Season 4: Chapter 47. Trap Card (2)
"Nice to meet you all."
The woman introduced herself as a director from ChammBit Entertainment.
Almond casually scanned her face as he shook her hand. Not that he needed to read her face.
She seemed suspicious from the start. The agency name sounded sketchy, her character model looked suspiciously well-designed, and her beauty seemed overengineered.
‘No wonder she’s the final boss.’
The game’s structure basically confirmed that she was the mastermind. Almond reaffirmed this as he stepped into the cafe.
***
The interior of MetaBucks looked no different than a typical cafe.
"A-10, your drink is ready~"
Still, considering all the testimonies from the victims who met her here, this place definitely had something shady going on.
"Scanning faces now."
With a look that said ‘You’re all dead,’ Almond studied each of the cafe staff.
‘Hmm.’
They had a stable polygon count and plain facial features. Nothing stood out.
"What the? There’s nothing weird."
— LOL like anything would show up
— Why would scanning faces even work? lol
— Guess no NPCs with janky polygons this time
Honestly, it’d be strange if something did stand out after just one glance. Unless he had Sherlock Holmes’ perception, he’d have to put in more effort to figure it out.
‘Time’s ticking.’
Almond didn’t have time. He didn’t want to go over twelve hours of playtime, and he’d already crossed eight. He didn’t know how much had been skipped so far, but he wouldn’t be able to finish within his limit unless he made a big move here.
"I’ll grab the drinks. You two go ahead and chat."
Oh Sang-Gi warmly smiled like usual and walked to the counter while the others took a seat. A slightly awkward atmosphere settled over the table. It felt like a stiff business meeting. Some viewers seemed to sense it too.
Ding.
[TippyTap has donated 10,000 won.]
[Just imagine Almond using his Ah-Sung communication skills to expose the villain lol]
— Your imagination’s wild, man
— Like that would ever happen lol
— "Communication skills" LMFAO
— Bro trying to charm the Interview Demon with soft skills? Yeah right
People tended to assume that big companies equaled great social skills. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption, but no one bought it judging from the chat. Almond pouted a little.
"Let me show you an Ah-Sung meeting."
— LMAOOOO
— Almond never says stuff like ‘Let me show you my gameplay,’ but this? Yup, totally him
— Iconic
— AH-SUNG!!!
In truth, Almond had worked at Ah-Sung for five years. It had been a major turning point in his life, one that reshaped his worldview. Of course, he could handle something as simple as small talk at a meeting.
The woman sitting across from them smiled and broke the silence. "Oh, I’m Shin Ki-Hye."
Bubblegum tilted his head.
Almond quickly smiled and replied, "Oh, nice. It’s... fascinating to meet you."
— ?
— Bro what
— LOLOLOL
— Her name is Shin Ki-Hye ("fascinating")...
— Is this Ah-Sung humor??
— Ah-Sung icebreaker GOAT
Shin Ki-hye giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. "Haha, yeah. My name is a little funny, huh?"
She tried to ease his nerves with humor.
"And you are?"
"?"
— LOLOLOLOL
— Bro’s brain just blue-screened
— Almond.exe has crashed
— Why is that so polite and so cursed at the same time?
— I’m losing it
"Uh..." Shin Ki-hye tilted her head, unsure how to respond.
Ding.
[AsExpected has donated 5,000 won.]
[The Interview Demon]
— LMAOOOOO
— For real
— The name fits perfectly
Ding.
[Kekeke has donated 10,000 won.]
[Is this a cult? Demon worship? Bro met a real demon and his brain lagged]
— LMAO he really froze
— So that’s what a real demon looks like huh
— They all went silent fr
— That’s the face of someone seeing a Demon Archduke for the first time lol
— No one’s saying anything, I’m dead
Almond, who had boldly declared that he would show off an Ah-Sung business meeting, scratched his head awkwardly.
‘Ah.’
Only after seeing the chat did he finally realize that her name was Shin Ki-Hye.
"So... everyone. In the professional world, names like that are usually changed as a kind of business etiquette, you know..."
— LOLOLOLOL
— Bro that’s savage
— Ah-Sung etiquette hits different
— I see now what kind of company Ahsung was...
Ding.
[HongGil-Dong has donated 5,000 won.]
[Can’t even call her Shin Ki-Hye... sniff]
He tried to cover it up with a half-hearted excuse, but it only made things worse.
"Ahem. I’m Jeong Dae-Man. It’s an honor to meet you." Unable to watch any longer, Bubblegum stood and shook her hand.
"Oh, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you, Jeong Dae-Man. They say you’re very talented."
Meanwhile, Almond tilted his head next to them for a long moment.
— Stop tilting your head LOL
— Honestly, that reaction is fair when someone says Bubblegum is talented lol
— ??? Talented...? LOL
— AH-SUNG!!!
Almond wasn’t reacting to Bubblegum being called talented.
‘Is there no other way?’
His mind already wandered elsewhere. How could he finish this game faster? The final boss was right in front of him. If he made his move here, the game could end in an instant. However, he couldn’t act recklessly with Oh Sang-Gi nearby.
"You were chatting away, huh? Here you go."
Oh Sang-Gi returned with drinks, and the conversation resumed.
"Come join our agency. We’ll give you professional training. You’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful model."
Shin Ki-Hye pulled out some model profiles and showed them off.
"All of these models were scouted just like this. Now they’re doing ads and getting called for fashion shows. They’re thriving."
The magazine spreads, runway photos, and commercial stills all looked very convincing. It really did look like the life of a successful model.
"Sang-Gi?"
She asked him to take over the explanation.
"Oh, right. So, like this one and that one over here are from Seongdeok University. You guys might recognize them."
Bubblegum studied the profiles carefully, nodding as if he truly intended to become a model. Meanwhile, Almond stared at Oh Sang-Gi, lost in deeper thoughts.
‘Oh Sang-Gi was crazy strong, too.’
He recalled when he tried slashing Oh Sang-Gi with a sword. Everyone thought the blade had passed right through, but Almond had caught a glimpse of a faint shimmer.
‘So it can work.’
It wasn’t that the story made Oh Sang-Gi invincible. Almond probably just lacked enough spiritual power.
‘That must’ve been it.’
Back then, he accepted Oh Sang-Gi’s offer because he was too weak. Now, his spiritual power had increased. He even learned a new spiritual skill.
Could he do it? The problem was that Oh Sang-Gi and Shin Ki-Hye were together. Fighting them both would be difficult.
"Ah, I’m going to use the restroom for a sec."
Oh Sang-Gi stood up.
‘Restroom?’
Something sparked in Almond’s mind.
‘Su-Yeon!’
She was the one cleaning the restrooms.
‘This can’t be a coincidence.’
Bubblegum always said that Su-yeon would appear when the time was right. Maybe this was that moment.
[Exorcist Blade]
A sword materialized at Almond’s waist.
***
"Kuh... Assistant Kim."
Thunk.
Manager Kim placed a beer can on the desk and clapped Assistant Kim on the shoulder.
"It’s been fun."
"Huh? What are you saying, sir? It’s not even over yet."
"Come on. Look at the current progress. The final boss is right there. Isn’t she?"
He had a point. The total playtime had been cut drastically.
"As long as he doesn’t finish today, isn’t that technically a win for us?"
"What?"
"No, seriously. Other streamers usually sign contracts saying they’ll play a minimum number of hours per day. We’ll make a profit if we just go one day over, won’t we?"
Technically, their contract was more complicated with all kinds of running guarantees and clauses. However, this logic sounded reasonable enough for a slightly drunk Manager Kim.
"He won’t beat the game right now, will he? He’s just following them to the next location. There’s still stuff to do. We’re only about two-thirds in."
Technically, only a third of the estimated playtime had passed. Story-wise, Almond and Bubblegum were two-thirds through. Yes, it was a catastrophe, but it wasn’t hopeless.
"Yeah. Just one day, huh? As long as we go over one day?"
Manager Kim’s face flushed red, and a smile bloomed.
"Hell yeah~ Just one day. Let’s go one day over like we always say we will on our way to work!"
He raised his can, and Assistant Kim clinked his own against it.
"Like we always sayyy!"
Clink.
“Bang!”
“Pffffft!” Manager Kim spat out his beer right onto Assistant Kim's face.
Assistant Kim didn’t even flinch. He didn’t care about the beer because what had just happened was too ridiculous to process.
Shick!
Right then, Almond drew his sword and severed Shin Ki-Hye’s head.
— WTF LOLOLOLOL
— What just happened???
— NO WAY
— Bro I choked on my drink
— NO FREAKING WAY
— HE REALLY DID IT
— He said nothing and just CLEARED the game?!
— WTF ALMONDDDD
Even the viewers hadn’t seen it coming. Without a word, Almond had unsheathed his sword and decapitated Shin Ki-Hye with insane speed and ruthless precision.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Utter despair painted the manager’s face.
Assistant Kim could only stare blankly at the monitor, completely speechless.