Season 4: Chapter 152. Hidden Class (2)
Almond actually hadn’t planned to shoot anyone after Orange. He just wanted Orange. Not only because of what Orange had done, but because pretending to know nothing made him even more detestable. Almond couldn’t help it. His fingers drew the bow and arrow on their own.
Thunk...!
He kept firing despite knowing that his arrows couldn’t pierce Orange’s armor.
Thunk...!
‘It’s kind of addictive.’
More than anything, Orange’s reactions were perfect.
“Argh!”
“W-Why me?!”
“What is your problem?!”
Watching Orange tumble and roll thrilled Almond.
Thunk...!
Entranced, he let loose another arrow.
Thud!
— ?
— What’s he doing? lol
— Do his arrows never run out?
— LMAO
— Why shoot when he’s prone?
— Just teabagging~ hahaha
Viewers didn’t know the deeper grudge between them. They just thought Almond was toying with an enemy.
“I’m Orange... huff!”
Boom!
Someone noticed when Almond ignored the other Paprika members standing up and instantly fired when Orange rose.
— Why only Orange? lol
— Pretty sure it’s because Orange spread those flyers about him hahaha
— The pettiest vendetta ever...
They could only guess that it had to do with the wanted flyers with Almond’s face.
‘Even I wouldn’t go this far over flyers.’
Almond felt wronged. What did they take him for, that he would kill someone over leaflets?
“I’m only shooting him because he’s clearly in my angle.”
— ?
— Huh?
— LOL cap mode on
— Says the guy who creates angles out of thin air
— Orange’s head is just punchable tbh
— The color pops, to be fair
The viewers still weren’t entirely convinced. Luckily, Orange’s giant head was orange and so attention-grabbing that the chat let it slide.
Then, a bigger distraction hijacked the stream. Paprika had seemingly surrendered... only for a brawl to erupt between them and the Knights.
“Oh? They’re fighting?”
— You shot first, dude hahaha
— Starts the fight → “They’re fighting?” lol
— Come on
— They’re fighting because you killed someone...
— (Punches super hard) “Why are you crying?”
“They pretended to surrender and jumped us again. Negotiations are off.” Almond drew his bow once more.
Creak.
— When were there negotiations?!
— What is this guy’s brain like? lol
— Warning: Do not attempt to follow a Nuttilion’s reasoning...
— Negotiations << killing Orange hahaha
Ignoring the scolding, Almond kept shooting.
Boom!
Black Pepper fell.
At that moment, Almond’s body began to glow.
[Hidden Class requirement fulfilled!]
— Huh?
— Uh??
— Wait, what??
[Invaders defeated: 70/70]
Vwoooom!
The hidden-class condition had been met.
“Oh?”
Only the admins could see the condition, so no one had expected it.
Almond seized the moment as if he had planned it all along. “Requirement achieved~”
— LOL what
— hahahahahaha how is it like this?
— The galaxy brain plan...
— What is happening?
— “Requirement achieved~” lmao
— He’s destined to become a Guardian!? He’s destined to become a Guardian!?
— How did he know??
— Lord Almond! Lord Almond!
Ding.
[RubySword has donated 30,000 won.]
[Gasp. How did you know?]
“Thank you, RubySword.” Almond said nothing more.
— No really, how did you know, Nuttilion
— He didn’t, he lucked into it lol
— He has no clue hahaha
Ding.
[MockTone has donated 3,000 won.]
[I don’t knooow! I know nothing, you fools!]
— HAHAHAHA truly
— That voice killed me
— lol
— He really doesn’t know hahaha
While viewers pressed him for answers, Almond ignored them and opened the Guardian class description. Everyone’s attention snapped to the screen. How could they not?
==== ====
Guardian
Long ago, four guardian spirits protected the village: the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. As humanity grew worldly, these sacred beings waned. Thus, they chose to manifest their strength through a human Guardian.
The Guardian wields the combined power of those four to protect the village when danger looms...
==== ====
“That’s... quite long.”
The preface went on forever.
— Is this a terms-of-service wall lol
— So wordy hahaha
— Unhinged TMI
— Did someone just write whatever came to mind?
— Wait, you can use all four sacred beasts? That smells busted.
— Who wrote this? lmao
Almond scrolled past the wall of text and went straight to the choices.
[Would you like to advance to Guardian?]
[Once you advance, you cannot go back.]
Hidden classes were permanent. Once chosen, he had to walk that path. Could there be anything greater than Guardian? Almond didn’t think so.
[Yes]
Without hesitation, he accepted.
Rumble!
A blinding white bolt struck down from the sky like lightning.
KWOOOOM!
The beam thickened, swelling into a massive pillar like one from a temple.
“What the... what is that?”
“Holy...”
“Unreal. Is this some kind of event!?”
“No way, that’s where the Knight battle is happening, isn’t it!?”
Everyone in Cheese Village looked toward the sky. It was too dazzling, like a laser show, to ignore.
“What in the world...?”
One by one, villagers drifted toward the pillar. In reality, they would’ve fled in fear. However, they moved closer instead as villagers in the game, eager to witness this spectacle up close.
“Wh... What? It’s splitting?”
The massive pillar split into four. The four beams of light shot out to the east, west, south, and north.
BOOOOM!
“Ghhkk!”
“W-What the hell is this?!”
Anyone touched by the beams collapsed to the ground. Then, each column briefly took form as the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise before vanishing.
— Wow
— That was insane lol
— The day Almond was born, the heavens split open...
— This is nuts hahaha
— God-tier moment
— When Almond was born, the nurse cried triumphantly.
— So this is a legendary class, holy crap
— Wow
What was the greatest reward for a streamer? Of course, it was attention and the spotlight. The developers had ensured that anyone who earned a legendary class through persistence would receive that spotlight.
“Unbelievable. It actually came out.”
Mozzarella and Camebert stared at the sky, speechless. This was never supposed to happen so soon. The Guardian class was meant to appear after multiple invasions. A hero would only be born after Cheese Village had suffered long battles and desperate struggles.
Who could have predicted someone would march straight into an invader’s village and massacre over fifty of them from the very start?
“The birth of a slaughterer,” Mozzarella muttered.
The meaning had warped completely.
“Someone once said, a hero and a demon king might be the same thing.”
***
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Black Pepper and Orange had fallen. Paprika kept fighting against the Knights. With their strong gear and skills, they weren’t just holding out. They were starting to turn the tide and slowly regaining momentum. Why?
— \o/\o/\o/
— Let’s go Paprika!! Hahaha
— \o/\o/
— Show them the power of your wallets, boys~
— \o/\o/\o/\o/
— \o/\o/
Paprika’s viewers began donating.
[10,000 won donation grants a random buff!]
[10,000 won donation grants a random buff!]
[10,000 won donation grants a random buff!]
Crackle!
Their Obsidian blades, now enveloped in buff effects, struck with deadly force.
“Monkey down!”
“Another monkey down!”
“You weaklings! Hahaha!”
The servant and lackey knight squads fell one by one. They had always been the weakest of the Knights. Against freshly buffed Paprika elites, Cheese’s forces didn’t have enough support.
— Perfect class division lol
— Poor monkeys...
— \o/\o/
— Stay strong, Lackey ForeverAlone!
— Our last hope is the servants...
— Even buffing won’t save them now...
Lackey ForeverAlone and Maid Black Tea fought hard while the bard, Cocolackey, drummed from behind.
Thoom! Boom!
Cocolackey’s music boosted the Knights’ offense and defense while Lackey ForeverAlone and Maid Black Tea held the front.
However, obsidian equipment simply possessed an overwhelming advantage.
Shluk!
‘Huh?’
A blade shattered Lackey ForeverAlone’s iron armor and pierced his abdomen.
[HP: 5%]
— Oh shit
— Noo Gi-Chan~!
— Damn...
— No way...
Potato Servant rushed in, cut down the attacker, and cried out in anguish, “Noooo!”
Lackey ForeverAlone staggered and collapsed. He fell into Severe Bleeding with Dizziness piling on. Donations poured in to save him.
[SometimeSolo has donated 10,000 won!]
[Please!]
[IamSolo has donated 10,000 won!]
[\o/ Spirit Bomb incoming!!]
[MostSolo has donated 10,000 won!]
[Live. That’s an order.]
Survival Craft was brutal. Once armor broke, even minor wounds meant death. Unless a buff removed all status effects, ForeverAlone’s fate was sealed. Attack speed and movement buffs were all pointless now.
“Dammit! Dammit! My junior!!!” Potato Servant cradled the fallen Lackey ForeverAlone and sobbed.
“Se... Senior... I...”
— What are these guys doing? hahaha
— Is this the Korean War? Lol
— Why so tragic? lmao
“I still had so much work for you!!!”
“?”
— ?
— ??
— WTF hahaha
— LMAO
As ForeverAlone died, Maid Black Tea screamed from nearby, “Aaaarghhh! Die! Die, you fungus!!”
Boom!
She was forced back too, battered by Parsley’s deadly flanking strikes.
[HP: 15%]
“Dammit! Nonghyup, are you just going to watch!? Are you that desperate to pay taxes!?”
Her dying words were curses toward the Nonghyup.
— HAHAHAHA still hating the Nonghyup to the end
— Nonghyup hater lol
— Hell hath no fury like a fan betrayed hahaha
— Traitor farmers TT
Maid Black Tea seemed doomed.
“Huh?”
Behind Parsley, a strange light burst.
“What now?”
“Not falling for it!”
“No, it’s real!”
Parsley turned and saw it. A bizarre pillar of light crashed down, splitting into four beams that streaked across the land.
KRRAAAASH!
Something came streaking in and blazed like lightning. All he recalled seeing were scattering red feathers, the scorching heat, and flames.
“A... A dragon?”
No.
Whoooosh!!
[Runway of the Vermilion Bird]
It looked like a phoenix. The Vermilion Bird swept across the battlefield, turning everything white-hot.
KWAAAAHHH!!
Explosions roared as pillars of fire erupted in every direction.
Even Almond, far off in the distance, felt shocked. “Whoa.”
It had been just a single skill, a simple arrow shot. The result was staggering.
“What... is this?”
Ba-bam!
[WTFisThis has donated 100,000 won!]
[That cannot be real.]
— LOL exactly
— Why give him something like this...?
— This is insane hahaha
— For balance, lock this behind a wall for a while lmao