Almond remained calm even after six successful curve shots.
— This guy never lets his guard down!?
— Almond is never careless.
— For real, he doesn't let off at all.
— If I made a shot like that, I'd scream and be impressed with myself.
Carelessness was the farthest emotion from Sang-Hyeon. He came from a place where a single arrow determined whether he ended up in heaven or hell. He took pride in being one of the best in the world at remaining calm in tense situations. His ability to not get excited had been embedded in him throughout his life.
Almond simply focused on the next target despite the successful shots.
'More will come for sure because of the loud noise.'
Players would swarm this place because of the blue zone's location, the loud noises, and the care package. At the very least, they would be curious to see what happened.
Almond would hunt them the moment they tried to peek.
He could hear footsteps in the tall grass.
The hypersensitive Almond could feel it.
He looked intently through the grass for the player approaching.
He spotted someone on the right with their gun ready behind a tree. It looked like they were aiming for Almond, but how did they find him with his ghillie suit on? Had the opponent watched the fight from earlier?
Almond didn't have time to think.
He rolled over and shot his bow. He lightly shot like a boy throwing a softball, but it was still deadly.
The gun fired as the arrow struck. The bullets landed at Almond’s previous location. Then the opponent collapsed.
— I can't even see how fast he shot!
— He got even quicker.
— Wait, there was a person there?
— How did he see him?
— How did that guy see Almond? Diamond is sure different.
— Just a bunch of monsters.
Almond put up a finger to quiet the viewers even though the enemies wouldn’t be able to hear them.
"There's another one…"
He heard more footsteps, but they came from the left this time.
The enemy shot at Almond first. His location had been revealed from the last encounter.
Almond lightly stepped all over the place while shooting his bow. He looked awkward before, but now he did it naturally in one smooth motion.
Was it because of that? Despite his aggressive movements, his shots were powerful enough to break the opponent's helmet.
The enemy shook from the arrow's impact as two more flew toward him.
Every arrow landed on the opponent's head.
Almond had instantly fired three arrows in mid-air.
— Wait, was this an action game?
— I think he's actually quicker than a gun now.
— I-I think something's wrong with the game!
— Hey! We said to play Battle Large, not LIL!
— Is he doing martial arts?
— Isn't this like that old game Guns Online?!
Afterward, enemies continued coming out left and right.
However, Almond flew around and killed all of them.
Finally, the last enemy died in an anticlimactic fashion and the game ended.
Almond's favorite text appeared.
He also received a hefty amount of mission rewards.
[1000 won per kill Mission Success!]
[10,000 won per kill Mission Success!]
Treevy's system automatically calculated the missions.
[297,000 won will be paid out.]
Almond killed 27 of the 30 remaining players after the missions began. As a result, he earned almost 300,000 won.
ShyNapoleon cried in the chat.
— Hey, shyboy. Don't cry.
— Hahaha It's good as long as you had fun watching, right?
— These guys are so mean.
As Plato said, the beginning was the most important part. Almond easily achieved three wins in a row and still seemed to be in prime condition.
A victory meant finishing in the top ten. He won first place in two matches and unfortunately placed tenth in his most recent match after a stream sniper killed him.
"Ah, dealing with stream snipers is a pain," he complained after the game.
Good news awaited him though.
[The Diamond promotion matches have begun!]
He accumulated enough points to start the promotion matches.
"Oh, I still got into the promotion matches after getting tenth. That's good, right?"
— LOL! It's good anyways.
— For real, it's worth it.
— But tenth... it was still so close!
— What can you do about stream snipers?
— Yeah, he suddenly died. I wonder who it was?
— There are so many good players...
— Is this what high platinum looks like?
— Stream snipers with good equipment can't be beaten.
A well-equipped stream sniper had killed Almond, but that didn't faze him. Even the world's best player could end up last if they got unlucky.
'I just need to win first for the matches that matter.'
For example, he needed to win first in the upcoming promotion matches. There would be five rounds and he had to win first in at least two.
'I should get ready...'
He took a break and talked to the viewers. A message appeared as he prepared to enter the queue again.
[Ju-Hyeok: Aren't you going to eat?]
Ju-Hyeok sent him a message.
Sang-Hyeon checked the time. It was 7 P.M. and dinnertime already. He did feel hungry now that he thought about it. No wonder he never ate properly.
'My win streak broke and I lost my tempo. Should I just eat before continuing?'
It may have been better to continue if he was on a winning streak, but sometimes it was better to take a small break with his current tempo.
"I'll eat first before the promotion matches."
— Let's eat together!
— Mukbang! Mukbang! Mukbang! Mukbang! Mukbang! Mukbang!
Almond didn't expect them to want a mukbang. He thought for a moment.
[SorsoBread has d 5000 won.]
[Show us your mukbang!]
[LittleGirl has d 3000 won.]
[Oppa, this is my weekly allowance. Please, let's eat together!]
He even received donations pleading to eat with him. He wanted to accept their request, but needed more time to prepare. He didn’t have a camera or mic setup. As of now, he could only stream inside the capsule.
"Ah... A mukbang will be..."
[EggPlant has d a whopping 100,000 won!]
— EggPlant's honest punch.
— I see, honesty works everywhere.
— LOL I think he changed up his words.
"B-But there's no equipment. I'll ask my manager, but no guarantees!" Almond reassured his viewers and left the capsule.
The capsule lid opened and Almond walked out drenched in sweat.
'I'm not sweating that much today.'
This indicated he was in good condition. Previously, he would be drenched after one round, but it felt like a light jog today.
"Mukbang?" Ju-Hyeok asked and turned around from his monitor.
"Yeah, is it possible?"
"Of course, it's possible. As long as you're okay with it."
Ju-Hyeok seemed happy to hear. A mukbang was one of the best ways for streamers to communicate with their viewers. It sounded like good news to him, who always contemplated ways to increase the business.
However, Sang-Hyeon had one problem.
"But... I don't have a camera. What should we do?"
Ju-Hyeok confidently smiled despite Sang-Hyeon’s worry.
"I know, but I already thought of something. Let’s stream it outdoors."
"You don't have a camera, so the quality will be low anyways. Might as well stream outdoors using a phone."
Sang-Hyeon had seen it before with streamers carrying around a selfie stick.
'Who would've thought I'd be doing that.'
He was a little hesitant.
"What about the food?"
"But wouldn't that be a little bothersome for the restaurant?"
He didn't like the thought of eating out while streaming.
"It won't be bothersome. Instead, I bet he'd be thankful."
"The Oh Gang-Woo kimchi stew place in Hoogye."
Sang-Hyeon also thought that place would be perfect. It should be fine there.
"Then let me get a mask ready."
Sang-Hyeon packed a mask to avoid repeating his previous mistake.
Meanwhile, Ju-Hyeok made a quick call, probably to the advertisers.
"Yes, yes. We’ll come by since the opportunity came up. Haha, we're excited too..."
All seemed to go well judging from the conversation. Ju-Hyeok opened the door after Sang-Hyeon wore his mask.
"Alright, let's go! Our first ad!"
"Welcome to our ten thousand year old tradition! Hell's taste! Oh Gang-Woo's Kimchi Stew!!!"
Loud shouts greeted the three of them. That's right. Seo Ji-Ah also joined them after Ju-Hyeok texted her and asked if she wanted to eat. She quickly came over.
Seo Ji-Ah was also fine with them streaming and decided to wear a hood while eating.
"The same order as last time... and no alcohol, okay?" Ju-Hyeok told Ji-Ah.
"Of course, I know that much."
Ji-Ah looked away, a little embarrassed from the last time.
"Good. Can we get three orders of the nine-thousand hell kimchi stew?"
The store manager, Oh Dong-San, appeared as the server collected their menus.
"Wow! You're really here!"
As Ju-Hyeok expected, the manager looked happy to see them.
"I heard from the CEO that you were coming! You’re shooting a promotion at our store! Hahahaha!"
Oh Dong-San's expression, full of small wrinkles, brightened up. He looked genuinely happy.
Seeing him reassured Sang-Hyeon as well.
'Well, it doesn't look like we'll be an inconvenience...'
He awkwardly took out a selfie stick and could sense others staring at him.
"K-Kumph. I really can't get used to this."
"Hey, it's your job now. Just do it."
Sang-Hyeon nodded and turned on his stream from his phone.
[Mobile streaming has started!]
He began streaming outdoors for the first time.