Season 4: Chapter 6. Grown-Up (3)
Players always encountered a fairy when they first started Civil Empire. The user would name this fairy.
[Peeeeanuuut]
The fairy guided wandering mercenaries and players to battlefields where they were needed. The first step in that journey was leading them to the mercenary tavern, where they could receive quests.
Quests were ranked from E to A, with S as the special tier. Naturally, beginner players with a lower rank couldn’t take anything above C.
Almond had already surpassed that a long time ago. He had raced up to S+ rank with BornToB to participate in the tournament. He was now ranked as an Elite Mercenary, one of the highest titles in the game.
"This is my first time logging in on PC. Let’s give it a shot."
— LOL
— I’m hyped for the new title
— Almond on PC looks so weird lol
— Let’s gooo~
Even though Almond had already earned the top-tier Elite Mercenary title, he logged in again to see if there was anything new.
"Sir Almond!?" Peeeeanuuut greeted him warmly as soon as he logged in.
‘It’s definitely less immersive on PC...’
Almond scratched his head at the fairy flitting around the screen.
"Sir Almond! I heard the news! You became the best of the best on the fiercest battlefield! People are singing songs about you! Children are shouting your name while swinging wooden swords!"
— ??? Almond! Almond!
— Kids shouting his name? That’s literally Twitch chat
— Wait, this actually ties into the game? That’s crazy
— It’s wild how the tournament is integrated into the game lol
The entire Civil Empire world now acknowledged Almond. Not only had he won the tournament, but he’d also been chosen as the Finals MVP.
"They call you this! The one and only..." Peeeeanuuut bowed deeply toward Almond’s avatar and shouted, "Hero of the Nation!"
Dun-dun!
A massive badge appeared on-screen, gleaming dramatically with light.
[Hero of the Nation]
[A title given to the FINALS MVP of the International Tournament. Your nickname will glow with a radiant border, making you instantly recognizable to all Commanders. If you are a Commander, you gain the ability to place an opalescent signal.]
— Epic
— Let’s gooo
— That’s beautiful
— Peaaakkkk
— Holy
The chat was instantly flooded with awe. After all, how many users in the entire game could receive such a title? And everyone in the game would recognize it at a glance.
Ba-ba-bam!
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]
[Nation-grade mercenary! Almond!]
— LOL
— Nation-grade hunter, I’m dead
— Ruby just validated it, damn
— That name drop hits different
— RubySword for president
"Thank you, RubySword. It really is that kind of title."
Almond clearly felt pleased with it. Right then, a perfectly timed question came in.
Ding.
[ShyNapoleon has donated 50,000 won!]
[So, are you gonna play again with that title in a month? lol]
— LOL ShyNapoleon is back
— He’s throwing down a challenge?
— Back for donations huh lol
— Kill-mission when?
"Ah, thank you, ShyNapoleon. No need to wait a month."
This reply confused ShyNapoleon and many others.
— ??
— Wait, now??
— Aren’t you supposed to be recovering? T_T
— Huh??
— Didn’t he say he was resting??
Ding.
It wasn’t just the chat. Donors chimed in too.
[RubySword has donated 30,000 won!]
[Don’t push yourself!]
— Ruby’s right, listen to her
— That’s international wisdom
— Queen’s orders
[EggPlant has donated 3,000 won!]
[Don’t overdo it bro. Got a little brother? Just make him play.]
— This guy’s insane lol
— How much does his poor brother have to suffer lmao
— Actual lunatic LOL
— I shouldn’t laugh but this is hilarious
While everyone expressed concern, no one realized that Almond wasn’t the one they had to worry about.
Click.
[Switching to Commander]
Almond had queued up as a commander.
— ???
— No way lol
— WTH
— Is he serious?!
— ??? What, you think I can’t do it?
— I’m already seeing the corpses of mercenaries falling left and right...
As the chat exploded, Peeeeanuuut spoke, "This is your first time as a commander, right? You can choose a different name from your mercenary one. Would you like to?"
Apparently, commanders could have distinct names. Almond decided to choose a new one. Using Almond would obviously make people suspicious.
"I’ll go with something that sounds smart."
— Yeah no one’s gonna trust a commander named Almond lol
— A commander named Almond? That’s hell
— Go with SmartBoy lol
He chose a pretty straightforward name.
[SmartGrown-Up]
— ?
— LOL what a blatant lie
— I remember how bad he was at that puzzle game
— No way this ends well
And so, the legend of Commander Sang-Hyeon, aka SmartGrown-Up, began.
***
BOOM!
The town hall exploded in flames. Across his monitor, two massive letters appeared.
[Defeat]
SmartGrown-Up, aka Sang-Hyeon, stared blankly at his screen. The chat raced upward nonstop.
— LOLLLLLLL
— OMG
— Actual disaster
— Bro got deleted
— This is peak comedy
"I learned a lot from Cookie... So why does it feel like all the weirdos are ending up on my team?"
The match only lasted thirteen minutes. He hadn’t expected much, but no one expected it to end that quickly.
— BornToB? Nah, this is BornToLose
— Worse than BornToB lol
— And this is the Finals MVP? LMAO
— Cookie’s probably crying right now
"Next game. Let’s go."
Without hesitation, he queued up again. The next match lasted fifteen minutes.
[Defeat]
A fifteen minute loss... He only lasted two more minutes than last time.
Ding.
[RubySword has donated 50,000 won!]
[SmartGrown-Up... Defeated.]
***
— LOLLLLLLLLL
— Oh man, I’m dying
— The mercenaries’ faces are hilarious
— I’m gonna be sick, seriously LOL
— God didn’t give him two talents...
Sang-Hyeon didn’t respond and just queued up again.
Click! Click!
This time, his movements definitely seemed better than before. His mouse darted across the screen as he sent out workers and rallied troops.
"Okay. Okay!"
He got excited on his own and even bobbed to a rhythm. Shortly afterward—
BOOM!
[Defeat]
He had set a new record and lost in just eleven minutes this time.
— ??? Okay okay!
— LOL
— He blew it again
— I went to the bathroom and came back... the nation’s gone! Okay okay!
— That... was fast.
"Huh."
Almond stared blankly at his monitor. Even then, donations and chat messages kept coming.
Ding.
[InvincibleLogic has donated 10,000 won!]
[You said you beat me? That must’ve been just my afterimage.]
— LOLLLLL
— 11 minutes? Yeah that’s just an afterimage
— Invincible indeed
— "SmartGrown-Up"... pfft
Ding.
[Want2BAlmond has donated 3,000 won!]
[Son! If you don’t study, you’ll end up like Almond when you grow up!]
— LOL so true
— Shiiit lol
— Pretty sure I’d be better than this
— Re-evaluating Cookie for playing with this guy
— Honestly, how did someone with this level of game sense win FINALS MVP??
— "What? You wanna become Almond when you grow up? Get on the floor."
Ding.
[Suspicion has donated 10,000 won!]
[This is a Cookie shoutout, right? You’re saying Cookie should’ve been MVP, right? This was all secretly sponsored, right??]
Sang-Hyeon had no energy to address the conspiracy theories. He was too caught up in the game.
"Ah... weird... why do all the weirdos keep ending up on my team? Is this stream sniping?"
— LOLLL
— Coming from the guy who used to kill stream snipers without even knowing who they were
— Stream sniping, huh
— Bro, how are 200 people all sniping you lol
— Still calling himself SmartGrown-Up...
As Almond continued wearing a suspicious expression, someone sent him a new suggestion.
Ding.
[Peeeeanuuut has donated 10,000 won!]
[Let’s see your commander game history!]
At the end of each match, the commanders could receive reviews from the mercenaries. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t—just like restaurant reviews.
"Commander evaluations? I probably don’t have many yet..."
He had only played three matches, so he figured there wouldn’t be much.
‘... Huh?’
It was unbelievable.
[+279]
The number of reviews had far surpassed what he expected.
— What the lol
— Nearly half of the 600 players wrote a review?? They couldn’t hold it in LOL
— This place is on fire
— Must be a hot zone
— Is this a bug?
— The heat is unreal
— Good thing there's no star rating system lol
Sang-Hyeon glanced at the time.
"Well, that was fun~"
He decided not to open Pandora’s Box.
Ding.
[KeyboardWarrior has donated 10,000 won!]
[Of all your decisions today, this was the greatest.]
"Thank you, KeyboardWarrior."
— LOLLL
— His evasiveness is top-tier
— KeyboardWarrior, what a name
— Can’t believe this
— Bro's got world-class dodge reflex
— Honestly, if someone donates 1M won he’ll probably open it lol
— 1M won reaction to unlock the reviews??
"That’s it for today’s stream~"
With that, the commander broadcast where Almond was accused of being a stealth MVP for Cookie, came to an end.
— Wait, that’s it? T_T
— Don’t leave!!
— He played three matches and wrapped it up in under 40 minutes lmao
From that day on, no one ever saw SmartGrown-Up again.
***
Sang-Hyeon still had a month left during which he couldn’t play capsule games. He managed to get through day one with Civil Empire’s commander mode, but he had nothing planned after that. In many ways, Almond was facing a new crisis as a streamer.
"Whew..." Ji-Ah sighed in frustration.
Live streaming was one thing, but their YouTube channel was also in danger. If Almond didn’t play games, they’d run out of content fast. Even if his talking streams and other light games were well-received, an entire month was a long time.
‘Do we need a new concept...?’
Until now, Almond’s YouTube channel had a clear identity. One could sum it up in a single line: Superplays by the elite gamer Almond. Ji-Ah was great at editing gameplay, but not so much at anything else. She’d gotten the job after uploading an Almond montage, so it made sense.
"Hmm..."
Ji-Ah started digging through Almond’s past videos, looking for non-gameplay ones that still did well. She found a few.
‘But they’re just snacks.’
They were like macarons. Great once in a while, but not something someone could eat every day. Still, for now... she had something in reserve. It wasn’t an emergency yet. They already had one video prepared and scheduled for release. And it was a guaranteed hit.
Ding!
[Fake National Team – Final Episode: Miracle]
[Premiering in 1 hour!]
The final Fake National Team episode had been uploaded.
— OMG
— Is this real??
— They’re releasing it like this??
— Finally T_T
— My medicine has arrived...
— Let’s goooo
— Final ep of Fake National Team T_T