Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 408

—————
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 128
44. Cookie (2)
The next morning.
While Sanghyeon leisurely ate his cereal, Juhyeok bustled about with purpose.
“Hey. This is the suit you wanted me to drop off, right?”
“Oh, yeah…”
He was heading to the dry cleaners today to drop off Sanghyeon’s suit. It was for tomorrow’s awards ceremony.
“Will dropping it off today be enough?”
“I made a reservation. Do you not need separate makeup?”
“…Me?”
Sanghyeon still wasn’t comfortable with makeup.
After all, he’d only gotten it done once or twice when filming commercials.
“You keep getting variety show offers. You should get used to this kind of thing.”
“Mm.”
Variety shows…
Sanghyeon felt confused.
The talk show format variety show he appeared on last time only got good responses because he got lucky.
I had no idea how it would go if I appeared elsewhere.
“For now, I’m turning everything down saying I’m focusing on streaming… but well, think about it.”
Juhyeok seemed eager for Sanghyeon to branch out into variety shows as well.
‘Juhyeok always wants to reach higher.’
It wasn’t because of personal greed—Juhyeok Kim was simply that kind of person by nature.
Always aiming upward…
But what about me? Sanghyeon asked himself.
There was no answer coming back.
“Or get it done with Jia. She mentioned booking some salon.”
“Jia said she didn’t want to go to that kind of thing. She’s being proactive.”
Puhaha.
Juhyeok burst out laughing at Sanghyeon’s jab.
“Tell me about it.”
“I’ll just do the basics and go.”
“Sure. Let’s do that then.”
Juhyeok nodded as if that worked fine for him too.
“So makeup is just the basics… the suit is this one… and I’ve already rented a van for the car.”
Juhyeok muttered while jotting notes on his phone, then rushed out saying he’d be back soon.
Sanghyeon was left alone at home.
“….”
The silence brought random thoughts. At the awards ceremony, I’d get to see Balloon Gum and Taco and others in person.
The thought of seeing their faces in real life for the first time in a while felt good.
I heard there were idol performances at the awards ceremony too. Would it be fun watching them together…?
Since it was a female idol performance, I figured all the Balloon Stars team members would probably enjoy it. Except for Miho.
‘Ah, now that I think about it… the couple look…’
Come to think of it, Miho and I had been nominated for the couple look award.
Would I actually receive something like that?
Awards like that are really just for fun, so it’s hard to know.
I got up from my seat and activated the coffee machine Jia had given me as a gift.
Whirrrr.
The rich aroma of coffee spread throughout the house.
I pulled out the almond cookies from the drawer that Miho had given me.
Even after sharing them with fans, plenty remained.
Crunch.
A savory flavor bloomed on my palate.
It tasted even better with the coffee.
‘What should I give Miho in return.’
I felt like I should give her something as a token of appreciation, but nothing came to mind.
If I asked Juhyeok, he’d probably pick something good on his own.
I leaned against the window frame and opened it.
Whoooosh.
A cold breeze rushed in.
It wasn’t an unpleasant kind of cold.
It was crisp, oxygen-rich air that carried the freshness of a winter morning.
‘The air quality here is actually pretty good.’
At the very top of the hillside slum—a brutally difficult walk, no cars could reach it, and delivery drivers cursed the place daily—but…
Since the mountain was right behind us, the air was genuinely excellent.
Inhale.
I took a deep breath.
I watched the sun rise slowly on this winter morning.
It was nearly the last sunrise of the year.
‘Next year… I might end up leaving.’
Next year, I might be able to look for a new place. Grandmother isn’t here anymore. Her ashes had been enshrined in a rather nice columbarium.
When Grandmother was alive, she always told me to earn a lot of money and leave this neighborhood. She said that living in a good space made everything go smoothly.
I’m starting to understand what she meant now. So I plan to honor her wish.
Ding.
A message arrived.
[Miho: What should I wear tomorrow!?]
Isn’t it a bit late to be asking that? I tilted my head in confusion.
Of course, I didn’t know she’d been agonizing over it for a while before finally sending the message.
Sip.
After taking a sip of coffee, I sent a reply.
[Sanghyeon: Because of the couple look?]
[Miho: Yes! Hehe]
‘How should I explain this?’
It was just a somewhat expensive black suit from what I had. Even if I wanted to explain it in other ways, I had no means since I didn’t know a single fashion term.
[Sanghyeon: I have a black suit… but Juhyeok just took it away, so I don’t have a photo…]
[Miho: Ah, I see!]
[Sanghyeon: But don’t women usually avoid wearing black at award ceremonies?]
Sanghyeon seemed worried, thinking Miho was trying to match the color.
[Miho: I’m going with red!]
Miho: The pink hair didn’t match this dress, so I dyed it black again lol
[Miho: (photo) (photo)]
[Sanghyeon: ?]
She wasn’t wearing black.
Sanghyeon tilted his head, as if wondering why she’d even asked in the first place.
Miho: Hahahaha you already decided the answer hahahaha
At Miho’s self-confession, Sanghyeon let out a soft laugh.
[Miho: Instead, I’ll do black accessories!]
Miho: A bit of a forced similar look lol
Sanghyun: Haha, that’s nice.
[Miho: Yes! See you then! Hope I win an award!]
After the messages with Miho ended, I murmured to myself.
“She’s really excited.”
I chuckled while looking at the dress photo Miho had sent. It seemed people who enjoyed dressing up got this thrilled just from attending such an event.
‘It’s almost 1 o’clock now.’
I had arranged to log in early with Cookie at 1 o’clock today to meet up.
Almond began preparing to enter the capsule.

* * *
1 PM.
Right after lunch.
I entered the capsule.
[Beginning stream.]
I turned on the broadcast as well.
It wouldn’t be proper to stream right up until the tournament, but since I’m just learning the national team rules for now, they said it was fine to broadcast.
I’m not entirely sure, but it seems Cookie also approved it.
-hey hey
-yesss free 2 hours of my life lol
-why so fast?
-wait what’s with the basic title suddenly lol
Viewers flooded in despite the stream starting so quickly.
My baseline viewer count had grown tremendously since recently doing the Civil Empire rank project.
[Current viewers: 9,000]
Right after opening the broadcast, at 1 PM, the stream had become one watched by 9,000 people.
“Yo!”
I greeted quickly and explained what I’d be doing today.
“The ranked matches start at 3 as usual, and right now I’m here to learn the national team rules….”
But before I could even finish speaking, a donation came in.
Ding!
[Godzia donated 10,000 won.]
[Please change the title to something patriotic]
“Ah. Godzia. Thank you for the 10,000 won. The title… I turned on the stream in a rush so it’s auto-generated….”
I scratched my head. In truth, most of the titles up until now had been decided by Juhyeok or Jia. But today neither of them was around. I had turned on the broadcast in a hurry too.
[Rubisword donated 10,000 won.]
[That’s not something Almond does, that’s Hodu’s job hehe]
-lolololol for real??
-if Rubisword says so then that’s how it is
-guess that’s the case lol
“Rubisword. Thank you for the 10,000 won. Hmm. I’ll think about the title while I play for now.”
I switched directly into the game barely 5 minutes after turning on the stream.
Already quitting the game? ㅠ
-we’re just business associates!? where’s the warmth!!
-lolololol classic Almond.
While most other streamers typically spent a couple of hours on interaction time, I wasn’t particularly confident in my conversational skills so I usually just dove right in.
I only had interaction time when there happened to be special events.
Even doing that, there hadn’t been any particular complaints.
-no interaction here
-cold-hearted streamer Almond;
Let me say a bit more, please ㅠㅠ
I’ve been seeing these kinds of messages in chat frequently lately.
‘As more people join, it seems like more people want this sort of thing.’
It’s true that in the past, most users were hardcore gamers, but now casual players far outnumber them.
‘I should just go in today.’
Today, I’m planning to jump straight into the game.
[Kim Chi Warrior: I’ll give you the code!]
[TUH37PK]
There are people waiting for me, after all.
“Everyone. There’s someone important waiting for me today. I’ll do a community interaction stream after this.”
-For real??
-You’re doing a community stream!?
-Who?
Wow, doing a communication broadcast after a while? lol
-Do you even know how to do a community stream?
The viewers seemed more interested in the community stream than the mention of an important person arriving.
But Almond asked and answered the question myself.
“Ah, who is it? It’s Cookie—basically our national team’s Commander.”
-Whoa Cookie
-Oh! Cookie! You know them!
Phone question lol
-Who asked?
-Are they famous?
Half the people know, half don’t.
Since hardcore users tend to dominate the chat, it looks evenly split, but honestly most people probably don’t know.
90% of the viewers here probably don’t even have Civil Empire installed at home.
“Let me enter.”
With those words, I inputted the code that Kim Chi Warrior had given me.

* * *
After the darkened world brightened to white once more.
Boom…!
Text appeared alongside the sound of a drum.
[Practice Mode – International Tournament]
The code that Kim Chi Warrior had given me wasn’t a Disworld entry code.
It was a Civil Empire practice mode entry code.
‘This place….’
Vast grasslands and rolling hills stretched out before me. In the distance, a river seemed to flow.
But there were no people.
The moment I thought that─
Whoosh!
Blue streaks of light began falling from all around.
Whoosh! Swish! Swish!
Countless blue lights descended around me.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
There were too many to count.
What descended on those blue lights were people.
Countless numbers of them.
Not ordinary people. They were armed soldiers.
Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, hundreds of soldiers had lined up in formation, and I found myself trapped in the very center of their ranks.
Massive backs and shoulders cast shadows in every direction.
-What the???
-???
-Whoa wtf
-Startled me
Moments later, the soldiers all struck their weapons against the ground in unison.
Boom──!!!
The vibration was tremendous.
Then they all let out a sharp cry.
“War!!!”
The ground trembles from the sound alone.
A heavy wave pressing down like a weight.
The oppressive force felt through my skin.
Boom──
The soldiers stomp their feet and cry out again.
“War!!!”
This time, in succession.
“War!!! War!!!! War!!!!!”
My heart began to race uncontrollably.
Boom, boom, boom!
That was when it happened.
The soldiers suddenly began parting to the sides in unison, like the sea splitting in biblical scripture.
Shhhhh.
At the far end of the path created as the human wall shifted aside, three figures appeared.
All three were mounted on horses.
They advanced slowly toward me, their steeds moving at a measured pace.
The composed man approaching from the center became increasingly distinct.
He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, perhaps slightly older than Juhyeok.
The other two stopped, but he continued drawing closer.
When his face became completely clear, he offered a greeting.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
I didn’t need him to introduce himself—I knew immediately who he was.
This man was Cookie.
He dismounted and extended a formal greeting.
First impressions.
He was remarkably thin.
His complexion was pallid, and there was something sickly about his appearance.
And yet….
“I’m Cookie, the Commander-in-Chief of this national team.”
“Yes. I’m Almond.”
His eyes burned with intensity.
“I’ll get straight to the explanation. From now on, we’ll dispense with formalities.”
Cookie began speaking and suddenly turned around.
“First.”
Snap.
He raised his finger high.
His tone of voice changed.
Not the resonant boom of a military general, but his voice through the microphone carried a sharp, cutting edge—as if scraping across my eardrums. It came through clear and unmistakable.
“In the National Championship, all 200 soldiers begin the match already summoned from the start.”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, concentrating with all my might.

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