Season 4: Chapter 85. Paprika vs Almond (1)

Around fifty streamers had migrated from Treevy to Paprika. Of them, twenty-eight had agreed to participate in the Cheese Village content. The rest were either not involved in gaming content or declined, worried that it would hurt their brand to be associated with something tied to Cheese. Still, Cheese achieved a solid turnout and successfully recruited twenty-eight out of fifty of them.

[Tomorrow is the Cheese Village launch. Please enter the server beforehand to prepare.]

Roughly one day before the server officially opened, the recruited Paprika residents received early access. They had time to prepare, but the production team wasn’t just handing out gifts to them. Their village already had numerous buildings and better gear because they needed to follow a set of strict rules.

==== ====

1. No livestreaming until directed by the production team.

2. You may not upload to YouTube due to an embargo. Coordinate with staff to release content simultaneously.

3. Do not reveal your identity until it’s been discovered in-game.

==== ====

For a while, these streamers couldn’t earn anything from the content. Livestreams were off-limits, and uploads would be delayed. In exchange, they received a share of the main broadcast revenue as well as a cut of all donations made within Cheese Village. Some would find it hard to accept, but most of the Paprika streamers were more thrilled than hesitant.

“We’re totally the villains, huh?”

“Yo, this is gonna be fun if we play it right.”

“Total villain vibes~ I love it.”

A streamer’s greatest asset wasn’t immediate money or airtime. It was attention.

In this scenario, they had been cast as the antagonists. Not just any villains, but ones that people couldn’t look away from like the Akatsuki from

Naruto

, the Joker from

The Dark Knight

, or Thanos from

The Avengers

.

With this setup, their presence would outshine even the main characters. Heroes were fine, but everyone knew villains often stole the spotlight. Even if they couldn’t stream for a while, the proposal was tantalizing.

[You have complete freedom. You may cooperate or reject anyone as you see fit. Survive however you like.]

That was the official message from the production team. None of them had joined with cooperation in mind.

“

Hahaha...

”

“

Kekeke...

”

They all came to this village with dreams of becoming legendary villains.

“Damn, look at all that iron ore! Huh? Perfect for raising combat power.”

“They really set the stage for us.”

“

Woohoo!

They really did, for real!”

“

Pfft.

”

“

Hahaha!

”

The villain hopefuls gathered in the center of Paprika Village, bursting into laughter just looking at each other.

Then, someone more practical raised a hand. It was Shrimp, a streamer known for his strategy-focused content.

“But uh... how are we supposed to run our economy? This whole place only has iron ore, so we can’t even farm...”

While the production team gave them space to build combat power, economic development intentionally became more difficult. The rocky land embedded with ore made farming nearly impossible. Surrounded by towering mountains, sunlight barely reached the village.

“Who needs farming? Just bring people in!”

“P-People?”

“You never heard of the Goguryeo farming method!?”

The others immediately caught on.

“

Haha!

Right, people farming!”

“Let the slaves do the farming!”

“Exactly! Wasn’t this whole place set up that way!?”

The geography backed it up. This village was a decent distance away from others and hidden from view, perfect for scheming.

Even Shrimp nodded. “Then mining seems ideal for gathering materials.”

The terrain wasn’t good for crops, but it was perfect for miners. Mining meant ores, which meant gear, which meant combat strength. Everything pointed them toward one path: violence.

“We definitely won’t lose to Cheese in combat.”

“They basically want us to be raiders, huh?”

“Bandits, we’re gonna be bandits.”

“Damn, that’s so cool. Like old-school Western movie bandits.”

It was obvious when comparing numbers, resources, economic options, and potential. Their role was to become outlaws of the wilds, which is why no one expected what came next.

“H-Him! He’s here!”

No one imagined that a real outlaw would show up in this outlaw town.

“What?”

“That guy! An unknown player!”

They hadn’t expected the wanted man from the bulletin board to walk right into Paprika Village or that he’d show up with this much power.

[Underwater Breathing]

[Critical Hit Damage +30%]

[Defense +50%]

[Defense +10%]

[Dark Vision]

[Weapon Enchantment: Lightning]

...

An unknown player had arrived in the village out of nowhere.

Crackle!

He held a sword crackling with blue lightning.

“There’s already a combat class like that?”

“What the hell? That’s so broken!”

“Figures... he’s an unknown player...”

The rumors about Salt and Black Pepper’s defeat weren’t exaggerated. Everyone could see the truth with their own eyes. Magic-based classes weren’t even supposed to be accessible until the mid-to-late game. And yet, here he was, swinging a magic blade.

Even Orange, the first villager to confront him, instinctively took a step back.

‘What is that? A magic swordsman already?’

They were still using primitive melee weapons. It felt like someone just pulled out a machine gun in the middle of a sword fight.

‘Still...’

Even so, someone had to act.

Gulp.

Orange swallowed dryly and called out, “Are you that unknown player?!”

Almond tilted his head. His viewers did the same.

— ?

— What’s he saying

— What’s a known player? lmao

— “Unknown player” wtf lol

— ?? bro is seriously confused

— Who even are these guys??

“You killed our villagers, didn’t you?!”

Almond shook his head. “I didn’t kill them. I just shared some loot.”

— LOOOOOOL

— hahaha

— huh

— lmao he said “shared”

— “Shared some loot,” I’m dead!

“Y-You totally killed them! That counts!”

“No one died. They’re right over there.” Almond pointed at Salt and Pepper standing behind Orange.

— LOL omg

— He’s got a point

— ??? I didn’t kill them. I simply sent them home.

— “Returned them to where they belong.”

“Anyway, you’ve got some guts showing up alone! You think that sword alone is enough to beat all of us?!” Orange pointed at the lightning blade, trying to bluff.

Sure, the pressure coming off that guy made it feel like he could solo twenty people.

‘We still have the advantage, though.’

Orange already ran the numbers.

‘In Survival Craft, dying means dropping your gear, but this is our village. We’ll just pick it back up.’

This was their home turf. Even if they died, they would respawn right here. It wasn’t really a loss as long as they recovered their dropped items. Almond would have to kill all twenty of them and get away with the loot. Meanwhile, Almond would respawn in his village if he died. Everything he dropped would become their spoils.

Almond thought along similar lines.

‘This isn’t ideal.’

He checked his buffs and began analyzing their formation.

‘I can’t kill them all.’

Even with his buffs, taking out twenty people solo was unrealistic. Buffs gave him additional support, not miracles. His eyes darted around. There had to be a gap.

‘Are they hesitating?’

The villagers tightened their formation, but he could see their hesitation. This created an opening.

‘Now.’

Almond’s eyes gleamed.

Smack!

He suddenly burst forward.

No one had expected him to strike first. The villagers’ eyes went wide in shock.

Almond targeted Orange first, standing at the front.

‘This bastard!’

Orange quickly unsheathed his sword to block.

Clang!

Their blades collided.

[Chain Lightning]

He had blocked the swing, but...

Crackle!

A player couldn’t block elemental attacks with a regular weapon. Lightning surged along the blade, shocking Orange and even Salt and Pepper beside him.

[Staggered]

The damage wasn’t devastating, but it staggered them just enough for Almond to swing again.

Slash!

His sword slashed into Orange’s oversized head, too big to fully guard.

Crackle!

[HP: 73%]

Nearly a third of Orange’s HP vanished instantly.

“S-Stop him! Stop him!”

“Kill him!”

“Take all his gear!”

The entire village charged in.

“

Waaaaaaaah!

”

— Holy crap LOL

— LMAO

— What do we do? LOL

— It’s literally a 20 vs 1 brawl

— Why did he charge in like that? hahaha

— Someone gather a Spirit Bomb!!!

The chat exploded. Viewers panicked and started pumping more buffs into Almond.

[Yuribead has donated 10,000 won!]

[PettyKing has donated 10,000 won!]

[Lurian has donated 10,000 won!]

[Ohjin has donated 10,000 won!]

...

Crackkkkkle!

[Chain Lightning]

Every time Almond swung his sword, lightning tore through the air. In some places, the wind surged and pushed enemies away.

[Storm]

Whroooosh!

“

Gahh!

”

“W-What the hell!?”

“This is insane, what even is this...?!”

Still, the villagers kept charging. A few of them were seasoned

Survival Craft

veterans who knew how to fight.

“I, I’m low on HP!”

“Fall back!”

Orange was pushed to the rear.

Two of their best

Survival Craft

combat streamers, Parsley and Olive, stepped up. They attacked in sync with their blades flashing.

Clang!

Clank!

Almond should’ve started losing ground against those coordinated attacks.

[All Speeds Increased by 50%]

Vroooom!

However, his speed buffs surged again and allowed him to parry every blow with precision.

“What the hell?! How many buffs is he stacked with?!”

“When did this happen?!”

Their trained eyes caught it. Almond’s current power was purely the result of buffs, but they had no clue where those buffs came from. They had no idea about the donation system behind streaming. All they could do was wait it out, assuming it would eventually wear off.

“Stall him! Just stall! It’s a timed buff!”

“Frontliners with nothing to lose, get out there!”

The strategy shifted, and the weaker players rushed in to buy time.

Crackkkle!

Almond responded by swinging wildly like a berserker. More victims continued to fall.

“

Ahhh!

I’m dead!”

“It’s fine! You had nothing on you anyway!”

[pep731 has been slain!]

Black Pepper went down again. Already stripped of all her items, she had sacrificed herself to slow Almond down.

“Y-You’re not going anywhere!” Salt, wearing only underwear, charged in.

Almond, who had been calmly handling everything, faltered for a moment. “A veteran player?!”

He thought Salt was one of those hardcore players who only wore nothing but underwear.

‘Seriously? He doesn’t even remember me?’

Salt was more shocked that Almond didn’t recognize him.

Slash!

In that moment, a clean strike split Salt in two.

“

Guh!

”

[sa474 has been slain!]

Salt had died again. Almond stepped over Salt’s body and charged forward, but the others quickly blocked his path.

“Y-You’ll have to go through me!”

Slash!

“

Urk!

”

If they asked to be killed, Almond obliged.

— Damn

— LOL

— Welp

— That’s a lot of people

— They keep respawning and coming back naked LOL

— Insane

Twenty players swarmed him. Even after dying, they respawned nearby and threw themselves back in. After all, this was their village. It took less than a minute to return from the spawn point to the plaza.

For Almond, killing them only bought a few seconds. If he died, it would all be over because he would respawn elsewhere. Everything he dropped would become theirs. The odds were stacked entirely against him.

‘Just a bit more...!’

He could only rely on the endless buffs and his near-perfect control.

“He’s... he’s pushing through?”

“H-Hey!”

“W-What?!”

Even with just those two advantages, Almond carved a path through them like a miracle.

Step...

He kept advancing.

— No way... is he actually escaping?

— Legend

— This is the MVP of the World Championship!

— Can he pull it off?!

— How many kills is this? LOL

Parsley and Olive began to panic.

“He’s pushing through!”

“No! Don’t let him escape!”

“Grab your gear when you respawn! Fight with items!”

Little by little, Almond broke through their siege.

“Wh... What is this guy?!”

“Why aren’t the buffs ending?!”

“I think they’re increasing??”

“Is he... like a Buff Master or something?!” Parsley shouted in disbelief.

“Block that gap! Grab your gear and hold the line!”

The respawned villagers picked up their dropped gear before diving back into the fight, but that took a few extra seconds.

Almond pushed forward again, step by step. The viewers ramped up their support.

— Please!!!

— \o/\o/

— Infinite loop, let’s gooo

— What is this madness? LOL

— We have to help!!

— \o/\o/\o/

— \o/

Ding! Ding!

[Ai has donated 10,000 won!]

[Susuke has donated 10,000 won!]

[Ohrmak has donated 10,000 won!]

[EggPlant has donated 10,000 won!]

More buffs poured in, and Almond surged forward again. He cut his way through only to be surrounded again. Then, he advanced again. The pattern repeated over and over. Meanwhile, the server chat filled with a grim parade of kill messages.

[sa474 has been slain!]

[pep731 has been slain!]

[38837 has been slain!]

[9993hj has been slain!]

...

It was like a massacre being broadcast live. Some names even started repeating.

[pep731 has been slain!]

[sa474 has been slain!]

[pep731 has been slain!]

[sa474 has been slain!]

[sa474 has been slain!]

To outsiders who didn’t know what was happening, it felt outright terrifying.

[Bubblegum: What the hell is going on?!]

[Cutiepie: Uh... this has to be a bug, right? Lol]

[Miho: This turned into a horror game T_T]