Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

“I wonder how Mangming’s solo queue is going lately.”

I casually started a conversation with Mangming in the chat.

[Mangming: Ah, recently]
[Mangming: It's been going well]
[Mangming: I mentioned it before, but]
[Mangming: I reached ‘Master’]
[Oh, haha]
[How long are you going to brag about reaching Master, lol]
[Stop bragging, you brat]

Mangming proudly typed in the chat.
If I were in her shoes, I’d probably want to brag too.

‘Master is impressive.’

I’m still in Platinum, so maybe that’s why it feels so far off, but Master seems like a huge achievement.
I’m sure I could reach it with effort, but for now, it still feels distant.
Anyway.

“Well then, since Mangming said solo queue’s fun, I guess I’ll try a game too. Ahem.”

I said that and naturally started up the game.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: ??]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: Why are you starting the game suddenly?]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: You didn’t get money for this, did you?]
[No way you’re doing this because of money, lol]
[Hmm..]
[It doesn’t feel right if you’re doing this for money]
[Hwanhee: Ew, sellout]
[But if it's 100k, I can understand, haha]
[100k isn’t a small amount, so I guess it’s okay]
[Harin: Hahaha, 100k is definitely impressive]
[Kang Hoo-min: No shame at all.]
[Honesty is the best policy, lol]

That seemed to pass naturally.
With that in mind, I continued to start the game and queued up.
Of course, I was going to pick a random champion again today.
It might be fun to play a champion I wanted, but there’s something about randomly picking one that’s also enjoyable.
As I was thinking that, the game quickly matched.

Ding-!
The game was locked in.

“Oh, what? That was quick.”

I was surprised at how fast the game had started.
I didn’t expect it to be this fast.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: Seems like a lot of people are playing Reore today]
[Reore has been getting popular lately]
[There have been more people joining]
[Personally, I really don’t like the influx of new players, I’d rather play with people who know the game]
[Look at these new people trying to make their mark, lol]
[Hwanhee: Those people need to be kicked out for Reore to stay healthy]
[The fact that Reore is getting healthier now]
[Mangming: I also got a quick game today]
[Mangming: It’s surprising]

With that said, I hit accept.
A moment later.

[Hi, hi]
[Hello, everyone]

I saw the cheerful greetings in the pick screen.
There were some friendly players here.
It was a nice change, so I greeted them back.

[Hello]
[Let’s do our best]

In Reore, it’s hard to find people who are that friendly, so I was happy to see them.
Usually, people are so caught up in the game that they just end up yelling.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone greet like this.”

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: For real]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s been a long time]
[Every time I join, it’s always “Can top? Can mid?”]
[Especially when people pick support, they’re always asking for swaps, lol]
[Why are these people so mad? Calm down]
[If you’re support, you can just ask to swap with a laner]
[These guys are really getting on my nerves]
[Guess that’s why they just play top]
[Top lane, haha]
[Hwanhee: For real, it’s refreshing to see someone like that]

Since I saw this friendly person, I decided to focus on doing my best in this game.
I randomly picked a champion.
The champion that appeared was—

Whooo—.

A yellow champion with a majestic voice.
This champion was carrying bells, and if I’m not mistaken, they usually played as a support.

“Is it okay to play this champion top?”

It was strange for a support champion to go top, but at least I should be able to use it.

I asked the chat, and quickly the responses came.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: Top Veid is a major pick, lol]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s not like it’s anything else, top Veid...]
[I climbed from bronze to silver with this, lol]
[Ha]
[Climbing from bronze to silver with top Veid? That’s some real talent]
[That’s true talent]
[What happened to make you play top Veid from bronze…]
[Kang Hoo-min: Giving top Veid to someone who greeted so nicely? That’s a bit much]

That bothered me a little too.
I had typed a friendly message hoping my teammate would do well, but the response was a top Veid pick.
I figured I’d probably be mad too if I were in their shoes.
So I quickly typed back carefully.

[This isn’t a troll pick]
[If you check my history, I usually play these kinds of champions]
[You can trust me]
[It’s an alt account]

I even made a reference to my alt account, which is taboo in Reore.
Since my history is good, I figured it would make sense.
If it weren’t an alt, my win rate wouldn’t be this high.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: Uh, alt account trolling isn’t cool…]
[But your win rate is seriously good]
[Your win rate is probably around 70%, right?]
[Hwanhee: 70% win rate? That sounds like a lie]
[It’s real, lol]
[Check the win rate site, it’s about 70%]
[That’s impressive, haha]
[It’s hard to believe this is someone’s first time in Reore]
[How is this their first game in Reore, their stats are crazy]

After I typed that, a little while later.

[No one normal trolls with alt accounts]
[Is this really an alt account?]
[What’s with this Master rank]
[Wow, that’s insane]

The doubts from the chat disappeared.

“This is weird, no one doubts it.”

If it were me, I would’ve doubted it immediately.

[They probably don’t doubt it because your alt win rate is too good]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: It’s not surprising considering your win rate is 70%]
[If you’re not doing serious picks and still have a 70% win rate, what’s the problem?]
[Mangming: Hmmm]
[Mangming: I guess people believed it more because it’s Master and not just ‘Diamond’]
[Harin: The Master rank bragging is a bit much though]
[Hwanhee: I don’t get why you’re not playing the game from 0 points in Master]
[Well, if you lose one game, you’ll drop to Diamond, haha]

As I thought about how I was lucky no one doubted it, I set my runes.
This time, I got help from Harin.

[Harin: You should take these runes]
[Harin: Then you can just take TP]
[Harin: I’m going to start my own stream now]
[Bye bye]
[See you later]
[Finally, starting your stream]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu: Bye bye]

With that, Harin helped with the runes and left to start her own stream.
She’s probably been streaming for way too long these days.
I thought about that as I continued with my game.

[The Dog of Pavlov donated 1,000 won!]

Explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself...
[Wegis donated 1,000 won!]
What were you doing with Harin, what were you doing with Harin, what were you doing with Harin...
Suddenly, troublemakers barged in with donations.