Chapter 37 – Switching Games (2)
The viewers could feel their hearts thumping in excitement when Almond mentioned the next game.
He had exclusively played Kingdom Age and built his reputation from it. Now he was moving on.
— What other shooting games are there?
— He can play as an archer in Life is Legend.
— I wonder if he’s only limited to bows. I feel like he’ll be good at any type of shooting.
— He might be good at shooting games too.
— Probably best with bows though.
— He might play another single player game.
They would naturally worry if a streamer switched specialties and changed directions but Almond was different.
His specialty was archery and his skills would be useful in most games. He would probably do even better in other games compared to Kingdom Age.
He could show off his skills in competitions if he played an online PVP game. That would be different from fighting against AI mobs.
— Almond is coming! Watch out everyone!
— So true.
— Move JeonJaPa! Almond is coming!
— Hahaha.
— JeonJaPa sensei always has to move…
Almond could now compete against not only regular people but famous players too. The fans felt excited about their favorite streamer dominating everyone else.
‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous…’
Of course Almond felt the pressure and considered playing another single player game. Single player games didn’t rush players and provided friendly tutorials to learn the game.
However online games were totally different. It was hard for new players to adapt no matter how well-made the tutorials were. Even Kingdom Age notorious for its difficulty would be considered easy compared to online games.
There was nothing more unpleasant and unfair than playing against a player who already had experience with the game. The users who already honed their skills would never show mercy to new players like Almond. They would tear him apart if they ever got the chance.
‘I shouldn’t get in cars if I’m scared of car crashes.’
He slightly hesitated but turned his attention towards PVP games instead of another single player game.
He sought challenges and competition as an athlete. PVP games had these two elements and were worth a try now that he was somewhat used to virtual reality. New challenges always excited him.
“The game I’m going to play for the second part of my stream is…”
He could hear himself talking softer. Was this out of fear or excitement? It didn’t matter. He would simply enjoy the feeling.
“Battle Large!”
— Kya!
— Heck yes!
— Ooooh!
— Almond playing Battle Large… is rare.
— I’m so excited.
— I wonder how he’ll do? It’s very different from Kingdom Age.
— It’s possible if it’s Almond!
***
Battle Large was a battle royale game where players fought to survive on a huge island.
Punk also distributed this triple-A title. It was a must for streamers partnered with Punk and was on a completely different scale from minor games.
The news of Almond switching games immediately spread to all the different communities.
[(Breaking) Almond is changing his game to Battle Large…]
[Bye Kingdom Age Almond…]
[Almond ditches Kingdom Age]
KAF users panicked the most about the news. They had to say goodbye to their rising star in Kingdom Age.
[Current viewers: 1921]
His viewer count almost reached two thousand during his last moments in Kingdom Age.
[Current viewers: 1105]
Now he barely had a thousand viewers but this couldn’t be helped.
‘It’s alright.’
It was a pity almost nine hundred viewers left but Sang-Hyeon patted himself on the back. He couldn’t please everyone. He knew the risks that came with changing games.
‘Acorn Jelly does this too.’
This problem wasn’t unique to him. Every variety streamer experienced it. Views differed by games and some even slashed the viewership by half.
Streamers often changed games despite all this because it was more beneficial in the long run. Sang-Hyeon wouldn’t last or grow if he only relied on Kingdom Age. He would slowly but surely lose his viewers.
“It’s almost done downloading.”
He calmed himself and chatted with his viewers. He didn’t usually talk while playing games so he took advantage of times like this to get some words in.
“It’s my first time playing an online virtual reality PVP game. I hope they go easy on me.”
The viewers who remained were curious about how he would perform.
— Downloading Battle Large right now??
— You’ve never played it?
— Look at when his capsule ID was created.
— Ah the newcomers don’t know that Almond is a newb.
— Newb and his newcomers.
Some of the new viewers just found out that Almond was new to capsule gaming.
— LOL Battle Large is quite hard for a newbie…
— Yeah I wonder how he’ll do.
— I thought for sure he had experience with it.
— Wow it’s been a while since we got a newbie in Battle Large.
Kingdom Age had a lot of fanatics so it was common for newbies to try the game out. However Battle Large was such a popular game that it was rare to see a new streamer playing it.
— I’m excited.
— Is he all luck or skills?
Some worried but others also felt excited for him.
The topic of bows also came up.
— But is Almond going to use a bow in Battle Large too?
— No way.
— Didn’t he just use the bow for the bow challenge? I don’t think that’s all he can do.
— You newcomers don’t know anything. Almond doesn’t even know what the bow challenge is.
— For real he just came in and went straight for the bow.
The bow was special to Sang-Hyeon but Almond just seemed like a skilled gamer to his viewers especially the newcomers.
They probably weren’t aware of his special connection to the bow unless someone watched all of his videos. This was also his chance to engrave in the viewers’ minds that Almond represented the bow.
***
Ding.
[All 100 players have gathered.]
[The battle for survival will now begin.]
Sang-Hyeon gulped when he saw the messages.
‘It’s starting.’
A game where 100 players jumped off a helicopter and fought for survival.
“Sigh.”
He took a breath out of nervousness. He didn’t have high hopes since this was his first PVP game. It would be enough if he could adapt.
Dudududududu!
The attack helicopter roared in his ears the dark screen slowly grew brighter and the helicopter came into view.
A breathtaking view stretched out underneath his feet.
“Shit?!” Sang-Hyeon swore without realizing it and took a step back.
— LOL Shit!This novel is available on “pawread dot com”.
— Hahaha the newbie is so cute.
— Almond became a newbie again…
— It’s been a while since we’ve seen this Almond.
The viewers laughed at the sight of him hesitating and encountering trouble like when he first started but Sang-Hyeon couldn’t laugh in this situation.
“What are you doing?! Aren’t you going to deploy your parachute?”
“Are you kidding me? Now? Is a soldier going to back off from the competition? Do you want to die already?”
“If you’re going to die now say it! I’ll tear you apart in half!”
Sang-Hyeon got berated with insults after hesitating for one second.
This pressure and atmosphere felt different from the Olympics.
“Huuuahhh…”
The game just started… but even jumping off the helicopter became an obstacle for Sang-Hyeon.
‘Actually playing it feels different…’
The video guide didn’t do this virtual reality justice at all.
“Run! Run! Fucking run!”
“Ruuuun!”
The other players jumped off one by one as soldiers pushed them off and shouted at them.
The veins in Almond’s hand protruded as he tightened his grip around the safety bar.
‘I can’t lose.’
Seeing the competition woke him up. He had to pick up weapons as quickly as possible to gain an advantage. He had no time to sit around and just wait.
Tak!
He shut his eyes and kicked off.
Wheeeeeeeee!!!
The strong wind blew straight against his face.
“Uhbuhbuhbuhbuh!”
He tried to say something but the wind filled his mouth.
— LOL
— Legend.
— Uhbuhbuhbuh!!! LOL
— Lmao hahaha.
The wind resistance aggressively pushed against him. He could feel the coldness at his fingertips and his chin shuddered.
‘Wow is this really a game?’
It was a different level of realism compared to Kingdom Age.
— Kya.
— The air feels so nice!
— Let’s go!
‘Isn’t this a little fast?’
His parachute automatically fluttered open and choked him a little.
“Huff.”
Hooooong!
He quickly fell even with the parachute.
“!”
Almond hit the ground before he knew it.
Thud.
“Urk!”
He tripped and helplessly rolled over. This made him momentarily think back to when he used to criticize Bubblegum’s skills.
‘It’s not that easy.’
Landing was one of the basics but even that had been difficult.
— LOL he’s a real newb.
— Almond is so cute… This is a rare moment.
— So cute rolling around!
— Damn.
The chat mocked him but Almond quickly picked himself up and looked around. Other players around him were in the same situation.
“Oof!”
“Urgh!”
Some players were already fighting with their fists. Sang-Hyeon hid in the corner and watched the fights unfold. Then he heard someone running from behind him.
Tadadadak.
Someone was definitely headed toward him.
“That one’s a newbie!”
“Kill him!”
It wasn’t just one. Three other players headed towards him.
They must’ve noticed Sang-Hyeon was a newbie from how he landed.
“These guys. They should go easy on newbies” Sang-Hyeon complained and ran for his life.
He ended up in front of an abandoned house and barged in after breaking down the door.
Thump.
He barricaded the door with his back and looked around for a weapon. Something caught his eye as he quickly scanned the place.
“!”
A compound bow sat on top of the shelf.
‘Found it.’
The compound bow was a modern design that was also used in archery.
