<h4>Season 2: Chapter 106. A Larger Stake (2)</h4>


    OrangeKing scrolled through the Civil Empire videos with a puzzled look.


    "Wasn''t this game unpopr before?" he asked.


    He knew Civil Empire as a game that had lost its poprity in the country, but it oddly featured in several recent trending videos in the gaming category.


    <i>— It''s still not popr</i>


    <i>— It''s just that Almond yed it a few times and it trended, it''s not popr</i>


    <i>— Yeah, that''s right</i>


    "Ah... so all these videos are Almond''s."


    OrangeKing realized that all the videos belonged to Almond''s channel.


    <i>''He''s doing well too.''</i>


    OrangeKing only knew Almond from when he won the <i>LIL</i> tournament, so he was unaware of any recent activities. He hadn''t kept up with the news since he was preupied with the LIL World Cup and othermitments.


    "Should we take a quick look at one of the videos?"


    <i>— Yep</i>


    <i>— Yeah</i>


    <i>— Go ahead</i>


    OrangeKing grew curious about the potential of this game, or rather, the potential of Almond ying this game.


    "The Japanese are shocked and the entire world is... Wow, that''s some intense title?"


    <i>— LOL, true</i>


    <i>— Exactly</i>


    <i>— LOL</i>


    <i>— Where did Almond end up going...</i>


    The first video OrangeKing watched featured Almond defending a wall against twenty opponents alone.


    "Wow... it''s almost like the battle of Ho Pass, isn''t it? No one can get through!"


    Even to OrangeKing''s experienced eyes, the scene of Almond single-handedly holding off twenty attackers with just a bow looked astonishing.


    <i>— Doesn''t he look like Guan Yu?</i>


    <i>— More like Diaochan in appearance?</i>


    <i>— Is this what they call a national beauty?</i>


    "Guys, do you not know what Ho Pass is? It''s not about looking like Guan Yu..."


    <i>— Nope</i>


    <i>— Wrong</i>


    <i>— National beauty</i>


    "Wow, my head is spinning."


    OrangeKing suddenly burst intoughter after briefly bantering with the viewers.


    "So, that''s why the title was like that?!"


    Laughter also filled the chat.


    <i>— LOL</i>


    <i>— That''s Nani LOL</i>


    <i>— Nani...?</i>


    <i>— Is this what nani was referring to? LOL</i>


    <i>— Japan is shocked (literally) LOL</i>


    The scene showed the startled Whiskey.


    After having some fun, OrangeKing clicked through more of Almond''s YouTube videos, mainly the ones featuring <i>Civil Empire</i>.


    OrangeKing became astonished after watching a series of his superys.


    "Wow. As expected, Almond excels in other games too."


    OrangeKing was amazed.


    "But... how is he still thriving even after ditching Raina?"


    <i>— LOL, true</i>


    <i>— He was just a Lip Dealer...</i>


    <i>— The lip service business is trembling</i>


    "Yeah, that''s right. The lip service business. They call it the lip service industry. Wasn’t that it? The handsome ones have a different approach to rtionships than we do."


    <i>— LOL</i>


    <i>— The lip service industry LOL</i>


    <i>— Is this part of the fourth industrial revolution or something?</i>


    <i>— OrangeKing is warming up his tongue</i>


    <i>— He was silent during the LIL World Cup, but he''s all hyped now</i>


    While speaking freely, OrangeKing''s mood progressively brightened. Due to the shocking results at the LIL World Cup, he couldn''t showcase his usual wit as amentator. In fact, it wasn’t just OrangeKing. All the experienced casters andmentators stuck to predictable scriptedmentary.


    They constantly repeated phrases like, "Let''s look forward to the next one." "We can fix these issues next year... There''s still hope! Really!"


    None of them could mention any specific details.


    <i>''Just thinking about it gives me a headache.''</i>


    It felt incredibly frustrating for OrangeKing, whose job was speaking.


    <i>''The most enjoyable games are the ones our team wins.''</i>


    Even though he aimed for objectivementary, how could he remain unaffected when ny-seven out of a hundred viewers supported the Korean league teams? How could hismentary not be influenced?


    In fact, he became more objective when the Korean teams were winning. No one wouldin then even if he slightly favored teams from other countries. He''d be criticized immediately if the Korean teams were losing and he seemed to support the opposing teams. Even if OrangeKingmented the same way, it would sound different to the viewers.


    <i>''Winning games are the most fun.''</i>


    He recalled this immutablew of the gaming industry before focusing again on<i> Civil Empire</i> ying on his screen. Almond kept winning, game after game, and reached a total of nine consecutive wins.


    <i>''This might actually be good.''</i>


    ***


    Meanwhile, Ji-Ah sighed and slumped over her desk with disheveled hair. She wasn''t pleased with the content for Almond''s rank climb regardless of his victories.


    "It''s all the same."


    Every video felt and looked the same. Their strategy always aimed tounch a fast archer rush and force an early surrender. That was it, so she didn’t have much to upload to YouTube. She managed to create a short video, but couldn’t do much beyond that.


    "Do I have to get Nani-san? What should I do...?"


    She shut down her editing program because it felt like the right time to stop for the day. Maybe it would be better to find more fans from the previous video.


    <i>''But if it keeps going like this...''</i>


    Today was fine. However, there would be nothing new to post on YouTube if the same pattern continued tomorrow and the day after.


    <i>''I don''t know. I''m hungry.''</i>


    She thought about grabbing a simple lunch and rummaged through the fridge.


    <i>Jiing.</i>


    <i>[Ju-Hyeok]</i>


    A call came from Ju-Hyeok.


    "Yeah. What''s up?"


    “Oh, I was wondering if you were uploading the video this time.”


    Ji-Ah''s expression slightly stiffened because he was calling about work.


    "... Yeah. There''s nothing really to work with."


    <i>Thump.</i>


    She closed the fridge door with one foot and adjusted the phone in her hand.


    “Have you eaten?”


    "..."


    Her lips curled a bit.


    <i>''He usually eats with Almond.''</i>


    It was unusual for Ju-Hyeok to ask about lunch on a weekday.


    "Um. No."


    <i>Swoosh.</i>


    She put back the frozen food she had taken out of the freezer.


    “Then let''s have lunch. OrangeKing said he wanted to meet.”


    "I want pasta. Where to...?"


    <i>Thump.</i>


    Ji-Ah hesitated again.


    "What did you say? Just now."


    “OrangeKing suggested we meet... It seemed like a good proposition.”


    Ju-Hyeok seemed to sense something and hesitated in responding.


    "Shouldn''t you have started with that!"


    “Why? Are you already out?”


    "..."


    Ji-Ah forced herself to calm down again and lowered her voice.


    "No. Anyway, I got it. You just mentioned OrangeKing all of a sudden. I''ll get ready and message you."


    <i>Thump.</i>


    After ending the call, she scanned her closet.


    "I was thinking of just going out in sweats."


    Even though she said that, she hesitated in front of her closet for quite some time.


    ***


    OrangeKing, Ju-Hyeok, and Ji-Ah met at a ce called Burger Shack in the city.


    <i>''Burger Shack again...''</i>


    Although Ji-Ah frequented this ce often, it was a new experience for OrangeKing.


    "Wow, this is the famous Burger Shack! There''s no chain near my house!"


    OrangeKing seemed to enjoy this kind of food. He didn''t look much different in person from how he looked on-screen. Maybe he seemed a bit more robust with sharper features, but he was the OrangeKing she knew besides that.


    "So, what do you think of my proposal? It seems like a good fit for both of us," OrangeKing asked while wiping ketchup from his mouth with a napkin.


    He was addressing Ji-Ah since she was in charge of editing and would be most affected by any revenue sharing.


    Before answering, Ji-Ah thought about what he had proposed.


    "So, you want to practicementating using our videos and suggest we edit that in while sharing the profits."


    "Yes, exactly. It''s a win-win, don''t you think? <i>Hahaha!</i>"


    OrangeKing nodded vigorously and confidently replied, but felt very nervous inside. He finally found a ray of hope after the LIL World Cup didn''t go well. If Ji-Ah didn’t approve, he wouldn''t have any options left.


    Her slight chin movement had his full attention. He even offered less in the revenues shared.


    He thought, <i>''Maybe I shouldn''t have brought up money at all.''</i>


    Then, Ji-Ah''s head suddenly turned sharply. She didn’t reject him, but turned to Ju-Hyeok.


    "How''s the split?"


    OrangeKing flinched and diverted his gaze.


    "This is it."


    Ju-Hyeok handed her a brief document and Ji-Ah seemed satisfied as she reviewed it.


    <i>''Not bad. Ju-Hyeok wouldn''t have set it up strangely... but this is better than I thought.''</i>


    The split was in their favor, almost to the point where they felt sorry for OrangeKing. As OrangeKing said, he wanted to practicementating more than making an immediate profit. Therefore, Almond’s side would earn much more.


    Moreover, the timing was impable.


    <i>''Right now, there''s almost nothing to post on YouTube.''</i>


    Ji-Ah had hardly anything substantial for a video as Almond repeated the same strategy. Indeed, adding OrangeKing''smentary would make it much more entertaining to watch.


    <i>''It''s truly a win-win.''</i>


    Ji-Ah checked onest thing.


    "What did Almond say about this?"


    How much did Almond even know about this proposal?


    "Almond''s okay with it. He wanted toe too, but he''s currently preparing with Kimchi Warrior..."


    "Aha," Ji-Ah nodded and ced the document back on the table.


    "So, Almond agreed too."


    She reached out to OrangeKing.


    "Alright. Let''s give yourmentary a try."


    Ji-Ah decided to edit and upload more videos incorporating OrangeKing''smentary.


    "Wow, thank you. I''ll do my best starting today!"


    "We''re happy to have you," Ji-Ah responded.


    ***


    Almond started streaming with a new title that afternoon at 2 P.M.


    <i>[A world ssmentator is now mymentator in another world??]</i>


    <i>— What''s this title even about?</i>


    <i>— Another world? Nutspunk?!</i>


    <i>— Whomentates solo queue games?? LOL</i>


    <i>— Mom! Nutspunk is real, I tell you!</i>


    <i>— Is this “another world” the Nutspunk world? Yes? Please say it is!</i>


    Everyone spected who it could be and never expected OrangeKing. Then, the camera turned on and a face other than Almond''s appeared.


    <i>— ??</i>


    <i>— What''s with this squid?</i>


    <i>— Wrong! It''s not this face!</i>


    <i>— WRONG</i>


    <i>— LOL, is that OrangeKing??</i>


    "Ah, hello everyone in the Nutdom. I just came here after getting crushed in the LIL World Cup!"


    The chat exploded as OrangeKing appeared.


    <i>— LOL!</i>


    <i>— Such a dramatic change in stance</i>


    <i>— Is this the weight of being a breadwinner? What a move</i>


    <i>— What about the LIL World Cup? LOL</i>


    <i>— Really, OrangeKing?? LOL!</i>


    "The LIL World Cup finals? I''m notmentating for that. And what about it? It''s ruined anyway!"


    The chat erupted inughter.


    <i>— It’s official. The LIL World Cup is ruined LOL</i>


    <i>— Agreed LOL</i>


    <i>— LOL!</i>


    <i>— Did OrangeKing quickly move here after losing national pride? LOL</i>


    <i>— Damn LIL World Cup ??</i>


    "I have a kid too. Got to work for the diaper money."


    Then, Almond''s camera popped up too. He casually waved at the viewers.


    "Hey."


    <i>— Hi hi</i>


    <i>— Almond! What''s happening here LOL</i>


    <i>— Nutnut^^7</i>


    "Ah... This all happened so suddenly. OrangeKing will be practicing hismentary and I''ll be practicing for the national team. Something like that."


    "Yes! That''s right. However, I''ll bementing in spectator mode! And Kimchi Warrior will be joining in tomentate too!"


    <i>— On such arge scale so suddenly LOL</i>


    <i>— Is this Almond''s rank promotion game?</i>


    <i>— Wow, the scale of this promotion game is like a tournament, haha LOL</i>


    <i>— World ss Nut...</i>


    Almond didn''t waste any time and started the game. Every minute and second was precious for the national team''s preparation.


    "I''ll also prepare tomentate. I''ve studied quite a bit about <i>Civil Empire</i>, but Kimchi Warrior will help for the parts I''m not sure about."


    "Hello, Kimchi Warrior here."


    And so, Kimchi Warrior and OrangeKing prepared tomentate. Almond, alongside BornToB, began searching for a game.


    OrangeKingfortably broke the ice, "I heard today is the promotion game. They say <i>Civil Empire</i> promotion games are as tough as LIL World games. Is that true, Kimchi Warrior?"


    Viewers had sharply divided opinions on whether it wasparable to the notorious LIL World games or even worse. Amid the intense debate...


    <i>[Opponent Found!]</i>


    The first game of the promotion series began.


    "They’re matched up. Let''s look up the opponent''s record! By the way, there''s a dy in the stream so it won’t help even if you chat with Almond and BornToB. You know that, right? Now, what do you think Kimchi Warrior?"


    "The opponent is... just an average B rank..."


    "Then, isn''t that a good thing? Why do you look like you''ve eaten sour kimchi?!"


    The banter between them continued.


    <i>— LOL!</i>


    <i>— Aren''t you two strangers?</i>


    <i>— LOL!</i>


    "The opponent is Korean."


    "Oh, a Korean?"


    "Yes."


    "Isn''t it quite rare in Civil Empire to face a Koreanmander?"


    "Hmm..."


    Kimchi Warrior seemed worried as he looked at the screen.


    Meanwhile...


    "The game has started!"


    The screen showed a town hall and ten residents.


    "Our position, Almond and BornToB''s camp, is at three o''clock. In a straight line at nine o''clock is the enemymander, Loop! That’s Loop''s camp!"