Season 4: Chapter 144. Public Interview (3)
Thirty people had advanced to the second round. Following the Knight Order’s instructions, they were led to a secluded mountain valley near Sweet Radish’s house.
“What the hell is this place?”
“Damn... you could die here and no one would even know.”
“Looks cursed.”
At a glance, this obviously wasn’t a mountain meant for climbing but for burying people. The surroundings were dark and heavy with fog. The ground felt damp beneath their feet.
“Hurry it up! Move, you rookies!”
Dun-dun.
Potato Servant, the exam sergeant, leaped onto the platform. “Line up!”
With Servant Lemon and Potato Servant kicking at stragglers from the back, the thirty residents stumbled into order.
— Lmaooo
— Look at their faces
— Is this an actual military?!
Once they lined up, Potato Servant bellowed a warning, “To those who cleared round one and made it this far... heed my warning!”
— He’s gotta give a warning for this?
— Yeah, no way around it
— Already cracking me up
Viewers familiar with the exam's format were already laughing.
“Beyond this point is hell.”
The applicants stared blankly. An interview exam that invoked hell?
‘So, this isn’t a job interview... It’s a battle royale?’
‘They could’ve at least warned us...’
The atmosphere felt closer to a special forces trial than a Knight Order recruitment. There had been no prior mention of this, leaving everyone shaken. However, they had already all made it here past round one. No one dared to quit and suffer the losses.
‘If I get into the Order, just one appearance will be worth it.’
‘Joining the Order means profit, no matter what.’
‘I have to survive this.’
For small-time streamers, admission into the Order was a golden opportunity.
‘Maybe I’ll get to team up with Almond in the Platform War.’
‘I came here just for Lord Almond...’
‘Gotta play it smart.’
For mid-sized streamers, they would get a chance to fight alongside Almond.
‘Let’s grab some Fertile Soil and cash out.’
‘If I get in, my Cheese Village life will be made.’
Wealth, fame, and survival... All those desires fused into one. This only made the second trial more brutal.
“Now, I will reveal the second exam.”
Whoosh!
The dark clearing lit up, revealing a massive arena that took the form of a circular ring surrounded by fire. The viewers went into a frenzy in the chat.
— What the hell? lol
— Tougher than the Chuunin Exams[1]
— These lunatics hahaha
— Is this “kill each other now?”
— They’re not even hiding that they’re the real villains
— The flames, omg
The applicants’ eyes widened just as much as the viewers’.
‘They prepared... this much?’
No wonder the Order had been desperate for applicants. If no one showed up, all this spectacle would’ve gone to waste.
“Wow...” ForeverAlone craned his neck to look closer.
Then, he saw the truth. The arena’s border wasn’t just a simple fire. This fire rose from deep below. The edges of the arena were a pit, a bottomless abyss of flames.
“Those quick to notice have figured it out. Get shoved into the boundary, and you fall straight into hellfire.” Potato Servant’s words turned everyone pale.
“Holy shit.”
“No way.”
“You’re serious?”
As if to prove that it wasn’t a bluff, Maid Black Tea and Servant Lemon dragged two massive chests to the front.
Thud. Thud.
“Leave your valuables here before entering.”
If someone died, their items would drop. If they fell into the flames, everything would burn. The chests were their only safe deposit.
“The rules are simple. One-on-one duels. Push your opponent out of the arena first to win. Killing them instead of pushing is fine too. You’ll just have to bear going Red for a while.”
— Holy crap
— This is harsher than the Chuunin Exams
— What even is this?
— So this is how Ah-Sung runs things?
— This is the Akatsuki[2]... damn
— Guess this is what it takes to enter Ah-Sung
— ??? From now on, kill each other
— Ah-Sung-tsuki!!!
Their names began to be called in order.
“Applicant 47 and number 3, step forward!”
Brrrr...
Two big-headed men trembled as they walked out.
[Goulash]
[Mustard]
The first match was between Goulash and Mustard, two mid-sized variety streamers who weren’t too big and desperate to join the Order.
Servant Lemon darted up to them, mic in hand. “Any final words of determination?”
Applicant 47, Goulash, nodded and shouted, “I will survive!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Sparse applause followed. Servant Lemon turned to Mustard.
“I, I’ll definitely join the Order! And become... Fertile!”
He meant rich, but...
“Pfft,” Potato Servant burst into laughter.
— Lmaoooooo
— Of all things to say
— “Become fertile,” omg
— What are you even talking about, Mustard...?
— Insane hahahaha
— I’m dying
Servant Lemon didn’t understand the slip-up, so she pressed on. “Great resolve! Now, enter the arena!”
Clap, clap.
Again, only thin applause followed.
The two grabbed the weapons provided and stepped into the ring.
Shing.
Goulash raised his sword. “Sorry, you have to face me. You’ll have to die.”
“No need to apologize. You’re the one who’ll fall. I’ll win, and become fertile!”
— Now they’re acting for the cameras, lol
— Pretending they didn’t want to fight, but look at them go
— This is hilarious
— Please stop saying “fertile,” I’m losing it
— Lmaoooo
Once in the arena, human instinct only burned hotter. The two circled each other and charged.
“Waaaahhh!!”
The applicants watching roared excitedly.
“Dieeeeee!”
“Hraaahhh!”
Clang!
Their swords clashed.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew, and their eyes blazed with fury.
“You... you’re not bad.”
“Likewise. Forcing me to use that.”
“?”
Suddenly, Goulash activated a skill.
[Rapid Break]
He was a Miner. Using a Miner’s skill through his sword, he unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, a dirty trick made lethal.
Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang!!
In an instant, Mustard’s blade, hammered at the same point, snapped in two.
“Whoa!!”
“Oh shit!!”
“What the heck!? M-My sword broke!?”
While the crowd murmured, Goulash slashed across Mustard.
Swoooosh!
A chunk of Mustard’s health vanished as he scrambled back, fumbling for another weapon.
Thunk.
‘Huh?’
Goulash lowered his shoulder and rammed him square in the chest.
“Waaaaaaah!!”
With a roar from the stands, Mustard slipped past the arena’s edge.
‘N-No...’
The flames were a given.
Fwooooooosh!!!
“Gyaaaaaaaah!!”
— This is insane lol
— LMAO
— Oh my god
— Holy...
— What a sick game, hahaha
He truly fell and burned.
Chk!
Goulash raised his blade victoriously, and cheers exploded.
“Woooooaaaahhh!!”
Potato Servant shouted, “Victory goes to number 47... Gooooul LAAASH!!!”
The crowd, feverish, chanted his name even though half of them were destined to fall into that same fiery abyss.
“Goulash! Goulash! Goulash!”
— The atmosphere is nuts, lol
— It honestly looks doable? Hahaha
— Glorious
— Peak content, hahaha
The second-round trial became the talk of Cheese Village.
***
At that moment, the production crew...
“We’re seeing a much faster consolidation into a single organization than expected.”
A huge number of villagers had gathered to join the Knight Order, and this many made it to round two.
“If their cohesion keeps building like this... Can Paprika Village still play its part?” One staffer turned to PD Jang.
Could Paprika really shake up Cheese Village?
“Ahem...” PD Jang only stroked his chin at a loss for words.
He had championed the Paprika concept.
‘This was supposed to guarantee views.’
He had pitched Paprika by saying, “An enemy that seems insurmountable will raise the story’s tension!”
An insurmountable foe was a staple of the shonen[3] genre and every other genre. A variety show like this needed such spice to avoid dragging.
“Switch the cameras. Put Paprika on.”
“Yes, sir.”
Zelo had begun mining the Obsidian ore.
“Obsidian... Is that enough, Park Oh-Hoon?” PD Jang didn’t know about Survival Craft as well as Park Oh-Hoon.
Park nodded. “In Survival Craft, the material gap is enormous. The Paprika squad isn’t some ragtag bunch. They’ve got ex-pros. The Knight Order can’t win this just by increasing their numbers...”
He scrolled through the data and carefully analyzed it.
“Hmm...”
PD Jang kept listening, then suddenly froze. Something odd had appeared on one of the feeds.
‘What is that...?’
Back at the Order’s exam grounds, something strange was happening.
“H-Hold on! Camera 149... Zoom in!”
“Yes, sir!”
Whummm.
The zoomed image shut Park Oh-Hoon up as well.
“Where is that?”
“Looks like... it’s under the arena?”
“Underground? Crank the volume. Patch my headset in.”
“On it.”
PD Jang’s gaze flicked between the Paprika feed and the Knight Order’s arena.
“W-Who are you people!? G-Gyaaaaaah!” A scream of death came through.
“Good god.”
Could Paprika really handle psychos like that?
***
The Knight Order’s second test had clearly taken work. Why did they go to such lengths? Just for the content? No, they had a plan. There was a hidden space here.
‘Is he coming?’
In the shadowy chamber beneath the arena, Almond and Radish Servant patiently tilted their heads up. Both of them gripped a pickaxe over their shoulder.
“Wooooooaaah...”
Moments later, cheers from above and a scream from below could be heard.
“Gyaaaaaaaah...”
Radish Servant blurted, “H-He’s coming!”
“Okay. Helmets on. Hide your ID.”
“Yes!”
Thud!
Someone crashed onto the floor.
“Aaaaargh!”
It was applicant number 3, Mustard, who had fallen down.
“U-Ugh... I-I’m not dead? Whew...”
Dying meant losing one’s items and EXP.
“The fire is only around the rim. I can probably make it if I head over...”
Thwack!
A kick came in from nowhere.
Roll, roll.
He tumbled back.
“W-Who are you!?”
“Those who fail the Order’s exam face only death!!” Radish Servant shouted and kicked him again.
Thwack!
“G-Gyaaaaaaah!”
— ?
— ???
— What are these maniacs? lol
— Huh??
— What even is this?
Mustard’s viewers gasped.
Fwooooosh!
The flames finished swallowing him.
“Phew.” Radish Servant exhaled. “Good thing we waited down here just in case.”
“No kidding.”
Beneath the stage lay a concealed chamber. If a player fell from above, they would land here. The whole undercroft wasn’t hellfire, only the edges burned. If a player didn’t properly die, they had to finish the job.
Why?
‘Because this drops.’
Clang!
Almond sank his pickaxe into the scorched soil where Mustard had burned.
[Fertile Soil]
They had invested so much into the second round for this. Their goal was to make more Fertile Soil out of the burning applicants. In other words, Mustard’s wish had come true. He had become... fertile.
“I’ll fill it back in~”
Plop.
Radish Servant packed cheap dirt into the empty spot and dropped another candle to keep the flame alive.
Fwoooosh!
— Chef’s kiss, hahaha
— They’re insane
— Radish Servant’s idea goes hard
— Are they actual devils?
— This is a factory, a literal factory, lol
From now on, every public recruitment would make the Knight Order twice as strong. More members meant more Fertile Soil.
Bbam!
[Satan has donated 110,000 won!]
[So public recruiting meant public mining... I’ve learned something today...]
— LMAO
— Hahahaha
— Satan really needs to study up, tsk tsk
— Open-pit mining, lol
— Actual Fertile Coins, fr
— Insane mining
— Why be a miner when Fertile Soil mines itself!!
— Satan, grind at Ah-Sung for five years and come back, tsk tsk
1. An exam full of various challenges that young shinobi take in Naruto. ☜
2. A criminal organization of rogue shinobi in Naruto.[ref] lmao
— Potato Uchiha[ref]A reference to Uchiha Itachi, an Akatsuki member who massacred his own Uchiha Clan. ☜
3. Japanese comics and anime, typically action, targeting a young male audience. ☜