Meanwhile, Zelo and Almond’s reunion had caused a huge stir on Streamer Garden. They had climbed to the second spot on the trending board.

[1. Lackey ForeverAlone infected by Rage Worm lol]

[2. Almond and Zelo meet in Survival in real time LOL]

[3. Knight Order fanart]

[4. Reactions to the Lord’s “fertile” quote collection lol]

[5. Come look at Zeluto fanart]

Amazingly, most of the other posts still talked about Cheese Village. Cheese Village’s edited compilation had already dropped, and the arc had basically ended. However, Streamer Garden kept reproducing content endlessly.

Streamer fandom fueled the community. People loved Cheese Village’s concept because it was packed with the streamers’ real identities. To them, Zelo and Almond meeting in a Survival placement match wasn’t just a moment. It was an event.

[8. I ragebaited just to show you this...]

==== ====

Is this really the Survival we used to know? Nutachi, who used to be a total loser, now has stunning looks, steals women’s hearts, and even has incredible ninja arts. And Zeluto has nothing except his former glory sleeping inside him like a tailed beast. Their showdown unfolds at the Sanctum. It makes my chest swell...

(Photo)

==== ====

The photo depicted a famous scene from a ninja anime with Almond and Zelo’s faces photoshopped onto it.

— The way they even swapped the background to the Sanctum LOL

— This is insane LOL

— The edit is so funny

— The frozen ending was legendary

Plenty of comments laughed at the fight itself.

— Is Survival mode finally booming?!

— Survival is fun, everyone, come play~

Some barged in to promote Survival, whether it was a bit or not. Of course, Streamer Garden wasn’t exactly welcoming.

└ Old man, go back to work

└└ LOL

└└ This is insane LOL

└└ The manager is calling you, assistant manager!

They teased Survival players for being old. Then, someone dropped the cruel reality.

— Once the tournament ends, nobody will play Survival mode anyway...

People only cared right now because streamers were participating.

└ For real lol

└ Survival players clinging to false hope LOL

└ Noooo!

└ Right now, we are getting these grand “Zeluto vs Nutachi” matchups, but later? Not a chance

└ That nut guy has to go back to the Rosenita route first, damn it

— The Survival zombies are kinda sad...

Survival players got treated like dirt everywhere they went. Even posts like this showed up.

[10. Is it really okay to host a tournament in this buggy-ass mode? LOL]

==== ====

You can trap someone in a state where they’re neither dead nor alive?

(Photo)

==== ====

— ???

— ? LOOOOOOL

— The trembling is so funny, holy shit LOL

— What is that, is he a frozen human?!

— “Perfect Death”

└ LOOOOOOOL

└ LMAO

└ Acorn Jelly was hilarious

└ But isn’t it actually the most imperfect death? LOL

— This is Ghost Busters’ “Seal the LIL demon” technique, I’m telling you

└ LOOOOOOOL

└ For real LOL

└ Yeah... that’s exactly it

└ Zelo is a pretty high-tier demon, gotta seal him

— Ghost Buggers is killing me LOL

└ For real, same members again

└ So this means Police’s Kim duo is pulling another overtime shift...

With all the attention on Almond’s very first Survival placement match, the final showdown began.

[Zelo’s team and Almond’s team are the only ones left, holy shit LOL]

[Wow LOL Zelo’s team actually survived this??]

[Zelo’s team has a higher average level LOL]

Just like the board suggested, the last two teams standing were Almond’s and Zelo’s.

“Zelo really does have weight in the scene,” Ju-Hyeok muttered as he scrolled, “Just getting matched with him creates this much firepower.”

This wasn’t even an important tournament, yet interest was exploding for the first placement match. The moment Almond matched with Zelo, his viewer count meaningfully jumped. No matter who won, Almond had already benefited.

“They still have to win.”

Ju-Hyeok was a man who cared about money.

[Win this match. Bubblegum must survive.]

[1,030,000 won]

That mission couldn’t just be shrugged off.

“One match with a mission this big is ridiculous.”

After Bubblegum joined, the mission payout had crossed one million won. This was an unbelievable amount for a single placement match. They had to eat it.

***

Slide.

Zelo adjusted his sunglasses, his expression turning meaningful.

[The Abyss Shark has been defeated!]

The other Abyss Shark had gone down too. Both Sharks on the map had been successfully hunted. That meant the Whale could spawn at any time.

“Feels like there’s exactly one team left besides us, right?”

He tossed the line out casually, then flicked his gaze at chat.

— #@&$

— @$(@

— Yeah

— For real lol

— Are we getting first place in the first match?

— #*#@@

Zelo was a seasoned streamer. He immediately understood what the censored messages were hinting at.

‘The remaining team... It’s them.’

Zelo looked at Acorn Jelly. Had he noticed too?

Acorn Jelly was preaching something to the team. “What I’m saying is, we have to use this. If we do, one person gets completely neutralized.”

— There’s no such thing as Perfect Death, you punk...

— All Black is better, honestly

— He’s obsessed with this again lol

Acorn Jelly believed that if he stacked freeze and stun, he could turn an opponent into a frozen human.

‘Oh, for god’s sake.’

Zelo sighed.

Because of that nonsense, Acorn Jelly had turned into a Frost Archer marksman, which was an awful fit.

‘It’s not like he’s bad at games.’

Acorn Jelly had solid game sense. Wasn’t he the kind of veteran who, despite everything, had cleared every route in the infamous Kingdom Age?

‘He just fixates on the weirdest things.’

Zelo had thought it was just a concept bit, but it seemed real with Acorn Jelly’s bloodshot eyes as he talked.

“This game lets you keep reviving from rune spirits like zombies to fight forever, but Perfect Death? It’ll be over. How do you resist that?”

He wasn’t wrong. When someone became a rune spirit, teammates could immediately carry them off and revive them. If they died again, they could just be revived again.

Zombie play was possible. A way to kill someone without letting them become a rune spirit would really be broken in Survival. However, one couldn’t guarantee that this method worked. Acorn Jelly had already poured way too many resources into it.

“I-I mean, it’s real this time, right? For real?”

“Perfect Shot. All Black... those were real, weren’t they?! You saw it too!”

One teammate had even picked Aqua, a character he wasn’t good with, because of Acorn Jelly. Aqua had synergy with Frost Archer. If Aqua applied water, Frost Archer could apply freeze with one hit instead of two.

“Yeah, but there were a ton of times it wasn’t real. Honestly, outside of Perfect Shot, almost none of it was.”

— LOOOOOOOL

— Almond ruined this guy...

— For real LOL

— Way more of it was fake

— Perfect Shot broke his brain

The Aqua player seemed to be a long-time fan of Acorn Jelly. That was probably why he’d even picked Aqua.

“Then who’s doing the stun?”

Krave the Shield Warrior volunteered. “I will.”

“If we stun before the freeze ends, doesn’t that do it? Krave has two stuns. It won’t be hard.”

“Right, but freeze is all ranged. Can you do it alone while going in melee?”

“If Zelo goes in with me, we can split aggro.”

Zelo stepped in. “Okay, okay. Enough with the weird conspiracy theory. Let’s just fight properly and win, alright? Why would you stack stun on top of freeze?! That’s wasting CC. Wasting it!”

Zelo made a very reasonable argument.

“Why are you hoping for some weird, lucky trick? The enemy team has Bubblegum!”

— That’s true

— LOOOOOOOL

— For real...

— ??? Zelo under Bubblegum!

His teammates didn’t look convinced.

“Yeah, but you’re the one who got killed by Bubblegum, Mr. Zelo. And not just killed. It was Perfect Death.”

“No, I’m telling you. Perfect Death doesn’t exist!”

Zelo couldn’t get through to them because of the way he had died to Bubblegum. His authority had crashed to rock bottom.

“Right. Do you even know how much time we wasted trying to revive you?”

Zelo hadn’t even revived properly at the Sanctum. To be precise, he had respawned right where he’d died. By the time they found each other again, more time had bled away. The whole process turned into a mess. Of course, his influence on the team would shrink.

“What would someone who died to Bubblegum even know?”

“Honestly? He’s not even human.”

— This is insane lol

— Are these teammates actually viewers?

— LOL it’s true though

— “Not even human” LOL

— Holy shit lol

— If he’s not human, is he a bot? Haha I genuinely don’t know

Ding.

[Narration donated 5,000 won.]

[What Bubblegum murdered wasn’t only Zelo’s body. His soul also died... This is Perfect Death.]

— LOOOOOL for real

— This is Perfect Death LOL

— His soul died too, holy shit

Public opinion had turned awful after Zelo made the team suffer.

At last, Zelo deployed the ultimate defense and simply dodged responsibility. “Bubblegum killed Zelo. I’m Zelu, though.”

— ?

— ??

— ...?

— Holy shit LOOOOOOL

— So he died and became Zelu?

— This is insane lol

— Can you say your father’s name like that? LOL

“Yes. My father froze to death, you know? And I’ve been sharpening my blade for revenge ever since...” Zelo muttered as he drew his sword.

BOOM!

Flames erupted.

BOOOOM!

Several fire pillars shot into the air.

[Fire Ultimate]

Sori had used her ultimate skill.

[A rain of elemental fire arrows will fall in a straight line across a chosen area. Each arrow explodes, dealing sustained damage and obscuring vision.]

This fire ultimate shattered the enemy formation, dealt wide-area damage, and blocked sight all at once.

— ?

— Damn

— Oh

— What

— Damn

— It’s here, holy shit

— He just pops his ult immediately LOL

Using it right on entry left the enemy no choice but to panic. Exactly as intended, they scattered in chaos.

“E-Enemy!”

“Damn it, where... There!”

Acorn Jelly gritted his teeth. “Formation! Hold formation!”

Step.

He shoved the Shield Warrior forward and scanned in every direction.

“Wacha-hooo!”

[Flying Punch]

Bubblegum leaped in with a bizarre battle cry. His iron fist slammed into Zelo’s jaw.

THWACK!

“Guhk!” Zelo convulsed for a second. “A-already!? You’re here, my father’s enemy!”

He recognized who it was, but had stood too long in Sori’s fire zone.

Fwoooosh!

Zelo collapsed almost instantly.

[An ally has fallen.]

[LazySoldier → Zelo]

He died on the spot.

— Now it’s grandpa’s enemy

— Bro you’re already dead lol

— Did he die again?!

— Dies the moment the enemy shows up LOL

At least this time, Zelo became a rune spirit.

Pop!

“Revive Mr. Zelo! Fall back while you do it!”

“What is that damage?! Sori’s damage is insane!”

“He must’ve eaten all the runes by himself.”

They blocked with shields while reviving the rune spirit Zelo.

BOOM!

In the meantime, the enemy Gigant Machine’s hooked greatsword came flying in. Bubblegum also activated Iron Body and braced.

— Wow, Gum bro

— That entry was insane

— Sheeesh

— He absorbed everything LOL

Bubblegum surged forward by the amount of damage he had absorbed.

BOOOOM!

“Wahaaa~!”

— Gum LOL

— What is that battle cry

— Sounds like old guy kung fu sound effects LOL

“Ugh!” The Shield Warrior was shoved back.

Almond’s team had overwhelming momentum.

Acorn Jelly shouted, “D-Damn it. Aqua, now! Splash water!”

“Yes!”

A full-on clash exploded.

[Aqua Bomb]

Pababababang!

A barrage of water bombs blasted forward.

[Frost Shards]

Acorn Jelly scattered ice arrows across the front line.

[Freeze]

[Freeze]

Bubblegum and Scream Kicker froze solid.

Zelo’s rune spirit revived again.

Pop!

— Phew

— Holy shit, that was close

— At least he lived

“I-I’m... Zela?”

Zelo demoted himself to Zela.

— LOOOOOL

— Already a grandson?!

— The legend of Zela, damn

[Chakra Release]

BOOM!

Zela kicked off the ground and widely swung toward the back. He was looking for a late-entry angle.

“Grandfather froze to death... Father burned to death... I’ll have my revenge!”

— We might see the entire Zel bloodline at this rate

— Song of Ice and Fire, damn

— Next, he dies to wind

— Wind is the only element left

“You’ve got their backline, right?!”

Zela circled behind and charged into the enemy formation.

Maybe because he had died so fast once already, Almond’s team had lowered their guard. They had assumed there was no assassin. That was a huge mistake.

“I’ll cut down the damage dealers one by one!”

Zela suddenly appeared.

[Chakra Release]

BOOM!

He instantly slashed.

Thunk!?

The sound was... underwhelming.

‘Huh?’

The Great Monolith Kutan stood there to greet him.

“M-m-madness... Why is there a tank here too?!”

CrispyCrispy didn’t answer. He just grinned and raised his massive stone fist.

Then, he delivered his line the Almondoyle way. “Ta~~~ank!”

BOOOOM!

— Holy shit, four tanks LOL

— Why are there so many tanks?!

— Huh?

— Another tank?!

— Of course, a Knight Order alumn has four-tank insurance^^

— ??? Why is Iron Ball banned? Doesn’t matter! The other tanks are having fun~!