Chapter 50 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

17. Escape from Hako (3)

The time when Sanghyun was being groomed as a national representative.

Although he didn't stay for long due to an accident, there was a time when he lived in the athletes' village.

At that time, he was a promising newcomer who set a new domestic competition record at the youngest age.

Moreover, his outstanding appearance guaranteed him stardom.

If he performed well at the Olympics, which the entire nation would be watching, it was obvious to anyone that he would instantly become a star.

Was it because of this?

Or was it because Sanghyun's personality was quite gentle at the time?

There were always many seniors who called him.

"Hey, Sanghyun. Want to play a game of soccer at lunch?"

Although the strict hierarchy between seniors and juniors had largely disappeared due to the association's turmoil 10 years ago, seniors were still a formidable presence.

However, Sanghyun was quite beloved by the seniors.

Of course, the way they "loved" him in the sports world was quite aggressive.

'National soccer players asking me to play soccer at lunch... It's madness, madness.'

For example, a soccer player inviting him to play soccer at lunch, or a basketball player inviting him to play basketball.

"Sanghyun. How about basketball today? I saw you have a great talent as a shooting guard. Is it because you're an archer?"

Sanghyun almost blurted out, "Well, it's because you guys let me play," but he always answered like this, thinking such opportunities were rare.

"Sure."

The seniors' play was extremely harsh. He always ended up using all his energy, both existing and non-existent.

"Hey, Sanghyun! Are you tired from this? Your shots were really disappointing just now. You need to get into defense!"

"Wow. Another three-pointer? Try shooting without a screen."

Sanghyun shook his head, drenched in sweat.

"Huff... huff... Can this even work?"

The seniors seemed to find his growth or his suffering amusing, and they kept encouraging him.

"Come on, try it."

"Get into defense!!!"

It was natural to be exhausted after playing with these team sport seniors.

No wonder the coach even told him not to exercise at lunch.

However, their harsh "loving" actions weren't entirely bad.

* * *

"Huff... huff... Four defenders...?"

Sanghyun, dribbling inside the penalty box, was looking for a place to pass.

With four defenders blocking his path, he had no confidence in breaking through.

Moreover, all four were national team defenders.

"Hey! Sanghyun! No place to pass!! Just get past them!"

"Really? How exactly!?"

"Just fake a turn with your upper body! Fool the opponent! Don't you know a feint? Feint!"

'...Is this a feint? The feint?'

It was a foreign concept to Sanghyun, who had only practiced archery. After all, in archery, there's no one to fool except the referee.

But after hearing this, he realized that the moves he had been subjected to by the seniors were actually feints.

"Don't even think of passing! Just get past them and shoot!"

The senior shouted again at Sanghyun, who was still hesitating.

Sanghyun recalled the moves he had been subjected to.

Not just by the seniors, but also by top attackers in the Premier League, La Liga, and other leagues.

"!"

Swish──

His upper body began to twist at a subtle angle.

His lower body, which was about to kick the ball, remained the same.

"?!"

Two defenders tripped over their own feet.

Sanghyun's unexpected play was a significant factor, but...

'Oh my...?'

The senior who had instructed the move was also surprised by how perfectly Sanghyun executed the feint for those brief 5 seconds, as if possessed by a player from an overseas league.

It could have been a coincidence.

"Damn..."

"What?"

The remaining two defenders also left openings in the same way.

It didn't seem to be a coincidence.

The opposing team's jaws dropped.

A smile of joy spread across Sanghyun's face.

"Got it...?"

Just as he was about to take a shot, the goalkeeper appeared from behind the defenders, diving with his whole body.

Caught off guard by the goalkeeper's sudden appearance, Sanghyun lost the ball helplessly.

"Ah..."

The senior patted his shoulder.

"Damn, you almost had it. See, it works when you try it."

"That's a shame."

"At this level, you're a real madman, kid. We're the national team, you know?"

"Haha..."

Ah, right, that's true.

Sanghyun scratched his head, embarrassed.

The same went for basketball.

"Okay. There was no opportunity for your teammate to set a screen just now, right? In that case, you need to create your own space."

"I'm not very good at dribbling..."

"Of course, your dribbling is less stable than ours. But anyone can do it for a moment. Watch this."

The national basketball player took a shooting stance at the three-point line. The ball seemed ready to fly through the air and swish into the basket.

It was a sharp shooting stance.

But then...

Thud!

The ball bounced off the ground and dribbled to the side.

"?"

He naturally transitioned from a shooting stance to a dribble, moving to the side.

It happened in an instant.

"If you use a feint to fool them, they'll leave openings even when they try to block."

The senior pointed to his head with his index finger.

"You don't really need to create space with your dribbling. You just need to create it in their minds."

"Wow..."

"But the opponent is a pro. To fool them, you need to act convincingly. The angle of your hips, your gaze, everything is part of the deception."

'Wow... But why are you telling me this?'

If he were a promising basketball player, it would be a very useful lesson.

But for an archer, it was completely useless advice.

He thought he might use it later to throw a lighter at Park Bu-jang.

* * *

'But I never thought I'd use it here.'

Sanghyun, or Almond, smiled as he recalled those days.

Four players charging at him, four gun barrels.

All Almond had were arrows and a bow.

Moreover, this was outside the Blue Zone. If time dragged on, everyone would die.

He had to break through these four defenders and eliminate them all.

- Damn! How do you get out of this?

- Wow, those trolls lol

- Are they all trying to die?!

- This is insane.

Creak.

Almond drew his bow and aimed at the enemy.

His sharp gaze, straight posture, and powerful full draw made it seem like he could release an arrow at any moment.

'I'm shooting!'

'I need to deal with this quickly!'

'Now...!'

Click─

The triggers of the guns aimed at Almond moved.

At that moment, Almond had already lowered his bow and flattened himself on the ground.

Boom!!!

Four guns firing simultaneously.

But Almond was already flat on the sand, and their bullets flew into the air.

Not just into the air.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

"Insane!"

The misdirected bullets hit each other.

The karma of four people surrounding one person and shooting.

- lol What are they doing!?

- lolol

- I'm going to die laughing. I fell off my bed lol

To the viewers, it looked incredibly foolish.

Indeed, Stones players are fools. But it was largely due to Almond's simple feint that they were led into this foolish act.

- Wow. That feint was insane.

- Noobs. Almond made all of this happen.

- Where does this sense come from? It's only his second game.

Such sense of play is a talent usually possessed by world-class athletes.

A legendary football player was so skilled at this type of play that the defenders would fall over while the audience barely noticed.

It was an unbelievable feat, but some viewers saw the player's dribble overlap with what just happened.

- Talent??

- No joke, really.

- Almost Messi-level feint.

- It's broken.

The overlap with a specific team sport scene was not a coincidence. It was a play Almond learned during his time in the athletes' village.

'This works. As expected.'

The seniors who taught him these plays were already successfully building careers as national representatives or in European leagues.

In other words, he had unintentionally learned from the best.

So these Stones players, like ghosts, couldn't help but be fooled.

Instead of blaming the ghosts, they cursed each other.

After all, they weren't a team.

"Damn, why are we shooting at each other!"

"Shut up, man!"

Two of the enemies were already dead, and the remaining two shouted in frustration, but it didn't last long.

"You troll...!"

Thud!

Almond, who had taken his position, had already embedded an arrow in the forehead of one of them.

Thud.

The body trembled and fell.

'Next...'

Almond nocked the arrow he had been holding in his mouth and shot it immediately.

Whizz──

The arrow that flew in the blink of an eye pierced the nose of the other.

"Ugh!!"

The enemy fell as if hit by a giant iron ball.

Tap, tap.

Almond lightly shook off the sand and dust from his body.

"Huff. Trolls..."

He muttered this and immediately ran into the Blue Zone.

- Wow

- So cool... Almost like a Western movie.

- How the hell is shooting arrows faster than reloading a gun! lol

- Haa. I want to hold arrows in my mouth so badly ㅠㅠ

- Ah, ah. This is the deep end. There's no way out thanks to Almond! We're all doomed!

Crackle...

Almond, back inside the protected area, checked his stamina while panting.

Even the calm Almond found it hard to maintain his composure.

"Huff. I have to use a first-aid kit... If I do, isn't the point of farming lost?"

- lol Did you expect four trolls? lol

- lololol

- It's the same lol

- lol

- This is Stones.

The damage he took outside the Blue Zone was already beyond what a first-aid kit could heal.

In other words, farming outside the Blue Zone was pointless.

After using the first-aid kit, Almond slung his compound bow and headed to the next location.

"Not easy. This game..."

However, contrary to his words, the game became much easier after that.

* * *

"Wow."

In the dark room, Kim Joo-hyuk, who had forgotten to turn on the lights, stared at the monitor.

His mouth was open so wide that saliva was dripping, and he looked like he had lost his soul.

The blue light from the monitor illuminated his face, making him look like a stupid ghost.

'...'

Joo-hyuk's shocked expression was due to something other than Almond's play.

Almond was still moving and hadn't encountered any significant enemies.

Joo-hyuk wasn't even looking at Almond.

He was staring intently at the chat window in the lower right corner of the screen.

The moment when the 5,000 viewer mark, a significant barrier for full-time streamers, was broken.

From this point on, it would be possible to sustain a living solely from streaming income, including the streamer and the editor, quite comfortably.

'Hey... Now we just need to take off!'

Joo-hyuk wiped his eyes and clenched his fist.

At the same time, the shadow of his father flashed in his mind.