🔊 TTS Settings
Toxic Stream Sniping (2)
I didn’t know much about internet streaming.
But I did know the impact those videos carried.
The video labeled #SphinxZwa had racked up half a million views.
Considering the average views of other videos were around 200,000, the one I appeared in clearly stood out.
…Could it be?
Had I… become a superstar?
I scrolled through the comments.
〔Newest / Popular〕
“The start of the legend of legends.”
“LMAO this is the Legend of Heroes right here.”
“12:31 – highlight of the video.”
⤷ “A riddle that decides the team’s victory or defeat.”
⤷ “If you get it wrong, the team loses.”
⤷ “(No joke.)”
⤷ “WTF hahaha.”
⤷ “???: If you fail, the enemy’s kill count goes up?”
⤷ “Legend of Heroes really is a disease.”
⤷ “Fr lmao.”
⤷ “???: Aaargh! These guys sucked, so why do I have to apologize!”
⤷ “12:49 – the Wizard sacrifices himself and points at himself as the culprit for victory.”
“Day 2 of praying for a SphinxZwa duo.”
“14:14 lol, still hard-carried by SphinxZwa.”
“So this is… Korean Diamond rank?”
⤷ “That great SphinxZwa actually recognized the Wizard.”
⤷ “???: You’ve got talent.”
⤷ “Is this real?”
⤷ “Who’s recognizing who, LMAO.”
⤷ “Even if he’s just Diamond, he’s still a world champion lmao.”
⤷ “Wizard blushing red because SphinxZwa praised him, hilarious.”
⤷ “Can’t find this part, what time is it at?”
⤷ “Next video intro.”
⤷ “Link) SphinxZwa#2.”
⤷ “Thanks.”
I wasn’t developing a celebrity complex or anything, but seeing people cheer for just the five characters of “SphinxZwa” made my chest pound.
Every refresh brought new comments.
It was addictive—I couldn’t look away.
But I still had business to finish.
[Victory!]
I’d almost forgotten, but thankfully, we’d won.
Even after sitting idle for two minutes reading comments, the win came easily.
Of course it did.
The Wizard and I had already torn the game apart.
The enemy surrender was inevitable—it was just a matter of time.
[HandsOffMaster: RNG really sucks lol]
The enemy team’s ace left after cursing.
No surprise—people lash out when it’s the last thing they can do.
But the gaming scene is smaller than you’d think.
Case in point—two minutes later, someone was still there.
[The Wizard: Want to duo?]
A YouTuber with 500k subs and great mechanics was asking me for an after-match duo.
Hmm.
What should I say?
Instead of replying, I clicked into his livestream.
On screen, 3,000 live viewers and a fidgeting Wizard touched his lips nervously.
—“Why isn’t he answering… Should I type again?”
“LMAOOO.”
“This is too funny.”
“Why’s he so nervous? LOL.”
—“Wait! Give him time! He’s thinking about how to reply.”
Donation: ₩1,000
▶ “Bro, is this a romance or something? Just say ‘I’m ex-pro Wizard, let’s duo’ and be done.”
—“No. I’m not asking again. If he wants to duo, he can say it. I’ve carried him every time—we’ll see if he bends first.”
“??”
“Carried…?”
“Did he… really carry?”
“Prisoner number… 173…”
Donation: ₩1,000
▶ “I think you mean you rode the bus, bro.”
—“I said it wasn’t a bus!”
[Mission: Duo with SphinxZwa added! – Reward: ₩30,000]
—“Forget it. Missions or not, I’ll wait just one more minute.”
The time pressure only hyped up the chat further.
[The Wizard: Duo or not?]
The chat flashed—he was rushing me.
I smirked and typed:
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: I’ll just play solo.]
[The Wizard: Why?]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: This too… is a riddle.]
“LOOOOL.”
“What the hell hahahaha.”
“This too is a riddle—OMG.”
“He’s insane lmao.”
—“See?! I told you! I’m just going solo queue.”
“No no no no no.”
“Please ask again.”
“We need this duo…”
—“No. He said he’s solo. Let’s focus on my promos.”
“ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“SphinxZwa nooo.”
“He’s my dopamine source.”
Donation: ₩1,000
▶ “I already miss you, SphinxZwa…”
But I didn’t feel regret.
Looking at the lively chat spamming my name filled me with dopamine.
I remembered the broadcast delay—about 2–3 seconds—so I queued a game a beat earlier.
—“What the—?”
His screen synced with mine.
I quickly closed his stream.
[The Wizard: Wait… were you watching?]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: I’ll take mid marksman.]
[The Wizard: WTF hahahaha, is this stream sniping for real?]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: ?? If you hate sniping, wanna go melee?]
I admit it.
That day, I became Wizard’s toxic stream sniper.
I watched all his streams, all his YouTube uploads.
Every time he queued, I timed mine to match—calculating the delay.
[An ally has been slain.]
—“No, no. My team should’ve backed me up faster there.”
Donation: ₩1,000
▶ “Bro still stuck in pro mindset. Your team’s all Diamonds lol.”
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong is rampaging!]
—“Nope~ SphinxZwa cleaned everything up~”
“Dee Ping Kss.”
“Is it you again…”
“The light itself.”
“God-Sphinx carry show.”
Each day was pure joy.
I was addicted to the thrill.
Only one regret lingered—I should’ve watched it all live.
[‘The Wizard’ has started streaming!]
I closed a VOD and switched to the live platform Tzizik.
This had been my playground of dopamine for two years.
But the end came unexpectedly.
—“Hello, this is Wizard.
Thanks for all the support, but I’ve decided to take a break.
Honestly, VR streams have taken over everything lately—live and YouTube. To survive, you need VR… but my motion sickness is too severe.
So I’ll focus on family, health, visiting my in-laws…
I’ll try short streams here and there, but for now… thank you. I’ll be back as a renewed Neo Wizard someday.”
Even after rereading the post, the emptiness didn’t fade.
Scrolling down, I saw a smiling Wizard with his family.
<The weight of being a father is heavier than being a Master.>
He looked truly happy holding his son.
For the first time, I envied his break.
‘Dad, huh…’
I shoved my phone away. Poking the lion’s whiskers brought nothing good.
I sat up straight and grabbed the keyboard.
‘Let’s just watch some streams.’
On Tzizik, most lives vanished when filtering out VR—only a few Legend of Heroes streams remained.
I clicked one at random.
—“You guys know Wizard quit? Who cares about some washed-up boomer?”
The streamer’s name flashed.
‘EmperorSword.’
I remembered—he was a YouTuber known for smurfing on low ranks.
[EmperorSword: Super Carry LIVE – First Stream!]
His debut live.
But unlike the title, viewers poured in.
—“What, too harsh? Please. Wizard only won worlds because his teammates were good.”
“Wtf he crossed the line.”
“Wizard even got MVP, idiot.”
“Who are you, smurf clown?”
“If Wizard met you in solo queue, you’d get wrecked.”
It wasn’t his fame that drew so many.
It was Wizard’s furious fans, swarming the chat.
—“Hah, Wizard’s lapdogs are all here. Keep barking. I’ll just ban you all.”
—Message deleted.
—Message deleted.
—Message deleted.
“Lmao he’s actually banning everyone.”
Familiar IDs from Wizard’s streams vanished one by one.
But I remained.
Simple reason—I never pressed enter.
What good would speaking up do?
—“Know your place. You’re just viewers. Don’t like it? Leave. Idiots.”
He was right.
We were just viewers.
The most we could do was spam reports.
But me?
“Let’s see… does this mount go here?”
I adjusted my phone on the stand.
My face appeared in the corner of the screen.
[Set your channel name.]
—Sphinx.
[Set your stream title.]
—Hello, this is Sphinx.
All ready.
I crossed my arms and waited.
“???”
“Wait, is that the real SphinxZwa?”
Within a minute, the chat flooded.
I recognized IDs—people banned from EmperorSword’s stream, now gathering here.
Donation: ₩1,000
▶ “Are you really starting a stream?”
Five minutes in, my first donation.
My heart raced.
Truthfully, when EmperorSword insulted Wizard, I didn’t feel anger.
But… excitement.
My hands trembled with it.
—“Thank you for joining. Park Yuseong’s Toxic Stream Sniping Show begins now!”
Thud.
The queue popped at the same time as his.
My dual monitor showed identical screens.
I closed his stream.
[EmperorSword: Ban Barbarian.]
【Hero ‘Barbarian’ has been banned.】
[EmperorSword: WTF? What are you doing?]
I politely placed my hands on the keyboard.
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: haha, sorry ;;]
