Chapter 27 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

11. War (1)

The news of the castle being taken spread to the other relatives of Talorant.

They gathered their armies to avenge their kin or to claim their inheritance, and this morning, they assembled on the plain.

- Wow, war!

- Wow, it's on a large scale.

- Wow! This is Kingdom!

- What? This looks like a god game.

- ㄷㄷㄷ

Viewers who were not familiar with Kingdom Age were surprised by the sudden massive scale.

- Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I quit after a few days and never got to do something like this.

- The scale suddenly became intense!

- Wow...

It usually takes a long time to reach this level of scale. Even the most persistent streamers often move on to the next game without showing it.

Some people, no matter how long they play, never experience such content.

For example, the gum that boasts an extremely spicy flavor was one of them.

He held onto the game for about a month and then naturally wrapped it up with "Well, next game is~".

- Even the icon of perseverance, Balloon Gum, couldn't do this ㅋㅋㅋ

- Almond did it in just a few days ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

Sure enough, mentions of Balloon Gum appeared in the chat.

"Please refrain from mentioning other streamers."

Sanghyun skillfully blocked any related topics from coming up.

"More importantly, I'll end today's broadcast here. It's a good place to stop."

- !?!?

- What?

- I was just starting to enjoy it!

- Ughhhh

- ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

- No way!

Many people were disappointed. It was an unusually early end to the broadcast, and they were about to witness some incredible content.

"Cut!"

But Sanghyun abruptly ended the stream.

He wasn't particularly tired or exhausted. There were no battle scenes in today's broadcast.

'Cutting at the right moment is important.'

It just seemed like the right time to stop.

For games with ongoing stories, when to stop is also very important.

Even if there was immediate disappointment, in the long run, this was much more advantageous.

One of the pieces of advice Dotorimuk left for him.

Squeak...

With a hiss, the lid of Sanghyun's capsule opened.

Sanghyun, who was unusually fresh, got up.

"Phew."

There was no battle scene, so he didn't sweat much.

"I can just go to bed now."

It was 12:30 AM. It had been a while since he went to bed this early, so he didn't fall asleep right away.

Sanghyun lay on his side, scrolled through his phone, and checked the reactions to today's broadcast.

* * *

On the community KingchiMan, discussions about the new route were in full swing.

[How to Max Out Emilya's Affection!]

A post with this title was popular. When you click on it, it reads:

"Destroy a castle by yourself!"

Sanghyun realized this was about him.

To max out Emilya's affection, you need the skill to solo a castle.

Like Almond.

- Crazy guy ㅋㅋㅋ

- Why are you trying to seduce Emilya, XX. Go seduce a real girlfriend.

└ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

└ㄹㅇ That's true ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└With this brain, you still don't have a girlfriend ㅋㅋ

- Just tell him to clear the game...

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ No way! No way!

└It's not that he can't, right?

└Fact) It is.

The comments were mostly humorous.

No one seriously believed they could match Almond's performance.

'Strange.'

Sanghyun, who achieved this result in one attempt, genuinely found it strange.

Why were people reacting this way?

Was it really impossible for anyone else to play like this?

'Honestly, it's strange.'

There's more than one archer in Korea.

Why was Sanghyun showing world-class performance?

Of course, there might be very few archers who play Kingdom, but there should be some, right?

They should at least show similar performance.

But from the reactions, it seemed no one came close to Sanghyun's play.

'Could I have a talent for games?'

The only hypothesis was that Sanghyun had exceptional talent not just in archery but also in this virtual reality game.

After all, riding a horse and shooting, or dodging attacks by leaping, were far from the gentlemanly sport of archery.

'Sanghyun has the highest level of concentration I know!'

Dotorimuk's words came to mind.

Concentration is essential in archery, but it's not exclusive to archers. Go professionals also have incredible focus.

Sanghyun briefly wondered why he was special but then moved on to the next popular post.

After all, he had always been exceptional, so he didn't have any particular aversion to being special.

To him, this phenomenon was as simple a curiosity as "Why is this ramen tasteless?"

[Breaking News! Almond Proposes to Emilya in Real Time!]

Proposes?

Sanghyun was a bit taken aback by the post.

'It's not a proposal.'

If sleeping together for one night... or three days, led to marriage, the world's birth rate wouldn't be a concern.

Still, curious, he clicked on the post.

==== ====

Not only did he make her sit next to him in the carriage, but he even brought up the topic of knights. He even lied to meet her father.

And they spent three days together in the castle, and now they're on a first-name basis!

==== ====

He expected her to outright reject such nonsense.

-!?

-It's really shocking that Emilya lied.

└Didn't she do that before?

└ㅇㅇ. She never lied before.

-Three days?! ㄷㄷㄷ

-ㄹㅇ It's a proposal.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, I envy Almond's life!

└Envy a virtual character...

└I really envy Almond.

└That's ㅇㅈ

Everyone was talking as if the marriage was a done deal.

Many even envied Almond for marrying Emilya.

'Strange.'

Sanghyun pulled the blanket up a bit and scrolled down. Another popular post caught his eye.

[Analysis of Almond's Bow Skills - Draw Form Rivaling Professional Archers]

Sanghyun couldn't help but click on the post, given the title.

It was as if someone had guessed his past.

==== ====

Since the streamer Almond is known for his excellent archery skills, I, who have some experience with bows, decided to analyze his videos.

Honestly, I thought, "It's just a game, so it's all about stats and adjustments, what skill is there?"

But after watching the video, I realized this person is REAL SHIT, really, the real deal.

It gives me chills.

The analysis below...

==== ====

Almond quickly scrolled through the analysis.

'Is this person a professional?'

The level of detail in the analysis of his form suggested it wasn't from a non-expert.

The precise placement of the bowstring on the lips during the draw, the right hand staying in place during the release, and more.

The post noted that Almond perfectly implemented even the subtle details that could be roughly done in a game.

- Wow, is this real?

-I watched a comparison video with a professional archer, and ㅅㅂ, does it seem like Almond is better because I'm a layman?

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I had the same thought.

└I also felt the quality of his shots was different.

└I'm the author, and personally, I think so. Honestly, professional archers might be upset, but I'm a former player, so I can say this.

└Former player ㄷㄷㄷ

└ㄹㅇ Is it??

└From the analysis, I think it's either a crazy otaku or a former player.

- Wow, a former player analyzing a streamer! Almond!

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ KingchiMan level is insane.

Former player?

A former professional? Sanghyun couldn't take his thumb off the screen for a long time.

"Who is it...?"

Professional archers mostly know each other.

His right hand suddenly trembled.

He read more of the post but couldn't find any clues about the author.

Fortunately, there were no personal clues about Sanghyun.

So the author either didn't know who Sanghyun was or knew and kept it hidden.

"Phew."

Sanghyun sighed after turning off his phone.

It was hard to tell if it was a sigh of relief or worry.

'If it's someone I know...'

He had cut ties with the archery world ten years ago. No one, except his coach, knew he was injured.

That was for the best.

'Let's just sleep.'

He closed his eyes and decided to go to sleep.

The world was enveloped in darkness, and the stars twinkled above.

Sanghyun counted the stars.

A long, black braid flashed in his mind.

Long, flowing hair that reached her waist.

In the dark universe, how could black hair be so vividly visible?

- Just end it like this without a word?

- Yeah, I'm not interested anymore.

- Not interested...? To you, this is just a game? If you don't do archery, who will? Don't you know everyone follows your shadow? But you're quitting because it's not fun?

- ...

- Yeah... go.

She turned around and burned brighter than any star.

A tear rolled down Sanghyun's eye.

* * *

The next day.

On KingchiMan, posts anticipating Almond's broadcast started appearing early in the morning.

[What do you think of Almond's siege today?]

[Almond's performance predictions]

[Will there be a mad movie?]

Those who were looking forward to his performance.

[Kingdom Age's war is realistic, so even if Almond performs well, it won't be much...]

[No matter how much an archer excels, there are so many knights...]

Those who believed that, despite everything, an archer's performance in a battlefield was limited and not to be overly expected.

And so on... various reactions flooded in.

'Good.'

Almond, who was brushing his teeth while checking various community reactions, nodded.

For Almond, who had a thousand viewers, it was a blessing to have his story discussed in the community, even if it was negative.

He quickly ate breakfast and went jogging as usual.

"Huh?"

While descending the steep stairs in the neighborhood, he ran into Seo Ji-a, who was wearing a hoodie.

This time, Ji-a spoke first.

"Going to exercise... I see."

"Ah, yes. You too?"

"......Yes."

Thinking she might want to join, he gestured, and to his surprise, Ji-a nodded and followed.

* * *

"Huff... huff..."

After running a lap around the river park, they caught their breath on a bench.

"I've completed a few videos for the new channel..."

Ji-a said while drinking the ion drink Sanghyun brought.

"Ah, really?"

"Do you want to see...?"

Sanghyun nodded.

It was natural to want to see the videos that would be posted on his official channel.

Ji-a handed him her phone.

[Kingdom Age EP.1 - Newbies Shouldn't Choose Bows?]

The title of the video.

Ji-a, feeling a bit embarrassed about showing it, looked at the river, and Sanghyun pressed play.

"......!"

His eyes widened in surprise.

The video was astonishing.