Chapter 79: Jensen vs. Almond (2)
As its name suggested, a power suit gave its user a tremendous boost in physical stats. It was unusual for a realistic game like Battle Large to feature something out of science fiction. However, the developers eventually added the power suit into the game when they began introducing equipment and weapons for the legendary rarity.
The power suit was so powerful that it deserved to be in a tier above legendary, the godly tier. It was no Iron Man suit, but it had an impressive base defense, the ability to sprint, and the power to nearly kill someone with a punch.
It increased the wearer’s physical capabilities by about three times. However, the power suit was so rare that it could only be found in the Arsenal’s basement or in a care package.
Care packages dropped randomly, so the only reliable way to find the power suit was at the Arsenal’s basement. Of course, it also had a low chance of appearing there. If found, it would make for excellent gameplay on YouTube.
Almond got lucky in that sense, but the problem was that his opponent acquired the suit.
He peeked down the basement stairs and asked, "What's that?"
Slam!
The silhouette down the stairs surprised him. The player ran around wearing a shiny suit. In Battle Large, players could only run so fast if one had the power suit to surpass those limits.
'Did I see that right?'
Almond was seeing the power suit for the first time. Most of the gameplay videos he watched were only skill tutorials. Videos didn't bother to cover the power suit because the chance of encountering it was so low.
— So this is how Jensen killed everyone down there.
— Holy shit
— Power suit?
— Damn!
— As expected of the Arsenal!
— That's insane
— Holy shit, I didn't think I'd see a power suit today.
Slam!
A scream could be heard after the loud noise.
[Jensen → ScreamingPanties]
[Eliminated!]
[68/100]
That seemed to be the last battle down there. Now, Jensen would likely head towards Almond.
'I need to cover the entrance.'
Almond threw the Molotov he had looted from an earlier corpse.
Fwoosh!
The flames blocked the path, and Almond readied his bow. Once the enemy turned around the corner...
— The suit's fireproof!
— It also has a gas mask, so the smoke will be useless. Almost nothing will get through unless you keep shooting at it.
— Just run away!
SLAM!
Shiiik—?
A blue figure sprinted and stomped its way up.
'I can't shoot this.'
Almond's instincts told him that the blue figure would dodge all the arrows. He rolled to the side instead.
Slam!
The blue figure crushed the wall across from him and turned around with a smile.
"Kya! You're Almond, right?"
As expected, Jensen had acquired the power suit and Almond finally took a proper look at it. It didn't look futuristic at all, but more like a poorly designed suit that a sidekick would wear.
Anyways, Jensen already knew who Almond was.
— LOL, another stream sniper?
— Nah, he probably saw in the kill log.
— Who knows, might be another one...
— A stream sniper in a power suit...
— Disgusting!
— Damn! That suit is lame, but so strong.
— The power suit's only downside is that it looks embarrassing!
Almond felt confused and angry regardless of how the suit looked.
'This cocky bastard...'
The opponent acted all confident like the main character in a fighting anime as he chased Almond.
Almond quickly replied with an arrow.
Pang! n0veLuSb.c0m
"Oh!"
The opponent quickly dodged it. That's right. He could move fast enough to dodge the arrows.
'Still... it's not impossible to hit him.'
There should be a way. Battle Large was based on a realistic engine, which meant the power suit was still in the realm of humans. Most importantly, the power suit could only attack with a standard gun.
"At least say hello to my suit!"
Tudududung!
Jensen made pointless remarks and sprayed his gun. His gun was also a legendary weapon, which meant it didn't lack in fire rate, recoil, or power.
Almond would've died if he hadn't quickly hidden behind a container box.
BOOM! BOOM!
The wooden crates behind him blew up instead.
"Oh, shit..."
Almond seemed to panic for the first time.
— LOL
— Woah! Please die!
— Just die once, Almond!
— Is he really going to die here?
— It's your first time dying with a bow, right?
The viewers actually felt overjoyed. Almond had died once before because he couldn't find a bow, but this would be his first time with a bow.
They wanted to see how he would react. He would likely pass it off with a sigh again, but they were still eager to see it.
'Not a chance.'
Almond wouldn’t die so easily again. After all, he was a skill-based streamer.
Ting!
He used three smoke grenades that he had looted from a corpse.
Shiiik...
Smoke covered the area.
"What the! Don't hide!"
Bababang! Bang!
The container box across from Almond fell apart. Thankfully, he had already moved.
"Almond! Let's take a picture together!!! Ahahaha!"
— Damn...?
— That guy's crazy!
— He just wants to shake your hand!
— What's wrong with that guy? LOL
Whether it was a good thing or not, the opponent became drunk on power with the legendary suit on. He was understandably cocky because Almond only had a recurve bow.
[The blue zone will shrink in 30 seconds!]
An alert about the blue zone popped up.
'The location...'
Almond turned pale after checking the map.
"Oh..."
The circle appeared at the farthest point from Almond. Once again, the blue zone abandoned him.
"It's never on my side."
— Oh man!
— That's it! Oh man?
— Oh man.
— LOL
— Oh...
— Ooooohhhh
— Ohohohohoho
Did god dislike Almond? Did the AI make it difficult for Almond because of his skills? Fate was never on his side despite his opponent obtaining the power suit in the Arsenal.
Tudududududu!
Jensen continued firing away while shouting, "Mom! I want to be Almond when I grow up!!!"
"Motherfucker..." Almond couldn't help but curse.
— LOOOOL
— Now this is new...
— Motherfucker... this is rare...
— Oh man...
— This is holy!
— LOL
— Legend!
— Jensen is a madman.
Jensen didn't plan on stopping until Almond came out. If this continued, Almond would eventually die.
"Ohhhhh man! Ohhhhhh! Man!"
Tududududu!!
The shots came closer and closer to Almond.
Light began poking through the dark container box, so Almond quickly moved.
'I can't keep running away. Let's think. What do I have?'
He had a single bow while the opponent had an arsenal of weapons. The bow's advantage over the gun was that it could shoot in different trajectories. Arrows could travel over obstacles and kill their targets.
However, there was a limit to this because they were inside a building with a roof. The arrows could only go so high.
'Scratch that.'
Shooting in different trajectories wasn't possible when there was a roof.
Tududududung!!!
The gunfire started again. One of the bullets scratched Almond's leg.
Psht...
Blood dripped from the wound and his movements slowed.
He had to face Jensen, but not directly. Facing the power suit head-on was suicide even if the opponent let their guard down.
What was the merit of using a bow if he couldn't shoot in different trajectories? A thought suddenly crossed Almond's mind.
'Curve shooting.'
This skill would allow him to curve the arrow and shoot around obstacles. It sounded unrealistic but had actually been done in real battles. Almond never attempted it before and only saw it in videos, but what choice did he have? He ran out of options.
"Found you!"
Slam!
Jensen smiled wide and headed into the container box.
— Oh, shoot!
— Damn! Is this a horror movie?
— Shudders...
— Jensen is hilarious
— Funsen!
— Shiet
Tudududu!!!
Jensen's gun lit up as Almond threw himself to the side and also shot his arrows.
The four arrows quickly left his hand.
Pabababang!
"Oh!"
The opponent dodged in surprise. Even someone in a power suit had to do something when four arrows flew toward their head.
Thankfully, Almond escaped again.
'His aim sucks.'
It took a lot of stamina, but his plan worked out since he managed to surprise Jensen.
Maybe the opponent had terrible aim because he felt too excited. Almond had a decent chance at winning if that was the extent of Jensen’s skills.
'I need to find the perfect obstacle.'
He had a chance at winning if he could find the right obstacle to place between them for a curve shot. He needed a hard and strong obstacle that a gun couldn't shoot through.
A building pillar caught Almond's eye. These pillars were quite big to support the huge building. He could buy some time if he hid behind one.
Countless options ran through his head, but he didn't have the luxury to think.
Tadadak!
He clenched his teeth and ran for it. His avatar with a damaged leg felt off-balanced, but Almond kept running.
The opponent discovered him.
"Ahhhh! Almond! Can I get a signature?!"
Tududududu!
Jensen started firing off again.
Psht!
One of the bullets scratched Almond’s shoulders, but that didn't matter.
'Alright!'
He successfully hid behind the pillar.
[The blue zone is shrinking!]
Almond nocked an arrow onto his bow as the blue zone shrunk. It didn't make a clicking noise like before because he didn't nock it onto the center of the string.
The viewers quickly noticed and questioned him.
— Huh? I don't think he nocked the arrow correctly.
— I think it's because he's rushing.
Almond didn’t nock the arrow at the center of the bowstring, but only one-third of the way up. It didn't click into place because he placed it in a weird position. This would be a difficult shot, but he had no choice.
Almond recalled what he watched in the past and aimed at the pillar where the opponent couldn't see him.
"Phew."
He held his breath and matched his body's rhythm to the bow. His heartbeat slowed as well.
"Wahahahaha!"
Tududududung!
Jensen fired at the pillar and almost blew it up. Thankfully, he was easy to spot.
Shuk.
Almond closed his eyes and pictured the enemy’s location. Jensen was five steps behind the pillar and would come from the right.
Almond bent his bow towards the right and pulled the arrow resting on the string.
Creak...?
The bow would normally stretch into the shape of a fan, but it looked bent this time. The fan began to collapse.
Almond released the arrow.
Swoosh!
— What the? Why's he shooting at the pillar?
— Has he gone crazy too?
— Was it a mistake?
The arrow flying towards the pillar suddenly changed directions like the wind.
— ???
— What?
— Damn!
— What the?!
It flew at an unusual angle. The arrow bent as if it had a mind of its own.
Shiik—?