Chapter 81

**Chapter 81 of The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1**

29. Fan Service (1)

A dazzling curtain of light.

"Wow... I’ve leveled up."

Now, only two steps remain to reach the Diamond rank. Despite setting a goal to reach it within two weeks, it hasn’t even been a week yet.

-Ohmen

-Ohhhhh...

-Wow, he really did it lol

-Is Almond really going to make it to Diamond?

-It’s almost certain that another electromagnetic record will be broken.

-If he can do this with a sniper, it’s really over.

-It’s no joke, really lol

-It would have been nice if Electromagnetic had tried a bit harder back then...

-What is Electromagnetic doing these days? Is he not active? This arrogant nut needs a lesson!

Reaching Diamond within two weeks. When this declaration was first made, everyone was skeptical.

Even Almond’s fans only saw it as a cute show of determination.

At the time, he was just a complete beginner who had only played two matches.

But now, it seems almost certain that Almond will reach the Diamond rank.

It’s also almost certain that Electromagnetic’s one-month record will be broken.

The only question is by how much.

"Everyone, we’ve achieved our goal today, so I’ll be signing off now."

-???

-Whoa.

-Is Almond not going to Diamond? Is Almond not going to Diamond? Is Almond not going to Diamond? Is Almond not going to Diamond?!

-Oh, why?

-:(:(:(:(

-:(:(:(:(

The chat window is flooded with tears.

Unfortunately, Almond had to end the stream.

There were health issues to consider.

"Thank you. RubySword, GajiBokum. I’ll be off now! Thanks for watching!"

* * *

Squeak──

The familiar hydraulic sound of the capsule lid opening.

Almond, drenched in sweat, walked out like a zombie.

‘After flying around in the power suit, coming back to reality feels like I’m wearing a heavy restraint suit.’

He looks particularly tired today, no doubt due to the experience with the power suit.

That’s why he ended the stream early.

‘Was my immersion level too high?’

Is it just me?

Almond wondered if this was a phenomenon he alone experienced. If everyone else was going through the same thing, it would certainly be a topic of discussion, but he had never heard of anything similar.

Juhyeok, who had been following him, spoke up.

"Was it tough today? You were sweeping everything in the later stages, but not so much at the beginning?"

He seemed to have noticed that Almond looked more exhausted than usual. After all, he ended the stream earlier than his usual time.

"Ah... I guess dealing with those snipers at the beginning was a bit tough."

Sanghyun gave a simple answer and headed straight to the bathroom to shower.

"Ah, right. I’ll report those snipers."

Juhyeok shouted, though he doubted Sanghyun could hear him while showering.

"Found it on the community site."

Juhyeok logged back into the community site known as Battle Large 31, the largest community for the game Battle Large.

‘What’s this?’

Juhyeok’s eyes widened.

It definitely wasn’t like this when he logged in an hour ago.

‘Did the stream just end?’

Has it been 5 minutes since Sanghyun’s stream ended?

1. Today’s Almond Power Suit Play

2. Almond Achieves ‘Single Match’ Flare 2!

3. Mihoh’s Comments on Almond

4. Mihoh’s Outfit Today ㄷㄷ

5. Balloon Gum, Back to Battle Large Main Game! Win Rate Updated! 0.04% → 0.03%

...

The word ‘Almond’ is already appearing frequently in the trending posts.

And one particular post caught his eye.

‘Balloon Gum. He’s back.’

Balloon Gum, a comprehensive game streamer, frequently changes his game. Once he clears a game, he moves on to the next one.

For endless online games, he sets a main game for each season.

When Almond met him before, Battle Large was not the main game for that season.

It was just a one-time event.

Since Battle Large was the main online game in the previous season, many thought it was unlikely to be the main game again.

But it seems that Battle Large has been chosen as the main game for this season.

‘The manager wasn’t kidding.’

Juhyeok had been tipped off about this before.

A while ago, he received a call from Balloon Gum’s manager, Park Sung-tae.

"We plan to make Battle Large the main game for this season. It would be natural for a meeting with Almond to happen."

He was already assuming that a meeting with Almond was inevitable. Given the format of the tutoring, it was only possible if Almond reached the Diamond rank.

"Reaching the Diamond rank is a foregone conclusion, isn’t it? It’s just a matter of whether the record is broken or not."

Park Sung-tae had no doubt that Almond would reach Diamond.

‘He knows how to read people.’

Juhyeok chuckled and continued scrolling down.

"Ah. Found it."

Finally, he found the post he was looking for.

Someone had kindly even made a list.

Juhyeok copied their IDs and pasted them into a notepad.

He couldn’t report them just for overlapping in a queue once, but if it happened repeatedly, he was determined to get them banned.

"Still, the public opinion has really changed. Wow."

He chuckled.

While reading the posts to find the snipers, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Until recently, many people said Almond would never surpass Electromagnetic, calling it a ridiculous notion.

Now, the main topic of interest is by how much Almond will surpass Electromagnetic.

Those defending Electromagnetic are being called ‘old-timers’ or ‘has-beens.’

* * *

After the shower, he felt refreshed.

"Phew."

Tap, tap.

He dried off with a towel and draped it over his head.

He opened the fridge and consumed a sweet instant fruit pudding.

He needed some sugar.

"Mmm."

It tasted satisfying.

After having a snack, his condition improved significantly.

He checked the time.

‘It’s only 6 PM.’

If he were at work, it would be time to prepare for overtime after dinner, but now his day was over.

He finished the promotion match in just one game.

‘This is what a skill game is about.’

Sanghyun lay on the bed, feeling relieved.

After doing all his tasks and lying in bed, his body felt incredibly light.

It felt really good.

As always, he lay down and looked at his phone, browsing through various videos on AllTube before checking the community reactions.

"…Oh."

Recently, the hottest streamer on Battle Large 31 is undoubtedly Almond.

The trending posts are filled with the word ‘Almond.’

Even though it’s a virtual space, it’s exciting to know so many people recognize him.

For Sanghyun, who has always craved attention, it’s even more thrilling.

‘The reactions are good?’

Moreover, today’s reactions were the most positive he had seen.

First, his fierce battle with the snipers in the early stages received a lot of positive feedback.

A GIF of the 5-on-1 battle received significant attention.

‘…5-on-1?’

Sanghyun was puzzled.

Was it really 5-on-1? He thought it was at most 4-on-1.

When he looked into it, it turned out the 5-on-1 included the first opponent who threw a knife and the golden goblin.

"Ah. This is 1-on-1."

Sanghyun chuckled as he watched the GIF.

At first, it was 1-on-1.

After dealing with the first opponent, three more suddenly attacked.

The 3-on-1 scene was satisfying, even to him. It was like an action movie.

It was a bit disappointing that there was no sound in the GIF.

- Wow lol

- I’m going to watch it right now

- Not being able to watch it live is like losing half my life...

- I’ll watch it on AllTube. That’s better lol

└ Yeah, Almond’s AllTube editor is good

└ The editor’s name is Seo Ji-a? How do you know?

└ She used to be active on a fan page. Almond fan Seo Ji-a

"…Really? She even knows Seo Ji-a’s name."

The level of interest was astounding. It felt strange.

Almond moved on to the next post.

Many posts mentioned how funny Janson looked in the power suit.

"Oh?"

Being a sniper doesn’t necessarily ruin a stream. In fact, dealing with snipers often makes the stream more exciting.

Especially the legendary ‘Obidobi’ is a scene that will go down in streaming history.

Janson seemed to be a character who significantly contributed to the stream’s success.

‘It was funny.’

Almond couldn’t help but chuckle when he thought about it.

A passionate Almond fan in a power suit.

Thinking about it now, it’s quite ridiculous.

This post received a lot of recommendations, probably because it brought up Janson.

In the video, Janson can be seen running towards the camera, shouting, "Mom, I want to be Almond when I grow up!"

- lolololol

- Really, it’s madness

- Not being able to watch it live is crazy lol

- Ah, I’m so disappointed. Will it be on AllTube? lol

- lolololol

- Wearing a power suit makes him look even crazier.

- Ohmen!

└ Oh──men.

└ Oh…men.

└ Ohmen.

└ Damn lol

- The god of variety helped

└ Still, a sniper is a sniper.

Almond left a comment at the end and moved on to the next post.

He had no intention of forgiving Janson.

The Five Idiots?

He thought about it for a moment and then burst out laughing.

It seems he calls the five snipers who targeted him the Five Idiots.

==== ====

When he climbed up with a knife.

Wasn’t it really cool? ㅠㅠ

It felt like watching a thriller movie!

==== ====

It was a simple post.

It’s surprising how many recommendations it received.

- Yeah ㅠㅠ

- 222222

- I really couldn’t imagine it would work lol

└ Really lol

└ The viewers gave advice!

- He followed the viewers’ advice! Sweet Almond!

- Can someone make a GIF? It’s hard to find in the replay...

Despite this, many comments were left. Any post about Almond typically gets a lot of comments.

However──

‘Hmm?’

Almond came across a new piece of information.

- The person who gave the advice, ‘PapaPapa,’ isn’t Electromagnetic?

└ What nonsense lol

└ ???

└ No, really. PapaPapa is Electromagnetic’s Trivi nickname. It’s a sub-account, but it’s real. I know because I’m a hardcore fan.

└ No way

└ Electromagnetic wouldn’t give advice in a stream lol

Electromagnetic?

Sanghyun, who had been lying down comfortably, sat up.

The moment he heard the nickname ‘PapaPapa,’ a series of chats flashed through his mind.

‘…What is this?’

It could be a baseless rumor, but Sanghyun felt compelled to verify it.

He accessed his Trivi account on his phone and checked the chat logs.

- Climb up while stabbing with the knife.

- Stab with the knife... Oh, I need to sponsor.

- Oh. Good.

- What’s this bow bending? I’ve never seen this before.

- With a power suit, just slowly close in from outside the magnetic field and kill them all.

- From now on, sweep everything!

...It was a normal chat log, if you could call it that.

"Something’s off."

But it didn’t feel normal.

Every single comment was spot on.

Everything he said was the best judgment for the situation, at least from Almond’s perspective.

Could a regular viewer consistently make such perfect comments?

Smart?

At that moment, Juhyeok knocked on the door.

"Hey. What’s up?"

"Hey. Let’s go out and eat today."

"Huh? Where?"

"I’m craving kimchi stew, and there’s a new chain restaurant."

"Why are we going to a chain restaurant?"

"They offered you an ad, so I thought I’d check if the food is good."

"Oh…that place with the ‘thousand-year tradition’?"

"Yeah, that place."

Puhaha.

Juhyeok laughed at the absurd ‘thousand-year tradition’ description.

It was 6:40 PM.

He was going to eat anyway.

"Ah…Okay."

"Want to have a drink?"

"Sure."

It was a rare outing.

He hadn’t gone out for anything other than work, probably since the chicken party after Juhyeok moved in.

‘It’ll be delicious.’

While chicken and beer are good, kimchi stew with soju is also great.