Genius Archer's Streaming

The post that Ju-Hyeok uploaded swiftly climbed to the top of the community.

The startling truth initially confused the community users.

However, that was the undeniable truth and public opinion gradually shifted.

As opinions shifted, those who originally attacked started denying reality.

As usual in any argument, the momentum shifted once one side stubbornly denied the facts.

Public opinion swung back around. Gradually, the top posts started changing too.

The game's review ratings began to rise. Some who gave one star reviews revised their scores and new players who bought the game after this incident gave it high ratings.

"It's actually good. Is this the time to use that phrase?"

Kim Yi-Seo scratched his head in WePlug's office and murmured, "It turned into something like noise marketing unintentionally."

"Exactly. Red Hat really chose the right advertising model."

Kim Yi-Seo had been against Almond's advertisement and doubted if it would be worth it. Now, watching the live sales graph…

"It's true."

Almond had indeed been the best fit for advertising Red Hat's games.

Kim Yi-Seo was a pragmatist even though he was somewhat skeptical whether this success was genuinely due to Almond's advertising. Almond's actions often exceeded his expectations.

He didn’t bother with the criticisms or doubts if the results were good and glanced at his monitor displaying another tab.

A video from the YouTube channel Sonald was playing and the audio came through the speakers.

***

"What's this? When did this video come out?"

Ju-Hyeok played the video that was trending at the top in real time.

It had nearly 400K views and ranked first in just three hours since its upload.

The channel owner, Sonald, wasn’t paid by WePlug and genuinely praised the game throughout the video.

For Ju-Hyeok who was new to gaming, Sonald’s defense seemed too good to be purely genuine.

Regardless, the comment section was favorable.

They praised Red Hat for leaving a weakness in the zombies intended for the ending.

Player testimonials on the game’s freedom and immersion poured in. Perhaps because of this, sales surged the next day. It even caught some media attention.

Articles like these flooded in. Ignoring the media's penchant for sensational wording, the game’s outstanding performance among foreign games was undeniable.

Even the community garden, the source of all these events, now took a completely different stance as the situation unfolded.

Sang-Hyeon read the somewhat peaceful reactions in the community garden.

"Yeah. It's this weekend."

Ju-Hyeok adjusted his glasses and praised Sang-Hyeon’s choice of venue for the fan meeting.

"It’s definitely a good choice. Chicken and beer are universally loved. The casual atmosphere like hanging out with friends will feel more approachable. And…"

He pointed to a game logo on one side of his monitor.

"… Now we move on to this?"

"Right."

Sang-Hyeon munched on almonds as he responded, “I liked that one.”

“It's a bit unfortunate that the Korean civilization is weak.”

“It doesn't matter unless it's a national competition. You can choose any civilization you like. There's no need to stick to one.”

Indeed, it didn’t matter unless someone was a hardcore player participating in national competitions like Ju-Hyeok said. There was no rule saying that Koreans had to play the Korean civilization.

“No. Shouldn’t I play the Korean civilization? Aren't we going to participate in national competitions?”

Sang-Hyeon felt determined as he chewed on almonds.

“National competitions? That takes up a lot of time.”

Only hardcore players could endure those national competitions due to the brutal schedule.

The game’s lack of popularity in Korea wasn’t just because the Korean civilization was weak. It was also due to the poor work-life balance in Korea, where few had time to invest in gaming.

Ju-Hyeok objected, but Sang-Hyeon spoke as if it were obvious.

“Korea is losing terribly. As a Korean, I should participate!”

“Sounds like the Korean War has broken out…” Ju-Hyeok jokingly said, but stopped mid-sentence.

Strangely, Sang-Hyeon had a strong attachment to his country. It was probably due to his aspiration to be a national representative in archery.

“Alright. Let's see about the national competitions when the time comes. It’s still far off.”

Ju-Hyeok simply let it go, knowing it was impossible to change Sang-Hyeon’s mind. He had known this about Sang-Hyeon since that guy poured all his money into the capsule.

Most importantly, Ju-Hyeok didn't want to say it wouldn’t work or that it would be too much for his physical condition.

He didn't want to define or limit Sang-Hyeon like that.

***

Almond's stream went live at 3 P.M.

After he took a day off, the viewers seemed even more excited.

Quick-witted viewers already noticed the title.

“Today’s game is…”

Almond changed the stream category as he began his opening speech.

“Civil Empire!”

Viewers greeted him with donations.

“Thanks, RubySword. Everyone might not know much about it. A temporary ban for you, Snake.”

“Thank you, ActuallyGood. Happy birthday, Haha!”

After the casual chit-chat donations, Almond delved into explaining the game.

“First, let me explain as a viewer suggested. Everyone, do you know RTS?”

“Yes. The one with the mouse.”

RTS (Real Time Strategy) was a game genre that was once dominant in Korea. Players often oversaw battles and production from above in RTS games. These games required high-level strategies and psychological warfare. RTS games would be at the top if there were difficulty ratings since they took place in real-time and weren’t turn-based.

At first glance, the RTS genre seemed completely unsuitable for Almond. He wasn’t known for intellectual plays and the RTS genre was the epitome of strategy games.

He would likely struggle terribly in his attempt.

Would Ju-Hyeok have chosen a game that was unsuitable for Almond?

“I'm not commanding in this game. Rather, I’ll play as one of those units. At least in the beginning.”

“It's like being a soldier in a huge war.”

Thus, Almond began a new genre and entered a new realm of gaming.

1. Sshibal is a curse word equivalent to the f word in korean. ☜