Season 5: Chapter 63. Revolt of the Trash (1)
Popcorn's eyes twitched.
'Nervous?'
He couldn’t possibly have been nervous over some amateur, especially not over a meaningless placement match like this.
‘No way.’
He wanted to say that, but the words wouldn't come because of the single image that flickered in his mind when he locked eyes with Almond.
Popcorn had felt it then. That look, Almond genuinely believed that he could beat a former pro. Those eyes practically asked to be taken seriously.
'That guy... He's not an amateur. Not even close.'
In the world of professional competitors, raw mechanical skills often weren’t the deciding factor. Popcorn knew how that sounded, but he had held this belief for years. It had been shaped through countless one-on-one matches.
Skill wasn’t what mattered. He'd said it in interviews after interviews. Most people wrote it off as arrogance, deflection, and Popcorn being Popcorn. When he said skills, he meant what one needed to climb the ladder as a regular player.
Among pros, everyone already had that in spades. When players competed at the very top, everyone's mechanics were roughly equal. What actually decided the outcome was mentality.
How much could a player resist the opponent's mind games? Could a player stick to their game plan under any kind of pressure? Could they hold steady when everything shook? These immeasurable, intangible qualities had far more influence over wins and losses among pros than any stat.
Only a rare, chosen few truly possessed this. At the very peak of that group stood Choi Seong-Hyeon, who stood right over there.
'Why does that guy have it too?'
Popcorn had felt something similar from Almond, who had no professional record or career to speak of. And yet Almond carried a weight that would make most competitors feel out of their depth.
'Is it really the same kind of world in the end?'
He'd heard about Yu Sang-Hyeon's background as a promising archery athlete.
Sang-Hyeon had been an archer who shot at targets. It wasn’t exactly a head-to-head sport, so Popcorn had assumed that Almond wouldn’t have the competitive edge in a direct matchup. Maybe it wasn't so different after all. Maybe the world Popcorn had lived in and the world Almond came from were the same at their core.
'That's kind of terrifying.'
Popcorn stared at the back of the woman, who was still rewatching the footage in a loop.
'It means there might be another one like that out there.'
Why had she felt so complicated the moment Almond appeared? Why had she volunteered to coach him and picked apart his every movement? Popcorn thought he understood now.
"God. Let me go have a smoke."
"Huh? Now?"
"What do you mean, now? You completely messed with my head."
Sa-Rang seemed to have no memory of what she'd said to him a moment ago.
"Come on." Popcorn turned sharply and walked away.
Sa-Rang quietly laughed. "You're still annoyed because you're losing?"
"Nope~. Don't really know~. I was barely paying attention~."
Thunk.
Popcorn pushed toward the exit and walked headfirst into the door.
"That's an automatic door, you know."
"Damn it."
It looked like a completely normal door. Somehow, it slid sideways.
Bzzzz...
No matter how many times he came here, he never got used to it.
***
Meanwhile, Zelo watched all of this from above. He had a lot riding on Almond's loss.
"And now the ultimate skill!!"
Zelo had been certain Popcorn would win.
"There's literally no way Almond can come back from this!"
Zelo grinned and snuck a peek at his challenge mission.
[If Team Bubblegum places 1st: Twerking punishment. If Team Bubblegum doesn't place 1st: 890,000 won.]
The initial 300,000 won had ballooned to 890,000. Given how unlikely it had looked for Team Bubblegum to win first, the pot had grown considerably. Zelo had many high-spending viewers.
'Generous souls. Dropping free money on me again...'
However, reality had other plans.
"Huh?"
Almond put up more of a fight than expected.
— Whoa
— Damn
— This is insane
— Almond is actually terrifying...
— lol what the
Flashy Blade had reached level eleven, plus his ultimate was at level two. With a top-tier pilot like Almond, his combat output easily matched a legendary rune.
"What is even happening right now? No, Popcorn isn’t actually going to lose with a legendary rune active, is he? Popcorn is retired, sure! But he still has the fundamentals!"
— lmaooo
— I'm getting nervous...
— twerking incoming in 5 minutes lmao
— lol
— He's gonna lose???
— Health wise Popcorn still has a clear lead, he's probably fine?
Objectively, Popcorn was still ahead on every metric. Even so, such a thing as visible momentum existed. On that front, he was losing badly. It felt like a loss was coming.
"Wh-what?! Why did he take that hit! Popcorn! That was a straight shot from the front!"
Crash!
An enormous tentacled arm burst out of nowhere.
"What?! What is that?!"
The Kraken emerged and swallowed them both whole.
Zelo stared blankly for a long moment. "Is it... is it over?"
It really ended like that.
[Abyss Kraken → LazySoldier]
[Abyss Kraken → Popcorn]
"What is... they just died? That's it?"
This was the charm of Survival mode.
— lol RNG game
— The hell?!
— Battle royale is just like that tbh
— Now I get why they called it the Light version...
— Dumbest mode ever lmao
— Pure luck simulator
— This is so new players can participate, you morons
— All the little gremlins coming out now lol
Survival mode fans and Siege mode fans broke into a full argument in the comments.
In the middle of all that, Zelo suddenly screamed with joy, "YES! The Almond Era is over!!"
— lmaooo
— Oh wait, he's right
— lol
— Actually yeah
"This is basically over, right? There's no Resurrection Shrine anymore?"
Resurrection Shrines no longer existed outside of the Shadow free territory. Almond's team would have to play out the rest of the game without him.
Zelo launched into an impassioned speech. "And so! Almond, who had seized power by force... and the independence fighter Popcorn... were simultaneously cut down by foreign intervention!"
He was delivering the official results of the Almond Era Liberation Movement.
— lmaooooo
— Nice
— "The United States" enters the chat
— Wait is Popcorn Geun actually a thing now
— They really died at the same time???
— Fat Man deployed!
— Popcorn lmao
— Foreign intervention omg
"The courage Popcorn showed in standing up to the tyrannical Almond... is something future generations must never forget! And how will we make sure they remember? By making it a question on the official Streamer History exam! A mandatory written test every single placement season!"
— LMAOOO
— Written exams, let's go
— Streamer History Museum
— How far are you going LMAO
"Question: Which of the following best describes the primary cause of the Almond Era's end? Option 1: The Kraken's whims. Option 2: Vault Raiding Diplomacy. Option 3: The unceasing resistance of the martyrs..."
— Vault Raiding Diplomacy lmao
— I'm crying
— 4. BANG
— Popcorn did everything himself
— He even did diplomacy
— 4. BANG
— lmaooooooo
— 1111111
— 111111111
— The only martyr was Popcorn, wasn't it lol
— 4. BANG
"Bang~ gets disqualified. I'm talking about a sacred liberation movement right now! What is wrong with you people!"
— lmaooo
— lol
— Bang ending is actually plausible tho
— If the leftover players win, it's a bang ending lmao
— 5. Zelo's twerking
"Right. Anyway, I just have to accept the challenge, yeah?"
Zelo was about to pocket the roughly 900,000 won that had stacked up in the challenge pool.
Ba-bam!
[NotYet has donated 30,000 won.]
[It's not over yet, is it Zelo? The remnants of the Almond regime are still out there.]
— Oof
— Almond loyalist wtf
— No way
— Wait...
— They're seriously going to win?? Lmao
— Yeah right
"What? What could those guys possibly do? They're Team Almond without Almond, aren't they? They'd have to beat Popcorn's leftover team first, and then we can take... Huh?"
Zelo rubbed his eyes because Popcorn's remaining teammates had all died. Somehow, only Almond's teammates survived.
— ?
— ??
— lol what
— Almond loyalists are something else
— Let's go
— Uh oh lmao
Iron Ball had suddenly come alive with a breakout play. Combined with LetMeTank's flawless shot-calling, they'd taken down Team Popcorn.
"No, but even so! Four against five is still a tough ask, isn't it? Look at the state those people are in. Not skill, health. Health!"
***
Indeed, Team Almond without Almond was in a rough shape.
"Hah... hah..."
"We made it!"
"H-here! Let's hide here!"
They tucked themselves into the ruins of a crumbling structure and checked each other's health bars.
"Um... I'm at 20%."
"Me too... I think this might be it for me."
"I'm at 19%, but I'm going all the way."
Everyone had finished their grim reports with dead-serious expressions.
LetMeTank deeply sighed and snapped at them. "Oh, please. I can see all your bars without you telling me."
"Oh."
— lmaooo
— lol
— Stock market manager energy
— Why are they acting like this is a war movie
— The immersion is unreal
"Here, drink these."
Whoosh.
LetMeTank opened up the potion stash she'd been quietly farming.
"Wow."
"Amazing. When did she even grab all those?"
"Hold on..."
Tap.
LetMeTank smacked Bubblegum's hand away.
"We don't have many. Damage dealers drink first."
Tanks had high base health, so healing them back up cost a lot of potions. On top of that, they had defense and health regeneration. A few sips would go further for them.
Choco Shroom got to drink first.
"We can't bring Almond back. You all know that, right?"
LetMeTank gave them the full briefing. She checked the map and marked where the next Shadow wave would hit.
"The Shadow is actually on our side for once." She took command without a word of hesitation. "We're going to hold this ruin as cover. There are five of them. We've got three tanks..."
BornToB whined, "Taank..."
Bubblegum suddenly shouted, "BornToB! This isn't a game right now! Focus!"
"Ta-taaank? I mean, okay, okay. I got it."
— Why isn't it a game lol
— It IS a game
— Then what is it?!
Honestly, it became more than just a game for them. Each of them had a very clear and personal reason to win this.
Bubblegum stated his reason first. "This isn't a game. It's proof. I want to prove... that I can play well too, sometimes..."
LetMeTank nodded. "That does seem like something that needs proving."
— LMAOOO
— Now that the Almond Occupation is over, she's got her mouth back lol
— Lethal
— LetMeTank's rage meter is maxed out, the limiter is off
"Well, honestly, I have something to prove too."
"You do? But you're already good."
"It's just..." LetMeTank finally came clean. "I'm a streamer."
"?!"
"!"
"Huh?"
— wHAT
— huh??
— No way
— wait...
— WHAT?!
— lmaooo
— Undercover streamer
It wasn't just her teammates. Even LetMeTank's viewers lost their minds in the chat.
"Wait, so this was a five-streamer team? No wonder it was such a mess..."
LetMeTank finally told the truth. "That was because Almond was calling the shots."
Somewhere in spectator limbo, Almond's rune spirit was almost certainly screaming, “The calls?! What about the calls?!”
However, the dead couldn’t speak.
— lmaooo
— She said what she said
— LetMeTank’s truth bomb strikes again
"But you're a streamer. What do you have to prove?"
"I want to prove that I can win alongside my seniors."
"Ohhh..."
— She just wants to get famous lol
— (I'd like to tap into their audiences, please!)
— I love how it's "alongside my seniors" not "over my seniors"~
— Small streamer gotta win lol
— Shouldn't it be "win despite my seniors"?
"Me too," Choco Shroom said. "People make fun of me for playing a thousand games of Terry in Silver, but... I want to be recognized as someone who at least knows what they're doing as Terry."
Tucked away in the ruins, the team members started confessing their reasons one by one.
Only BornToB remained. "I... I wanted to prove the Dagger Rush..."
— ?
— That ship has sailed lol
— That window closed
— Way past that
"But Almond said he thought I'd be good with the bow, so I wanted to prove it with the bow instead..."
— That window closed too
— Okay lol
— You keep bringing up expired coupons
— Why
— How many times are we doing this
"And then, somehow, I ended up as a tank..."
"Shhh!" Right then, LetMeTank rose to her feet and pressed a finger to her lips. "They're coming."
[The Shadow of the Abyss will descend shortly!]
This was the last spot that the Shadow hadn’t swallowed. There was nowhere else to go. Footsteps crept toward them.
Bubblegum stood up, his eyes calm and resolute. "Let's show them. That even trash can pull it off."
"?"
He was calling all of them trash.
— ??
— Why is everyone trash lol
— All trash confirmed
— lmao
— LetMeTank's face right now
— omg
— Trash squad
— TRASH
