Chapter 38

**Chapter 38 of The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1**

**14. Game Transition (3)**

Thump—

The moment he touched the bow, Sanghyun's heart raced.

"It's been a while."

Compound Bow.

It's not a name familiar to the general public, but it has appeared in various media and is also a recognized archery discipline.

However, it is not included in the Olympic events.

Almond, who had always been interested in bows, naturally had experience with compound bows.

"I didn't think I'd be using this here."

Shooting at stationary targets was one thing, but using it in this survival game now made him feel a mix of excitement and anticipation.

- What are you doing! Hurry up and pick it up!

- It might be better to look for a shotgun?

- No, no, no, they're already chasing us, so there's no choice.

Just as he was lost in old thoughts, the sound of footsteps ascending the external stairs reached his ears.

Thud, thud, thud!

The enemies were coming up from the second floor, intent on killing Almond.

- Cowards lol, they're ganging up on a beginner.

- Let's teach them a lesson.

- Can't we report them?

- Haha.

It was a rather unfair situation, but he had no choice since he had been underestimated after landing strangely from the parachute.

Thump—

Without a word, Almond picked up the compound bow and positioned himself in front of the door where the stairs were visible.

His eyes turned cold, and his breathing slowed.

Tap... Tap...

The cautious footsteps of someone descending the stairs could be heard.

Tap... Tap...

Did the enemies have weapons?

Even a pistol would put Almond at a disadvantage. There were three of them.

Tap... Tap...

The footsteps grew louder. Finally, one of the feet descending the stairs came into view.

Swish—

A sharp metallic sound.

'A knife.'

Almond felt relieved.

The first enemy descending was holding a hunting knife.

'In this case...'

If it were firearms, he would have had to act quickly, but a knife was manageable.

He could wait until the second person descended before taking action. Perhaps the three might even fight among themselves...

Tap. Tap.

Suddenly, the second person appeared on the stairs.

"!"

He was holding a pistol.

Click—

Almond felt he didn't need to see more.

As the third person's foot became visible and the second person's head was revealed.

Whoosh!

The sound of the arrow splitting the air echoed.

Thud!

The arrow hit the center of the head.

The force of the arrow was so strong that the enemy hit the opposite wall with a loud noise.

Thud—

[Almond → KeanuReeves]

[Eliminated!]

[99/100]

- Aaaaah!!!

- Jumo!

- This is the bow of Joseon, you bastards!

- Aim is good

- Wow...

- One-shot headshot lol

- Don't come in front of Almond without a helmet!

- Jumo! Give me a hot bowl of ramen here!!

It was a clean headshot, something he hadn't expected to achieve so smoothly in his first shot in the battle royale.

"What!? What is this!!"

"Damn... Arrow!"

Only then did the other two realize what had happened.

They finally assumed a proper combat stance.

One of them pointed in a direction, indicating where Almond was. They had traced the direction of the arrow.

"That way—"

Thud.

He didn't finish his sentence and fell in the same position as his previous teammate.

Thud—

[Almond → Kfood]

[Double Kill!]

[98/100]

Now, only the one with the knife remained... but he was nowhere to be seen.

Tap, tap.

The hurried footsteps echoed.

The enemy had fled.

It seemed they had decided they had no chance of winning with only a knife.

"Run...? Should I chase them?"

Almond was a bit flustered.

He had momentarily forgotten that the essence of this game was survival, not just combat.

- Haha

- It's a survival game, you know.

- You don't have to kill everyone.

- Chase them! Absolutely!

- Even if you die, chase them!

- These kids are crazy lol

People naturally wanted him to chase them.

The enemies who had tried to gank a beginner deserved to be punished.

"Then I'll go. They can't have gone far."

Almond muttered and quietly left the room.

Bang!

At that moment, the door on the opposite side opened wide. The enemy, holding the same compound bow as Almond, burst out.

'Were you waiting for me?'

It seemed the escape was a feint.

Click—

The bowstrings of both their bows were drawn.

Whoosh!

Almond's bowstring was released first.

Thud!

[Almond → TasteCow]

[Triple Kill!]

[92/100]

A clean hole was punched through the player's head.

Thud—

Almond passed over the body with a smirk.

"You thought you could just copy me, didn't you?"

- Hahaha

- He must have liked it lol

- He's a beginner too, I guess lol

- It's so satisfying to break a team

- Why did they team up in the first place lol

- They must be like RhythmPower... they should have just scattered...

Almond also felt the enemy was a beginner. Not someone who hadn't played a few rounds like Almond, but someone even worse.

'Just a bad player...'

Even if they had played a lot, they were still bad.

This was the level of players in Almond's current match MMR.

So, even with a team against a complete beginner like Almond, they ended up giving a triple kill.

Almond nodded, having gauged the level.

"This somehow boosts my confidence a bit."

His body felt more relaxed.

He felt his true skills would start to show from now on.

"Should I do some farming now?"

* * *

The house where he had eliminated three enemies.

He could thoroughly search the place for items.

However, since it was a small house, there wasn't much to find.

He only managed to collect a few bandages and an energy drink.

"I guess I should just leave?"

- Yeah, you need to go out and farm.

- You should find some armor.

There didn't seem to be anything more to gain from this house.

He needed to move.

'The blue zone might be coming soon.'

It would be advantageous to wait in one place and let others die, but there was a system to prevent that.

The blue zone.

[The blue zone will shrink in 30 seconds!]

The blue zone covers the entire map and gradually shrinks over time.

Beep—

A strange siren sound echoed.

Almond glanced at the map in the corner of his vision.

If you go outside the blue zone, you will take continuous damage and eventually die, so you need to move in the direction it is shrinking.

'The position isn't good.'

Looking at the mini-map, the direction the blue zone was shrinking was unfavorable for Almond.

He needed to move quickly.

The sound of a motorcycle starting up and moving could be heard from outside.

"I need to hurry."

Hearing this, Almond felt more urgent and quickly went outside.

* * *

Outside, a desolate desert greeted Almond.

The map seemed to have few places to hide.

Almond, with only a compound bow, was in great danger if discovered by an enemy.

He needed to move cautiously.

He moved carefully, pressing his body against the occasional remaining walls.

Vroom—

The sound of an engine could be heard from a distance.

The sound grew louder.

Vroom—

'Just pass by...'

He couldn't beat someone on a vehicle. Almond pressed himself flat and hoped the vehicle would pass.

However—

"!"

—Ping! Ping!

Flames started to burst from the wall near Almond.

"Ah!"

The people in the vehicle were shooting at him.

Almond rolled frantically to avoid the bullets.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Bullets rained down following his rolling trajectory.

- Hahaha

- Almond's expression is hilarious lol

- Ah, this is what a noob looks like lol

- Is this spicy flavor added?

- You're cute, bro!

Almond rolled awkwardly to the side. It was his first time in a gunfight, so he couldn't handle it calmly.

"It's my first time, so I'm surprised."

Almond muttered an excuse and looked around.

'Where are they?'

—Vroom!!

The sound of the car engine came again, this time from behind.

"!"

A jeep was charging directly at Almond.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire was now so close.

Almond quickly hid behind a wall.

The sound of the air being torn apart echoed as the wall crumbled.

Crash—

'Walls can be destroyed by bullets?'

It seemed to be a powerful rifle.

Almond, who was not familiar with guns, hadn't expected this.

"Damn."

Without time to complain, Almond had to quickly move to the next wall.

Tap, tap.

He moved nimbly, stepping lightly on the wall.

- Wow...

- Yamakasi?

- Indeed, Almond.

- There was nothing like this in Kingdom.

There was a basic adjustment in the game to make it easier to climb walls, but Almond's movements were exceptionally quick.

Thanks to this,

Ping! Ping! Ping!

The next round of gunfire only hit the wall, causing no damage to Almond.

This wall was more solid.

"Damn, why can't I hit you!?"

Bang! Bang!

The enemy, frustrated, started shooting wildly