Chapter 18 of "The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1"

7. Turning Point (2)

Leaving Dotorimuk's studio and heading back home, Juhyeok dropped Sanghyun off at the alley stairs in front of his house.

"Go in. Thanks."

Thud.

Closing the car door and climbing the stairs, Sanghyun heard Juhyeok's shout from behind.

"Hey, don't be in a hurry. From what I've seen, you have talent. You can do anything you set your mind to."

It seemed Juhyeok had noticed that Sanghyun was deeply considering whether to focus on OlTube or Trivi.

Sanghyun stared blankly at Juhyeok's face for a moment.

He remembered the many people who had helped him, and those who had helped him in the past. He didn't forget their faces.

His grandmother who raised him with great difficulty, the coach who got him into a major company, Dotorimuk who offered a collaboration, and Ina-yeon, the manager who explained things thoroughly.

And now, this arrogant elite golden spoon who was looking at him and giving him a thumbs up.

He would keep all these faces in his mind.

"...Yeah, thanks."

Vroom.

The red taillights disappeared from his view, and then Sanghyun climbed the stairs.

It was getting cold, and his breath formed white mist with each exhale.

At this time, his grandmother would always worry about slipping on the icy road.

Now, he didn't have that worry. The empty space left by the worry was just too cold.

"Grandma, I made 270 today. Juhyeok didn't take a penny."

Sanghyun mumbled to himself, looking at the high stairs he had walked since he was a child.

"It's not just the money; it's actually quite fun. I want to keep doing this."

The monologue that flowed out with his white breath was perhaps a promise to himself.

"In there, my right arm was fine. It's really amazing. If Grandma had seen it, she would have been shocked..."

He clenched his right fist tightly. It still trembled violently.

The traffic accident was a terrible memory.

For Sanghyun, and for his grandmother.

He remembered his grandmother's wrinkled eyes, always fixed on his right arm.

Thus, this right arm was more than just a bad memory.

It was the most hateful existence that had hurt his grandmother.

At the same time, it was an existence he had to live with.

To him, this right arm was always a trauma, a deep and unpleasant shadow that followed him.

So he pushed his right hand deeper into his pocket. Putting his hands in his pockets had become a deeply ingrained habit.

"Grandma, there are a lot of people who help me."

He looked up.

The sky was pitch black, filled with stars. Or rather, it was definitely filled with stars.

They were temporarily obscured by the old street lamp.

"There are so many good people, it almost feels like Grandma is helping me. I don't know how to repay them."

The cloudy Seoul sky. The stars that were not visible began to appear one by one.

The stars that had briefly sparkled became blurry and then trickled down his chin.

"I'm trying hard, but it feels a bit late, doesn't it?"

Grandma had once said,

"If you look up at the stars, they speak to you.

'If you think it's too late, you won't do it. Knowing that, you should move faster.'"

He could hear Grandma's nagging.

After the injury, when he thought it might be too late to start something new, he had heard this.

"Yeah, I will do it. It's just... I'm sad that Grandma can't see it."

* * *

The next morning.

Sanghyun, who doesn't do morning broadcasts, woke up early as usual and took a shower.

Shower.

While showering, he reviewed yesterday's and today's events.

"Editor... OlTube..."

He usually stores the day's events in his mind using the keywords he finds easiest to remember.

"OlTube makes good money. But you need a good editor. There are two revenue models for streamers..."

Swoosh.

Sanghyun wiped the fogged mirror and stared blankly at himself after the shower.

"...I think I fit the so-called entertainer style better."

Entertainer.

Just hearing the word felt alien. Thinking of it as something he had to wear felt as uncomfortable as putting on a rough undershirt.

But both Nayeon and Dotorimuk thought it suited him.

Even Juhyeok, while driving, had said,

"From what I've seen, you're not really a Dotorimuk type. You're closer to a Horn Ram. A really good game-playing Horn Ram."

Sanghyun's intuition agreed.

He wasn't exactly like Horn Ram. That person was good at speaking but bad at games.

Sanghyun was the opposite.

He was good at games but not so good at speaking.

When they said he fit the entertainer type, they probably meant the revenue model.

Not the actual activities, but the revenue model.

"Advertising and sponsorships..."

Juhyeok had said that Sanghyun had the image suitable for advertising and sponsorships.

He even suggested that Sanghyun could try being a CF model later.

"Quite a big dream, isn't it?"

Sanghyun chuckled and sat in front of his computer, starting his research for the day.

"I need to find an editor first."

Among the kimchi soup he drank yesterday, the first thing to handle was setting up an OlTube channel.

After all, only top-tier streamers can make money solely from live broadcasts. It's standard to run an OlTube channel alongside.

He planned to use his non-broadcasting time to research OlTube game-related videos and contact promising editors.

Of course, Juhyeok, his manager, would handle this, but Sanghyun couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Click.

He entered the trending videos in the game category.

Among them, he focused on Mad Movies that best showcased his skills.

"Hmm."

One video caught his eye.

Kingdom Age, a bow shooter, and a Mad Movie.

It had nearly 110,000 views in just one day.

It was the perfect video he was looking for.

"Wow, how did I find this? I must be lucky."

As he thought this,

He realized he was more than just lucky.

"...Crazy! This is me?!"

The main character of the video was none other than himself.

He then noticed the channel name.

"Seo Ji-a...?"

The name wasn't unfamiliar. Was it because of its cozy sound? No, that wasn't it. Given Sanghyun's personality, he wouldn't remember someone's name just for that reason.

"1 million won..."

That's right. It was the viewer who had donated 1 million won to him.

Swallow.

Sanghyun swallowed and played the video.

Dun dun dun! Dun!

The background music was different from the typical Mad Movies. Most of them play loud EDM and mess around with the screen.

"Really like a movie."

The grand and narrative background music, the medieval mercenary life with the winter tone of Kingdom Age.

All these elements blended so well that it felt like a movie, not a game.

Plop!

When the arrow hit the enemy's head, the screen always switched to a novel angle, providing a sense of satisfaction.

Even for a super player, the same pattern of archery can only be so interesting.

But the production made it seem like a completely different situation.

Not only Sanghyun's video, but also videos of other players were included, showcasing the charisma of characters like Burka and the bandit leader Katias, who couldn't deliver their lines.

They all fell to Sanghyun's arrows in one shot.

"...Wow."

Even Sanghyun was impressed by the Almond's play.

The comments were also very positive.

- Wow...

- What game is this? It looks fun.

- Kingdom Age? I heard it's quite difficult.

- The video quality is amazing.

- The game quality is great...

- It looks like an HBO fantasy series...

└222 Me too lol

└It's a real movie, for sure.

└It's a Mad 'Movie,' after all lol

- This is an award-winning work, but many people don't know it.

└lol Kingdom Age is a failed game, right?

└Failed game... yeah, it's fun, though...

- I want to try it.

Many people were even inspired to start playing the game.

- But it's really good, right?

- Fact) No one can play like this person. Think twice before buying.

└lol Kingdom noobs are freaking out.

└No need to. Just go in and get your ass kicked by Roman once.

Of course, the old-timers of Kingdom Age, who quickly doused the new players' enthusiasm, also appeared.

- Wow, the actual gameplay is tough, but the video is even tougher lol

- How many times have you been killed lol

- It's really good.

Of course, even they couldn't deny the video's excellence.

'I need to contact them right away.'

Sanghyun reached for his phone to call Juhyeok.

Beep.

It seemed Juhyeok had already seen it.

Jolt.

Juhyeok's sharp words snapped him back to reality.

'Right. This is Juhyeok's job.'

Sanghyun should focus solely on game play and broadcasting.

Having such a capable manager and not doing so would be a disservice.

'I'll practice the game.'

He decided to practice his movements in the virtual reality space for Kingdom Age.

In fact, apart from archery, Sanghyun didn't have anything that was particularly outstanding compared to others, so he thought he needed to practice.

There were a few training programs that came with the capsule, and he turned them on and set the difficulty to the highest.

* * *

It took about 3 hours to clear all the training.

"Huff..."

Sanghyun, drenched in sweat, got out of the capsule. His gaze fell on the clock.

'I'm hungry.'

It was evening, and also his broadcasting time.

'I'll just eat something quickly.'

Crunch. Crunch.

He put a handful of almonds in his mouth and chewed. The nutty flavor and rough texture.

The more he chewed, the more the flavor came out.

Swallow.

With a glass of white milk, a meal in the style of Yu Sanghyun was complete.

"Huff."

He patted his slightly bulging stomach and dried his hair with a towel.

Then he got back into the capsule.

'Suddenly nervous.'

Broadcasting was now familiar to him.

But today, he was a bit nervous.

Collaboration with Dotorimuk, proving the perfect shot, and topping the OlTube real-time trending videos.

All these achievements would be reflected in numbers today.

.

.

.

"!"