Chapter 87 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

31. The Almond That Has Practiced (1)

"I'll get a diamond within two weeks."

It has been a week since this statement was made.

And today is the day.

Today, posts started appearing on the community.

When you click on them, they are mostly like this.

==== ====

Going for it in just one week, damn

==== ====

- Haha, really

- Almond, you bastard! You tricked us!

- F*cking shut up

- Haha, really

- Haha, really lied. This guy.

- You're in for it, Almond.

There was a rather favorable reaction from Sanghyun.

Other posts also seemed to have a similar public opinion.

Of course, it wasn't all positive. As always.

These were mostly fans of Electron, people who envied Almond, or simply those who were dissatisfied with the world.

Regardless of the mixed opinions, one thing was certain.

Almond's journey to the diamond was receiving a lot of attention.

There were dozens of posts with the Almond tag on the community.

"Wow..."

Almond, who had just woken up and checked the community, let out a low exclamation.

Because of the numerous posts mentioning him.

'It's only 7 AM.'

He rubbed his forehead, thinking he might be seeing things in his sleep, and shook off the remaining drowsiness.

His blurry vision cleared up.

...

Sure enough, it wasn't a hallucination.

People's interest was intense.

Crazily intense.

'Was the content good?'

No way. Sanghyun shook his head.

Even though he talked about the grand journey to the diamond, it was essentially no different from a regular broadcast.

Who doesn't aim for a diamond?

It's just a series of common game broadcasts where he plays to win.

Why is there so much interest?

'Because of this.'

There was a hint in one of the posts.

When he checked the AllTube Fantasia channel, a new video had been uploaded.

The edited version had an influence far beyond the live broadcast, with the number of views being on a different level.

A staggering 240,000.

It's hard to believe it was uploaded this morning, such a massive number.

It's likely because of this that mentions of Almond on the community have increased significantly this morning.

Almond was introduced to the 6 million subscribers of the Fantasia channel.

- Wow, I didn't know about Almond, but he's really good.

- Almond? He was the best archer I've seen...

- O0O Amazing...

- Hyeon, you're so cute~

- Wow, he's a god ㅠㅠ

- First time seeing Almond, he's really handsome. But the interview was too short ㅠ

- The archery was edited. Came back to watch it again because it was so cool ㅠ

└2222 Wow, me too

└333 Haha, I don't have money

Among the Fantasia subscribers, there were still many who were seeing Almond for the first time.

In fact, most of them were.

Almond was still a streamer liked by "game-loving men and women in their 20s," and the Fantasia subscribers ranged from teenagers to people in their 50s.

So, to them, Almond was a new face.

A fresh shock.

Thanks to this, posts expressing new interest in Almond increased on various communities.

The timing was perfect.

Just as Almond was receiving a lot of attention for his record match with Electron, he was also in the middle of a significant challenge in his career.

Naturally, all the attention was directed towards Almond's rank.

The sudden surge in interest was also a burden, of course.

'If there's no such burden, it would be boring.'

Sanghyun was indifferent to such pressure.

He already knew that the greater the pressure, the greater the cheers that come back.

Imagine it, isn't it thrilling?

Think about how all the doubts, suspicions, jealousy, and envy will eventually turn into awe and cheers.

It sends shivers down your spine.

This thrill was the reason he loved sports.

In sports, such opportunities came only once or twice a year, but after starting the broadcast, he could feel it every time.

'Am I suited for broadcasting?'

He even seriously considered whether he was more suited for broadcasting than sports.

'Am I a fame-seeker?'

He probably was.

Indeed, "attention" is like a drug.

This drug woke Sanghyun up this morning.

It was only 8 AM, a time when he should still be drowsy after just waking up. Fresh blood was flowing through every part of Sanghyun's body.

He woke up with a clear mind from the morning.

Sanghyun immediately walked somewhere.

It was the capsule.

"Huh? Hey, right away?"

Joo-hyuk, who had woken up earlier, was surprised, but Sanghyun didn't respond.

He couldn't see or hear anything else.

He walked to the capsule as if hypnotized.

'I'm going for the diamond today.'

At the moment he made this resolution, the cheers of the crowd, which shouldn't be there, echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

Chiiik?

The capsule lid opened, and Sanghyun got in with a familiar motion.

Instead of a broadcast, a training tutorial started.

The broadcast would still start at 3 PM as usual.

'There's plenty of time.'

It was currently 8 AM.

There were about 5 hours until lunch.

A considerable amount of time.

He planned to use this time to get his senses in top shape for today's game.

The doctor's words about not being able to play games for a long time came to mind.

Because of the doctor's advice, Sanghyun had stopped practicing to be able to stream for longer.

However──

'Today...'

Today, it didn't matter.

He had a feeling.

Today, his body felt like it could run in the capsule all day.

Even if he did a light training session first, he was confident he could handle the rest of the schedule.

The driving force was probably the many spectators.

Especially the new ones.

Those who were just getting to know Almond and were curious about his skills.

If I can do it, how will they cheer for me?

The thought of that moment revved up Sanghyun's engine.

Thump. Thump.

With his heart pounding, he started the training.

* * *

Virtual free training could be linked with other apps.

The most frequently used was 'Weapon Master,' an extension that provided weapon samples, followed by AllTube.

He planned to follow someone's video.

An old video with this title started playing.

It was the video that Sanghyun had watched and admired long ago.

Originally, he played with variations on archery techniques, but now he planned to seriously learn this archery.

'Sports archery has its limits.'

He definitely felt it.

War required a different kind of archery.

The posture and form he had learned over a long period would change a bit, but Sanghyun knew that as long as he could shoot the bow, it didn't matter if it was in war or in archery.

What mattered was choosing the appropriate one for the situation, not the posture itself.

Pang! Bang!

The man in the video jumped off a wall and instantly embedded an arrow.

Sanghyun carefully followed, changing his hand position one by one.

It was clearly different from sports archery.

The strategy was to aim for the enemy's vital points, or at least near them, quickly and efficiently.

Once the arrow hits, the enemy can't move properly.

Pang! Bang!

Sanghyun followed, jumping off a virtual wall and shooting.

Four arrows flew in the air during the flight time.

It was overwhelmingly better in rapid fire than before.

However, Sanghyun's expression was not good after checking the target.

They were off by a few inches.

Only one hit the exact center, the rest were near it.

It was a small difference, but it was a level that had to be sacrificed for rapid fire.

However, Sanghyun didn't want to give up accuracy easily. Partly due to his professional habits.

In Battle Royale, unlike in reality, hitting the head or other vital points with the bow was essential.

So, giving up accuracy would mean nothing.

How can I make rapid fire easier while maintaining accuracy?

Sanghyun thought for a moment.

'What if I do this...'

Sanghyun intuitively modified the grip method of the man in the video.

He combined sports archery and war archery.

Combining two extremes doesn't always bring out the best of both.

A coffee that is both hot and cold doesn't exist.

"Hmm."

After a deep breath, Sanghyun jumped towards the virtual wall.

His body floated, and the well-practiced rapid fire technique kicked in.

Piiing! Piiing! Ping!

The different feeling of the bowstring's vibration.

"!"

After landing, Sanghyun checked the target and smiled.

"Good."

Even if it's not both hot and cold, it seems that speed and accuracy can coexist.

"Next, the curve shot."

Feeling satisfied, he immediately started the next video without a break.

* * *

After the training.

Chiiik──

The capsule lid opened.

"Hey, isn't it too much already?"

Joo-hyuk looked at the sweating Sanghyun with a puzzled expression.

Sanghyun checked the time. It was 1 PM. He had been training without even having breakfast.

"Let's eat."

He first went to the bathroom, took a shower, and then greedily ate his meal.

"Wow, you're really eating a lot today?"

Almond usually ate lightly.

Today was completely different.

'What is it? He doesn't seem tired at all.'

He had already used up the time equivalent to a full day of streaming for training.

Almond didn't seem tired at all.

Is this the same guy who would collapse and sleep after a few hours of gaming?

"Huh. I'll digest for a bit and then go in."

Almond started stretching.

When it was 3 PM.

The broadcast started on time.

- Wow, the broadcast is on!!!

- Going for it today!? Diamond!?

- Go, 'Almond'!

- Diamond... that's also Almond.

- Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond!

- I love you, Almond!

- Wow! First time watching a live stream. If you get the diamond today, it'll be legendary.

- Squeal!

- Ugh... It's 3 PM again. Still at work ㅠㅠ

- I knew this would happen, so I've been preparing for a life of unemployment since 20 years ago...

The chat window's scroll bar shot up instantly.

It was clear that a huge crowd had gathered.

Almond slowly waited for the intro music to end.

Dun...

A moment later, after the final drum sound.

"Finally, it's been a week."

Almond immediately got to the point.

"I'm going to give it my all today."

He was now with 9,000 viewers.