Chapter 10: The Sniper in the Spotlight

“Haa….”

Leni exhaled a hot breath. Having just showered, a warm air emanated from her body, not just her breath. Her attire was as light and comfortable as could be.

This was not streamer Leni, but the human Seo Ye-in.

Thud

She sat at her desk and put on blue light-blocking glasses. Eye health was always important. Since she had to look at the monitor for long periods during broadcasts, she made sure to wear them even when off-air like now.

Ring!

Without hesitation, Leni turned on her computer and immediately logged into the voice chat program, YesCord.

[Hello, Leni.]

<Hello~>

It was her day off, but she couldn’t just rest idly.

Having reached the top, she had to work twice as hard as others. That was the only way to maintain her position. Once you slipped in this industry, it was hard to climb back up.

Naturally, a streamer like Leni also ran a YouTube channel, and therefore, she needed to regularly meet with her editors for content meetings.
YouTube, undeniably one of the best sites of this era. There were generally two ways to run a YouTube channel.

The first was the factory method, hiring a large number of editors to churn out videos.

And the second was to use a minimal number of editors and maximize the quality of each video.

[Leni, did you see the reactions to your video?]

“Ah, I saw it. It was pretty good.”

Leni chose the second option. From the beginning, she had only worked with two editors.
While she mostly uploaded LoL and other gaming videos now, innovative content was a major factor in her rise to the top.

It was her originality and pride. She still consistently uploaded unique content videos once or twice a month.

[Hey, it’s not just ‘pretty good’. It hit a million views in 24 hours! That’s been a while.]

<I know, right? I think it’s the fastest since the We Got Married content…>

The meeting, as always, began with feedback on the previous video. Today, the editors’ reactions were filled with excitement. The video had taken the #1 spot on trending videos for the first time in a while, so their reaction was understandable.

“But was that part really that funny? It seemed similar to usual…”

Leni was pleased but also puzzled. She had just uploaded a regular LoL gameplay video.

[Me too. And that sniper’s Ranger play was impressive.]

<Right, right. That wasn’t Iron-level thinking.>

As the editors said, there was one unique aspect: the gameplay of the user who sniped Leni. The way he stole her kills using the execution system – it was a huge hit on YouTube, just as it was during the stream.

“Hmm… That’s true. Is that why it’s trending?”

[And Leni, you’re a reaction goldmine. The gradual buildup of your anger also played a part.]

“Haha….”

<Also, snipers usually try to lose. But it was novel to see someone do that while winning.>

[Right. Leni, so… how about doing an interview with that user?]

The editor cautiously suggested using the sniper as material for the next content.

It was a suggestion to strike while the iron was hot… and the proposal itself seemed plausible.

“Huh? An interview with the sniper? It doesn’t seem like a good idea…, and I don’t think someone like that would agree to an interview.”

[That sniper sent a message to your account. What was it? He said the broadcast and video did well thanks to him, so he wanted half the profits.]

“What? Wow… That’s absurd.”

[Anyway, he left his contact information. So, if you coax him well, maybe you can get an interview?]

<I smell a blockbuster content idea. Leni, let’s do it.>

“…….”

Honestly, she wasn’t very interested.
But if the editors were suggesting it this strongly, it was probably worth considering. They were more sensitive to trends than anyone else and were practically content creation monsters.

But it involved interacting with a sniper.
The very act of sniping indicated malicious intent. She didn’t want to get deeply involved with someone like that.

[Leni… aren’t you going to do it?]

“I’ll think about it.”

<Aha… I understand. Then the next video…>

In the end, Leni’s answer was postponed. It was postponed.
She couldn’t make a decision easily. She was a major streamer. She had to be cautious about every single thing, every action she took.

The #1 trending game for five consecutive years.

The undisputed #1 in concurrent players for five consecutive years.

Truly legendary. Due to its immense popularity, LoL naturally had a professional league.

“Huh? Are you watching that video too, Hyung? It was really funny.”

“…….”

And three years ago, there was a player who reigned supreme in the LoL pro league.

Si-heon Lee. He was also the person intently watching the video Leni recently uploaded.

-My arrow will pierce you!

The arrow shot by the Ranger in the video struck the enemy Mage. Despite having around 15% health remaining, the Mage instantly died. The ‘execution’ system had activated.

“It’s still quite novel even after watching it again. How did an Iron player come up with that idea?”

The Ranger’s execution build, first attempted by the user ‘SuperRedFlavorLeni’. It spread through that video and was becoming a huge trend in lower tiers.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“Don’t you think it would be worth trying in scrims?”

“Huh?”

At Si-heon’s question, his teammate’s face was painted with bewilderment. Ranger was a class that had already been phased out of the pro scene. The fact that the ranged damage dealer had the slowest attack speed was inevitably fatal.

“Come on… Hyung. It’s Ranger. And it’s an Iron player’s strategy, not a Diamond or Master’s.”

“No, it seems practical enough. I think it could work if we research it a bit.”

“Hmm….”

“Trust me. I won a championship with Ranger once.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Three years ago, before the Ranger nerfs, he enjoyed his prime. Now, he was just a mid-tier damage dealer barely holding on in the pro scene.
Having been at the top once, he was all the more desperate. Si-heon, yearning to return to the summit, saw potential in the Iron Ranger’s play.

[LKG, on a 7-game winning streak in the LAL pro league. At the center of it all, SnipeR-Si-heon Lee’s Ranger play shines.]

[Execution with every shot. Si-heon Lee’s arrows dominate the battlefield.]

[Has his second prime arrived? LKG, led by Si-heon Lee, dominates the Spring season.]

“Yes, everyone! We’ll now meet SnipeR-Si-heon Lee, who has been selected as the MVP for five consecutive games.”

“Hello.”

“First of all, your Ranger play is the talk of the town. How did you come up with the execution play?”

“I happened to come across a video of a certain user’s gameplay. I felt it had practical potential, and as a team, we researched it…”

<Wow… That’s insane!>

[Leni, is this for real?]

“I know, right….”

Leni and the editors were stunned. They were reacting to a clip of a pro gamer’s interview, which was currently a hot topic.

<He’s talking about our video, right? That sniper Ranger.>

[Yeah. The impact is crazy. Our subscriber count will go up again.]

“…….”

It had already been two weeks since she met the execution Ranger sniper. But the views on that video were still climbing, and thanks to it, her subscriber count had increased by a whopping 200,000.
She couldn’t remember the last time her growth was this steep.

[Leni, you really have to do it now. The interview with that user.]

<Agreed. He even got a shoutout from a pro gamer, why wouldn’t you do it?>

“…….”

Honestly, Leni knew. This was a golden opportunity. The content demon within her was screaming, urging her to recruit the sniper.
There were risks, but the potential rewards seemed enormous.

[Leni… are you really not going to do it?]

Finally, Leni’s heart was swayed.

“Okay. Let’s do it. Do you have a concept in mind?”

[Kya! Of course. We have the perfect content idea!]

<I think this will get at least 5 million views on YouTube. For real.>

Thus began the sniper content meeting. A meeting that continued through the night until dawn.

And two days later, her broadcast started.

With a very unique title.

[Special! Unanswered Questions: Are There Any Good Snipers?]

[What’s with the title today? lol]
[The content demon has arrived!!]
[Something big is coming!!!!!!!]

A dark and grand atmosphere, different from usual. A full-cam view capturing the entire room. But Leni was nowhere to be seen.

[What’s going on? Where’s the owner!!!!]

Five minutes passed, and Leni still hadn’t appeared. As the chat started to explode, she emerged from the darkness with a serious voice.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m Leni from Unanswered Questions.”

“Today, we’ll be looking into a sniper who has recently gained attention.”