<h4>Season 2: Chapter 89. A New and Familiar Encounter (2)</h4>


    Kimchi Warrior was a seasoned and experiencedmander. He had fought hundreds of battles as amander. Although he wasn''t at a global level, he was decently ranked within the country and was within the top two hundred in the free battle world rankings.


    He was known for his rapid skill improvement. As one could deduce from his ID, this was rted to national team matches. Kimchi Warrior himself had never participated in a national team match. Only threemanders from the country participated, and his skills weren''t up to that level.


    However, he had been involved in a Sink Tank for national team matches. Sink Tanks were like strategic research institutes for national team matches, simr to coaching teams in sports.


    Sincemanders couldn’t prepare for every possible battle scenario, these Sink Tanks developed strategies and passed them on to the participatingmanders.


    Kimchi Warrior became quite close with yers on national teams and met all kinds of monster yers.


    Today, he witnessed a yer with potential he had never seen before.


    "Who is that guy?"


    He was referring to the ck-haired archer he appointed as the special mission team leader.


    "Is this what they call a hero level yer? Someone whosebat power can flip the tides of war."


    Only that would make sense. The ck-haired archer had to be a hero-level yer they only heard about in urban legends.


    <i>“Gulp,” </i>KimchiWarrior swallowed. "Not bad."


    Nationals were approaching. Every single yer was valuable given the nature of the Korean server.


    It would be wise to keep watching over him even if this person had only been lucky in this one game.


    "Let''s find out."


    Commanders couldn’t directly ess information about soldiers in the game, but they could find it through other means if they really tried. Experiencedmanders like Kimchi Warrior were especially ustomed to such tasks.


    <i>Tadadadadak.</i>


    His fingers busily danced on the keyboard.


    "Who are you? Please show up."


    First, Kimchi Warrior tried searching YouTube based on the yer’s appearance. He thought someone of that skill level would surely have a video or two uploaded. Maybe that yer was actually an S+ rank or a high-ranker already. It was a mystery to Kimchi Warrior. Why had he never noticed this yer before?


    <i>‘Does he not like mingling with people?’</i>


    This yer seemed to be the reclusive expert type. Kimchi Warrior had struggled with recruiting such types in the past.


    <i>‘Once, there was a scion of a wealthy family whose hobby was medievalbat.’</i>


    The realms of reality and gaming could not copse together for some people. Even if such yers excelled at games, they were reluctant to participate in guild interactions orpetitions. Recruiting such people was impossible.


    "This guy looks too sophisticated. Is he a third generation wealthy heir or something?"


    He prayed that this archer wasn''t one of those cases. Otherwise, it would be hopeless.


    "<i>Ah...</i> Please..."


    A curious result appeared while he waited for the search results.


    <i>#Trending 7th</i>


    Kimchi Warrior spotted a YouTube video.


    "...?"


    This video of <i>Civil Empire </i>had an unusually high number of views.


    <i>[Japan in awe and the world in shock... (literally)]</i>


    "Why did thise up? Is it a search error? An ad?"


    Kimchi Warrior thought what popped up was just a rmended video that was asionally mixed in. He didn’t even seriously view it as a gamey video with a title like that.


    "Damn, I thought I blocked all these patriotic videos. Why is this...?"


    He didn''t enjoy excessive patriotic videos, so he was about to skip it when...


    <i>''Hmm?''</i>


    A familiar face caught his attention.


    "Why is he here?"


    Kimchi Warrior felt confused. The person he searched for prominently appeared in this popr video and even featured as the main character. In fact, the channel belonged to that yer.


    <i>‘Almond?’</i>


    The yer turned out to be a streamer named Almond. His in-game nickname was Aalmond.


    "How did this happen?"


    Kimchi Warrior found it unbelievable that he had been unaware of such a talented streamer until now. Sometimes these things happened.


    He decided to send a message.


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: Hey, Almond. I didn''t realize you were so famous. It was easy to find you thanks to that. By the way, some guys I know are preparing for a national team match. We''d love to have you join us.]</i>


    Kimchi Warrior thought the recruitment would be fairly straightforward when he sent the message.


    <i>‘Streamers love attention. Surely he''d want to participate in the national team match.’</i>


    He was relieved that this was better than the worst-case scenario he imagined involving a third-generation chaebol. He began feeling excited about preparing for the national team match with this archer.


    Kimchi Warriorposed the next message with an excited heart.


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: Here are the eligibility requirements. You probably already meet them, but I''m just letting you know as a formality. ]</i>


    He was unaware that these formal requirements would be an issue.


    ***


    The national team match became a hot topic in Almond''s stream.


    <i>— Would you participate?</i>


    <i>— Are you going to join the national team match!?!?</i>


    <i>— That''s awesome to represent the nation.</i>


    "Of course, I''ll participate if I can."


    Almond positively responded to their questions about participating in the national team match.


    <i>— Yay, national representative!</i>


    <i>— National team Almond! National team Almond! National team Almond!</i>


    <i>— Even if it''s not the Olympics, this is something!</i>


    While the viewers celebrated his decision, some were worried instead.


    <i>[CivilFanboy has donated 5000 won.]</i>


    <i>[National team matches have a brutal schedule... Are you sure?]</i>


    The national team matches had a grueling schedule.


    "Let''s see how it goes. An opportunity has appeared."


    Despite the concerns, Almond wanted to give it a try. He liked this game. Plus, participating in a national team match almost felt like being a national representative.


    Everyone knew Almond always wanted to be a national representative.


    Then—


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: Here are the eligibility requirements. You probably already meet them, but I''m just letting you know as a formality. National team matches require an S+ rank to participate...]</i>


    "...?"


    The dream of bing a national representative suddenly shattered in Almond''s mind.


    <i>— Requirements?</i>


    <i>— S plus??</i>


    <i>— No way...</i>


    <i>— It''s like a national team, so...</i>


    <i>— Wow, that’s crazy</i>


    Almond already failed the first eligibility requirement.


    <i>''What now?''</i>


    Almond fell silent for a moment.


    The following eligibility requirements were rather simple. Things like one’s nationality or owning a capsule... Any professional gamer would naturally meet the rest.


    <i>''Is S+ rank as obvious as those other things?''</i>


    Almond nced at the rank window. Among the ranks, S+ rank was in the top tier.


    In<i> LIL</i> terms, it was around the grandmaster to challenger level. A monstrous rank was required and considered normal.


    The national team was such a ce. He was currently at B rank, so joining them in a month seemed impossible. Even if he did achieve such a feat, it would be a huge burden and undertaking.


    "<i>Ah...</i> There''s nothing I can do."


    In the end, Almond gave up.


    <i>— :(</i>


    <i>— The barrier is too high...</i>


    <i>— It''s okay, this is just the beginning.</i>


    <i>— Maybe next year?</i>


    ***


    Kimchi Warrior eagerly awaited a response with a fluttering heart.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    Finally, he received a reply.


    <i>[Aalmond: ... I''m C rank, no... B rank now. Anyway, it seems impossible for me to participate.]</i>


    At first, Kimchi Warrior couldn''t understand. His brain refused toprehend it.


    <i>‘What’s this? B and C... talking about my grades?’</i>


    Such silly thoughts floated in his mind until he came to his senses.


    "What!?"


    He finally understood and suddenly stood up, hitting his desk.


    "B rank? He just turned B rank??"


    Was this some sort of absurd joke? Almond could have just politely declined if he didn''t want to participate. Why make such an unbelievable lie?


    Moreover, didn''t he use the traditional Joseon bow in the game? How could a mere beginner possess such a weapon? It had to be a lie or so he thought.


    "... It''s true?"


    The user data site really showed a B rank when he checked. The site wasn''t always urate, but it matched what the person imed. It was probably correct.


    Then, he entered Almond''s stream.


    "Wow."


    It was true. The game Almond just yed was only his fourth.


    "No way. This isn’t a joke, but it’s actually true?"


    Kimchi Warrior was dumbfounded. He never imagined that someone with such skills wouldn''t be S+ rank.


    "That''s why I didn''t know about him..."


    The suspicions he had overlooked began to surface one by one. Why didn''t the <i>Civil Empire </i>yers know about such a talented streamer?


    "That''s because... he''s not even S rank. Of course, there''s no interest..."


    The national team didn''t even nce at ranks below S.


    <i>"Ah..."</i>


    It was regrettable.


    Kimchi Warrior tapped his forehead in amazement and suddenly stood up.


    "Wait. Isn''t he even more of a genius?"


    Almond was a prodigy who showed such gamey with little experience. If he gained the experience of an S rank or even just an A+ rank, his skills would be unimaginable.


    "The problem is the eligibility requirements..."


    However, the eligibility requirements posed a problem.


    Kimchi Warrior wished he could lower the S+ rank requirement, but these requirements were not set by him. The game itself set these systemic limitations. He had no way of intervening.


    There was only one way. Almond had to reach S+ rank in this game within a month.


    "That’s a crazy idea."


    It wasn’t easy to break through the barrier from B rank to S+. As Almond had already experienced, a yer’s individual skills couldn’t solely didn''t decide victory or defeat.


    Themander mattered too much and the dozens ofrades fighting together all influenced the game.


    How many times could a single individual flip the tides of a war?


    A yer’s rank urately reflected their skill only after ying a vast number of times due to thew ofrge numbers.


    It took a long time. Even the shortest estimate required consistently ying ranked games for at least three months. Worse, the higher the rank, the harder it was to climb.


    "In theory, it''d be possible within a week if he won thirty games in a row."


    Even as Kimchi Warrior said it, he knew it was a ridiculous feat. Still, he didn’t give up hope.


    "... Is this the only way?"


    He took out his phone and started talking about Almond with his acquaintances in a chat group.


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: Guys. I have my eyes on someone, but he''s B rank. We need to get him to S+ rank to include him in the national team. Is that possible?]</i>


    As he typed out the text, it sounded like an absurd request.


    <i>[SharpSphere: What nonsense. Do you want a kimchi p?]</i>


    He had already predicted such a response. The following reactions were no different.


    <i>[WaterDumpling: LOL stfu]</i>


    <i>[PastaCraft: Did you make a typo? You''re talking about A+ rank, right?]</i>


    Kimchi Warrior didn''t bother responding and just sent them a video.


    Then, about ten minutes passed.


    Their leader replied.


    <i>[SharpSphere: ???]</i>


    For SharpSphere, who was stingy withpliments, this was almost high praise.


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: Right? What do you think? Is it possible?]</i>


    <i>[SharpSphere: Nope. Impossible.]</i>


    <i>[KimchiWarrior: :( But you saw his skills, right?]</i>


    <i>[SharpSphere: ...]</i>


    SharpSphere pondered for a moment and replied.


    <i>[SharpSphere: If he''s prepared to experience hell for a month, it''s possible.]</i>


    Kimchi Warrior''s expression brightened.


    <i>''They''re willing to give it a try?''</i>


    Suddenly, his expression darkened again.


    <i>''Wait, but will he do it?''</i>


    Would Almond really participate in something this grueling for a month? He didn’t seem to becking anything. His stream seemed to be doing well too.