Chapter 158: Starting to Get Ready (1)

Their positions collided. It was a common thing that happened in streamer tournaments. Generally, the assigned coach had to make the proper adjustments in cases like this.

[Tako: Well, since I'm the assigned coach, can I decide?]

Tako came forward, and everyone was in favor.

[Tako: It may sound obvious, but we need to give ADC to our team player with the highest win rate.]

It made sense because the team's victory was the most important factor.

[Tako: Well, for now, StrawberryShooter will be a better ADC for sure because he's Master, and Almond is just a beginner who's only played one game.]

This was also correct, but the decision wasn't so simple. They had to compare their options.

[Tako: But one rotten apple outweighs the other four for this game. So if Almond plays a different position, we could have a lower win rate. So we need to experiment...]

They needed to compare StrawberryShooter and Almond both playing as ADC. It was the simplest and most surefire way to make a decision.

[Tako: Even then, it won't be a perfect comparison. I can't say who will be better, but I'll still have to make the final decision. Is that okay with everybody?]

Everyone agreed.

[Tako: We need to decide on the position at least two weeks in advance to have at least two weeks' worth of practice.]

[Tako: We have three weeks until the tournament. We usually have a month, but we've already wasted a week.]

A week was wasted because of the team member who flunked out last minute.

[Tako: Almond, you only have a week. You have a week to get better.]

This was why Manager Oh was in such a rush to find a new member. Almond stood by for now.

[Tako: Almond, you said you started playing LIL three days ago, right?]

[Almond: Yes.]

[Tako: Honestly, it's hard to compare you with a Master tier. The comparison is almost meaningless.]

[Almond: Yes.]

[Tako: To at least be able to compare with him, you need to work harder, right? Do you think you can reach Level 30 in a week? It's the minimum level required to play ranked matches.]

[Miho: Level 30? How's that possible in one week?!]

It was a hard task because even Miho expressed her surprise. Tako was firm in his decision though.

[Tako: If he plays 5-6 hours every day, it's possible. A high win rate account levels up quickly too because there's bonus EXP for win streaks.]

[Bubblegum: Hey, isn't that too hard?]

[Tako: If he wants to match our tempo, he needs to at least do this much.]

[Almond: That's alright. It's true that I'm still a beginner.]

[Tako: Then we'll expect good news, Mr. Almond. Try reaching Level 10 first, and we'll see how you do as ADC.]

[Miho: Lol oppa, why are you calling him mister. Are you trying to sound old on purpose?]

[StrawberryShooter: Yeah, oppa, why are you mean to Almond!]

[Almond: I'll see you a week after I hit Level 30.]

The awkward morning conversation finally came to an end. Or at least, he thought.

Bling.

[Tako: Mr. Almond.]

[Tako: Can I call you right now?]

Tako sent him a private message. Sang-Hyeon responded by calling him.

"Hello."

“

Ah

, Almond. It's nice to talk to you. I'm Takoyaki.”

"Yes, it's nice to meet you. What did you want to talk about?"

“

Ah

, it's just that I was thinking about some new content.”

Tako's content idea was this. Since Tako was the coach, he could observe Almond starting today and give him feedback. It was perfect for Almond because he would get one-on-one coaching from a previous pro.

"Do you think you can do that?"

It was possible, but...

Takoyaki also needed to gain something from it. That was the content.

“I'll stream myself coaching you, and after the live feedback, I'll do another rundown. It'll be like I'm casting you. It's content for me as well.”

It seemed like a good idea. For streamers, this tournament was another form of content. At the end of the day, it was also for fun. This content could provide something for Almond that he wouldn't be able to achieve on his own.

“But it's inevitable that you have to show your screen on my stream. For that, I need your permission.”

"I have no problem with it. Our screens are going to repeatedly appear anyway before the tournament."

During the practice, the streams weren't individualistic. It was like one giant collaboration stream.

“But do you think you can reach Level 30 in one week? If you keep getting win streaks without losing, it's possible. It’s very difficult though.”

"You said it was possible earlier..."

“That's because I needed to sound firm as the coach...

haha…

”

“I see.”

He really was just pretending to sound like that.

"I'll try my best to keep a winning streak."

“Alright. Just send me a message before you start streaming.”

"Okay."

The two bid farewell, and the call was over.

'He doesn't seem like a bad guy after all.'

Sang-Hyeon initially thought he was a little weird, but he seemed fine after the phone call.

'There are streamers like this too.'

Sang-Hyeon didn't even know who Takoyaki was. He had no idea that he had met Takoyaki in

Battle Large

and humiliated him either. Sang-Hyeon got up and stretched his body.

'Let's go exercise.'

He woke up since there was nothing to gain from lying down. He decided to exercise just like his doctor advised him to. He put on his tracksuit and windbreaker before heading outside.

"What the. Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

Ju-Hyeok was eating a toast with fried eggs at the living room table.

"I'll eat after exercising."

***

It was the morning commute time, or more precisely, the time just before starting work when people gathered and lingered. Around this time, online communities began posting articles about Almond. Ju-Hyeok had developed a habit of monitoring multiple communities on his screen. With a toast in his mouth, he clicked on his mouse rhythmically, resembling a seasoned Wall Street trader.

[LIL Pro]

Since the current game Almond was playing was

LIL

, the first community Ju-Hyeok browsed was LIL Pro.

[When's Almond streaming today?]

[Is he done with it now that he's kissed Raina!? Turn on your stream!!]

[Take care of Raina! Take care of Raina!]

In LIL Pro, Raina was still the hot topic.

[I'm going to try and attempt Raina's three star too.]

There were even users trying to copy Almond.

[Instead of a kiss, I died while hearing her curse at me.]

There was a video attached to the post. Ju-Hyeok was surprised to learn that Raina could curse harshly like that.

— LOOOOL

— Hey, why are you making a little girl say those things!

— LOL, that's hilarious.

— Is this really the same Demian?

— Raina, my girl... escape with the next Demian.

Even though the tactic for the three-star Raina route was revealed, it wasn't easy to achieve.

[You have to be insane with the bow to clear it. I don't know how many attempts I've tried.]

[My Raina doesn't even talk to me!!!]

[Raina three star is so fucking hard.]

[Raina!! Save me!]

Several posts were venting their frustrations as well.

"Did you think it was easy to kiss Raina?!"

Ju-Hyeok giggled to himself even though he wasn't the one who achieved it.

[KAF]

Next was KAF. This community was the most loyal to Almond. At one point, it was almost like a personal community for Almond. There weren't many posts about Almond because he hadn't played Kingdom Age in a while, but sometimes there were traces.

'... What is this.'

As expected, there was a post that caught Ju-Hyeok's eye.

[1. Almond meets a Kingdom Age fanboy on the train.avi]

It was the number one trending post on the forum. It was odd and almost overwhelming to still see his name rank first on the forum despite quitting the game for a while.

'Did something happen?'

The title sounded slightly ominous.

Click.

When he clicked the post, there was a video attached to it. The video was of a guy screaming, "King, you can't beat me! ~Dom!" at Almond on the train.

"Wow..."

This type of attention seeker left Ju-Hyeok in awe.

— LOOOOL

— Wow

— You're crazy, hahaha

— That's freaking hilarious

The comments were filled with laughter, and Ju-Hyeok couldn't hide his laughter either.

— Look at Almond's face, LOL

— He looks so defeated, haha

— Almond: This is... my fan?

— Hahahahaha

— ??? No more Kingdom Age from now on

Sang-Hyeon looked soulless inside the screen. Was it thanks to the video? There were also talks about the tournament that Ju-Hyeok couldn't find on LIL Pro in KAF.

[3. Almond's participating in the streamer in-house tournament!!]

A fan linked an article about it. There were already articles about it.

'They're so quick.'

The reporter, the fan, and Manager Oh. The world was filled with people with quick feet.

— Wow, really?

— Miho, damn

— Miho finally gets to play with Almond

└ She's been wanting to play with him since Battle Large.

└ Almond kept declining. Does he have a girlfriend?

└ Of course he does.

— It's Bubblegum!

— Hey, AcornJelly is in team C. All popular variety game streamers must be participating.

└ Yeah, for real. LIL put a lot of money into this.

There were lots of talk about Miho because she was the sole female streamer on Almond's team.

[The one who recommended Almond the most was Miho.]

He recalled what Manager Oh told him. She was a thankful person. Sang-Hyeon hadn't done anything particular for her, but she cared for him in many ways.

'Miho's manager...'

That was why Ju-Hyeok hesitated more.

Creak.

Sang-Hyeon came back from his jog.

"

Phew

, what a run. What are you doing?"

"

Ah

, I was browsing the communities. There are already articles about the tournament."

"

Ah

, really?"

"Yeah. I think there's going to be quite a few viewers today."

"

Ah!

Right. This morning..."

Sang-Hyeon remembered and told Ju-Hyeok what he and Tako discussed this morning.

"Oh...? Tako's going to coach you? That's good. I think it'll be fun."

Sang-Hyeon was relieved.

'If he thinks that way, it's a good thing I accepted the offer.'

Ju-Hyeok had a great sense for business ever since he worked at Ahsung. He could smell a successful project from a mile away, but was terrible with stocks for some reason. All in all, it was a good sign in terms of business if Ju-Hyeok thought it was a good idea.

"How is Takoyaki?"

"

Ah

, I did some research about him. Takoyaki has more viewers than you and has experience winning when he was a pro in

LIL

, so his coaching should be effective. I think overall, it'll be good."

"Good."

Sang-Hyeon headed to the kitchen. Ju-Hyeok observed him, suspicious if he'd cook. However, Sang-Hyeon took out some almonds from the pantry.

Crunch.

He ate them like popcorn and washed them down with milk. Then he smiled in satisfaction.

'Argh...'

It made Ju-Hyeok annoyed.

***

It was dinnertime.

"Hey, I'm going to start streaming."

"

Hmm.

Isn't it right on time with rush hour?"

The best time for streams was usually after-work hours, lunchtime, commuting hours, or sometimes even in the early morning. It was currently a somewhat ambiguous time around 5 o'clock, but when did Sang-Hyeon care about such things?

"These days, I feel best around this time. I already told Tako as well."

"Okie. I'm going to get ready too."

Sang-Hyeon headed for the capsule, and Ju-Hyeok headed toward his desktop.

[Stream is starting.]

He turned on the stream, almost like a machine at this point. The intro music started playing...

— 1!!!

— Oh, stream

— Hihi

— Is the evening stream today?

— AlHa!

— This nut turns it on whenever he wants to

— Consistently inconsistent

The viewers started gathering.

[Current Viewers: 7k]

'Seven thousand?'

Sang-Hyeon doubted his eyes for a moment. Seven thousand viewers right as the stream began? The intro music wasn't even over yet.

[Current Viewers: 9.2k]

When the music finished, there were nine thousand viewers. And then...

[Current Viewers: 15k]

The number grew and grew until it hit 15,000.

"Wow! What the!?"

He could hear Ju-Hyeok screaming from outside the capsule as well. Almond felt the same.

'What the...'

Was this the power of the tournament?