OrangeKing scrolled through the Civil Empire videos with a puzzled look.
"Wasn't this gunpopular before?" he asked.
He knew Civil Empire as a gthat had lost its popularity in the country, but it oddly featured in several recent trending videos in the gaming category.
"Ah... so all these videos are Almond's."
OrangeKing realized that all the videos belonged to Almond's channel.
"Should we take a quick look at one of the videos?"
OrangeKing grew curious about the potential of this game, or rather, the potential of Almond playing this game.
"The Japanese are shocked and the entire world is... Wow, that's sintense title?"
The first video OrangeKing watched featured Almond defending a wall against twenty opponents alone.
"Wow... it's almost like the battle of Hulao 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.
"Guys, do you not know what Hulao Pass is? It's not about looking like Guan Yu..."
"Wow, my head is spinning."
OrangeKing suddenly burst into laughter after briefly bantering with the viewers.
"So, that's why the title was like that?!"
Laughter also filled the chat.
The scene showed the startled Whiskey.
OrangeKing becastonished after watching a series of his superplays.
"Wow. As expected, Almond excels in other games too."
OrangeKing was amazed.
"But... how is he still thriving even after ditching Raina?"
"Yeah, that's right. The lip service business. They call it the lip service industry. Wasn’t that it? The handsones have a different approach to relationships than we do."
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 a commentator. In fact, it wasn’t just OrangeKing. All the experienced casters and commentators stuck to predictable scripted commentary.
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.
It felt incredibly frustrating for OrangeKing, whose job was speaking.
Even though he aimed for objective commentary, how could he remain unaffected when ninety-seven out of a hundred viewers supported the Korean league teams? How could his commentary not be influenced?
In fact, he becmore objective when the Korean teams were winning. No one would complain 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 OrangeKing commented the sway, it would sound different to the viewers.
***
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMeanwhile, 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 to launch 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 tto stop for the day. Maybe it would be better to find more fans from the previous video.
Today was fine. However, there would be nothing new to post on YouTube if the spattern continued tomorrow and the day after.
She thought about grabbing a simple lunch and rummaged through the fridge.
A call cfrom 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."
She closed the fridge door with one foot and adjusted the phone in her hand.
“Have you eaten?”
"..."
Her lips curled a bit.
It was unusual for Ju-Hyeok to ask about lunch on a weekday.
"Um. No."
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…?"
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."
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 stime.
***
OrangeKing, Ju-Hyeok, and Ji-Ah met at a place called Burger Shack in the city.
Although Ji-Ah frequented this place 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 practice commentating using our videos and suggest we edit that in while sharing the profits."
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.
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.
The split was in their favor, almost to the point where they felt sorry for OrangeKing. As OrangeKing said, he wanted to practice commentating more than making an immediate profit. Therefore, Almond’s side would earn much more.
Moreover, the timing was impeccable.
Ji-Ah had hardly anything substantial for a video as Almond repeated the sstrategy. Indeed, adding OrangeKing's commentary would make it much more entertaining to watch.
Ji-Ah checked one last thing.
"What did Almond say about this?"
How much did Almond even know about this proposal?
"Almond's okay with it. He wanted to ctoo, but he's currently preparing with Kimchi Warrior..."
"Aha," Ji-Ah nodded and placed the document back on the table.
"So, Almond agreed too."
She reached out to OrangeKing.
"Alright. Let's give your commentary a try."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmJi-Ah decided to edit and upload more videos incorporating OrangeKing's commentary.
"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.
Everyone speculated who it could be and never expected OrangeKing. Then, the camera turned on and a face other than Almond's appeared.
"Ah, hello everyone in the Nutdom. I just chere after getting crushed in the LIL World Cup!"
The chat exploded as OrangeKing appeared.
"The LIL World Cup finals? I'm not commentating for that. And what about it? It's ruined anyway!"
The chat erupted in laughter.
"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."
"Ah... This all happened so suddenly. OrangeKing will be practicing his commentary and I'll be practicing for the national team. Something like that."
"Yes! That's right. However, I'll be commenting in spectator mode! And Kimchi Warrior will be joining in to commentate too!"
Almond didn't waste any tand started the game. Every minute and second was precious for the national team's preparation.
"Hello, Kimchi Warrior here."
And so, Kimchi Warrior and OrangeKing prepared to commentate. Almond, alongside BornToB, began searching for a game.
Viewers had sharply divided opinions on whether it was comparable to the notorious LIL World games or even worse. Amid the intense debate…
The first gof the promotion series began.
"They’re matched up. Let's look up the opponent's record! By the way, there's a delay 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.
"The opponent is Korean."
"Oh, a Korean?"
"Yes."
"Isn't it quite rare in Civil Empire to face a Korean commander?"
"Hmm..."
Kimchi Warrior seemed worried as he looked at the screen.
Meanwhile…
"The ghas 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 enemy commander, Loop! That’s Loop's camp!"