Chapter 316 ·A Peaceful Preliminaries (2)?

A 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󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂Peaceful Preliminaries (2)

Late evening, serengeti Headquarters.

Bang Hanul was monitoring the broadcast in the CEO's Office, his expression serious.

'Now I'll finally see if it was worth the investment.'

Along with Shoulder's request, he had made a decision. Trusting in the two keywords, Purple and Shoulder, he had reached out even to the enemy.

The synergy had been unexpected, and both representatives decided to make the event even bigger. The result of that choice would be revealed, at least in part, in today's broadcast.

'Viewer count is...'

Of course, the most important thing was the number of viewers.

Not only the count from the official Serengeti Channel. He also had to keep an eye on the viewers on the Tri official Channel.

It wasn't simply to gauge the scale of this event. After all, building a virtual studio as part of expanding the event was costing money.

Both representatives decided to split the costs according to the viewer count ratio.

'It's surpassed 100,000.'

Combined for both platforms.

It was a number that had easily been obtained with the start of the lottery broadcast.

'So it's about 4:6.'

In terms of ratio, serengeti's share was a 4. That meant his share of the costs would be less.

But Bang Hanul couldn't be happy.

'If I subtract duplicate viewers, the gap will be even bigger. If it's serious, it could be 2:8, at least 3:7.'

He leaned back in his chair with a deep sigh. Was it because he felt the difference in scale between the two platforms?

No.

He'd long since accepted that reality, so it wasn't a new problem.

"With this, the picture looks too unbalanced..."

Originally, he hadn't cared so much about the ratio. But recent community feedback had changed that.

Tri's viewers were considering group outfits as a given.

'The studio will be covered 70% in purple...'

If viewers just watched with their own avatars, it wouldn't be much of a problem. You wouldn't be able to tell who was a Tri viewer just by looking.

But if people were separated by group outfits, it would become painfully obvious that Serengeti's viewers were fewer.

It would be great if Serengeti's viewers would step up voluntarily in response, but—

'... Green is definitely a bit hard to pull off.'

Just like its name, serengeti's representative color was green for the grasslands. Compared to purple, it was a much tougher color to wear.

'There isn't really a BJ among ours who can take the lead.'

Moreover, this movement toward group outfits wasn't started by the platform. If Serengeti now encouraged its viewers to wear group outfits, it would only become a laughingstock.

"Tsk, this is going to kill our morale from the start..."

Bang Hanul frowned and refocused on the broadcast.

Maybe if the matchups came out well and momentum swung in their favor, serengeti viewers would step up on their own.

That was his hope.

* * *

Jung Soyoon began introducing the participant lineup as the screen changed.

"Now, let's first take a look at the female division participants! The Serengeti team has Mom Queen, gyu Rani, and Dureon Dureon! Oh, they're all top talents!"

"That's right! You can see their ranks at the bottom now. Wow, they're dazzling! All gold, gold level!"

Willitwork? immediately picked up from Jung Soyoon's words. As he said, the Serengeti team's badges were shining a resplendent gold.

Genome jumped in.

"Huh? How many K is this gold? There's not a single scratch — shouldn't someone bite it to check?"

― Crazy lol instant banter incoming

― Bite it lmao

― Omg lol only 24K solid gold counts, you know lol

― Getting started already lol

― Trchoip never disappoints!

The chat erupted in laughter. Jung Soyoon held back a giggle as she quickly mediated.

"No, Genome! What are you talking about! Of course, they're pure gold level!"

"Ah, but Genome does have a point. To be strict, mom Queen isn't exactly pure gold level."

The chat filled with question marks at Willitwork?'s remark, and he quickly continued.

"Actually, mom Queen is practically Omega tier. She kept failing her promotion matches because Shoulder would crash the matches, or if she did get promoted, she'd end up matched against Shoulder and be dropped right away."

― Haha, even if she's picking on free targets, shoulder shows up to kick her out!

― Was being born in the same country as Shoulder a penalty?

― Oh, omega's gatekeeper is terrifying!

Fighting game fans who already knew this fact agreed immediately. But regular viewers responded differently.

― Wow lol only absolute pros came from Serengeti

― Just how deep is the FG scene anyway lol

― Was it just top-level play because of Godple and Big Sis Decibel?

― Stronger than expected, damn

The screen switched again. This time, it was Tri's team.

"Now, here are the female division participants for Tri! By average rank, it's Red Squad! But you can't judge these just by the average!"

"That's right! Very true. Our Tri representative FG player, lastHitSooni is gold! The legendary step creator, ha Soyeon, is Purple! And a new star, a dark horse like a comet, Decibel, is yellow! But, as those who've watched know, there's a reason for that."

Genome kept talking rapidly, then clicked his tongue.

"Honestly, anyone who plays Metal Punch knows. The yellow tier is packed with random pickers! That's the only reason Decibel is stuck at yellow. Her actual skills are far above her rank! She should be at least Purple!"

― For real, random pickers should be dealt with, damn

― Big Sis Decibel wiped out all the blue tier in FT10, so why's she yellow lol

― Honestly, she's fighting with Purple tier — calling her yellow is not right

― It's just a different shade of yellow, let's count her as gold too?

― If she conquers purple, she's basically gold lol

Viewers immediately agreed with Genome's explanation. Jung Soyoon nodded and summarized.

"Yes, Decibel is a very special case. So you could say the Tri team's average ranges between Purple and gold."

At that, the screen updated, and next to Decibel's yellow badge, a purple badge in parentheses appeared.

Then, the split-screen showed Serengeti's lineup as well.

"If we look at it generally, serengeti looks slightly stronger. But with only this much difference, no one can predict how it'll turn out."

"That's true. Skill is one thing, but each character has strengths and tiers, you know? Depending on the bracket, the visible differences could be reversed at any time!"

Willitwork? added to Jung Soyoon's summary. Genome rolled his eyes slightly as he watched from the side.

'Is he being too cautious because he's young? He's playing it too safe...'

Willitwork?'s commentary was professionally accurate. But this couldn't be called a 'biased commentary'.

It was important to deliver information, but the essence of 'bias' was to ignite fierce competition.

Genome decided to step up first.

"Could it be reversed? No! It WILL be reversed!"

Everyone's eyes widened at his intervention. The chat was also filled with question marks.

"Oh, Genome? You sound absolutely certain! Now I want to know why you think so!"

Thanks to her experience, Jung Soyoon caught his intention right away and played along. Genome smiled.

"Just think about the growth rate of our new face, Decibel. Remember, after today's broadcast, there are five days to practice, right? But Decibel hasn't even been playing for a week yet. What'll happen after five more days? And with Purple coaching her? Honestly, it'd be harder not to flip things around!"

― WA! He speaks his mind! Zikacola!

― LOL 'our' new face

― This is the biased commentary we want!

― But it's all based on fact, right?

― Yeah, he's not making stuff up!

The mood in the chat immediately shifted. Serengeti's viewers weren't about to let it go.

― Willitwork? You just gonna sit there!?

― What are you doing!? Use your counter-move!

― Lol, you're so good at countering usually!

-???: Don't run away! Stand and fight!

Pushed by their demands, willitwork? gathered his courage.

"I think being a new face is actually a limit. Our team's participants are all veterans who've been in plenty of tournaments. But Decibel has no such experience. I'm worried she'll burn herself out focusing only on getting better."

Genome inwardly smiled at the rebuttal. This kind of tense back-and-forth would draw even more attention.

"Both sides are already clashing! Which side is right should become clear once we see the bracket."

And Jung Soyoon had the skill to mediate, making sure the atmosphere didn't overheat.

"Now it's time to do the female division bracket draw, and doing it the regular way would be boring, right?"

"That's right. We didn't bring this many viewers just to watch a raffle draw!"

"Exactly! The scale of the event the two platforms have prepared isn't that small!"

The commentators backed up her hosting. Viewers from both platforms bombarded the chat with question marks.

-??????

― What? There's something else!?

-5252, just what did they prepare!?

― Huh? What is this?

― Huh? Why the sudden ocean?

The broadcast suddenly flickered, and an endless sea appeared.

A lone sailing ship floated atop it. The camera zoomed down toward the ship.

Soon, the deck came into view, and the chat burst out laughing.

― Lol cosplay what

― Anything looks good on them lol

― WA! Captain Purple!

― What's with the pirate captain theme?

― Is this supposed to mean a showdown for the top?

― Lol, but that's pirates vs navy!

― But hey, they're both top tier anyway

Both Lee Gyeongbok and Shoulder were dressed like pirate captains, facing each other. Viewers' attention shifted to the huge barrels beside them.

Each barrel had five slots carved in. Beside each were five toy swords.

― Huh? This is—

― Lol, pirate roulette!

― Lol, picking with this?

The viewers instantly figured it out. It was clearly the toy where if you stuck a sword in a certain hole, a pirate would pop out.

― But where's the pirate?

― Are they supposed to go in it?

― Then who stabs in the swords?

But there wasn't an actual pirate to pop out. Once the camera settled, Jung Soyoon explained.

"Now, the bracket will be decided randomly. But once matchups are set, you might get an idea of which side is favored. But the best matches are the ones where you don't know what'll happen! That's why the organizers have prepared this minigame!"

The pirate roulette wasn't linked directly to bracket selection. It had a more important role.

"Everyone knows this, right? From now on, both representatives will play the pirate roulette game. The team that wins this minigame will, on the day of the event, get to draw a 'Chance Card' they can use!"

As she explained, a metallic card began spinning on the side of the screen.

"There are several kinds. For example, a 'Switch' card that lets you swap the bracket order on the day, or a 'Ban-Pick' card that can ban a character. Of course, you don't have to use them!"

― Lol, is Metal Punch a strategy game now!?

― Adding a psychological battle on top!

― Wow, this will really be unpredictable

― See? When platforms come together, good ideas happen!

― Yeah, back when only Serengeti sponsored it was just fighters vs fighters lol

― Whether you use it or not, winning is everything!

Viewers who expected simple participant vs participant matches were thrilled. Their delight doubled when a beam of light flashed and a pirate for the barrel appeared.

― What now lol

― Why are YOU in there!?

-5252, weren't you just commentators?!

― No way! Didn't expect this lol

In Lee Gyeongbok's barrel was Genome, and in Shoulder's barrel was Willitwork?, both tied with ropes.

"As you know, these commentators are 'biased' commentators, right? So they'll also cooperate for their teams. The loser's commentator gets dropped into the freezing sea!"

Jung Soyoon continued with a laugh in her voice.

"But the rules are different from regular pirate roulette. This IS a fighting game, so psychological games are key! Both representatives can see the other's losing slot! It's not just luck; it's about reading your opponent's mind!"

― Oh lol, mind games ON!

― Lol, this event is packed

― Will they stab or not, stab or not

― Commentators must be sweating lol

-???: Just get on with it!

― Please, no spoilers

As chat filled with anticipation, Jung Soyoon cleared her throat gently.

"Alright! Now let's hand things over to the scene!"

The screen changed to the ship entirely.

"CEO! I'm counting on you! Let's finish this perfectly!"

"Shoulder, you know you're supposed to be in here, right? I'm counting on you!"

Genome and Willitwork? called out to the sword-holding pair. Shoulder replied, smiling first.

"Come on now, don't worry. You know I hate to lose, right? I'll make sure to win."

With confidence, he spun the toy sword. Then, the tip turned to Lee Gyeongbok's side as if it was his turn.

"Genome, do you really trust me?"

"Huh?"

"You know I like things hard, right?"

Lee Gyeongbok asked playfully, and Genome exaggeratedly dropped his jaw.

"No way! Not now, right?!"

― The King of Deliberate Difficulty returns?!

― An expert Smurf playing hard mode here?

― Oh no! No way!

― It's a joke, right? Right...?

Worried, viewers watched as Lee Gyeongbok waved his hand, laughing.

"Of course I'm joking. I do like hard things for myself but I wouldn't make things harder for my whole team."

"Of course! I always trust in the name of Godple! To those who call it, victory is yours!"

As Genome finished, the chat went wild.

― Haha, this guy really loves Repairman

― Hyung, we have over 100k viewers now!

― Ever since he revealed his face he's lost all shame www

― Why did God give him wit and take his shame...

― Godple supposedly said so?

― If no one's stopping him, it's gotta be Godple's will

Viewers who'd been laughing now settled in with anticipation.

― Give Unique Sword a sword? It's over lol

― Even if it's a toy, a sword's still a sword

― Ah, this is destined victory (nod)

If you had Lee Gyeongbok, there were no worries.

― Godple always makes things deliberately hard for a reason

― Confident he can throw? It means he's sure to crack the answer

― Yeah, you can't throw if you don't know the answer!

The very choice was proof of skill.

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