Chapter 58 of Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1

21. Almond's Rampage (1)

Almond took the lead so easily.

And he did it in a very destructive way, with a staggering 50 kills in first place.

"Alright, next round."

He immediately queued up for the next match as if it were nothing.

- Haha, next!

- Next!!!!

- I don't know what just happened, man...

- Seriously, I just went to get a cup of ramen and he's already in first place...?

- How did he win?! Damn it!

- Hahaha

- Oh, is this really possible?

The speed at which everything happened left the viewers, who had been watching the entire game, completely stunned.

He had swept up around 50 people in the blink of an eye and claimed victory.

This was the combat power of Almond, who had thoroughly mastered the strategy guides.

Everyone knew that Almond was not at the level of Stones.

But no one expected such an overwhelming skill gap.

While waiting for the next game, all kinds of sponsorship messages flooded in.

It was that impressive a match.

"Thank you for the support, Mr. Massacre, Mr. Half-Half, Mr. Really Go Diamond, Mr. First Time, and Mr. Report Again."

Almond gave a brief greeting and kept his eyes fixed on the screen while waiting for the queue.

Even after such an intense match, his focus was still burning brightly.

'Really going for it.'

The clear goal of entering the Diamond rank was gradually turning him into a monster.

Little by little, even without him noticing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bella 31 was on fire with talk about Almond.

It felt like watching seniors gossiping about a "cocky newbie."

This was because of a post that went up.

Naturally, the one who posted it was Kim Joo-hyuk.

- Wow, really? Haha

- Is this edited?

- Seriously? Haha, did he really say that?

- His expression is not joking at all, damn.

- I think he really can do it.

└Cracking down on the evil nut squad.

└Nut squad, hahaha

From this point on, the community was actively debating Almond.

It was a war between those who thought "He can definitely do it" and those who thought "No way."

Of course, the latter was overwhelmingly more numerous.

Until the first match ended.

The title of the post that went up right after the first match ended.

This was also posted by Kim Joo-hyuk.

'Ha. Now I'm getting the hang of community posts.'

The speed at which he made the GIF and chose the title made him look like a seasoned community member.

Most people clicked on it, thinking he was calling Almond crazy for saying he would go for Diamond.

But the content was completely different.

Shocking different.

The GIF showed Almond blowing up the armory and then a massacre play with 50 kills.

And the moment he claimed first place.

- I came in to curse, but damn, he's crazy.

- ???

- I have to report him again, hahaha.

- What the hell just happened?

- Is such a play even possible, even for an unranked player??

- Wow...

- I told you! Almond! I told you! Almond! I told you! Almond! I told you! Almond! I told you! Almond!

- Blowing up the armory is really cool, hahaha.

Public opinion seemed to be shifting a bit.

'Wow... Is he really going to make it?'

Joo-hyuk, who was anxiously watching the community reactions, pushed up his glasses. Cold sweat was beading on his forehead, distorting the light.

He was, after all, continuously increasing Almond's risk.

It was like constantly raising the bet.

It was natural to be excited.

If public opinion turned, it would be a perfect victory.

- If we bring in Electromagnetic, he can do a 99-kill play. Just a joke.

└Damn, hahaha. If you have a 30-kill play with Electromagnetic, bring it. What kind of religion is this?

└Damn... 'No?' I'm reporting you.

└99 kills, damn hahaha. Are the others bots?

- The nut squad is causing trouble early today. Please play among yourselves, hahaha.

- Who keeps bringing in Stones' Almond material?

- Going for Diamond in two weeks?

└Damn, hahaha.

└Electromagnetic took a month, idiot hahaha.

└Electromagnetic didn't try hard. And he could do better than Electromagnetic. What kind of deification is this?

└Deification should be for Electromagnetic. Are you guys deifying Stones?

└Deification hahaha.

└Deification, hahaha.

└Ah, these guys are now deifying Stones, hahaha.

"Ugh..."

Joo-hyuk let out a sharp groan.

Suddenly, the fans supporting Almond were given the dishonorable name "Stones Faith."

As expected, existing public opinion wasn't easily swayed.

Almond still had a long way to go to prove himself.

Ding.

Just then, Almond's second match queue was secured.

"Prove it, Sang-hyun. There's nothing else... Damn it."

Crunch.

Joo-hyuk gritted his teeth and banned all the trolls who had flooded into the live stream.

* * *

Bang!

Almond landed at the armory again.

This time, he landed directly on the roof of the armory.

'One, two, three...'

Three people landed on the roof with him.

They casually ran towards the stairs leading down, not expecting a fight to break out on the roof.

Naturally, they wanted to get weapons of at least Hero grade from the armory. Any delay would be disadvantageous to everyone.

So, usually, fights only broke out on the first floor where the underground armory entrance was.

Just as someone opened the rooftop stair door to go down.

Bang!

"Ahhh!"

His hand got caught in the door.

Someone had kicked it with their foot.

It was Almond.

The person he made eye contact with screamed in pain and anger.

"Hey! What the hell is this?!"

Swish!

A cheap knife slashed his throat. Almond had already picked up the knife.

He had no interest in the underground armory.

"Choke!"

The cheap knife wasn't very sharp, so the person survived. But he was almost in a dying state, crawling on the ground.

"Crazy troll!"

"What?!"

The other two, who were following, stopped in shock.

'Why are we fighting here?'

They couldn't understand, but they quickly assessed the situation and retreated to get a weapon. They needed a weapon to beat Almond.

But Almond wasn't going to wait for them.

His shoulders and waist twisted at an unusual angle.

Then, his waist and shoulders aligned in a straight line.

He channeled all his energy into one point.

Whoosh!

The knife received the force.

It was thrown in a smooth throwing motion.

The knife embedded itself in the back of one of the fleeing players.

Thud!

Since the knife wasn't very sharp, it felt more like being hit by a blunt metal object.

Splat...!

Still, red blood spurted out like a fountain, and the person fell.

He wasn't dead.

Knowing this, Almond quickly ran over and kicked the knife in, finishing him off.

Thud!

- Haha, amazing!

- Wow, too intense, hahaha.

- Insane! Almond!

- Really insane! Almond!

- Hahaha, no mercy, really hahaha.

- If I were the opponent, it would be terrifying, damn, hahaha.

- He doesn't let anything slide, hahaha. Just like our professor.

- Ah, let's just play the game roughly!!!

"By now, he's probably trying to open the door again."

Almond, holding the knife he had pulled out, quickly turned to the rooftop door and threw the knife.

As Almond predicted, the player who had been hit by Almond was trying to open the rooftop door again.

Thud!

A silver object flew past, splattering more red blood.

"Ahhhhh!"

The opponent, holding his arm and screaming.

The knife Almond had thrown without looking had severed his carotid artery.

It wasn't a clean cut, but a rough, jagged one.

- Wow, predicting and throwing is so cool, tears.

- Crazy, hahaha.

- Everything is in Almond's palm, that's what it means.

- He looks like a seasoned player. Is this his fourth match?

- An injury judgment, even with that cheap knife?

- No, an injury from the start... This game is going to be no fun.

Injury judgment.

Not fatal, but a state almost as bad as death. Losing an arm or being in a similar combat-incapacitated state is judged as an "injury."

It wouldn't heal without a first-aid level treatment.

"Ugh... Crazy! Why is he doing this from the start...!"

The person with the severed arm lay on the ground.

He had given up on the game. Almond, who had approached, gave him the final blow.

"I need to get down quickly."

Swish!

The cheap knife sliced through the neck, and the head rolled across the armory roof.

- What a nickname, hahaha.

- Wow, refreshing!

- The nickname is hilarious, crazy hahaha.

- If he starts like this, I don't want to play the game, hahaha.

- Is there one left on the rooftop? Hahaha.

- Next!

The last one was holding a knife awkwardly and trembling.

"O-Oh, don't come...!"

- Isn't he too immersed, hahaha?

- Hey! This is a game! Try to attack!

- That's why he's Stones...

- Playing the game is fun, hahaha.

- Stones play the game for fun, hahaha.

Although it was virtual reality, the opponent seemed overwhelmed by the pressure Almond was showing.

Thud, thud, thud.

He started running towards the rooftop railing.

"!?"

Almond followed.

Whoosh??

"Ha, haaa!"

The opponent jumped down with all his might.

Boom!

He landed with a heavy thud.

"Ugh...!"

Although his legs were strained, he had saved his life... or so he thought.

A strange shadow loomed above him.

Boom.

A heavy weight pressed down on his shoulders.

"Wha!?"

On his shoulders were Almond's two feet.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

The opponent, already strained in the legs, collapsed into an "injured" state.

"Damn!"

The opponent, who could only move his upper body, grabbed the knife.

But Almond was faster.

He lifted the knife with both hands and, with all his weight, plunged it into the opponent's head.

Thud!

The opponent's eyes rolled back, and he trembled.

After confirming the kill log, Almond got off the opponent's shoulders.

- Wow, amazing.

- He always does super plays...

- He's on a roll. Is this match going to be easy too?

Thanks to the opponent's body absorbing the impact, Almond suffered almost no damage.

He led his uninjured body to a motorcycle parked in a corner of the armory and got on.

Vroom.

The motorcycle moved towards the armory.

"I'm going to loot the rest of the armory."

- There are kids inside, right?

- It seems disadvantageous to waste time...

- Just go somewhere else!

Some of them inside probably already had guns.

During the fight on the roof with the three, the enemies might have been farming.

However...

"I don't care."

Almond simply drove the motorcycle towards the main entrance.

To Almond, it didn't matter if the players in this rank had guns or light sabers.

Almond, who had loosened his shoulders, revved the engine roughly once.

Vroom!

He charged into the armory.