Genius Archer's Streaming

Viewers flocked in droves despite the stream starting unusually early at 1 P.M.

Initially, around a thousand viewers showed up and the number began to swell from there.

Remarkably, the viewership crossed ten thousand right after Almond started. Even though his average viewership had reached around twenty thousand before, such numbers on a non-event day were unprecedented. This was likely due to interest in the national team competition and yesterday's fan meeting buzz.

The title of the stream also played its part.

Even those only remotely familiar with Almond couldn't help but tune in with such an enticing title. Of course, sviewers expressed concern.

Unfortunately, their worries were unfounded. Almond wouldn’t undergo any hellish training to shock the world on the first day.

"Thank you for donating right at the start RubySword. The title is simply referring to training for the national team competition where we will shock the world. There's nothing too extreme, actually."

In other words, it was just clickbait. The viewers commented further.

It was clickbait, but not a lie. As Almond nonchalantly thought this, another donation cin.

"Yes, of course. We're training."

Using such a title without any actual training would be absurd. What the training would be remained unknown.

An invite message popped up while the chat bombarded Almond with playful banter.

"An invite just arrived. Let's go."

"Hello!"

Viewers saw Kimchi Warrior for the first tand thought he looked quite ordinary. If they had to describe him unfavorably, he looked a bit bland. If they were being favorable, he had a gentle demeanor.

"Am I being judged on my looks right now?"

Kimchi Warrior seemed to have quick wit.

Almond shook his head.

"No, no. This channel isn't about judging appearances."

"Ah..."

Kimchi Warrior just chuckled at the comments. He knew being judged on camera was part of the deal when showing one's face. He quickly moved on to the main topic.

"Starting today, we'll be working on raising your rank. You're curious about how we'll assist you, right?"

Almond nodded, prompting Kimchi Warrior to continue.

"Commanders and players can play as a duo. That's the system we'll be using."

"... The viewers don't seem to think it’ll make any difference," Almond noted.

"Why not?" Kimchi Warrior asked with a puzzled look. Almond shared the chat box with him to communicate more easily.

The chat box floated in front of Kimchi Warrior.

"... Are they judging my appearance?" he joked after a glance.

"They're still doing that?" Almond asked a bit flustered.

"Just kidding, but you said ‘still?’ Ah, well, I understand what you're all saying. Normally, commander-player duos are meaningless."

Kimchi Warrior smoothly continued after their encouragement, "But it can be quite useful in situations like this. It's a different story if the player has great skill and the commander knows how to take advantage of that."

"Correct. The ranks of a commander and player can’t differ by more than two tiers. That's why we secured a B-rank commander. We've been brainwashing him with our strategy and expect a 70-80% win rate in the lower ranks."

Kimchi Warrior's strategy was simple. Get a B-rank commander and instill the strategy he had in mind into them through intensive training. If they could properly execute the strategy, a remarkable win rate was expected at least in the lower ranks.

"Our initial goal is to reach A+ rank. We plan to go up one rank per day until then."

Kimchi Warrior prioritized reaching A+ rank with an 80% win rate.

"The real challenge starts afterward... but we won't climb to A+ for free. We'll devise another strategy based on the data collected during the climb."

The real problem would start at A+ rank. That was when the real fight would begin. They hadn’t thought of how to break through that barrier yet and would have to find a solution while climbing the ranks.

"That's all. According to my calculations, we should play about eight games today."

The viewers reacted to Kimchi Warrior's confident and assertive tone.

Almond also felt surprised.

To declare an 80% win rate in such a gso nonchalantly…

Almond increasingly admired Kimchi Warrior.

"Oh, is he here?"

In the meantime, Kimchi Warrior was communicating with someone.

"Oh, good. Then..."

Kimchi Warrior gestured to Almond.

"Shall we go? The commander is ready," Kimchi Warrior said and created a portal.

"Am I not supposed to hear the strategy?"

Almond had only been informed about playing as a duo with a B-rank commander, but he hadn't heard about the important strategy they would be using.

Kimchi Warrior blatantly lied about this, but Almond simply nodded and entered the portal.

***

"Hey, Almond. Long tno see. Someone's been waiting for you here. Seems like a high-ranking official."

He was referring to the commander Almond was supposed to team up with. The tavern keeper handed him a note.

"He left this for you."

The note contained a message.

Almond accepted and a grand portal appeared.

"You already have a commander looking for you, Almond!? Wow!"

The usual enthusiastic tavern keeper entered the portal first, followed by Almond.

After entering, Almond found himself in a medieval palace meeting room. Someone sat in the main seat among a dozen or so chairs.

"Hello there."

He was the commander Almond would be partnering with. This man in his twenties had an aura similar to the first tAlmond saw Bubblegum. Something about their laughter seemed familiar.

Almond felt a wave of unease as he recalled Bubblegum's skills. Actually, it felt more like terror.

"Please have a seat. The queue is already loading. You just need to wait."

"Ah, okay."

The queue was already loading? Almond realized that commanders played the gfrom a different perspective.

Mercenary players looked out for incoming requests to accept and join, but commanders had to find opponents to fight.

Almond expected it to take stand settled into his seat.

"I've seen all your videos. I'm just worried I might becthe problem... I mean, I live up to my nicknas a B-rank commander... I joined because I really want to rank up this time..."

"Ah... okay."

Almond was already feeling uneasy. Now this guy was essentially saying he was born to be B-rank.

Yenmazing's Thoughts

BornTo'B'

'B' Rank

Coincidence?