Season 2: Chapter 89. A New and Familiar Encounter (2)
Kimchi Warrior was a seasoned and experienced commander. He had fought hundreds of battles as a commander. Although he wasn't at a global level, he was decently ranked within the country and was within the top two hundred in the free battle world rankings.
He was known for his rapid skill improvement. As one could deduce from his ID, this was related to national team matches. Kimchi Warrior himself had never participated in a national team match. Only three commanders from the country participated, and his skills weren't up to that level.
However, he had been involved in a Sink Tank for national team matches. Sink Tanks were like strategic research institutes for national team matches, similar to coaching teams in sports.
Since commanders couldn’t prepare for every possible battle scenario, these Sink Tanks developed strategies and passed them on to the participating commanders.
Kimchi Warrior became quite close with players on national teams and met all kinds of monster players.
Today, he witnessed a player with potential he had never seen before.
"Who is that guy?"
He was referring to the black-haired archer he appointed as the special mission team leader.
"Is this what they call a hero level player? Someone whose combat power can flip the tides of war."
Only that would make sense. The black-haired archer had to be a hero-level player they only heard about in urban legends.
“Gulp,” KimchiWarrior swallowed. "Not bad."
Nationals were approaching. Every single player was valuable given the nature of the Korean server.
It would be wise to keep watching over him even if this person had only been lucky in this one game.
"Let's find out."
Commanders couldn’t directly access information about soldiers in the game, but they could find it through other means if they really tried. Experienced commanders like Kimchi Warrior were especially accustomed to such tasks.
Tadadadadak.
His fingers busily danced on the keyboard.
"Who are you? Please show up."
First, Kimchi Warrior tried searching YouTube based on the player’s appearance. He thought someone of that skill level would surely have a video or two uploaded. Maybe that player was actually an S+ rank or a high-ranker already. It was a mystery to Kimchi Warrior. Why had he never noticed this player before?
‘Does he not like mingling with people?’
This player seemed to be the reclusive expert type. Kimchi Warrior had struggled with recruiting such types in the past.
‘Once, there was a scion of a wealthy family whose hobby was medieval combat.’
The realms of reality and gaming could not collapse together for some people. Even if such players excelled at games, they were reluctant to participate in guild interactions or competitions. Recruiting such people was impossible.
"This guy looks too sophisticated. Is he a third generation wealthy heir or something?"
He prayed that this archer wasn't one of those cases. Otherwise, it would be hopeless.
"Ah... Please..."
A curious result appeared while he waited for the search results.
#Trending 7th
Kimchi Warrior spotted a YouTube video.
"...?"
This video of Civil Empire had an unusually high number of views.
[Japan in awe and the world in shock... (literally)]
"Why did this come up? Is it a search error? An ad?"
Kimchi Warrior thought what popped up was just a recommended video that was occasionally mixed in. He didn’t even seriously view it as a gameplay video with a title like that.
"Damn, I thought I blocked all these patriotic videos. Why is this...?"
He didn't enjoy excessive patriotic videos, so he was about to skip it when...
'Hmm?'
A familiar face caught his attention.
"Why is he here?"
Kimchi Warrior felt confused. The person he searched for prominently appeared in this popular video and even featured as the main character. In fact, the channel belonged to that player.
‘Almond?’
The player turned out to be a streamer named Almond. His in-game nickname was Aalmond.
"How did this happen?"
Kimchi Warrior found it unbelievable that he had been unaware of such a talented streamer until now. Sometimes these things happened.
He decided to send a message.
[KimchiWarrior: Hey, Almond. I didn't realize you were so famous. It was easy to find you thanks to that. By the way, some guys I know are preparing for a national team match. We'd love to have you join us.]
Kimchi Warrior thought the recruitment would be fairly straightforward when he sent the message.
‘Streamers love attention. Surely he'd want to participate in the national team match.’
He was relieved that this was better than the worst-case scenario he imagined involving a third-generation chaebol. He began feeling excited about preparing for the national team match with this archer.
Kimchi Warrior composed the next message with an excited heart.
[KimchiWarrior: Here are the eligibility requirements. You probably already meet them, but I'm just letting you know as a formality. ]
He was unaware that these formal requirements would be an issue.
***
The national team match became a hot topic in Almond's stream.
— Would you participate?
— Are you going to join the national team match!?!?
— That's awesome to represent the nation.
"Of course, I'll participate if I can."
Almond positively responded to their questions about participating in the national team match.
— Yay, national representative!
— National team Almond! National team Almond! National team Almond!
— Even if it's not the Olympics, this is something!
While the viewers celebrated his decision, some were worried instead.
[CivilFanboy has donated 5000 won.]
[National team matches have a brutal schedule... Are you sure?]
The national team matches had a grueling schedule.
"Let's see how it goes. An opportunity has appeared."
Despite the concerns, Almond wanted to give it a try. He liked this game. Plus, participating in a national team match almost felt like being a national representative.
Everyone knew Almond always wanted to be a national representative.
Then—
[KimchiWarrior: Here are the eligibility requirements. You probably already meet them, but I'm just letting you know as a formality. National team matches require an S+ rank to participate...]
"...?"
The dream of becoming a national representative suddenly shattered in Almond's mind.
— Requirements?
— S plus??
— No way...
— It's like a national team, so...
— Wow, that’s crazy
Almond already failed the first eligibility requirement.
'What now?'
Almond fell silent for a moment.
The following eligibility requirements were rather simple. Things like one’s nationality or owning a capsule... Any professional gamer would naturally meet the rest.
'Is S+ rank as obvious as those other things?'
Almond glanced at the rank window. Among the ranks, S+ rank was in the top tier.
In LIL terms, it was around the grandmaster to challenger level. A monstrous rank was required and considered normal.
The national team was such a place. He was currently at B rank, so joining them in a month seemed impossible. Even if he did achieve such a feat, it would be a huge burden and undertaking.
"Ah... There's nothing I can do."
In the end, Almond gave up.
— :(
— The barrier is too high...
— It's okay, this is just the beginning.
— Maybe next year?
***
Kimchi Warrior eagerly awaited a response with a fluttering heart.
Ding!
Finally, he received a reply.
[Aalmond: ... I'm C rank, no... B rank now. Anyway, it seems impossible for me to participate.]
At first, Kimchi Warrior couldn't understand. His brain refused to comprehend it.
‘What’s this? B and C... talking about my grades?’
Such silly thoughts floated in his mind until he came to his senses.
"What!?"
He finally understood and suddenly stood up, hitting his desk.
"B rank? He just turned B rank??"
Was this some sort of absurd joke? Almond could have just politely declined if he didn't want to participate. Why make such an unbelievable lie?
Moreover, didn't he use the traditional Joseon bow in the game? How could a mere beginner possess such a weapon? It had to be a lie or so he thought.
"... It's true?"
The user data site really showed a B rank when he checked. The site wasn't always accurate, but it matched what the person claimed. It was probably correct.
Then, he entered Almond's stream.
"Wow."
It was true. The game Almond just played was only his fourth.
"No way. This isn’t a joke, but it’s actually true?"
Kimchi Warrior was dumbfounded. He never imagined that someone with such skills wouldn't be S+ rank.
"That's why I didn't know about him..."
The suspicions he had overlooked began to surface one by one. Why didn't the Civil Empire players know about such a talented streamer?
"That's because... he's not even S rank. Of course, there's no interest..."
The national team didn't even glance at ranks below S.
"Ah..."
It was regrettable.
Kimchi Warrior tapped his forehead in amazement and suddenly stood up.
"Wait. Isn't he even more of a genius?"
Almond was a prodigy who showed such gameplay with little experience. If he gained the experience of an S rank or even just an A+ rank, his skills would be unimaginable.
"The problem is the eligibility requirements..."
However, the eligibility requirements posed a problem.
Kimchi Warrior wished he could lower the S+ rank requirement, but these requirements were not set by him. The game itself set these systemic limitations. He had no way of intervening.
There was only one way. Almond had to reach S+ rank in this game within a month.
"That’s a crazy idea."
It wasn’t easy to break through the barrier from B rank to S+. As Almond had already experienced, a player’s individual skills couldn’t solely didn't decide victory or defeat.
The commander mattered too much and the dozens of comrades fighting together all influenced the game.
How many times could a single individual flip the tides of a war?
A player’s rank accurately reflected their skill only after playing a vast number of times due to the law of large numbers.
It took a long time. Even the shortest estimate required consistently playing ranked games for at least three months. Worse, the higher the rank, the harder it was to climb.
"In theory, it'd be possible within a week if he won thirty games in a row."
Even as Kimchi Warrior said it, he knew it was a ridiculous feat. Still, he didn’t give up hope.
"... Is this the only way?"
He took out his phone and started talking about Almond with his acquaintances in a chat group.
[KimchiWarrior: Guys. I have my eyes on someone, but he's B rank. We need to get him to S+ rank to include him in the national team. Is that possible?]
As he typed out the text, it sounded like an absurd request.
[SharpSphere: What nonsense. Do you want a kimchi slap?]
He had already predicted such a response. The following reactions were no different.
[WaterDumpling: LOL stfu]
[PastaCraft: Did you make a typo? You're talking about A+ rank, right?]
Kimchi Warrior didn't bother responding and just sent them a video.
Then, about ten minutes passed.
Their leader replied.
[SharpSphere: ???]
For SharpSphere, who was stingy with compliments, this was almost high praise.
[KimchiWarrior: Right? What do you think? Is it possible?]
[SharpSphere: Nope. Impossible.]
[KimchiWarrior: :( But you saw his skills, right?]
[SharpSphere: ...]
SharpSphere pondered for a moment and replied.
[SharpSphere: If he's prepared to experience hell for a month, it's possible.]
Kimchi Warrior's expression brightened.
'They're willing to give it a try?'
Suddenly, his expression darkened again.
'Wait, but will he do it?'
Would Almond really participate in something this grueling for a month? He didn’t seem to be lacking anything. His stream seemed to be doing well too.