Season 5: Chapter 57: Nationalist Popcorn (1) |
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Even now, Ju-Hyeok busily steered community opinion to drive up the mission pot in Almond’s room.
“Now’s the cheapest it’ll ever be~. Free advertising from Survival mode, jackpot~.”
He grinned as he typed up such posts.
— Hey, isn’t this getting kind of dangerous now?
— Yeah, after seeing that Level Six Flashy Blade play, he’s just gonna take first, shit…
— All the money is gonna go down the drain because of this bastard
— This guy is hyped because it’s not his money anyway;
Public sentiment began to sour.
Ju-Hyeok stroked his chin.
‘Even if BornToB and Bubblegum are together, it’s still not enough?’
Just how high was Almond’s ceiling? Honestly, after seeing BornToB’s play earlier, Ju-Hyeok had expected the mission pot to skyrocket. The impact of Almond’s level xix Flashy Blade had been overwhelming.
‘Do I need something worse?’
Wishing for something worse at this point was basically devil talk, but he didn’t have a choice because Almond was currently showing off something even more devilish.
‘It almost feels like he got better.’
Almond hadn’t played LIL in ages, yet his Flashy Blade was still sharp. No, not just sharp. It felt even better than before.
‘Is it that the opponents are bad?’
LIL was always a relative game. Even a bad player looked incredible when facing someone worse.
‘Is the placement match queue just lower level?’
That was possible. As if to mock that thought, a post popped up.
[Isn’t Oden Soup the streamer who just died?]
Apparently, Oden Soup, the player just killed by Almond’s Flashy Blade, was also a streamer. His usual tier was Diamond One. Among regular players, that was near the very top. The other players weren’t low-tier either. At the very least, they weren’t placement match fodder.
[All the streamers turned on Survival mode, so placement tests are total chaos lol]
[Fuck, the game barely has players and they force a tournament. Of course, it turns into a mess lol]
[Isn’t the average placement rating insane right now?]
Sure, Survival skills were different from Siege mode. Fundamentals still mattered, and it mattered a lot. The original purpose of placement matches was to lump inexperienced players together and see their raw talent.
‘This is…’
It wasn’t a battle of talent anymore, but a battle of experience.
‘Then, Almond really is just that good.’
At this point, his Flashy Blade looked roughly on par with his old form.
‘But if this info spreads… people won’t put missions in anymore. Tsk.’
Ju-Hyeok smacked his lips in disappointment. The mission pot no longer increased after viewers realized that Almond had completely crushed high-tier opponents.
‘Is this where it ends?’
Was fate really that cruel? Another bad omen appeared.
[Breaking News! A legendary former pro got queued too! With Almond lol]
A former pro? That was on a whole different level from just catching a high-tier streamer.
Click.
Ju-Hyeok opened the post.
==== ====
Almond and Popcorn got the same queue lol for real.
==== ====
Ju-Hyeok stared, doubting his eyes.
‘Popcorn?’
Even someone who hadn’t played a single match of LIL knew that name. He couldn’t be in this industry and not know. It was the former top laner who played with JeonJaPa. In terms of importance, top lane was second only to mid in carry power and presence. In short, Popcorn was a legend.
— For real?
— Huh?
— Is it legit? Or just someone named Popcorn?
— Popcorn???
— Holy shit LOL
— Police: You thought that nut was the ground!? There’s a basement!
└ LOL so true
└ This is way too much though LOL
Ju-Hyeok wanted to say the same. “No, this is too much, isn’t it!?”
He had wanted to give viewers hope for the mission pot, but not this kind of hope. Such hope could actually come true.
‘I wanted fake hope!’
A former pro in the same match? As far as Ju-Hyeok knew, the gap between pro and amateur in LIL was like Challenger versus Gold.
‘And if it’s Popcorn… even retired, he’s still top-tier.’
To make matters worse, Popcorn had apparently cracked open the Vault.
[Holy shit, Popcorn cracked open the Vault LOL]
[Popcorn Vault, damn]
[Wow, LOL, he’s actually insane]
[How did he even do that???]
‘The Vault?’
Ju-Hyeok had been watching Survival mode this whole time and didn’t even know that it existed.
‘What is that…? It sounds insanely good.’
Even without knowing the details, Popcorn had obviously picked up something massive.
Tap-tap-tap.
Ju-Hyeok searched up the Vault and smacked his forehead.
“Y-you’re kidding me.”
Now, it really felt like Almond would lose. He didn’t want that.
“Damn it.”
Ju-Hyeok was human too. He felt anxious. Even though he had to go around saying Almond would lose, his hands moved on their own.
Tap-tap-tap…
Earlier, he’d been pushing the angle that Almond would lose. Now, other posts came out.
— But didn’t Popcorn lose to Almond during the Soul Release update…?
Even Ju-Hyeok thought it sounded ridiculous. That match was clearly for entertainment, but he needed hope.
└ That was just a joke match lol
└ You trust variety content? LOL
└ Do you even know how big the gap is between pros and Challengers? LOL
└ You think Popcorn is a joke?
They absolutely roasted Ju-Hyeok, but he asked one more thing.
└ Then do pros take placement matches seriously?
Popcorn wouldn’t take placement matches seriously. Most pros didn’t. That logic wasn’t wrong. Popcorn wouldn’t go all out, but Ju-Hyeok had forgotten one thing.
└ Even messing around, have you seen Almond’s team state right now? LOL
└ True LOL
└ Ah… LOL
Almond’s team was made up of people who couldn’t win even if they tried. They were people who were better off not trying.
Ju-Hyeok had no rebuttal. He raised the white flag.
└ It’s over…
Just like that, the keyboard war ended.
— Bubblegum, Choco Shroom, BornToB… let’s go.
└ Fuck LOL
└ LOL
In the end, it all came down to how human this hopeless trio could be and how hopeless Popcorn’s team would turn out to be.
“Haah. Whatever. Just raise the money.”
Tap-tap-tap…!
With tears in his eyes, Ju-Hyeok went around telling people that it was safe to pour money into the mission now that Popcorn was in.
[Hey… the mission is actually a safe asset now LOL]
[Bubblegum, BornToB, Choco Shroom vs Popcorn LOL]
[Almond honestly can’t win this LOL]
…
Clink. Clink.
Almond’s mission pot started climbing again. Meanwhile, Ji-Ah had been editing this whole time.
She scrolled through posts and muttered absentmindedly, “Why is it always the same idiot saying Almond is going to lose? It’s annoying.”
She had gone to check community reactions to include in editing. Some weirdo kept insisting that Almond would lose. Without a word, she downvoted every single post Ju-Hyeok had written.
***
LetMeTank couldn’t believe her own eyes. “R-really… we’re winning?”
— Damn
— This is insane
— Just watching at this point LOL
— Kyaa
— There’s a reason he’s a big-name streamer
“Woooo!”
LetMeTank had been shocked when Almond suddenly appeared at level 6, but she hadn’t thought they would win. She’d only ever heard stories about him and had never actually seen him play with her own eyes.
On top of that, he wasn’t even playing this match with an archer champion. She had assumed his true skills wouldn’t really show.
Almond was currently taking on four enemies at once with nothing but Flashy Blade’s ultimate. Four blades ravaged the battlefield, and Almond’s divine form darted around as if he existed in four places at the same time. Something came to mind.
‘I’ve heard of this before.’
Almond’s main was an archer champion, but he was best at Flashy Blade after Raina. LetMeTank had heard that before and thought it was strange.
Archers and Flashy Blade had nothing in common, so she hadn’t believed it. She figured it was just an exaggerated story born from his LIL tournament win, which was understandable. Even after seeing it with her own eyes now, she could barely believe it. If it was this hard to accept while watching, how could she have believed it from just hearing about it?
Bzzt!
[LazySoldier! Quadra Kill!]
After killing all four enemies, Almond returned to LetMeTank’s side.
— Damn damn damn
— Wow
— Is he even human?
— This is actually insane LOL
— I’ve got nothing to say;
Even LetMeTank’s viewers became speechless. Even those who had complained that Almond always bullied her had no choice but to admit it now. Only one possible answer existed to this question.
“Orders?”
— Let’s gooo!
— Smart young man! Smart young man! Smart young man!
— Smart young man!
— Smart boy! Smart boy!
Praise flooded the entire chat, but LetMeTank hesitated.
‘Th-this isn’t being smart, though?’
Her Master-tier brain and reason were screaming. That guy wasn’t smart. If she said this out loud, she could never go back. She would have to pledge loyalty to the Smart Young Man faction. Once that happened, she couldn’t turn back!
Bang.
Bubblegum’s rune spirit, who had been running around to pass the resurrection time, was reborn. “Smart young man!”
— Holy shit LOL
— Born for this moment << actually true
— HAHAHAHA
— That’s right~~!
— Kyaa!
— Fuck, once again we cry out with all our hearts today…!
Starting with Bubblegum, every resurrected ally raised their hand and shouted in unison, “Smart young man!”
Choco Shroom shouted too, “Smart young man!”
Even BornToB, who knew exactly what Smart Young Man really meant.
LetMeTank’s mouth twitched.
Almond was staring straight at her.
‘D-damn it, he wants me to answer?’
— Why is he waiting LOL
— HAHAHAHA
— This is cruel LOL
— Too harsh for a small streamer…
“S… Sm…”
She felt like throwing up, but she shouted anyway, “Smarrrt youuung maaaan!!”
— HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
— LOL
— She’s in pain
— HAHAHAHA
— Submission LOL
— So this is how dictatorships begin…
— Kyaa…
Almond smiled and nodded. From that moment on, Almond’s team was reborn as a single, unified consciousness.
“I’ll distribute the runes.”
Because they were of one mind, Almond taking everything was the same as everyone sharing it. When Almond was happy, they were happy too.
“First, the attack rune obviously goes to Flashy Blade. Naturally, and movement speed… This also goes to Flashy Blade. Flashy Blade’s movement speed is slow, so… Health regeneration? That’s for Flashy Blade too… and then…”
— This is pure dictatorship LOL
— But there’s no other choice LOL
— Clenching his teeth and taking everything
— This is how you actually win though~
Only Choco Shroom and BornToB took runes for contracts. No one else got anything.
Woooong!
“I’ve contracted~. I’m a carry machine now~.”
[Explosion Madness - Terry]
Choco Shroom contracted as Terry. And BornToB?
“Bow! Bow!” He shouted as if he were a man who could only say the word bow. “You said I have talent with the bow! Bow! Bow!”
He begged to contract with an archer champion.
— That’s not it…
— The archer Almond acknowledged, damn
— HAHAHAHA
— Bow! Bow!
— Is he a pokemon lmao
“BornToB?”
“I practiced the shout, you see. If I shout it…”
“Stop saying nonsense.”
Thunk.
Almond held out a shield to him.
— Nonsense LOL
— BornToB’s shout = nonsense… noted…
— Holy shit LOL
A moment passed.
Woooong!
[Shield Warrior - Krave]
BornToB became the Shield Warrior Krave.
“Ta… taaank~!”
— HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
— Does a tank cry tank? LOL
— Tanks cry tank while weeping endlessly…
— BornToB: Taaaank~
— ??? J-just kill me…
— Holy shit LOL
— Tank again in the end LOL
— Only Choco Shroom barely survived
— Choco Shroom ranged DPS, BornToB tank, Almond assassin. Honestly, not bad LOL