In fact, the final reward for first place in challenge points was not ten million won. It was one million won.

A one-day prize of ten million won would have been excessive. Sang-Hyeon thought so, but the viewers had conspired to deceive him.

— For real

— Go for the stream

— Challenge go go

— They say this prize is record-breaking.

— LOL that expression LOL LOL LOL

His viewers acted remarkably unified. Among those chatting, hardly anyone was giving accurate information.

— Ten million won LOL, it's just ten thousand won.

— No, it's a hundred thousand won.

— It’s one thousand won. I saw it.

Some called out drastically lower figures, but most incited the lie by claiming it was ten million won. To make matters worse, they even supported their deception with donations.

[BundleOfBranches has donated 10,000 won.]

[There's a huge sponsorship at the LIL RPG Legend Tale demo booth, so the first place prize is ten million won.]

"BundleOfBranches… Thank you. Ah, really? Ten million won for one day is tremendous."

— It's really ten million won, idiots LOL

— This one's record breaking LOL

— Really?? Wow

— BundleOfBranches LOL LOL

— What's BundleOfBranches? A vasectomy?

The donations made a much greater impact than the chat itself. Moreover, linking it to the

LIL RPG

made it seem quite credible.

In such circumstances, viewers who didn't know any better were also convinced that the top reward was ten million won. They believed it was true too.

— Ten million won and you guys are saying a hundred thousand LOL

— LIL RPG demo caused it to be ten million won, what’s this hundred thousand LOL

— Ten million won wasted!? Ten million won wasted!?

Those in the chat acted like they knew a lot. Once such messages started appearing, public opinion had already been sealed.

"It's ten million won then."

As a streamer, Sang-Hyeon had no reason to doubt them.

"Onto the next challenge."

He had already shifted his focus.

— LOL wow

— That’s a man

— LOL LOL go go

Ju-Hyeok, the only person who could’ve stopped him, was off doing business at another booth.

It was as if a runaway train started moving.

***

Sang-Hyeon wandered from booth to booth and asked the viewers, "Where do they give the most points?"

— Probably JetPumped?

— Getting a first or unique win

— Isn't it LIL RPG? That's the main sponsor

The criteria for giving high challenge points were simple: being the one and only winner. The closer to this concept, the higher the points. A player either had to be unique, be first, or both.

"Ah.

JetPumped

gives really high points."

JetPumped’s

“You Do It, Developer” challenge was a one-time challenge and boasted very high points. Moreover, given the difficulty level set, it offered the highest points at this G-Star.

Sang-Hyeon had already secured the challenge with the most points.

"Then, I'll start with whatever I can do right away."

Since he didn’t have much time left, simply participating in challenges was crucial. It wasn’t the time to be picky.

He began inspecting each challenge invitation.

"Oh."

[RunGuys Fighting Mode Launched! “Running is Murder for Me” Challenge! Immediate participation available!]

Apparently, a game he had previously played with Bubblegum released a new mode. Most importantly,

RunGuys

allowed dozens to participate simultaneously, making immediate participation possible.

"Hmm..."

Almond felt a bit conflicted.

RunGuys

wasn't exactly his kind of game.

[CollegeExamAbandoner has registered a mission!]

Someone thought the challenge title was funny and posted a mission.

[Win and shout, “Running is murder for me!”]

[200,000 won]

— CollegeExamAbandoner LOL

— Really the champion of giving up LOL

— LOL, the champion of abandonment

— Just one mission?

Sang-Hyeon made a decision.

"Then, I'll go for this one."

***

RunGuys

was like a game version of the old domestic TV show

Let's Go Dream Team

that was popular long ago. The show’s main objective was for celebrities to get through an obstacle course by a certain time.

The difference was that this dream team involved dozens of participants.

One could easily see how it would become a chaotic mess, yet players played for the fun of navigating through such chaos. The new mode added elements that made this chaos even more turbulent.

"The new mode in

RunGuys

! It’s a fighting mode! While running, you can use various items to fight and knock your opponents off!"

One could push their opponents off while running. All the while using items they collected along the way.

"Wow, this sounds fun."

"Crazy, this is nuts."

"Looks like a blast."

Most challengers entered the capsule, giggling and looking forward to the fun.

— Is this guy going for independence?

— Why so serious LOL

— Nutty’s mind is just on ten million won now

— LOL, who plays RunGuys like this LOL

— His expression is almost like he’s in the final of the LIL Cup LOL

Almond wore a dead serious expression in the capsule. He ignored the viewers teasing him and began the briefing on his own.

"From what I understand, it's like the old

KartRider

or

Mario Kart

item battles."

— True

— Hazelnut's fast spin wow

— Oh right LOL

— All about the game LOL

"I wasn’t particularly good at

KartRider

, but I’ll give this a try."

Almond's generation only played casual racing games in their early childhood. He wasn't particularly skilled at them, especially since he lived an athlete’s life far removed from gaming hobbies.

"It's different here."

However, it would be different in this virtual reality where his VNS metrics made a difference.

“Guys? You Ready?” the unique starting voice of

RunGuys

played and the screen went dark.

“Waaaaaah...!”

People dressed in fluffy, full-body protective gear suddenly appeared.

— LOL, this is hilarious

— Almond turned into a bean LOL

— LOL

— Is there an Almond costume? It'd be hilarious

RunGuys

was known for its distinctive costumes, covering everything but the face with protective gear and earning the nickname beans.

Bing. Bing.

Almond momentarily tested his bean-like physique by jumping. His serious face and ridiculous costume made the viewers laugh even harder.

— LOL LOL LOL LOL

— I'm dying LOL

— Day 1 of wishing for a Nutty costume!

In

RunGuys

, various protective costumes were sold with quite striking designs. One could turn into a banana, enter a pineapple, or even become a giant cola can or a French fry.

These bold designs often attracted collaborations. For instance, collaborating with Fanta to release a Fanta Can costume. If there were a product collaboration with an almond company like Green Diamond, there could possibly be a costume where the player could enter an almond. It seemed there wasn’t one.

[Starting to run in 5 seconds]

Sang-Hyeon hardly had time to look for such things. The race was about to start.

[40/40]

A total of forty participants stood at the starting line, each tensely muttering to themselves.

"

Phew.

Let's go."

"

Ugh.

This outfit is really uncomfortable. It always is."

[4]

[3]

...

Beep!

[Start!]

Exciting music played and all the bean-like contestants started running forward.

“It has started! The “Running is Murder for Me” challenge!”

“Yes! The sight of forty beans running wildly is truly a spectacle!”

— For real LOL

— It's more of a spectacle at this point LOL

— So cute LOL

Wadadadadada!

Almond sprinted forward without saying a word. His appearance looked somewhat comical, dressed in a bean-like costume with only his face showing as he wildly ran.

'This is why I was hesitant.'

With a 200,000 won mission on the line, he couldn't just not participate.

Almond ran on, ignoring the slight flush on his face.

— Today's stream is super generous LOL

— LOL

— Go, Almond!!

— Embarrassed Almond LOL so cute

He had to push aside all feelings of embarrassment and extraneous thoughts.

"Out of the way!"

"Ah!"

"Die, dude!"

This wasn't just simple racing. It was running with obstacles on the level of a battle royale. A moment of inattention and the player would be knocked off or left behind.

'I haven't even gotten any items yet.'

He hadn't picked up any items yet, but some other players had already fallen off from just bare fists.

Almond dodged attacks adeptly and pushed forward into the upper ranks.

[12/40]

He was in twelfth place.

'This is the checkpoint.'

Dudum!

[First checkpoint: Cliffside Bouncy Mushrooms!]

Huge mushrooms sprouted on a sheer cliff. This checkpoint involved jumping across the cliff by stepping on these mushrooms. If one didn't land on them properly, they’d fall and waste tremendous time waiting to respawn.

“There! The beans rush toward the mushrooms!”

“If you have acrophobia, this would be terrifying!”

Several players already leaped ahead toward the mushrooms. Almond followed suit.

Whoosh.

As he jumped, looking down presented a dizzying view, Almond twisted his body mid-air and landed precisely.

"Phew."

Shoo...

As he landed, the mushroom compressed momentarily.

Soon afterward…

Ding!

It expanded again and bounced him up. Naturally, Almond was launched high into the air.

Whoosh!

The sound of the wind disoriented him. His view shook, but even amid this, he had to land properly on the next mushroom.

“It depends on which mushroom you step on! And the timing of your step! That determines your speed!”

“That's right! The biggest mushrooms! When they are fully compressed, stepping on them at that moment launches you the fastest!”

The biggest compressed mushroom… Almond's eyes scanned for those two features.

'There.'

He began to twist his body in mid-air to land there when—

"Yap!"

A green bean with a black watermelon pattern flying next to him suddenly kicked him.

"!"

Boing!

Of course, the fluffy protective gear produced a comical sound and no real harm was done.

'I was pushed back.'

Almond was slightly pushed backward.

'In that case…'

Instead of landing on the mushroom he originally aimed for, he settled on a smaller mushroom further behind.

The one who had pushed him took the large mushroom Almond had initially targeted and didn’t forget to taunt him.

"Yay~~ I'm going first!"

Ding!

Due to the larger mushroom's recoil, that player flew farther away. Whether it was the taunt or something else, that watermelon-striped costume infuriated him.

"Watermelon, I’ll remember you."

After that, Almond's eyes changed.

— Ah...

— LOL, hit list?

— Chikicha notebook on!

— Almond learning all the wrong tricks from Bubblegum LOL

— More terrifying than a Death Note, the Chikicha Note

— Time to squeeze tears out of that watermelon