Chapter 43

**Chapter 43 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming**

**16. Turning Adversity into Advantage (1)**

- It's 3 against 1. Is this possible?

- Haha, of course!

- They won't even help you until the Blue Zone.

At first, the viewers were skeptical.

Or perhaps, they were certain.

They thought it was impossible for Almond to come in first.

- Wow, one person fainted?

- The second one just died instantly?!

- Wow, that parabolic shot is amazing!

- DDDDDDD

- It became 1 against 1 in an instant?

Their certainty quickly wavered.

After two were eliminated, the atmosphere changed.

It suddenly became 1 against 1 from 3 against 1.

Even though the opponent had a sniper rifle, 1 against 1 is unpredictable.

- No way, really? First place?

- Oh my god...

- The chances are slim since the opponent is a sniper.

- But if you spot them first, you might win...

- Can't you chase the enemy who is crawling?

- Why aren't you chasing them?

- Chase them, Almond!!

- What? They're somewhere else?

- Wow, what a trick! Haha

- Wow... insane!

- OOOO!!! Got a hit!

- What's next?

- Next...!

- What?!

- WAAAAAAA!!!

- He dodged...

At the moment when this text appeared on the screen,

it almost sounded like a virtual cheer.

- WAAAAAAA!

- Impressive!

- Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond!

- Wow, he did it!

- Really first place?!

- Are you kidding, Almond~~

Who would have thought that Almond would win first place in a solo squad, especially in the first match with a bow?

When Almond fell off the parachute at the beginning, no one expected such an achievement.

The mission reward, which had increased slightly, was deposited.

'460,000 won...!'

The money earned in just one match: 460,000 won.

For the current Almond, it was a significant amount.

"Thank you!"

He bowed his head in gratitude.

The support did not stop there.

.

.

.

Among the many supporters, there was one that particularly stood out.

- What?

- Mihyo?

- It's real. Post it.

- What are you posting, seriously? It's already a donation.

- Hahaha

- Mihyo!

The reaction to a 50,000 won donation was not just about the amount.

'Is she famous?'

It seemed like a fairly well-known streamer had donated.

"Thank you, Mihyo. And thank you, Horururu, Omega, and Doraram. Thank you for your support."

Still, Almond didn't know who they were. He couldn't pretend to know, so he greeted them the same way.

It seemed like it would just pass by.

Until Mihyo donated again.

Another 50,000 won.

Now it's 100,000 won. It couldn't just pass by.

The question was quite direct.

'Clan?'

Inviting him to a clan? Almond had never thought about it.

'I'm just a beginner.'

He was puzzled. No matter how impressive the play, he was just a beginner.

Inviting him to a clan? Was she mistaken?

- No way, Mihyo is making such a proposal?

- Wow, really?

- Finally living up to her nickname?

- Haha, eating the spotlight Haha

- Hahahaha

- Is he becoming a CEO-level player?

- Hahaha

- Ah~ If it's Mihyo, even if I'm exploited, it's a thank you~

Looking at the chat, it seemed like she was a female streamer. She usually didn't make such proposals.

So why did she do it for Almond?

Because he seemed talented?

"Ah, I'm still a beginner... I need to practice more. Thank you for your support, Mihyo."

Almond politely declined. The reason was as he said: he still considered himself a beginner.

It wasn't just to avoid being a nuisance.

If he joined Mihyo and played at a higher rating, his skills would naturally seem lacking.

This would damage his image as a skilled player.

So, this was a business rejection.

"Wow, thank you for the support again. I'll definitely think about it."

Sanghyun thanked the supporters once more and ended the broadcast for the day.

"I'll end it here for today. TBA!"

* * *

Squeak──

When he opened the capsule, Kim Joo-hyuk greeted him with this.

"Hey."

From his expression, it was clear that he had already looked up who 'Mihyo' was.

"Serious stuff, huh?"

He showed Sanghyun the images on the screen, grinning widely.

"Oh..."

Sanghyun, being a man, couldn't help but be momentarily captivated by Mihyo's photos.

Especially the photoshoots based on the nickname's motif of a fox.

"Ahem. Let's keep business separate."

Regaining his composure, Sanghyun turned his monitor away.

"Hmph. Of course."

Kim Joo-hyuk also turned his head, though his eyes still lingered on Mihyo's photos.

"How are the reactions?"

"Oh, right. The reactions."

Kim Joo-hyuk, who had been momentarily dazed, shook his head and showed the reactions from 'Kingchim,' which could be considered Almond's home base.

"Generally, they're very positive. Of course, there's more talk about the kingdom. It's natural, since it's Kingchim."

"What about Battle Royale?"

"Oh, the biggest place is Bara31..."

Kim Joo-hyuk's expression was a bit sour.

He showed the reactions, which were like this.

Sanghyun's expression was calm.

"Here it is."

"Did you know about it?"

"Yeah, I saw it in the chat."

"Always so calm. Or should I say, shameless?"

"Well... it's not a big deal, right?"

"Are you not going to address this?"

Sanghyun thought for a moment in response to Kim Joo-hyuk's question. The reason he was labeled as a cheater was probably because he was too good for his rating.

"Hmm... I wonder. Maybe it's because I hide my body code. Should I reveal it again?"

At first, when he didn't know anything, he streamed with his body code exposed.

It was good for establishing Almond's character, but the body code was personal information, so it was risky.

He had received several texts recently from China, trying to verify his identity.

Since then, he had hidden his body code, like other streamers.

"Hey, that's not a good idea. Do you want to share your income with Chinese people?"

"Hmm... Then what can I do? This is attention, after all."

"True."

Kim Joo-hyuk nodded, not thinking it was a big deal.

"This level of noise is nothing. I actually see it as an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"If a big incident happens and you handle it successfully, your recognition will skyrocket. It's literally turning adversity into advantage."

* * *

The next day.

As Kim Joo-hyuk had predicted, no great turning point occurred.

In fact, the opposite happened.

A letter arrived in Almond's email.

It was from the Battle Royale management team.

"Hmm?"

Sanghyun, drinking coffee, was momentarily stunned as he read the email.

'No luck, just more trouble...'

In the midst of turning adversity into advantage, the trouble just got bigger.

Whether it would turn into a blessing later was uncertain.

"Hey, Joo-hyuk. Come look at this."

When he showed it to Joo-hyuk, he jumped up and adjusted his glasses.

"What is it? What's going on..."

Joo-hyuk was speechless as he read the text through his foggy glasses.

"Insane. These people really know how to cause trouble?"

He soon burst into a hollow laugh, his forehead creased with anger.

"How can they suspend an account without verifying the facts?"

"Hmm..."

"Are you not bothered at all?"

Sanghyun's calm expression, as always. Joo-hyuk was taken aback.

"I didn't do anything wrong. It will work out. Let's respond to the site first."

Tap tap tap.

Sanghyun, with a detached expression, sent a response to the Battle Royale management team.

Of course, his response was not going to be properly received.

No answer came, even after waiting for hours.

"Hmm... I didn't expect much, but their handling is really poor."

Joo-hyuk, who had finished breakfast, snorted.

"Those guys, who work like that, would listen to you?"

Muttering, Joo-hyuk typed on the keyboard and connected to Kingchim.

"Actually, it's for the best."

"For the best?"

"Yeah. Let's turn this trouble into a blessing."

"Is that possible?"

"Of course. You said it yourself. This is all attention."

"That's right."

"Let's try to draw more attention."

"Oh...!"

Sanghyun understood Joo-hyuk's point.

He immediately went to his personal bulletin board on his streaming channel.

"Should I post it?"

"You should post it first."

"Okay."

Sanghyun posted his grievances on the personal bulletin board, without whining, but calmly.

The title of his post, which started like this, was about the Battle Royale account suspension.

Not long after it was posted, a few comments started to appear.

- What is this? Haha

- No, they suspended a new account for being a cheater on the first match?

- First match cheater Haha

- Wow, that must be frustrating.

Given the absurdity of the situation, the comments were either consoling or mocking the management.

Meanwhile, Joo-hyuk posted a thread on Kingchim, pretending to be a viewer.

He wrote a provocative title.

The content of the post was a screenshot of the bulletin board post Almond had made.

And at the end...

'Official Management: If you're good, you're a cheater.'

Comments started to appear.

- First match, and already a cheater Haha

- Those bastards who stream and almost openly cheat. The management is stupid?

- They just applied it because there were many reports.

- This happened because Almond was good. That's what it means.

- Still, he's a Punk Partner streamer. That's too much.

- The Battle Royale community is really toxic. They knew this and did this?

- Are they blinded by jealousy?

The reaction on Kingchim was quite harsh.

As a fanatical game community, they were loyal to the streamers they liked.

When they heard that Almond had been treated unfairly, they were all outraged.

Thanks to this, the post became a hot topic in the community.

The post, titled "First match, and I'm a cheater," started spreading to other game communities.

- Haha, look at how the management handles it.

- I knew they would do this.

- First match cheater Haha, so funny

The management of Battle Royale had been criticized for a long time.

This incident was a perfect fuel.

The community was burning.

Even other game communities, unrelated to Battle Royale or the kingdom, had reactions.

However, they all had a common question.

- But how good could he be? They didn't even check his record and called him a cheater?

It was about Almond's skill.

How skilled could he be to cause such an absurd incident?

Naturally, they were curious.

- Really, could he get so many reports in one match?

└There's a GIF of him. Check it out.

└Link please.

└(Link)

└Wow, amazing.

└Is he crazy? What is that...

└He is a cheater. The other team lost, didn't they? Haha

Users who saw the GIF were amazed by Almond's skills. His skills were impressive even outside the kingdom.

- But is there a video?

- Looking for the full video.

- It doesn't seem to be out yet.

Users were not satisfied with just the GIF.

And the next morning.

The video of the solo squad victory in question was uploaded.

It was a high-quality video, edited overnight by Seo Ji-a.

The title was quite provocative.