Season 3: Chapter 190: Mongolian Prairies (1)
Around ten minutes earlier, a capsule opened with a hiss right after the first game. After the capsule opened, Hui-Chul headed straight to the bench without any ceremony or word of congratulations. He walked while gritting his teeth and tried to look as normal as possible.
‘… In the end.’
He felt it. A sign that a seizure was imminent. He had considered that this could happen once or twice during a match. His physical condition hadn’t been good last year, but this year was the worst.
It was an ironic situation. His physical condition was at its worst, but the team was in top form. The newly recruited Almond and the existing members also played at their peak performance.
He couldn’t tell if it was because of Almond’s influence or a divine miracle this year. What he did know was that he didn’t have many chances left.
“Sigh…”
Cold sweat soaked his back. It wasn’t from the game, but from simply walking across the arena.
“Woooaaahhh!”
“Cookie! Cookie! Cookie!”
The crowd cheered as he approached the spectator area. Powerful drums and countless cheering items filled his ears.
‘Right.’
He looked up and smiled.
‘Almost there.’
All these spectators had come to watch the national competition. He couldn’t have imagined this a couple of years ago.
Even the cheering items they used had been sold by the Monster brand. The players would get sponsored by all those sales. A foundation for moving to the pro league was now in place.
Hui-Chul felt incredibly relieved. Even if he couldn’t reach the mountain peak, he felt he had seen the mid-slope.
“Huff… Huff…”
That was enough for him. The air on the mid-slope felt clean and refreshing enough.
Looking at the peak from here, he could see it shimmering. His juniors planting a flag at the top. Mentioning his name and shedding tears.
That alone made Hui-Chul feel like he had already reached the summit. No human could achieve everything they wanted in life. The next generation continued, and if it wasn’t possible then, the generation after that...
That was how humanity had built civilization. Didn’t one feel this while playing Civil Empire? How grandly humanity had developed.
None of this would have happened if they hadn’t passed their dreams on to the next generation. Some people closed their eyes without seeing the buildings they spent their lives constructing, yet they passed the blueprints and methods to their descendants.
Humanity had been built like this.
Hui-Chul felt grateful to be part of that process, even in a small way.
‘Time is scary.’
He never thought he’d think this way when he first entered this competition. He never imagined he’d be creating things for future generations to enjoy.
Was this how parents felt? They built up assets that they would never fully enjoy or see for their children.
Hui-Chul didn’t know that feeling yet. He didn’t have any children to understand that.
‘Having children… would be a luxury for me.’
He arrived at the bench, thinking of his loved one, and lost consciousness.
“C-Cookie!?”
“Hui-Chul!!!”
***
The mood of the think tank team grew subtly complicated, but it could be summed up in one phrase. The inevitable had come.
“So, Hui-Chul…” Chi-Seung muttered and lowered his head.
He was human, so he also felt discouraged and anxious. However, Kim Chi-Seung was also the leader of the think tank as long as he was active in this team. He practically inherited Hui-Chul’s will most strongly.
“Let’s follow the plan we discussed then.”
“… Okay.”
The other members of the think tank nodded. They had already prepared a plan for such times. Not using it wasn’t an option.
“Am I… going in?” Sa-Rang asked for confirmation one more time.
“You might be nervous, but we have no choice.”
“I never thought I’d actually go in…”
“…”
When she heard the circumstances from Hui-Chul, he said it was just in case of an unexpected injury. In reality, she joined them more as a think tank member or an opponent commander in scrims than a substitute player.
Now, she had to go in for real and soon.
‘Why was it me?’
While in the think tank team, Sa-Rang couldn’t help but question this. Wouldn’t it be better if Chi-Seung went in? He could play most similarly to Hui-Chul. Why was she chosen? What did they see in her? Sa-Rang didn’t know and couldn’t ask now.
Chi-Seung thought it would be better for him to go in too.
“I’ll go.”
She had no choice but to say she’d go. The game would start in two minutes.
“I trust there’s no need for a briefing.”
Chi-Seung smiled reassuringly as he grabbed the handles of Sa-Rang’s wheelchair.
***
“Woooaaahhh!”
As she exited the waiting room and headed to the field, the crowd’s cheers roared in her ears.
“…!”
The stadium’s enormous reflection could be seen in Sa-Rang’s shrunken black pupils. It felt just like the place where she played her last finals.
Her hands started to tremble. How long had it been?
After she left and the team disbanded, she gradually faded from people’s memories. It was regrettable, but rightfully so since she suddenly disappeared as a pro without explaining the proper circumstances.
However, she had never been forgotten. On the contrary, people never forgot her because she disappeared like that.
— When is JeonJaPa coming back?
— If JeonJaPa returns, he’ll crush everyone lol
— If JeonJaPa returns, CK will be revived.
— I’m holding on!!
— Where did he go???
— Someone said he streamed recently, is it true?
Countless people still looked for her. Even after three years, people still mentioned her and compared her to other pro gamers. They still praised her as the best even though she wasn’t.
If she returned now, she would only disgrace herself instead of a great comeback.
People didn’t care.
[JeonJaPa, just come back. We won’t ask any questions.]
[Without JeonJaPa, we got defeated by China three times. Is this even a country?]
[Korea wasn’t strong. CK was strong.]
JeonJaPa had disappeared, but they talked as if she was still active. They kept looking for someone who no longer existed. No matter how much they searched, they wouldn’t find her.
Because...
‘I’m here.’
She gritted her teeth, holding back her emotions. She hadn’t returned to the stage they longed for, but arrived at a completely different place.
“There’s some news for the Korean side.”
“Instead of Cookie, a new commander will be leading this time.”
“Yes. It’s not a starting role. It’s really for the whole match, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. There won’t be any substitutions.”
With the introduction from the commentators, the announcement appeared on the big screen.
[Cookie OUT]
[Best Yi Sun-Shin IN]
Murmur, murmur.
The cheers quickly turned into a confused buzz. No one had anticipated such a situation.
The players felt surprised, but Sa-Rang finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.
“Sigh…”
She found the cheering harder to endure.
Ping.
The big screen showed her heading toward the capsule. A woman in a wheelchair. No one would have expected this either.
The commentators didn’t add any further explanation.
“Now, the commander of Joseon, Best Yi Sun-Sin.”
Whether she was a rare female commander in a wheelchair or even a famous person who once dominated a game. None of it mattered here.
She knew this better than anyone. Best Yi Sun-Shin, this name was all she had to show. A commander from Korea who had never competed in a tournament, who only stood out for a season in solo rank. This was Best Yi Sun-Shin for now.
“Yes. And next to her is Kimchi Warrior, Kim Chi-Seung? He’s the leader of the think tank.”
“Woooaaahhh!”
When Chi-Seung waved his hand, the crowd cheered. He was well-known for his commentary roles on the Fake National Team series and Almond’s channel.
Naturally, comments like these came from the audience.
“Why her and not Chi-Seung?”
“Wasn’t Chi-Seung supposed to be the second commander?”
“What was Cookie thinking?”
“It’s not Cookie. It’s Chi-Seung’s decision. The think tank is like the coaching staff…”
“It’s different, you idiot.”
It wasn’t just in the stands.
— What, they’re making such a change in such an important match??
— Is this real?
— What?
— Are they getting overconfident after one win?
— A wheelchair, wow.
— I’m worried
Posts expressing concern about the new commander filled the chat. Anyone who knew the game even a little understood that Cookie’s brilliant strategies had been crucial in leading Joseon to victory alongside the superplays of Almond and other soldiers.
Cookie was indispensable to the Joseon team.
“OrangeKing, we need to explain a bit about the new commander.”
“Ah, yes. Best Yi Sun-Shin. Many people who enjoyed Civil Empire would remember this ID…”
Hiss.
The capsule opened and Sa-Rang was helped inside.
She handed a USB to the referee waiting outside. After a brief check, the referee nodded.
Sa-Rang inserted the USB into the capsule and closed the lid.
[Optimizing user settings…]
She quietly closed her eyes.
‘I never thought this would happen.’
It happened so suddenly. Even during her pro days, there weren’t many moments when she had to jump into a match unprepared.
‘Let’s organize.’
She cleared her mind and focused on winning the current match.
‘The fast archer rush worked well.’
She recalled the first match. She herself had recommended the build and it worked perfectly.
According to her thoughts, the enemy likely couldn’t stop it in the second match either. Even if they managed to, Joseon had no reason not to try it again. This was a basic psychological tactic in a multi-game series.
[Civil Empire]
The game began.
Whoosh.
With the illusion of floating, she quickly teleported to a vast field.
She could see the map's layout as her view rose and shifted to the commander’s perspective.
[Mongolian Prairies]
A vast and mostly flat plain appeared before her.