Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 1193

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 5 Episode 78
25. The Masked King (2)
All members of the Knight Order held two forms of trust in Almond.
One was his gaming skill based on VNS metrics.
His method of solving in-game challenges through pure physical execution was recognized as top-tier even within the Knight Order, which included challengers and former professionals.
What was the other form of trust?
I would like to say it was his deductive reasoning… but that wouldn’t be honest.
‘Broadcasting ability.’
‘Streaming skill, really.’
‘That’s all thanks to Daegam…!’
Their second form of trust was precisely Almond’s broadcasting prowess.
They were all people who had followed Daegam around in Cheese Village and reaped tremendous broadcasting benefits.
Goguma and Danmuji had virtually doubled their viewership.
Even Hong-cha and Lemon, who were already doing well, had surged by over 30%.
For these streamers, whose profession depended on viewership, Almond was simply a god.
So it was hardly unreasonable for them to place infinite trust in his direction.
“I won’t tell you.”
Even at this absurd statement—saying he’d bring in a hidden master as a coach without revealing even the ID—they instinctively read Daegam’s deeper intentions.
“So this is like a masked director situation, right?”
“Then should we call up some people we recommend and have a skill showdown?”
“Oh. Perfect. Honestly, once we do a one-on-one, we’ll know for sure.”
“This is going to be so fun~!”
They had arrived at this conclusion on their own for exactly that reason.
‘How is this happening like this?’
Meanwhile, Juhyeok, who had been watching how Almond persuaded them.
Even observing this simple process, he couldn’t believe it.
‘Is it really flowing like this?’
How much preparation had he always done to persuade someone?
He had prepared countless materials, analyzed data, anticipated the other person’s psychology, and prepared countermeasures.
Whoosh!
Juhyeok turned his head subtly and tried to mimic it.
‘I won’t tell you.’
Everything was being resolved with just this one phrase.
‘What is this, really.’
Juhyeok scratched his head.

* * *
Glance.
Jia’s eyes drifted toward the CEO’s office.
For the past ten minutes, she’d been checking on Juhyeok’s location almost every moment.
‘Being this close is making me self-conscious.’
My eyes keep wandering without my realizing it.
Whenever I paused editing and let my mind wander, my gaze would drift toward Juhyeok.
The view from that direction was nice anyway, so it seemed natural enough.
‘What is he doing?’
Pfft…!
I couldn’t help but laugh.
I’d just watched Juhyeok suddenly turn his head with a sulky expression and mutter something to himself.
‘So that’s how he works.’
This was my first time working in the same space for an extended period.
It felt novel and thrilling.
Like we’d truly become a team.
‘…Is his neck sore?’
Macaron watched Jia continuously turning her head and doing pointless stretches, tilting his head in confusion.
He casually stretched as well, following her example.
What Jia considered ‘natural’ was purely her own perception.
To Macaron, it looked so odd that he wondered if the company manual had some kind of stretching routine every twenty minutes.
‘A manual? Come to think of it, I haven’t received any guidance at all.’
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t heard any explanation about manuals or how to do the work.
Nothing at all.
‘Is this just how it’s done?’
Click. Click.
For now, Macaron was just editing the way I would at home.
‘It’s surprisingly comfortable, actually.’
Since there was no difference in my work method from home, there was nothing inconvenient about it.
The real inconvenience was the content of the video being edited itself.
‘Watching myself pass out is such a strange feeling….’
The image of Jeehu Kim in the video.
It felt unfamiliar, like someone else’s story.
Being surrounded by so many people like that.
I watched the people’s reactions when I came back to life after everyone thought I was dead.
Since I had to zoom in and capture each expression myself, I couldn’t help but see them clearly.
Everyone was so shocked, yet delighted.
Some people were even clapping.
The sight of people with their mouths wide open, heads tilted back in happiness.
‘Was my survival really worth that much?’
Macaron scratches his head.
It was the same at the company dinner. Everyone was laughing, caught up in whatever conversation was happening.
The CEO was so excited that his rear end was practically hovering above his seat throughout the entire video.
‘Huh? This… is that me?’
Macaron bursting into laughter on screen.
Even he could barely recognize himself.
He was conversing with Jia, who sat across from him, and other editors from Jang Production.
‘I thought I’d look really strange.’
Looking at it this way, he just seemed like an ordinary person.
No matter how much he zoomed in or scrutinized every detail.
He was simply just another person working at a company.
This realization, which might be self-deprecating to some, wasn’t that way for Macaron.
‘It’s actually quite convincing.’
Ordinary people rarely get the chance to experience themselves from a third-person perspective.
Usually, the image one has of oneself differs quite a bit from reality.
Macaron perhaps understood something then.
What had confined him wasn’t that cramped little room.
‘Was it only my thinking?’
It was his own thoughts.
His mind had been imprisoning even his body.
Ding ding ding—
That’s when it happened.
His phone rang.
[Mom]
It was his mother calling.
‘Oh, right!’
Macaron jolts up in surprise.
“You startled me. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, um… well, my mom was calling…”
“Ah!”
Jia’s eyes widen too.
‘He said he was a hikikomori.’
Regardless of how long he’d spent in that room, if her son had ventured outside for the first time in ages yesterday and hadn’t returned home or contacted anyone until now, it would naturally be cause for alarm.
“Go ahead and take it.”
“Yes, yes!”
Macaron dashed out of the company building and answered the call.
-No. Jihu! Why aren’t you answering your calls?
“Oh, no, Mom. I sent you a text…”
-How am I supposed to know if you sent that or if someone who kidnapped you sent it… Sigh…
“No, Mom. I’m at work. We can talk later.”
-Is this really the company? Jiyeon just sent me something. She said you passed out. What is this supposed to mean?
This can’t be happening.
Jiyeon… She saw that video.
-You’re not being bullied or anything, right?
“Mom! I’m not a kid anymore….”
Jihu, who was about to protest that he wasn’t a child, found himself at a loss for words.
It was almost funny—the same guy who couldn’t even leave his room on his own two feet was now boldly declaring he wasn’t a kid.
‘Am I really not being bullied?’
A contemplation on whether Mixnuts, this massive and violent system, truly wasn’t a form of harassment.
But Jihu shook his head.
‘Compared to Aseng, this is nothing.’
His fainting was fake, but Aseng—people actually passed out there once a week.
‘I saw it in Seok.’
Jihu’s world had been confined to a monitor all this time.
Aseng (Almond’s Castle) as seen in Seok was his Aseng.
That place was hell.
People transformed into soil, plants grown upon them, then those plants used to hire more people who became soil again….
A human fertilization system that would make even the Demon King’s chief dark mage weep.
That was Aseng.
So Jihu spoke with calm certainty.
“Mom. I’m fine.”
This is a good place.
“Everyone here treats me well. I’m going to do my best here.”
-….
His mother fell silent for a moment.
-…Yes. I’m proud of you, son.
She spoke these words with difficulty, then ended the call.
-If you can’t answer again, send me a message.
“Okay.”
Click.
After hanging up, Jihu
quickly sent a message to his younger sibling.
[Hey. Don’t show Mom that video, okay?]
If she found out this company was started by two people from a place where people passed out every week, she’d never approve.
Younger sibling: Huh? Oh haha, what’s that company, oppa? Hahahaha I was really shocked haha
Jihu sent several more messages making excuses to his younger sibling,
then returned to the office.
Slightly warmed air greeted him.
Sunlight filtered through the cold glass curtain wall.
“…Summer’s coming soon, isn’t it.”
With nowhere for the warmth to escape, the interior felt particularly cozy.

* * *
“Oh, this is going to be fun! Masked Coach!”
“The Coaches doing one-on-one matches is pure gold.”
As opinions gradually narrowed down to trying one-on-one matches with the Coaches.
Almond suddenly cried out.
“Theory only!”
“?”
“L-let’s have a theory-only competition.”
Most virtual reality games didn’t have the concept of ‘secondary accounts’ anyway.
Ril especially didn’t.
Even if she could play the game for a moment, she’d have to log in with her main account.
‘That won’t work.’
I couldn’t reveal that I was Jeon-ja-pa.
It was far too obvious that she had no intention of doing so.
So I suggested a theory-only competition instead.
“Isn’t the Director’s Cup basically theory anyway?”
“…Ah.”
Danmuji seemed a bit puzzled.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to just do actual matches for the broadcast rather than theory?’
The Director’s Cup had nothing to do with actual matches anyway.
From what was shown, there hadn’t been a single one-on-one match, had there?
‘But the CEO’s decision… there must be some meaning to it.’
Ril’s skill or whatever—ultimately, the broadcast was what mattered to Streamers, wasn’t it?
What was the Coach’s role in competitions like this anyway?
Just providing commentary as a third party and some mental support.
It wasn’t that significant of a role.
So it made sense to follow whichever option looked better on broadcast.
Everyone was thinking similarly.
Especially Goguma, who was obsessed with broadcast appeal, was already grinning from ear to ear.
‘What’s this about? CEO. Who exactly are you to pull something like this? Are you bringing Jeon-ja-pa or something~’
You could feel those kinds of words written all over his face.
Danmuji shook his head at that mercenary expression and made this suggestion.
“Then should we do that? There’s something called the Ril Champs Simulator that pros use.”
It was a program only used by professional teams.
A simulator where you become a Ril Champs Director or Coach, build your roster, and command bans, picks, and tactics.
Most people weren’t familiar with the program, but Danmuji, who had been a pro until recently, was quite familiar with it.
“Oh… I’ve only heard about that.”
“But oppa, isn’t that only for siege warfare?”
Hong-cha also seems to know about that simulator, mentioning it with a hint of regret.
Danmuji shrugs.
“Well, what does it matter? The finals are a siege battle anyway.”
“Ah. Right. There’s no way around it.”
Now it’s Almond who’s surprised.
‘What? The finals are a siege battle?’
This was the first I’d heard of it.
My eyes turn toward the viewers’ chat.
-Yeah, the important part is probably the siege battle anyway?
-Finals simple mindset lol
-But do you need a Coach for survival matches? kkk it’s just a trash game anyway
-Wouldn’t it be better to pick a Coach after watching the siege battle?
Why is everyone treating it as obvious that the siege battle is the finals?
“Guys. Is the finals a siege battle?”
I switch my microphone channel and ask the viewers.
-?
-?
-…?
Didn’t you know?
-No, you watched the video kkk
It seems this was already mentioned in the rules explanation video.
-The viewers had to watch it twice and the King God CEO doesn’t know kkkkkkk
-Insane kkkkkkk
-That’s why you don’t know, eating spicy Almond while watching
-I just didn’t watch it in the first place kkkkkkkkk
lol so funny
‘I didn’t know.’
But why didn’t I know?
I watched that video twice.
‘I watched it way too carelessly.’
Well, I just watched it carelessly.
I’d never been the type to read instruction manuals anyway.
The platform championship briefing was essentially reading instructions to me—I let it go in one ear and out the other.
I was far more focused on eating spicy Almond.
“Wow. That’s a real plot twist.”
Haha, seriously though lol
-Self plot twist what is this kkkkk
-It’s not a plot twist kkkkk
-Your brain got twisted instead
Hahahahahahaha, seriously hahaha
-kkkkkkk
-Total plot twist lol
-But siege warfare is what we usually do anyway so it doesn’t really matter
-kkkkkkkkk
The viewers didn’t understand why Almond was so surprised.
‘So I have to beat those people in a siege war.’
Since I knew who the hidden team members were, I understood just how difficult this rule would be to win under.
“Then should we contact our coach candidates right away and get started? And bring one person each from the others.”
Danmuji suggests with practiced efficiency.
It was more efficient to select a coach first and then practice.
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
“Sounds good!”
Everyone nods in agreement.
Almond hesitates slightly here on the very topic I’d proposed most confidently.
“Ah… well… I’m not sure if it’ll work out right away…”
“?”
Will it work out?
Isn’t that person busy?
Such concerns come first.
‘No. Why am I hesitating all of a sudden?’
‘I was talking like I could bring them right away.’
‘What kind of amazing person are they?’
The Knight Order members could tell that Almond was treating this person as someone difficult to approach.
Their expectations for the coach could only grow larger.

* * *
Meanwhile, in a large room, a large screen displays a broadcast.
It’s Almond’s broadcast.
The woman in the wheelchair watching it tilts her head.
‘It’ll work out right away?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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