Chapter 49: Not a Small-Timer Anymore (2)

Almond began scavenging after instantly killing an enemy. Everyone, including himself, noticed that his footsteps were lighter.

'It definitely feels different.'

He became a completely different player compared to his first playthrough. It was similar to learning how to ride a bike. He got the hang of it right away once he knew how to do it. That’s what it felt like to him right now.

However, Almond started from a different foundation compared to other people. This made his growth rate increase exponentially. He was more like an F1 racer than a biker.

He knew how to escape sticky situations with the perfect moves.

[Almond → Dodori]

[Eliminated!]

[91/100]

Thwack!

Another player tried to get in the way after the first enemy fell, but also ended up with an arrow in his forehead.

Almond shot him down with ease and zero hesitation.

Thud.

The opponent fell without even knowing who shot him.

Almond lowered his bow after confirming the kill. He seemed like a veteran instead of a beginner. It seemed as if he had used the bow hundreds, no, thousands of times.

— Is this really his second round? He seems like an expert.

— Wow, as expected from getting a bow early on...

— Yeah, the headshots without a helmet are so satisfying.

— A second headshot already?

— What the...

— Was the video not exaggerating?

— It looks like he's shooting without aiming.

His second headshot in a row surprised the new viewers. Their shock was understandable because the compound bow was designed to be challenging. It functioned similarly to a real bow, so people only familiar with guns had to train with it.

Almond used it like an expert because he was one. His experience as a professional archer gave him more than an edge over everyone else.

[RubySword has donated 5,000 won]

[You newcomers don't know, but Almond only hits headshots.]

One of Almond's first viewers declared to the newcomers.

— That's true.

— Ah, let's embrace the newcomers. Everyone gets surprised at first.

— Type true in the chat if you don't know.?

Long-time viewers got on the bandwagon of poking fun at the newcomers. It annoyed the newcomers, but what could they do? They needed to know more about Almond if they wanted to talk back.

"RubySword, thanks for the donation. It's been a while.

Ah

, please don't pick on the newcomers. I'm going to check where the blue zone is first. It's coming in 30 seconds."

Almond not only improved his gameplay, but also became more competent at streaming. He easily read the donations, felt the atmosphere, and responded accordingly.

— True.

— Don't act cool to the newcomers. Almond is busy climbing the ranks.

— It's better for him if there are new people!

The viewers would refuse to listen later if he didn’t tell them to refrain from teasing each other now. He learned this technique from watching Bubblegum's stream.

"As usual, the blue zone is not in a great location for me.

Hmm

, I've got to run at least 4 km."

— Wow, look where the blue zone is.

— So unlucky.

— Is this part of his skill too?!

It was only his second round, but luck was never on Almond's side. The blue zone was always far away even in his solo squad round.

[EggPlant has donated 1,000 won.]

[Still, you should keep farming. Blue zones aren't that bad early on.]

"

Ah

, thank you for the donation, EggPlant. Should I? It seems like medical equipment is quite important from my experience last time."

Almond nodded at the feedback because he still lacked knowledge. He decided to be flexible early on and headed to an empty house for more items.

[Painkiller x1]

[Energy Drink x1]

He found an energy drink and painkiller.

"Woah."

He also found another item that would be useful later on.

[First-Aid Kit x1]

This kit could recover 30% of lost HP. A double-barrel shotgun lay next to it as well.

— Are you really not going to use guns?

— Pick up the gun!

— The double barrel is really good.

Almond read the chat and returned to the shotgun. He stared at it for a while and turned around.

— What the, is he lagging?

— Knock, knock. Hello?

— Why is he suddenly stunned? LOL

'Hmm, what should I do?'

He faced another dilemma, but was adamant about only using the bow this time. He felt confident from the first round and wouldn't even be able to use a gun properly if he tried.

He didn’t know how to convince the audience though. They would definitely feel frustrated if he left the gun alone.

Almond struggled to find an answer and finally said, "

Ah

... A gun? I don't see anything like that."

— LOL

— Ah, that's why he stood still.

— Of course, Almond can't see anything.

— Almond baby can't see much.

— He's going to pass on it?!

— He's a streaming genius.

Smirk.

Their reaction satisfied him and he headed to the next farming location.

— Wow, he's so good looking.

— Almond! Don't you dare get cocky because you're handsome!

— Smile... smile forever...

— Your eyesight isn't good, but I'll let it slide since you're cute.?

They forgave him thanks to his looks. It was super effective!

***

He found some bandages and energy drinks after farming for more items. However, he still couldn't find a bulletproof vest or helmet. There weren't any noteworthy items other than the first-aid kit from earlier.

"Is there a special way to find items or something?"

— LOL

— Nope, you're just unlucky.

— So cute.

— I don't blame him.

Almond sincerely asked, but they only made fun of him.

'Dammit...'

He had to admit he was quite unlucky with farming.

"That's alright. All I need is the bow," Almond reassured himself.

As expected, a donation mocking him came in.

[FireBoy has donated 5,000 won.]

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

[??? I can go anywhere as long as I have arrows and the win.]

The donation was supposed to be read in a nerdy tone.

"Thank you FireBoy. It doesn't matter where I go though.

— Hahaha

— It's a meme bro.

— Who doesn't know that?

— Haha, what a nickname.

— Almond senpai!

— We can go anywhere as long as we're together! (serious af)

Almond knew the meme, but didn't have time to respond.

[The blue zone is shrinking!]

Koong—?

The blue zone began to shrink and he hadn’t even collected enough items yet.

'I'm just gonna skip farming next time.'

Almond improved once more from this. He learned that farming while hiding didn’t suit his playstyle. He preferred to find an advantageous spot and target enemies as they came.

— Run! Run!

— It's a marathon!

— At least you found a first-aid kit.

Tadadadak.

Almond ran with all his might as the blue zone quickly shrunk.

"Huff. Puff."

Bzzt...

The blue zone caused Almond's hair to stand up straight. Then it passed him.

[You are in a contaminated area.]

[Move quickly!]

His health began to decrease. Thankfully, the blue zone didn’t do much damage early on. It lowered his health by 1% every five seconds, so he had time to get out.

Gulp.

Almond took the painkillers.

'I should be able to withstand it longer with this.'

He increased his resistance to damage and sighed in relief. Then he began running again.

'I'm going in late, so it should be a bit safer.'

Sometimes, it was safer to enter after the blue zone because the fog outside hid one’s presence. However, that was a miscalculation this time.

This was only Almond's second round, which meant he was still paired with beginners. Some of these players also began moving late after the blue zone timer ran out.

'What the?'

He saw several players making troll plays.

.

"Aaargh!"

A player ran for his life without even taking a painkiller. Another player also ran from way behind Almond. One rode a motorcycle and fell after crashing into a rock.

Boom!

The motorcycle's explosion attracted everyone’s attention and aim.

'No way?'

Even a beginner like Almond knew it was best to refrain from fighting outside the zone. However, these people didn't care about that.

"Fuck! Don't come near me!"

The one running in front turned around with his pistol.

Someone else in front of Almond shouted back in confusion, "Hey! What are you doing starting a fight here?"

"Shut up!"

Bang! Bang!

The opponent had no choice but to answer back with his rifle while rolling on the ground to dodge the pistol.

Bangbangbang!

They sprayed their bullets all over.

Tidididing!

"...!"

Almond had no choice but to take cover from the bullets.

'Do they really want to do this?'

He clenched his teeth and took out his bow, which made the viewers rejoice.

— What a clusterfuck.

— Wow... so this is bronze rank...

— Damn LOL

— These guys are crazy.

— This is what a battle royale is.

— This is what makes it fun.

The higher ranks of

Battle Large?

never had shootouts early on in the game. Players didn't want to put themselves at risk and played conservatively.

However, it was different here. This was a mud fight and a complete shitshow.

Creak…?

Almond drew his bowstring and muttered, "You gotta follow the rules of the shitshow if you're in one."

Pang!

The arrow spiraled towards the player with the pistol in front.

"Uh, arr..."

Thwack!

'An arrow?'

The player died without even finishing his thought as the arrow pierced his forehead.

"!"

The other players finally paid attention to Almond. They ignored him all this time because he only had a compound bow.

'What the?'

'How did he land the arrow like that?'

'Running at full speed too?'

'That's fucking terrifying.'

'First, him...'

Everyone signaled to each other.

'We have to kill him!'

Chul kuk—?

Four guns suddenly aimed at Almond and the situation quickly went downhill.

"This is familiar."

Smirk.

Almond overflowed with confidence.

— Solo squad again.

— Goodbye...

— 4v1 again?!

— This is a solo mode, right?

— These trolls LOL

He clenched an arrow in his teeth without losing his smile and readied another arrow onto his bow. This was quicker than his opponents reloading.

Taang.

Pang!

Gunshots and an arrow ripping through the air echoed out.