Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 369
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 2 Episode 89
32. A New, Familiar Encounter (2)
Kim Chi Warrior.
He was an experienced and seasoned Commander in his own right. He had commanded hundreds of battles throughout his career. While not world-class, he ranked among the better commanders domestically. After all, he placed within the top 200 in the Free-for-All World Rankings.
He was also famous for rapidly ascending in skill in a short period. As his username suggested, this was connected to the national inter-server competition.
Kim Chi Warrior had never personally participated in the national inter-server competition. Only three domestic commanders qualified for it, and his skill level didn’t measure up to that standard.
However, he had once participated in the national inter-server competition think tank.
A think tank was essentially a strategic research institute for the national inter-server competition—in sports terms, it was like a coaching staff.
Since commanders couldn’t prepare for every possible battle scenario, the think tank team would formulate strategies for the minutiae and relay them directly to the participating commanders.
In other words, Kim Chi Warrior had maintained close connections with the actual players participating in the national competition and had encountered all manner of monstrous talents.
Yet today, he witnessed a player displaying potential on an entirely different level from anyone he’d seen before.
“Who is that person?”
It was the Black-Haired Archer he had just appointed as captain of the special unit.
“At this level… could they be one of those hero-tier players my seniors mentioned?”
They were commonly called “hero-tier players.”
People who possessed the combat power to overturn the tide of war itself.
That person was exactly that.
The Black-Haired Archer was undoubtedly a hero-tier player—someone his seniors spoke of like an urban legend.
Gulp.
Kim Chi Warrior swallowed hard.
“Not bad at all.”
The national inter-server competition was coming soon.
Given the Korean server’s characteristics, every single person mattered.
Even if this person had simply gotten lucky in one match, it would be worthwhile to secure them and observe their progress.
“Let me investigate.”
Due to the game’s mechanics, commanders couldn’t access information about soldiers, but if one tried hard enough, nothing was impossible to find.
Especially for seasoned commanders like Kim Chi Warrior, such tasks were second nature.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
His fingers danced frantically across the keyboard.
“Who could it be? Who? Please, show yourself, senior.”
First, Kim Chi Warrior attempted an Ollytube search based on the archer’s appearance.
He assumed someone of this caliber would have at least a video or two uploaded.
They were probably S+ ranked or already among the top rankers.
It was puzzling why he hadn’t noticed them until now.
‘Do they dislike mingling with others?’
They seemed like the reclusive master type. In the past, he’d had difficulties recruiting such individuals.
‘There was that one heir to a conglomerate whose hobby was medieval practical swordsmanship.’
There were people for whom the boundaries between reality and gaming must never blur. No matter how exceptional their gaming skills, they strongly avoided inter-guild exchanges or tournament participation. Recruiting such people was impossible.
“This senior’s appearance is so refined—it’s ominous somehow. Could they be some third-generation chaebol heir or something?”
He desperately hoped the archer wasn’t that type of case. If so, there truly would be no solution.
“Ah… please…”
While waiting for the search results.
One peculiar result appeared.
#Trending Rank 7
It was an Ollytube video.
“…?”
It was a video with exceptionally high view counts, which was highly unusual for the Civil Empire.
[Japan in shock, the world trembling in awe… (literally)]
“Why did this show up? Is it a search error? An advertisement?”
Kim Chi Warrior assumed this search result was simply a recommended video that occasionally appeared mixed in. He didn’t even consider it a game video. Not with a title like that.
“Damn it. I blocked all those patriotic videos, so why is this…”
Since he didn’t particularly enjoy videos that stimulated excessive nationalism, he was about to scroll past when—
‘Hmm?’
A familiar face captured his attention.
“Why is hyung appearing here?”
It was confusing.
The person he’d been searching for was right there in this popular video?
Moreover, he was the star of this video and the channel operator.
‘Almond?’
The streamer’s name was Almond.
His in-game nickname was Aamond.
“What on earth is going on…”
He’d been unaware all this time that such a skilled player was also streaming. How was that possible?
He couldn’t make sense of it, but such things did happen occasionally.
He decided to send a message first.
[Kim Chi Warrior: Hey there, Aamond. I had no idea you were so famous. Thanks to that, I found you easily. Actually, some seniors I know are preparing for an international tournament. I’d like to invite you to join us.]
When Kim Chi Warrior sent this message, he believed the recruitment would go quite smoothly.
‘If he’s a streamer, he must love the spotlight. Of course he’ll participate in an international tournament.’
Besides, a streamer was far better than the worst-case scenario he’d imagined—some spoiled chaebol heir.
He began to feel excited at the thought of soon preparing for the international tournament alongside this archer.
With anticipation, he composed the next message.
[Kim Chi Warrior: Now for the qualifications. You’ll mostly pass them all, but I’m just informing you as a formality.]
He didn’t know.
That these qualifications, mentioned merely as a formality, would become a problem.
* * *
Meanwhile, my broadcast was heating up with talk of the national championship.
-Will you participate?
-You’re really going to do the national championship!?!?
-This is insane, a national team event
“Of course, I’ll give it a shot if I can.”
When asked if I could participate in the national championship, I gave an enthusiastically positive response.
-Wow, national representative!
-National team Almond! National team Almond! National team Almond!
At least we have this instead of the Olympics ㅠㅠ
The viewers cheered at my decision, but there were those who worried.
[CM Cheo-dol-i donated 5,000 won.]
[The national championship schedule is brutal… Are you sure?]
It was precisely because of this national championship’s murderous schedule.
“Well, I’ll just have to try my best. The opportunity came, after all.”
Still, I wanted to give it a shot.
I loved this game.
Besides, if I participate in the national championship, isn’t that similar to being a national representative?
Everyone knew I had fantasies about being a national representative.
But then—
[Kim Chi Warrior: I’m sure you’re aware, but for formality’s sake, here are the eligibility requirements. The national championship is systemically restricted to S+ rank only….]
“…?”
A loud crash echoed through my mind as I pictured myself becoming a national representative.
-What are the requirements…?
-S plus??
lol
-Well, it’s similar to a national team anyway….
and match
I already fell short at the first eligibility requirement.
‘What do I do.’
I fell silent for a moment.
The remaining eligibility requirements that followed were actually quite simple—citizenship issues, needing to own a Capsule, and so on….
The kind of things any professional gamer would naturally have.
‘So S+ rank is as obvious as those things?’
I glanced at my rank window.
The highest tier among ranks.
S+ rank was there.
In League terms, it was the level of Grand Master to Challenger—the realm of such monstrous ranks.
That was what the national championship was.
For me, currently at B rank, joining the national championship a month from now seemed impossible.
Even if I managed to squeeze in, it would’ve been a burden on them.
“Ah… I suppose there’s no helping it.”
In the end, I give up.
I’m crying / Wah wah wah
-The wall is steep…
-It’s fine, we’re just getting started
“Wow, are we meeting next year then? ㅠ”
* * *
Kim Chi Warrior waited for a response with a racing heart.
Ding.
Finally, a reply arrived.
[Aamond: …I’m C-rank, or rather… B-rank now. Either way, it seems participation isn’t possible.]
Kim Chi Warrior didn’t understand at first.
Rather, his brain refused to comprehend it.
‘What is he talking about? B and C rank… is he talking about my grades?’
Such a foolish thought drifted through his mind, and after his thinking finally halted.
“…What?!”
Bang!
Belatedly grasping the meaning, he slammed the desk and shot to his feet.
“B-rank? No, and you just became B-rank?!”
B-rank? What kind of absurdity was this?
If he didn’t want to participate, he could simply decline politely. Why would he tell such an outrageous lie?
Besides, didn’t he bring a Joseon composite bow as his weapon? How could a mere B-rank beginner wield such a weapon? It had to be a lie.
…or so he thought.
“…It’s actually true?”
When I searched the player data website, it really did show B-rank.
While this site wasn’t always accurate, it matched his claim, so it was probably correct.
And then I checked Almond’s broadcast.
“Wow.”
It was indeed real.
That game was only his fourth match.
“No way, this isn’t a lie but actually true?”
It was absurd.
I never would’ve thought someone with that skill level wouldn’t be S+ rank.
“So that’s why I didn’t know….”
Only then did the questions I’d casually overlooked come to mind one by one.
Why didn’t the Civil Empire players know about such a skilled streamer?
“Well… he’s not even S-rank. So they wouldn’t care….”
The international team never even glanced at anyone below S-rank.
“Ah….”
What a shame.
Kim Chi Warrior pressed his forehead with a look of admiration.
He suddenly jumped to his feet.
“Wait. Isn’t this actually more genius?”
To display such gameplay with so little experience. This is definitely genius.
What if he accumulated experience equivalent to S-rank or even A+-rank?
His skill at that point would be beyond description.
“The problem is the eligibility requirements….”
The only issue is the eligibility requirements.
I’d love to lower the S+ rank eligibility requirements, but truthfully, these requirements weren’t created by me—they’re system-level restrictions of this game itself. There’s no way to modify them.
There’s only one method.
Almond must reach S+ rank in this game within a month.
“It sounds insane.”
Breaking through the wall from B-rank to S+ isn’t easy.
As I’ve already experienced, victory and defeat in this game aren’t determined solely by individual skill.
Which commander you get paired with matters enormously, and the dozens of colleagues fighting alongside you all impact the game.
How many instances are there where a single individual can overturn the entire war situation?
So by the law of large numbers, you need to play an enormous number of games for your rank to properly reflect your actual skill.
It takes a very long time.
At minimum, you’d need to consistently run ranked games for at least three months.
To make matters worse, higher ranks become progressively harder to climb.
“Theoretically, a 30-win streak could make it possible within a week.”
Even as I said it, the condition sounded absurd.
Still, I didn’t abandon hope.
“…Sigh. Is this really the only way?”
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to the group chat with my seniors about Almond.
[Kim Chi Warrior: Guys. There’s someone I’ve got my eye on, but they’re B-rank. To include them in the national team, I need to get them to S+ rank. Is it possible?]
Once I laid it out in text like this, it really did sound like an unreasonable request.
[Gob Spear: What nonsense. You want to get slapped with a kimchi?]
As expected, that kind of response came back.
The following responses weren’t any different.
Water dumpling: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ bullshit
[Pasta Craft: Typo? You mean A+-rank, right?]
Kim Chi Warrior didn’t bother responding and just sent the video.
Then about 10 minutes later.
A response came back from the Leader.
[Gob Spear: ???]
For Gob Spear, who was extremely stingy with praise, this was practically high acclaim.
[Kim Chi Warrior: Right? What do you think? Is it possible?]
[Gob Spear: Nope. Impossible.]
[Kimchi Warrior: ㅠㅠ You saw that I’m skilled, right?]
[Gob Spear: …]
Gob Spear seemed to ponder for a moment before responding.
[Gob Spear: It’s possible if you’re prepared to experience hell for a month.]
Kim Chi Warrior’s expression brightened.
‘So he’s saying he’ll do it, then?’
But then it suddenly darkened again.
‘Wait. But would that guy actually do this?’
Would Almond really participate in such an intense month-long journey? What could he possibly be lacking? His streaming seemed to be going well too.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————