Season 4: Chapter 145. A Proper Move (1)
Around thirty minutes had passed since the Knights’ second public mining trial began. Countless participants had already vanished into the pit below.
“Th-This is insane... They’re actually dying.”
“Doesn’t it sound like something else happens down there too? I swear I heard another scream.”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”
As the match progressed, fewer and fewer contestants remained to cheer. Instead, villagers began gathering, drawn in by the rumors.
“Whoa, that’s it?”
“This is hilarious~”
“Wait, why is there an actual arena?”
Whenever viewers got into arguments in Treevy chatrooms, people would joke about opening a one-on-one private match to settle it. Here, in Cheese Village, the Arena was actually real.
“Next up, contestant 19! ForeverAlone! Contestant 26! StrawberryShooter!”
As Lemon called out the next match, the crowd of villagers erupted.
“Wooooah!”
“F-ForeverAlone!? He actually came?”
“Is this revenge against the Knights!? ForeverAlone!!”
— Huh?
— ForeverAlone came to take the Knight exam? LMAO
— What the hell???
— Why though?
The villagers had no idea ForeverAlone had come to take the Knight exam, so the revelation shocked them.
“What’s with that strawberry cake avatar?”
“Wait, his opponent is StrawberryShooter?!”
“Shit... good thing I never met him in real life.”
Attention shifted quickly to the opponent. StrawberryShooter was a fairly well-known streamer.
Lemon leaned in to whisper to Maid Black Tea, “Uh, sis. The Lord said ForeverAlone should pass, but... isn’t StrawberryShooter a bit much? Shouldn’t we change the match?”
“Hmm?” Maid Black Tea just snorted.
“If he can’t handle this much, he has no place in the Knights, Servant Lemon.”
“...?”
She was Knights down to the bone.
“We don’t need weaklings.”
— LMAOOOO she’s dead serious
— Most hardcore Knight fan ever
— Imagine if Maid Black Tea worked at a bank instead LOL
— Yikes lol
— Alpha girl vibes
“R-Right, of course. Heehee.” Servant Lemon forced a laugh and carried on with the match. “Both contestants! Face each other!”
***
ForeverAlone swallowed hard.
‘Even if I’m a Challenger in LIL...’
He had little actual combat experience here. Sure, people who mastered one game often excelled at others, but StrawberryShooter wasn’t some casual either. A former Master ADC, he probaby even surpassed ForeverAlone’s reflexes as a mid laner.
“Kyohohohoho...!”
That bizarre strawberry dress and twin tails, paired with a deep male voice, made the avatar even more unsettling.
“Long time no see, For...everAlone! Facing a young boy like this... How exciting.”
“...”
— LMFAO
— Mental damage from the start
— Poor guy, he’s weak to this kind of thing
— Oh god, my ears
“A-hem. It’s been a while, sir.”
“Sir? Call me sis~ Kyohoho!”
“That won’t be happening.”
“Oh?” StrawberryShooter adjusted his stance, grinning. “Are you denying my gender identity, For~everAlone?”
What gender identity? He flipped it on a whim.
“I-I have my own identity too, you know! Don’t force me to call you sis!” ForeverAlone snapped back.
“UAAAAAHHH!!!” A roar split the air as an axe smashed into ForeverAlone’s stomach.
— ?
— ??
— Wtf
KWAANG!
“Guh!?”
ForeverAlone’s vision went white.
— Holy shit
— LMAO caught me off guard
— That voice tho LOL
— Dude is built like a grappler
— I can’t breathe lol
“Ahahaha! Why so careless, boy?” StrawberryShooter suddenly lowered his voice and boomed like a man.
‘I knew it. Bastard.’
ForeverAlone bit his lip and rolled aside.
Boom!
The axe split the ground where he had been.
His eyes widened. “Are you trying to kill me!?”
“Becoming a Red Player is a small price for a man’s success!”
— ?
— ??
— Pick a gender already
— Switching whenever he wants lol
— True genderless warrior
‘Stay calm.’
ForeverAlone’s eyes darted over StrawberryShooter’s gear. His opponent carried a massive axe. He had heard that StrawberryShooter’s main class was a lumberjack. The enemy’s axe mastery had to be high. Meanwhile, ForeverAlone was only a farmer with hardly any combat skills.
‘He’s coming.’
StrawberryShooter charged in like lightning. “Splitttter!!”
Whoooosh!
The axe narrowly missed ForeverAlone.
“Yeeaahhh!!” The crowd roared.
“Oh! ForeverAlone is being pushed back bit by bit!” Servant Lemon’s commentary only made it worse.
ForeverAlone glanced behind himself.
‘Shit.’
The pit’s edge loomed close. He swallowed hard.
‘When did I get pushed this far?’
That first strike had cost him dearly.
StrawberryShooter focused on driving him straight over the edge.
Whooosh!
Another swing came.
‘Again.’
ForeverAlone blocked with his blade, but his feet slid back.
“This is it, boy.”
Clang! Clang!
StrawberryShooter’s relentless blows forced him to the brink. One more step and he’d fall.
“Fall! Fall!”
“Fall!!!”
The audience began chanting in unison.
Then, ForeverAlone’s eyes flashed.
‘Now!’
He activated his Farmer skill.
[Scatter Fertilizer]
Splaaat!
Filth sprayed straight into Strawberry Shooter’s eyes.
“Ugh!? Throwing d-dung! ForeverAlone finally attacks with brilliant ingenuity! Heehee!” Servant Lemon squealed in delight.
“You... you filthy brat!” StrawberryShooter swung his axe wildly.
ForeverAlone had wanted to bait out exactly this.
Swish!
At the perfect moment, he dropped flat to the ground.
Whoosh!
The axe cut only air, throwing StrawberryShooter off-balance.
‘What?’
Thwack!
ForeverAlone’s foot hooked his ankle. Their legs tangled, and StrawberryShooter’s oversized head only added to his center of gravity tipping forward. Then, ForeverAlone seized his arm and rolled with the motion.
“This can’t be...”
Something impossible for their weight classes happened.
Whoooosh.
ForeverAlone hurled StrawberryShooter straight into the void.
“YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!”
“Fall! Fall!”
“ForeverAlone! ForeverAlone! ForeverAlone!”
An earth-shaking cheer exploded.
“Wooooah!? What a technical reversal that was!” Servant Lemon shouted at the top of her lungs, overwhelmed with excitement. “But wait, still not over!”
Thunk!
A hand clung to the very edge of the arena.
“Ghh... ghhhk...”
It wasn’t finished yet. StrawberryShooter hung on, his fingers gripping the ledge.
“St-StrawberryShooter!? He’s still alive!!”
He had survived, but barely. Below the arena wasn’t only an abyss, but also a pit of fire. Flames already licked at him.
‘Burn.’
ForeverAlone drew his blade and walked toward him, intent on ending it.
“Kyo... kyoho... F-ForeverAlone...?” StrawberryShooter changed his voice again to plead. “I-I have a favor.”
“What is it?”
“C-Call me sis? At least when I die, let me die as a woman...”
“Yeah, no.” ForeverAlone drove his sword straight into StrawberryShooter’s hand.
“KYAAAAHHHH!!” A strange, almost delighted scream echoed out as StrawberryShooter fell into the abyss.
— What a twisted bastard
— He really went all the way to the end LOL
— LMFAOOOO
ForeverAlone could’ve sworn he heard something else.
‘Hm?’
Another scream rang out from below.
“W-Wait!? What the hell is this!? What the fuuuuu—?!”
This time, it wasn’t a fake falsetto or forced giggle. StrawberryShooter’s real voice broke out in raw terror.
‘What...?’
Whatever lurked beneath was frightening enough to tear away even his strongest persona.
***
Finally, the second trial came to a close. Half had fallen to the abyss, and half survived. Fifteen applicants remained, advancing to the next stage.
“On to the third.”
“Line up and follow!”
The third trial was a simple interview, like for a formal job, inside Sweet Radish’s house.
“Why do you wish to join the Knights?”
“You have a gap between jobs. What were you doing during that time?”
“If invaders came to the village, how would you respond?”
The interviewer asked reasonable and straightforward questions. The atmosphere became far gentler because they had all already been accepted. Passing the second trial meant they had Knight qualifications. The interview’s purpose was soon revealed.
When the third trial finished, the fifteen recruits stood outside in neat rows on the Fertile Soil.
“Congratulations, recruits.” At last, Commander Almond appeared. “You are now all members of our Knights.”
“!”
Joy surged within them, but their military-like discipline kept them standing still.
Someone even began to cry.
[Meringue]
It was Meringue, a streamer specializing in Survival Craft, who was relatively unknown despite her career. For her, getting accepted into the Knights was a monumental achievement.
— ?
— Seriously lol
— Crying??
— Well, after that second trial, fair enough
“But you are not all equals.”
“!?”
There was a twist. These recruits weren’t all the same rank.
“After deliberation, we’ve decided to divide you into two tiers based on the third trial.”
— Ohhh
— So that’s why
— Whoa
“The first group is the lackeys.”
— Lackeys LMAO
— If StrawberryShooter passed, would he be Straw-lackey?
— Here we go
The lackey tier became the seniors. Almond called their names one by one. ForeverAlone was among them.
“Ohhh! I’m Lackey ForeverAlone!”
“I’m a lackey too!”
“We’re the lackey crew!?”
They felt overjoyed at the title.
— Lackey ForeverAlone lol
— Poor guy
Then came the rest.
“The ones below... are peasants.”
— The worst LOL
— LMAOOO
“H-Huh... I’m Peasant Meringue?” Meringue, who had been sobbing before, suddenly stopped.
— Started from the bottom...
— Rip Meringue
Other peasant recruits looked visibly displeased. The titles didn’t sound that different, but the division itself stung. Thus, the Knights under Almond grew stronger than ever.
***
Afterward, the new recruits learned the basic Knight rules under Potato Servant.
Then, Almond delivered a statement of their vision himself. “Our purpose is not merely to stop monsters here.”
The Knights revered Almond. Everyone looked at him with bright, eager eyes.
“Nor is it only to repel invaders.”
The buildup felt like a corporate seminar.
“Oooh...”
“Then... what is it, sir!?”
Almond paused, then declared, “Our ultimate goal is to invade the invaders.”
“!”
— Damn
— This is it
— Like a Manchu conquest moment
— Ambitious as hell
— True big-corporate vibes
The Knights were awestruck, their eyes shining.
“Wow...”
“Joining was the right choice.”
“Amazing.”
Then... silence fell.
“?”
Almond said nothing more.
‘That’s it?’
‘The vision is just three lines?’
‘No follow-up?’
Even a basic presentation usually added more, but that was all.
“Applause!” Potato Servant barked and clapped loudly.
Clap clap clap!
The new recruits reluctantly joined in, and Almond exited.
Afterward, Radish Servant sidled up and whispered, “Um, sir. The enemy village coordinates... Do you know exactly where they are?”
He was in charge of preparing for this war, but he didn’t even know the enemy’s location.
Almond claimed to have defeated them before, but never mentioned their location.
“Ah... ahem. Give me a moment.”
“Sir? We need it now to plan the operation.”
Why stall on something so critical?
“I’ll have to rewatch the stream.”
“...”
Almond couldn’t remember.
— LMFAOOOOO
— He forgot!?
— No way
— He doesn’t even know where it is???
— At least we’ll get a highlight replay