Genius Archer's Streaming

After Sang-Hyeon entered the capsule, Ju-Hyeok sat at the computer and browsed the community forums as the manager.

"Wow... it was quite heated today."

Once an opening was shown, the haters pounced and backlash grew tremendously. This was why being a streamer was difficult. Public opinion always fluctuated online.

Praise flooded the forums yesterday, but now they overflowed with such posts and even trended as the top issue.

[Just before Almond died, he saw the chat and instantly turned off his stream -> He came back today, caught the arrow in mid-air, and immediately scored a goal on Baek Joon-Soo's head -> This is the true picture. -> The game ends.]

The post mocked those who believed Almond had survived. They were mocking Almond's fans.

Ju-Hyeok adjusted his glasses while pondering and saved the post. He wasn’t going to sue whoever made the post. Such posts weren't suitable to take legal action against.

Instead, he planned to hand them over to Ji-Ah as editing material and believed that Almond would survive.

***

"I can just avoid it. What’s the big deal?"

That was what Sang-Hyeon said before entering the capsule.

Before starting the stream, Sang-Hyeon repeatedly watched yesterday's clip.

The arrow turned and flew back as he raised his head toward the incoming arrow.

Sang-Hyeon was curious about one thing. At what distance did the game turn off when the arrow approached? When he turned it on again, where and how should he avoid it?

Just before the arrow struck his head, Kim Ju-Hyeok's eyes moved back and forth in the game. Then, the game turned off.

Sang-Hyeon succeeded in pausing the screen just before the game turned off. He observed the screen by moving it around from the first-person to third-person point of view.

Sang-Hyeon stroked his chin.

His eyes shone as he intently observed. However, the results of his observation weren’t good.

He couldn’t find a way to avoid the arrow. That was why everyone in the community was certain of his death.

Anyway, it was time to stream. Almond turned on his capsule.

***

Viewers poured in as soon as Almond's stream started. Their number was quite high today.

It was probably because he started streaming at the usual time.

This was undoubtedly the aftermath of the short video Ji-Ah posted yesterday. The viewers showed a lot of interest in today's stream since the video had a significant number of views and a big fight occurred in the comments.

“Hi, Treevy!”

Almond's face appeared, and he cheerfully greeted them.

The grateful viewers who always started the donations came through.

While Almond awkwardly smiled, a donation came in with the question everyone was curious about.

The chat wildly scrolled up. Everyone wanted an answer to the long-awaited question.

However, Almond didn't answer.

Due to the nature of his stream, he often couldn't respond to thousand won donations and had to move on. The viewers thought he wasn't answering because of that, but Almond was genuinely thinking about how to answer.

"Everyone, it's not that. I really don't know how to answer that. This is like astronomical agony."

That was right. Kim Ju-Hyeok was facing an arrow right in front of him. It was hard to say if he was still alive or dead. Such deep contemplation could even lead to philosophical agony. It wasn't easy to answer.

"Thank you, WhatNext?. I’m still alive."

"I'll start the game now. Seeing is worth more than hearing."

***

While the game loaded, the gamer was momentarily plunged into complete darkness.

Almond closed his eyes and steadied his breath.

A curve shot that didn’t use the full force from the bow’s center was less deadly. The more it curved, the less lethal it became. Thus, a curve shot bending as much as 180 degrees would be considerably less lethal.

If Almond could just avoid any vital points, he wouldn’t die.

The best-case scenario was the arrow grazing his earlobe and avoiding a direct hit to his skull. Even if it didn’t, slightly deflecting it to avoid any head damage would be good enough.

His vision began to slowly brighten.

Almond widened his eyes and made sure not to ignore the chat’s advice.

His view gradually cleared and he found himself still in the corridor between the infirmary and the store.

The viewers also realized that Almond hadn't died yet.

The surroundings were fully clear and the game began.

An incoming arrow could be heard.

Almond didn't even have a moment to look. He twisted his neck with all his might. Or he tried to, but…

A familiar sensation startled him. It was the firm, heavy feeling of his feet on the ground.

He was supposed to be diving headfirst toward the arrow when the game ended like a soccer player headbutting the ball. That was why there was no angle to dodge then, but now his feet were firmly on the ground.

Almond had a realization.

Even the best auto-save systems couldn't save every 0.01 seconds. Moreover, it hadn’t been a normal game exit, but an abrupt shutdown.

Almond started about a second earlier than when he shut down the game. For instance, if the game ended at 10:45:32, it now restarted at 10:45:31.

In this 1-2 second difference, Kim Ju-Hyeok's feet had been on the ground and the arrow was further away than he thought.

It was much easier this way.

The arrow flew straight at him. His body was already leaning toward the arrow, but his feet were grounded.

Almond extended his left foot forward once more to support his leaning body.

His body, which seemed like it was about to fall forward, staggered and stopped. Even then, the angle was still too narrow to completely avoid the arrow. It seemed likely that the arrow would graze his lips.

Having come to this point, Almond opened his mouth wide.

The arrow tore through the air.

The sound of it tearing through the air got cut off as if he had bitten it and the arrow suddenly stopped.

Question marks flooded the chat.

"Am I alive?" he asked with the arrow still in his mouth.

Almond staggered and lost his balance, but he survived and didn’t fall. He had caught the arrow in his mouth.

"Hey, you crazy! What are you doing!?"

The class president ran up from behind him with a pale face.

From their perspective, an ally archer suddenly rushed forward, grabbed an arrow, and shot a 180-degree curve shot. Then, he caught it in his mouth.

"What kind of circus is this!?"

“...?”

Almond muttered a half-hearted excuse.

The class president twisted his head in confusion as if he was lagging.

Another huge donation came in.

The performance had apparently been too much for the big spender to resist and another large donation came in. This amount could even be too much for a streamer, but Almond nonchalantly pushed the class president aside and stood up.

He replied while taking the arrow out of his mouth, "Thank you. That was the reaction to yesterday's donation. Now, for today's reaction."

Almond nocked the arrow back onto the bowstring and aimed at the class president.

"???"

The class president’s expression wasn’t much different from the viewers.

"Wha... What…?"

The class president stammered as Almond resolutely acted.