Season 5: Chapter 30: How to Use Bubblegum (1) |
There was a famous saying in the industry called the Bubble Exam.
[Big: If you’re a real star, you have to pass the Bubble Exam.]
It started as a post on LIL Pro and eventually became a meme. The exam referred to proving one’s worth by teaming up with Bubblegum and delivering results. Considering how important exams were in Korea, it was an absurdly heavy expression.
For example, the high-school entrance exam was the most important time for all Korean youths. If they did well on one of those, they would gain a foothold to shake the nation itself.
Among streamers, the most famous case of graduating top of the class through the Bubble Exam was Almond. Looking at that, the teammates all thought the same thing.
‘Both of them are right here.’
The one who wrote the exam, and the one who had already passed it with the highest score. Both were on the same team, so how would this team win?
‘Almond has to carry…!’
Almond, who had passed this trial before, needed to step up.
‘The world has turned upside down…’
‘That’s not what we asked him to do.’
Was this what people meant by misfortune never coming alone? Almond was making the calls. That alone buried his strengths completely. Worse still, he showed no sign of backing down. He even tried to split the team in two to push his own plan through.
‘We’re screwed.’
MeowMeowPunch thought so. He could be called an Almond fan. Even though he hadn’t watched many livestreams, he never missed Almond’s videos on YouTube.
‘But the livestream is way worse, isn’t it?’
Whenever he watched the Smart Young Man series or the Almondoyle series, he assumed the editing was just exaggerated for laughs. The comments always said so too.
— Honestly, Almond is actually smart. If you look at the results, he’s never made a stupid decision.
— Almond is literally the famous smart young guy.
— After seeing him beat up that math demon on G2B, he’s obviously a genius. I vote that he does this on purpose.
— Wow. There’s a reason he got famous as a strategy-type player in Civil Empire…
Almond was actually smart. He just acted that way for entertainment. Blah blah blah. This was the narrative.
‘These bastards were all lying.’
MeowMeowPunch had known it already, but only now did it really sink in. It was just a YouTube meme.
‘This guy is…’
The hero of the world championship, Almond… The deduction genius, Almondoyle… The demon of physiognomy and the math genius, Professor Almond… The god of politics, Lord Almond… All of it…
‘He was just an idiot.’
Bubblegum was the only sane one here.
“Splitting into two teams? Uh… Almond. You know Admiral Yi Sun-Shin’s famous quote, right?”
MeowMeowPunch nodded vigorously. “R-right. You know the quote, yeah?”
“United, we live. Divided, we die.” Few games fit that saying as perfectly as Survival mode. LIL was a game where numbers mattered far too much. Each player could use three to four skills. With an ultimate skill, they could output the firepower of more than two players.
The difference between having one extra person or not was almost impossible to overcome. The earlier it happened, the worse it got.
“I know the quote.”
“Right? So if we split up, we die…”
“If you seek to live, you will die. If you seek to die, you will live.”
‘Huh? That’s not it.’
Everyone froze.
“So, let’s go.”
A grin crept across Almond’s face. Pleased with his own quote, he jerked his thumb behind him.
“To die.”
— LOL
— Holy shit
— Stop trying to look cool LMAO
— Why are you so dramatic
— Ah…
— The Bubble Exam is worth being dramatic for
‘Damn it.’
Even MeowMeowPunch had to admit it.
‘That was cool.’
A star really was a star. This kind of speech made one’s chest burn. If even someone as rational as MeowMeowPunch felt that way, the rest didn’t stand a chance.
“Let’s go dieee!”
“Today’s rank points will be claimed in hell!”
— Lmao they’re crazy
— The Lord’s political power is insane!
— As expected…
— Ah…
— Damn
— If you fall there, it is hell
— A handsome face plus a killer quote? That’s unstoppable.
— Face ID activated here…
***
Just like that, Almond’s team split in two. They took an enormous gamble doing so. Even if Almond’s team was currently the same level as the others, a gap would form over a small period.
‘That’s why we have to go now.’
Almond wasn’t forcing a Turtle play without thinking. The gap in levels was still manageable. Throwing the dice now was the only way to have a next move.
“We scout the Turtle, stall if someone shows up, and the others hit level three and join us?”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t we have one more person here? It’s better to level up with two people eating a camp…”
Almond shook his head. “No. When all five of us cleared one camp, we got 230 EXP. If three people take it…?”
“Huh?”
“Three people get 383. We need 360. If we just find a level two monster and clear one camp with three people, we hit level three exactly. Then, we join. If we just stop them from taking the Turtle, the enemy stays level two.”
— Wow
— Human calculator
— Here comes Almondoyle
— He met Bubblegum so his walnut went into emergency mode
— It’s been a while since we saw the walnut spin!
— Is this actually the smart idiot doing something big?
Bubblegum couldn’t say a word as calculations poured out of Almond. “Wow… you really change once money is on the line.”
With a mission at stake, Almond’s brain kicked into gear.
“Good. Just focus on interference.”
“Yes.”
They failed to consider one very obvious variable.
“Huh?”
[Red Turtle]
[HP: 100%]
No one was there.
Ding.
[AlmondChristie has donated 5000 won.]
[“And then there were no Almond.”]
— LOL
— All that discussion just for this~
— What is this?!
— Completely doomed
— Oh my god…
— Hurry up and regroup
— Totally fucked
— This is hilarious LOL
— “And then there were none.”
— He’s only good at math…
***
Meanwhile, the remaining three players on Almond’s team discussed among themselves.
“They’re probably doing well, right?”
“Yeah. Those two are the Ghost Busters.”
“So you’re saying they’re not doing well?”
“Let’s just hunt for now.”
They began hunting for easy prey.
[Abyss Toad Lv. 2]
A perfect level two target appeared.
Thud!
Bang!
They took it down using a mix of weapons. It wasn’t as fast as five people fighting together, but it was manageable. The staff user focused on recovery magic, constantly casting heals. The spear-wielding damage tank held the line. The remaining gun user dealt damage. They only had three members, but the positions were perfect.
Boom!
“Guurrk!”
“Kugh!”
Two Abyss Toads fell. There were five in total, so three remained. As their numbers dropped, the damage coming in fell even more sharply. The advantage was greater than the reduction in enemy count alone.
“Uh… I’m kinda low on health.”
“Let’s just finish them. We’ll level up anyway.”
“O-okay…”
The spear user’s health dipped below thirty percent, but they pushed harder anyway. They had already split the team. There was no turning back. It was kill or be killed.
“Three versus three! We’ve got this! Heal!”
Wooooong!
The spear user’s health refilled, and he roared with renewed spirit.
“First strike! Second strike! Third… Huh?”
At that moment, reinforcements appeared, but not on their side.
“Enemy…”
Whoooosh!
A fireball flew in.
“Incoming!?”
Boom!
The fireball slammed into the spear user.
“D-damn it! Enemy team!”
“How many!?”
“All five, obviously!”
“R-right…”
At this rank, teams that split up were rare.
“Shoot! Steal it!”
“The toad is one hit away!”
The enemy ranged attacker and mage unleashed more firepower, shrinking their space. One shield user and two assassins also charged in. It was an unusual composition. Aside from the shield user, everyone was a damage dealer. Against a smaller team, there was hardly a better setup to deal overwhelming burst damage. Any enemies would be erased instantly.
“Huh. Looks like there are only three of them.”
The enemy noticed their numbers.
“Charge!”
“Go, go!”
Thump!
Both assassins struck the ground at the same time, activating their skills.
[Accelerated Slash]
Fwoooosh!
Their forms blurred, crossing behind the opposing team and slashing at their necks.
Slaaash!
“A, ah…”
Pop.
The healer turned into a rune spirit.
[An ally has fallen.]
“H-healer’s down! Run! Run!”
“U-ugh!”
Kang!
The spear user couldn’t escape. Cut down from behind by an assassin and shot from the front by the ranged attacker, he exploded and fell.
[An ally has fallen.]
[Enemy Double Kill!]
As he fled, MeowMeowPunch muttered, “Damn nut bastard.”
***
News of their allies’ deaths spread instantly. Even to the two stationed elsewhere.
“Ah… An ally went down? This is fine, right? Still part of the plan?” Bubblegum asked Almond, almost pleading. “Almond, say something. Tell me this is all part of the plan. There’s no one at the Turtle, and our team got wiped…”
Bubblegum’s viewers weren’t generous about losing. Standing around watching the Turtle and then losing? The backlash would be brutal.
“L-losing like this isn’t even funny!”
If it were funny, that’d be one thing. This was just absurd.
Almond remained silent while staring at the chat.
— What even is this LOL
— smart young man…?
— Son, grow up to be a walnut! Son, grow up to be a walnut!
— Sir Almondoyle, please answer! Did you self-destruct under the pressure of the Bubble Exam?! Please answer!
…
If anything, the pressure on Almond was worse than on Bubblegum.
‘I need to get to Plat.’
The mockery hurt, but every teammate, except Sweet Potato, was ranked Platinum or higher.
[Lemon: Noobs~ Noobs~]
Lemon’s song, something he’d never heard before, echoed in his ears.
‘And… I have to prove it.’
This game type held the highest loss rate in Almond’s entire history. It was Civil Empire’s Commander mode. Almond had to restore his Smart Young Man nickname.
‘What do I do?’
He had to win to restore the honor of being smart. Amazingly, the two stood in direct opposition. To win, he had to abandon being smart. Almond didn’t know that. If he did, he wouldn’t be the Smart Young Man.
The Smart Young Man said, “Let’s wait.”
They waited.
“What…?”
“The Turtle, they’ll come for it eventually.”
“Y-yeah, but we’re level two. Everyone else is three now!”
Thump.
A shadow closed in.
[The Shadow of the Abyss descends.]
“The Shadow is on our side.”
“Our side is all dead, Almond.”
— LMAO
— Is he insane?!
— Bubblegum LOL
— Gum can’t hold it in anymore loool
— Who are we!? Ghost Busters!
Almond didn’t concede. “They’re still alive as rune spirits.”
“No, even the rune spirits are dead. It says it right here.”
“They’re still alive and watching us from above. If we resurrect them, they’ll live again.”
“No! By that logic, all our ancestors are alive too!”
— LOL
— Resurrect the ancestors?
— Insane
— Bubblegum’s mouth really loosens under pressure lool
— Ancestors too haha
— For real, resurrection is for ancestors?
“It’s the Turtle.”
“Ah, found it. Good.”
Finally, a team appeared.
— Oooo
— No way!
— Gasp!
Bubblegum covered his mouth and lowered his head. Almond crouched low as well.
“Let’s hunt~.”
“Okay.”
Boom!
Bang!
Without any suspicion, the enemy team began hunting immediately.
[Red Turtle Lv. 3]
[HP: 91%]
“Graaah…! Graaah!”
A tense battle against the Turtle ensued. Without any interference, the players would obviously win.
“Hooo.” Almond took a deep breath. “I’ll steal it.”
Bubblegum’s eyes went wide. “What?”
With their allies dead, it was the only option left.
“How… how would you even get in there? You’re not Raina.”
All the enemies had reached level three. They had clean positioning and minimal comms like a serious team.
[Red Turtle]
[HP: 42%]
Boom!
The monster’s health dropped fast.
[Red Turtle]
[HP: 23%]
‘Isn’t another team coming?’
Without a third party, stealing the Red Turtle would be nearly impossible. The moment Almond stepped out, they would focus on him and kill him. Almond wasn’t as nimble as Raina, nor did he have superior arrow range. He needed something to draw their attention.
“Bubblegum.” Almond realized it didn’t have to be another team. “Please die.”
— LOOLL
— Holy shit
— How many sacrifices is this LMAO
— ??? Please become fertile.
— Bubblegum’s face LOOL
— If the Lord says die, you die~
— Ah…
— Die for the greater good
***
[Beginner’s Tip]
[Sometimes, you must carry more burdens for your team. Your rank points rise all the same.]