Season 4: Chapter 191. Boston Tea Party (3)
Shrrrk.
Sang-Hyeon’s capsule opened, and he pushed himself up.
“Hooo.” He exhaled and looked out the window.
The bubble insulation blurred the view, but it was clearly night. He had been inside for a long time.
‘It’s almost wrapped up now.’
He had no idea what was happening in Paprika Mine or Cheese Village. With a light stretch, he allowed himself a complacent thought.
‘Next time, I need a healing session.’
He assumed that the colony system would be fully established the next time he logged in, and everything would run peacefully.
‘Fishing, camping...’
Even if it was only inside the game, the thought excited him. Some would call him foolish, but he couldn’t help it.
‘I’ve barely ever gone anywhere.’
Sang-Hyeon had never gone fishing or camping with friends. Truthfully, he rarely traveled for leisure at all. As an adult, the only trip he’d taken was to Japan for the Civil Empire tournament.
In school, the only excursion he ever went on was the class trip. Even then, he had skipped parts of it and felt guilty about leaving his grandmother. The same went for group activities with the archery team. He hardly ever joined any of them.
One memory lingered vividly. One time, he had heard that some kids went camping together like Boy Scouts. He hadn’t gone, but the details stayed with him because he had listened to someone chatter about it endlessly.
“You should’ve come. It was way more fun than I expected, even inside the tent. And the campfire was just...”
Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, buzzing with excitement.
He regretted it back then.
“Next time, maybe you and I... No, I mean... uhm...”
She wanted to invite him along, but couldn’t bring herself to say it clearly since she understood his circumstances. If only she had, no, he should have just gone.
‘I should’ve worked a part-time job or something.’
Now, the money didn’t matter. He regretted losing time that he couldn’t get back. If he had known such moments could never be repeated, he would have found a way to be there. At least, they had gone to the beach once. That was something.
Shwaaash.
The crashing white waves... The memory swept forward with them.
“What are you doing? Come on, dip your feet in.”
She brushed her salt-damp hair back with a laugh.
“Seriously? You came all the way here just to act proper? When are we ever coming back?”
In the hazy replay, her pouty face stared back at him.
‘Right... no more acting proper.’
Inside the capsule, Sang-Hyeon nodded. His long hair, grown out over time, fell over his eyes.
Someone called him from behind. “You done? What are you doing, not coming out?”
Ju-Hyeok leaned into the room with his chair back. Sang-Hyeon glanced out the window.
‘Oh. That...’
Something caught his eye.
When Ju-Hyeok first came over, it had also been winter. The bubble insulation Sang-Hyeon had stuck up back then was still there.
“Hey, Ju-Hyeok. Uh...”
“Hm?”
“Shouldn’t we take that off? It’s warm now.”
“Oh, that’s still there? Wow.” Ju-Hyeok chuckled as he walked closer. “I remember. I was freezing that day and stuck insulation everywhere.”
They had forgotten to remove it since Ju-Hyeok rarely stepped into the capsule room.
“So, um... this might sound weird, but...” Sang-Hyeon spoke cautiously as Ju-Hyeok began peeling away the plastic.
“Just say it. You’re pretty good at saying weird things anyway.”
“That’s unintentional.”
“That’s worse, idiot.”
“Anyway, have you ever gone camping with Ji-Ah before? Just you two?”
Ju-Hyeok froze. “No? Why?”
It was such an un-Sang-Hyeon-like question. Ju-Hyeok eyed him, puzzled. Now that he looked closer, the guy’s expression looked really strange.
“What, you seeing someone? No, wait. You never even had time for dating. Don’t tell me... Someone from the Survival Craft!? Who is it? Black Tea? Lemon?”
“What? No, that’s not it.” Sang-Hyeon stared, dumbfounded by the wild leap.
All he wanted was a yes or no about camping.
“Then, why ask?”
“No reason. Just... never mind.” He turned his head away.
‘I shouldn’t invite myself...’
Surprisingly enough, Sang-Hyeon did have social awareness. If Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah had gone camping before, he could have asked to join. Since they hadn’t, it felt like barging in uninvited.
Ju-Hyeok cleanly ripped down the insulation.
Rriiip.
“Let’s go camping, then,” he casually said as if it were nothing.
“What?” Sang-Hyeon stared at him, startled.
“A MixedNuts camping trip for bonding.”
“Bonding... camping?”
“Let’s invite with Macaron and BornToB too. After we’re done with all this.”
Of course, it hadn’t even occurred to Sang-Hyeon. MixedNuts had more members now. They didn’t need to go as three, but many more.
“But... we’ve never even met Macaron in person.”
“Well... we’ll have to convince them somehow.”
It wouldn’t be easy.
‘Wow.’
A smile stretched across Sang-Hyeon’s lips.
‘That sounds fun.’
The window, which had been hazy and bubbled over, was now clear. They were ready for summer.
***
Meanwhile, in Paprika Mine...
“Flip it alllll over!”
“Wraaaaaaah!!”
Kwabang!
Dozens of Worker rafts plunged into the lava.
“Wh-What the!”
“What happened!?”
Miners swarmed in with raised pickaxes. At the front stood Zelu, clutching a block of lava in his hand.
“A non-Miner dares to enter our sacred mine!?”
A Miner who reached tier three gained immunity to lava and could even solidify it into blocks. If the Workers had really been Miners, they wouldn’t be dying in the lava.
“Scatter it!”
Chiiiiiiiiik...!
But they were fakes.
“Aaaargh!”
The rafts melted in. Forcing the Paprika residents to mine constantly had raised their Miner levels far too high. Now, this had come back to haunt the Order.
“We’ll show them the strength of Miners!”
They possessed overwhelming strength. The efficient system had made them mine nonstop, which made them more powerful.
“Ch-Chakra is rising through me!!”
The viewers loved an underdog revolt.
— LOL let’s go!
— Finally lol
— Wipe them all out
— LMAO
— Legendary hahaha
— So this is how it ends
All the repressed fury burst out, and a reversal of ranks occurred. Rageful war cries echoed out.
“Die, you bastards!!”
It was a pure dopamine storm.
— \o/
— \o/\o/\o/
— Gather the spirit bomb!
— \o/\o/\o/\o/\o/
— \o/\o/
Viewers flooded in as always, and donations poured in for the Paprika streamers.
Ding!
[PowerForce has donated 10,000 won.]
[Let’s show them for real this time!]
Ding!
[Chance has donated 10,000 won.]
[This is our only chance while the Lord isn’t here LOL \o/]
Ding!
[ZeluLover has donated 10,000 won.]
[Just once! Team Rocket, let’s succeed just once!]
...
Everyone’s wishes gathered into one surge of countless buffs.
[Random Buff Generated!]
[Random Buff Generated!]
[Random Buff Generated!]
...
“Ooooh...! The ch-chakra!”
“This is infinite chakra, Zelu!”
— What the hell? lmao
— Chakra?? I can’t! LOL
— lmao
— He got cracked, holy
An aura flowed over the Miners. Their attack, defense, and speed... Every stat soared. The Worker Knights, armed with Obsidian gear, couldn’t keep up.
“Kghhk!”
Kaang!
A single swing from a pickaxe cleanly shattered a helmet.
“Gack!”
— Bro, what lol
— The impact sounds insane
— I’m crying
— KAAAANG~ LOL
— Listen to that hit
Thud.
Zelu planted his foot on the broken helmet. “Behold, these bloated pigs of capitalism!”
Chak.
He raised the lava block high above his head. “They don’t even have blisters on their feet. They can’t even touch lava!”
— Goddamn
— Peak miner dopamine
— BLISTERS LMAO
“These soft, pampered swine have been raising us like livestock! But now!”
He activated a skill only the Blacksmith of Hell could wield.
[Hell Tempering]
Fwoooosh!
Black flames spiraled around Zelu.
“Now, we raise them. As the heavens intended.”
Something enormous formed above.
— ?
— no way lol
— LMAO
— what IS that?
The massive blacksmith hammer looked as if it had been forged in hell itself. Against that colossal force, the Knights could only scream for Almond.
“L-Loooorrrrdddd!”
“You beasts. Bark.” Zelu spat out the words as if they meant nothing.
Kaang!
The hammer slammed down.
KWAARAAAAAAAAANG!!!
The earth split open with a roar, and pillars of crimson magma burst up.
— HOLYYYYYY
— Peak cinematic
— lol I’m done
— CHAOS
— INSANE
— No wonder this stream has two hundred thousand viewers
— God Tier
Chiiiiii...
When the magma receded, red mineral deposits glimmered on the ground. Those struck had been compacted into glowing human ore that could only be refined in hell. It glowed the color of blood.
[Hellsteel]
The Paprika residents widened their eyes.
“What... what is that?!”
“That’s insane...”
Then, cheers erupted.
“WOOOOOOOOOO!!”
They united with a single chant.
“Zeluto! Zeluto!”
“Zeluto, you’re our village’s hero!!”
— Actually insane
— Why is he a Paprika citizen now? LMAO
— BROOO
— This skill is busted???
— He could fight the Guardian at this rate...
***
The next morning, bright sunlight woke Sang-Hyeon up.
“Mmh...”
With half-opened eyes, he pushed himself up and stretched.
“Huuaaaaah...”
A few lazy stretches shook off the sleep, and he stepped out of his room with a grin.
‘Maybe today.’
He felt like today would finally be the day he could fish in Survival Craft. Everything was nearly settled now.
“Uh, y-you’re up?” Ju-Hyeok was already sitting at the table.
Strange, he was never awake this early.
“You’re up early?”
“Ah, well...” Ju-Hyeok averted his gaze.
‘He didn’t sleep...’
Ju-Hyeok already knew about what had happened last night in Survival Craft. Sang-Hyeon, who had no idea, grabbed a bowl and sat across from him as bright as ever.
“I’m gonna fish today. Maybe camp too.” He looked forward to playing with pure expectations.
“With... who?”
“Oh, the Servant Duo and the others. A practice trip before the real one, you know?”
‘Ha.’
Even though Ju-Hyeok knew that camping practice inside a game sounded ridiculous, he forced out a hollow laugh. “Aha... hahaha...”
“Huh?” Fortunately, Sang-Hyeon wasn’t the type to notice.
He only tilted his head once, then continued eating cereal.
Crunch. Crunch.
Meanwhile, a notification dropped on the official Cheese Village YouTube channel.
Ding.
[Cheese Craft Ep. 4: The Knights]
[Premiering in 1 hour!]
***
After scheduling the video, PD Jang clapped.
Clap. Clap.
“Good work, team! Head home. Tomorrow’s the real day, you know?”
“Uh... PD Jang, what exactly is tomorrow? We’ve pulled so many all-nighters, I forgot what day it is...” Park Oh-Hoon said like a zombie.
PD Jang scratched his head. “I dunno. Just sleep for seven hours and come back!”
“Wow...”
“Industrial revolution hours, huh...”
“Booooo!”
Groans filled the room. Their workload was brutal, but justified because today mattered.
“I’ll... give you all a bonus!” Even PD Jang, the stingiest of all, said this aloud.
“WOOOOOOOO!!”
“PREMIUM BBQ! COMPANY DINNER!”
“LET’S GO!!”
Strength returned to the exhausted staff like magic.
“Premium BBQ... I’ll... consider it!”
Even then, PD Jang wouldn’t promise it fully. However, the fact that he considered it meant that today was monumental.
‘The embargo lifts today.’
Only the team leads knew this. Starting with this episode, the streamer embargo would be removed. Cheese Village residents would finally be able to watch Cheese Craft.
‘No one knows what chaos will follow.’
Viewership would skyrocket, but inside the server? No one could predict how violently it might explode.