Chapter 138: Catching the Last Train

[Lotus is ruthless, truly ruthless.]

[Spicy? It’s spicy.]

[Season 9 Forming is here, time to activate Nongae mode.]

[Lotus (Nongae): The enemy general has been slain!]

[Lotus! Calling a small-time streamer a bitches? Controversy explodes!]

[World Tree Wiki just added the 19th entry to the “Lotus Controversies” section, lolol.]

[How many scandals does this crazy chick have?]

[Wasn’t the first one when she won the Soul Cup and threw a fist bump at the camera?]

[Oh, right! That was when Ace Gaygay from the European Unicorn team made a dirty joke, and she flipped him off—twice—right at the camera and his face, lmaooo.]

[Still hardcore as hell, even thinking about it now.]

“AAAH!”

Eunha clutched her head and let out a scream—quite the sight.

‘But seriously, 19 controversies?’ That means there were already 18 before this.

I made a firm mental note to check them out later.

Better write it down so I don’t forget.

“Heh, see? You should learn to control your temper.”

“Hey! You keep picking on me! Using my sister as a hostage and all!”

“Oh, please. Got any proof I was unfair? You just got headshotted over and over, and now your inferiority complex is acting up.”

“You little—!”

Eunha’s eyes flared as she lunged for Dayoung’s hair, but Dayoung wasn’t one to back down.

“You think I can’t grab yours too?”

Almost at the exact same time, they locked onto each other’s hair.

A standoff on the brink of chaos.

I quickly switched the camera to another angle.

I had a strong feeling this scene was not something I should be broadcasting.

As soon as I changed the screen, the chat exploded.

[Hey, Producer! Hurry and switch it back!]

[It’s a catfight, and you’re showing your face instead? Actually, never mind, that’s even better.]

[lololol just keep the camera on your face, no need for the game.]

[Forget the game, just stay like this for five hours.]

[Damn, your face alone carries the whole stream. 10/10.]

Even Eunha and Dayoung’s squabbling was drowned out by the chat.

That’s when a loud donation alert popped up on the screen.

“‘ZekeGarterbelt’ donated 100,000 won!”
“- Nuna, give us a chu~♥”

A donation after a long time.

Ignoring the amount, I blinked a few times at the message.

‘Chu? Like, a kiss? Well…’

“I don’t see why not.”

[Oh hell yeah, that’s our Nuna. No hesitation.]

[Mommy, please face the camera and make it extra deep.]

[Something amazing is about to happen, I can feel it.]

[It’s the big moment.]

Leaving the hyped-up chat behind, I walked over to the still-bickering Eunha and Dayoung.

While they were too busy shouting at each other, I leaned in toward the camera and spoke.

“Alright, here’s your ‘chu.’ Chu.”

Smack, smack.

I lightly pressed my lips against both of their cheeks.

For a brief moment, I could feel the softness of their skin against my lips.

Honestly, just a little bit, I had the urge to suck on them—they were that plush.

The two instantly stopped fighting and just stared at me, dumbfounded.

But they weren’t getting anything else out of this.

“Come on now, why fight like that? Eunha, Dayoung, let’s not argue over a game, okay?”

“O-okay… but seriously, why the kiss? That was out of nowhere.”

“I’m probably getting another controversy for this. But I don’t mind.”

[I want a chu too, f***.]

[Alright, time to pair up and start fighting. If we brawl, Nuna will kiss us too.]

[Who wants to fight me?! Jenny with the chain scythe will take on any challengers!!!]

[Think you can handle me, the master of rope bondage, Gukhee?!]

[You psychos, this isn’t an arena.]

[We’re all gonna die at this rate.]

No time to waste standing around.

With Eunha in the party, we were gonna grind ranks today.

***

[Lotus and Forming catfight ON!]
[Posted by: NunaEaterMidir]

—”So this is that “Friede-style harem” thing, huh? Both hands full of flowers.”

[OO: Holding my breath until Friede Lotus shows up. Huff!]

[LLAmpadu: That’s literally what it says here.]

[RedLotus: Kiss clip, please.]

[BbaeBbaeTrue: Our Forming gay won’t back down. ^^]

[LL: Where’s the original? Why are you guys just cosplaying?]

[BbaeBbaeTrue: I am the original.]

[SweetKoreanMan: Our streamer can do whatever she wants. ^^]

***

[Forming is surprisingly good at this.]
[Posted by: KimDogTooth]

—”No wonder the streamer picked her. At first, I was skeptical, to be honest. But Forming rode Friede’s rank-boosting bus straight to high Grandmaster, lol.”

[hope5555: But all she did was snipe with arrows, so we don’t know for sure yet.]

[LyaSergei: I watch Forming’s streams sometimes, and her melee skills are just average. She definitely prefers aiming-based games.]

[OO: At least her aim is solid.]

***

[Brought the Friede kiss clip.]

[Posted by: yaSergei]

—”Is Friede Mommy’s pink, glossy lips for real? My soul is ascending. I want to get cheek kisses like Forming or Lotus too.”

[ZekeGarterbelt: Not just the lips, even the scent… it’s totally like a peach.]

[Loo: Yeah, the color is exactly like a peach.]

[SweetKoreanMan: If you rub lips together hard enough, it might even squeeze out some peach juice.]

[TheMinator: Bet it tastes sweet, lol.]

***

[A devastating win streak.]

[Posted by: ZekeGarterbelt]

—”When Friede Nuna goes full tryhard mode, no one can stop her. Right now, she’s playing ranked alone without Forming or Lotus and is on a 13-win streak.”

(Clip of her parrying an enemy but misjudging the angle and falling off a cliff.)

“Even TK Schneider just got utterly demolished after meeting Mommy, lol.”

[OO: Wait, so she got knocked backward… and there just happened to be a cliff behind her?]

[SunlightBlade: This kind of humiliation clip is rare. That positioning is almost impossible to pull off, lol.]

[TheMinator: Who gave this a dislike?]

[roo: Schneider, obviously.]

“If you start, you have to go all the way.”

This kind of challenge was something I had done multiple times before.

From Master to Grandmaster, then from Grandmaster to Challenger.

But I wondered if I had ever pushed myself this hard before.

Watching the bonfire’s flames spread to my character, illuminating the world, followed by the ever-growing string of numbers—it was satisfying.

It gave me a deep sense of fulfillment.

Fortunately, this last game wasn’t too difficult compared to the grandiose ending.

‘Maybe it was because Eunha was on my team.’

With her help, we ended it in an instant, tearing through the enemy like a storm.

Honestly, it reached the point where our match was more of a kill-stealing contest than a ranked game.

‘If I put it bluntly, it was a total newbie stomping session.’

Now, the final results were about to appear on the scoreboard.

‘Maybe it was the anticipation of unwrapping a gift. No, it felt closer to anxious excitement wrapped in the guise of expectation.’

And there was only one reason for that.

“I’m nervous.”

As I waited for the next screen, I muttered, unable to hide my excitement.

The chat reacted immediately.

[Is this it? Did she get first place?]

[It’s a bit uncertain. The scores get adjusted at this time, so playing another match isn’t really an option.]

[Besides, the preseason starts tomorrow, so even if she wanted to, she couldn’t play more.]

That’s right.

Today was the last day of ranked.

At this very moment, I was locked in a battle with Warden for the number-one spot.

And the match I had just finished was effectively my final game.

Our scores had been neck and neck, constantly shifting back and forth.

The best way to secure victory would have been to face him directly in a match.

But as fate would have it, we never ended up on opposing teams.

Meeting as allies didn’t mean much.

A win for both of us was just a shared victory.

[Heart pounding.]

[If she ends up in second place, Friede Nuna is gonna ugly cry.]

[Lol, tears pouring from her eyes, her areolas, and her pu—]

[-User ‘ChainscytheJenny’ has been forcibly removed from the chat.]

[-User ‘RopeTieGukhee’ has been forcibly removed from the chat.]

[Lmao, looks like they’re the ones who got utterly wrecked.]

[I believe in you, Nuna. You got this.]

It felt like my emotions were syncing with my viewers.

Like a Protoss linked to the Khala, we all held our breath, waiting for the next screen to appear.

And when the ranking window finally loaded…

“That took a while.”

The highest possible score.

The number one spot.

Silently, I raised a clenched fist toward the sky.

[Holy sh**, she actually did it.]

[Sweeter than the last train home, huh?]

[Warden is ugly crying right now.]

[Lotus is streaming and losing it laughing, lmao.]

“Damn, she’s ruthless! How does she clutch first place at the last second?”

[Bro, this is the best reaction I’ve ever seen from the streamer.]

[Lol, no way, you have to react like this for a last-second first place.]

I wondered if I usually didn’t react much on stream, or if I was just going overboard now.

But considering the journey to get here, it made sense.

Rank 1 isn’t something you just get.

For nearly four days, I had done nothing but play non-stop, pushing myself to the limit.

Even Ajin and Yuri barely saw me during this time—I was completely immersed in the grind.

Sometimes Eunha and Dayoung joined me, but in the end, it was a marathon I ran alone, spending every hour outside of four hours of sleep grinding ranked matches.

“Ah, this last-minute rank boost feels amazing. Now this is what makes for good content, don’t you think?”

Unlike usual, my mouth just kept running.

But I didn’t mind.

For once, I was letting my emotions take the lead instead of my thoughts.

And why not?

The final sprint in ranked is all about that thrilling rush and the overwhelming sense of triumph.