Malicious Stream Sniping (1)

The Diamond 1 rank, where only the top 0.3% remain.

Those on the brink of Master tier always took the game seriously.

[Alppamail: Hey, you #%$ idiot. You got no $#@? Don’t eat that and just come right now.]

The harsh chat messages flashed in the corner of my screen, but I didn’t care.

Because in Legend of Heroes, this was daily life.

There’s a reason why people say:

“Gaming isn’t a disease, but Legend of Heroes is.”

‘That much is tolerable,’ I thought.

You can’t let rough chat get under your skin.
If you want to avoid being demoted to a lower rank, you need the ability to see the truth hidden in words.

Like the chat below:

[Alppamail: Just dive! Dive in, you f***er… Just quit already.]

When you look past the anger issues, what it really means is:

“Please, I’m desperate to win. Can you engage first for me?ㅠㅠ”

[Doljabittarongsword: Fine, I won’t join fights^^ You guys suck at this.]

Which can be translated to:

“Honestly, the only way we can win is if I roam around alone ㅠㅠ.”

Think of them as kids who just learned how to curse—it’s almost cute.

Too optimistic? Keep your head straight.
Even if your teammates are garbage, you still need to win.

In the end, there are only two choices:

• Curse your teammates to protect your own mentality.

• Or, like me, hear only what you want to hear.

Fail to do either, and your mental breaks. Then you become a troll who ruins the game.

[You have died.]

The tragic voice echoed as the screen faded gray.
My mantis-like character staggered and collapsed.

Huh. Strange.
I’d cleared all the CCTVs sneaking in—how did they still spot me?
Did I reveal myself for a second?

[Alppamail: LOL, you really got caught like that]
[Doljabittarongsword: Told you, Diamonds suck for a reason]
[Alppamail: Taking all the kills for yourself, huh? Screw this, let’s just surrender.]

What an amusing social experiment.

A decent citizen trips over a rock, and suddenly the “2 kill 4 death petty criminal” and the “0 kill 7 death felon” reconcile in silence, pointing fingers at me.

[Alppamail: LOL, a legend. Diamond trash even recalls at this timing.]

Should I become an emotional trash can just for the win?

No. Absolutely not.

[Alppamail: Group up, let’s kill him]
[Doljabittarongsword: Go go, bottom side. He’s cut off.]

As my desperate teammates scrambled, I placed my hands on the keyboard.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: Hello. I am the Sphinx of Flanders.]
[Alppamail: Stop bullshitting and just group up.]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: If you fail to solve my riddle, the enemy’s kill count will rise one by one.]
[Doljabittarongsword: LOOOOOOL]
[Alppamail: No f***ing way LOL]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: Should I throw, or should I not? Wanna take a guess?]

I wasn’t actually going to die on purpose if they ignored me.
I was just as serious about winning as they were.

To interpret my words:

“See that? I’m a lunatic. Keep blaming me, and I’ll throw. Consider this your warning.”

A polite warning, compared to the curses flooding the chat.

But then, one clueless guy in a suit showed up to a mountain hike.

[The Wizard: It’s my fault, I’m sorry. I’ll try harder, please don’t throw, Mr. Sphinx.]

The most decent player on the team gave me an earnest apology.

Hm. This wasn’t in my database.
Trying to make himself the scapegoat to dissolve conflict? Must be desperate.

“If he wants it that bad… I’ll carry him.”

I checked the map as I entered our jungle.
The CCTV I planted before dying showed something odd.

‘Why are they there?’

The enemy was eerily waiting to ambush a teammate—just like when they killed me earlier.

‘Were they on the same team last game?’

At 11 a.m., Diamond 1 players aren’t exactly numerous. Meeting the same players repeatedly isn’t rare.

And since both “The Wizard” and I favored sneaking into the enemy jungle, the enemy must’ve predicted his pattern.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: Stick to me. Let’s reverse-gank.]
[Doljabittarongsword: Go go.]
[Alppamail: On my way, wag your tail.]
[Alppamail: Answer me.]
[The Wizard: wag wag]

The ambush went perfectly.

The enemy pounced on “The Wizard” the moment he entered, but we sprang the trap and wiped them out.

[The enemy team has surrendered. / 4 votes for, 1 against.]

All five enemies turned into gray death portraits.
Fireworks exploded with the surrender—sweet victory.

I checked the records.

As expected. The reason my stealth had failed earlier…
One of the enemies had played with “The Wizard” 13 times before.

Of course he knew his playstyle.

Instinctively, I hovered over The Wizard’s profile.
How much patience does someone have to instantly blame himself without excuses?

The answer was in his match history.

“What the… he ranked up?”

There it was—the glowing purple badge he’d dreamed of for weeks.

[Master] [The Wizard]

I admitted it.
He had the eye for the game.
Unlike others, he deserved Master tier.

I sent him a thumbs-up emote in the lobby.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: You’ve got talent. You’ll reach Grandmaster.]
[The Wizard: LOOOOOL]
[The Wizard: Thanks for the carry.]

I hoped to be matched with him again.
But recent patch changes made Master and Diamond players unable to queue together.

Then came:

[Defeat]
[Defeat]
[Defeat]

Damn it. Not a single competent teammate.
I could see the path to victory, but they just wouldn’t follow.

Three painful losses.
The Master tier that was within reach slipped away again.

“I don’t belong here… So why can’t I climb?”

Surely, it was just a lack of grind.

Skipping meals, I queued again—and there it was. A familiar ID.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: ? Why are you back here?]
[The Wizard: F***, I lost three games and got demoted.]
[The Wizard: My team luck is trash.]

I couldn’t help but laugh—it matched my thoughts exactly.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: LOL, you can’t climb without me.]
[The Wizard: Bullshit lol]

We won.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: GG EZ]

I left the lobby and queued again.
But that wasn’t the end of our encounters.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: We meet again.]
[The Wizard: Don’t snipe me, man.]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: ? Fine, I’ll play melee for you.]

The next day too.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: Kill dragon, then engage immediately.]
[The Wizard: Got it, I’ll hold aggro till you’re here.]

Two days later, three days later—
We kept meeting by chance.

Then, one day, an unfamiliar whisper arrived.

[ValleyMagician: Hey, Sphinx bro ㅎㅇ]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: ? Who are you?]
[ValleyMagician: Haha, you’re on Wizard’s stream right now.]

…A stream?

Obviously not TV—must be YouTube or something.
I asked him directly.

[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: Are you a streamer?]
[The Wizard: ?]
[DiamondGatekeeperParkYuseong: People keep whispering me about it.]

We’d always chatted openly for the sake of victory.
But suddenly, Wizard fell silent.

‘Wizard, huh? If I search him on YouTube…?’

I hit recall and typed “Wizard” into the search bar.

There it was. A channel.

[The Wizard]

I clicked it.

Thumbnail: The Riddle of Sphinx. Who was at fault in that last fight? Guess wrong, and the enemy gets another kill!

[Met Sphinx in Solo Queue. #1]

Thumbnail: You’ve got talent. Sphinx acknowledges world champion The Wizard.

[Met Sphinx in Solo Queue. #2]

Thumbnail: The Wizard: Don’t snipe me. / Sphinx: ? Fine, I’ll play melee hero.

[Destiny or Stream Sniping? Illegal Duo with Sphinx / #3]

Thumbnail: Park Sangjun: Aaaaargh! You’re sniping me! Please, if you’re watching, snipe me!

[Ex-pro desperately begging for Sphinx while diving to Diamond 2 / #4]