<h4>Chapter 105: Bubblegum (1)</h4>


    "Remember, you''re not a pro gamer. You''re a streamer. You have to make this clear."


    That was the first thing Ju-Hyeok said during their meeting. This was amon dilemma among streamers with skilled gamey. They danced around a fine line between streamer and gamer, earning profits by both means.


    Even if a streamer was skilled in gamey, it was important for them tomunicate constantly with their viewers. The streamer may think viewers came to watch, but that wasn''t the case from Ju-Hyeok''s analysis.


    The reason viewers watched these types of streamers was simply because they liked them. The streamer’s gamey skills were one of the reasons for being loved, but overall, fondness was the main reason.


    Hence, these gamey streamers needed to do more than just y well. They needed tomunicate, entertain the viewers, and attract them. They needed to reel in viewers with their skills and make them stay with their charms.


    "So after we rack up viewers, we need to focus onmunication. It''s important to change games once in a while too."


    After analyzing, Ju-Hyeok concluded that the most consistent streaming category was a streamer who could y a variety of different games.


    Just like Bubblegum or Acorn Jelly, ying and enjoying different games yielded the most consistent results.


    Sang-Hyeon epted and understood this too. He was an athlete by birth, but since streaming became an important part of his life, he tried to take it down a notch and enjoy the games he yed.


    <i>''... What the.''</i>


    He was just enjoying himself, but still kept winning. Eventually, he found himself a game away from the Diamond IV tier.


    <i>''I''ll get to Masters at this rate.''</i>


    He could see himself getting to Master, but recalled his conversation with Ju-Hyeok and thought it wasn''t a good idea.


    "Alright, that''s enough for today! Bye, Treevy!"


    Thankfully, it was time to end the stream. Almond left without finishing his promotion matches.


    <i>— Wait, you''re not going for master?</i>


    <i>— Get masters!</i>


    <i>— Ah...</i>


    <i>— Bye, Treevy...</i>


    <i>— Bye, Almond...</i>


    <i>— Almond, you''re not going to masters? Almond, you''re not going to masters? Almond, you''re not going to masters?</i>


    <i>Ping.</i>


    <i>[The stream has ended.]</i>


    After seeing the usual notification, Sang-Hyeon came out from the capsule.


    <i>Chik—?</i>


    The lid opened and he was covered in sweat like usual.


    "I was fine during the promos, but here we go again."


    Ju-Hyeok chimed in while watching him, "<i>Ah...</i> you''re back to normal."


    Sang-Hyeon nodded after he took a look at himself. He felt an unexinable source of strength during his promotion matches, but now he felt like a powerless leaf.


    "Anyways, how can you get first in all the games even though you''re messing around?" Ju-Hyeokughed out loud.


    "That''s the weird thing."


    <i>"Hm?"</i>


    Ju-Hyeok thought Sang-Hyeon would respond smugly and say something like he was a genius. He was surprised to hear Sang-Hyeon respond so seriously.


    "What''s weird?"


    "Why does the game feel easier?"


    "Easier?"


    Judging from Sang-Hyeon''s expression, he wasn''t being cocky. He was being serious.


    "Yeah. yers are definitely more skilled individually, but the game itself got a lot easier."


    <i>"Hmm..."</i>


    Ju-Hyeok thought for a moment and sat in front of hisputer. He searched for the keywords Almond and stream sniper on themunity forums.


    <i>''Nothing.''</i>


    No posts were aiming for Almond. Why? Arge reason was likely due to the fact that Almond already beat JeonJaPa''s record. Therefore, no one had any reason to hinder him anymore.


    <i>''It''s because of the MMR.''</i>


    Almond''s MMR was also too high. He was queuing up with Master tier yers, which meant he was also ying with famous streamers, pro gamers, and amateur pro gamers.


    They didn''t have the luxury to gang up on Almond because it would dirty their reputations. As Almond ranked up, his matches became cleaner.


    These games felt much easier for Almond, who always had to face several stream snipers in his matches.


    "Hey, I think it''s because no one is targeting you anymore," Ju-Hyeok exined the situation to Almond.


    "Wow... it makes this much of a difference? <i>Haha</i>," Sang-Hyeon sarcasticallyughed.


    He had been ying with sandbags tied to him the whole time.


    "Anyways, I''m going to wash up."


    Sang-Hyeon wiped the sweat off his fingers and headed to the bath. Ju-Hyeok checked out themunityments since he was on the website.


    ***


    <i>[Almond said he''s screwing around, but he got through Diamond V so easily?!]</i>


    <i>[Wow, I think he got better aftering to this rank.]</i>


    <i>[It''s probably cause no one''s targeting him anymore.]</i>


    <i>[Almond without stream snipers... this is dangerous.]</i>


    Most posts were about how Almond was too good despite him taking the game lightly. Some recognized that it was due to fewer yers targeting him.


    <i>''It''s not as big a deal as I thought.''</i>


    There were fewer mentions of him than during his Diamond journey. Different streamers had the spotlight now.


    <i>1. Look at Miho''s photoshoot!</i>


    A photoshoot of a streamer named Miho was the top trending post.


    <i>2. Bubblegum today LOL</i>


    <i>3. Bubblegum''s driving in hell</i>


    <i>…?</i>


    <i>7. Bubblegum messing up five times in a row</i>


    They frequently mentioned Bubblegum in the top posts because he was starting to pick up <i>Battle Large</i> again. His influence was noticeable since he averaged 50,000 viewers.


    There was one top post about Almond.


    <i>10. I think we’ve finally found the weapon to defeat Almond and it’s this guy</i>


    That was the title of the post.


    Ju-Hyeok expected to see JeonJaPa in his prime days.


    <i>— The weapon is Almond''s duo partner, Bubblegum!</i>


    <i>— Tomorrow!</i>


    <i>— Almond vs. Bubblegum!</i>


    <i>— Genius gamer vs. Genius streamer!</i>


    <i>— The coboration of the century!</i>


    <i>— Game, Start!</i>


    There was a picture of Bubblegum holding a toy gun as well. Instead of the photo being threatening, it lookededic.


    <i>''How can a person look so funny holding a gun?''</i>


    Ju-Hyeok was impressed by Bubblegum''s stature. It was a different type of genius from Almond.


    <i>— LOL</i>


    <i>— Ah, Bubblegum''s cob will be worth it.?</i>


    <i>— Why''s everything vs. LOL</i>


    <i>— It''s hrious how they''re a duo, yet it looks like they''re facing off against each other.</i>


    <i>— Wait, you tricked me! This is an ad!</i>


    <i>— Almond, this guy crushed diamond today and was just screwing around.</i>


    <i>└ For real, it was the most surprising thing to see after his diamond promos.</i>


    <i>└ tinum and diamond is hell because there are so many stream snipers.</i>


    <i>└ Since he ys with masters, he can show off his skills better.</i>


    <i>Tak.</i>


    Ju-Hyeok read up to here and turned off hisputer.


    <i>''Bigpanies are a different level.''</i>


    As Bubblegum started ying<i>?Battle Large</i>, themunities turned their attention toward him.


    Since the huge event of crushing JeonJaPa''s record ended, the public steered all their attention toward Bubblegum.


    Almond peaked at 10,000 viewers during his event, but that was nothingpared to Bubblegum''s 50,000 viewers.


    The public would’ve ignored Almond if he hadn''t coborated with Bubblegum.


    <i>''We barely made it.''</i>


    This wasn''t a survival game, but Ju-Hyeok felt relieved. He knew that the industry would be more difficult andpetitive, but not to this extent.


    Ju-Hyeok could feel that Battle31 was paying less and less attention to Almond. It wasn''t declining, but it wasn''t increasing either.


    Watching the same thing repeatedly reduced the novelty as time went on. It wasn''t a big deal. Any celebrity faced this problem, even politicians. The more they were exposed, the faster their poprity declined.


    It was up to the person to maintain or gain poprity by bringing about changes. From now on, it was a fight of skill.


    <i>''Is now the time...''</i>


    <i>Click.</i>


    Ju-Hyeok clicked on a specific file.


    It was a list of games he organized while deciding which game Almond should y next. Data was also collected on viewer demographics, gender, and peak times to stream.


    Sang-Hyeon already chose three games from the list.


    <i>"Hm."</i>


    Ju-Hyeok highlighted the three and thought for a moment.


    <i>''Is there a way to naturally y these games?''</i>


    ***


    Sang-Hyeon was inside the capsule for thirty minutes before their meeting.


    <i>"Phew."</i>


    Even he felt nervous about meeting Bubblegum. They weren''t technically meeting in person, but in a virtual space called This World.


    <i>''I''m meeting Bubblegum.''</i>


    Even so, he felt nervous because he genuinely liked Bubblegum as a streamer. Bubblegum had been his beacon offort.


    <i>[Entering This World]</i>


    <i>[All the avatars in This World use 100% biometrics of the user.]</i>


    <i>[If you do not agree with these terms, please exit the application.]</i>


    A request popped up on This World. Sang-Hyeon pressed yes.


    <i>Swoosh—?</i>


    Suddenly, the scenery changed and Sang-Hyeon was transported somewhere.


    <i>[Choose your outfit.]</i>


    There was an avatar that resembled Sang-Hyeon. However, it wore nothing but underwear. Sang-Hyeon instinctively chose a business casual look until he realized that users gathered here to y video games.


    Some sponsored outfits required cash, but he didn''t choose any of them.


    <i>[Gaming Hoodie]</i>


    <i>[Natural Jeans]</i>


    He wore a hoodie any game character would wear and standard jeans.


    <i>[Entering This World''s channel.]</i>


    <i>Wooong...!</i>


    His surroundings lit up with stars. Sang-Hyeon''s body lifted into the air as if he was floating in space. He could move closer to the stars.


    <i>''Wow...''</i>


    They weren''t stars upon closer inspection. Inside them were people who gathered to talk. Some ces resembled small towns with houses. Inside the town, he could see people in a restaurant eating soup.


    A different star had a different environment. It reminded him of a cyberpunk setting.


    <i>''Where should I go?''</i>


    Most channels were locked, which meant no outsiders could join. Sang-Hyeon felt a sense of emptiness as he looked around the stars.


    He felt like he didn''t belong anywhere. As this familiar sensation overcame him…


    <i>Ding.</i>


    <i>[Bubblegum: Oh, you''re here already! Hello!]</i>


    Bubblegum messaged him in This World.