Chapter 5

Season 1, Episode 5 of the Streaming of the Genius Archer

2. Let's Play the Game (2)

As he chose his bow, the viewers mocked him.

-1st round bow challenge ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-That's why newbies are so amusing.

-Gah... The smell of capsaicin is reaching here.

He felt more satisfied than annoyed.

‘Since I have to use a bow anyway, the reactions are good too.’

Since Sanghyun would only use a bow even if he were to die soon, there was no reason not to use it with such reactions.

A message appeared, and the game resumed.

‘But what about the bow being attached there?’

The problem was the location where the bow was attached. It was hanging on the back of a veteran mercenary. Wasn't that person's property?

Sanghyun's doubt was quickly resolved.

“...What the hell!”

At the moment the veteran mercenary's shout, which had been paused in the game, was heard...

Thud!

The veteran mercenary's head was pierced by a spear.

“Gah...!”

Splat!

Bright red blood spurted forward, dyeing Sanghyun's vision pink.

‘Whoa...’

Sanghyun was momentarily stunned and couldn't move.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Newbie is so cute.

-He didn't expect to die suddenly.

-You killed him, you did!

-Choosing a bow leads to this.

The viewers teased him mercilessly upon seeing this. Despite there being only five of them, the chat volume was like that of fifty people.

‘It seems that choosing a bow leads to this kind of progression.’

While Sanghyun was assessing the situation, the bandit who had killed the veteran fell.

Swish!

“Newbie! Snap out of it!”

He was the captain of the mercenary company called Roman.

His voice was sharp, and his eyes were like a wolf's.

-Roman...

-Ah, PTSD is kicking in.

-That mouth... ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Don't mess with the newbie!

From the chat reactions, it seemed that Roman wasn't a very good senior.

‘Anyway, I have to survive first.’

Sanghyun quickly took the bow from the dead veteran's back.

Click.

Roman glanced at him.

“A bow? Not very reliable, but... try it out anyway.”

Saying this, Roman moved forward with his sword.

Among them, the bandits noticed Sanghyun and Roman.

“What? There's another one?”

By then, Sanghyun had already finished nocking the arrow.

Whoosh!

Without any time to think, the arrow flew and pierced the bandit's body.

Swish!

Roman then finished him off with his sword.

-Oh, he hit it ㅋㅋㅋ

-Beginner's luck.

People evaluated him quite highly just for hitting the arrow.

In the meantime, Sanghyun was comparing the feel of the bow to the games and archery he had done before, roughly getting a sense of it.

‘It feels similar to the Olympics. Very different from archery.’

Though it was just one shot, it was enough for him. He understood that this bow was somewhere between modern archery and traditional Korean archery.

Most importantly, it was much easier to shoot than in the Olympic games.

“I'm getting a feel for it.”

Sanghyun muttered this while now looking around.

‘How many are there?’

There was a bandit right in front of him, but Sanghyun first looked around.

Twenty bandits. About three on the mercenary side.

‘3 to 20?’

There weren't many allies left. It seemed that the protagonist had to take action.

‘Arrows...’

Sanghyun also checked the number of arrows.

Only 20.

‘Just one chance?’

If he couldn't get more arrows from elsewhere, he had to kill one with each shot.

“One shot, one kill.”

Whoosh!

As he said this, the arrow was fired. It was almost as if he had shot it by mistake, not even looking.

Yet, the result was a hit.

“Gah!”

Thud!

The arrow pierced the center of the forehead, and the bandit fell.

He didn't move after that. He was dead.

-Oh, headshot!

-What just happened? He didn't even aim, right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Luck-based game. Kingdom Age.

The viewers didn't think he had aimed. They were purely amazed and enjoying the unexpected headshot.

“Is it supposed to be one shot with an arrow?”

Of course not. Sanghyun knew that too.

-This game is quite realistic, so one shot if you hit a vital spot.

-Even the location of vital organs is implemented.

-There is a headshot judgment, so if you hit the head, it's a one-shot kill.

He asked this just to get the information he wanted.

Whether there was a headshot judgment or other vital spots.

“Oh, thank you for the explanation, RubySword. There is a headshot judgment. Other vital spots are also implemented.”

While doing this, he naturally communicated with the viewers. He had quite a knack for streaming.

“Then I'll shoot again. One shot, one kill.”

He calmly said this and pulled the bowstring again.

-What?!

-The newbie's confidence is... so cute!

-Dun dun...

Although mocking comments appeared, he ignored them.

He would show the results. That's the spirit of a sportsman.

Whoosh!

The shooting started again.

Thud!

A bandit's head was impaled.

-Whoa?!

-Headshot!? Again?

-??

It was a much more powerful and perfect shot than before.

Now he had a feel for the game and gained confidence.

‘They say this game is hard, but it's easier than I thought in the early stages.’

At first, he was worried.

The target in archery is stationary, but here, they were running around.

But to the point where his worries were embarrassing, Sanghyun quickly mastered how to shoot moving targets.

“I'll shoot two more.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He shot more arrows without hesitation.

-???

-Boom!

-Another headshot?

-What the hell.

-Is he hacking?

Thud.

The giant bandits fell one by one from the small arrows shot by Sanghyun.

“Damn it!”

“Cough!”

“Gah!”

The remaining comrades searched for Sanghyun in anger.

But when the aggro was about to be pulled, Sanghyun hid behind the cart and moved to a different position.

“Hey, where are you!”

“Damn it! Brother!”

“How can this be!”

The bandits were confused.

Falling in one shot, it was hard to even find their location.

Whoosh!

When the sound of the arrow tearing through the air was heard, one of them fell.

“Cough!”

“Again...!?”

It was like watching a horror movie. From the bandits' perspective, they suddenly became the hunted. Even though they were originally the invaders.

“Find him! He's on the right!”

Someone checked the direction the arrow had hit and shouted. It was a bandit with a shield.

‘Shield... It might block it.’

For Sanghyun, this bandit was the most troublesome. The shield adequately protected his head, making it hard to find an opening.

But then his mercenary comrades helped.

“Haaaa!”

Bang!

A mercenary who had been pretending to be dead got up and stabbed the bandit with an axe. The blow was blocked by the shield, but it was enough for Sanghyun.

He even had time to make a comment.

“The side is open.”

Whoosh!

The arrow flew and, as expected, pierced the head, showing its power.

“Gah!”

Thud.

When the bandit who looked like the leader fell, the other bandits panicked.

“L-Leader!”

“Oh no!”

“Damn it!”

“Damn, where are you!”

But the ones who were confused weren't just the bandits.

-What the hell?!

-What?

-He killed the leader??

-Huh?

What? Was the leader not supposed to be killed? Sanghyun scratched his head in confusion.

“Is the leader not supposed to be killed?”

To his question, the talkative RubySword answered.

-It's not that the leader isn't supposed to be killed, but usually the leader doesn't die so easily...

“But you said a headshot is always a one-shot kill.”

-But headshots are rarely hit!?

“But I hit it.”

-But... it's not supposed to be like that!?

Sanghyun couldn't understand. The only difference between the leader and other bandits was the shield.

-He has a shield and is faster, so he dodges all arrows unless they are at maximum power. That's why he's supposed to appear in the next story.

-Crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ A cutscene is gone ㅋㅋㅋ What?

-Is it a bug ㄹㅇ

Other viewers also chimed in.

“Maximum power? Full draw... or pulling the string to the end, is that what you mean? That's not that hard.”

-Then aiming the bow would be very difficult.

“...”

Sanghyun's expression stiffened.

‘Is that what it was?’

He had been shooting with maximum draw, or full draw, all along.

-From your expression, you've been shooting at maximum power all along?

-Is that even possible? All headshots.

Sanghyun had many more questions, but he couldn't just keep asking and not progress the game. These people were here to have fun, not to teach.

“I'll continue the game.”

Sanghyun resumed the game.

Creak...

Whoosh!

The merciless shooting started again.

Thud!

As he had announced, one fell with each shot.

‘Just hit the head, and it's a one-shot kill. Is it this easy because it's a tutorial?’

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He shot all five arrows, each hitting the center of the forehead.

The last arrow pierced the head of a bandit who was fighting Roman.

Roman looked back in surprise.

“...Did you shoot that?”

The game moved to the next cutscene.

* * *

“Haaaa! Die, bandits!”

Thanks to Sanghyun's performance, the surviving mercenaries shouted and swept through the bandits.

The mercenaries were better equipped and more skilled than the bandits.

“Bastards! Die!”

“Grrr!”

Swish!

Sharp axes and long spears tore through the bandits, and the mercenaries ultimately won.

“Haa... Haa... Newbie.”

One of the veteran mercenaries approached. Roman, covered in blood but with a lively gaze.

Captain Roman.

Originally, he was a character who trampled on many players' hearts.

At the same time, he was a character who announced in advance that this game was not kind to gamers.

-Don't kill the newbie! It's been a while since we had a newbie!

-What will Roman say? ㅋㅋㅋ

Click.

Roman put his hand on Sanghyun's shoulder and said,

“You... What are you? I've never seen anyone shoot a bow like you.”

Sanghyun, who had heard this many times during his archery career, wasn't particularly moved.

Instead, the chat window showed emotion.

-???

-What's with that line?

-Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-He told me that with such skills, it's hard to survive. If I wanted to die early, he'd give me a clean death.

-Roman's praise ㅅㅂ ㅋㅋㅋ Is it a bug?

-Roman... Can he say things like that?

Originally a notorious critic, Roman looked at Sanghyun with a warm gaze, like a mentor from ten years ago.

“What's your name? I really want to know. I'll report it to the captain.”

Ding.

Sanghyun thought. He hadn't even decided on a streamer name.

‘Hmm...’

He chose a snack he liked without much thought.

Roman called his name with an awkward expression.

“Oh. Almond. I'll remember that.”

Not only Roman, but that night, mentions of Almond started appearing on a community site.