Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 1175
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 5 Episode 60
20. The Legendary Stronghold Enhancement (1)
About five minutes earlier.
The moment Jello realized Popcorn was in this game, he’d already assured himself of victory and was essentially regaling his chat with old war stories from his professional days.
“…And that’s when Popcorn’s Druid avatar got picked and came out. This was back when the meta wasn’t like it is now. I mean, that dizzying form-shifting nonsense—could that even work in virtual reality? That’s what I thought back then….”
-Hey Jello! Stop spouting nonsense and focus on the game!
-Info) Jello only played one season of Ril Champs before the team disbanded…
Stop bringing that up again lol
Among Popcorn’s main avatars, there were roughly three famous ones.
But the one most talked about was probably the “Druid – Manté” gameplay.
Back in those days when handling form-shifting avatars in virtual reality was considered nearly impossible.
With all those clunky controls, the disorienting camera shifts, and motion sickness.
He’d adapted to every element and displayed near-perfect mastery.
Form-shifting avatars like Druids had the characteristic that once your proficiency increased, you could handle any situation.
Back then, no one at the top could stand against him.
“But he ran into Jello, who was just a rookie back then—a microorganism, you could say. Of course, I’m at the top now, so we didn’t meet on the same lane….”
Microbe jello lol
Were you a microorganism back then too? lol
-Compared to Popcorn in his prime, he definitely was
Why don’t you just get beaten up and cry about it? lol
Even as Jello’s voice grew wistful with nostalgia, he still corrected the odd comment.
“Cry? Who cried, you crazy bastard. We were actually evenly matched, I’m telling you? Everyone saw our entrance…Wait!?”
That’s when Jello suddenly got excited.
“They, they’ve met!?”
Popcorn and Almond’s team had finally encountered each other.
lol
-Oh
-The end of the Stronghold…
-Fat Man deployed!
“Right now Popcorn’s specs—he emptied the vault to enhance the Stronghold with legendary runes, and he’s even one level higher than Almond? If they meet like this, it’s just a natural disaster!?”
When Popcorn appeared, the most excited wasn’t the community users worried about the Ttokcheong Stronghold, nor was it the Rilpro survival board users who’d bet too much on the mission bounty.
It was Jello.
“Just go for it! Suhan! Do it for me!!”
Hahahahahaha
Hahahahaha lol
Lol naming names
-Will he actually do it?
But this is way too broken lol
Someone had finally appeared to settle a grudge spanning three generations.
There was no way not to be thrilled.
“Grraaaagh!”
Popcorn burst forward in an instant, eliminating Balloon Gum before the enemies could even register what happened.
[Popcorn → Balloon Gum]
Jello spat while even making a hand-knife gesture.
“The moment he enters! Just Balloon Gum, gone!”
That’s how much his mood had lifted.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (lol/haha)
-Reina should’ve seen this…
I’m really pissed off lol
-Wow Popcorn Druid is so cool
I can’t translate this line as it appears to be corrupted or nonsensical Korean text with random characters and laughter symbols (ㅋㅋㅋㅋ). It doesn’t form meaningful words or phrases.
-Damn
and lol
“This is Popcorn! This is Balloon Gum! That’s just the caliber of man he is! Balloon Gum!!”
I have a grudge against bubble gum lol
-He must’ve suffered under Kkeom…
Hahahahahahaha
Hahahahaha lol
“See, Popcorn cleanly took out just Balloon Gum and didn’t get greedy, pulling back? Ah~ excellent judgment. If he’d gotten greedy and pushed further, a Druid without bear form is surprisingly fragile and would just melt away. But you know what the real key point here is?”
Jello, excited for the first time in a while, spoke faster.
“Surprisingly, it’s neither Almond nor Popcorn. It’s that Paladin over there.”
He pointed to Letmi’s Paladin.
“Right now with both teams’ formations?! If that Paladin pushes in? Then Almond’s team wins! If he can’t get in!? Then Popcorn’s team wins! But!”
Just as Letmi tried to push in, Popcorn lightly knocked her over in wolf form.
“Exactly~~! You just hit the crucial point right there? Suhan!”
-Wow
-Damn
That’s hilarious ㅋㅋㅋ
-Ohhh
-Jello’s still got sharp eyes
“The enemies won’t just sit there. Almond charges in, bombs flying everywhere! But he just whoosh~ eagle form into the sky! What’re you gonna do?”
Jello thrust his face forward as if he were Popcorn himself, asking the question.
“Huh? If I fly away, what can you guys even do?”
Hahahahaha
Haha, seriously though lol
-Seriously insane for real
-Grinning thinking about that prize money~
“And Popcorn. Dodging projectiles in mid-air is genuinely his talent? You can’t land a hit on him!”
The reason Jello’s face was this flushed with excitement?
[If Balloon Gum’s team gets first place, twerking. If Balloon Gum’s team doesn’t get first place, 300,000 won.]
Well, there are direct reasons like that too.
Maintaining dignity, three generations of vengeance, and so on.
The reasons are countless, but the strongest one among them.
‘Kkeom-under-Jello cannot happen.’
Kkeom-under-Jello.
I wanted to avoid this situation at all costs.
Right now Jello was also in the middle of the placement exam.
Jello was nearly dead last.
And Balloon Gum was going to take first place here?
The scores could end up nearly equal, or Jello might even rank lower.
Even a tie in this fight would be a loss.
‘This absolutely cannot happen.’
Jello desperately prayed and shouted.
For Popcorn to please end this game.
“I’m Oksuha! I’ve come to end this stronghold! Draaaaagh… Wha—?!”
That’s when Jello’s eyes went wide in disbelief.
Almond had soared into the air following Popcorn.
Or more precisely, he had blinked into the sky.
“An aerial duel?!”
Crack!
“Here Popcorn’s team is half—… Huh?”
Crack!
After two blinks.
“Th-this really hurts when I’m an eagle form?!”
[Spinning Strike]
[Blade Force]
Shhwaaaaaack!
My worst fear had become reality.
“Cr-crazy!!”
lol
-Gasp
-What
and lol
-In mid-air?!
-Ran dodging attacks is seriously insane
-That’s cracked fr
-???: Your boyfriend’s insane!
* * *
‘Got him.’
Almond’s attack connected perfectly.
It was exactly as I’d anticipated from watching the footage.
The moment he took the falcon form and flew up was his complete weakness.
More precisely, once he assumed the falcon form, closing in for close-range combat was the exploitable weakness.
This was a weakness that could scarcely be exploited without an incarnation like the Rubisword.
‘I thought he’d know about it.’
Since Jeon-ja-pa, his colleague, was so famous for the Rubisword, I naturally assumed he’d be aware of it.
Yet he fell for it easily.
The impact transmitted perfectly through my fingertips.
Almond rotated his body and checked his opponent to deliver another blade strike.
‘Huh?’
[Health 97%]
The health bar barely decreased.
I knew the falcon form had extremely low durability.
‘What the—’
Roooaaarrr…!
It wasn’t a falcon.
[Bear Form]
It was the bear form.
The bear form grants a shield upon initial transformation, significantly increasing defense and magic resistance.
Huff!
Moreover, the bear’s uppercut launches you airborne if it connects.
What happens when you get launched airborne in mid-air?
‘I’ve experienced this bug before.’
Training with Balloon Gum and Ril, I’ve encountered all sorts of glitch phenomena.
I also learned what happens when you get launched airborne again while already in the air.
Suddenly the z-axis coordinate value spikes several times over, sending you flying upward as if you’d leave the map.
That’s what Popcorn is aiming for right now.
Smirk.
A smile forms at the corner of Popcorn’s mouth.
‘I’ve fought against Rubisword users plenty of times.’
In aerial combat, the Rubisword user is equally restricted.
Whoosh!
This uppercut won’t be avoided either.
The blink is on cooldown anyway.
Didn’t I use it twice already?
‘You’re done.’
Once the airborne effect triggers, he’ll shoot up to an extreme height, and in that moment, Popcorn will shift into falcon form and strike again.
That was the plan.
‘What?’
In an instant, hair blazing white and eyes gleaming crimson.
〔I fulfill the contract sealed in blood.〕
‘Kang-sin Technique?’
[Kang-sin Technique – Sword Multiplication Art]
Using Kang-sin Technique mid-air.
At level 2, it creates 2 additional swords for a total of 6 blades.
A powerful technique that allows me to control 6 swords and even blink to their positions.
‘Even if I blink, wouldn’t it be right there?’
The positions where the swords materialize after activating Kang-sin Technique were predictable.
They’d all be caught in the bear’s massive uppercut radius anyway.
Whoosh!
But then─
[Blink]
The blink activates regardless.
Crack!
Almond disappears briefly, reappearing nearly 2 centimeters to the side.
The bear’s paw sweeps past overhead.
‘Huh?’
He evaded the uppercut using the invincibility frames from the blink.
And our eyes meet.
Almond swings his swords without hesitation.
Whoosh!
The bear form takes the impact.
[Health 83%]
‘Damn.’
I tried to counterattack, but now Almond’s swords spread out in all directions.
Crack!
Almond appears above Popcorn’s right side and slashes again.
Boom!
This time I react, swatting with a bear paw.
Almond gets knocked back and pushed away.
Then immediately I shift forms.
Pop!
[Falcon Form]
Transforming into a falcon, I retreat and take flight.
‘Damn. All my falcon transformation stacks are gone.’
The form transformation cooldown begins ticking.
Form transformations include falcon, bear, and wolf, each with separate cooldowns and 2 charges stored.
For example, if the Falcon form’s cooldown is 15 seconds, then after 30 seconds pass, I can use the Falcon form twice in succession.
That’s why transformations like ‘Falcon – Bear – Falcon’ become possible.
But this is a kind of ultimate combo that shouldn’t be used carelessly.
Because the cooldown penalty for using stored skills is absolutely brutal.
‘Still, I used that well.’
Whoosh!
Soaring into the sky, Popcorn thought to himself.
‘I just baited out his Kang-sin ability.’
The enemy’s Kang-sin ability has a time limit, and the longer the aerial combat drags on, the more advantageous it is for me.
‘I’ll settle this in the shortest time possible.’
Popcorn already knew Almond was coming.
He had to know.
Because Almond was the one pressed for time.
[Blink]
Crack!
This time from Popcorn’s lower left.
When did the blade come from there? But there’s no time for such thoughts.
The sword strike flies in.
Slash!
[Sword Strength]
[Spinning Strike]
The same trap as before.
‘Take this then.’
I cover it with the Falcon’s skill.
Popcorn folds his wings.
[Wind Sphere]
Whiiiing!
A circular wind current protects the Falcon.
The Rubisword’s strike bounces off.
Ting!
It’s a Falcon form skill.
I gather wind around myself and shape it into a sphere.
[Shatter]
Then destroy it at the desired moment to push enemies away.
Popcorn deliberately closes in on Almond while casting the skill.
Boom!
‘Back off.’
Popcorn flaps his wings and triggers the shatter.
This does almost no damage but instead delivers an instant knockback in all directions.
Since it’s instant, there’s no way to avoid it.
Crack!
[Blink]
He blinked again.
“!?”
No damage whatsoever.
The moment he blinked, he slipped through invincibly.
Not just once, but twice.
‘What is this.’
This wasn’t something you could do by reacting.
He knew the exact timing of my destruction.
The bear transformation uppercut from before was the same.
Form transformations mid-air weren’t situations you encountered often.
Without a shred of panic, his follow-up after the Kang-sin was flawless, pressuring me in 0.01-second intervals.
‘This bastard.’
Popcorn was now certain.
‘He analyzed me.’
Almond’s eyes met his.
Eyes burning crimson in his Kang-sin state.
‘….’
Popcorn’s eyes dimmed.
Even the last traces of playfulness vanished completely.
‘Why…..’
Crunch.
‘Why does he remind me of that guy?’
Before the sword strike swung at him again, sparks ignited in Popcorn’s eyes too.
〔Behold the legendary power spoken only in myths!〕
The voice of the divine being echoed alongside the crimson light in his eyes.
[Legendary Kang-sin – Form of the Vermillion Bird]
He activated the Kang-sin enhanced by Runes.
* * *
[Beginner Tip]
[Did you know? Certain Runes can enhance your skills when obtained. If they’re legendary Runes, they can even enhance Kang-sin abilities, they say.]
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————