Chapter 7 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

3. Who is Almond? (2)

189 viewers are watching me.

Sanghyun swallowed hard. He usually didn’t get nervous, but this was a first, so it was inevitable to feel a bit shaky.

Phew...

Sanghyun let out a small, unnoticeable breath. This was a tension-relieving technique he used before picking up his bow.

By exhaling for a moment, closing his eyes, and momentarily distancing himself from the world.

He imagined that this wasn’t the world he lived in, but a game he played in the third person.

I’m playing an avatar named Sanghyun.

Finally, his dry lips moved.

"Alright. Let's continue from where we left off yesterday."

He didn’t mention the number of viewers. He avoided the most common mistake made by beginner streamers.

Sanghyun didn’t go to sleep immediately after turning off the game last night. He studied the methods major streamers used to manage their viewers and control controversies.

He memorized the common taboos of major streamers and wrote them down on a note he could see while streaming.

One of them was mentioning the number of viewers.

This can interfere with other viewers’ pure immersion in the game and make the broadcast feel like a broadcast. It can also create competition with other broadcasts.

That shouldn’t happen. Viewers should be fully immersed in the content. They shouldn’t think of this as a broadcast or of Sanghyun as a streamer.

They should think of Sanghyun as a friend.

He should make them feel like they’re watching a friend play a game while chatting.

Streaming, after all, is an extension of the traditional Korean board game watching in the Joseon era, the arcade game battles of the 1990s, and the PC room team battles of the 2000s.

Warm, friendly closeness was more important than the tension of a nail-biting game.

So, the best thing to say here would be something like this:

"Thank you to those who came back today, like RubySword, GajiBokum, and MungChungEori. I appreciate it."

Greeting the returning viewers by name.

-Hello! ㅎㅎ

-You remember us! ㅋㅋㅋ

-Whoa. Calling out the 0-guns! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-0-guns, attention!

-Already forming 0-guns on the second day of streaming.

-Is Almond a broadcasting genius?

The reaction was good.

Although they teased him about being a 0-gun and a newbie, the viewers who weren’t called out seemed envious, and those who were called out were happy.

The viewers who were called out had been the most active in the chat yesterday.

They would now feel much closer to Sanghyun.

"I continued the game a bit after turning off the stream yesterday. Right now, I’ve been introduced to the mercenary boss by Roman and received a new mission."

This is the second tip from major streamers.

They don’t always stream every part of the game. They skip over the boring parts and briefly explain them.

-Oh.

-Mercenary boss ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Mercenary company ‘Mercenary’ ㅋㅋㅋ

-It’s the boss, right? ㅋㅋㅋ

He also reinterpreted the game using terms that were easier for viewers to understand. Just because it’s a medieval game doesn’t mean he had to use medieval language.

"This mission isn’t that impressive either. I thought being a mercenary meant going to the battlefield and dying, but it seems more like being a bodyguard."

This mission was similar to the one in the tutorial.

Back then, he had to guard a cart, but this time, he had to protect a person.

-Mercenary, what’s the big deal? ㅋㅋ

-This game is super realistic.

-Most mercenaries just had this kind of job.

-It’s just a security company. ㅋㅋ

Another difference was that Sanghyun was also on horseback this time.

Clop clop.

The rough jostling of the horse. There was a saddle, but riding a horse wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Roman, who was riding ahead, turned to look at him.

"Is this your first time on a horse? Almond?"

Almond’s head shook involuntarily.

"No, but... I haven’t had many opportunities."

"I see. You’ll need to get used to it. You’ll be riding a lot from now on."

While Almond was getting used to riding, the viewers were curious.

-What kind of mission is this?

-The mission is different.

-Yeah, but isn’t this the one with the bandits on horseback?

-Already?

Bandits?

Just as Sanghyun was about to ask what that was, a loud noise came from the hill.

"Yohooooo!"

The sound of galloping hooves and eerie screams filled the air.

The viewers cheered as if they were the bandits.

-Yohoooo!

-Yohoooo!

-Is Bruka here?

-kek, is the first mission with bandits?

-Let’s go~!!

Some were purely enjoying the game, while others who came to doubt Sanghyun’s skills had different reactions.

-Well, is he finally going to shoot?

-Oh...!

-We’ll know if it’s a fake or not.

Some were filled with anticipation.

-He’s going to mess up.

-He’s just a beginner.

-kek, how does he shoot from a horse?

Some had already predicted his failure.

Of course, Sanghyun didn’t pay much attention to these opinions. In sports, competition is the norm, and there have always been jealous people.

For someone like Sanghyun, a genius, this was a familiar situation. He knew how to deal with such people.

'Show them the results.'

Sanghyun quickly scanned the number of enemies.

But this time, the enemies moved too fast.

'How can they be so fast?'

He couldn’t count them properly.

'About 50, I guess.'

After a rough estimate, he checked his arrow count. Unlike in the tutorial, the number was displayed on the screen.

He didn’t need to kill them all. He had allied mercenaries.

"Bandits!"

His mercenary comrades started to move.

The spear soldiers moved forward to face the bandits, raising their spears.

"Hiya!"

"Yohooooo!"

The bandits charged like a single arrow, aiming for a breakthrough.

Thud thud thud...!

The ground shook with the fierce sound of hooves.

Their bloodshot eyes showed no fear.

"Kahahaha!"

The terrifying bandit at the front swung a massive sword.

He was the notorious villain Bruka, mentioned in the chat.

As a named character, he had incredible combat power.

Swish!

The head of the spear soldier at the front flew high into the air, creating a cloud of blood.

"The front line is breached!"

"Damn!"

The mercenaries' front line was already broken. Sanghyun found it a bit absurd.

This wasn’t even a surprise attack.

"Seriously, why do these mercenaries always lose?"

Sanghyun grumbled as he strung his bow.

At the same time, he casually shot an arrow.

Whoosh!

The arrow hit the center of the bandit’s head at the front.

The result was instant death.

"......Cough!"

Neigh...!

The riderless horse reared and fell, and the other bandits behind it, surprised, fell like dominoes.

Crash!

Almost a third of the bandits fell, and the situation became favorable for the mercenaries.

Most importantly, their morale was crushed.

Their morale was crushed to an unbelievable degree. Some bandits were just staring blankly at the spot where the bandit had died.

"Bro, what?!"

"Already?!"

That was what the bandits and the viewers were thinking.

-?!!?

-What? Bruka is dead?

-???

-Is this an optical illusion? Is that Bruka?

-We can’t even see clearly from here.

-Is it just luck?

-Clutch luck, man. ㅋㅋ

The bandit Sanghyun had shot was Bruka.

"Why are they reacting like that?"

Sanghyun had just aimed at the one at the front.

The reactions were strange.

-I would react the same way.

-kekkekkek

-He killed the leader, why are they reacting like that?

-kekkekkek

Bruka was the leader of the bandits and the most challenging - or supposed to be - enemy in this mission.

But he was suddenly intercepted and fell helplessly.

-That video was real. kekkek

-The game company must be embarrassed. They put in all these features for sword fighting... and then... pfft!

-Pfft... bang! Pfft... bang! Repeatedly. kek

-At maximum range, with full power, you can kill with a headshot...

-Theoretically possible...

The number of viewers had increased to 230. While 230 isn’t a large number, the chat activity was as intense as if there were 5,000 viewers.

Everyone was excited to witness a named mob being killed in one shot again.

'Everyone is so excited.'

Sanghyun was only pleased. He didn’t get swept up in the excitement and aimed his bow again.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

He could celebrate after the victory.

"Bro’s revenge!!!"

"I’ll kill them all!"

The bandits, turning their frustration into revenge and anger, charged even more fiercely.

'The next one is that guy.'

Sanghyun focused only on the tip of his arrow.

His mind was set on killing the next enemy.

His eyes followed the backs of the fleeing enemies.

-Wow, it’s intense to see in real life.

-So cool...

-But, his posture is really different, isn’t it?

His fierce hunting stance made even the viewers tense.

Sanghyun’s highly focused shooting was a continuous surprise.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wherever Sanghyun’s sharp gaze went, bandits fell. Each one had an arrow in their head or neck.

It was as if the arrows had been in the bandits’ heads from the start, so many fell in an instant.

"Grgh...!"

"Ugh!"

With the leader and many veterans down, the confident bandits were nowhere to be seen.

"Ghost!"

"Ah, aaaaah!"

They panicked, literally losing their minds, and started to flee.

From this point on, it wasn’t a battle but a hunt.

"The enemies are fleeing!"

Roman, raising his bloodied sword, shouted.

"Kill them all!!!"

Snap!

The mercenaries’ flags rose high in various places.

And a new mission was assigned.

This was a new route that wasn’t revealed in the original game.

-Annihilation route? What is this... such a route exists?

-He’s playing a different game from us.

-Let’s praise the game company for creating such various routes.

* * *

The viewers were ecstatic about the new developments created by Almond, and this excitement spread to community sites.

And at that moment.

A famous streamer was watching the site.

"...Almond? What is this?"