Chapter 57

As a game that consistently ranked in the top three, Survival Ground naturally had a professional league.

And of course, there were numerous pro gaming teams.

Among them, if you had to name the hottest team right now, it was undoubtedly GG Gaming.

The reason for their popularity?

Without question — the players.

GG Gaming had formed a “super team” by recruiting three standout stars:

• The pinnacle of throwable play, Skull.
• The pinnacle of sniping, Enix.
• The pinnacle of raw mechanics, Leo.

Although the game was played in squads of four, the presence of these three alone was enough to keep GG Gaming constantly at first place in the domestic league.

And now, those very players were closely observing the gameplay of a streamer named Phantom.

“Who is this guy?”

Skull asked, and Enix replied.

“He’s a streamer named Phantom. What do you think? Think you can do it?”

At Enix’s provocation, Skull smirked.

“Of course. I’m Skull.”

“Really?”

“I could do better than that. Even at a glance, I can see some slightly immature plays in the details.”

Skull had briefly felt excited seeing someone pursue a similar playstyle to his own, but nothing beyond that.

At least, not until he heard the next words.

“Of course. It’s his first time playing SG today.”

“…That true?”

“Of course.”

Skull knew Enix wasn’t the type to joke around, which made it even more shocking.

His interest flared up again—

But quickly cooled.

“Then it’s too early to evaluate him.”

Turning away, Skull grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

As if extremely thirsty, he emptied the entire bottle in one go.

“Ha~ That’s better.”

“That reaction’s a bit disappointing.”

Enix said it bluntly, and Skull chuckled.

“What were you expecting? Planning to recruit him to our team? A newbie who just started SG today?”

“If he’s good at the game, I don’t care if he’s in elementary school.”

Enix was always serious about the game.

That was why he had joined GG Gaming in the first place—because he respected Leo and Skull’s skill.

But recently, he had been dissatisfied with one of their teammates whose performance lagged behind.

Normally, you would comfort and encourage a teammate for the sake of team harmony.

Enix wasn’t like that.

He had directly voiced his opinion to the coach.

‘I don’t mesh with him. Please replace him. He’s not enough to win Worlds.’

They had already replaced teammates multiple times.

But mid-season, finding a new S-tier player was nearly impossible.

When the coach said it couldn’t be done, Enix had begun searching even among streamers—grasping at straws.

“That streamer just played his first match today. I get how you feel, but he’s not at a level to replace a pro.”

“You’re right.”

When Enix readily agreed, Skull looked slightly surprised before heading back to his room.

But Enix continued staring at Phantom on screen, filled with certainty.

‘Still… this Phantom guy is going to rise. Definitely.’

He simply watched Phantom with an unreadable gaze.

*

Around 8 PM the next evening.

For the time being, Dojun had set his stream time to 8 PM.

Today was his second day back.

He couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Yesterday was a collab stream. I couldn’t objectively measure my own metrics.

In a sense, today was the real evaluation.

With the Lost Land content finished,

this would reveal how many viewers were truly there for Dojun himself.

The last Lost Land stream hit 30,000 viewers right at the start. Peak live viewers were just under 100,000.

Generally:

• 10,000 viewers at stream start = major streamer.
• Around 5,000 = mid-tier.
• Around 1,000 = established.

Since he had taken a long break, only the loyal ones likely remained.

There should be some new viewers from yesterday’s SG collab.

His realistic goal today was to retain those viewers and grow steadily.

Because going forward, his main content would be Survival Ground.

It was almost 8 PM.

Dojun swallowed nervously.

[Starting stream.]

【Phantom’s Game Stream】

▶▶ God of Throwables!! Proven in front of 100,000 viewers yesterday. From today on, we grind SG. ◀◀

<Current Viewers: 2,437>

Just under 2,500 viewers at the start.

Still an incredible number.

Without special buzz, 30,000 at start was unrealistic.

Satisfied that he had built a foundation, Dojun began his opening.

“Hello, everyone. The thrower has arrived.”

• The Grenade King has descended~
• All hail Phantom――!!
• All hail the Grenade――!!
• Phantom, nice collab yesterday

The viewers welcomed him warmly.

Yesterday’s throwable plays had clearly left an impression.

“Thank you. As you probably guessed from the title, I’ll be focusing on SG starting today.”

Some viewers expressed disappointment.

• Phantom, come back to Lost Land… the progression’s stalled ㅜㅜ
• The next continent’s still hell difficulty
• If you stick to Lost Land you’d dominate that scene

┗ What Lost Land lol. Prize money disappeared and the game tanked in rankings.
┗┗ For Phantom’s sake, let him swim in bigger waters.
┗┗┗ He’ll go back if TL Games puts up prize money again lol

The debate escalated.

Now it was Dojun’s turn.

He needed to solidify his broadcast identity.

“Lost Land was my first game, so I definitely have affection for it. But my goal is to be a variety game streamer. I’ll revisit Lost Land if the opportunity comes.”

He drew a clear line.

Some viewers left.

It couldn’t be helped.

He couldn’t satisfy everyone.

His goal wasn’t to be loved for one specific game—

but to build a fanbase that loved Phantom himself.

That was part of growth.

“And my goal isn’t just to be a variety streamer.”

• Oh? There’s more?
• Phantom’s goal is obvious. Money.
• Planning to surpass VirtueKing?

“I’ve never settled for anything but first place in my life. As a streamer, my goal is to reach rank #1 in every game I play.”

Mixed reactions filled the chat.

• That’s ambitious…
• Phantom might actually do it
• So you’re saying #1 in SG too??

“That’s right. This content series is reaching Rank 1 in SG.”

Declaring Rank 1.

Easy to say. Extremely difficult to achieve.

Especially since he had just started SG yesterday.

• LMAOOOO
• Isn’t that overkill?
• You’re still an SG newbie
• SG is full of hardcore veterans. Even pros struggle to hit #1

Mostly skepticism.

But Dojun didn’t waver.

“It’s December now, so I’ll aim for the end of February.”

That was when—

★★ “BreathOfTheDagger” donated 100,000 won. ★★

[Isn’t that too far? Shouldn’t you aim for Master first?]

A 100,000 won donation just for a message.

The big spender everyone recognized.

• Dagger hyung’s here
• Dagger hi~

“Dagger hyung, thank you for 100,000 won. You’re right. I was getting ahead of myself. Master first.”

SG’s ranking tiers:

Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Diamond
Master
Challenger

Real high-level competition started at Master.

Most talented players capped out at Diamond I.

That was why the whale set Master as the benchmark.

★★ “BreathOfTheDagger” donated 100,000 won. ★★

[Reach Master in solo-squad and I’ll give you a 5 million won mission. Two-week deadline.]

Sudden proposal.

Solo-squad meant playing a 4-man squad mode alone.

Chat exploded.

• Master in 2 weeks is insane
• And solo-squad??
• You’d basically need constant wins
• 5 million won though…

Tight deadline.

But not impossible.

His ultimate goal was Challenger anyway.

“Since it’s Dagger hyung’s mission, of course I’ll accept.”

[Mission Accepted: 14 days remaining. Reward: 5,000,000 won.]

Now the climb had stakes.

“Alright. Let’s get started.”

He logged into the game.

His first true solo SG.

After yesterday’s collab, he had studied videos to fill knowledge gaps.

The theory was solid.

“Yesterday I only played Jungle Map. Today I’ll set maps to random for variety.”

Match found quickly.

This map was unmistakable.

The waiting lobby was surrounded 360 degrees by sand.

Dojun frowned slightly.

“Ah… this is the Desert map, right?”

• Yup
• Rough map for first game lol
• No grenade-only wins here
• Are we finally seeing gunplay?

Dojun shook his head.

“Maybe it’s because I’m new, but guns don’t seem that great.”

Chat exploded.

• ???
• Excuse me??
• It’s an FPS game??
• So throwables only??

He clarified.

“Of course guns are good. But firing reveals your position. Since I’m solo-squad, staying hidden is crucial.”

Reasonable.

But Survival Ground was an FPS.

Viewers loved dominant gunfights.

He was basically giving that up.

★★ “BreathOfTheDagger” donated 100,000 won. ★★

[You’re seriously not going to shoot?]

“I won’t completely avoid them… but I’ll minimize it.”

★★ “BreathOfTheDagger” donated 100,000 won. ★★

[So just knives and throwables again?]

“Probably overall, yes. Though I’ll need a mid-range option. I found something amazing yesterday.”

As he talked, the waiting room transitioned to the plane.

“I’ll show you.”

He jumped.

With Red’s training and improved details, his drop speed was faster than yesterday.

He landed on the outskirts, avoiding early fights.

No squads followed.

Two teams landed in the big city nearby.

Safe.

He began looting.

Where is it…?

Turning a corner inside a house—

There it was.

A grin spread across his face.

Without hesitation, he equipped it.

The item was—

A mortar.