Ch.44 – Deep Sea Sniper

[Bronze 3 Real-time Sniping in Progress]

Trying to snipe someone at my tier level

-Bronze 3 highest output NoName lol

ㄴEven if you’re not Diamond, that’s okay!

-Let me get some free wins too

[NoName Successful Sniping Proof]

(Hawawa Kariri emoticon)

I offer you this cute Kariri-chan instead~

-Who is this nobody?

ㄴYou don’t know Kariri-chan? She’s an EXTREMELY.FAMOUS.VTuber with 890K subscribers.

ㄴWhere do these terrible jokes keep coming from?

-Jerkopia is real

[Met NoName while duo with Diamond mid-jungle alt accounts (screenshot included)]

Got absolutely destroyed (result screenshot)

-Why did this happen?

-Legendary top and bot laners who can’t win even with Diamond mid and jungle LMAO

ㄴNow I see why I can’t escape the depths

-What’s with Vargo’s 21/2/5 KDA?

ㄴGot pentakill, quadra kill, and even double ace efficiently

ㄴ330 cs in a 30-minute game, damn

-Is it true that NoName is the strongest among banned boot users?

ㄴWhat’s a banned boot?

ㄴSniping, stream sniping, alt accounts, trolling

ㄴComparing someone who slaughtered in the depths to a Challenger, seriously?

ㄴThe opponent was Diamond, wasn’t he?

ㄴThree teammates were Bronze, what difference does it make? You know nothing about LoL

-Assassin buffs are seriously OP. Once a bruiser gets fed, you can’t turn the game around

ㄴ(OP) We were actually winning until they got a pentakill at Herald fight and the mood shifted

ㄴShow us the recording

ㄴ(OP) Forgot to record and when I tried to watch the replay, there was an error where only NoName’s data was corrupted, so I don’t have any good screenshots

-At this point, isn’t NoName actually a multi-core ultra-cute AI created by Riot?

ㄴThe end of human era has arrived

ㄴWhy add “cute” to that?

ㄴThat’s some serious bias showing lol

ㄴDisgusting pedo

-Why was she trying so hard in this match?

ㄴ(OP) No idea

As Docu 4 Days gained explosive popularity, public attention naturally shifted to its cast.

Unlike celebrities who respond with all kinds of legal actions when sniped even in virtual reality, these were famous people closer to ordinary citizens.

Playing a game or two together wouldn’t cause any problems.

Especially after “Shooby,” a Resonance specialist streamer who appeared as the main character in the first episode of Docu 4 Days, publicly allowed sniping, the sniping culture became fully activated.

This was no different in League of Legends.

[Thehareturtle: I climbed to Challenger to play with Hyebam^^ Let’s enjoy a fun game together^^]

[IfSunnyFallsThenNightComes: Are you insane? Focus on your real life instead of wasting time]

But most viewers aren’t high-ranked players. Perhaps it was inevitable that they would become enthusiastic about sniping NoName, who was Bronze 3.

NoName wasn’t particularly pleased with the situation.

‘My game time has shortened. Above all, games have become unpredictable.’

For someone who needed to complete quests in minimum time and move on to the next game, snipers were annoying.

Sometimes games dragged on for an hour, other times the fortress would fall in less than 15 minutes. Unless it was a mythic quest, most achievements didn’t pay, so it was just wasting precious time. The stress kept building up.

‘It feels like I’m losing 5,000 won a day, but this won’t continue forever, right?’

She received about 500,000 won as an appearance fee, so by simple arithmetic, she’d start losing money after 100 days.

[Game Found]

[Declined]

Matchmaking that happens in less than a second is suspicious.

The 5-minute waiting period was an awkwardly short time to do anything, so she turned her attention to community forums.

Updates and pro matches were irrelevant to her anyway. Today was also about ego-searching.

[Search: NoName / Filter: Today]

[387 results found]

Just the usual trivial content. As she was about to turn her attention back to the game…

-Uncovering the NoName Urban Legend (Warning: Long Post)-

She discovered a post that, despite its considerable length and effort, hadn’t received many comments and thus hadn’t been selected as a featured post.

[Uncovering the NoName Urban Legend (Warning: Long Post)]

[Author: PatientlyPersistant]

NoName is just a troll?

I don’t think so.

(…)

* * *

“So why do we need to snipe NoName again?”

“I’ll explain everything from the beginning, HitmeonceIllhityoutwice.”

“I understand your explanation! And didn’t I tell you to call me by my name instead of my nickname?”

“You chose that name yourself… Anyway, fine, Ye-eun.”

Ye-eun didn’t bother mentioning that her older brother had actually chosen the nickname for her.

The point was this:

There must be valid reasons why NoName trolls, and she can’t speak due to some circumstances.

It was all Se-min’s far-fetched theory, but out of friendship from their duo games, she agreed to go along with it just this once.

‘Well, I easily climbed to Silver myself.’

She’d heard Se-min usually lived in Silver~Gold. His excuse was that he hadn’t adapted yet after returning from military service.

In truth, he did show skills far superior to actual Bronze residents.

“Do you think sniping at this tier will work? We’re not the only ones trying.”

“Nothing to lose.”

“You said she can’t talk anyway? How are we supposed to communicate?”

“I’ll communicate with my eyes too, like this.”

Se-min’s eyes blink rhythmically.

According to him, the signals NoName sends are SOS in Morse code. Some minor distress signal system that might have been popular in movies 50 years ago…

He didn’t know the details, but it was certainly an interesting story.

In the video, she was indeed opening and closing her eyes at regular intervals.

NoName immediately queues for the next game as soon as one ends.

If you search for a game at the exact moment invitations become available, there’s hope from a probability standpoint.

[Game Found]

“Shall we go in?”

[Accept 1/2]

[Accept 2/2]

[Matching Complete]

Pitch-black darkness envelops them, and after a short time, visibility returns.

The dome-shaped waiting room, now familiar to all virtual reality gamers.

Ten people showcase their meticulously created avatars under the spotlights.

Of course, customization wasn’t mandatory.

Since these were game-specific sub-avatars used only for waiting, not main avatars, it wasn’t easy to guess who was who based on appearance alone.

Those who couldn’t be bothered with customization just added one or two decorations to the basic character.

NoName was one of those people.

Because of this, you couldn’t tell if someone was a troll or a beginner until the game started. Plus, to prevent abuse, players couldn’t interact with each other.

Se-min looks around.

There’s one person with a default avatar on his team, and one on the enemy team.

Hopefully, she’s one of them.

Ye-eun maintained her indifferent posture.

Come to think of it, if they were going to snipe, wouldn’t it have been better to split up?

They’d been doing duo queue out of habit, and started without thinking.

While pondering this, their pick order approaches.

Se-min, being serious about the game, chose his usual jungle Rammus.

From ally first pick to enemy fifth pick, all ten champions were selected, and the countdown began.

The grandfather clock chimes, urging them to the battlefield. They lose control of their bodies as the champions move on their own.

The longer the distance from the dome house to the battlefield, the longer the loading time—meaning someone was using an outdated capsule.

‘It’s so far!’

‘This will take 2 minutes? Maybe even over 3 minutes?’

This was good news for Se-min.

In an era where cutting-edge capsules were sprouting like mushrooms, such loading times were rare.

NoName either wasn’t using a good capsule device or always showed these terrible loading times.

When you reach the entrance to the battlefield, Minotaur gatekeeper NPCs distribute passes—actually multipurpose status screens showing team stats and battlefield information. Enemy nicknames could also be checked here.

“Take this, adventurer seeking legacy. It’s expensive, so be careful not to lose it.”

The tutorial for the status screen was automatically skipped.

Se-min quickly checked the nicknames.

[NoName(Evelynn): 0/0/0]

“Found her!”

“But she’s on the enemy team?”

“We’ll invade.”

The strategy was to pick a fight before the actual battle began.

Meeting her was the top priority.

Se-min immediately pinged for support in the eastern forest of the enemy territory. His teammates weren’t thrilled, but they couldn’t let him go alone either.

With Se-min and Ye-eun in the lead, all five bunched together and boldly crossed the border.

Normally someone would be keeping watch in this area, but strangely, no one was in sight.

“Is it warded?”

“No… it’s not a ward.”

The teammate who scouted the northern forest and their current eastern forest reported no signs of life.

This meant NoName wasn’t anywhere on the battlefield right now.

“She has no intention of playing this game at all.”

* * *

[Abnormal physical response detected]

[Please log out of the capsule immediately]

“……”

[Response timeout]

[Forced disconnection initiated]

[Error]

[Forced disconnection initiated]

[Error]

[Timeout exceeded]

[Request denied]

[Abnormal physical response detected]

[Please log out of the capsule immediately]

[Denied]

[Denial not possible]

[Response timeout]

[Forced disconnection initiated]

[Error]

[Error]

[Error]

“Shut up…”

All kinds of warning sounds are desperately trying to torment me.

These were alerts I’d seen quite often before.

I once had this thought: if I finish three days’ worth of work in two days, even if it means staying up all night, couldn’t I rest for one day?

What came back from my meager challenge was the system’s warning of physical abnormalities. My weak, fragile young girl’s body wouldn’t tolerate even one all-nighter.

[Error]

[Error]

I really feel like I’m going to die.

No, I want to die.

And if someone approaches me, my expression smooths out as if nothing happened, and my entire body stiffens like a wooden puppet. The unpleasant feeling that my body isn’t my own.

And when the rigidity subsides, the pain I should have felt returns multiplied.

It hurts so much.

It feels like my airway is tearing with every breath.

But I don’t cough.

Because this isn’t reality.

Every step feels like my limbs are being crushed.

But I must keep walking toward the battlefield.

That’s the system.

My heart tightens.

My head feels like it’s going to explode.

[Error]

[Error]

“Are you alright? Everyone else has already arrived at the battlefield! You should hurry!”

A familiar voice reaches me. This high, crisp voice belongs to none other than the fox-eared merchant “Liri.” The child who always sold worn-out boots and low-quality potions in the Starting Village.

Though artificial intelligence, she might be the face I’ve seen most often in this life.

In a desolate world where human conversation is fundamentally cut off, I embraced her small body.

“Why… why are you doing this?! J-just a moment!”

A choking sound escapes from Liri’s mouth.

‘Just a little, stay like this a little longer, Ruri… no, Liri. I’m too tired… I’ve been too tired.’

“I-I’ll have you know that despite appearances, I am of noble bloodline from the Great Yernica Kingdom! You can’t just touch me as you please!”

“…”

“This isn’t right… this isn’t right…”

Normally, sustained contact with NPCs in LoL would be blocked. But what can I do? I’ve been full of bugs from birth.

The small ball of fur seemed to resist at first, but gradually settled into my embrace.

Her warmth was truly kind and comforting.

“My past life is already becoming blurry, but memories of my mother still emerge vividly. They come when I wake up, when I prepare for games, and even when I try to sleep.”

“Hmm… was your mother a good person?”

“I don’t know. I was too young. Just that she was foolishly good…”

She must have been.

If she had any sense, she wouldn’t have sacrificed her life for me.

In my oldest memory, mother and daughter were holding hands tightly on a bloody battlefield.