The competition made personal streams a headache. Would all the viewers tune into the competition’s stream? Or would competitors keep their personal streams running separately?
In past competitions, it was usually impossible to run a personal stream separately. The idea was especially unthinkable for competitions held offline.
"The qualifiers will be conducted online."
Gradually, smaller competitions and qualifiers began to be held online. During that time was a period of chaos with no clear rule on whether personal streams were allowed.
However, things had changed nowadays. Competitions started creating and enforcing regulations.
"For now, Civil Empire allows personal streams during the qualifiers."
— Wow
— Hooray!!
— Almond's personal stream is awesome lol
— Ooooooh
— Lots of newbies in the national competition. The streams will be awesome
Fortunately, Civil Empire allowed personal streams during the online qualifiers. Ju-Hyeok particularly liked that.
Sang-Hyeon needed to retain the viewers he gathered from G-Star. It would be a pity to keep taking breaks from streaming.
"So I will be streaming it personally, but it might be difficult to stream the day before the competition."
— :(
— Can't help it...
— Not showing the scrims till the end??
— I want to see the practice
"First, there will be a live draw for the groupings of the qualifiers this evening. We'll watch that together."
— ??
— Godcast lol
— So the grouping isn't done yet :O
— Wow
"And please understand that I can't stream during the main competition."
— Can you even make it to the main competition?
— lol, you haven’t even made it there yet!
— You'll keep streaming, awesome~
— Good luck getting into the main competition!
Almond's fans half-jokingly believed that making it into the main competition with the Korean civilization was quite challenging.
"I've made it to the main stage before. Please stop spreading rumors."
— lol
— Now you're part of the national team, huh?
— Defending lol
"This time, as Cookie said, we’re the strongest Korean team ever. Just trust me."
Ding.
[BuggyDan has donated 10,000 won.]
[They said that last year too!]
— lololololol
— Stop it!
— Fighting with facts is unfair...
— Should we ban for stating facts?
— 10,000 won, probably let it slide lol
"Ahem. Thank you BuggyDan for the 10,000 won. If we’re saying this year is the best, it’s obviously better than last year. I'm going with this year."
— Oh lol, nuts gone crazy
— The paradox of the ages lol
— Another great year lol
— Wow, really lol
— It's funny because it's true
— The paradox :O
— What’s this train game with greatness? lol
It was acceptable to describe each year as the best ever. As long as they kept growing stronger than the previous year, it was an appropriate expression to use. That was Almond's logic. Ṙ
"Anyway, I'll see you in the stream today for the groupings."
— ???
— Is that it?
— No!!!
— Aaargh
Bam!
[ReactionKing has donated 100,000 won.]
[You received a donation of ten million won at G-Star, aren't you going to react!?]
As Almond was about to end the stream, he pondered for a moment and bowed deeply.
"... Thank you for the 100,000 won."
— The amount was too large just to turn it off...
— You have to at least acknowledge a donation of 100,000 won lol
— Considering whether to keep it going was really annoying lol
"But I didn't receive ten million won as a donation. It was the first place prize money..."
He didn’t show much reaction to the ten million won he received out of pity because he fell for their lies.
— ??
— He changed his memory lol
— lol
— It seems right...?
— Wait? Who am I?
His fans didn’t easily back down.
[AlmondRecords has donated 100,000 won.]
[(Video)]
A video donation came in.
“This... is missing a zero. Isn’t it supposed to be ten million won.”
“So... you mean this should be ten million won?]
“Yes.”
It was the scene of Almond at the G-Star award ceremony.
Click!
Click!
The robotic arm, demonstrating its precision, tapped its fingers and reached into the container to spread out the paper slips.
— lmao
— It is indeed state of the art...
— ??? "Humanity's era is over!"
— Just run the algorithm lol
— This is the fun part
"No, no... it's not just about picking like in the World Cup, right? It's not just one or two countries."
OrangeKing was flustered.
The qualifiers for the international competition were so accessible that numerous countries participated. It was the main competition that really mattered. Were they going to select all the groups with that arm?
"So, because it's hard for someone to physically do! That's why they’re using a robotic arm! Right?"
"No, no, it should just be a computer..."
— lmao
— OrangeKing is speechless lol
— The floppy disk's country
Snap!
The robotic arm began to pick countries one by one. The arm itself was so precise that it could unfold the papers without tearing them, just like a human.
"Ah, anyway! Countries are just starting to be announced..."
Since Korea had not yet appeared, they didn’t have much to say.
However, as each country unfolded, OrangeKing explained the characteristics of their civilizations and their records in previous competitions.
"Italy. Rome is coming up."
"Ah. Rome is a powerhouse. There's no one in the world who doesn't know Rome. It's one of the civilizations whose actual strength is reflected quite well in the game."
"Ah! If it were the true historical Rome, that would be terrifying!"
"Yes. In the game, they frequently make it to the finals and have won once. Korea is about to be... Viiiiiiiisssss!!!" OrangeKing suddenly screamed.
Sure enough...
Snap!
The flag unfurled by the robotic arm bore the proud Taeguk mark.
— Emergency! lol
— damn lol
— dreadful
— lmao
— An honorable death!
On the broadcast screen, the Japanese commentators could be seen struggling to hold back their laughter.
What followed was even more spectacular. The countries being revealed all boasted notable records and were in the same group as Korea.
Snap!
"Wow! France's Franks! Known for their chivalry centered cavalry. They have one championship!"
The Franks were another civilization that had won the international competition before.
Snap!
"Ah, Spain's Spanish civilization! Famous for its invincible fleet. They haven’t won a championship, but they have been runner-ups twice and always make it to the quarter-finals!"
Spain was invincible in naval warfare.
At this point, the Japanese commentators burst into laughter.
OrangeKing urgently spoke up, "It's okay! You know, the invincible fleet we always talk about in the World Cup!? Here, instead of soccer balls, they actually shoot cannonballs!? It's fine! Joseon has the Turtle Ship, right!? What's an invincible fleet to us!? Come on! Crane wing formation, deploy!"
OrangeKing raised his arms like a bird as he shouted. It was pitiful to watch.
— lol
— "Invincible Fleet” (literally)
— seriously lol
— Shooting cannons lol
— What kind of bird is that? lol
— It's not crane wing formation but an eagle shot, isn't it?
The caster asked quietly, "Ah... Are these three powerful countries all grouped with our country?"
"Yes!"
[South Korea: Joseon]
[Italy: Rome]
[France: Franks]
[Spain: Spanish]
Considering the historical performance in the international competition, South Korea was at a disadvantage.
Nevertheless, OrangeKing managed to find a positive angle.
"Now, everyone! Aren't we lucky this isn't the World Cup draw!"
— lol
— Wow, if that were soccer, it would be horrific...
— lmao
— lol for real
— Honestly, it's manageable if it's a game
"We're still alive because it's just a game! Let’s go South Korea!!!"
***
While watching with the viewers, Almond turned down the volume after the drawing for the Korean group concluded and said, "Well... that's actually good."
— What is??
— What exactly? lol
— Because he’ll be out of the tournament quickly, LOL
“Last comment, you’re banned. See you at the start of the qualifiers. Bye~!"
— ???
— What's good about that?!
— It's not good, he’s just happy because a lot of donations came in lol
— Ah, there he goes, he’s just happy
A few days passed. The first day of the qualifiers for the international competition arrived.
[Joseon vs Franks]
Their first opponent was the civilization of knights, the Franks.