Ju-Hyeok clapped in delight. “This is it. This is exactly it!”

Was it because Almond was fighting recklessly? No, that was nothing new. He had done the same thing in Civil Empire, where two hundred players fought at once. It had been better for the other 199 players to adjust to Almond.

Ju-Hyeok didn’t clap and cheer over that.

“Raina... this is unmatched.”

He was excited about that. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Almond, as a streamer, could now compete with top streamers. At this level, he needed a clear point of differentiation. Something that even former pros, no matter how good they were at LIL, didn’t have. That something was Raina.

No one had bothered to clear Raina at three stars before. Because of that, Almond and Raina’s relationship on the Korean server felt special. If another three-star clear user had existed, similar reactions would probably appear. However, no such person existed in the domestic market. This response belonged to Almond alone.

‘At a time when everyone is playing LIL again for the Platform War... this is a massive asset for a streamer.’

Soon, all streamers would start practicing LIL for the massive Platform War. From that point on, most streamers would be competing with similar content. Then, true broadcast weight and skill gaps would become clear.

Even Almond couldn’t escape that fate, but he had Raina. A fully matured, properly sulking Raina. This content was unique to him.

[Big: Bad-boy nutbrain driving Raina crazy LOL]

[Big: Was Raina always like this? WTF]

[Big: I’m new to Almond, but seeing Raina gives me existential dread. Is this normal? LOL]

On LIL Pro, a place that talked about LIL all day long, most LIL streams couldn’t draw even a sliver of attention. Raina was different. Posts featuring her easily hit Big, and the comments piled up.

— Raina really goes “hmph... tch...” LOL, when does she go boom?

└ You psycho LOL

└ “Boom” LMAO

— I don’t envy Almond for anything else, but I envy his Raina bond. Tried three star Raina 78 times and failed

└ You madman LOL

└ These fanboys are legendary

— Bartender. The usual. Bleach on the rocks.

└ Is this guy superhuman? How is bleach your usual? LOL

└ LMAO

└ “Usual is bleach on the rocks” LOL

— Raina sulking??

— Almond please make her go boom, I beg you!

└ LOL boom is too much

— I actually like this. Raina is starting to realize that Almond is a bad man. Meanwhile, a guy like me, who’s stayed purely devoted, is standing right beside her. As always, that’s why I think my chance has come.

└ Whoa... a real loser here...

└ I’ll give you that

└ How do these people make their posts smell?

Raina demanded more skill than almost any other champion, yet she had amassed countless fans for reasons completely unrelated to performance. Her ranked pick rate was abysmally low, but her merchandise sales were overwhelming.

Not only did Almond handle her well, but he had built a special relationship with her. That gave his LIL stream a clear identity.

[Current Viewers: 139,000]

The viewer count kept climbing. It started rising sharply the moment he contracted with Raina.

‘Good. And if he’s insanely good with Raina on top of that?’

Viewers came to watch Almond pick Raina because of her reactions, but they stayed for another reason.

‘Skill.’

Anyone who had played LIL could tell that Almond’s Raina wasn’t special just because of his three-star clear. The moment he picked her, his movement changed entirely. Viewers looked forward to this. Even in the current situation, Almond charged straight at five enemies.

— This works?

— Let’s go

— Oh LOL

— Damn

— Let’s gooo

— Time to discipline Raina!

***

A one-versus-five fight was utterly reckless. Normally, players didn’t take fights like this. The basics of LIL were simple: avoid fighting at a disadvantage, and fight when ahead. Almond knew that much.

‘I did win the LIL Tournament, after all...’

Overestimating his own brainy play, he reminded himself of what Takoyaki had drilled into him through tournament experience: avoid losing fights and force a way to victory. That was the foundation of LIL, but this time was different.

‘They’re bots.’

To Almond, they weren’t human.

‘And there’s a mission.’

With a mission on the line, charging in felt almost inevitable.

Giiirik.

He drew his bow as naturally as breathing. The arrow flew just as smoothly and struck the target over Rifleman Sharyl.

Boom!

Rifleman Sharyl blinked in confusion at the sudden damage from the left. “Huh!? There’s an enemy...”

They had been too busy fighting the Abyss Shark to notice. Before she could fully register that fact, two more arrows flew.

Boom!

Both detonated the targets and vanished.

[Mana Exposure]

Fwoosh!

Mana Exposure triggered and amplified the damage.

[HP: 81%]

Plenty of health remained.

Sharyl responded calmly, “It’s Raina! Raina! Behind us! Someone watch me! She’s level five!”

In a one-on-one, Raina was at a significant disadvantage against Sharyl.

“Raina is behind us. Cover Sharyl.”

“Just one? Got it~.”

Sharyl had a team.

“But it really is just one!?”

“For now!”

“Watch where the other enemies are. She’s level five!”

For some reason, Raina was alone.

“For now, Bart and the mage stay on the Abyss Shark and hold aggro.”

The most extreme damage dealer and tank stayed on the monster while the remaining three handled the situation.

“Two spear users, cover Sharyl.”

This was the most common response when an enemy appeared during an epic monster fight. The Abyss Shark would lose aggro, fully regenerate, and everything would be for nothing if all five of them chased a single Raina. They wouldn’t even get the kill if Raina escaped. The risk was too high.

“What do we do!? Finish the shark or...”

Bart, the group’s leader, glanced back. “Finish the Abyss first! Of course, we finish it. Just chase Raina off!”

“She’s just here to harass!”

After all, only one enemy usually meant light harassment. They never imagined it wouldn’t be harassment, but actual intent to kill them.

“Keep hitting the Abyss Shark until another team shows up... Huh?”

Boom!

Blue flames erupted from Rifleman Sharyl’s head.

“Ahh! W-What is this damage!?”

[HP: 36%]

It had felt manageable just a moment ago. Suddenly, the combo had stacked to ten and dealt absurd damage.

“Block her!”

[Charge Thrust]

Kraaaash!

The spear users rushed Raina and activated their skills.

[Roll]

Whoosh!

Raina vanished from sight.

“A ghost...?”

Pop!

Raina appeared in their blind spot. At the same time, countless blue targets bloomed across Sharyl’s body.

Wooooong!

“Uh... ah...?”

The mass of blue dots felt terrifying like a death sentence. Sharyl’s expression twisted.

Boom boom boom!

The targets vanished at an unbelievable speed.

[12 Hit Combo]

Mana Exposure triggered four times. No, actually, the fourth explosion never even had time to detonate. Rifleman Sharyl was a ranged damage dealer with low health.

Pop.

[An ally has been defeated.]

[LazySoldier → Morun]

She disappeared mid-animation, almost disintegrating.

Bart, still fighting the shark, froze in confusion. “What just happened?”

[The enemy is Legendary!]

“Legendary...?”

This message only appeared after achieving eight consecutive kills without ever becoming a rune champion.

‘Wait... that means over eight kills already?’

The Survival match had fifty players. Three out of ten teams had already been wiped out. Fifteen players were gone. That meant this one person had killed eight of them.

Ssss...

Even though it was just a game, Bart felt goosebumps crawl across his skin.

‘D-Did I mishear?’

His mind grew chaotic even as he kept hitting the shark.

‘This has to be a mistake. It has to be.’

Then, the message rang out again.

Boom!

[LazySoldier is Legendary!]

‘Huh?’

One of the spear users also died.

Boom!

— Kyaa

— This is it

— The Legendary Soldier!

— LOL

— Wow

— That felt amazing~

‘What the hell...’

Bart panicked. No, he didn’t even have time to panic. The next spear user also died.

Boom!

[LazySoldier Triple Kill!]

[Legendary! LazySoldier!]

Bart finally screamed, “What the hell is thaaat!!”

In an instant, his team had been reduced to two, including himself. Even then, he was still dealing with the Abyss Shark.

The only remaining teammate asked, “What do we do, Bart? Should we just leave it?”

[Abyss Shark]

[HP: 5%]

The shark only had five percent of its health remaining.

“H-How can we just leave this!? Finish it! Level up! You contract too...”

They would die soon. He just needed to punch a little longer.

‘Huh?’

Someone suddenly appeared in his field of view.

Pop!

[LazySoldier]

[Cold-Blooded Evil Archer – Raina Lv. 6]

Giiirik.

Eyes gleaming with blue killing intent locked onto Bart. It was a level six Raina.

“D-Damn it! Level six!?” Bart took up a boxing guard. “I’ll hold her! You run! Sprint to the Sanctuary of Resurrection!”

[Iron Body]

[For three seconds, you cannot move and brace yourself, reducing incoming damage by fifty percent. When the skill ends, dash forward by the amount of damage taken.]

Wooooong!

This would allow him to hold out for a bit.

‘Huh?’

The enemy’s aim shifted almost immediately.

Whoosh!

‘No way.’

The target wasn’t Bart, but his teammate, the staff-wielding player.

Wooooong!

Countless targets bloomed over that player. It meant death.

Boom!

“Ugh!?”

The targets detonated one after another. Blue flames surged over the mage’s body as their health plummeted.

[HP: 3%]

‘W-What is this?’

Seeing it up close felt absurd. Bart realized how the other three had died so fast.

‘She just... hit everything?’

The answer was painfully simple.

Boom!

[LazySoldier Quadra Kill!]

The shots landed cleanly without a single miss. That was all it took.

‘Insane.’

Whoosh!

Then, that impossible accuracy turned back to him.

[Iron Body – Ended]

“Ah...”

Bart’s tanking skill had ended without taking any damage, so he couldn’t even dash either.

Tick.

He moved a single step like a sluggish worm.

— LOL

— What was that LOL

— Ah LOL wasted skill

— He’s done for

His skill had forcibly locked him in place for three seconds. It ended up completely useless because he didn’t take damage. He had thrown it away.

“D-Damn it.”

He had committed a fatal mistake.

Boom!

Blue light flooded his vision.

“Guurrrk!”

The Abyss Shark’s bite finished him off.

[Pen! Ta! Kill!]

That message was Bart’s final memory.

— Kyaa

— Damn

— Wow

— Kyaa LOL

— Clean because they’re bots

— Holy shit LOL

— He actually got a pentakill

— What LOL

— Insane

— Wow

— Damn

Ba-bam!

[WhySerious has donated 30,000 won!]

[It’s a bot match, why is everyone freaking out? I’ll go change my underwear real quick.]

— LOL

— Underwear kill

— LMAO

— Right, it’s a bot match, sure

— Bot slaughter isn’t a big deal, right? Heh

Some kept insisting it was a bot match to the very end even as they trembled.

Ba-ba-bam~!

[Forget? has donated a whopping 100,000 won!]

[Hey. Raina, did you forget my personality?]

— Kyaa 100k won!

— LOL

— Holy shit LOL

— Raina, attention!.

— Raina, snap out of it! Raina, snap out of it!

Viewers couldn’t wait for Raina’s reaction. She had been sulking badly and refused to react, but a pentakill was different.

— How does it feel killing Bart?

— There should be a Bart related line

— Raina discipline incoming

More than anything, Bart was a champion connected to Raina. Something could trigger her.

“As expected...” Unexpectedly, Raina didn’t mention Bart at all. “As expected of you, Almond...”

— ???

— ?!

— Kyaa

— Raina, attention!

— She said Almond???

— Bugged game, holy shit

— What is this LOL how does she know his real name?

— Where did “Cold-Blooded Evil Archer” go?

— LazySoldier but Almond??

— You two knew each other personally!?

— Bart: ???

— In front of a pentakill, who cares LOL

— Fanboys: We boycott LIL

— Raina is alive! Raina is alive! Raina is alive! Raina is alive!

— She didn’t even mention Bart LOL

— Anyone surprised by the real name are all new viewers, huh?

***

[Beginner’s Tip]

[Did you know? Statistics show that summoners with high affinity toward their champions have higher win rates.]