Chapter 108: Education Stream (2)
"You're okay, right?"
It was a polite question.
'H-He just deflected it with his knife, right?'
But Bubblegum nervously nodded as if he was being threatened.
"Y-Yes..."
"Since there are too many people here, let's go to the second floor to look for a bow."
"Yes!"
He tailed Almond.
— Kya, this reminds me of my university days!
— Sergeant Bubblegum!
— LOL
The viewers made fun of Bubblegum because he looked like a soldier following Almond.
Despite their mockery, Bubblegum smiled in satisfaction because the stream was going well. Mockery aside, it was a success for the streamer if the stream was going well.
[Current viewers: 55k]
He had five thousand more viewers than on an average day. Considering the size of Almond's channel, it was an impressive increase.
'As expected.'
The coaching content was a success. The skill difference between the coach and Bubblegum, the pain and suffering that followed was irresistible.
'Who wouldn't want to watch a skilled player suffer?'
Almond didn't even start showing off his skills yet, nor was he suffering. Usually, the two began simultaneously.
"Oh, a bow!"
Almond found a bow on the second floor. The real game was about to begin.
"Finally! Almond found a bow! What do you think everyone, are you excited?"
— Why are you casting? LOL
— You're in the game too!
— Hahahaha
— I thought I was watching the world cup.
***
Almond glanced at his chat and was surprised to see the viewer count.
'Is this the power of Bubblegum?'
[Current viewers: 11k]
It was a similar view count to when he was climbing to Diamond. It seemed like some of Bubblegum's viewers transferred over. They all had high expectations for him because all the coaches invited in the past were highly skilled.
He needed to meet their expectations. Thinking that, he felt a little pressure.
"Phew."
Almond took a deep breath and calmed himself. Being under pressure was second nature to him. He took the bow and walked over to the edge of the second floor.
"Alright, now we just need to shoot down the people trying to get to the basement from here. Since the bow is the only ranged weapon on the first floor, we're at an advantage."
This strategy was commonly known as hillside archer. There was no point explaining it to Bubblegum, but Almond did so anyways.
"Wow, is that so? Everyone, you heard him, right? I hope you utilize it well."
— He's talking to you!
— Wait, he's not talking to us.
— Bubblegum has zero intention of using the strategy.
Bubblegum knew there was no chance he'd be shooting down players at the Arsenal.
“Pfft,”?Almond just laughed it off as well.
"I'm going to shoot now."
Creak…?
Almond pulled on his bowstring. It was the first shot in Bubblegum's stream.
'Wow...'
Bubblegum's jaws dropped.
'It's different in person.'
Almond's pose was mixed with the efficiency for battle and the elegance of experience. Bubblegum hastily came back to attention and started broadcasting again.
"Oh! He's pulling??"
Pabababang!
Before he could finish his sentence, four arrows flew quickly. The shots were so fast it looked like only Almond’s fingers moved.
— What just happened!?
— They're fired already?
— ??
The four arrows landed on the heads of four players.
Pubububuk!
Almost simultaneously, the four fell without a scream. Screaming was a luxury for those alive.
"It's the hillside archer!"
"Agh!"
"Dammit!"
There couldn't have been a worse nightmare for the players fighting in the basement. All of them pointed at Almond while screaming.
"Huh... huh!?"
Bubblegum panicked as they grabbed everyone’s attention.
'Is this okay?'
"Bubblegum! Grab a bow and start shooting!"
"Ah, ah.?Me, me too!?"
— Bubblegum: but I'm just a caster!
— Of course, you have to shoot too!
— Why are you even asking? LOL
— He planned to stay still.
Bubblegum frantically looked for a bow and aimed down the hillside.
'Wait, but I have almost no experience with a bow.'
It was his first time using the bow. Who used a crappy item like this in Battle Large?
Thwack! Thwack!
Meanwhile, Almond was making kebabs out of the enemy's foreheads with his arrows.
'Holy shit...'
Bubblegum pulled on his bow and copied him. He thought if he mimicked Almond, he could slightly pull it off.
Twang—?
He let go of the string and fired his first shot.
Ting!
It sounded like a guitar string snapping. As expected, the arrow spun out of control in the air and fell to the ground.
— LOL
— Is that a trickshot?
— Strike!
— Wow.
'I-It's this bad?'
The bow was a terrible item. It was difficult to even shoot it properly. He instantly understood why the gun was the primary weapon. How could a normal person, who didn't know how to use a bow, fire this?
.
"T-This is harder than I thought. Does anyone actually use the bow while playing Battle Large? Haha."
Bubblegum picked up the bow again while muttering excuses. He properly fired the second shot, but it didn't hit anyone. It just flew through the empty space.
'O-Oh no.'
Bubblegum started sweating. Normally, two mistakes were enough for him to die, especially since he was in the Arsenal.
"..."
But that didn't happen thanks to the person beside him.
Pang!
Pang!
Pang!
Thanks to Almond firing arrows like a turret, the enemies didn't even think of aiming toward them.
— Jesus Christ
— I've seen this before! The human turret, Almond!
— This is the nut family! How dare you guys!
The viewers thought the same thing as Bubblegum.
'No way...'
Bubblegum didn't think he'd ever be impressed from watching gameplay as a forty-year-old.
Almond's archery skills were out of this world. It looked perfect with no unnecessary movements and he was perfectly in sync with his breathing.
When he stood still with his bow drawn, he looked like a bug because he was so immobile. Considering the force put into the draw, it was impressive to think he could balance himself while remaining so still.
He perfectly balanced himself in the middle while maintaining strength in the bow. Almond was doing all this like it was easy as breathing to him.
And then, he quickly fired four shots. All four shots flew toward the vitals of the opponents. Almond's guts and fortitude were the most impressive thing.
'How is that possible?'
Despite the enemies throwing projectiles at him, Almond didn't even blink while he fired his shots.
Tang! Tang!
The projectiles deflected away in the air. Even the ones flying toward Bubblegum scattered away.
Almond stood still as if he knew Bubblegum couldn't defend himself.
"You should try shooting, Bubblegum. You need to practice."
He even had the luxury to coach Bubblegum. Ironically, Bubblegum was the one who panicked.
"Ah, right. Yes!"
Bubblegum eagerly pulled the bowstring and aimed.
"No one can shoot properly their first time. Just pull the string and relax."
'Liar...'
Almond was able to shoot properly from the beginning.
‘I've seen it! You were good from the start!’
Despite thinking this, Bubblegum readied his bow. Hearing words of encouragement gave him a bit of courage.
"Hold your breath and imagine you're in a different space."
Whiff.
Bubblegum stopped breathing and focused. His sights were fixed on an enemy fleeing from the Arsenal.
'A different space...' he repeated Almond's advice and let the bowstring go.
Pang!
The arrow flew straight through the air and pierced the enemy’s back.
"Urgh!"
Another arrow pierced through the back of their head as they fell.
Thwack!
Almond finished off the player.
"Oh!"
Bubblegum didn't kill him, but was still surprised with himself for landing the shot. Granted, it was an easy target because they were fleeing from Almond.
— Is he animal hunting?
— Kya! He's setting it up for him.
— Wow. This is a real battle, but it feels like training mode.
— Best coach Almond!
— This is what a coach should be like.
— Coach Almond!
Bubblegum knew that this wasn't like any other game. Almond was setting up the targets for him to finish off.
'But I'm feeling more and more confident for some reason.'
That in itself had an effect. People like Bubblegum needed to feel the sensation of winning to gain courage.
Almond smirked and felt like the coaching was going well as he watched Bubblegum.
"Keep shooting like that. I'm going to shoot too."
After he said that, Almond continued to shoot the players on the first floor. Bubblegum shot alongside him.
Pang! Pang!
Now, Bubblegum was able to land half of his shots.
"Alright, everyone! One more coming up!"
Bubblegum was feeling confident with his improved skills. However, he saw someone in the corner of his eye. They were on the edge of the second floor across from the duo.
'Huh…?'
After turning his head, Bubblegum could see another archer using the same strategy as Almond. The only difference was that this archer was aiming toward them instead of those beneath.
'Oh no.'
The player smirked at Bubblegum as their eyes met and fired.
Pang!
The arrow was released.
Bubblegum saw it, but couldn't react to it. His mind wanted to flee, but his body was still as if he was paralyzed.
'What should I do?'
The tip of the arrow was growing larger and larger. It was getting closer.
'A-Almond!'
Bubblegum could barely look toward Almond. He sent a signal asking for help, but Almond had his back turned. Almond was busy targeting the players underneath them.
'I'm doomed.'
Bubblegum's eyes were full of doom and fear. He could feel the arrow approaching him. It would land on his head, and he would be rendered useless.
Just then…
Kang!
"... Huh?"
The arrow flying towards him was deflected by another arrow.
"What the!"
He could hear the player across from them cursing. What happened?
— ????
— What the?
— Wow!
— Is this the infamous curve shot?
— It can curve that much!?
Curve shot? Bubblegum read the chat with a shocked expression on his face. He didn't know what a curve shot was.
"There's an enemy on the other side too?" Almond muttered with his back turned around.
He could tell that Almond was the one who deflected the arrow.
'Almond hit it? How?'
His question was answered right away.
Swooosh!!
Almond fired another arrow, but it flew in a strange path. Despite watching it with his eyes, Bubblegum couldn't believe the angle it flew in.
The arrow curved and pierced the forehead of the archer across from them.
'How many degrees did it turn?'
The arrow turned close to 180 degrees. Now he understood how Almond was able to deflect the arrow from earlier. Earlier, he curved the arrow even further. Bubblegum couldn't fathom it in his head.
Bubblegum asked Almond in disbelief, "Did you hit the arrow earlier using this technique!?"
"Yes, this is called the curve shot. It's quite useful."
Bubblegum's expression was still in disbelief.
— LOL
— Damn!
— Isn't this a bug?
"This isn't a bug. It works with real bows as well. There's a video on it too. As long as you shoot it at an angle, it follows through since the shot isn't centered," Almond explained as he continued to shoot the targets down.
— I can't believe it!
— Wait, this is possible? Still, how can he do it?
— Damn!
— Wow, Almond is better than the rumors!
— Holy shit! This is a new world!?
— Doesn't this break the balance??
It was the first time watching Almond for most of Bubblegum's viewers.
'He's something else...'
Bubblegum predicted that lots of them would watch Almond in the future. He also predicted that Almond's channel would become bigger than his not far in the future.
However...
'But why isn't Almond suffering yet?'
Bubblegum failed to notice because he was too immersed in the game. The stream was going well, but it wasn't going according to plan.