Season 2: Chapter 239: Demon King Kim Yi-Seo (3)
The fierce duel with Choi Best Seo-Yeon, the Plum Sword Goddess, finally ended.
[Did he just win??]
[Wow f*ck, what's with the accuracy of those kicks?? Is he a machine??]
[I really thought he was going to lose when the plum blossoms bloomed, but he won in the end. Shudders]
[He’s getting better]
As intense as the battle was, it was the first time Almond’s skills had been so prominently showcased. Praises poured out in the JetPumped garden.
[Is that really a beginner???]
[His existence is a bug, a bug!]
[Even considering that the developers are not familiar with basic jets, he would rank]
Having completed the tutorial just today, there was talk that he could rank.
— The rankings are an exaggeration. Adaptability to jets is most important in JetPumped. He’s only played the taekwondo jet so far.
└ For real, plus it’s unlikely an opponent will come out with just basic jets lol
└ Basic battle ranking seems possible lol
└ It would be different if he equipped another jet, haven’t you seen his Flashy Blade video?
└ You guys talk after watching the Almond Raina video?
└ fuck, ever heard of the high tier Raina?
└ for real lol
Whether Almond could actually rank or not didn’t really matter. Wasn’t he just starting out in JetPumped? The fact that such a discussion was happening was in itself absurd and significant.
— Dumbasses, if a guy starting today can do this much, fuck he’d sweep first place in a month
└ for real lol
└ That’s what I'm saying lol kids can’t catch the drift
└ But sometimes it’s like that, not a genius but a prodigy because the mind grows fast
└ Bullshit, Almond has a tiny brain, what?
└ ???
└ lol lol lol
If Almond ever does play rank battles later, could he become number one? Such topics definitely made for interesting conversation. However, the main point of interest in the JetPumped garden was this.
[Finally, that person is coming out…]
[Let's gooooo!]
[Everyone… give me your strength!]
Finally, Kim Yi-Seo appeared. There was a chance that the last boss would never even be seen. Now, they would earn the right to balance things out just by defeating this guy.
However, Kim Yi-Seo made an unusual offer as soon as he appeared. He suggested a full-force battle to Almond instead of just a basic battle. He wanted to fight with fully pumped jets. Of course, Kim Yi-Seo would choose a jet that could only be used without in-game purchases.
While this matched the original spirit of the challenge, players had too much distrust and were not pleased.
[What the hell is this guy talking about???]
[Don’t fall for the devil’s trick, knight…]
[lol yeah right, as if he would]
[He’s giving ten million won??]
Almond then asked, “Do I still get the ten million cash if I refuse?”
***
Kim Yi-Seo doubted his ears for a moment.
“Do I still get the ten million cash if I refuse?”
The question echoed in his head.
— lol lol just give it lol
— The academic consensus is that the nut in nutcase actually stands for the character dog~
— Crazy bastard lol
Almond had asked if he would still give him the ten million cash meant for pumping the jet.
‘What is he saying?’
Although Kim Yi-Seo hadn’t stated the conditions directly, it was obviously meant to be conditional. Wasn’t it clear that the ten million was offered with the intent of fighting fully equipped?
— lol lol overwhelmed by nutcase rhetoric lol
— Tsk tsk, Kim Yi-Seo, is this your first time? Get used to it
— See newbie Kim Yi-Seo panic lol
— Wow, is this “Alone, I’m a Newbie” or what?
— Eek lol
Although Kim Yi-Seo felt uncomfortable saying it himself, he replied back since Almond asked.
"Ahem... No, I can’t just give it away."
"Ah..."
“Boooo.”
The audience jeered as if they had been waiting and gave him a thumbs down.
"Boooo! That's cowardly!"
"What happened to giving it because you were impressed that he just completed the tutorial today!?"
"Drop dead, Kim Yi-Seo!"
"Acting like a magnanimous person!"
Yes, he had tried to act generous. However, after being caught by Almond’s words, he risked being swindled out of ten million won. Therefore, Kim Yi-Seo decided to back out of it.
Despite the strong disapproval, Kim Yi-Seo shamelessly shook his head.
"Oh well. Guess I can't do that."
He couldn’t just give away ten million won. It wasn't about the money. It was because he wanted to compete against Almond with fully pumped jets.
'Because there’s no way to win with a basic jet…'
Basic jets strictly adhered to the fundamentals of fighting games. Almond's inherent combat abilities played a significant role in such cases. Therefore, moving to a combat style that required a higher understanding of jets would be more advantageous for Kim Yi-Seo.
"So it’s only for fighting with fully pumped jets?"
"I can’t just give you ten million won. It's only for you to use toward a full Jet. If I just gave it away, it could ruin the game's economy."
That was nonsense. JetPumped was not an RPG. There was no such thing as an in-game economy. Even if there were, the economy wouldn't collapse over a mere ten million won.
"Will you accept, Mr. Almond? As I said earlier, it’s a jet pumped with in-game money only. Mr. Almond, you can fight with a jet after pumping it up to ten million won, you know?"
This was a trap. Objectively speaking, JetPumped was not a game where microtransactions were all-powerful. One couldn't spend ten million won on a single jet. Even if one spent that much, it wouldn't make the jet any stronger. It was just for enjoying a variety of fun.
Still, without a response from Almond, Kim Yi-Seo added on to rush him.
"Fighting like this isn’t very well balanced."
At these words, an explosive reaction erupted from the audience. Naturally, they all cursed and jeered at him.
"Hey! You should have said that earlier!"
"Booooo! You’re showing your true colors, you bastard!"
Playing with basic jets and devoiding the challenge of its purpose, even Kim Yi-Seo thought it was a ridiculous excuse.
'Who would have thought it would come to this…?'
The essence of the challenge, or whatever, the only reason he had allowed the basic jet combat was simple. He thought Almond would lose to Tae Ji-Ho. Although Heo Won-Mu didn’t know, Tae Ji-Ho was quite the player even with a basic jet.
Could anyone have anticipated they would all lose to a player who just finished the tutorial today? It felt like when a child on the street asked for a duel with a toy sword and one played along with a squeaky hammer only to be suddenly cut in half by the plastic sword. Even Kim Yi-Seo’s colleagues were split in half one by one, and now it was his turn.
If they were going to kill and be killed anyway, they might as well fight with real swords.
'Why isn’t he responding?'
Almond still hadn’t agreed to go all-out.
Then, Kim Yi-Seo used his last resort.
"Well, then I'll just fight with a fully pumped jet. Take the ten million won and get fully pumped or just come with a basic aet."
“Booooooooo!”
An enormous wave of jeers erupted again.
"Are you insane!?"
"Are you even human!?"
"Please die! Please!"
Kim Yi-Seo smirked and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"No. We did the basic jet duel out of goodwill. Aren’t we just going back to how things originally were?"
He was right. However, Almond still preferred sticking with the basic jet.
"Then, I'll just go with the basic jet. It's all I know how to use."
— lol lol lol
— Wow
— This is what a real man looks like
— Special feature: Just like that
Kim Yi-Seo was at a loss for words.
'I said it, but I can't really allow him to use a basic jet.'
Kim Yi-Seo felt that Almond also needed to come at him fully equipped. It would make the patch more credible. Eventually, Kim Yi-Seo tried to negotiate in a way that was tailored to the opponent’s needs.
"Are you that unsure of yourself?"
"?"
"Are you not confident without the basic jet?"
— Wow lol Is Kim Yi-Seo even human?
— WTF lol lol
— Wow, just that tongue~
If someone had pride in their skills, they would find it hard to ignore such a comment.
"Hey! The one who's not confident is you!"
"Boooooo!"
Kim Yi-Seo quieted the crowd and continued, "Woah. Woah. Calm down! JetPumped inherently implies pumping up jets from the name itself. Basic jet combat isn’t real skill. Fully pumped combat is really...."
"Deal," Almond said and immediately went into the capsule.
'Huh? Already?’
Kim Yi-Seo himself felt surprised by the speed of the response.
— ???
— Wow
— Simplicity itself lol lol
— Special feature: Isn't it a bit much?
— Got him
Kim Yi-Seo smirked.
"Good~ Very good!"
Although sighs erupted among the audience, the decision could not be changed.
***
After Almond went into the capsule, he spoke to the viewers.
"I'm open to recommendations for the most overpowered combination."
Yes, if real skill meant being fully pumped, then he wanted to do it.
— lol lol lol
— Typical lol
— Are we supposed to step in again!?
— Really caught him with the provocation lol
— Overpowered combo lol
Since today was his first time playing JetPumped, he didn’t know how to pump up properly. Anyway, it was just a matter of doing as he was told. There was no difference between doing it well or poorly.
Almond wanted to defeat Kim Yi-Seo in a fully pumped battle, so he solicited recommendations for the most overpowered combination.
Babam.
[RubySword has donated 10,000 won.]
[Don't just take any recommendations, ask for IDs and take those!]
RubySword advised him.
Indeed, plenty of recommendations came in from players who weren’t very good themselves.
"Ah. Thank you, Ruby. That's a good idea. Please write your ID in the chat and I'll choose from them."
— Search for MarvelApple <<<<
— I am a bug <<< Search I am a real pro lol
— Ryu Soo-am Breaker <<< I will design it for you right away
— Jopsal Dog! <<< Do a search
Numerous messages appeared, but among them was a person with the highest ranking.
[JetPumpPro has donated 10,000 won.]
[I know this one! Search SolidRock, go go]
"Wow..."
It was impossible to look up every ID that came up in the chat.
[Rank 3]
[SolidRock]
This ID appeared as rank three. It seemed unlikely that anyone higher would come forward.
"I'm ranked third. Let me invite you for a moment to design how we'll pump up."
***
As with most virtual reality games these days, JetPumped also had a space where users could communicate with each other. In this space, they could just talk or practice with other players. This place was called Jettersville.
[Welcome to Jettersville!]
Jettersville was depicted as a city shining with dazzling neon lights. True to the town of Jetters, it looked cartoonish rather than realistic.
[Inviting…]
Almond waited for SolidRock after inviting him.
Swoosh.
[SolidRock]
Today's guest appeared.
— What kind of look is that? lol
— Really living up to his nickname lol
— Lol
— What’s with that skin? lol
JetPumped, unlike other games, allowed users to create their own skins. Thanks to this, all sorts of bizarre skins were rampant. Players often used characters from their favorite cartoons as skins and even made skins with the faces of former presidents. It was a game where one could potentially duke it out with Donald Trump if they were lucky.
"Wow..."
SolidRock popped up with an equally unique skin. It was a replica of the Solid Rock character from the military recruitment office with an enormous head and an overly cheerful expression that encouraged enlistment.
Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom~! Bamparabampbam~ Bamparabampbam~~~ Bamparabamp~~~~!
He greeted everyone while playing a reveille.
"The nation needs you! Enlist! Sons of Korea!"
— ???
— Fuck lol
— Get out of here, dude
— Shivering
— Crazy lol lol
He bowed with his big head.
"I was just about to say that! Hello! I’m SolidRock!"
— Almond’s expression changed immediately lol
— No way lol
— Judging by the drifting skills, isn’t he a pro Kart Rider?
"Ah. Yes."
"As you see, I'm ranked third! I have considerable expertise in designing pumping combinations! Do you have any particular style in mind?"
"I am…"
Almond pondered for a moment. Still, what could he do best?
"I’d prefer something related to archery."
— Wow
— Archery lol
— How badly do you plan to beat Kim Yi-Seo?
— Lol
— No mercy lol
Yenmazing's Thoughts
For those of you who don't play League of Legends, the best player of all time, Faker, had the nickname "Unkillable Demon King." I think that's what the nickname is an homage to.