Chapter 50 of Season 1 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

17. Escape from Hako (3)

During the time when Sanghyun was being groomed as a national representative.

Although he didn't stay for long due to an accident, he had a period when he lived in the athletes' village.

At that time, he was a promising young talent who set a new national record in domestic competitions at the youngest age.

Moreover, his outstanding appearance guaranteed him stardom.

If he performed well at the Olympics, which the entire nation would be watching, it was obvious to anyone that he would instantly become a star.

Perhaps because of this?

Or was it because Sanghyun's personality was quite gentle at the time?

There were always many seniors who called him.

"Hey, Sanghyun. Want to play soccer at lunch today?"

The hierarchical structure among seniors and juniors had largely disappeared after the major association scandal 10 years ago, but seniors were still a formidable presence.

However, Sanghyun was quite beloved by the seniors.

Of course, in the sports world, the way they "loved" him was quite aggressive.

'National soccer players asking me to play soccer at lunch... It's madness, madness.'

For example, a soccer player inviting him to play soccer at lunch, or a basketball player inviting him to play basketball.

"Sanghyun. How about basketball at lunch today? I saw you have a great talent as a shooting guard. Is it because you're an archer?"

Sanghyun almost blurted out, "Well, it's because you guys let me play," but he always answered like this, thinking such opportunities were rare.

"Sure."

The seniors' play was extremely harsh. He always ended up using all his energy, both physical and mental.

"Hey, Sanghyun! Are you tired from this? Your shots were really disappointing just now. Do you need to defend more?"

"Wow. Another three-pointer? Try shooting without a screen."

Sanghyun, drenched in sweat, shook his head.

"Huff... huff... Is this even possible?"

The seniors seemed to find his growth or suffering amusing, and they kept encouraging him.

"Hey, just try it?"

"Defend!"

It was natural to be exhausted after playing with these team sport seniors.

No wonder the coach even told him not to exercise at lunch.

However, their harsh "loving" behavior wasn't entirely bad.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Huff, huff... Four defenders...?"

While dribbling inside the penalty box, Sanghyun was looking for a place to pass.

With four defenders standing in front of him, he had no confidence in breaking through.

Moreover, all four were national team defenders.

"Hey! Sanghyun! No place to pass! Just get past them!"

"Really? How exactly!?"

"Just turn your upper body! Fool the opponent! Don't you know a feint? Feint!"

'...That was a feint. The feint?'

For Sanghyun, who only did archery, it was an unfamiliar concept. After all, in archery, there's no one to fool except the referee.

But after hearing this, he realized that the many moves he had been subjected to by the seniors were actually feints.

"Trying to pass without even attempting to get past them!? Just get past them and shoot!"

A senior shouted again at Sanghyun, who was still hesitating.

Sanghyun recalled the moves he had been subjected to.

Not just the seniors, but the dribbling moves shown by top attackers in the Premier League, La Liga, and other leagues.

"!"

Whish──

His upper body began to twist at a subtle angle.

His lower body, which was about to kick the ball, remained the same.

"?! "

Two defenders tripped over their own feet.

Sanghyun's unexpected play was a significant factor, but...

"Oh, damn...?"

The senior who had instructed the move was also surprised by how Sanghyun, for those brief 5 seconds, executed the feint as if possessed by a player from an overseas league.

It could have been a coincidence.

"Shit...!"

"What?"

The remaining two defenders also left a gap in the same way.

It didn't seem to be a coincidence.

The opposing team's mouths dropped open.

A smile of joy spread across Sanghyun's face.

"Done...?"

Just as he was about to take a shot, the goalkeeper appeared from behind the defenders and lunged forward. Caught off guard by the goalkeeper's sudden appearance, Sanghyun helplessly lost the ball.

"Ah..."

The senior patted his shoulder.

"Damn, you almost did it. See, it works when you try, right?"

"That's a shame."

"At this level, you're a real madman, kid. We're the national team, you know?"

"Haha..."

Ah, right.

Sanghyun scratched his head, embarrassed.

It was the same with basketball.

"Okay. There was no opportunity for your teammate to set a screen just now, right? In that case, you need to create your own space."

"I'm not very good at dribbling..."

"Of course, your dribbling is less stable than ours. But anyone can do it for a moment. Just watch."

A senior from the national basketball team took a shooting stance at the three-point line. The ball seemed about to fly through the air and swish into the basket.

It was a sharp shooting stance.

However.

Thud...!

The ball bounced off the ground and rose.

"?"

From the shooting stance, he naturally transitioned to a dribble and moved to the side.

It happened in an instant.

"By feinting with this move, the defender will leave a gap even if they try to block."

The senior pointed to his head with his index finger.

"You don't really need to create space with your dribbling. You just need to create it in their minds."

"Wow..."

"But the opponent is a pro. To fool them, you need to act with real intent. The angle of your hips, eye contact, everything is part of the deception."

'Wow... But why are you telling me this?'

If he were a promising basketball player, it would be a very useful lesson.

But for an archer, it was completely useless advice.

He thought he might use it to throw a lighter at Park Bu-jang later.

* * *

'But I never thought I'd use it here.'

Sanghyun, or Almond, smiled as he recalled those days.

Four players charging at him, four gun barrels.

Almond had only arrows and a bow.

Moreover, this was outside the Blue Zone. If time dragged on, everyone would die.

He had to break through these four defenders and eliminate them all.

- Damn! How do I get out of this?

- Wow, those trolls lol

- Are they trying to die?!

- This is insane.

Creak.

Almond drew his bow and aimed at the enemy.

His sharp gaze, straight posture, and powerful full draw made it seem like he could release an arrow at any moment.

'I'm shooting!'

'I need to deal with this quickly!'

'Now...!'

Click─

The triggers of the guns aimed at Almond moved.

At that moment, Almond had already lowered his bow and flattened himself on the ground.

Boom!!!

Four gun barrels spewed fire simultaneously.

But Almond was already flat on the sand, and their bullets flew into the air.

Not just into the air.

Pew pew pew!

"Choke!"

"Mad!"

The misdirected bullets tore into each other.

The karma of four people surrounding and shooting at one person.

- lol What are they doing!?

- lol

- I'm going to die laughing. I fell off my bed lol

To the viewers, it looked incredibly foolish.

Indeed, the Stones players were fools. But it was largely due to Almond's simple feint.

- Wow. That feint was insane.

- Noobs. Almond made all of this happen.

- Where does this sense come from? It's only the second round.

This kind of sense play was a talent possessed by world-class athletes.

A legendary soccer player was so skilled at this that the defenders would fall over while the audience saw him just glide by.

It was an impossible feat, but some viewers saw the player's dribble overlap with what just happened.

- Talent??

- No joke, really.

- Almost Messi-level feint.

- It's broken.

The overlap with a specific team sport scene was not a coincidence. It was a play Almond learned during his time in the athletes' village.

'This works. As expected.'

The seniors who taught him these plays were already successfully building careers as national team members or in European leagues.

In other words, he had inadvertently learned from the best.

So these Stones players, like ghosts, couldn't help but be fooled.

Instead of blaming the ghosts, they cursed each other.

After all, they weren't a team.

"Damn, why are we shooting at each other!"

"Shut up, man!"

Two of the enemies were already dead, and the remaining two shouted in frustration, but it didn't last long.

"You, you troll...!"

Pew!

Almond, who had secured his position, already had an arrow through the forehead of one.

Thud.

A body trembled and fell.

'Next...'

Almond nocked an arrow from his mouth and immediately shot it.

Whish──

The arrow, which flew in the blink of an eye, pierced the nose of another.

"Choke!!"

The enemy fell as if hit by a giant steel ball.

[Almond → HuchiHuchi]

[Eliminated!]

[Almond → akd01]

[Double Kill!]

[74/100]

Tap, tap.

Almond, who lightly shook off the sand from his body.

"Huh. Those trolls..."

He muttered this once and immediately ran into the Blue Zone.

- Wow

- So cool... Almost like a Western movie.

- How does he shoot arrows faster than reloading bullets! lol

- Ah. Putting arrows in his mouth is so cool ㅠㅠ

- Ah, ah. This is the deep part. There seems to be no way out thanks to Almond! We're all doomed!

Crackle...

Almond, who entered the space protected by the electromagnetic field.

He panted and checked his stamina.

Even the calm Almond found it hard to maintain his composure.

"Huh. I have to use a first-aid kit... If I do this, isn't the point of farming lost?"

- lol Did you think there would be four trolls? lol

- lol

- It's the same, lol

- Really, lol

- This is Stones

The damage he took outside the Blue Zone was already beyond what a first-aid kit could heal.

In other words, the effort of farming outside the Blue Zone was in vain.

After using the first-aid kit, Almond slung his compound bow and headed to the next location.

"This game... isn't easy."

However, contrary to his words, the game became much easier after that.

* * *

"Wow."

In the dark room, Kim Joo-hyuk, who had forgotten to turn on the lights, stared at the monitor.

His mouth was open so wide that saliva was dripping, and he looked like a dazed ghost.

'...'

Joo-hyuk's face was so shocked.

Surprisingly, what shocked him was not Almond's play.

Almond was still just moving and hadn't encountered any significant enemies.

Joo-hyuk's eyes were not on Almond at all.

He was staring intently at the chat window in the lower right corner of the screen.

[Current Viewers: 5,205]

Breaking the 5,000 viewer mark, one of the walls for professional streamers.

From this point on, it was possible to sustain a living solely from streaming income, including streamers and editors.

And quite comfortably.

'Hey... Now we just need to take off!'

Joo-hyuk wiped his eyes and clenched his fist.

At the same time, the shadow of his father flashed in his mind.