during that time; they merely had each other added as friends.

This was because Outlaw hadn’t queued up for a long time at all.

‘What’s going on?’

In any ordinary day, he wouldn’t have thought much about it. Taking a break after a game wasn’t that uncommon.

Or he could be busy with something else.

But…

Ryu Jin-hyuk thought otherwise.

‘Is something happening? Hmm, yeah. I should at least find out what’s going on, right?’

He needed an excuse called reason, and now he had the perfect excuse. An excuse to rationalize himself.

“…”

Slyly, he glanced around the practice room before cautiously accessing the Red TV website like a sneaky cat.

The Red TV broadcast lists shows based on viewer numbers.

So, naturally, the broadcast with the most viewers would be at the top, and it wasn’t hard for Ryu Jin-hyuk to find Outlaw’s stream.

+

[ON AIR] [Outlaw111]

-Long time no see, Solo Queue

[Current viewers: 110,132]

+

Eleven thousand viewers for a regular Solo Queue stream…

Even Rainbow himself would be surprised by that number, which attracted countless fans from around the globe.

‘…At this point, he’s a walking Red Cup.’

Of course, it was still fewer than the actual Red Cup viewers, but still, it showed just how significant Outlaw’s standing was in the Legends of League scene.

In other words, nobody would bat an eye if Ryu Jin-hyuk decided to watch Outlaw’s stream.

That number of 110k was enough to turn the unorthodox into the mainstream.

‘Hmm.’

Yet still, Ryu Jin-hyuk glanced around two or three more times, confirming that all his teammates were focused on their own Solo Queue, then cautiously clicked to watch Outlaw’s stream.

He was ready to minimize the window at any moment if any teammates happened to notice.

[Loading……]

Finally, when the stream opened, the first thing that greeted Ryu Jin-hyuk was a flurry of chat messages.

-Scam?

-Is it a scam?

-Someone said he’s famous

-Who?

-Isn’t it you?

-?

-Huh?

-LMFAO

-No way…

-Soul Caliber average level LMFAO

A scam?

What on earth did that mean?

As Ryu Jin-hyuk slowly scrolled through the chat, his eyes stopped.

-The Soul Caliber level was insane, LMFAO

-The runner-up lovers will say that, right? LMFAO

-For real, LOL

-He probably went to recharge

-Without saying anything?

-If it’s a scam, then it’s a scam, but why trash the team? Two-time Red Cup champions are garbage?

-Yeah, Soul Caliber butt-hurt LMFAO

Ryu Jin-hyuk knew who the “Soul Caliber” the viewers were mocking referred to.

Naturally.

The term “Soul Caliber” was a derogatory slur for SY, meaning he stripped the fans of that particular team.

That’s why Ryu Jin-hyuk couldn’t hide his discomfort, but he continued to roll his eyes in an attempt to understand the situation.

‘What on earth happened?’

There’s a saying: “Shut up and lurk for three days.”

Shortened to “Shut Up and Lurk for Three Days.”

It means that instead of jumping in and asking questions when encountering something new, you should lurk for three days to gather basic information first.

And…

Practicing that philosophy, Ryu Jin-hyuk soon learned what was happening in Outlaw’s stream.

Why the term “scam” was floating around.

Why Outlaw had displayed such strange plays.

‘So, he was trying to help me with a mission related to my kills…’

Realizing that fact made Ryu Jin-hyuk feel like he wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

He remembered the doubts, or rather the delusions, he had just experienced and felt embarrassed.

‘No…’

Ryu Jin-hyuk shook his head.

Being embarrassed wasn’t the main issue here.

He had caused trouble for Outlaw again.

Despite all the caution he took, it ended up like this.

Of course, if you got right down to it, there was no ethical responsibility that Ryu Jin-hyuk had to shoulder in this situation.

Therefore, this feeling stemmed purely from his own discomfort.

“…”

Ryu Jin-hyuk logged into Red TV.

*

…And Outlaw had scammed.

-Don’t cry, hon.

-That flustered look is adorable, LOL.

-For real, LOL.

-Are you not queuing?

-Leave him alone; he’s mentally weak right now.

-But isn’t 3500 a gum’s worth for someone as big as Outlaw?

-Yeah, the team’s struggling to maintain itself.

-Oh…

-Is this the burden of a team owner?

-Soul Caliber fans should chip in and fill up the 3500 fast.

-For real, LOL, they should hurry!

Of course, while he had been streaming, he had faced some scams in the past, but those were instances when the one behind the mission wasn’t verified.

But for someone who had been cross-verified by the viewers to just escape…

It was shocking on so many levels.

‘Darn it.’

While Ryu Jin-hyuk was momentarily frozen, the viewers felt sorry and began showering the stream with donations.

‘[SY]Rainbow♥’ gifted 1,000 balloons.


“Scams are not from SY fans.”

Balloons were piling up.

Ultimately, thanks to that whole scam event, they ended up with more donations than ever, which, in a way, could be considered a profit.

But…

‘Still feels wrong.’

As tempting as it was to blacklist them, he hesitated, fearing that they might come back to donate later.

That’s how the human heart worked.

“…I guess there’s no choice. I’ll queue up now.”

Just as he was trying to shake off the scam incident and get back into queue,

“Prism0705 gifted 3,500 balloons.”


“Sorry on behalf of him.”

The balloons burst.

Exactly 3,500 of them.

-Oh

-Why didn’t the person who set up the mission send any, LOL.

-LMAO

-Did the Soul Caliber fans show up?

-Out of this world; just crazy!

Is this fan from Rainbow?

Still, for someone to send balloons for someone else’s mission…

‘Huh?’

That username, Prism.

Familiar.

Way too familiar.

‘No way…’

He had known Rainbow for quite a while.

Soon enough, he had also played quite a few games besides Legends of League, where Rainbow used the name Prism in other games.

Rainbow claimed that his nickname came from the fact that a prism creates a rainbow, but in reality, it was more of a half-derivative of Ryu Jin-hyuk’s nickname.

So, the one who just sent him the balloons might be none other than Rainbow.

‘Nah, it can’t be.’

Even so, to think that this Prism who sent the balloons was Rainbow seemed like a stretch.

‘…But the numbers at the end seem familiar.’

Should I try to ask?

“Um—”

Just as Ryu Jin-hyuk was about to say something, the viewer had already exited his stream.