Chapter 5 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

2. Let's Play the Game (2)

As he chose his bow, the audience mocked him.

-1st round bow challenge hahaha

-That's why newbies are so amusing

-Gah... The smell of capsaicin is reaching here.

He felt more satisfied than annoyed.

‘I have to use a bow anyway, and the reactions are good too.’

Since Sanghyun would only use a bow even if he were to die soon, there was no reason not to use it with such reactions.

[You have chosen the bow.]

A message appeared, and the game resumed.

‘But what about the bow being attached there?’

The problem was the location of the bow. It was attached to the back of a veteran mercenary. Wasn't that person's property?

Sanghyun's doubt was quickly resolved.

“...What the hell!”

At the moment the veteran mercenary's shout, which had stopped during the game, was heard...

Thud!

The veteran mercenary's head was pierced by a spear.

“Gah...!”

Splat!

Bright red blood spurted forward, dyeing Sanghyun's vision pink.

‘Whoa...’

Sanghyun was momentarily stunned and couldn't move.

- Hahaha, Newbie is so cute.

- He didn't expect to die so suddenly.

- You killed him, you did!

- This is what happens when you choose a bow.

The audience mercilessly teased him upon seeing this. Despite being only five people, their chat felt like fifty.

‘So this is how it goes when you choose a bow.’

While Sanghyun was assessing the situation, the bandit who had killed the veteran fell.

Swish!

“Newbie! Snap out of it!”

[Lieutenant Roman of the Mercenary Company]

He was the lieutenant of the mercenary company, known as Roman.

His voice was sharp, and his eyes were like a wolf's.

-Roman...

-Ah, PTSD is kicking in.

-That mouth... hahaha

-Don't mess with the newbie!

From the chat reactions, it seemed Roman wasn't a very good senior.

‘I have to survive first, anyway.’

Sanghyun quickly took the bow from the dead veteran's back.

Click.

[Bow Acquired]

Roman glanced at him.

“A bow? Not very reliable, but... try it out anyway.”

Saying this, Roman moved forward with his sword.

The bandits noticed Sanghyun and Roman.

“What? There's another one?”

By then, Sanghyun had already finished nocking an arrow.

Whoosh!

Without any time to think, the arrow flew and pierced the bandit's chest.

Swish!

Roman finished the job with his sword.

- Oh, you hit it hahaha

- Beginner's luck.

People were quite impressed that he had hit the arrow.

Meanwhile, Sanghyun was comparing the feel of the bow to the games and archery he had done before, getting a rough sense of it.

‘It feels similar to the Olympics, but very different from archery.’

Even with just one shot, it was enough for him to understand that this bow was somewhere between modern archery and traditional Korean archery.

Most importantly, it was much easier to shoot than in the Olympic games.

“I'm getting the hang of it.”

Muttering this, Sanghyun now looked around.

‘How many are there?’

There were bandits in front of him, but Sanghyun first checked the surroundings.

Twenty bandits. About three on the mercenary side.

‘3 to 20?’

There weren't many allies left. It seemed the protagonist had to take action.

‘Arrows...’

Sanghyun also checked the number of arrows.

Only 20.

‘One chance only?’

If he couldn't get more arrows from elsewhere, he had to kill one with each shot.

“I have to kill one with each shot.”

Whoosh!

As he said this, an arrow was fired. It was almost as if he had shot it by mistake, without even looking.

Yet, it hit.

“Gah!”

Thud!

The arrow pierced the center of the bandit's forehead, and he fell.

He didn't move after that. He was dead.

- Oh, a headshot!

- What just happened? He didn't even aim, right? Hahaha

- This game is a luck-based mess. Kingdom Age.

The audience didn't think he had aimed. They were purely amazed and entertained by the unexpected headshot.

“Do arrows always hit in one shot?”

Of course not. Sanghyun knew that too.

- This game is quite realistic, so one shot if you hit a vital spot.

- Even the exact location of organs is implemented.

- There is a headshot judgment, so if you hit the head, it's a one-shot kill.

He asked this just to get the information he wanted.

Whether there was a headshot judgment or other vital spots.

“Ah, thank you for the explanation, RubySword. There is a headshot judgment, and other vital spots are also implemented.”

While doing this, he naturally communicated with the audience. He had quite a knack for streaming.

“Then I'll shoot again. One at a time.”

After calmly saying this, he drew the bowstring again.

- What?!

- The newbie's confidence is... so cute!

- Drumroll...

Despite the mocking comments, he didn't care.

He would show the results. That's the spirit of a sportsman.

Whoosh!

The shooting resumed.

Thud!

A bandit's head was impaled.

- Whoa?!

- Headshot!? Again?

- ??

It was a much more powerful and perfect shot than before.

Now he had a feel for the game and gained confidence.

‘They say this game is hard, but it's easier than I thought in the early stages.’

At first, he was worried.

The target in archery is stationary, but here, they were running around.

But to his surprise, Sanghyun quickly mastered how to shoot moving targets.

“I'll shoot two more.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He shot more arrows without hesitation.

- ???

- Wow!

- Another headshot?

- What the heck.

- Is he hacking?

Thud.

The large bandits fell one by one from the small arrows shot by Sanghyun.

“Damn it!”

“Cough!”

“Gah!”

The remaining bandits, enraged, searched for Sanghyun.

But when the aggro was about to be pulled, Sanghyun hid behind the cart and moved to a new position.

“Hey, where are you!”

“Damn it! Brother!”

“How can this be!”

The bandits were confused.

Falling in one shot, it was hard to even find their location.

Whoosh!

With the sound of the arrow tearing through the air, one bandit fell.

“Cough!”

“Again...!?”

It was like watching a horror movie. From the bandits' perspective, they suddenly became the hunted. Even though they were the invaders.

“Find him! He's on the right!”

Someone checked the direction the arrow had hit and shouted. It was a bandit with a shield.

‘Shield... It might block it.’

For Sanghyun, this bandit was the most troublesome. The shield effectively covered his head, making it hard to find an opening.

But then his mercenary comrades helped.

“Haaaa!”

Bang!

A mercenary who had been pretending to be dead got up and stabbed a bandit with an axe. The blow was blocked by the shield, but it was enough for Sanghyun.

He even had time to make a comment.

“The side is open.”

Whoosh!

The arrow, as if it were natural, pierced the head, showing its power.

“Gah!”

Thud.

When the bandit who looked like the leader fell, the other bandits panicked.

“L-Leader!”

“Oh no!”

“Damn it!”

“Damn, where are you!”

But the ones who were confused weren't just the bandits.

- What the hell?!

- What?

- He killed the leader??

- Huh?

What? Was the leader not supposed to be killed? Sanghyun scratched his head, confused.

“Is it not supposed to kill the leader?”

RubySword, who was always talkative, answered his question.

- It's not that, but usually the leader doesn't die, and it's not supposed to be that easy...

“But you said a headshot always hits in one shot.”

- But headshots are rarely hit!?

“But I hit it.”

- No... it's not supposed to be like that!?

Sanghyun couldn't understand. The only difference between the other bandits and the leader was the shield.

- He has a shield and is faster, so he dodges all arrows unless they are at maximum power. That's why he's supposed to appear in the next story.

- Crazy hahaha, a cutscene is gone hahaha, what?

- Is it a bug?

The other viewers also chimed in.

“Maximum power? Full draw... or pulling it all the way back, you mean, isn't that not that hard?”

- Then aiming the bow would be very difficult.

“...”

Sanghyun's expression stiffened.

‘Is that what it was?’

He had been shooting with maximum draw, or full draw, all along.

- From your expression, you've been shooting at maximum power all along?

- Is that even possible? All headshots?

Sanghyun had many more questions, but he couldn't just keep asking and not progress the game. These people were here to have fun, not to teach.

“I'll continue the game.”

Sanghyun resumed the game.

Creak...

Whoosh!

The merciless shooting resumed.

Thud!

As he had announced, one fell with each shot.

‘Just hit the head, and it's a one-shot kill? It's too easy, maybe because it's a tutorial.’

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He shot all five arrows, each hitting the center of the forehead.

The last arrow pierced the head of a bandit who was fighting Roman.

Roman looked back, surprised.

“...Did you shoot that?”

The game moved to the next cutscene.

* * *

“Haaaa! Die, bandits!”

Thanks to Sanghyun's performance, the surviving mercenaries shouted and swept through the bandits.

The mercenaries, with better equipment and skills, clearly had the upper hand.

“Bastards! Die!”

“Grrr!”

Swish!

Sharp axes and long spears tore through the bandits, and the mercenaries ultimately won.

“Haa... Haa... Newbie.”

One of the veteran mercenaries approached. Roman, covered in blood but with a lively gaze.

Lieutenant Roman.

Originally, he was a character who crushed many players' hearts.

He also served to announce that this game was not kind to gamers.

- Don't kill the newbie! It's been a while since we had a new player!

- What will Roman say? Hahaha

Click.

Roman put his hand on Sanghyun's shoulder and said,

“You... what are you? I've never seen anyone shoot a bow like you.”

Sanghyun, having heard this many times during his archery career, wasn't particularly moved.

Instead, the chat window showed emotion.

- ???

- What's with that line?

- Wow hahaha

- I told you it's hard to survive with that skill. I said to tell me if you wanted to die early, and I'd give you a clean death.

- Roman's praise, damn hahaha, is it a bug?

- Roman... Can he say things like that?

Originally a notorious critic, Roman looked at Sanghyun with a warm, mentor-like gaze.

“What's your name? I really want to know. I'll report it to the captain.”

Ding.

[Choose a name.]

Sanghyun thought. He hadn't even chosen a streamer name.

‘Hmm...’

He chose a snack he liked without much thought.

[Almond]

Roman called his name with an awkward expression.

“Oh, Almond. I'll remember that.”

Not only Roman, but others remembered Almond's name that day.

That evening, a community site began to mention Almond.

[I saw a strange stream today. A person named Almond...]