Hui-Chul pulled his lean body closer to the desk, never taking his eyes off Almond''s movements. His hands quickly sketched and wrote something. He marveled at the possibility of such movements, pondering where they could be utilized and which missions they would suit among numerous other imaginations adorned with his drawings and words.


    Night had fallen by the time he filled the empty page.


    Hui-Chul entered the capsule.


    <em>[Civil Empire]</em>


    Afterunching the familiar game, he sent a message to his teammates.


    <em>[Scrimmage starts in 30 minutes]</em>


    The message was sent to a whopping 220 members. Soon, 200 soldiers and 3manders gathered in no time.


    <em>[Kimchi Warrior: Ready to observe.]</em>


    The think tank team also finished their preparations for observation.Hui-Chul especially looked for one neer participating in the scrimmage for the first time.


    "He''s here."


    <em>[Almond]</em>


    Almond was also properly waiting.


    Hui-Chul climbed onto the podium and spoke, "The scrimmage against the Ennd team will begin shortly. Perform well as you always do."


    ***


    OrangeKing asked a question for the audience''s understanding as it was their first nationalpetition scrimmage, "Ah, KimchiWarrior. This is our first nationalpetition scrimmage, right? Could you exin the characteristics of each civilization for Ennd and Korea?"


    "Ah, yes. Let''s start with the English civilization. As a unified nation of the Anglo-Saxon tribes…"


    "No, that''s enough!"


    OrangeKing cut him off so the audience could understand and he also grew tired of the historical stories.


    <em>— Real-time editing lol</em>


    <em>— Ruthless…</em>


    <em>— Is this… professional?</em>


    <em>m!</em>


    He mmed the desk and asked, "Does Korea have turtle ships or not!?"


    "Yes, they do."


    "Do ancient Korean soldiers appear or not!?"


    "Yes… they do."


    <em>Snap!</em>


    OrangeKing flicked his fingers in approval.


    "Okay!"


    <em>— Systematic questioning lol</em>


    <em>— National pride overdose pending</em>


    <em>— That''s not a question, that''s an interrogation?</em>


    <em>— Interpretation: Does national pride appear or not?</em>


    <em>— What''s okay lol</em>


    "Just tell me about these things."


    "Ah…"


    Kimchi Warrior, unable to fully express his love for <em>Civil Empire</em>, was momentarily flustered.


    "Okay, Mr. Kimchi. The faction for the Korean civilization…? Is that the correct term?"


    "Yes, we call it a faction. You can understand it as the characteristics or unique abilities of that civilization."


    "Yes. I heard rumors that Korea''s faction isn''t very good. Is this just the national team ming others or is it true?"


    Faced with OrangeKing''s sharp question, Kimchi Warrior scratched his head bewildered.


    "That''s too philosophical of a question."


    "Let''s just say it''s ming others─"


    "Ah, wait a moment.


    "What is it?"


    "Well, no matter how much we talk about it, it might seem that way…"


    Kimchi Warrior pulled up something on the screen. It was a Japanese SNS page.


    "This is a post by a member of the Japanese team. Take a look."


    When he ran a trantion app, it was tranted into Korean.


    <em>[The Korean civilization, even Hotaru-san sometimes ys it, but it''s quite tricky to handle. The developers im it has potential, but that so-called potential is clearly just sleeping soundly ww Perhaps they''ve overdone the historical uracy of Korea? ww Just kidding. It''s a joke.]</em>


    "… What do those w''s mean?"


    "It''s like lol in Japan."


    "Ah."


    <em>— "Even Hotaru-san…" lol</em>


    <em>— What a trantion lol</em>


    <em>— The way they talk, I''m craving turtle ships</em>


    OrangeKing summarized it after reading carefully, "So to summarize… Japan is astonished! The world is amazed by the Korean faction''s performance!? Is that it?"


    "Right. The results are a bit different from how it was worded though."


    <em>— To him, a ne of approval is given…</em>


    <em>— So it turns out like this lol</em>


    <em>— Almond: Pass! Be my editor!</em>


    It seemed clear that the Korean civilization was not good if even the Japanese acknowledged it.


    "If the Japanese say so… it must definitely not be good, right? Then it''s faster if you tell us the advantages first."


    "Yes. When things go well, it''s quite significant from the middle of the third era. You know the term, “Firepower Joseon?” Thete third era is when the technology to make bows and gunpowdere together. It’s truly the golden age."


    "But it''s hard to get there?"


    "Yes. Korean is one of the civilizations with lower resource gathering efficiency."


    "Really? That''s fatal. Why?"


    "That''s too long to exin… I''ll add more exnationster if there''s a chance in the game."


    "Ah, okay. Can you tell us about a typical disadvantage aside from the lower resource efficiency?"


    "Well, to give you an example, there''s something called a bamboo spear among the early factions in the Korean civilization."


    "Ah, yes."


    "In the nationalpetition, weapons often get dropped or destroyed and be unusable. Weapon making is expensive too, especially since resources are precious for the Korean civilization. It''s even more expensive."


    "Yes. So?"


    "When you upgrade the bamboo spear in the Korean civilization, you can only use a bamboo spear once when no other weapons are avable. Once means until the bamboo spear is destroyed. Of course, bamboo spears get destroyed easily."


    "Ah…! So you mean you can immediately pull out a bamboo spear even if your weapon is destroyed or dropped on the battlefield?"


    "Yes."


    "How much damage does the bamboo spear do? Like 30,000?"


    "Not at all."


    "Then it seems prettyme, doesn''t it?"


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— Really…</em>


    <em>— Is this a professional analysis?!</em>


    <em>— lol</em>


    "Yes, that''s right. It''s such a lousy faction that it''s not worth upgrading."


    "Huh… But?"


    OrangeKing still hadn''t shaken off his doubts.


    "Could it be that other civilizations are also whining about the same thing? What faction do others use in the same era? We want topare it with that."


    <em>— The way OrangeKing talks lol</em>


    <em>— It makes you want to know lol</em>


    <em>— Are they whining with a serious voice? Lol</em>


    Kimchi Warrior exined without any change in expression, "Ah, yes. For example, our opponent today, Ennd, has a faction called Dane''s Shield that is avable from the first era. They can produce shields from the first era."


    "Really?!"


    Knowing the utility of shields from his experience with the game, OrangeKing understood that having such an advantage from the first era was hugely beneficial and the cost was low.


    "Yes. It''s so cheap that almost all soldiers can fight with a shield."


    "That''s unreasonable…"


    "Yes. Moreover, shields produced in the first era are often used up to the third era. They''re too efficient not to use."


    <em>— :O</em>


    <em>— Wow lol</em>


    <em>— That''s too much</em>


    <em>— But honestly, they were the British Empire lol they deserve this much lol</em>


    <em>— Barkeeper! I''m going in!</em>


    Afterward, the two discussed the key points to watch in today''s battle against Ennd as the game''s start time approached.


    ***


    Almond stood amid a group of strangers. Today would be his first time experiencing the nationalpetition format.


    "There hasn’t been much exnation."


    Aside from the basic things Cookie directly exinedst time, not much had been exined to him.


    Almond looked at his teammates standing beside him. People of various appearances chatted with each other.


    "Is Jaydril from Ennd there?"


    "Yeah. That guy is pretty tough."


    "The longbowmen are seriously stressful. Honestly, they urgently need a nerf."


    Almond couldn''t join their conversations. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to fit in. Not fitting in and being unable to were different things.


    <em>— Feels like a new semester lol</em>


    <em>— My appearance after the grade change…</em>


    <em>— Five minutes after the semester starts. The look of an outsider… lol</em>


    Viewers rted to him like starting a new semester at school. They somewhat sympathized with Almond''s awkwardness.


    It was precisely that feeling. Even though everyone seemed about the same age and shared simr hobbies, he didn’t know anyone well as they all talked among themselves.


    Even Cookie didn''t pay attention to Almond, which made him worry about what was toe.


    "Can I even fight on horseback like this? No… I might not even get a bow."


    With no one paying attention to him, he felt a certain emptiness.


    <em>"Tsk."</em>


    Memories of his teammates during the<em> LIL </empetition shed through his mind. Almond typically didn''t care about others'' attention, but it seemed he had grown ustomed to the attention he received during the in-housepetition and as a streamer.


    "Am I changing?"


    With his thirties just around the corner, such thoughts crossed his mind.


    Just as the Korean national team’s promising archer Yu Sang-Hyeon was once changed by Ah-Sung, streamer Almond could also be changing.


    <em>[10 seconds to start]</em>


    The ten second countdown began. Almond cleared his mind as much as possible.


    <em>‘I need to concentrate.’</em>


    The only thing that mattered now was showing a slight potential as a national representative in this scrimmage. He had to show that he could perform as a national yer.


    <em>[10]</em>


    Suddenly, the surroundings changed and they found themselves in a vast meadow with only a town hall building standing alone.


    <em>[9]</em>


    <em>[8]</em>


    <em>…</em>


    <em>[1]</em>


    Finally, the countdown ended and a piercing buzzer sounded. The game began.


    ***


    "Let''s start the game!" OrangeKing shouted as the game began.


    "Let me remind you again! This is a nationalpetition format!"


    "Yes. It''s quite different from the basic battles you''ve been watching. Each civilization has its unique traits and 200 yers are summoned at once to participate."


    This was a recap for the viewers who hadn''t seen the exnation of the nationalpetition and only started to watch now.


    "Yes! It''s impressive that 200 people are summoned from the start. Isn''t it more realistic if you think about ancient historical battles?"


    "Right. It would be stranger to recruit so many people on the spot."


    "But what do these 200 people do from the start? They don''t just guard the base and loaf around, do they?"


    "Yes, of course. From the start, the 200 soldiers can be used to attack. Usually, they’re grouped for scouting."


    By the time Kimchi Warrior exined this, the yers on the map started moving. The viewers and Almond were new to this nationalpetition, but the yers weren’t. They busily moved from the start.


    "Ah, I forgot to mention this! Twelve o''clock is Korea! Six o''clock is Ennd! Both sides are starting to scout with their 200 soldiers spreading out!"


    The 200 soldiers from each side began scouting by dispersing.


    "Wow. And the map is really huge, isn''t it? It''s no joke."


    The map was sorge that it would take some time even with this many people. Kimchi Warrior nodded in agreement.


    "Yes. That''s why quick scouting is important. You need to know where the resources are and where the animals worth hunting are to gain an advantage in battle."


    "This really feels like an actual war, doesn''t it?"


    <em>— For real</em>


    <em>— So exciting lol</em>


    <em>— I want to try it too</em>


    The setup, which contained elements of a real war, pleased viewers who had a romance for medieval warfare.


    Meanwhile, OrangeKing’s eyes rapidly moved and followed the camera.


    "It''s nice that the scale is sorge, but it''s hard to find where Almond is."


    It was hard to locate Almond. Kimchi Warrior reassured him by shaking his head.


    "Yes. It''s difficult. Right now, it''s not important to find him. There''s nothing significant for him to do yet."


    At this point, Almond was just one among 200. His significance could increase based on his performance, but it was difficult at the moment as they were just starting to scout.


    "So far, Korea has scouted about a third of the map. Ennd is a bit slower. It seems Korean soldiers will enter Ennd''s territory. Why is that?"


    "It''s a difference in scouting strategy. Ennd has formed scouting groups of ten while Korea has formed groups of five. Thus, there''s a difference in efficiency, but this will also affect theirbat efficiency."


    "Ah, I see? So while Korea might scout faster, Ennd will have the advantage if the scouting forces meet..."


    Suddenly, OrangeKing''s tone became urgent.


    "But it looks like the forces are going to meet?!"


    Among the dispersed scouting forces, some seemed likely to encounter the enemy first.


    <em>Whoosh.</em>


    The camera zoomed in on that area. They were unaware of each other yet, but they were bound to meet judging by their directions.


    "Uh?"


    Was it divine intervention for the stream? OrangeKing spotted someone.


    "Herees Almond!"


    Almond was among the group about to engage in battle.