Chapter 70 of The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1

25. A Dream Only (2)

"Almond! After enduring for a whopping 15 minutes, we've finally broken the top 1.2% record!!!"

-15 minutes is in the top 1.2%? Hahaha

-Whoa hahaha

-Wow man hahaha

-What the heck is Electromagnetic doing? Hahaha

-I think the gap between first and second place is almost 7 minutes, hahaha

-Dude, I'm dying!

Yuhahyeon's ringing voice and the flooding chat.

The chat was so numerous it made his eyes spin.

[Current viewers: 67,000]

Thanks to the enormous number of viewers.

Whoosh!!!

Swoosh!

And even more weapons were rushing towards Almond.

Not just axes, swords, and spears, but also chainsaws that could tear anything they touched, and maces swinging at strange angles...

More and more unpredictable things were flying in.

Especially the chainsaws, which, after hitting the ground, continued to convulse and stab around. Almond almost got hit at first.

'What all do they make?'

However, there was no rule that he had to die. There was a subtle foreshadowing.

When the chainsaw hit the ground, the floor didn't collapse.

Noticing the suspicious signs, Almond managed to escape.

"Now that 10 minutes have passed, we're moving on to Phase 3!"

Gulp.

Almond couldn't help but feel a bit tense at those words.

The first pattern is always the hardest.

'What could it be?'

Phase 1 was weapons flying, Phase 2 was the floor collapsing.

And these two combined.

Phase 3 would likely start alone and then combine all elements.

'I need to understand it properly when it appears alone.'

When it appeared alone, it was a chance to build strength. He needed to memorize as much as possible and conserve energy.

[Phase 3]

Ding.

The words floated in the air.

'What!?!'

At that moment, a chill ran down his spine.

This was a premonition. Almond, who was certain, rolled without even looking back.

Crack!

Lightning struck.

The floor where Almond had been standing turned black and charred.

-Crazy hahaha

-Avoid lightning?!

-No, how did he do that?

-How did he do it, you bastard?

-Really, how did he avoid the first strike? Hahaha

-Is he a time traveler? Hahaha

People couldn't understand how to avoid lightning. They couldn't feel the static electricity.

"Static electricity is coming. The tiles are also vibrating."

-??? Still reading the chat? Hahaha

-Wow hahaha

-True streamer! Almond!

-Hahaha, goosebumps

Squeak──

Then, a strange metallic grinding sound was heard.

Thinking weapons were coming, he quickly looked around, but there was nothing.

'Below!'

Whoosh!

Almond barely lifted his foot from the tile.

A vicious spike shot up from below.

-Wow hahaha

-Oh, there really is a premonition

-I heard a sound.

"Yes. Like... this!"

Clang!

While speaking, Almond jumped again to avoid the rising spike.

"I'll give you a heads-up. It's not as hard as it looks. It feels a bit like a Fantasya gimmick."

-Suddenly?

-Suddenly targeting Fantasya hahaha

-Hahaha

-Hahaha

-It's working

-While telling us to survive, you're reading the chat? You're the first, man. Eat it all up hahaha

Perhaps annoyed by Almond's composure, the preview of Phase 3 ended with a tremendous roar.

Boom!

It was ear-splitting.

-Whoa! This is what a premonition should be!

-What? You can predict? How about this?!

-Hahaha

-They're coming in waves

The loud noise wasn't a bluff.

Numerous weapons were shot at Almond.

Squeak! Clang!

Moreover, various traps shot up from the tile floor simultaneously.

Spikes shot up, lightning struck.

Traps that enclosed the player in iron bars, traps that shot flames from both sides and burned many tiles, traps that made the tester jump high when stepped on...

Countless types of traps appeared.

Especially the jump tiles had no premonition.

Boom!

"Uh...?"

The moment he stepped on a specific tile, it immediately activated.

His field of vision plunged downward.

His body was now floating.

-Wow, so fun hahaha

-Whoa hahaha

-He flew up

-Should he avoid in the air??

-Impossible, really

-Dude, it's been 18 minutes!!! Just 13 more minutes and you're first!!

-Wow, so fun hahaha

-Oh, god game

So fun. God game.

From the viewers' perspective, it was.

No, Almond probably felt the same.

The jump tiles themselves gave a really fun sensation.

'If only those flying weapons weren't there, it would be fun.'

But now, he had to somehow avoid those weapons in the air. That desperate reality made all the fun disappear.

[Floating in the air! What do we do now!? We can't move our body freely!]

Almond's eyes widened.

He didn't come here for fun.

He came to prove himself.

To prove that he deserved the Platinum!

-But, really, how? Hahaha

-That's why no one lasts over 15 minutes.

-They're coming!

The first to fly in was a battle axe, rotating with a menacing sound.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

It wasn't impossible to avoid. They were flying in at a fairly comfortable distance.

"Whoa!"

Even in the air, it seemed possible to avoid.

He twisted his body as much as possible.

'Huh?'

Was it too difficult in the air?

His body really didn't move as he wanted. This was the first time he felt so inconvenient in a full-dive world.

Still, he bent and twisted his body as much as he could. He didn't know how to move left or right, but from his current position, he could avoid it.

Swoosh!

As expected. The axe blade just grazed his hair.

-Wow!

-Whoa!

-He avoided it!

-So cool!

It was too early to celebrate.

The next one was coming.

-What do we do with this?!

-Damn, no mercy

-Uh

-Enough, Fantasya!

-Oh man...

Two large blades visible among the chat.

A long spear and a sword.

They flew at Almond at a fierce speed, from different directions.

How high did they make him jump? There was no sign of landing before avoiding these.

-Can't avoid both?

-Is it checkmate?

-What if you don't die from one hit? What do you do?

Whoosh!!

Meanwhile, the greatsword was already flying towards Almond's chin.

Almond, using all his strength, twisted his body into a limbo position.

Swoosh...

His nose was slightly scratched. A simulated drop of blood splattered under his eye.

The greatsword was avoided.

-Wow!

-Amazing!

-He avoided that?!

-But what about the rest?

But the next one—

Immediately, a spear stabbed from a corner.

One might be easy to avoid, but what about a spear that seemed to predict he would avoid it and aimed precisely at that spot?

Almond didn't see a way to avoid it.

Instead, he saw another angle.

Almond's arm stretched out towards the handle of the greatsword still flying by.

Thud──

-?!

-Huh

-What?

[Oh my! Right now, Almond!! The greatsword handle??]

Yuhahyeon didn't have time to finish her sentence.

In that instant.

In that split second, Almond's arm, holding the sword, drew a clean arc.

Clang!!!

With a loud noise, a brilliant spark flew.

The great spear was sliced by the greatsword, igniting a fire.

-???

-?!

-Whoa

-Whoa...!?

He caught the greatsword in mid-air and deflected the incoming spear.

It was an application. Beyond just avoiding, he used the objects in the environment to block.

Thud.

After landing back on a complete tile, the cheers finally reached him.

[?? He deflected it!]

Yuhahyeon shouted loudly, her voice filled with excitement.

[He caught the greatsword in mid-air and deflected the spear! Wow!! Amazing! I can't believe it even with my own eyes!]

The chat window flooded with messages.

-Amazing

-Dude, you're scary now!

-Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing

-Go, go, go, go!

-Mom!! I want to be Almond when I grow up!!!! Mom!! I want to be Almond when I grow up!!!! Mom!! I want to be Almond when I grow up!!!!

-Just look at me once! Almond! Just look at me once! Almond! Just look at me once! Almond! Just look at me once! Almond!

-What, are you crazy, Almond!

-Stop being so good! Almond! Stop being so good! Almond! Stop being so good! Almond! Stop being so good! Almond! Stop being so good! Almond!

.

.

.

* * *

"What do you mean?"

Juhyeok asked the engineer.

"I'm curious about how the image training was conducted. It might help with statistical research..."

The engineer mentioned that Almond had done image training. Juhyeok had never heard of this before.

"I don't do image training?"

"......What?"

"I don't do that. Didn't I say in the interview that I was a regular office worker?"

"......"

The engineer was at a loss for words.

'Is it really just the way his brain is wired?'

He reached a rather uninteresting conclusion by his standards.

Actually, this couldn't be called a conclusion. Would any scientist conclude with "God made it that way"?

In the midst of this, Juhyeok, suspicious, asked back.

"Why are you asking about that?"

"According to my statistics and existing research, such numbers don't come out unless you've done image training for a considerable period. This isn't just a guess..."

From the story, Sanghyun had a very high probability of having done image training for nearly 10 years.

Not just regular training, but high-intensity training that could be considered overloading.

He had likely repeated very specific and realistic image training with great passion.

"Usually, people don't go that far. If they do, they might as well do physical training..."

Listening to this, Juhyeok understood.

'Ah.'

Juhyeok finally understood what the image training was.

"......I think it was special training for virtual reality skills. So, I'm curious about what that special training method was..."

Why Sanghyun was so natural when he first shot an arrow in the capsule. And why he cried so bitterly.

He understood.

And why he showed such extraordinary focus in the capsule...

The puzzle pieces finally fit together.

'He... dreamed.'

Sanghyun's image training was his dreams.

He always dreamed.

He dreamed so desperately.

For 10 years, he had never let go of archery, at least in his mind.

In the world of his mind, where his right arm was fine, he never let go.

The 10 years of not being able to hold a bow, of only being able to dream... that desperate reality created the current Almond.

The Almond who shows unbelievable skills in the virtual world.

His skills weren't a lucky gift from God.

Surprisingly, they were a result of despair.

A single gem, crafted from the deepest, darkest pit of despair, the place of only darkness, is the current Almond.

"Are... are you okay?"

The engineer asked, flustered.

Juhyeok finally wiped the tears from his eyes. His sleeve was damp.

"Ah... this... this is..."

Just as Juhyeok was about to make an excuse,

[Now! 30 minutes have been broken! The record of Electromagnetic is just around the corner!! Can history be rewritten?!!]

Everyone's eyes returned to the broadcast screen.

Juhyeok's embarrassing tears were naturally overlooked.

'What is this, not even Sanghyun.'

Juhyeok frowned and shifted his gaze to the monitor.

"He doesn't do image training. He's just a genius."

"Ah... I see."