Season 4: Chapter 100. Physical Education vs. Economics (2)
Radish Servant’s urgent whisper came through.
[(Whisper) SweetRadish: Oh no! All of Almond’s corn is getting destroyed too!]
Judging by how frantic he sounded, the Ground-Diggers had swarmed them again and threw everything into chaos.
Almond moved slower than expected, and Radish Servant only grew more nervous.
[Movement Speed -30%]
A speed debuff still affected Almond. It had been worse when he was lugging around all the soil, but his inventory still contained all his iron gear. Moving at a normal speed would have been the real surprise.
“I’m on my way~” Almond muttered to himself and pushed on at a steady pace.
Hop... Hop! Hop!
— LOL
— You think that’s gonna help?
— So slow
— Oh no, Radish Servant is dying!
— Type faster, man
Strangely enough, Almond still didn’t know how to type in the chat. He didn’t know one more thing.
“Wait... Did I plant corn?”
— You’re Almond, dude
— LOL he really thought it was potatoes
— The fact that I thought it was a fake-out makes me the fool
— LMAO you just now realized?
Only now did he realize that he hadn’t planted potatoes at all, but corn instead.
“Why did I think they were potatoes?”
Neither he nor the viewers could guess how he had made that mistake. It was just another one of those inexplicable things.
— Nobody knows lol
— A true mystery
— LMAO
— As a nut expert, I’m guessing potatoes had the highest price so his brain’s rationalization went into overdrive
— Wait, you didn’t know yourself?? lol
At some point, he decided that he’d plant potatoes and believed that to be the case without question.
“Well... it doesn’t matter.”
He casually brushed it off. After all, Donuts’s lesson still echoed in his head.
“The important thing is tomorrow’s price.”
Whether he’d mistaken them for potatoes or tomatoes didn’t matter. Tomorrow’s market would decide their worth.
— Yep, facts
— True
— Exactly
— Donuts’s wisdom~
The viewers agreed, and they all moved on.
***
“Aaagh! Potato Servant!!”
As Almond neared Sweet Radish’s place, he heard Radish Servant’s wail. Potato Servant had fallen in battle.
— LMAO
— Why’s this so funny? lol
— Radish Servant’s acting is on point
“You damn digging bastards! I’ll kill every last one of you in Potato Servant’s name!”
Sweet Radish swung his stone sword with the confidence of a former pro.
Pop.
[Destroyed]
After a few moles, his crude weapon broke apart.
“Kkyuu!”
“Kiiek!!”
There weren’t just a few moles, but dozens, maybe hundreds.
Pop!
They rushed at him all at once.
“U-Ugh, ahhh!!”
The only hope left was his viewers’ buffs.
— Give him a buff!
— BUFF!!!
— \o/
— Let’s make a spirit bomb lol
— Why is nobody donating and just typing? lol
— \o/\o/\o/
— Bluetooth spirit bomb, I’m crying lol
Unlike Almond’s stream, no massive spirit bomb came together. Sweet Radish was skilled, but had a much smaller channel.
Ding.
[OO has donated 10,000 won.]
[The rich are innocent, the poor are guilty...]
It was the only donation.
[Telescope View]
The random buff didn’t provide much help in combat. Random buffs rarely gave exactly what the player needed.
— He’s got dozens of moles in his face and gets a telescope buff lol
— The rich are innocent, the poor are guilty lmao
— \o/ Help...
“Wow, thank you! I don’t even need the spirit bomb!”
Sweet Radish bowed in gratitude anyway. On his channel, ten thousand won was a big deal.
“Hyah!”
Thwack!
He brought his sword down with renewed energy, but it didn’t matter.
“Kkyu!?”
Pow pow pow!
The moles shoved him back even harder as if to say that a stone sword wouldn’t change a thing.
“Ugh!”
He stumbled and fell while flailing. Still, he managed to swat a few away.
— Oh no!
— Nooo!
— This is so sad.
Powpowpowpow!
A coordinated strike instantly dropped his health.
[HP: 23%]
It was a desperate, tear-jerking struggle.
“Kkyuuu...”
“Kkyugyu!”
The shadows of the moles loomed closer, looking down on him as if telling him to just die.
Whoosh!
As they lunged, a flash of light split the air.
Bzzzzzzzt!!
“Kkyuuu?!”
[Chain Lightning]
Electricity surged through the moles and stunned them in place.
[Stunned]
Sweet Radish’s eyes darted around as he processed what just happened.
‘A stun?’
He rolled out from the encirclement and saw a blade gleaming brilliantly in the moonlight.
“Almond!!”
Bzzzt!
[Enchantment: Lightning]
[Attack Power +50%]
[Movement Speed +30%]
...
Buff after buff enveloped Almond.
Ding.
[RubySword has donated 10,000 won.]
[Guardian Angel Ruby is very satisfied.]
— LOL
— Kya
— RubySword! RubySword! RubySword!
— Gathering a spirit bomb solo, wow
— Insane
— No donations here but he’s stacked to the brim??
— Ruby god-tier
RubySword had originally sent twenty separate donations of ten thousand won to boost Almond’s movement speed. However, the right buff never came up, so she just kept spending.
‘So... this is a top-tier streamer.’
Sweet Radish felt the power gap.
“Where’s Potato Servant?” Almond looked down at him.
Sweet Radish lowered his head. “Potato Servant is gone...”
“Mmm.” Almond nodded, stepped forward, and blocked the moles’ advance. “I’ll clean this up.”
Fwoosh!
Wrapped in layers of buffs, Almond charged into the swarm.
Bzzzzzzzt!!
His sword flashed, wind whipped through the battlefield, and the moles dropped six at a time. The moon sank, and the sun began to rise. With dawn’s light, the moles vanished along with the night.
“Kkyu...”
“Kkuu...”
When it all ended, only Almond stood with his back to the morning sun. All around, crops began sprouting from the soil.
Swoooosh!
Despite the damage, some had survived to push through. Golden fields, the warm sun, fresh green sprouts, and one man stood tall among them.
The dazzling sight made Sweet Radish cry out. “This... this is Mon D. Roger! The man who will be King of the Farmers!!”
— LOOOOOOL
— Farmer King lol
— Radish Servant’s acting is on fire
— Oscar-worthy delivery lol
— Farmer King just sounds lame somehow lol
— Kya
— Gotta admit, it hits
— Mon D. Roger hahaha
***
“Alright. Cut.” PD Jang pushed back his long hair.
Click.
The staff pressed some buttons and framed the shots from the virtual cameras. The image on their screens showed Almond standing in a field with the sun at his back after wiping out the moles.
“Ohhh... this is good.” PD Jang turned to his staff again. “You got Sweet Radish’s mic too?”
“Yes, yes.”
“This... this is Mon D. Roger! The man who will be King of the Farmers!!” Sweet Radish’s voice replayed.
It would be perfect for the main channel’s edit.
“Wow... perfect. This is ridiculous, but damn, it’s cool.”
***
Morning finally arrived in Cheese Village. Almond and the servant duo had spent all night repairing the fields.
“Phew.”
They didn’t finish until sunrise.
Almond took the prime seat on the sofa. Sweet Radish sat across from him, as if this was standard procedure, and began his report.
“I’ll report yesterday’s damages.”
“Alright.”
“Last night’s disaster destroyed about forty to fifty percent of the crops. Chili peppers and tomatoes took the heaviest losses.”
— Lmao, why’s he giving a formal report
— That’s a lot of damage
— Looks like a corporate boardroom lol
— Weren’t they here for a healing game? lol
The moles had attacked the side with peppers and tomatoes, causing heavy losses there. Luckily, much of the corn remained safe.
“Thanks to Lord Almond’s timely arrival, the corn losses were only around ten percent.”
“Oh, good.”
“Yes. Also, according to the server chat, a new Chef class has appeared. Apparently, they need to make corn porridge to earn coins, so corn prices should be strong. The farm’s losses will likely recover fully.”
Then, Potato Servant cut in. “B-But we can’t just leave it like this! Sure, we survived this time, but the monsters keep getting stronger. The fact that they only attacked Sweet Radish’s place is undeniable! I saw it with my own eyes!”
— LOOOOL
— He says this every time lol
— We saw it too, Potato Servant
— Potato Servant fits this role way too well
Almond nodded. Potato Servant had a point. They couldn’t farm effectively while enduring monster raids.
“So, do you have a plan?” Almond looked at Radish Servant, the group’s brains.
“I’ve been thinking of something.”
“I knew it. Capable as always.” Almond nodded like he believed in him.
“You flatter me.”
— Why’s Almond so good at the executive act? lol
— Bet he’s done VP impressions at company dinners
— That voice though lol
— He’s been in the corporate world long enough, acting is second nature
— Feels like a mafia meeting, but with chibi characters. It’s just... harmless lol
Radish Servant laid out his plan.
“If what Donuts said is true and the monsters are drawn to field size... Then, we should shrink the field by the evening.”
“Oh?”
“Right now, our main competition is ForeverAlone, Black Tea, and Donuts. Black Tea’s field is the largest, and ForeverAlone is catching up fast. If we shrink just a little, we can secure the number-two spot easily.”
“And the next day, won’t everyone else shrink theirs too?”
“That’s the key.” Sweet Radish grinned and pointed outside toward the soil.
“The more everyone shrinks, the more it benefits us.”
To match the efficiency of Fertile Soil, others would need seven to eight times more land. If everyone’s size dropped, they would gain a huge advantage.
— Kya
— That’s actually true
— Wow
— Damn
— If it’s a chicken game, Chinese capital wins lol
— Kek
“We’ll sell everything except the plots with Fertile Soil. Thoughts?”
Almond nodded and approved. “Do it.”
— Execution seat lol
— Director Lee’s form is crazy~
— What does he even do? lol
— Always recruits like a pro... never swings the sword himself lol
— Director A hahaha
“For now, let’s keep quiet about it and just sell our goods quietly at the produce market today.”
“Right.”
Radish Servant, Potato Servant, and Almond all headed to the market.
***
“I recommend you look a little sad, Lord Almond.” Radish Servant, acting like a chief secretary, coached him on his entrance before they entered the market.
“Alright.”
Almond adjusted his avatar’s settings to an extremely sad face. It looked a bit over the top, but was still better than smiling. When they entered, wails already filled the air.
“Kyaaaaaaa!” Miho screamed and collapsed in front of the price chart.
Thud.
“P-Potatoes... the potatoes!!”
[Tomato] [△21%]
[Cabbage] [△15%]
[Chili Pepper] [△42%]
[Sweet Potato] [-%]
[Potato] [▼100%]
...
She definitely planted potatoes.
“Oh-ho! Potatoes have crashed completely! No, not crashed, it’s been delisted!”
Like always, Donuts sighed like an NPC at the market.
“Eheh~ Guess I’m ruined too!”
He watched Almond’s reaction, who acted the part.
‘Let’s see... Almond...’
The rest of the Nonghyup members also watched Almond and Sweet Radish with a mix of excitement and tension.
‘I know he planted potatoes, but... how much of the rest?’
Almond could’ve mixed in other crops too. Depending on what those were, their wealth could be less than Donuts’s now. Everyone studied their reactions closely.
“Uh...?” Almond stared at the chart with his mouth hanging open.
Donuts smiled.
‘He’s mentally broken.’
He thought the potato crash had rattled Almond.
‘Wow.’
However, Almond wasn’t looking at potatoes at all. He hadn’t brought a single one.
[Sweet Corn] [▲280%]
His eyes focused on the corn. Just as Donuts had taught him, he didn’t let his excitement show. He kept his mouth tightly shut this time.