Genius Archer's Streaming

The observer watched the match with his legs propped on the desk.

"Whoa, what just happened?"

He was so startled that he quickly sat up straight.

"How did he do that?"

He couldn't understand why the opposing knight's horse suddenly collapsed.

"Did he slide under the horse and stab its belly?"

He finally understood what Almond did after rewinding the footage.

Almond had slid under the horse and stabbed its belly with his broken spear. Most horses threw off their riders when they received significant damage, which caused the knight to fall off. He had used a smart tactic that exploited the opponent's blind spot.

"Whoa. They say he plays well, and he really does. I can’t say it’s on the level of a hacker just yet."

No one would claim that Almond used a hack for this play. He was currently in a situation where he needed to demonstrate god-like abilities. Perhaps that was why?

Almond and the knight were about to engage in a one-on-one duel live on the screen.

"Whoa, are they going to fight?"

The observer thought Almond was in a rather concerning situation.

"His judgment is... he should’ve tried something else."

A huge power gap already existed between them due to their equipment. It was like a kid challenging an adult fitness trainer.

Almond was probably thinking of fighting with any weapon he could find on the ground, but whatever he picked up wouldn’t be able to beat the knight.

"Having poor judgment is also a trait of hack users... Geez..."

Frequent use of hacks typically diminished a player’s ability to read the game. Such players didn’t need to understand the gwhen hacks could resolve everything for them.

***

However, he had witnessed this difference on one occasion.

This occurred when Jessie reappeared using her real equipment in the game. Her wave-patterned sword easily snapped the swords of the other knights. That scene surprised Almond because he knew the other swords weren’t bad.

Almond now faced the knight with a weapon he picked up from the ground that was probably worth a few gold. The knight’s weapon seemed to be worth around fifty gold.

The difference wasn't just in their weapons. The knight also wore chainmail that covered his entire body, sturdy plate armor, and gauntlets that could be used as weapons in emergencies. Every piece of equipment contributed more to the power gap between them.

Almond was possibly ahead in only one area.

His speed.

With that, he immediately kicked off the ground and charged.

The viewers expressed their worries in the chat.

Almond slashed at the knight's flank and instantly passed by.

However, Almond couldn't bring down the knight's health. Only a scratch appeared on the armor.

The knight smirked.

"Huh. You weirdo. You’re not using proper swordsmanship, but it’s oddly effective."

Almond frowned at this new feedback.

It wasn't about pride. Almond didn't have much pride in anything other than his archery skills.

However, he grew curious about the opponent's feedback.

Like most modern people, he didn't know anything about swordsmanship. He had been handling swords and other weapons based on his natural fighting senses and reaction speed. After all, it was just a gso he never took it too seriously.

With that thought, Almond decided to charge at him once more.

He couldn’t land a blow on the seams of the armor this time. The opponent seemed almost unguarded, yet blocked only the necessary parts effectively.

Almond charged again.

"If you cagain the sway, you’ll only end up dead."

The opponent read his path this tand swung a proper counter. Almond barely managed to tilt his head back to avoid it.

"Watch closely."

It was the opponent's turn now.

A sword strike flew out.

Almond blocked exactly against the sword. Sparks flew and he could feel the heavy impact.

Then─

“!”

The swords slid and their paths changed. Almond's eyes widened.

It felt like the opponent's sword strike was snaking toward his neck.

He could still react even though he was slower this tcompared to when he avoided the last strike.

A red scratch appeared on his neck.

"Oh? Nice job dodging it."

Almond managed to survive.

His health was still good, yet it was hard to shake off the feeling that he almost died.

Almond pondered while dryly swallowing.

It was definitely still the ssword, but he was at a disadvantage now.

The opponent readied his stance again without any hesitation. His swordsmanship had a solid foundation.

The viewers laughed at Almond's struggle.

"The act of slashing comes from transitioning one stance into another, not just wildly swinging the sword."

The opponent offered to teach Almond a lesson.

"That's the basics of the Lichtenauer longsword technique. I'm telling you because the game’s over anyway. You're a rare newbie in this game, but you seem to have talent… Huh?!"

Almond surprised him by rushing in again and thrusting his sword without hesitation.

Almond's sword closely swung past the knight.

"This crazy guy…!"

The flustered opponent executed the necessary stance while dodging.

The swords slid against each other and Almond almost lost his balance from exerting too much force.

Eventually, one of Almond's arms flew off.

However, his expression didn’t turn sour.

A dagger pierced the opponent's elbow after sneaking through the armor's seam. Then, Almond forcefully dragged the dagger.

The opponent's arm didn't fall off, but it lost all its strength and hung limply. His sword slipped out of his limp arm.

Almond seized this moment and snatched the sword.

He had intended to steal this sword all along and deliberately sacrificed his arm to snatch it. He had successfully disrupted the opponent with his speed, which he was confident in.

“… This, this is unbelievable.”

The opponent becdumbfounded with his sword stolen.

He drew his emergency dagger and immediately charged at Almond.

“Give it back! Even if you steal it, it’ll disappear if I surrender!”

The opponent charged with a desperate cry because he didn’t want to lose fifty gold. However, Almond didn't confront him and ran toward his allies instead. He had no intention of fighting anymore.

The opponent still had his arms attached while Almond was now at a disadvantage with an arm entirely missing.

"Why! Why are you running away!? Now of all times!? Who are you!? Did Ronderman send you!?"

Feeling utterly wronged, the knight screamed out an unknown nor ID while chasing after him.

Almond didn’t hear any of it and had no intention of stopping.

Shortly afterward…

All the fighting finally ceased.

When Almond turned back, the knight looked at him with a defeated and angry expression. A look of determined revenge could be seen in his eyes.

Almond scratched his head.

"Why is he so angry?"

Only after glancing at the chat did he understand the situation. He had essentially stolen fifty gold from the knight.

"Wasn't it supposed to drop anyway?"

Contrary to what Almond thought, it wouldn’t have. Even if the knight was defeated, his equipment would be kept as long as the commander surrendered without dying once.

Regardless, Almond won the game.

***

Almond received sixteen gold and a rank boost as his rewards.

"Wow, another victory!?"

Peeeeanuuut flew in to congratulate him, but Almond's expression didn’t look good.

"This isn't right."

He was dissatisfied with something. Was this performance really good enough to prove he wasn’t a hack user? Could such a victory convince the observer?

"Why? You won though..."

Almond left the puzzled Peeeeanuuut behind and asked, "Will this... be enough to be approved?"

The observer's response cin.

Almond accepted the response without much reaction. After all, it had only been one game.

"Alright. Let's play the next gthen."

***

The viewers were laughing and Almond wore a dumbfounded expression because the exact opposite situation from before had occurred.

“Are you serious…?”

Almond won the previous gin similar fashion, but was defeated this tbefore he could even do anything.

He only managed to earn two gold and his rank decreased this time.

"It’s this kind of game, huh," Almond bitterly murmured and the viewers laughed even more.

Almond forced a smile because the viewers were having a great time, but he began to worry inside.

He couldn't help but be concerned.

He didn't know how long the suspension for using hacks would last, but it would probably be quite long.

"It's unfortunate, Aalmmond! But you can do better in the next round! Maybe you should consider buying a better weapon? Playing too much like Scrooge can make it hard to win!"

The viewers called it a sales pitch and verbal abuse, but it sounded somewhat convincing to Almond.

Right? If he couldn't prove himself this round, he wouldn't be able to play this gfor a while. It wasn’t the tto weigh the pros and cons.

"Let's go."

"To the weapons shop."

***

The door to the shop opened and a black-haired customer entered.

"Welcome! What can I get for you!?"

The shopkeeper greeted him warmly, but the customer walked straight to one place.

He pointed at something.

"That one, please."

"That one... It's expensive, you know?"

"Just give it to me."

Almond pointed at the most expensive bow currently available for purchase.