Chapter 32 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

12. Choice (2)

"Come in for now."

The house where Grandma and Sanghyun lived was slightly less than 30 pyeong in size.

So, it was quite large for one person. There was no problem with Joo-hyuk coming in either.

There was no need to change the position of the capsule, and the damp, heavy atmosphere even brightened up a bit.

Joo-hyuk was particularly excited.

"Hey, shall we order chicken for dinner today?"

It seemed that just leaving the house was fun for Joo-hyuk. Living away from his parents was something he hadn't done since his study abroad days, so it made sense.

Moreover, living with a friend was something he had never done before.

At the age of over 30, it was embarrassing, but he was as excited as a student on a school trip.

"Let's buy some beer too."

"..."

Sanghyun couldn't deny that he was quite happy to have Joo-hyuk come in.

Living alone was fun at first, but it could get quite lonely later on. Having a companion would certainly help with that.

Still, Sanghyun couldn't just let it go.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here?"

He had said it was fine to live together, but he needed to know what this guy was thinking.

Living away from his parents at over 30 years old wasn't a big deal, but he still wanted to know the reason.

"Hmm... I'll tell you later over drinks."

"I have a broadcast tomorrow, so I can't drink."

"Okay? Then let's drink the night before I rest. Anyway, what about the game?"

"What about it?"

"Emilia or Rosalita, you're at a crossroads, right?"

"Hmm..."

Sanghyun hadn't really thought about it.

"Does it really matter which one you choose? Hmm."

He took the opportunity to check the community reactions. When he searched for "Almond," a huge number of posts appeared.

.

.

.

The titles of the posts were quite intense.

He chuckled but shrugged it off. His mental fortitude wasn't so weak that it would be shaken by such playful criticism.

"The reaction is quite hot."

"I've been thinking about the next game."

"Hmm? Next game?"

Joo-hyuk suddenly changed the topic.

"Yeah, look at this."

He connected his laptop to a holographic projector and displayed several screens.

"Wow..."

It was a device used instead of large monitors these days. It was convenient to see various information at once and was very intuitive.

When Joo-hyuk swiped his finger on the touchpad, the holograms rotated, displaying multiple pieces of information at once.

They were about the classification and characteristics of Sanghyun's broadcast viewers.

The format was the same as what he used at Aseong Corporation, so it was easy for Sanghyun to understand.

"Hmm... So?"

"The conclusion is this."

Ding.

All the other windows disappeared, and a single screen floated.

The screen was playing a teaser video of a game.

A survival game with 100 participants.

Just hearing about it made his heart race.

"Sounds good? Want to try it out first?"

Sanghyun suggested playing it in the capsule without much thought, but Joo-hyuk stopped him.

"No way!"

"..."

Sanghyun looked back with an expression of 'Really?'

"Don't you know what your viewers want?"

"To play the game well, right?"

"It's not just about playing well. You're a genius, a genius!"

"..."

"What's the difference between being good and being a genius?"

Joo-hyuk looked frustrated and pushed up his glasses.

"Just being good can come from practice. But what about the geniuses we know? They're just naturally good from the start."

"Oh, I practice too. My archery skills are also from practice—"

"No! At least for this game, you need to show that you're a beginner. But you can't act and you can't lie. Just play it for real."

"???"

Sanghyun looked bewildered.

'Even if it's Kingdom Age, I can understand that...'

Kingdom Age is a packaged game. It's normal to be a beginner.

But Battle Rage is completely different. It's an online PVP game.

A game where players compete against each other, and the problem is that it's been out for almost two years.

So-called veterans have emerged, and the skill gap among players is huge, making it difficult for beginners to enter.

Asking him to play it for the first time and do well is too much to ask.

The other players have been playing for a while and have put in effort. How could Sanghyun, who knows nothing, start and do better than them?

That was Sanghyun's thought, but of course, from a third-person perspective, it was different.

"You set a new record in Kingdom Age when you first played it. Can't you do the same with Battle Rage?"

"..."

"Well, I'm only good at archery, and this is a shooting game, right? Basically."

Sanghyun nodded.

Battle Rage is a shooting game.

It's uncertain what advantage Sanghyun, who is good at archery, would have.

"No. Look at this."

Joo-hyuk displayed a few analysis videos.

A video of Sanghyun riding a horse and shooting enemies.

"Does this look related to archery? Sure, there might be a little. But could your archery friends do this?"

"..."

Sanghyun almost blurted out, 'They can,' but upon further thought, it didn't seem likely.

Archery is a very static sport.

People don't generally think that archery players would be good at football.

The play in the video also seemed unrelated to archery.

"Hmm... I've been running a simulation training program, and this seems to be the result."

"Simulation training program?"

It was the first time Joo-hyuk had heard of it.

"There's a built-in one. I run it regularly because it's well-optimized."

Sanghyun explained that he clears the simulation at the highest difficulty every day.

Joo-hyuk searched for the name of the program Sanghyun mentioned.

"Hey... What's your score?"

The simulation training program gives a total score at the end.

"Around 12,000 points?"

"Insane."

Woah.

New data appeared on the holographic screen.

"The program isn't for experts, but... you're number one, right?"

"What?"

Sanghyun looked at the data closely, unable to believe it.

The holographic pixels wouldn't change just by looking closely. The data was the same.

At the top, Almond's body authentication serial code was clearly written.

'I'm... number one?'

Kingdom Age doesn't have a ranking system. There's no clear standard for what constitutes good play.

Even though he set a new record, it didn't really feel like it.

From Sanghyun's perspective, it was just something he did from the start, so setting a new record didn't seem particularly impressive.

But seeing the exact "number one" label made it feel completely different.

"Ugh..."

He stepped back, stunned, and couldn't speak for a while.

"So, I'm right, right?"

"What?"

"You have an incredible talent in this field, regardless of archery! You can start Battle Rage just by watching a guide video. Absolutely..."

Joo-hyuk seemed excited that his opinion was correct and kept talking.

But as always, Sanghyun didn't really hear what Joo-hyuk was saying.

'Number one...'

The thrill of being number one was affecting him more than he thought.

* * *

Sanghyun decided to start the broadcast a bit earlier today to test which time slot would have the best viewership.

"I'm going in."

"Okay."

It felt surprisingly good to have someone to say goodbye to when entering the capsule.

The fact that the person was Kim Joo-hyuk, who spoke like a calculator, rather than a pretty girlfriend, was quite annoying, but still, it was something.

Chiiik—

The lid closed, and the room went dark as a new world opened up.

As soon as he entered, the simulation he had set up automatically started.

Sanghyun cleared the full course as if jogging.

A score of over 13,000 points came out.

'...Is this a new record?'

The training protocol isn't competitive, so the system doesn't show a score chart.

But now Sanghyun knew.

His 12,000 points were the top score.

And he had just broken it.

Very easily.

Feeling dazed, he was momentarily lost in thought.

Ding.

Joo-hyuk sent a video link.

Sanghyun moved his hand to click on the video.

Whoosh—

The sound of strong wind and 100 players falling from the sky.

They immediately started running in all directions as soon as they opened their parachutes.

After picking up weapons, they shot at each other whenever they met. Sometimes, they implicitly didn't attack if the other was far away.

'Looks fun...'

Sanghyun's heart raced.

It was a completely different feeling from watching Kingdom. A survival game with 100 players.

Just hearing about it was exciting, but actually seeing it made him want to play even more.

'Not today, though.'

Sanghyun decided to hold off for now.

As Joo-hyuk said, knowing too much would reduce the viewers' enjoyment.

Stopping at just knowing the rules would be best.

'After all, with the genius concept, I should go that way.'

Additionally, Sanghyun wanted to test his limits.

Just how far his talent extended.

He sent a message to Joo-hyuk and started streaming.

* * *

As soon as the broadcast started, Almond was standing in the vast field where the battle had taken place.

The immersion of a virtual reality game was truly remarkable.

It was hard to believe he had just been imagining playing Battle Rage.

Now, Sanghyun was Almond, a mercenary caught in the war between Janeret and Talorant in the Kingdom Age world.

"How long do you plan to keep us waiting?"

Rosalita asked with a slightly annoyed tone, urging him to answer her question.

If Sanghyun were really in this situation, he would have pondered for at least a week.

But it didn't seem to be the case for Rosalita.

"Answer quickly. Do you plan to stay here all day?"

Her impatience was somewhat arrogant.

But even that was charming to the viewers.

- Girl crush 😎

- Girl Rosalita 😎

- Please, sister, teach that arrogant nut a lesson!

- I love you, sis!

Emilia was popular, and Rosalita was also well-liked.

'Rosalita for next time...'

If he chose Rosalita, the game would last much longer.

It was time for a game change.

So, he wanted to end this episode with Emilia's route. It would be the right thing to do.

Almond spoke.

"I may be a mercenary, but I have already pledged my loyalty."

Rosalita's face showed disappointment, but then she smiled.

"What can I do? It makes me even more interested. You're better than any ordinary knight, aren't you?"

With the decision made, the soldiers took Rosalita away.

Even as she was captured, her deep, sea-like eyes continued to look at Almond.

- 😢 Goodbye, Rosalita!

- Damn...

- Almond, you noob...

- 😢😢😢😢

Rosalita's fans seemed disappointed, but fortunately, no one was so immersed as to criticize Almond's choice.

"Ah, Almond."

A trembling voice came from behind.

A delicate and familiar voice.

'Emilia?'

Emilia was standing in the middle of the battlefield.

The knights were shocked.

They all shouted that she needed to be taken to a safer place, as it was still dangerous here. But Emilia ignored them and ran straight to Almond.

She hugged him tightly, as much as her delicate arms allowed.

She hugged him tightly, as much as her delicate arms allowed.