Chapter 211. The Lifesaver I Met Again (1)

After the first match ended, the commentators proceeded with their analysis of the previous game.

"Fearless Deer, what should they do? They were completely dismantled, whether it was in champion selection or gameplay."

"Tako's champion selection especially stood out. It reflects the intelligence he had during his professional days."

Commentators chose Tako's champion picks as a key factor in Balloon Stars' victory.

"That's right. They switched Almond to the mid-lane position and still won. What's more impressive was that he picked Ran, who’s more vulnerable against dive combinations. However, they also countered back with the Time Witch and Hammer Warrior! It was so beautiful!"

"They call it talking control, right? We saw several instances of well-executed team fights relying solely on communication."

"The pick-phase was amazing, but the game wouldn't be this smooth if it weren't for Almond's physicality and instant combat abilities."

Almond's extraordinary skills were considered the second factor in their victory.

"Miho and StrawberryShooter were great today, weren't they? It seems like it's not just Almond who's improving!"

"It would be really scary once Bubblegum starts improving his skills!"

"You're right. That could become truly terrifying!"

After discussing how fearsome Balloon Stars could become in the future, the MVP voting began.

Since the tournament wasn’t official and the MVP voting wasn’t taken as seriously, even Miho ranked 2nd.

"Wow, everyone! Let's not forget about Miho!"

"Miho is still a great mid-laner, right?"

"The ban-picks aren't a factor considered when choosing MVP, so it's unfortunate for Tako."

The commentators were momentarily surprised, but nothing changed since only first place was selected as the MVP.

1) LazySolider

"The MVP is Almond! Just as I said earlier, that play was amazing!"

"Yeah~ Drop the mic! I mean, drop the shuriken!"

OrangeKing twisted his entire body to express himself.

— LOL

— You crazy, hahaha

— This is the true commentary! Lol

— Are you watching Red Glasses?

"Hey, OrangeKing! You seem really excited."

"Well, it's been a while since we saw something this impressive!"

"Anyway! The first match flowed as we expected. It was a game that clearly showed the difference in power and skills!"

"Yes, but the next match will be very unpredictable, right?"

"That's right."

The commentary moved on to the next match. The upcoming match was between Solo Is Back and Green Tea Bagging.

"Now, the champion selection has started. Solo Is Back vs. Green Tea Bagging, Green Tea Bagging vs. Solo Is Back. I wonder what strategies they have prepared..."

***

The casters moved on to the next game, but the community users couldn't.

[Almond attacking with shuriken.gif]

[The strongest among nuts. The most powerful smokescreen.gif]

[Tomato's expression after the first game, lol]

[OrangKing, drop the shuriken.gif]

Various posts about the showdown between Balloon Stars and Fearless Deer continued on Big Pro with everyone discussing the match.

— It gave me chills when the unexpected double kill happened in the smokescreen.

— The era of nuts has come. The era of nuts has arrived.

— Honestly, today was 0.5 JeonJaPa.

└ BS.

└ Sigh, those fanboys...

└ JeonJaPa is obsolete, and Almond's era is coming. Can't you see that?

— Can JeonJaPa drop the shuriken? Can JeonJaPa drop the shuriken? Can JeonJaPa drop the shuriken?

└ Yeah. But they do it like an idiot.

└ If it were JeonJaPa with the shuriken, they would've instantly died.

— Do you guys think Almond has ever done ninja running in junior high? Do you guys think Almond has ever done ninja running in junior high?

└ He was too busy with archery.

└ Archery??

— What's with OrangeKing's dance? LOL

└ He's extremely entertaining, hahaha.

— OrangeKing, drop the shuriken!

These reactions continued until ForeverAlone’s spectacular solo kill in the next game.

[Ohh, actually, Green Tea Bagging is stronger now?! How did this happen?]

[Aaaaah! ForeverAlone! It’s as if he’s shouting at them, don’t give me Solia!]

Ju-Hyeok could hear such voices as Almond's capsule opened.

Thud.

"Hey."

Tok.

Ju-Hyeok tossed him a towel.

"You were pretty cool in there, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks.."

Almond was expressing his gratitude when he suddenly became at a loss for words.

"What are you doing?"

Ju-Hyeok suddenly bent his body in half. He bent his body again and looked at Almond as if asking why he couldn't understand.

Swoosh.

"Can't you see me dropping the shuriken…?"

"..."

Almond gave Ju-Hyeok a cold look.

"Um... Hey Ju-Hyeok, you don't need to be too obsessed with the community posts."

Ju-Hyeok felt embarrassed.

"Shit."

Sang-Hyeon laughed at the blushing Ju-Hyeok.

"I'm gonna take a shower."

Sang-Hyeon couldn't stop laughing and headed toward the bathroom.

Ju-Hyeok glanced at the guy who couldn't appreciate his joke.

Sang-Hyeon’s back was all wet from sweating more than expected, probably due to the intense power of the Storm Ninja's ultimate skill.

Ju-Hyeok heard that even regular players struggled with it. There was a post about how tough Storm Ninja was to play. They said it was no different from splitting your brain into three and operating them separately.

It was a tough ordeal, yet everyone withstood it for a video game. Shouldn't video games be about having fun? But LIL was different.

Only some players played this game for enjoyment. Most sought new achievements.

The effort they poured into this game was no different from fierce struggles in real life. They competed relentlessly, pushing their bodies to the limits and continuing to fight.

'It's more like a sport.'

The mental strength and dedication of gamers were no different from sports.

Perhaps that was why Sang-Hyeon was so deeply immersed in it. At first, he seemed crazy when he mentioned that he wanted to buy a capsule.

Now, it wasn't surprising why Sang-Hyeon treated these games like the three colored archery targets.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

'No, he's crazy for sure.'

Ju-Hyeok corrected himself and turned back to the monitor.

Just then, his phone rang.

Zing.

[Lee Kang-Seok]

Kang-Seok...? He was the owner of the capsule cafe that sold Sang-Hyeon the capsule.

"What's up with him?"

Ju-Hyeok answered the phone, "Kang-Seok, it's been a while."

“Hey, are you doing good?”

"Of course, better than ever."

Ju-Hyeok heard Kang-Seok laughing over the phone.

“I can see that. I've been watching the streams. I also watched the commercial you were in."

"What, really?"

“Yeah, it was so damn funny! Even my wife laughed a lot.”

"Oh, even she saw it... Haha."

More laughter echoed through the phone.

“Oh, by the way, your friend Almond. CEO Park liked him very much.

"CEO Park?"

“I have some shares in that company. It's a capsule company.”

"Oh, yes, I know. The owner of that company was..."

Ju-Hyeok tried his best to remember the details about CEO Park. Recalling such personal information was crucial in many cases, so Ju-Hyeok was already well-trained in it.

"Mr. Park Hyung-Joon, right? I remember Hyung-Joon was his name."

“Oh, you remember him too? You guys have met, right? He really likes Almond. I even mentioned that I sold our company's capsule to him and that he was participating in the tournament. Then…”

Ju-Hyeok's eyes widened as he listened to Kang-Seok.

"Custom capsules?"

“Yes.”

Ju-Hyeok was taken aback. Although he didn't know much, he knew about custom capsules.

A custom capsule was made for one person just like custom-made suits. These capsules weren’t cheap, considering that 70 to 80 percent of people opted for leasing, installment plans, or long-term rentals for custom capsules. They were roughly estimated to be similar in pricing to custom sports cars.

'It's probably worth several hundred million won.'

Depending on the manufacturer, it wouldn't be surprising if the cost went into the billions.

"No way. You're saying they're giving us that?"

“It's an ad, man. We're advertising it too.”

"But still..."

“Go talk to him first. Let me know when you're free.”

"Okay, for sure!"

Thud! Thud!

Ju-Hyeok rushed to the bathroom door and knocked excitedly, "Sang-Hyeon! Come out right now! This is amazing!"

***

The next day.

"Wow, you guys came early."

Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon went to Divers, the capsule manufacturing company, at 10 A.M.

Lee Kang-Seok waved to them at the entrance.

"Of course, I had to come early." Ju-Hyeok warmly greeted Lee Kang-Seok, whom he hadn't seen in a while. "How are you? How's the capsule room?"

"They're running on part-timers right now. Oh, Mr. Sang-Hyeon. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too!" Sang-Hyeon greeted him and stepped in.

Lee Kang-Seok was the kind soul who sold Sang-Hyeon the used capsule for a mere 7 million won.

"Your face has brightened up a lot, haha."

It had been a while since Lee Kang-Seok last saw Sang-Hyeon in person.

'Seems like he's doing well.'

Kang-Seok felt like he was seeing two different people. The current Sang-Hyeon compared to back then seemed like entirely different individuals.

Back then, Sang-Hyeon came to buy the capsule after being laid off from his job. At the time, he picked up a bow after ten years and burst into tears. It was the first time Kang-Seok had seen a grown man cry so miserably. Kang-Seok would've been quite disgusted by any other man crying, but he felt something burning his heart in that moment.

He genuinely hoped for the best for Sang-Hyeon.

"I'm truly glad that you've been doing so well."

"Thank you. It's all thanks to you."

The faint ember that once existed was now blazing brightly in Sang-Hyeon. That was enough to feel the satisfaction of helping Sang-Hyeon back then.

"Please follow me. Since it's a custom-made one, there are some steps to take. It's a good thing that you came early."

Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok entered excitedly.

There was a spacious exhibition area inside the company. Various capsules were displayed, ranging from around 30 million won for the basic models to flagship capsules priced at about 70 million won. The expensive capsules were distinctly different in design even at a glance.

"Wow..."

They walked through the exhibition hall in admiration and entered the research lab.

"You're here. Nice to meet you."

The president was waiting inside. He was a middle-aged man with a striking demeanor and a fairly sharp presence.

"And you’re Almond, correct?"

Even though the president appeared ten years older than Sang-Hyeon, he behaved respectfully.

Sang-Hyeon was taken aback and instinctively bowed back.

"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you too."

"Thank you for considering our proposal."

The president went straight to the point.

"We're pressed for time, so shall we proceed to the next step? Let's talk about the details later. The examination will take around five hours.”

"Understood."

"We need to collect data like VNS measurements, and there are other specialized tests just for our company. We're counting on you."

"Of course, thank you for this opportunity."

***

Meanwhile, researchers dressed in white space-like suits were waiting in the lab. No one was talking, so it was dead silent.

Tension from the pressure of a big project that was about to happen hung heavily in the air.

They finally started speaking when the diver entered the lab through the glass door.

"Is that Almond?"

"Yes..."

They were told that the CEO selected this diver, which was weird.

Almond was gaining popularity recently, but wasn't exceptionally famous and wasn’t a professional gamer either.

"Is that person really higher in VNS than JeonJaPa?"

"From what I've heard, he's higher than JeonJaPa."

"Really?!"

"It's unofficial, but that's what they say."

"Holy... well, that does make sense why he's here then."

They somewhat understood because of Almond's performance. His VNS measurement was known to be even higher than JeonJaPa and he had shown extraordinary plays in the games he played.

Considering those factors, it was reasonable why the CEO chose Almond as the diver for this project.

"Does JeonJaPa use the Aston capsule?"

"... Yes, I think so. They had it custom-made there. Actually, we ended up paying for them."

"It feels strange to think that we're making that kind of capsule right now."

"Hey, supervisor, I wonder how others will react if you feel that way... People might think we've gone crazy if we start making high-end capsules. Capsule companies are doomed once accidents happen."

"Hey, stop being so negative. We've conducted countless experiments and research for years. Now you're worried about accidents?"

"... Sorry."

The company Divers specialized in budget capsules. High-end, high-performance capsules were unheard of from Divers. Despite countless prototypes through their research so far, the public still perceived Divers as a low-cost budget capsule producer.

That was why this project was so important. It was also why the researchers couldn't simply be satisfied with Almond's performance alone.

"Hey, supervisor, will this person become as famous as JeonJaPa? We wish to aim for that..."

"I don't know. The CEO probably has a plan for that."

Good performance and popularity were essential. It seemed too ambitious, but they had to aim that high. The company was at a crossroads and whether or not they would leap forward or fall depended on this.

"Supervisor..."

"Hey, I understand you're nervous, but settle down for a moment. You're distracting me."

"... Okay."

***

Around two hours later, the researchers stared at the data for a long time with puzzled expressions. Then they glanced at the team leader.

The leader told them to be quiet earlier... but they felt it was necessary to notify him about this data.

The researcher cautiously spoke up after long consideration, "Um... Hey, supervisor..."

"What, what is it again?"

"Well... This person's data seems a bit strange."

"?"

The supervisor was annoyed at being bothered again. However, his reaction resembled his team members after looking at Almond's data.

'... What's going on with this guy.'