Two days had passed since Treevy’s funeral. Most of the streamers who attended returned to streaming. A lot of them had taken the previous day off because of hangovers.

Bubblegum was one of them. “U-ugh...!”

He had been rolling around as Iron Ball while drinking and reacting to everything. It was a miracle he hadn’t thrown up on the spot.

“Gum, you’re playing Iron Ball, right?” Almond asked.

‘Ah... Still, there’s a mission on the line.’

Almond said he had a mission. Playing Iron Ball wasn’t a big deal. Thinking that, Bubblegum went and banned Ironball instead.

— ?

— ...?

— What the hell

— Huh???

— What is that LMAO

— Why did you ban it??

— This is you wanting to try, right?

— Asked him to play Iron Ball and he bans it LMAO

— This is actually legendary;

“Ah... What? This is a ban?”

Maybe he still wasn’t sober. Bubblegum’s head started to feel hot.

“Jump!”

Thud!

In that state, he got kicked and plummeted straight down.

“Uwaaaah?!”

At least he didn’t disgrace himself by wedging into a cliff and dying instantly like HamPunch the bot.

Boom!

He just failed to deploy his glider and died normally.

[Death]

— ?

— No way LMAOOOO

— Seriously...

— Wow

— ??? Bug diff~

— Superhero landing LMAO

***

Placement matches crucially determined the direction of one’s rank for the entire season. During placements, player skill levels were completely different from their usual relaxed play. It wouldn’t be an easy game.

Whoooooosh!

Almond knew that while cutting through the wind during his fall.

‘I can’t win alone.’

He couldn’t sweep everyone solo with Raina like in a bot match.

‘And I can’t even pick Raina.’

Raina had been banned.

Flap!

At a certain point, Almond deployed his hang glider and steered toward the landing zone.

— Good luck on the Bubblegum placements~

— How does your first placement end up with Bubblegum LMAO

— Locking in safe assets, let’s go

The viewers weren’t optimistic.

Almond didn’t like that and said something as if he could still win. “Still, it’s better than playing with bots.”

[An ally has been defeated.]

[Ground → Bubblegum]

A message popped up out of nowhere.

“Fall damage...?”

— the Ground LMAO

— ?

— ??

— Is this real?

— No way LMAO

— You said he’s not a bot

— This might actually be a bot though

— We should be suspicious

— Fall damage LMAO

“Th-this doesn’t count as Bubblgum dying, right? As long as he’s alive at the end, that’s fine, right?” Almond asked RubySword first.

No reply appeared yet.

“If it’s a failure, then maybe we just... don’t save him and...”

Then, it happened.

Ding.

[RubySword has donated 10,000 won.]

[Let’s say it only matters that he’s alive at the end^^]

— LMAOOOO

— Kya

— They’re really trying to make this painful

— Something insane just got cut off LMAO

— Princess Ruby breathing out 10,000 won...

— Another donation just for that, damn

— What do you mean, “If it’s a failure, we just don’t save him” LMAOOOO

The mission was still valid.

‘Phew.’

Relieved, Almond landed and immediately ran to Bubblegum’s rune spirit.

Wooooong!

The gauge filled up, and Bubblegum revived.

Bubblegum mimed pulling a strap behind his backpack. “Ah, th-thanks, Almond. Why didn’t the parachute open? Huh? Wahahaha?”

Almond laughed too. “Hahaha. There’s no parachute here.”

— LMAOOOO savage

— LMAOOOOOO

— Almond really wants to win, huh

“No parachute? Then how are you supposed to land?”

“With a hang glider. You’ll need it later too, so you should learn how to use it.”

“Ah... right? I guess? Man, I forgot everything again.”

The other three teammates couldn’t even bring themselves to join the conversation. Fortunately, they all recognized Bubblegum.

“That’s Bubblegum?”

“Yeah, that’s Bubblegum.”

“Oh... and next to him is Almond?”

“Looks like it.”

This time, no one argued over weapons.

“Let’s open the weapon boxes.”

“Yes!”

Knowing it was Almond, the teammates moved quickly.

“Wow. Is this good luck or bad luck?”

“Hard to say...”

They didn’t know how to react to being on the same team as Almond and Bubblegum. Like that, all of them stood in front of the relic chest. By coincidence, Almond ended up at the front and opened it.

“Opening it~.”

Bang.

Various weapons spilled out.

“I’ll take the bow.”

Snatch.

Seeing a bow, Almond immediately grabbed it and started distributing the rest.

“One DPS-tank, one tank, and three DPS... Let’s split it like that.”

They had a spear, a shield, a gun, and a staff.

“Is that okay without a support?”

“We can decide as we go.”

“Yes!”

The teammates followed Almond’s orders without hesitation.

Almond bragged proudly to the viewers. “See? This is definitely different from bot matches.”

— You said they weren’t bots, idiot LMAO

— So they were bots?

— Then why was EggPlant imprisoned LMAO

— Still calling everyone bots

Maybe it was because the LazySoldier story had resurfaced on LIL Pro or because Almond was a rising star on the Survival board. More people started to recognize him. Of course, someone there didn’t understand a single word he said.

Bubblegum had only played ten normal games a year ago and never touched it again. “A-Almond... what are you talking about? Tank, DPS-tank... what is that? Why do I remember nothing?”

“Ah. Gum, take this.”

Thunk.

Almond pressed a weapon into Bubblegum’s hands.

[Shield]

— There it is LMAO

— Oh??

— Are we doing bot matches again?

— Reverse bot match, damn

Bubblegum reacted almost exactly like Almond had during the tutorial. “Shield...? No, I mean, even if I’m the meat shield... You want me to fight with a shield?”

“It’s got good stats, and it’s good for beginners. You’ll go tank later.”

The sense of deja vu was overwhelming.

“It’s not just a shield. It’s Captain America’s shield.”

Huff. Huff.

Almond gestured like it would be fun. It felt like the desperate effort someone made when trying to force medicine down a child’s throat.

Ding.

[LeaderBot has donated 5,000 won.]

[You finally get it now, Father of the Party~]

— LMAO

— AHH LMAOOOO

— How does it feel now that you’re the one doing it, you nutcase

— He really sounds like he’s persuading kids, for real lol

Almond had reached the level of actually teaching beginners just like Baegi. It was a massive leap forward. All ten normal matches hadn’t been for nothing.

“Alright, let’s go hunting now~.”

With everyone gripping their respective weapons, they headed out for their first hunt.

— Oooh

— Almond has actually gotten smooth now lol

— From tutorial problem child to leader!?

— Nice!

Almond switched his mic to the viewer channel. “Who’s commanding? A smart young man~.”

— HOLY SHIT LMAOOOO

— FYI: the smart young man had a 29% win rate

— The commander, you’re doomed if you meet...

— LMAOOOO

— Ah, it’s been a while lol

— That commander ended up on the 911 board...

Maybe it was because of his smart young man comment.

Jingle!

[Mission reward increased!] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

[Mission reward increased!]

The mission reward climbed again.

[This match: 1st place, but keep Bubblegum alive.]

[470,000 won]

The 300,000 won reward now climbed to 470,000.

— LMAO, why are they sneaking more money in

— Quietly growing safe asset!

— When he starts feeling confident about his brain... that’s when you should worry

— LMAOOOO

— Money never lies

***

The first hunt began.

[Abyssal Fish Lv. 1]

Almond smoothly gave commands. “Dealers to the back, tanks up front. Gum, you’re a tank so front... Huh?”

As expected of an Iron Ball master, Bubblegum was already in front.

“Almond, why explain all that? You some kind of explanation bot?”

Thud.

Bubblegum started hitting first.

Almond fell silent for a moment.

— Everyone knows tanks shouldn’t be in the back except you

— Immediate clapback lol

— Smart young man taking a break~

— Even Bubblegum filtering out late-entry tanks lol

The viewers gleefully piled on Almond again.

Girik.

He had grabbed his bow first. It was time to show off his skills.

Bang!

[Headshot!]

The Abyssal Fish dropped instantly from the bow’s headshot passive.

“Wow...”

“What the hell. It’s just a bow, but it’s different.”

“That aim is insane.”

The other players admired him, but Almond remained expressionless. Compliments about his aim didn’t move him at all.

— What’s with that face lol

— A young man who wants to be smart...

— When the cyberpunk era comes, you can reinstall a CPU in your head, it’s fine

— AHH LMAO did he get sulky?

“Let’s move to the next hunt.”

Almond quickly rotated through hunting grounds, steadily raising the entire team to level two.

[Level Up!]

[Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]

At this point, they could reasonably try the early epic Turtle monster. It was a bit risky, but doable with Almond landing constant headshots.

“Alright. Let’s go for the Turtle now.”

Then, it happened.

“But... um, I think we’re falling behind a bit.” A player named MeowMeowPunch cautiously said, “If you check the timing... most players are almost level three already. We’re just entering level two.”

Another teammate nodded. “Yeah, we took a bit of a detour. If we go for the Turtle now, other players might already be level three. Isn’t the Turtle kind of risky?”

Almond couldn’t answer. Going for the Turtle first was a privilege for teams that had dominated the early game. Maybe now was too much.

— Is he lagging?

— Smart boy? Answer already

— What are you doing lol

— This is a real disaster... the smart young man’s command

“We’re going anyway.”

“J-just like that?”

“Yes, I’ve never failed a Turtle in my life.”

“Y-your whole life?”

“Yes.”

“H-how many games is that?”

“This is my eleventh.”

“Wow. Then you’re done with placements?”

“This is my first placement...”

“Normals?”

“Ten normals.”

Everyone’s faces stiffened.

Bubblegum stepped in to ease the mood. “W-wahahaha! Hey, Almond sees something, right, everyone? Let’s just try once?”

“No. I honestly don’t trust the smart young man.”

An even bolder statement came out. MeowMeowPunch sounded very much like Almond’s viewer.

— AHH LMAOOOO

— HOLY SHIT

— Why does he sound like he’s in a courtroom drama lol

— Is he opposing the Lord right now?

— LOL

— So refreshing~

— Was he a Nut viewer??

— That guy sounds dead serious, but it’s placements lol

Bubblegum blinked, not understanding any of this. “But... if he’s smart, why don’t you trust him?”

“Well, it’s not that kind of smart...”

“Then let’s do this.” Almond made a radical proposal. “We’ll split up.”

The team would split up.

— ?

— ??

— No way LMAOOOO

— Lord Almond introduces faction politics

— Splitting here?? Damn

— Did he study something?

— Pro-smart faction vs anti-smart faction

— Splitting the ruling party and opposition again lol

— This actually works, right?

— Politics? Lord Almond

— I want to split my brain in two

— But this is actually a high rank strategy

Almond’s plan was simple. They could tag along if they wanted. He would go anyway. Shockingly, high-ranking players often used this strategy. Of course, using it in beginner territory usually blew the game up.

“Gum and I will check the Turtle. The rest of you hunt. Just pick weaker mobs.”

Not knowing any of that, Almond pushed ahead.

***

[Beginner’s Tip]

[Since rune magic and Sanctuaries first appeared in this world, the strongest clan once had a hero who said this: “Scatter and you die. Stick together and you live.” In other words, getting along with your teammates increases your win rate.]