Season 3: Chapter 172: First Time (1)
Boom…!
The piercing sound of the Pyeonjeon echoed like a gunshot. At this moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion for Almond as the Pyeonjeon struck the Vikingmmander’s head.
The Vikingmmander’s entire body staggered beforellapsing.
Ting…
Almond’s bowstring, which had been tightly drawn just a moment ago, now fluttered like a dancing ribbon.
All the Joseon's soldiers raised their hands in unison, their mouths wide open as they roared. The entire archery unit stepped toward Almond with dynamic expressions, their eyes wide and their mouths open as if to swallow the air.
“Joseeeeeeoooon…!”
Themmentators jumped to their feet and their chairs slowly tipped back.
The audience also stood up and Almond porn flew everywhere. They shouted with their mouths wide open and even forgot to swallow their porn. Some even jumped onto their chairs and seemingly hovered in mid-air.
The Taegukgi unfurled and the cheering squad banged their drums.
Boom!
Then, the enemymmander’s head hit the ground.
Only then did Almond hear it.
“Waaaaaaahhhhhh!!!”
The stadium erupted with thunderous applause. It felt like a lightning bolt made of sound instead of light. Everything returned to its normal speed.
“Joseon has taken the enemymmander's head! This is Joseon! This is the archery civilization!!” themmentators screamed with veins bulging in their necks.
[Victory]
The game declared Joseon's victory.
The players punched the air and shouted, “Gee~ Geeeeeeeee!!!”
Bright cheers engulfed the stadium once again.
— YES
— Wow
— They really won
— Damn
— Amazing
***
Joseon had defeated the Vikings. This news spread online faster than anywhere else. Articles had already been prepared since both sides entered the fourth era and poured out on gaming sites.
[Complete defeat of the Vikings 2:0, Cookie’s strategy shines]
[Not entirely pleasant, “Resentful Rebellion” Joseon defeats Vikings 2:0 “Complete Victory”]
[Nationalnfrontation, Joseon defeats the “Force of the Vikings” with “Scholar’s Strategy”]
The headlines differed, but the message remained the same. The last place Joseonmpletely defeated the top ranking Vikings two to zero.
Themments multiplied rapidly.
— I watched today’s match and it was so impressive. I’ll probably watch the replay.
└ Really!!
└ The match where they stole Valhalla might be the best of this nationalmpetition.
└ 222, agreed. Fighting a 4th era war itself is romantic, and then using a Joseon spy, damn!
While the two to zeromplete victory was impressive, everyone focused on the gameplay. Fans of the game loved the full-scale war in the fourth era.
— Wow, I thought Joseon might win, but I didn’t expect to see a battlecruiser vs. carrier space war.
└ Hahahahaha
└ Old man…
└ Medieval space war, for real
└ Same. I thought if they won, it’d be through some sneaky tactic.
No one expected Joseon to win in such an all-out war. Even Cookie hadn’t planned for this oume, so it was an unexpected reversal.
The reactions were naturally intense. Not just webzine articles, but variousmmunities exploded with posts and caused sites to lag.
Embul was on the verge of crashing and LIL pro was also struggling.
[A legendary underdog victory through romantic strategy]
[What? Fake national team??? This is the real deal for me…]
[Wow, I can’t express how moving this is!!]
Especially on Embul, known for its strategic insights, many praised Cookie’s strategy.
[From the first game's archery strategy, Cookie was winning]
[No one else uses the map selection like this mad genius (details below)]
[Father Cookie!! Finally seeing the light!]
[I’ve been a fan since Cookie’s rookie days 5 years ago! Ah! Finally!]
Embul had many Cookie’s fans. It wasn’t a fandom that formed overnight. They had always supported Cookie, who never made it to the main tournament except during his rookie days. Many probably genuinely cried and weren’t just typing tear emojis.
The camera caught Lee Tae-Yong, Korea’smmander from five years ago. Seeing him wiping away tears of victory, many likely followed suit.
Themmentator shouted emotionally into the microphone, “Ah, now! They are showing formermmander Lee Tae-Yong! Yes! Joseon has done it! The first victory in the main tournament since the nationalmpetition began! The first tournament victory!”
“Yes! The spark lit by Lee Tae-Yong has finally turned into a flame in Cookie’s hands! It took five years!”
“Without any rewards, they kept going for five years! Now, they’re shouting to the world through Civil Empire! Korea can do it too!”
“Waaaaaahhhhhh!”
The audience's cheers temporarily drowned out themmentators' voices as capsules opened one by one.
Themmentators didn't mind. They urged the audience to cheer louder and shout more.
“Yes! More! More! Cheer more! The players areming out! Our proud South Korean players!”
The capsules of both teams opened and the players stepped onto the field one by one.
***
When the capsule opened, real cheers struck his ears.
“Waaaaaahhhhhh!!!”
Only then did Sang-Hyeon realize.
‘We won.’
They had won. Korea finally made it to the round of sixteen, beating the Vikings two to zero. This was their first victory in the main tournament’s history.
“Waaaaaahhhhhh!!!”
Roaring cheersuld be heard.
“Almond! Almond! Almond!”
They chanted his name.
Sang-Hyeon instinctively clutched his chest. Something hot welled up inside him.
“Almond! Almond…!”
His name echoed endlessly.
The Korean audience only occupied a quarter of the stadium.
Looking around the circular sky above the stadium, Sang-Hyeon felt like the cheers came from the entire stadium in every direction. He had experienced something similar in the LIL match.
‘But this is different.’
This time, it was real and not just virtual reality. Reality felt different. It was tangible.
The fans' cheers penetrated his skin, resonated through his bones, and struck his heart.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
The vibrations and waves created by the fans spread through his veins. Theseuntless people's massive energy was all directed at Yu Sang-Hyeon. It infused his entire being.
The word “thrilling” seemed insufficient to describe this.
Sang-Hyeon preferred a different expression.
***
A little later, next to the players' waiting room in a makeshift interview zone…
Before selecting the MVP, they called Sang-Hyeon and a few players for a brief interview.
“You've achieved your first victory in the tournament. Can you briefly share your thoughts on winning?”
Sang-Hyeon shared what he had thought about earlier.
“I no longer want to turn back time…”
“Ah… Yes?”
The writer from the Fake National Team series felt briefly surprised and looked back at him.
“That’s how I feel. I no longer want to turn back time.”
“...”
The production team hadn’t expected such a response, but they understood it without any explanation.
“What… does that mean?”
The interviewer’s trembling voice suggested that he already knew, but he asked for the viewers.
“Could you explain a bit more to the viewers… please?”
Sang-Hyeon nodded and thought for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Even if it was just for a moment, it’s the first time I’ve felt this way.”
Sang-Hyeon’s voice trembled. It wasn’t from nervousness. In hindsight, it was fear. He felt afraid of feeling this way, yet he felt it needed to be captured. For those who cared for him, he needed to show how he had changed. He wanted to say it.
Yes. Sang-Hyeon had experienced many changes during this nationalmpetition that were possibly just as significant, if not more than when he left Ah-Sung and became a streamer. This feelinguld just be a fleeting moment or a passing impulse, but even that had meaning. Never before had he thought this way, not even for a moment.
He had never not looked back into the past. As the audience cheered, he briefly felt that it was okay not to dwell on the past.
Hentinued with trembling lips, “Because my arm became like this…”
“Ah, Almond!” one of the staff called him urgently and rushed in.
Almond understood from their gesture. He stopped speaking and stood up.
“I’llntinue this later.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
The writer nodded repeatedly and guided him to the exit.
Outside, his face appeared on a large screen.
***
The MVP had been announced, one for each game.
[game 1: Almond]
[game 2: Coffee]
Almond and Coffee had been chosen respectively.
“Wow! Coffee!? This is the first time Coffee has been MVP!”
“Yes! It’s very euraging! Ofurse, he deserved it in the snd game for clearing the path for the Joseon spy! He made the appropriate decisionsntinuously!”
— That wasol
— Wow, Coffee!!
— Congrats
— Wow
— This is so touching
“Now, let’s talk about Almond’s performance, which was also remarkable. Let’s start with his MVP performance in the first game.”
Themmentators explained the reasons for the selection with various statistics.
“Yes! It’s Almond in the first game! No surprise there, right? So…”
After saying this, OrangeKing paused.
“Is that it? No furthermments?”
“No, I’m just switching screens…”
— Perfect timing
— Do you think that’s the end?
— Hahahaha
— What the? LOL
OrangeKing found the data and started explaining why Almond won the MVP.
“First, look at this damage graph. It’s insane. This isn’t LIL. It’s Civil Empire, but look at this damage graph!”
— DAMN
— Crazy
— Wow
— Carry
— Cool
— That’s really amazing
OrangeKing emphasized more than just the damage stats.
“Look at this.”
Themmentators’ eyes widened when the next statistic appeared. It wasn’t just them.
— ?!
— Wow…
— Huh?!
— Whoa
— What the…?
— Cool!
Exclamations filled the chat.