Seeing Tyler Knox give up his seat, Kobe Gray didn't hesitate. It had been a while since he last played, and his fingers were already itching.
He dropped into the chair, logged out of Tyler's account, and quickly signed into his own with practiced ease.
Caleb Scott leaned back, casually grabbing another skewer of grilled meat. He glanced at Kobe with a hint of confidence, almost smug.
"Just don't feed too hard," he said lazily. "If you can hold your own, I'll carry you up the ranks."
Miles Parker nodded beside him, clearly backing that claim.
"Caleb's actually really good," he added. "Tyler and I just can't keep up with him. This account we're using… it's Diamond rank. He borrowed it from a friend just to play with us."
At that, Caleb shot them both an exasperated look.
"And whose fault is it I've been losing all day?" he muttered. "I don't even know how I'm going to explain this to my friend anymore…"
Kobe simply shrugged, unfazed.
"Just win it back later."
Tyler shook his head immediately.
"Kobe, you don't get it," he said with a helpless laugh. "This is my first time playing in Diamond today. Everyone here plays like a monster. I'm already struggling just to not get stomped, forget ranking up."
Then he paused and looked at Kobe.
"By the way… what rank are you?"
Kobe smiled faintly and opened his profile without a word.
The three of them leaned in at once, curiosity written all over their faces.
Caleb was about to speak again…
"If it's too low, I can borrow another…"
But the words died in his throat the moment he saw the screen.
"Holy… wait… Master?"
"Kobe, you're Master rank?!"
The room went quiet for a second.
Anyone who had played Championship of Heroes for years knew exactly what that meant.
Caleb himself had only climbed to Diamond III after grinding nonstop for two months after exams. And now, right in their dorm, there was someone who had reached Master.
And he had just bragged about carrying him.
Kobe rubbed the back of his neck casually.
"I used to be Challenger," he said. "But I haven't had much time this season. Had to repeat a year, so I barely played."
"…Challenger?!"
The three of them stared at him like they'd just seen a ghost.
If Master was already impressive, Challenger was on a completely different level.
Caleb's expression twitched.
Compared to that, his Diamond III suddenly felt like child's play.
"Brother Kobe!" His tone changed instantly, full of respect. "Please… help me rank up!"
He even tossed his barbecue aside without hesitation. At that moment, nothing was more important than having a top-tier player right in front of him.
Kobe nodded calmly, completely at ease
.
"My rank dropped anyway," he said lightly. "Playing in Diamond or Master now? It's basically just warm-up. Easy wins."
Within seconds, Caleb had already sent him a friend request. Once Kobe accepted, they queued up together.
Miles and Tyler didn't even bother logging in anymore. They pulled their chairs closer, ready to watch and learn.
Soon, the match began.
Kobe took mid lane. Caleb went jungle. A classic mid-jungle duo.
In champion select, Kobe didn't hesitate at all.
He locked in Yasuo instantly.
The moment the pick was confirmed, a message popped up in team chat from the fourth player, an ADC.
"Wait… is that Torso?"
"I'm streaming right now, don't troll me…"
The room went quiet for a beat.
"…A streamer?" Miles muttered, already reaching for his phone.
A few taps later, he found the stream on Stitch Live.
"Yo, look at this, she's a girl," he said, eyes widening. "And… wow, she's got a great figure. Pretty face too… damn."
Then he frowned.
"But… why are there only like thirty viewers?"
"Probably new," Tyler said, leaning over.
Kobe glanced at the screen out of curiosity.
On the stream, the girl looked fresh and youthful, a bit nervous but trying her best to stay lively.
'Not bad… and I just happened to queue into her game?'
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'If I can bind people through voice… could I do it through a stream too?'
If that worked, he could literally earn money just by watching streams.
He quickly typed in chat:
"Relax, fourth pick. I'm solid on Yasuo."
No response from the system.
No notification either.
'So text doesn't count…'
Just then, Tyler pointed at the screen.
"Hey, look at her stream description. If you send a virtual airplane gift, you can voice chat with her!"
"One airplane is fifty dollars."
For most college students, that was a ridiculous price just to play a game with a streamer. Fifty dollars could cover meals for days.
But for Kobe?
It was nothing.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and opened Stitch Live. Just to be safe, he topped up his account first.
Then…
A flashy airplane animation swept across the stream.
"Wow… thank you so much for the airplane gift from BetonKobe!"
BetonKobe was Kobe's stitch username.
The streamer's voice came through, surprised and excited.
Kobe quickly typed:
"Streamer, can we connect voice now? I'm the Yasuo on first pick."
There was a brief pause.
It was her first day streaming, and she clearly hadn't expected anyone to spend money so quickly.
But she didn't hesitate for long.
"Okay… let's connect!"
The voice channel opened.
"Hello," Kobe said first.
[The system has detected that the host is having a conversation with someone of the opposite sex.]
[The host's current heartbeat value is 25 points, which meets the binding conditions.]
[Binding successful!]
Kobe's lips curled into a faint smile.
'Got it.'
So voice worked.
That meant…
This was a whole new way to farm cashback.
'After this game… I'll just keep sending gifts.'
'That should be easy money.'
With that thought, Kobe leaned forward slightly, eyes sharpening as the game began.
He was more than ready.