Season 2: Chapter 225: Chicken Game (2)
Player 25 discovered a pleasing item.
[Short Bow]
He had been carrying a bow that went unnoticed due to the disguise technique.
***
"Wow...!"
Player 25 was one of the six remaining players. Like most remaining players, he was a skilled streamer who streamed on a small scale. He was very happy right now.
[Current Viewers: 7.2k]
The moment he entered the top ten, his viewership surged past five thousand. Now, seven thousand viewers were watching him.
— Will he win this?
— People are starting to gather here too.
— He looks kinda silly though...
To be fair, they weren’t his fans. They were more like hyenas waiting for their chicken. However, this was a blessing to a streamer who peaked at two thousand viewers.
“F… finally! It evolved!”
Of course, as expected from a skill-based streamer, he felt more happy about the scroll he earned than the viewer count.
[Disguise Technique]
It was the disguise scroll. This was the third one, which meant he could evolve it into the transformation technique.
— Ooooh
— Technique evolution?
— Kya!
Player 25 smiled as the scroll glowed.
Swoosh!
“!?”
The sound of something cutting through the air could be heard.
Thwack!
An arrow pierced his throat.
“Ku…! Kugh…”
[Suffocating]
It wasn’t an instant kill, but he was suffocating.
[You have 30 seconds to heal before dying]
He was given thirty seconds.
“D… damn…”
Player 25 looked around with the arrow stuck in his throat.
“From where?!”
Swoosh!
He heard the air pierce once more. It was the last thing he heard.
[Dead]
“!?”
[1 → 25]
[5/60]
He only accepted what had happened after seeing the kill log.
— LOL
— What happened?
— Is there a sniper in this ninja game?
— This is 100% Almond
— Almond must’ve found a bow. GG.
— Isn’t this magic??
“What is this?! He killed me from all the way over there!?”
A player could see where the other player was through their death cam. Player one had been all the way on the edge of the circle on top of a roof. He was so far away that he wouldn’t have been a threat even if he was discovered, yet he managed to kill the enemy.
— Seriously?
— What’s with the range of the bow?
— Didn't they limit the range of the bow?
— No way he shot from there.
“How could he possibly know I was a ninja from that distance?!”
Player 25 was in disguise. By this time in the game, most ninjas commonly used disguise techniques. However, the enemy killed him instantly.
— Probably because of the light from the scroll.
— Killed while evolving the ninja scroll, maybe because of that light?
— Idk.
"… I instantly died because of that light?"
Despite it feeling extremely unjust, his soul could rest in peace knowing he was not the only victim.
Thwack!
[1 → 60]
[4/60]
A ninja carelessly peeking over the roof for a better view also instantly died. An arrow pierced his forehead to the back of his skull, leading to his immediate death.
"…?!"
No matter how he thought about it, Player 25 felt less wronged than player sixty. He believed that he died because of the strong light from evolving his ninjutsu.
'That guy instantly died after just peeking out a little?'
Player sixty had merely peeked over the roof for reconnaissance. Just that caused his instant death. However, the unlucky victims didn't end there.
Whizz!
"Where to again…?"
As a spirit, he ascended to the sky to get a bird's eye view of everything.
Thwack!
He saw a pitiful ninja bewildered as an arrow pierced his heart. This ninja was well-disguised, but merely rummaging through a fallen body for loot cost him his heart. He didn’t die immediately.
"Gurgh… Cough… Where the hell…?"
He staggered and looked around for the assailant. Searching was futile now.
Whizz!
Although it seemed like he managed to survive, another arrow pierced his head and he collapsed like a puppet.
[1 → 32]
[3/60]
Now, only three players remained.
"No, that bow's totally bugged. Who made such an overpowered weapon…?"
— Wow
— Damn
— Insane
— It's basically Almond's win now
— Crazy lol
Surely they all had a chance to win despite the fierce competition and high stakes, right?
— Bye
— It was fun, Player 25
— You have no talent for streaming, just look for a regular job lol
— lol bye
Player 25’s viewers started to rapidly leave.
[Current Viewers: 921]
***
Meanwhile, the commentators couldn't hide their excitement after three players suddenly died.
"Ah, we thought it would be peaceful for a while!? What's this...!?"
The replays played on the big screen while continuously showing Almond's perspective.
Murmurs filled the arena.
"What's with that bow?"
"That’s totally a crazy range bug."
"Ah… Almond's bow… broke the balance."
There were no cheers or applause, only muttering sounds. This was a common reaction when people felt too shocked to respond.
"Ah, now. The viewers missed the timing to shout, right?"
"Yes. They wanted to cheer, but three players suddenly died one after another... and we even missed when and how they died."
All they could see was Almond pulling a bow on one screen and someone dying from an arrow on another screen. There was nothing else to react to.
"But this bow's range seems a bit off, doesn't it? It's almost like a sniper."
"Ah, yes... We just got a message from the production team." The caster nodded briefly before continuing, "The bow simply retained its original range. They said it's determined by the physics engine."
"… Ah. That, that's the range?"
The audience murmured again. In truth, how many people knew how far an ancient bow could shoot? For them, it was unclear whether this was a common mistake in the game's initial model or the actual range of a bow.
"Yes. The bow was made with the longest range based on historical data because it was deemed difficult to use in ninja mode."
"Ah… Is that so? Because it's hard to use?"
"Well, ninjas are quite fast, aren't they? And hard to see. That seems to be the reason."
"Yes. Now that I think about it, it really seems unlikely to hit anything originally. Is this possible only because it's Almond?"
"Yes. Exactly. Even if he’s utilizing the maximum range, maintaining accuracy is like a bug! There's no issue with the bow!"
In a typical game, assuming combat primarily involved melee weapons, range weapons like bows were deliberately limited. However, in ninja mode, no such limitation was made.
The bow, which required loading and shooting an arrow, was deemed too slow to have an advantage considering the speed of ninjas and various ninjutsu. No handicap was applied.
"Who would have thought someone could shoot like this!"
"Yes. Even if it’s possible, you can't penalize other bow users just because of one person..."
This wasn't really a mistake by the game developers. It was an irregularity. The developers couldn't base the game on Almond.
"But this might just end with Almond shooting everyone from the roof, right?"
Due to this, the much prepared challenge seemed to end with just Almond firing arrows from the roof. While being good at shooting the bow was a spectacle, it wasn't what was expected from ninja mode.
— Seems like a boring ending, lol
— Came here to end the game (for real)
— lol if it ends this boringly, they can't launch it, right?
— Why did they invite Almond? lol
The broadcast cameras all focused on Almond. They believed the game would end if Almond pulled the bowstring a few more times.
"Ah!"
There was no rule that he had to die, right?
"This is good news, isn't it? If you look at the screen, player one is rummaging through his quiver. He's run out of arrows!"
Upon closer inspection by the camera, Almond's quiver became empty.
— Good news lol
— Bye
— Fantasia nearly went down~ lol
"Ah. So he only had a few arrows? Looks like he used them all now."
"It was someone else's after all."
***
"Ah. It's over."
The hand rummaging through the quiver only stirred the air.
— Bye
— Darn it, my chicken
— Hah…
— Can't go down easily
Almond spotted someone he suspected to be a ninja. Regrettably, he ran out of arrows. He had to run toward the enemy to kill him.
"Now, excluding me, there are only two left..."
Almond pondered for a moment and saw a simpler way to win due to the shape of the constricting zone, which had nearly reached its final phase.
"I have the advantage from where I am."
Almond had rarely been lucky with positioning in this game, but it seemed luck favored him for once right now.
"If I just hold my position, the other two will fight each other until one dies."
Almond already had a rough idea of the remaining two players’ locations. They would soon enter the constricting zone. They had to move and would eventually fight each other in the process.
"I think I'll just wait."
Almond decided to wait until one of the two died before fighting. The Nut Squad typically didn’t prefer this playstyle. After all, Almond always fought his enemies head-on and triumphed.
— Oh
— A Walnut-style play, impressive.
— Brain suddenly enlarging, lol.
— Let's just do that.
Today, the response was different. Unlike usual, they cheered for the safe play.
'They all want the chicken.'
The reason was simply because of the chicken.
— I can almost see the olive chicken in front of my eyes!!
— Please!
— Let's not overdo it.
Among them, a significant number weren’t even Almond's regular viewers.
[Current Viewers: 47,000]
His viewership started in the twenty thousands and reached the late forty thousands. That meant more than half were not Almond fans. Their messages flooded the chat.
'Hmm.'
Almond felt slightly aggrieved. Where were they earlier when he was still trying to win the chicken? And now they were back?
Almond spoke up, "But remember, everyone."
— ????
— What kind of nutty talk is he up to now?
— A major announcement, impressive.
— What is it?
"There's a ten thousand won per kill mission, right?"
Slurp.
Almond drew his sword and the viewers responded with numerous question marks.
— ???
— ?
— Yes?
— Crazy lol, not even a grain of rice will be wasted?
— An epic thrift.
— So you're throwing away 3 million won for ten thousand won?
"The ten thousand won is for me. The chicken is…"
Almond stopped there.
Boom!
Suddenly, he launched himself toward the boundary where the zone was constricting.
"!"
"!?"
The two other remaining players, each hidden in different houses and waiting for an opportunity, felt startled. The viewers probably felt even more surprised.
— The Nut Squad… is trembling
— Damn lol, he never cared about the chicken, it was this all along lol crazy lol
— It’s futile, I’m crying lol
— Refusing to give the chicken, so he does this now
— Ugh, so mad
— The worst streamer, Almond