Chapter 111: Education Stream (5)
The air was humid and the ground was sticky. The swamp was tiring to even walk through. It was hell for people to travel through here.
Chirp, chirp, chirp. Chirp!
It was the ideal location for the birds in the sky to build nests and raise their babies. The mothers could freely roam around the swamp and find worms to feed their babies.
But then…
Tang!
Loud gunfire shook the ears of these tiny creatures.
Flap!
Feathers flew everywhere as the mothers flew up and worms fell from the sky.
Shaaak!
The trees shook as countless birds resting on top flew away.
[Bubblegum -> toalf98]
[Eliminated!]
[41/100]
"Yes!"
Bubblegum's loud shout was heard through the cries of the birds. He made a fist in excitement. It was hard to believe this was the same person who acted cowardly earlier in the Arsenal.
— Trending! Bubblegum's confidence!
— Satisfaction +1
— So adorable!
The viewers could also tell he was gaining confidence as they watched his chubby avatar bouncing happily.
"Alright, let's go farm the medical equipment."
Now that all the opponents were dead, farming was the only thing left to do.
***
Almond told Bubblegum as he handed him the medical equipment, "You saw it, right? This is how to farm medical equipment after starting from the Arsenal."
— ???
— Sorry?
— That's not farming...
The chat was filled with question marks, but Bubblegum reacted differently.
"... Everyone," Bubblegum said something to his audience and seriously stared at the medical equipment that Almond handed to him. "I'm going to grow up into Almond."
— LOL
— Hahahaha
— You're 40 already. When are you going to turn into him? LOL
— Bubblegum (40) career goal: Almond
— I think you should be a walnut instead ^^
Either Bubblegum's commitment was effective or Almond's teaching worked because the two went on a killing spree and survived until the end.
[Wow! Congratulations!]
[1st]
Bubblegum pulled through his 0.4% win rate and won.
— Nooooo!
— 0.04%! 0.04%! 0.04%! 0.04%!
— Where's our Bubblegum?
— Give back Bubblegum, Almond you devil!
— How's this possible!? How can Bubblegum win?!
— I can't believe this!
***
"Phew!"
Bubblegum shouted after arriving in the waiting lobby as if holding it in, "I-I got first, everyone! And I was alive too!"
Bubblegum had previous experiences of winning, but he usually died in the process and was carried to the end. This was the first time he made it alive.
In Battle Large, a player had to be alive for the victory to count, even in squad matches. That was how Bubblegum maintained his impressive(?) win rate, but Almond managed to keep Bubblegum alive to their victory.
"Wowww!" Bubblegum was screaming excitedly because it had been a while since he got first.
[BubbleX3 has donated 10,000 won!]
[??? I can't be carried on a bus? Then we'll take a plane! Wahahaha!]
— Bubblegum the carry-master.
— More like carried-master.
— He brought a pilot instead of a bus driver. LOL
— How's the Boeing 747?
— This is basically first class…
No one thought Bubblegum won with his skills.
"Thank you, BubbleX3. That question mark isn't me, right? Wahaha!"
Of course, Bubblegum didn't care. He was used to being treated like this. In reality, it was true that Almond carried Bubblegum to their victory. The only thing Bubblegum did was snipe easy targets at the right time.
[Angel has donated 5000 won.]
[No, you did good too, Bubblegum! You got some nice sniper shots!]
"Thank you, Angel. You live up to your username. Preach the truth."
— Get rid of the traitor!
— A true angel.
— Isn't he making fun of him?
— It means he's that good…
[YesYes has donated 1000 won.]
[You're right, Bubblegum. You did well too! So how about playing solo queue and destroying bronze players now?]
"Uh, why's the donation message not working? The texts don't show up either..."
Bubblegum ignored the last donation message. There was no way he was ever going to destroy other bronze players. It'd be impossible even if he poured in 72 hours of gameplay.
"Alright, everyone!"
Clap!
He clapped to get everyone's attention and pointed to Almond standing beside him.
"But let's give it up for Almond!? He showed us some unbelievable gameplay today!"
— Clap clap clap!
— (An excited cheer.)
— We were clapping for Almond the whole time.
— Almond was crazy tonight!
Bubblegum thanked Almond as well, "Thank you, Teacher. I never thought I'd get first. Let alone be alive for it as well. I'm really glad."
Almond nodded with a smile, "Bubblegum, you were better than I thought."
"Right?!" Bubblegum pointed at the chat as if tattling to his mother, "But those guys always say mean things to me!"
— Cause you're bad!
— U r bad.
— Almond, you're a traitor? Get him!
"It's because you didn't know how to play properly all this time."
"You heard that!? He says it's because I didn't know better!"
— Boooo!
— Fu.
— So bad so bad so bad…?
— I can't hear you ~~~
The viewers ignored him, but Bubblegum continued to ask Almond excitedly, "If I try now, how far do you think I can go up? Teacher."
"Hmm..."
"Gold...?"
Since Almond complimented him, surely he'd say at least gold. If Bubblegum was a little more greedy, maybe platinum?
Bubblegum asked him again, "Platinum...?"
— Stop saying nonsense.
— Breaking news: Bubblegum is finally insane.
— Let's be honest here.
— Even if Almond were his duo, he wouldn't be able to reach platinum.
"But I think it depends on how much effort you put in?"
"What if I try really really hard? Like I practice every day like a pro!"
"Ah, then..."
Bubblegum nodded and excitedly waited for a grand answer.
"I think you'll stay bronze at least."
A moment of silence.
"...?"
It was a grand answer, but Bubblegum stood still like he had a concussion.
— LOL
— Even with all that practice = bronze.
— Oh no…?
— LOL
— Look at his face LOL
— Bronze, no matter what.
— Forever bronze.
This clip became popular and was titled "Forever Bronze". It was brought up every time Bubblegum was acting a little cocky.
***
A sharp eye, professional glasses, and a well-maintained mustache. The man who looked like he was smiling was none other than Park Sung-Tae.
"Hahaha!"
He hadn't laughed like that in a long time.
"Bronze."
It wasn't the word itself, but how Almond said it that humored him. He was truly being honest without a hint of dishonesty, which caused pure emotional damage.
"He could've said gold, but this is pretty funny."
Park Sung-Tae put his glasses back on after they fell from laughter.
"I was worried for nothing."
Park Sung-Tae had a lot of worries about today's stream. He wasn't worried about Almond's skills. They were the best. The x-factor was his lack of experience.
'I thought he wouldn't be able to handle unforeseen situations.'
A lack of experience meant it'd be harder for Almond to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Especially for a streamer, the danger factors were greater.
If Park Sung-Tae was asked if Almond's coaching content would succeed, he would’ve answered no.
However...
"He's changed my thinking."
After watching today's stream, Park Sung-Tae changed his mind. Almond wasn't just good at games. He was also skilled in streaming.
He didn't get carried away despite powering through the game and gave Bubblegum opportunities throughout. He kept thinking about the stream throughout the game.
He wasn't simply trying to win. He was trying to help Bubblegum win. Almond always kept this rule. Even when he could take the easy way out, he continued going through the trouble to give Bubblegum opportunities.
'He knew his role.'
Park Sung-Tae felt relaxed watching Almond's stream because Almond knew his role. He knew he was a guest of Bubblegum, who was the host. He perfectly understood this.
There were cases where the guest spoke more than the host or tried to outshine them, especially the newer streamers who were eager to impress. They acted this way snobbishly and thought it was the smart thing to do. Most of them regretted it when they looked back.
'Almond knew his role perfectly as a guest and knew what to do in the stream. Was it because he's watched a lot of Bubblegum's streams in the past?'?
Almond left all the talking to Bubblegum and focused on coaching. It wasn't because he wasn't greedy. He fully understood the stream's purpose.
'I heard he had good social skills. He sure is different.'
He drastically differed from streamers who did nothing but play games in their room. Park Sung-Tae nodded as if he was satisfied and read a message.
[Punk Manager Oh: So are you going to do it or not? I think it's a good idea]
Park Sung-Tae was waiting until today to respond. He typed a message, erased it, then shook his head. He placed his thumb on the call button.
"Ah, Manager Oh. Let's do it."
***
Almond and Bubblegum continued playing. Surprisingly, they were able to promote to Silver.
— Wow! Bubblegum won!
— This quickly?
— That's crazy
— Someone who got platinum 3 from the beginning sure is different.
— Woah, but I think Bubblegum actually improved.
Their results were so impressive that the AI system placed them automatically into Silver. They skipped Silver V and went straight to Silver IV.
This resulted in Bubblegum gaining confidence in his skills and Almond learning to adapt to him.
"Wow... everyone! Look where I'm at!"
Bubblegum mocked his viewers after being told he would barely make it to Silver. He was joking, but his happiness seemed genuine.
"Thank you so much, Teacher! It was so fun!"
"Yes, it was an honor for me to play alongside you as a fan of Bubblegum."
"Can I ask you to carry me to Gold too?"
— Hey! What's wrong with you?!
— Who are you! Filled with greed!
— LOL
The viewers scolded Bubblegum's rude question, but their anger was always subdued quickly.
"No, that seems too greedy."
— LOL
— You use bows, but your personality is like a knife.
— Hahahaha
— Almond: Gold is too much for Bubblegum.
"Ah...! I-It's a shame. Wahaha!"
Almond's coaching session was successful even though it went differently than intended.
— Huh? But wasn't the point of this to watch Almond suffer?
— Where's Almond's suffering!
— What happened to genius gamer vs. genius streamer? LOL
— The genius gamer won.
— Hey... beating Bubblegum's stream? Not bad.
— Wow, you're able to resist this? Stream x500!
And just before the stream ended, Bubblegum gave a special offer.
"Almond, do you play LIL?"
"Ah, no, I've never tried that..."
"Do you want to try playing with me next time?"
"Sorry?"
"Let's team up again! This time, I'll teach you!"