Season 3: Chapter 100: Release (1)
Before the final battle against Rome took place.
"It's over..."
Sa-Rang considered it a virtue to watch a game until its end and seemed about to rise from her seat.
"Huh? Leaving now? Hey, but doesn't Civil Empire usually have a comeback in the last struggle?"
Popcorn, who had been cheering loudly in red from head to toe, felt surprised and held her back.
"Isn't it better to watch until the end?"
"We'd need to defend the base three or four more times just to maybe turn it around."
"Three or four times, we can do it! Don't you remember our ninety minute game?"
"That game was evenly matched in skills."
"… What about this one?"
Popcorn didn't know much about Civil Empire. He only knew that Sa-Rang couldn't be a player anymore and that she had been quite dedicated to this game, which was rare nowadays as it could be played with a mouse.
"This..."
Sa-Rang shook her head.
"The difference was too big from the start. And I've seen all there is to see."
Snap.
Sa-Rang pushed her notebook to one side of her field of view. She had been taking notes on several strategies while watching the game.
Popcorn felt puzzled by her action.
‘What's up with this kid?’
It wasn't much, but the way she put away the notebook just now reminded him of the past JeonJaPa.
"You... weren't watching this just for fun?"
He didn't know why Sa-Rang came to watch this game. He thought she was just looking to have a good time.
Sa-Rang hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth, "Yeah."
***
Korea's last stand was more encouraging than expected.
"Is it blocked!? Is it blocked!?"
"Aaaaah…!"
"Everyone, we're dying!"
"Rome is also suffering a lot of damage!? Just a little more… just a bit…!"
Apparently, the late third era was considered the peak era for the Korean civilization.
Rome had strategically chosen this time to end the game. They could push forward with their strategy since they had already secured a victory.
"Almond! Almond! He’s still escaping and continuously dealing damage! Keep…!"
"Take down one. Take down two! We have to wait until they respawn…!"
By this time, the commentators' voices were almost gone as the last remaining soldier fell.
"Almond has gloriously fallen!" OrangeKing's voice cracked.
— OrangeKing's vocal cords also collapsed LOL.
— Noooo…
— He died honorably.
— Dammit…
— So crappy…
— It seemed impossible.
— I’m crying…
After the defeat was declared, tears flooded the chat.
"Ah… what a regrettable loss."
"That's right. There were many good points to it. That makes it even more regrettable."
Anyone who knew the game could feel the difference in power between Italy and Korea.
The commentators were somewhat dressing it up.
"When we took the two o'clock base, it seemed like a counterattack was possible…"
"Yes. A few Marines winning doesn't mean Terran wins the whole thing. Ah… it's regrettable."
"Yes. Italy was always one step ahead…"
Ping.
The TV screen inside the think tank’s base turned off.
"…"
A heavy silence pressed down on the dim living room. Unable to utter a word, everyone gathered there stared blankly at the black screen as if reflecting on their own reflections. Ř𝐚ɴ𝘖ВƐṥ
"Ha."
Soon, Water Dumpling let out a soft sigh and turned around.
"Hey. Hey."
Clap, clap, clap.
SharpSphere, the eldest, stood up to change the atmosphere.
"It's okay. Eh. We fought well. We can still make it to the main tournament against Rome, right? You know?"
Chi-Seung and Water Dumpling reluctantly nodded.
Chi-Seung, with trembling hands, struggled to express his thoughts on this game.
"We didn’t fight well."
They lost but fought well. Chi-Seung didn't like that phrase. If they had fought well, they would have won. They lost because they didn't fight well. That was why they needed to fight well next time. If they thought they lost despite fighting well, there was no way to prepare for the next.
"Hey, Chi-Seung," SharpSphere called him in a scolding tone.
This would only lead to more arguments.
"Ah… don't, don't fight!"
WaterDumpling wanted to intervene, but there was no way to stop them. She just closed her eyes, turned around, and covered her ears.
"……!? ……! ……!!!"
"……! ……!! ……!"
Although she couldn't hear their shouting, she felt the vibrations. Only after the vibration stopped did she uncover her ears.
"…… Sorry."
Eventually, the heated argument ended with Chi-Seung's apology.
"I'll be in my room for a while."
Thud.
Chi-Seung went into an empty room.
"Sigh… I told you guys to settle down."
***
"Sigh…"
Thud.
After closing the door, the first thing that came to Chi-Seung's mind, funnily enough, was the camera.
'It must have been recorded.'
The camera in the room was still running, flashing a red light right in front of him.
"… You have to film this, right?"
Asking the camera as if expecting an answer was pointless. Everything was already agreed upon. Even the argument earlier had been recorded and sent to the production team. What more could be embarrassing at this point?
"It has to be filmed. This is all content, after all," Chi-Seung muttered to himself and leaned against the door.
"I just wonder. Was I the only one who really thought we could win?"
Of course, the camera could not respond.
"… I thought so."
Such an obvious answer led Chi-Seung to answer himself. Maybe he had become too arrogant after they defeated France and completely dominated Spain.
He felt like he was at the height of his ascent. Defeating Anto in a national competition to become the greatest commander in history seemed within reach.
Buzz.
His phone buzzed.
[Yoo Hye-In: Hey, I need help with a group project. Can you cover my part-time job?]
It was about his part-time job.
Chi-Seung immediately refused. He would need to find someone to cover for him during the tournament.
[Kim Chi-Seung: No, impossible. I'm in a tournament.]
[Yoo Hye-In: Oh… there's no one else but you... It's an important group project for school… Can't you somehow make it work?]
Chi-Seung was about to send a reply.
[This is also important…]
Then, he erased it all and sighed deeply.
"Sigh…"
Chi-Seung laughed hollowly at the camera.
"Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the reason."
He was about to send a message saying it was impossible, but decided to just ignore it. He had already said no. He didn't want to deal with it.
Buzz. Buzz.
Messages kept coming anyway. She was trying to change his mind by whining.
"Dammit…"
He had already said no. Why the fuss?
After looking at the ceiling for a moment, Chi-Seung took drastic measures.
***
Late evening.
Chrrrr.
Sang-Hyeon's capsule opened.
Ju-Hyeok greeted him as nonchalantly as possible, "Ah, you're here. I thought you wouldn't come out today."
"… Ah, yeah. Feedback tends to be longer on losing days."
Sang-Hyeon also made no particular expression. After all, several hours had passed since their defeat.
"I need to take a shower."
Given the game's length, even the dedicated capsule felt stuffy and sweaty.
The shirtless Sang-Hyeon headed straight for the bathroom.
Ju-Hyeok decided to prepare dinner.
‘Hmm…’
He checked the fridge. There was a prepared chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, and green onions. He had originally planned to make steamed chicken, but his gaze drifted to the soju in the corner of the fridge.
‘Spicy sounds good today.’
He decided that the menu would be spicy chicken stew.
A little later.
Bubble bubble.
Spicy and piquant red soup, fluffy potatoes, and tender, glossy chicken meat. It looked delicious at a glance with a bottle of soju on one corner of the table.
"Wow…"
Sang-Hyeon, with wet hair, smiled lightly.
"Why the special occasion?"
Ju-Hyeok usually didn't drink soju at home.
"Well. The bitter taste of defeat… maybe?"
“Pfft,” Sang-Hyeon chuckled.
He quickly sat down and held out his glass.
"Defeat does taste bitter."
Glug glug.
They poured each other a shot and drank.
"Kuh."
Sang-Hyeon immediately picked up a glossy, red chicken leg and bit into it.
"Hot, hot…"
Blowing out breaths, Sang-Hyeon laughed.
"It’s a killer."
Ju-Hyeok also sucked on a wing, enjoying it.
The spicy chicken stew disappeared quickly and a couple more bottles of soju found their way onto the table.
"Ah… that was good."
Full and content, perhaps Sang-Hyeon felt more relaxed.
"By the way, I haven't checked the community reaction yet. We lost today… but should I take a look?" he casually asked and thought that Ju-Hyeok had already seen it.
He was curious about the reactions.
Surprisingly, Ju-Hyeok hadn't checked the community reactions either today.
"I didn't look either. I was busy looking at resumes for editors."
"Oh. Should we take a look?"
"… You good with that?"
"I was gonna take a look anyway."
Perhaps because of the alcohol, Sang-Hyeon got up without hesitation and fetched his phone.
"There will surely be some harsh comments."
"That's the fun part," Sang-Hyeon spoke as if it was nothing.
Indeed, malicious comments never really affected him much. If they had any effect, they only fueled his competitive spirit.
'But… I'm not sure this time.'
However, Ju-Hyeok was afraid. This national competition seemed to mean more to Sang-Hyeon than other games had.
"… Huh?"
The two tilted their heads as they scrolled together.
First up was Embul's reaction.
1. Still fought well!
2. Regrettable but… can't deny this game's level was legendary.
3. Anto was good, not that Cookie was bad.
Most of the posts were positive, but that could be the site's tendency.
"Embul is usually gentle."
So they headed straight to LIL Pro, known as hell for pro gamers.
[Why Korea still has hope]
[Cookie, realize it now!!]
[Korean Archers vs Roman Heavy Infantry fight.gif]
A post or two criticized Cookie's strategy, but even LIL Pro was relatively gentle for its reputation.
However, a new post was heating up the big board.
Big) Almond <<< The true nature of this overhyped guy
This was the most upvoted post in a short period.
"I knew it was going too smoothly."
Sang-Hyeon chuckled and clicked it. His picture was prominently displayed.
Below it read:
[Even with his face, he didn't have three thousand girlfriends in high school but just shot archery three thousand times a day…
He was criticized in LIL Tournament, but ultimately proved himself…
He holds the mic and drives you crazy, grabs the bow, and shatters the opponent's skull…
He’s unnecessarily handsome, hence the undue criticism from jealous LIL Pro nerds…
He would've been the king of LIL Pro if only he were less handsome…
When the Korean team was doomed and there was nothing to watch, he revived a dying game like Civil Empire, giving a dose of national pride to those who doubted him…
Just a freaking cool guy
THE NUT
Al. Mond.]
'What?'
The post was praising Almond. Some phrases didn't seem like praise, but it was definitely high praise considering LIL Pro's usual language. Not just high praise, it was almost adoration.
'We lost today's game, but…'
Sang-Hyeon couldn't understand it. This kind of reaction wouldn’t make sense if they lost in the LIL Tournament.
The comments weren’t very different from the post.
— Is his bubble supposed to be unbelie-bubble?
└ Hahahaha!
— He really took it hard LOL.
— This guy's reality LOL.
— Yup, the title came in angry at how good Almond is LOL.
└ LOL LOL LOL.
— The 2 o'clock melee was epic as hell.
— NUT is a laughter bell huh? LOL.
— Fun to watch. Because of Nut, future games will be fun.
— Almond and Almond are different, right? Those who always bashed Almond LOL.
└ Today's power show was epic.
That wasn't the only post.
Big) Crazy Almond's God show, what the heck LOL!
Big) Today's archer melee capability appreciation.
Big) The organizational strength of the Roman army.
Sang-Hyeon felt impressed and scrolled through the hot posts in the community about today's game. Hardly any posts belittled or trashed the national team.
At that moment, Sang-Hyeon couldn't understand what was different between now and the LIL Tournament. It seemed understandable, yet it wasn't.
"We got lucky this time."
He just chalked it up to good fortune and seemed quite satisfied.