Chapter 12

Season 1, Episode 12 of the Genius Archer

5. Mission Impossible (2)

100,000 won for taking down the boss in one shot.

This mission was actually impossible.

-But how can the boss have just one hit point left? Even a headshot won't work.

-But Burka is dead?

-Burka might just be classified as an elite mob.

Viewers who had seen Almond's performances so far mostly agreed that this mission would be quite challenging.

-It's a safe investment. That's for sure. Haha.

-Poor Almond. He looks so clueless.

-Almond doesn't know anything. Poor guy.

-Haha, he really doesn't know.

-Hehe, he really doesn't.

Opinions ranged from calling the 100,000 won investment a safe bet to expressing sympathy for Almond.

However, Sanghyun was full of fighting spirit.

Regardless of whether it was possible to kill the boss with a headshot, he couldn't help but feel good that the mission had been set.

"Thank you, 'RubySword.' Let's definitely get that 100,000 won!"

Sanghyun emphasized RubySword's name and expressed his gratitude and determination.

'I'm glad the 100,000 won mission came up.'

Whether this mission was impossible or not, Sanghyun felt more than 100,000 won worth of gratitude to RubySword.

People often refer to this as a 'windfall.'

When someone puts up a large sum of money at the front, the psychological barrier for those who follow is greatly reduced.

RubySword had done an excellent job in this role.

[StirFriedEggplant has donated '2,000 won.']

[Go for it!]

For the first time, a simple chat donation appeared, not related to the mission.

'Good.'

Sanghyun knew this was a good sign. While missions are good for the broadcast, such chat donations are the most ideal for revenue.

"Thank you, StirFriedEggplant. I'll do my best!"

He waved and answered sincerely, making sure to mention the name.

-Is that someone's name? StirFriedEggplant? Haha.

-Ugh...

-Are you ignoring eggplant? It's delicious when fried.

-Can you blur the name a bit?

Even if other mischievous viewers might tease him a bit, StirFriedEggplant would feel good.

Through the donation, he felt his presence influencing the room.

The attention and response were definitely worth more than 2,000 won.

[Oregano has donated '1,000 won.']

[Show us your Oregano play!]

Oregano means 'legend.' Sanghyun didn't know why it was called Oregano, but he could understand the meaning and could respond.

"Thank you, Oregano. I'll try my best with the Oregano play."

Even before the game started, he had already received two donations.

'Is this really going well?'

Sanghyun's heart was pounding.

Some might say he's making a fuss over a small amount of money, but donations are more important for naturally popping up and blending into the broadcast.

Ten 1,000 won donations are better than one 10,000 won donation.

It seemed that Sanghyun's broadcast was heading in that direction, at least in his mind.

Ding.

[Mission: One-shot takedown of the bandit boss]

[110,000 won]

[I'll add 10,000 won too!]

The mission reward increased to 110,000 won, and the game officially began.

Flash.

A white flash burst, and he was summoned to the middle of a green forest. A bright blonde girl approached, contrasting with the lush scenery.

"Thank you so much."

She was a noble lady who had almost been attacked by bandits earlier. She expressed her gratitude directly.

Her name was Emilia, and she seemed to be the heroine, or one of the heroines.

[1. It's nothing. It's what a mercenary does.]

[2. If you're grateful, show it as payment. That's what mercenaries want.]

A choice appeared.

Many in the chat were shouting '2222,' but Sanghyun knew that choosing such an option would make the broadcast difficult.

He chose the safe option, 1.

"It's nothing. It's what a mercenary does."

Emilia smiled brightly at Almond's response, saying, "Thank you anyway."

-Whoa.

-She's so cool.

-She's beautiful!

As expected, no one complained about his choice.

"Lady."

Then, Roman interjected.

"Based on the interrogation of the prisoners, there is a risk that the bandits are spread throughout this mountain range. We plan to send a special attack team to completely eliminate them. What do you think?"

It was a sign that a quest was about to start.

Logically, it was an absurd move. The mercenary team's skills shown earlier were not enough to handle the situation, let alone splitting the forces to eliminate the bandits.

-If it wasn't for Almond, they would have been wiped out.

-Haha.

-Roman is the best in Kingdom. No kidding.

-Roman is just overhyped.

-Haha.

The chat knew it was a funny development, but since everyone loved the game Kingdom, they accepted it as part of the game.

"Sure. If you can do that, I'm grateful. Should we prepare to camp here?"

"That will be handled by the remaining guard."

"Yes, I'll help too."

Emilia didn't seem like a typical noble lady. Instead of retreating and focusing on commands, she took the lead, which was impressive.

-Whoa. Emilia has good character.

-She's amazing. I play Kingdom just for Emilia.

-Other heroines... Kingdom is Roseita's.

-Haha, Roseita is the best.

'There are others besides Emilia.'

Sanghyun observed the chat and realized there were other heroines.

In a male-oriented open-world game, this is a common setup, similar to the Witcher series.

"Let's go."

Clatter. Clatter.

Roman and Almond rode ahead, leaving Emilia and the guards behind.

There were about 20 troops.

[Eliminate the bandit boss!]

A large mission appeared, followed by a short cut scene.

Swish.

A scene of pushing through dark foliage.

The attack team had already dismounted, and the large moon faintly illuminated the enemy camp.

Roman was in the lead, quietly raising his fist to signal a halt. He whispered,

"We'll get as close as possible and attack from behind in one go."

The other members of the attack team nodded.

They spread out in a fan formation. Almond also moved to his position.

"Huff..."

Almond's breath rose in a white mist. Sanghyun couldn't tell if it was his own breath or Almond's.

'This is more tense than I thought.'

Indeed, the game couldn't be underestimated. The realism of a full-dive game was truly like reality.

Swish!

Then, Roman's sword flashed in the moonlight and was drawn.

"Charge!!!"

With a roar like a wild beast, the mercenary flags rose in various places.

The tactic was to make the enemy think there were more of them to cause confusion.

"Uaaaaa!"

"Waaaaa!"

Almond also roared and drew his bow.

'One down.'

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

A sentry at the front was immediately turned into a corpse by Almond's arrow.

-Whoa!

-Wow... I can't even see what's happening.

In the darkness, torches flickered, and the afterimages were overwhelming. The various shouts would have been disorienting. But it didn't interfere with Sanghyun's focus.

Whoosh!

His arrow perfectly intercepted another enemy.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His shooting speed increased.

[Skill: Rapid Fire. Activated!]

The skill had been developed.

While the game emphasized realism, such auxiliary skills were also developed.

Each weapon had a few convenient skills.

For the bow, Rapid Fire was the skill.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows quickly pierced the heads of the enemies.

-Crazy...

-He's hitting all the headshots with Rapid Fire.

-Already developed a skill?

-He's on fire.

However, Rapid Fire was one of the reasons the bow was called trash. It required three consecutive headshots to activate, which was a high barrier.

The bigger problem was that even if you managed to activate it, it was meaningless. The speed was too fast to aim properly.

But Sanghyun was an exception.

-Crazy!

-Wow!

-Is he planning to kill them all? Haha.

-??? : This isn't how it's done...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arrows flew at a speed no human could achieve, yet they all hit the headshots accurately.

-He's inhuman.

-Doratman...

This was an achievement that even Sanghyun found surprising.

'Is this even possible?'

Of course, it was impossible in reality. He had never shot a bow at such speed, let alone hit anything.

Before using Rapid Fire, Sanghyun actually felt more confident in real-life archery if his arms were fine.

'Crazy...'

But experiencing the enhanced speed and the game's physics, which ignored reality, gave him a catharsis that couldn't be compared to reality.

He could shoot the bow with pure concentration and aim with the speed of his thoughts.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was a state of oneness with the bow, as if the bow and his body were one.

"Ugh..."

"Ah!"

The bandits fell like primitive people overwhelmed by modern firearms.

Despite the chaos, Sanghyun maintained a mad focus, hitting the center of the forehead of each enemy.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Sanghyun himself was in a state of no-mind, not even aware of what he was doing.

-But is Rapid Fire really this fast?

-There's no way.

-Rapid Fire just gets as fast as you can control.

This shooting speed was possible because Sanghyun's concentration was among the best in the world.

[Skill ended]

After 10 seconds of rapid fire, no bandits were left.

And Sanghyun said something that would make other players explode.

"Everyone, the bow in Kingdom is better than I thought."

-That's only good for you.

-Almond is Antoinette...

-Haha, really.

-How many streamers have given up on the bow challenge...

The chat was filled with various curses, envy, and criticism.

[CharmingSlime has donated '1,000 won.']

[Trickster...]

[StirFriedEggplant has donated '1,000 won.']

[Is this really your first time?]

[ThirtyMosol has donated '1,000 won.]

[Please say you don't have a girlfriend.]

"Thank you, everyone. Mosol, I don't have a girlfriend. Don't worry. CharmingSlime, thank you. StirFriedEggplant, thank you again!"

Sanghyun smiled while expressing his gratitude.

He couldn't help but laugh.

'Really fun.'

It wasn't just about the money; he was truly enjoying the full-dive virtual reality game.

With all the praise, who wouldn't feel good?

"Almond, you're really amazing! This is the highest level in the empire, isn't it!"

Even the picky veteran Roman was always like an angel to Sanghyun.

-There's definitely something wrong with the Roman algorithm.

-What's up with his tone?

-What is this? Haha.

-New viewers are shocked. Haha.

New viewers were always surprised by how Roman treated Sanghyun.

[CharmingSlime has donated '5,000 won.']

[What? Why is it already over? What about the boss?]

"Huh?"

Sanghyun also realized something was off. He was supposed to kill the boss, so why was it ending?

Then,

"Captain! There's a body that looks like the leader here!"

A soldier lifted the body of the bandit leader.

A single arrow was embedded in the center of his forehead.

-What?

-????

-Damn...

-Oh, Malfoy... Shut up.

-Impossible.

-You're kidding!

The chat was filled with reactions of shock.

Many even denied reality.

-There's no way he hit a headshot. Haha.

-The boss can't be killed with a headshot.

-He must have taken five headshots. It's impossible to kill in one.

They weren't entirely baseless. Among Kingdom players, there was a saying that "the boss can't be killed with one headshot." They used this as their basis.

-But how did the boss die without even being seen? Haha, it's possible.

-But if it wasn't a one-shot kill, the mission is invalid, right?

-Yeah...

-It was an impossible mission from the start.

However, this basis was shattered by the concept of a perfect shot, which was only rumored to exist, and through the testimony of a quite authoritative figure.

[AcornJelly has donated '100,000 won.]

[It was a one-shot kill. A perfect shot is a one-shot kill on the boss too!]

The mention of the controversial perfect shot, combined with Acorn's donation, which was rumored to be a collab, made the chat explode.

-There's no such thing. Haha.

-He's still obsessed with that.

-Sigh, just give it up, Acorn... Haha.

-Haha, the perfect shot exists!

-Perfect shot fans, gather!

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