Season 4: Chapter 183. Working Holiday (3)

Right before Cheese’s departure ceremony, Zelu set off toward Paprika.

“I... I’ll destroy that village for sure! Damn Cheese... No, damn that Moldy Cheese Village!”

He repeated his hatred for the place as if it were a curse.

— Moldy Cheese Village LMAO

— lolololololol

— If he beats Lord Almond, I’ll actually respect him

— The killing intent tho

Paprika was much farther than he had expected, considering they went on foot. Along the way, he suffered several status effects, needed food to recover, and had to stop by the river just to drink and rest. They had prepared nothing, so everything took longer.

“

Haaa...

It’s stupidly far. Thinking about it now, we always met halfway in the mines, so I’ve never actually gone the whole way before.”

He knew the coordinates, but never imagined it would be this far.

Ding.

[ZeloShroom has donated 20,000 won.]

[Hey, Zelu. What do you mean you met halfway? Didn’t your dad do that?]

“Ah.” Zelu rubbed the back of his head with an awkward laugh. “Well... when I was little, Father told me there’d be people who could help us there. He never went himself, but still...”

— Weird dad you got there...

— LOL you even met him?

— How does he know there’s help there if he never went?? lmao

“A-Anyway! Once we reach Paprika, Father’s old comrades will be waiting! The Revolutionaries are there!”

“Zelu, hush and help me get water first.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Revolution, my foot. All he left us was debt. We’re hauling water, not sparking uprisings.”

Splash. Splash.

They filled their inventory with water from the river.

“

Haaa...

In the village, we just scooped water from the well...”

“M-Mother...”

Choco Shroom sighed, and Zelu felt guilty. Even though it was his father’s fault, somehow the shame fell on him.

“One day, I’ll...”

Then, it happened. A pack of Ahwooolves jumped out from the dark.

“

Ahwooo!

”

“Wh-What?!”

Splash!

Several wolves dashed toward the riverbank. Zelu raised his pickaxe. It was an Obsidian one, at least.

“C-Come on, try me! Do you know who I am?!”

“

Grrr...

” One Ahwoo Wolf lunged forward.

“I’m the son of the legendary miner, Zeloooo!”

KWAANG!

He smashed the wolf’s skull with the Obsidian pickaxe.

Thwack! Thud!

He beat the next few down like ore in a vein.

“

Kyeng!

”

“Die, you mutt!”

His powerful swings truly embodied a miner’s strike, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t take them all alone.

“

Grrrrk!

”

“

Woof! Woof!

”

More wolves gathered. Four or five still remained.

“Zelu! Move!”

Whoosh!

Choco Shroom hurled a bomb.

KAAABOOM!

The wolf burst apart in the explosion.

— God damn

— Choco’s signature buggy-bomb lol

— True mining gameplay right here lmao

— A whole bomb for one wolf?? Haha

— Independent struggle means explosives, always

The powerful blast also drained Zelu’s stamina.

[Bruise]

Thankfully, he didn’t suffer anything fatal.

“Ch-Choco, no, Mother, your aim is still perfect.”

“I told you to move!”

At that moment, Zelu recalled the time his mother threw a remote across the room. He had a childhood flashback.

— LMFAO she’s still the same

— Thank god aim isn’t hereditary

— Thought she was trying to kill him for a second haha

“A-Anyway, Zelu, let’s get a fire going. We’ll freeze if we stay like this. And your status effect will get worse.”

They had been fighting knee-deep in water with their clothes soaked.

[Soaked]

If they walked without drying off, they’d fall ill. It would be the end if they got sick out here.

Thunk. Thunk.

Zelu swung an axe and chopped logs for firewood. Choco Shroom stacked them into a triangular fire lay.

Fizz.

Flames caught, and smoke curled up. Night settled behind them.

— Exiled from home to sleeping outdoors lmao

— Could’ve been a romance arc... but it’s mother-son... sigh

— Healing content: camping with mom after being banished haha

The chat mocked him relentlessly, but Zelu stayed firm.

“What do you mean romance?! We even had a kid, you idiots!”

— INSANE LOL

— ‘My inner Zelo awakens...’

— They won’t quit with the shipping jokes

— He’s right though. Once a baby is born, it’s over hahaha

“None of you helped either when it mattered! When father died, where were you, huh?!”

— BRO LMFAO

— HOLY hahahaha

— First streamer to have a son scolding the chat for him

— He’s possessed, I swear hahaha

“Damn... seriously...”

A mother who inspired no confidence, a father executed by enemies, and a journey into the unknown. The young boy had to carry too many burdens. Still, he endured, driven by his only goal of vengeance.

“

Uh...

Mother, behind you!”

“Huh?”

One more Ahwoo Wolf remained.

“Damn it! Persistent bastard!” Zelu swung his pickaxe and smashed it into the wolf.

Thwack!

“

Grrrrr!

”

It lunged again, and Zelu struck once more.

Thwack!

He landed a clean hit.

[Destruction]

However, his pickaxe suddenly vanished.

Pop.

“

Grrrk?

”

The Ahwoo Wolf bled from its head, but curled its lips into a grin now that Zelu was unarmed.

“D-Don’t come any closer, you mutt!”

Fwoosh!

Zelu grabbed a burning log from the campfire and wielded it like a club.

“

Grrrrr...! KRAAAH!

”

The wolf charged, but Zelu didn’t back down. Flames danced across the surface of his sunglasses.

“

HYAAAAAA!

”

Bang!

The beast dropped. Maybe it didn’t have much health left and simply collapsed.

“

Huff... hah...

”

“Yes... as expected. You inherited your father’s power. That dangerous power...” Choco Shroom began dramatizing wildly, perhaps embarrassed that she hadn’t helped. “What if Zelu truly follows his father’s path... Then I...”

— LMAO

— “Dangerous power,” sure, lady

— Zelo is sealed within Zelu... terrifying

— I’m dying hahaha

She theatrically went on a monologue.

“Huh?” Zelu discovered something monumental.

Something even his father had never achieved. A revelation all villagers dreamed of.

[Fertile Soil]

“Wha... what is this? This wasn’t fertile before. I would’ve noticed if it was.”

***

Flap!

A grand Cheese banner whipped through the wind as the entire cavalry surged forward.

“CHAAAARGEEE!!”

Dududududu!

The horses looked foolish, stubby, and disproportionate. However, they became surprisingly intimidating when they kicked up dirt and thundered across the field.

Tudududududu!

The little two-head-tall characters rode the shabby ponies with exaggerated postures like heroes from legends.

“For the Order!!!”

“For the Order!!!”

Before the war even began, the community was already on fire from the absurd sight.

[#3. Elementary school bullies fighting from an adult’s POV.gif]

==== ====

They're all arguing about who hits hardest, whose kick is strongest, who won the last fight, and acting dead serious when it looks like this in reality.

(Video)

==== ====

— LMFAO

— I’M CRYING

— The insanity

— Almond’s face is so serious it hurts

— They’re genuinely invested in this content lmao

— bro stop hahahaha

— He’s more serious than when he was in the world tournament

└ He was just a grunt then with one screw loose.

└ Here, he’s the leader, so he’s lost his entire wrench set.

— What even IS this arc?? Last I watched, they were rigging potato prices

└ HAHAHAHA

└ Things... escalated.

└ Potato price manipulation was the peak issue omg

Yes, they were serious.

“Location confirmed?”

They acted like true soldiers marching into war. No, they acted even more committed and dramatic. This was the soul of

Survival Craft

, the spectacle.

“Yes, my lord!” Radish Servant communicated through the whisper chat. “Coordinates arriving soon!”

They didn't know Paprika’s location precisely. Technically, Almond had been there before, but his memory was a lost cause.

Before the departure ceremony, they sent Onion Worker ahead. He followed Team Rocket’s tunnel and eventually reached beneath Paprika.

[(Whisper) Onion: Sending coords.]

[(Whisper) Onion: X1232 Y939 Z84]

Radish Servant received them and recited aloud, “X1232 Y939 Z84!”

The others echoed in chorus, “X1232 Y939 Z84!”

— Why do they chant it like a cult? lmao

— All because Almond can’t remember anything

— This guild suffers daily hahaha

Almond nodded. “Good.”

He turned his horse.

“Move out!”

“

NEIIIIIGH!

”

Instead, all the horses stopped.

“Uh... why aren’t we moving?”

“M-My lord! Just keep going the same direction as before!”

“Right?”

Almond muttered to himself, “The timing would've been cooler if it worked, and we all kicked off again.

“Forward!!”

As if the previous hiccup had been edited out entirely, the whole order resumed marching flawlessly.

“Yes!”

“

HYAA!

”

— I’m sobbing hahaha

— Why did he turn so dramatically?

— He just had to keep going straight lmao

— I honestly thought the turn looked cool too

— He knows how to farm content...

Despite the brief directional failure, they quickly resumed their journey. The ponies looked ridiculous, but were still horses.

Tududududu...!

Under the fluttering Working Holiday banner, the entire army surged forward. They were well-fed and well-watered with mounts to carry them. No camping was required. They were possibly even faster than those who left earlier.

“I see it ahead, my lord!”

Before long, they reached Paprika.