Chapter 187: New Challenger (1)
A certain location was hell for some people and heaven for some.
[LIL Pro]
It was the biggest LIL community, LIL Pro.
[From today onwards, master and silver are synonymous. Please keep it in mind when using the words.]
[I got a stroke while watching Almond's stream. Can I use my insurance for this?]
[Mom! I want to be Almond when I grow up!]
Master and silver were used synonymously.
— What's wrong with GreenTea?
└ Don't be so harsh on him. Master = silver, remember?
— They lost because they screwed up the invade, no?
└ GreenTea was the one who commanded the invade, LOL.
└ Isn't that where Almond shined the most? The invade was almost a success before Almond hit back.
Most users blamed GreenTea's mistakes.
— Honestly, there's no excuse for a master tier player to lose to a silver player.
└ That's why master = silver.
└ What's a master?
— LMAO. First StrawberryShooter, now GreenTea. No one's a master anymore!
└ For real.
└ They just can't admit Almond is better than a master player...
— Honestly, Almond is around challenger tier.
└ Stfu.
└ Yeah, good one.
└ There are always going to be haters.
└ Shut your mouth.
A group of people now thought Almond was better than Master tier. Since he proved himself not only once but twice, it was understandable. Even StrawberryShooter was proving his skills as a jungler.
[I'll explain why Almond is a challenger for you guys.]
Meanwhile, there was a post with that provocative title.
[Almond is challenger tier.
I'll show you why.
In Dragon Ball, how do the characters fight the weaker opponents?
With one hand, that's how!
That's right!
This is like the comics we're used to! It's when the strong overpower the weak!
Almond is like that as well! Look carefully. Almond played Ran using only one hand. Every time he takes a shot, he's had his right hand in his pocket!]
In a post written with a concept that seemed to have very intense eyebrows, there were several clips of Almond's Ran gameplay. Each one showcased his ability to handle everything with just one hand. And not just any hand, but all with his left hand.
— ????
— For real?
— They probably edited the footage.
└ True!
└ No, take a look at OrangeKing's stream.
— Wow, he has his hand in his pocket??
└ Is he attacking their mentality as well?!
— They must've watched the match on a different stream. Watch it from OrangeKing's channel.
└ I just came back from watching that. That's crazy.
— They were talking about that in Almond's stream as well. It just wasn't highlighted as much.
└ Almond was so focused on using one hand he didn't read the chat…
There were many skeptics initially, but it was confirmed to be true with a series of reports in the comments. In fact, it was so blatantly evident to anyone with eyes that this was the truth. Thus, the post quickly moved to the Big Pro board. However, that post was not the original, but a reorganized version.
[Big ???: I don't even need my right hand for you! Kyokyokyo!]
That was the title of the post.
— I posted the exact same thing a couple of minutes before him. Why did his post reach big pro, and mine didn't... I'm so upset I can't even sleep...
└ Bro, it's 7 PM, of course, you can't sleep...
└ LOL
└ The craziest thing is it's true. He stole his post.
└ Who told you to write it so corny?
There were other comments about the original poster, but the topic was Almond's potential growth.
— Wow, this guy is something else.
— The pistol is badass.
— I've never seen anyone use Ran using one hand.
— His concentration level must be insane.
└ He has the highest unofficial VNS score
└ Judging by his score, of course.
— No one uses Ran like that because it's so hard to synchronize with their brain. But he's able to do it with one hand???
— And with perfect aim too!
— He's not even left-handed. He's right-handed...
└ For real??
└ For real.
The shock was greater when videos of Almond being right-handed surfaced.
[Almond needs to stop messing around and start playing ranked right away. Silver doesn't make sense.]
[Wow, then do Balloon Stars have two masters?]
[Master = Silver's left hand]
[He's right-handed but has his right hand in his pocket?]
[Is he from the Saiyan Planet? Why is he hiding his power?]
[GreenTea lost without getting Almond to take his right hand out?!]
"... Dammit!"
Pung.
GreenTea kicked a weird-looking doll in This World.
"Why did he play using only one hand?! Huh?! What's he getting at?!"
"Hey, I told you. Don't look at the community. Who cares if he's using one or two hands?"
"But... but! Losing to a guy using only one hand makes... no sense!"
GreenTea grunted and yelled at his teammate trying to calm him down. However, he was already losing it. It often happened for LIL players. There were several famous quotes about what would happen if five players gathered.
"Why are you getting angry after losing? Just call it a mistake and move on."
"Yeah, it's my fault I even took a look at something like this."
While his teammates barely calmed him down, Pickle said something while picking his nose. He was the player who played as the giant machine.
"You're not wrong."
"... What?"
GreenTea didn't understand what he was saying at first.
"You're not wrong. You lost to a Silver with one hand."
"..."
There was a moment of silence in This World for a moment. Meanwhile, the chat scrolled quickly upwards.
— LOOOOL
— Shut up, your cucumber!
— Mom, take the Pickle out! Mom, take the Pickle out!
— You guys lost because of you!
— Wow, that guy is insane.
— Who put the poison inside the cheeseburger…
GreenTea started to turn red.
— He's red tea now!
— Red light, on!
— He's pissed, hahaha.
GreenTea, who turned red, ran like a beast toward Pickle.
"This motherfucker!!!"
Crash!
He bodyslammed into Pickle. The teammates laughed seeing that. If it were reality, people would pull them apart, but since it was This World, it didn't matter. Even if they hit each other, nothing changed. They just looked funny.
"Hey! We lost because of you!"
Punch. Punch. Punch.
Pickle's head swayed back and forth. However, he shrugged as if nothing was happening despite his head spinning.
"How am I supposed to deflect the shots hitting my blind spots? We lost the game because you lost even though you had gold, items, and the level advantage."
"...!"
GreenTea stopped attacking and his fists started shaking. Pickle was right. He was painfully correct. GreenTea wanted to avoid reality.
'... He completely beat me.'
A Master player lost to a Silver player. Now, StrawberryShooter wasn't the only player who lost to a Silver.
'I should message Strawberry.'
He regretted making fun of StrawberryShooter earlier.
***
"Ahahaha! Hey, you were great today!"
"... Really?"
"Yes! If you play ranked, I guarantee you'll get to Challenger."
StrawberryShooter was the happiest person today. He couldn't stand still without smiling.
'Almond is just insanely good?!'
It was finally revealed that Almond was only at the Silver level, but practically had Master level skills. In truth, everyone had some inkling of this before, but it had been difficult to speak openly about it. No matter what was said, losers could always use it as an excuse. However, it seemed like a weight had been lifted off StrawberryShooter’s shoulders. He couldn't have asked for more if Almond won as an ADC against him.
"Haha... Challenger is a stretch..."
Almond was glad to see StrawberryShooter so happy.
'Phew.'
Almond thought it would be difficult for StrawberryShooter to recover his confidence from losing to a Silver player, but he made him feel better unexpectedly. Almond decided he would beat Master and Grandmaster players next.
'Using one hand today... was really risky.'
Almond had to adapt quickly because playing with one hand wasn't planned. He hadn't practiced shooting a pistol using one hand. Almond just mimicked what he had seen.
'There's a lot of similarities with shooting a bow.'
He looked down at his left hand and scratched his head. Because his archery seniors criticized shooting (so did he), he couldn't learn much at the time. Since there were so many similarities, he could mimic it to a certain extent.
'They like it when I put my hand in my pocket.'
One of the reasons he thought it was a good idea to observe his shooting form at that time was because of people's reactions. In reality, putting his hand in his pocket was a much more stable form, but it seemed like people perceived it as a performance. It appeared stimulating to the eye, yet in actual shooting, it provided stability. Wasn't it a win-win situation?
Miho, following the community's reactions, burst into laughter.
"Oppa, you told me our strategy today was to make me the carry, but Almond carried us again in the end."
She was talking to Tako and lightly making fun of him.
"Ahem..."
"I think you screwed up the strategy~."
"Ahem. That's not it!"
Tako was torn between whether he should've liked it or not. Team coaching was more akin to bodybuilding than powerlifting. Powerlifting focused solely on lifting heavy weights, whereas bodybuilding prioritized delivering full stimulation to the targeted muscles even with lighter weights. Bodybuilding was generally what ordinary people did in fitness. It was the most effective way to build muscles.
'Now is supposed to be the time to train...'
Almond winning the game was more akin to powerlifting. He focused solely on lifting the weight without paying attention to proper muscle activation and posture, which would effectively strengthen the team. Continuously relying on Almond in this way, just lifting the weight, could result in an imbalanced body with one arm disproportionately larger than the other. Although lifting heavier weights in the short term was possible, it would eventually lead to significant problems.
'Am I being too serious?'
The in-house tournament was neither a professional game nor a competitive endeavor. It was meant to be enjoyed while striving for victory and success according to one's skill level. Tako seemed to have unintentionally become overly immersed in this content. It was even noticeable to himself, making him appear even stranger in the eyes of others. He appeared to need a moment to calm down. This excessive immersion could have been because of that guy, Almond. Tako's gaze shifted to Almond.
'He's making me greedy.'
Observing Almond's talent, one couldn't help but feel ambitious as a coach. Perhaps he truly possessed professional-level talent. It wasn't just about physical or in-game abilities. He embodied the mindset of a professional. He practiced every day, endured the same training, and maintained consistent judgment in any situation. It was as if he had been a professional for a long time, exuding a strong sense of professionalism. It was a scent that drove people who couldn't forget their past professional days crazy. The scent was so strong that Tako couldn't be the only one to detect it.
[SweetRadish wants to enter.]
"... SweetRadish?"
SweetRadish had the highest expectations for this tournament and requested to enter their This World channel.
[Will you accept?]
Tako was about to say something...
"Oh, SweetRadish!"
Bubblegum excitedly accepted.
Ping.
SweetRadish appeared out of thin air.
"Ah~~~~ Hello!?" a unique, excited voice shouted.
"Wow, hello. Gum, Tako, Almond, Miho, and Strawberry! Your scrim ended quickly as well!?"
"Wahaha! Yes, that's right! We swept them!" Bubblegum spoke as if he was responsible for their victory, but SweetRadish seemed aware.
"Ah~ We ended early as well."
He had his sights fixed on Almond.
"... Then, do you want to play a quick practice match with us?"
Tako's eyebrows frowned.
'Right now? With the best team?'
He wasn't coming in just to say hi.