Season 5: Chapter 52: Almond Oppression (2) |
The Abyss echoed with a grim announcement.
[Team Three has been eliminated!]
— DAMN
— What?!
— No way…
— No…
— Again?!
One man staring at the message couldn’t believe it. “It’s… it’s over? M-my journey with Raina-chan…?”
Thud.
Behind him, Raina coolly said, “Demoted to microorganism.”
— LOOOL
— LMAO
— Hahahaha
— This is insane
— Demoted from bug to microorganism
— Is this a ranking system or what LOL
Zelo flared up and snapped back. “W-What did I even do wrong!? I played well! I can handle Raina better than most people! Seriously, there aren’t many like me, you know!?”
“Why wouldn’t there be? He was right in front of you.”
“W-What…?”
— ?
— ???
— LMAO
— Kya~
— Raina-chan just demoted him to this guy too
— She recognized him instantly
— No way…
— That’s just cruel
Zelo desperately argued back. “You’re saying that after contracting with me!? You’re talking about another guy now!? Fine! Go to him! I don’t like you either! You’re trash!”
Raina turned her head away as if she hadn’t heard a thing. “The wailing of a microorganism.”
— LOL
— No damage exchange at all
— Why are you even arguing with an AI LMAO
“Screw you! I don’t need you either! What kind of garbage girlfriend is this!?”
Maybe the word girlfriend struck a nerve.
Raina suddenly went off. “Why don’t you play something like Iron Ball? Your skill level is Iron anyway. Just add Ball to the back.”
Formal speech slipped out of Zelo without him realizing it. “I-Iron…?”
He had been a ranked player once, after all. Dissing him as Iron was too much.
“Yes, Iron. That’s exactly your level, microorganism. I see no hope in you at all. Just like those tacky sunglasses, you can’t see anything.”
Under the relentless barrage, Zelo became speechless.
Then, Raina drove the final nail in. “You have no talent.”
— Oh my…
— LOL
— The sunglasses LMAO
— Raina is brutal
— Kya…
— “Zelo? You’ve got no talent.”
— Is this even a person?
— Is this actually a bot?
— Raina’s 18-hit combo!!
— This is crazy
— Wow…
— So this is why she’s called the Cold-Blooded Demon Archer
— Wiki: Raina’s English name is Evil Archer
— Why did she suddenly turn into a villainess?
Zelo stood there in a daze.
He switched mic channels and asked his viewers, “N-No, uh… did I mess something up? Is this a bug? Why is she talking so much?”
— LOL
— You’ve already messed up plenty…
— It’s because you trashed Raina’s performance LMAO
— Fyi: If you insult Raina’s performance, you get a long verbal diss
“Wait, was Raina always like this? Or is she just mad because she lost in front of her current boyfriend?”
Zelo felt genuinely flustered.
Ding!
[ZeloHater has donated 3,000 won.]
[You’re in the Demian Club and you don’t even know this?]
Zelo waved in denial. “No, no, Demian Club, I just… signed up. That’s all. I’m not that deep into it, guys.”
Raina looked utterly fed up as if she didn’t even want to be associated with the Demian Club.
— So you were a registered member too?
— Most people aren’t even signed up…
— Hardcore otaku don’t think they’re otaku because the real crazies are even worse…
— You were actually registered?
“Enough. Ugh. I’m done. I’m not doing the Raina challenge anymore. Why is this a real challenge? I thought it’d be like those influencer things like rice bucket challenge or whatever. This is an actual trial.”
— Rice bucket lmao
— Box of rice??
— LOL
— He’s not wrong, though
— A real challenge
Zelo deeply sighed. His hand hovered over a certain button.
[Exit]
“Uh… but if I stay and watch the game a bit, maybe Raina will calm down? She stopped talking again.”
— ??
— ??? I swear I’m not doing it again
— LMAO
— You’re gonna challenge her again, aren’t you?
— Challenge!
— You already forgot again?!
— Zelo looks regretful just looking at his face
Zelo shook his head violently. “N-No. I’m done. A champion this bad? I don’t need it.”
He dragged a finger across his throat.
“Raina? You’ve got no talent either. No, wait. You’ve got nothing.”
— LOL
— What is this guy even doing alone?
— Isn’t that you?
— LMAO
— So petty
— No talent vs nothing
“A champion like you is just unusable, period!”
A video donation popped up.
[Really? has donated 10,000 won.]
[Zelo, want to learn something after watching this? (video)]
It was Almond’s Raina montage.
— LOOL
— LMAO
— The timing…
— Hahaha
— Oh no…
Zelo ground his teeth for a moment.
At last, he lowered his head and muttered quietly, “Zelo knew it all along.”
— ?
— ?
— …?
— The self-narration LMAO
“That the one without talent was the microorganism called Zelo. Himself.”
— LOOOL
— LMAO
— Are you farming for clips right now?!
— Microorganism Zelo…
— I’m losing it LOL
Zelo had added the narration for laughs, but what followed was pure coincidence.
“Ugh. I hate this.”
— ?
— ??
— LOL
— What the?!
— It’s just an automated line LMAO
— She says that if you do nothing LOL! No misunderstanding~
— The timing is insane
And so, Zelo’s Raina challenge video was born.
[??? Ugh. I hate this.]
***
Meanwhile, on the battlefield where Zelo remained as a wandering spirit, time flowed on without him.
After dealing with the last remaining rune spirit, LetMeTank glanced at the kill log and asked Choco Shroom, “Ah, was that earlier one Zelo?”
LetMeTank found Choco Shroom easier to talk to since she wasn’t a mega-streamer.
“Ah, yeah. All the streamers are doing Survival placement matches right now.”
Bubblegum, who had revived, gleefully stomped on the corpses scattered around.
“Wahaha! Zelo died again!? Huh? Mr. Zelo~ are you watching right now~? Oh? This time, he got cut down!”
Plop. Plop.
He kept stepping on Zelo’s body.
— How deep does the grudge go LOL
— LMAO
— This humiliation is unreal
Having lost his dagger plan, BornToB stood there completely bewildered. “Uh… s-so what weapon am I supposed to use now…? Suddenly, the future looks really dark…”
Almond stepped up and held out a bow toward BornToB. “Use this. We don’t have a ranged DPS.”
“A b-bow? A bow is…”
Almond didn’t know that bows were a polarizing weapon even among ranged players in LIL.
Thinking back to the Archer Rush, Almond casually said, “A bow is the best fit for you, BornToB.”
BornToB’s eyes sparkled.“R-really!? You really think so!?”
— ?
— Damn…
— This one feels dangerous LOL
— B2B… just stay still…
Next, they distributed the runes.
‘Contracts first.’
Thankfully, Almond didn’t monopolize everything this time. Even he knew that turning the members into contractors came first.
“Zelo’s rune goes to LetMeTank.”
Of course, Almond still decided.
“Me? I can take it?”
“Yes. You wanted to contract earlier, didn’t you?”
No, earlier had been an emergency.
“Uh… but… things are calmer now, and… Ulte without a ranged DPS is kind of…”
Ulte absolutely needed a ranged DPS to hammer damage in, but Almond had already contracted Flashy Blade. The ranged DPS right now would be BornToB. Was the play to go Paladin? That felt risky.
“Then, should I contract first?” BornToB asked brightly.
Almond raised his palm. “Calm down. Paladin first.”
— LOL
— Calm down LMAO
— HAHAHA
— So cold!
— This is completely tangled
— BornToB… please be quiet…
Bubblegum sided with Almond. “Yeah. Let’s hurry and go Paladin. Finish first place and be done with this.”
— ?
— ??
— First place LMAO
— LOL
— He’s just that hyped~
Choco Shroom nodded as well. “Let’s go Paladin. I trust Almond’s judgment. I trust the Smart Young Man.”
The moment the Smart Young Man came out, BornToB’s expression turned strangely stiff. The chat also exploded.
— Faith in the Smart Young Man?
— The Smart Young Man? Of course, you trust him.
— Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man! Smart Young Man!
— We all know it. He’s smart.
— Smart Young Man is reliable, yeah.
— Can’t deny it anymore. This guy’s actually smart.
The chat had grown almost cult-like because of the Smart Young Man Era.
Ironically, BornToB knew the truth better than anyone and tried to speak up again. “I mean, I can play ranged too… Fast Archer…”
“No.” LetMeTank realized it instinctively.
Regardless of the Smart Young Man’s presence, BornToB was the most dangerous one here.
‘He’s just Bubblegum with fewer viewers.’
Without hesitation, LetMeTank placed her hand on the rune.
Wooooong!
[Hammer Paladin – Ulte]
A familiar figure descended behind her.
“With nails and a hammer, anyone can be made a faithful believer.”
— So it comes to this…
— Hang in there, LetMeTank!
— At least show your main
— Showing your main on a mega-stream!
‘Yeah. This is better.’
LetMeTank steadied herself.
‘It’s a big streamer’s broadcast. Better to show my main.’
Her personality didn’t suit mingling with mega-streamers in the first place. Since she was already here, she decided to give it her all.
Almond gave her a thumbs-up with a smile. “Well done, LetMeTank. Thanks to you, we’ve got a tank now.”
Seeing his smile, all of LetMeTank’s complaints suddenly melted away. “Th-thank you! I’ve never felt this good after contracting as a tank before. Haha…”
— LOL
— Executive praise
— LetMeTank, lower that smile…
— He said our tank.
— Face card is such dirty play
— LetMeTank is still a girl after all…
***
[Beginner’s Tip]
[Did you know? The martial arts of masters are hard to measure at their limits. Bronze used to be the lowest rank, but now Iron exists beneath it. Become a legend together with them!]
