Chapter 57 of Season 1 of The Streaming of the Genius Archer

20. Bombshell Statement (2)

Diamond Rank.

It was the rank given to the top 0.5% of players in Battle Royale.

In essence, it was the highest rank for amateurs.

Above that were Master and Grandmaster, but those were realms that could only be reached by dedicating one's life to Battle Royale.

In other words, Diamond Rank was the highest rank amateurs could realistically achieve, even with talent.

So, it wasn't that strange for Sanghyun to challenge the Diamond Rank.

However.

"I'm thinking about two weeks."

This statement was the problem.

-????

-What?!

-What are you talking about, lol

-Whoa……

-Can you really do it, bro?!

-I can't believe it……

-What, did you have a drink at noon, bro?!

Among the gamers of this era, the strongest player, known as 'Electromagnetic Wave,' took a month to reach the Diamond Rank in Battle Royale.

Of course, it wasn't his main game, and he didn't invest all his streaming time into it.

He achieved it naturally, as if it were second nature. Surprisingly, this was a new record in the industry.

It was like Usain Bolt setting a world record while casually looking back at his competitors.

That's how overwhelming Electromagnetic Wave's gaming ability was.

"Yes, I'll try to do it within two weeks. I calculated it, and it seems possible."

Half the time it took Electromagnetic Wave, two weeks.

He was saying he would challenge the current record in just two weeks.

A new streamer, Almond, who had only played Battle Royale a couple of times.

'I know.'

Almond wasn't stupid; he knew how absurd this sounded.

He was well aware of his own skills.

'In the training tutorial... my record was ahead of Electromagnetic Wave. I don't know how seriously he took it, though.'

Sanghyun always trusted his own abilities. The data supported him as well.

World record?

Since high school, Yu Sanghyun had been competing against world records.

Breaking them was a given for him, even a natural thing.

In short, he wasn't intimidated by the weight of records.

If he calculated it and thought it was possible, then it was possible.

That was Sanghyun's philosophy.

-Electromagnetic Wave took a month...

-It's theoretically possible, lol

-If you're always in the top ten, it might be possible, but you'd have to play 7-8 hours a day?

-Why are you taking this seriously, lol? Just watch

-He's just saying it for fun, everyone's taking it too seriously.

Many people took Sanghyun's statement as a joke. It was understandable.

If an unknown player suddenly said they would break Michael Jordan's record, everyone would laugh.

It's a natural reaction.

Sanghyun had anticipated this response and wasn't bothered by it.

'Just saying I'll try.'

He was grateful for the opportunity to challenge himself. He hadn't even had the chance to challenge archery.

Crunch.

His jaw tightened involuntarily. His right hand felt tingly.

Was this anger?

No.

Thump.

It was excitement. The thrill of a new challenge.

The exhilarating tension that came with it.

"Shall we start the first match then?"

Always what Sanghyun wanted.

* * *

"You're crazy... this guy..."

Juhyeok frowned deeply at Sanghyun's bombshell statement. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

I'm breaking out in a cold sweat, and this guy is definitely not normal...

"Theory is one thing, but you can't just die in a single match and still call it theoretically possible!?"

No matter how much he shouted, Sanghyun inside the capsule couldn't hear him.

Juhyeok shouted to comfort himself.

He had to consider the manager's perspective, dealing with the swearing viewers.

Meanwhile, Almond in the game completed a perfect landing.

The journey to Diamond, the first match, had begun.

Juhyeok glanced at the community reactions. Almond's posts were now consistently appearing on streaming-related communities.

[Almond's live Diamond Rank record-breaking challenge!]

[He said he'll do it in two weeks...!]

Sigh.

A sigh of exasperation escaped him. Juhyeok wiped his forehead. But only for a moment.

"Alright, let's do this."

Since he had already dropped the bomb, he had to use it for marketing.

High risk, high return.

Juhyeok didn't particularly like this strategy. He remembered Sanghyun felt the same way.

Yu Sanghyun had always preferred a quiet, unassuming life, neither excelling nor failing.

But...

'This is his true self.'

Almond's eyes in the game were more alive than ever. They weren't the same eyes he showed at the company. They weren't the eyes of someone who felt like they could die tomorrow or didn't care.

The intensity was so strong that it reignited the wick in Juhyeok's heart, which had been about to go out.

Hadn't the wick already caught fire once before?

When he saw Sanghyun crying in the capsule room.

That feeling was coming back.

'Yeah, you can do it.'

Juhyeok nodded.

Tap, tap, tap.

Juhyeok started spreading Almond's bombshell statement himself.

To increase the return, he had to raise the risk.

If it were a company, he would have called it a crazy move, but this wasn't a company, and Juhyeok had faith.

That Almond could do it.

With those eyes, Yu Sanghyun would definitely succeed.

'And I...'

He clenched his teeth, looking at the missed calls on his phone.

[Mom (3)]

[Dad (1)]

"I can do it too."

* * *

Thud.

Almond landed in the 'Armory,' the most intense battle zone.

-Why the Armory? You only use a bow anyway

-It's the Armory, lol

-Bro, you know you can't just die in a single match, right??

-Oh, nice!

-Missed landing?

The Armory is a perfect starting point for dropping out of the top 90.

There are many high-tier weapons in the central room of the Armory's basement, but the competition is fierce.

High risk, high return.

For Almond, it was high risk, low return. Since he only used a bow, the other weapons were meaningless.

It was a really puzzling choice.

-Is he not using a bow today?

-Oh, maybe he won't use a bow since he's going for Diamond.

-Ohhh...

-I'm curious about Almond with a gun, lol

-No way, Almond isn't Almond without a bow!

The viewers even thought Almond might not choose a bow today. That would make sense.

But Almond had no intention of giving up the bow.

"I'll use the bow."

He answered briefly and quickly ran towards the Armory.

-???

-Really?

-LOL, but why the Armory?

-He hasn't played many matches, I guess.

-He's so arrogant.

Thud.

Almond pushed open the Armory door with his shoulder and entered.

He saw many players running around.

They were all still unarmed.

Some were swinging knives. At least they had knives.

There were even fistfights in this early Armory.

"Argh!"

"Get out of the way, you troll!"

A chaotic crowd.

The winner here would claim all the weapons in the basement.

The first floor only had low-tier weapons.

Tap, tap, tap.

Almond quickly grabbed any weapon.

"!"

But his hand overlapped with someone else's.

"Hey, get lost."

He glared fiercely at the other player.

But this was a battlefield.

Smack!

Almond's foot shot up and shattered the other player's jaw.

-Wow!

-Yeah!

-LOL, that's so refreshing. This is Battle Royale.

"Grgh...!"

The other player couldn't speak properly, having bitten his tongue, and quickly threw a punch.

But the weapon they had tried to grab together was already in Almond's hand.

[Throwing Knife]

The other player was momentarily stunned.

Almond hesitated for a moment. It was his first time using this weapon.

'How do I throw it?'

He recalled his time in the athlete's village.

He remembered the advice of a senior baseball player. Among the sports he was forced to play, baseball was the scariest.

'This thing can kill you.'

The pitching form he showed was no exaggeration. The ball was thrown at a speed that could kill.

The satisfaction of the ball hitting the catcher's glove at 140 km/h...

Bang!

'This is how you use it.'

Thud!

When he came to his senses, the thrown knife was firmly embedded in the other player's forehead.

[Almond → OuyaMan]

[Eliminated!]

[97/100]

-Wow!

-He's on a roll. How did he hit like that!?

-Oh, now I get why he came to the Armory, lol

-What's his throwing form? Dang

-So fast;;

-Is he a baseball player??

-He's a master of bad items, lol

-Oh, with this skill, he should shoot a gun, damn lol

[Alleycat donated '5,000 won'.]

[Ah! Alleycat! Of course, he came to the Armory because he's most advantageous with bad items in the early game!]

Almond nodded at the donation.

"You're right. I won't use a gun anyway. I came here to eliminate as many as possible before anyone has a gun."

It was a truly unconventional strategy.

A strategy based on the assumption that he would definitely win the early chaos in the Armory.

-LOL

-His thinking is different, lol

-A change in perspective;

-He's crazy, lol

-LOL

-How does he think like that?

Initially, most early fights are decided by luck.

Who gets the pistol first, who finds the shotgun first. Skill plays a role less than 5% of the time.

But Almond believed in that 5%.

'When you think about it, it's simple.'

Since he wouldn't use a gun, it made sense to close the gap here.

Of course, executing it was another matter.

But for Almond, it wasn't difficult.

* * *

Thud!

Another player's forehead was cleanly pierced by a knife.

"Argh!"

[Almond → tyis09]

[Eliminated!]

[93/100]

He had a shotgun but couldn't do anything due to the range.

[Almond → OrochiRochi]

[Eliminated!]

[90/100]

Thud!

The next victim died with a knife in his heart.

There were no bulletproof vests or helmets in this Armory chaos.

A hit meant a fatal injury or death.

As a result, the number of players eliminated by Almond's knives increased.

[Compound Bow]

After finding a compound bow, the massacre became even more brutal.

-Oh, nice, lol

-He found the compound bow quickly, lol

-Oh, this timing is perfect, damn.

-How many are left here, lol. I'll take them all, lol

-I never thought I'd be this excited watching a compound bow

The slaughter began.

Many players had guns by now, but their heads were unprotected.

They had no helmets.

This was the Armory.

[Almond → AutoYongsaRide]

[Double Kill!]

[89/100]

"Grgh...!"

The headshots came relentlessly.

[Almond → koklm901]

[Triple Kill!]

[88/100]

"Grgh!"

[Almond → GaeMeoriPantsu]

[Quad Kill!]

[87/100]

"Ah!"

Everyone fell with similar screams.

Most didn't even know what killed them. The bow was quiet.

Only one player was left in the Armory.

"Die, you bastard!"

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The last enemy tried to resist with an AK47 he had barely picked up, but the wild spray couldn't hit Almond.

Almond, hiding behind a pillar, loaded an arrow and turned.

Click.

With the sound of the arrow being drawn, he fired. It was lightning fast.

Thud!

The accuracy was no exception.

Like all the other corpses, his head was pierced.

[Almond → ChainSpray]

[Penta Kill!]

[85/100]

Thud.

The last enemy fell.

The Armory was now empty.

He moved to the 'room' in the basement.

* * *

Tap, tap.

Many high-tier weapons.

They were continuously piling up in the center of the basement.

Almond, after throwing the last weapon, took out oil and a Molotov cocktail.

"This is supposed to be for the car... but it should work, right?"

The answer to his question was the roaring flames.

Whoosh!!

-You're ruthless, Almond!

-You're insane, Almond! You're insane, Almond!

-LOL, what is this, lol

-??? : This match is a knife fight. But I have a bow.

-??? : No guns from now on!

-All eliminated in the Armory, lol

-Wow, lol

-If I can't use it, no one can!

"I'll head to the next location."

Almond casually got on the motorcycle parked outside the Armory and started the engine.

Vroom.

As the wind rushed in,

Boom!

A massive explosion occurred behind the Armory.

After that, Almond easily took first place in the game.

Achieving an impressive 50 kills.