Chapter 27 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

11. War (1)

The news of the castle being taken spread to the other relatives of Talorant.

They gathered their armies to avenge their kin or to claim their inheritance, and this morning, they assembled on the plain.

- Oh, war!

- Wow, it's on a large scale.

- Wow! This is Kingdom!

- What? This looks like a god game.

- ㄷㄷㄷ

Viewers who were not familiar with Kingdom Age were surprised by the sudden massive scale.

- Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I quit after a few days of playing, so I've never experienced anything like this.

- The scale is suddenly insane!

- Wow……

It usually takes a long time to reach this level of scale. Even the most persistent streamers often move on to the next game without showing it.

Some people, no matter how long they play, never experience such content.

For example, the gum that boasts an extremely spicy flavor.

He held onto the game for about a month and then naturally wrapped it up, saying, "Alright, next game~"

- Even the icon of perseverance, Gum, couldn't do this ㅋㅋㅋ

- Almond did it in just a few days ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

Sure enough, mentions of Gum appeared in the chat.

"Please refrain from mentioning other streamers."

Sanghyun skillfully blocked any related topics from coming up.

"More importantly, I'll end today's broadcast here. It's a good place to stop."

- !?!?

- What?

- I was just starting to enjoy it!

- Ughhhh

- ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

- No way!

There were many people who were disappointed. It was a faster end than usual, and they were about to witness incredible content.

"Cut!"

But Sanghyun abruptly ended the broadcast.

He wasn't particularly tired or exhausted. There were no battle scenes in today's broadcast.

'Cutting at the right moment is important.'

It just seemed like the right time to stop.

For games with ongoing stories, when to stop is also very important.

Even if there are short-term disappointed reactions, in the long run, this is much more advantageous.

This was one of the pieces of advice Dotorimuk left for him.

Squeak……

With the sound of the air escaping, the lid of Sanghyun's capsule opened.

Sanghyun, who was in a more refreshed state than usual, got up.

"Phew."

Since there were no battle scenes, he didn't sweat much.

"I can just go to bed now."

Looking at the clock, it was 12:30 AM. It had been a while since he went to bed this early, so he didn't fall asleep right away.

Sanghyun lay on his side and scrolled through his phone, checking the reactions to today's broadcast.

* * *

On the Kingchi community, discussions about the new route were in full swing.

One of the popular posts had a title like this:

'Eliminate a castle by yourself!'

Sanghyun realized that this was talking about him.

To max out Emilya's affection, one needs the skill to take down a castle alone.

Like Almond.

- Crazy guy ㅋㅋㅋ

- Why are you trying to seduce Emilya with that skill, XX. Go seduce a real girlfriend.

└ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

└ㄹㅇ That's true ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└With this brain, you still don't have a girlfriend ㅋㅋ

- Just tell him to clear the game……

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I won't! I won't!

└It's not that you can't, is it?

└Fact) It is.

The comments were mostly humorous.

No one seriously believed that anyone could match Almond's performance.

'Strange.'

Sanghyun, who achieved this result in one attempt, genuinely found it strange.

Why these reactions?

Was it really impossible for anyone else to play like this?

'Honestly, it's strange.'

There's not just one archer in Korea named Sanghyun.

Why is Sanghyun showing world-class performance?

Of course, if we narrow it down to archers who play Kingdom, there might be very few, but there should be some, right?

They should at least show performance similar to Sanghyun's.

But from the reactions, it seems that nothing even close to Sanghyun's play has been seen.

'Could I have a talent for games?'

The only hypothesis he could come up with was that Sanghyun might have exceptional talent not only in archery but also in this virtual reality game.

After all, riding a horse and shooting, or dodging enemy attacks by leaping, are not that far from the gentlemanly sport of archery.

'Sanghyun has the highest level of concentration I know!'

Sanghyun remembered the words of Dotorimuk.

Concentration is essential in archery, but it's not exclusive to archers. Go players also have incredible concentration.

Sanghyun briefly wondered why he was special but then moved on to the next popular post.

After all, he had been exceptional since birth, so he didn't have any particular aversion to being special.

To him, this phenomenon was as simple a curiosity as "Why is this ramen tasteless?"

Marriage?

Sanghyun found the post a bit absurd.

'It's not marriage.'

If sleeping together for one night, or even three days, led to marriage, the world's birth rate wouldn't be a concern.

Still, he clicked on the post out of curiosity.

==== ====

Not only did he make her sit next to him in the carriage, but he even brought up the topic of knights. He even lied to meet her father.

And they spent three days together in the castle, and now they're on a first-name basis!

==== ====

He expected the post to be dismissed as nonsense.

-!?

- The fact that Emilya lied is really shocking.

└Hasn't she ever done that before?

└ㅇㅇ. She hasn't lied before.

- Three days?! ㄷㄷㄷ

- ㄹㅇ It's marriage

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, I envy Almond's life!

└Envious of a virtual character……

└I really envy Almond too.

└That's ㅇㅈ

Everyone was talking as if Emilya and Almond's marriage was a done deal.

Many even envied Almond for marrying Emilya.

'Strange.'

Sanghyun pulled the blanket up a bit and scrolled down. Another popular post caught his eye.

From Sanghyun's perspective, he couldn't help but click on the title.

It was as if someone had guessed his past.

==== ====

Since the streamer Almond is said to be good at archery, as someone who used to shoot a bow, I watched the video to analyze it.

Honestly, I thought it was just a game, and "What kind of skill is it to use all the adjustments and such?"

But after watching the video, I realized this person is REAL SHIT, really, the real deal.

It gives me chills.

The analysis is below……

==== ====

Almond quickly scrolled down and read the analysis.

'Is this person really a professional in the field?'

The analysis of his stance was so detailed that it seemed to be done by someone who was not a layman.

The way the bowstring lands precisely in the middle of the lips when drawing, and how the right hand stays in place during the release without moving at all.

The content states that Almond perfectly implements even the stances that can be roughly done in the game.

- Wow, is this real?

- I watched a video comparing him to archery players, and ㅅㅂ, is Almond better? Is it just me being a layman?

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I had the same thought.

└I also felt the quality of his shooting was different.

└As the author, I personally think so. Honestly, archery players might be upset, but as a former player, I can say this.

└Former player ㄷㄷㄷ

└ㄹㅇ Is it????

└After reading the analysis, I think it's either a crazy otaku or a former player.

- Wow, a former archery player analyzing a streamer! Almond!

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kingchi is on a whole new level.

Former player?

Does it mean a former athlete? Sanghyun couldn't take his thumb off the screen for a long time.

"Who is it……"

Archery players generally know each other.

His right hand suddenly trembled.

Even after reading more of the post, he couldn't find any clues about the author.

Fortunately, there were no personal clues about Sanghyun.

So the author either didn't know who Sanghyun was or knew but kept it hidden.

"Phew."

Sanghyun sighed after turning off his phone.

It was hard to tell if it was a sigh of relief or worry.

'If it's someone I know……'

Sanghyun had cut ties with the archery community ten years ago. No one, except his coach, knew that he was injured.

That was for the best.

'Let's just sleep.'

He closed his eyes and decided to go to sleep.

The world was enveloped in darkness, and the sky was dotted with twinkling stars.

Sanghyun counted the stars.

At that moment, a long strand of black hair flashed through his mind.

Long, flowing hair that reached down to her waist.

In the dark universe, the black hair, which should have been the same color, was somehow vividly visible.

- Is this just going to end like this?

- Yeah. I'm not interested anymore.

- Interested……? To you, this is just a game? If you don't do archery, who will? Don't you know everyone follows your shadow? But you're giving up because it's not fun?

- ……

- Yeah…… go.

She turned around and burned brighter than any star.

Tears also streamed down Sanghyun's eyes.

* * *

The next day.

On Kingchi, posts expecting Almond's broadcast today started appearing early in the morning.

Those who were looking forward to his performance.

Others who said, even if you expect, the role of an archer in a battlefield is fixed, so don't get your hopes up.

And so on…… various reactions flooded in.

'Good.'

Almond, who was brushing his teeth while checking various community reactions, nodded.

For Almond, who still had a thousand subscribers, it was a blessing to have his story discussed in the community, even if it was a negative post.

He quickly prepared breakfast and went jogging as usual.

"Huh?"

While going down the steep stairs in the neighborhood, he ran into Seo Ji-a, who was wearing a hoodie.

This time, Ji-a spoke first.

"Going to exercise……?"

"Ah, yes. You too?"

"……Yes."

Thinking she might want to join, he gestured, and to his surprise, Ji-a nodded and followed.

* * *

"Huff…… huff……"

After running around the river park, the two of them caught their breath on a bench.

"I've completed a few videos to post on the new channel……"

Ji-a said while drinking the ion drink Sanghyun had brought.

"Ah, really?"

"Do you want to see……?"

Sanghyun nodded.

Since the videos would be posted on his official channel, it was natural for him to want to see them.

Ji-a handed over her phone.

The video had this title.

Ji-a was a bit embarrassed to watch it in front of him and looked at the river, while Sanghyun pressed play.

"……!"

His eyes widened in surprise.

The video was astonishing.