Chapter 57: Surprise Annoucement (2)
Only the top 0.5% of players in Battle Large?reached diamond rank. It was one of the highest achievable ranks for casual players.
Master and grandmaster ranks existed above diamond, but those weren’t achievable unless someone poured their entire life into the game. Most amateurs, even the skilled ones, would only reach diamond at best.
Sang-Hyeon announcing that he would reach diamond wasn't too farfetched.
However...
"I think it’ll take around two weeks to reach."
— ???
— Sorry?!
— What are you talking about?
— No...
— Bruhhh…Can you back up your words?!
— This guy is nuts...
— Are you drunk or something?!
One of the best gamers of the century, JeonJaPa, took a month to reach diamond in Battle Large.
Of course, he hadn't spent all his time streaming or playing the game. He reached diamond by casually and naturally playing, but still set the industry record. It was like Usain Bolt setting a world record while having the luxury to look back during the race. JeonJaPa's skills were miles ahead of everyone else.
"Yes, I’ll try to reach it in two weeks. It seemed possible when I calculated it."
A new streamer, who only played two rounds of Battle Large,?announced that he would reach diamond two times faster than JeonJaPa and set a new world record.
'I'm aware.'
Almond wasn't stupid. He knew how preposterous that sounded. However, he was even more aware of his skills and capabilities.
'I was ahead of JeonJaPa in the training tutorial. To be fair, I don't know how hard he was trying."?
As always, Sang-Hyeon trusted in his abilities. The records backed him up as well.
World record? Sang-Hyeon had been battling to achieve world records since high school. To break the record was only natural for him.
To put it simply, he had always been encouraged to break records. It made sense and was achievable when he calculated it. That was Sang-Hyeon's philosophy and all he needed.
— It took JeonJaPa a month...
— Logically, it's possible.
— Theoretically, it'd be possible if he got top ten in every game. But he'd have to play around 7-8 hours every day.
— Why are you guys so serious? Just watch him.
— He's saying it as a joke. Don't take him seriously.
Some understandably passed off Sang-Hyeon’s declaration as a joke. It sounded like a no-name basketball player announcing that he would break Michael Jordan's records. Anyone would laugh at them.
That was just how the world worked and Sang-Hyeon expected that. Their reactions didn’t affect him.
'At least I have the opportunity to challenge it."
Sang-Hyeon appreciated the chance to even break the record because he no longer had that opportunity in archery.
Clench.
It felt like his right arm shook when he tightly clenched his teeth.
Was this anger? No.
Thump.
It was excitement, which came from the opportunity to challenge new things. He felt an electrifying tension from such a challenge.
"Should I start my first round?"
Sang-Hyeon always sought this feeling.
***
"This guy's finally gone insane..."
Ju-Hyeok’s expression darkened when he heard Sang-Hyeon's announcement. He wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead.
"It's possible in theory? My ass. Is it possible in theory to not die a single time?!"
Sang-Hyeon couldn't hear him inside the capsule no matter how much he shouted. Ju-Hyeok only shouted to satisfy himself.
Sang-Hyeon should also take his manager into consideration, who always busily deleted negative comments during the stream.
Almond finished parachuting onto the ground. The first round on the road to diamond had begun.
Ju-Hyeok glanced at the community comments. Now, other streaming community pages were frequently mentioning Almond too.
[Almond's journey to beating the diamond record!]
[Announcing he would achieve it in two weeks!]
“Sigh…”?Ju-Hyeok brushed back his hair. "Alright, let's do this."
Sang-Hyeon already spilled the beans, so Ju-Hyeok might as well use it as marketing.
‘High-risk, high-reward.’
Ju-Hyeok wasn't fond of this strategy and, if he recalled, neither was Sang-Hyeon.
Sang-Hyeon didn't care whether he was liked or hated. He preferred to live a neutral life.
However...
'This is his true self.'
Almond's eyes looked more alive than ever. This wasn't the same gaze he had while working as a salaryman. It wasn't those dead, soulless eyes he once had.
Sang-Hyeon's burning spirit also reignited Ju-Hyeok's dry, dying heart.
Didn't Sang-Hyeon already light up his spirit once? He felt a similar sensation when he saw Sang-Hyeon cry in the capsule room.
'Yeah, you can do it if it’s you.' Ju-Hyeok nodded.
Tadadak.
He began spreading Almond's announcement as much as he could to raise the stakes for an even greater outcome. It would be insane for a company to do this, but thankfully they weren’t one.
Ju-Hyeok believed that Almond could do it.
Yu Sang-Hyeon's eyes said that he would.
'And me too...'
Ju-Hyeok checked his missed calls and gritted his teeth.
[Mom (3)]
[Dad (1)]
"I can do it too."
***
Thud.
Almond dropped into the most competitive area, the Arsenal.
— Why did you drop into the Arsenal? You only use the bow.
— The Arsenal? This guy is crazy.
— You know you can't screw up a single game, right?
— Oh shit!
— Did he accidentally land?
The Arsenal was the best place to land if you wanted to place 90th or lower. The center basement had one of the best weapons, but a lot of competition swarmed the place. This encouraged a high-risk, high-reward playstyle.
However, it would be a high-risk, low-reward for Almond because he only used a bow. What was the point if he wouldn’t use those other weapons?
His decision didn’t make sense.
— I'm curious if he's not going to use the bow today.
— Oh, maybe not since he's going for diamond.?
— Ooh...
— I'm curious what Almond will be like with a gun.
— Nah, Almond wouldn't be Almond without a bow!
Some viewers predicted that Almond would use a gun today instead of a bow. That would explain his choice of landing.
However, Almond had no intention of giving up the bow.
"I'm going to use the bow." He quickly ran towards the Arsenal with that short remark.
— ???
— For real?
— But why the Arsenal...
— He must not know since he hasn't played much.
— This nut... so cocky.
Slam!
Almond slammed the door open with his shoulder and several players running around looking for weapons appeared.
No one had any guns yet. Some already attacked each other with knives since those were more common than guns.
Others used their fists to fight. The Arsenal typically looked like this early on.
"Kugh!"
"Get out of here, you troll!"
It was survival of the fittest. Whoever emerged victorious would claim all the equipment in the basement.
Only common weapons could be found on the first floor.
Tadadak.
Almond quickly jumped and grabbed whatever weapon he could find.
"!"
However, someone else also grabbed it at the same time.
"What the? Fuck off."
The opponent sternly looked at him, but this was a battlefield.
Wham!
Almond kicked up and mercilessly shattered his chin.
— Wow!
— Kya!
— That was so satisfying. This is Battle Large.
"Kurgh!"
The opponent bit his own tongue and couldn't speak properly. He started throwing his fists at Almond.
However, Almond had already picked up the weapon he grabbed earlier.
[Throwing Knife]
The opponent looked surprised and so was Almond. He had never seen this weapon before.
'How do I throw it?'
He recalled his nosy baseball senior during his days in the athlete village. One of the scariest sports they ever dragged him into playing was baseball.
'You're dead if you get hit by this,'?his baseball senior said as prepared to pitch.
Honestly, that was the truth because of the ball's deadly speed.
The satisfaction of hitting a baseball going 140 km/h...
Pang!
'Who would’ve thought I'd be using it like this.'
Thwack!
The blade he threw perfectly landed at the center of the opponent's forehead.
[Almond → OhYeahMan]
[Eliminated!]
[97/100]
— Wow!
— That's crazy. How did he land it like that?
— Ah, now I see why he came to the Arsenal.
— Look at his throwing form.
— So quick ;;
— Is he a baseball player or something?
— Almond is best with bad items.
— Please use a gun with your skills.?
[Alrighty has donated 5000 won.]
[Ah! Alrighty! Almond has the biggest advantage when he’s fighting with bad weapons! That's why he came to the Arsenal early on!]
Almond nodded when he saw the donation.
"That's right. I'm not going to use a gun anyways. I came here to kill as many as I could while no one has a gun."
His thinking was completely out of the box, but this strategy increased his chances of winning at the Arsenal.
— What...
— The way he thinks is just different...
— His ideas are so out there!
— He's crazy.
— Damn.
— How do you even think of that?
Luck usually determined most fights early on. It was a battle of chance or whoever found a gun first. Not even 5% of skills factored into these fights.
However, Almond trusted that 5%.
'It's quite simple if you think about it.'
He didn't use guns, so he determined that it would be best to eliminate enemies who also didn’t have guns.
Of course, it was easier said than done. Still, it wouldn’t pose too much trouble for Almond.
***
Thwack!
He struck another player in the forehead with the throwing knife.
"Kuugh!"
[Almond → tyis09]
[Eliminated!]
[93/100]
The enemy had a shotgun, but it was useless from this distance.
[Almond → Orochirochi]
[Eliminated!]
[90/100]
Thwack!
The next player died as the knife pierced his heart. He didn’t have any weapons or armor, so a strike to any vital spot was all it took.
More and more players died by the throwing knife thanks to Almond.
[Compound Bow]
It would become an unbearable bloodbath to watch once Almond found the compound bow.
— Oh shit!
— It's his first time, but he immediately found a compound bow LOL?
— Oh fuck, he's already strong. They're screwed now.
— How many are here again? They're done for.
— Who would've thought I would ever get this excited over a compound bow?
A massacre would soon begin.
Players slowly found guns, but their heads were still exposed. They didn’t have any helmets because the Arsenal only had weapons.
[Almond → AutoSarid]
[Double Kill!]
[89/100]
"Kugh!"
Almond executed a flawless headshot.
[Almond → koklm901]
[Triple Kill!]
[88/100]
"Hugh!"
[Almond → MessyHair]
[Quadra Kill!]
[87/100]
"Urgh!"
Everyone collapsed with a similar grunt.
Most didn’t even know why they died because the bow was so silent.
Only one other player remained in Arsenal.
"Die, you bastard!"
Tudududududu!
The last enemy tried to fight back with his AK47, but couldn't hit Almond.
Almond took his time hiding behind a pillar and readied his bow.
Chul-kuk.
He struck like lightning when he heard the gun reloading.
Thwack!
His accuracy was perfect as usual.
All the corpses had an arrow in their foreheads.
[Almond → Spray&Pray]
[Penta Kill!]
[85/100]
Thud.
The last enemy fell and the Arsenal became empty.
He started heading towards the room in the basement.
***
Tak, tak.
Almond stacked several high-tier weapons at the center of the basement. He threw in the last weapon and whipped out a fuel canister and flamethrower.
"This normally goes in cars, but it should be fine, right?"
The flaring flame answered his question.
Crackle!!!
— Almond is so evil!
— Almond is crazy! Almond is crazy!
— LOL What is going on?!
— ??? This is a knife fight, but I have a bow.
— ??? Alright, no more guns anymore!
— Destroying all the weapons LOL
— Wow!
— If I can't use it, no one can!
"I'm moving on to the next location."
Almond took the motorcycle parked outside and went on his way.
Vroom.
As he rode through the wind…
BOOM!
The Arsenal blew up behind him.
Afterward, Almond easily placed first in the game with 50 kills.
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