Chapter 25 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

10. Emilia (1)

Swoosh.

Seja signed the contract very coolly right there.

One might have expected her to ponder the decision between the company and this job, but she showed no hesitation at all.

It seemed she had many complaints about the company.

'I understand.'

Sanghyun nodded, recalling his own corporate life.

"You will receive a base salary of 25 million won per year, and 40% of the AllTube revenue will be given as a bonus. We can also do a clean 50% split without a base salary..."

"No, I prefer having a base salary. It’s more stable..."

"Understood."

Seja chose the contract with a base salary and completed the final signature on the last page.

Thud.

Seja shook hands with Joo-hyuk and stood up.

"But what about the videos already uploaded to my channel?"

"That will likely need to be re-uploaded to the official channel."

"Hmm... Let me know when a decision is made."

"Sure!"

Joo-hyuk and Sanghyun escorted her to the door of the cafe and then faced each other.

Joo-hyuk's expression was confidently asking, "How was I?" but Sanghyun looked skeptical.

"Is this for real?"

"What?"

"Partner streamer."

"Hey, do you think I'm lying?! Who do you think I am, a fraudster?!"

Sanghyun was finally properly surprised.

'No way, a partner streamer from Punk for me?'

Even though Sanghyun didn't play games, he knew about Punk, the distribution company, because of their famous game distribution platform.

"From the distributor, not the developer?"

"Yes! I was also surprised this morning. What do you think? Are you going to do it?"

"Of course... The conditions are just too good."

Thud. Thud.

Joo-hyuk chuckled, waved the documents, and threw them into his bag.

Then, glancing at the cafe door Seja had just left through, he said,

"By the way, Seja, she's really meticulous and cool, isn't she? I thought it would be easy to get her to sign."

"You're trying to get something for free. Fans are fans, and contracts are contracts."

"Even so, to sponsor that much money... She must really like Almond, right? But she was quite cold, almost not smiling."

"Not almost, she didn't smile at all."

They talked about Seja for a while and eventually concluded:

"Alright. If you can distinguish between work and personal life, it'll be easier to work together, right?"

"That's true."

* * *

Bang.

Seja arrived home, out of breath.

She threw herself onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Phew."

She took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

She still couldn't believe it.

She didn't expect to see the real thing, and even less to sign a contract.

Swoosh.

She unfolded the contract she had brought home.

'Being recognized... by someone.'

The moment someone recognized her was now etched on this paper.

It was still a provisional contract, but it would become official once Punk approved it.

So now she would become an editor for Almond.

She wouldn't have to go to the company anymore.

Unpleasant faces of certain people flashed through her mind.

'Hey, what can a junior college graduate do... Ha...'

'What will you do if you leave here? You?'

'Will you find a place that treats you as well as we do?'

'Just do your job for the money. Why are you so stupid?'

Unpleasant voices also passed through her mind.

"Am I free...?"

Maybe she was free.

She had unexpectedly escaped the hellish constraints that had bound her.

Did freed slaves feel like this?

It was a strange feeling.

She had thought she would have to run in circles in that constraint for the rest of her life.

"Phew..."

She checked the Mad Movie video of Almond she had uploaded.

There were numerous comments.

#Game Category Real-Time Ranking 56th

Surprisingly, it had risen in the rankings.

From 78th to 56th, a jump of 22 places.

A rare smile spread across Seja's face.

* * *

As soon as Sanghyun arrived home, he changed into casual clothes.

'I need to start the stream a bit earlier today.'

Almond's streaming times were random. It wasn't intentional; it just happened that way, and Sanghyun found it convenient.

Despite the irregular schedule, he streamed almost every day without breaks, so viewers had no complaints.

Click.

Sanghyun entered the capsule and turned on the screen.

Ding.

A file had arrived from Seja.

It was a video file, along with a text file explaining how to install it.

Famous streamers use intro videos when they start streaming, and this was one Seja had made.

Sanghyun was surprised when he clicked on the intro video.

'Wow...'

The quality was better than he expected.

It hadn't been long since they met, so how did she manage to create this?

It seemed she had made the intro video out of pure fandom.

'If this is what she can do as a hobby...'

Sanghyun was curious about what she could create with a professional attitude.

She was a promising talent.

After sending a thank-you text to Seja, he started streaming.

* * *

Ding! Ding!

Almond's followers across the country received a streaming notification.

- Oh, starting early today!

- Ah!

- I'm not first...?

- lol lol lol So many legends.

Almond's old capsule was still loading when viewers started pouring in, almost barging in.

Thud... Thud...

The intro video Seja had sent played.

- Oh, what is this?

- An intro?

- Wow.

Seja's intro emphasized Almond's archery skills.

His best moments were shown in still shots, set to music.

As expected of Seja, the synchronization between the music and the scenes, and the rhythm as the shots changed, were incredibly satisfying.

- The intro is like a movie.

- Life is beautiful.

- Wow.

- Wait, did Seja make this?

- Really feels like Seja.

- Did she get recruited?

Some viewers recognized that the intro was made by Seja.

When the intro ended and the viewers had settled in,

"Hey!"

Almond's face appeared in one corner of the screen, greeting them energetically.

- Ah!

- Ahaha!

- Hi!

Numerous chats appeared, and donations started coming in from the beginning.

Almond gave a brief thank-you and immediately started the game.

As usual, it was Kingdom today.

* * *

The scene that appeared as soon as he logged in was a castle that had already become a ruin.

The lord, clad in black armor, lay sprawled on the ground. More accurately, it was the lord's corpse.

The bodies of the three knights who had guarded the lord were also there.

Apart from these, nothing remained in the castle.

- lol lol lol A man who destroyed the castle alone...

- Really left nothing behind.

- This is what assassination means.

- Confused assassination with annihilation.

- No witnesses, so it's an assassination.

Almond enjoyed the excited chat and turned his gaze elsewhere.

There were no people left in the castle, but some items remained. Some treasures had not been collected.

"Honestly, since I did all the work, I should get a little reward, right?"

Saying this, Almond began searching the castle.

- lol lol

- Taking everything is not a crime.

- What did Emilia do? I did it!

- If it were me, I'd take everything here lol

Kingdom is a game with high freedom. There's no rule that you must only take quest rewards.

Almond wanted to claim a big reward for his hard work...

Thud.

He found a high-quality leather armor and bow that looked quite valuable.

"Looks good."

- Oh.

- Cool.

- Can't take more?

- Because of the weight... lol

If it were a typical game, he would have swept all the items into his inventory. But Kingdom is a very realistic game.

There's no concept of an inventory. Even gold coins must be carried individually.

It was impossible to take more of such heavy armor.

"This is enough. I won't die easily now. I'll go report to Emilia."

As Almond said this,

Thud.

A huge text appeared in the air.

- Emilia!

- Sister, I'm not dead!

- lol lol lol

- Emilia shock... Didn't think Almond could do it lol

- Told to assassinate the lord, but who would imagine he'd loot the entire castle lol

Almond chose one of the messages left in the castle and headed back to where Emilia was staying.

Clack clack.

As he crossed a certain boundary, night turned to day, and he instantly arrived at the castle where Emilia was staying.

"Almond...?"

Emilia, dressed in a bright outfit and returning by carriage, recognized him.

"Lady, I have come to report on the mission."

"Already? Did you change your mind?"

Emilia didn't think he could have completed the mission so quickly.

- What? lol

- No, I came to change your mind!

- Never imagined the speed!

- Can't wait to see her face when she finds out the castle was looted.

Almond quietly observed the hired men standing next to Emilia.

It meant he couldn't talk here.

"I want to speak to you alone. Please step aside."

"Excuse me, miss, but..."

"Quickly."

The hired men looked very worried. It was strange to leave the lady alone with a rough-looking mercenary.

But Emilia's determination was firm.

"Didn't I tell you to step aside?"

"Ah, yes, I understand."

When the hired men were out of sight,

Emilia gestured for Almond to walk with her.

"This path is empty."

They walked at an awkward distance.

After passing a few trees as tall as the castle,

"Did you... complete the mission?"

Emilia turned and asked.

Almond's answer was, of course, "Yes."

"Yes."

"Unbelievable. It hasn't been long since I asked you."

"It's been two days. One day for the journey, half a day for preparation, and half a day for the attack."

- Just a day cut lol

- Half a day, so not a day cut lol

- Slept well and looted a castle lol

"Attack...? You didn't assassinate him?"

"Security was tight, so I just..."

"Just?"

"I eliminated everything."

"!?"

Emilia's face showed an expression she had never seen before.