Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 1261

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 5 Episode 146
45. Preemptive Eradication (2)
Doughnutz.
Forty-three years old.
An age where he could no longer compete in gaming.
The thirty-something Doughnutz who had once laughed at the popular webtoon “Around Forty” no longer existed in this world.
He had become the very age he used to mock.
Everyone has an initial reaction when faced with something catastrophic.
It’s the denial of reality itself.
The moment Doughnutz turned forty, he was no exception.
‘No. I… I’m not dead yet!’
He deliberately dressed like a young person, exaggeratedly chased trends, all while denying his age.
He denied his age.
He believed he could still play games at a level comparable to people in their thirties, even if not like his twenties.
Though he wasn’t originally a game streamer, he had become unusually obsessed with winning.
But nothing went smoothly.
His body couldn’t keep up with his mind.
His VNS stats were exactly the average for someone in their forties.
Nothing particularly bad, nothing particularly good—just an ordinary forty-something.
There was no way he could win using his old methods.
‘Damn it! Damn it!’
And so, the platform championship arrived.
He could no longer deny reality.
He could no longer postpone the problem.
He wanted to show something here.
‘Fine, I’m old!’
He accepted his age.
What remained for him was cunning experience like that of a seasoned fox, and whatever wits still functioned.
He would maximize what he had left.
And entrust the rest to the younger generation’s vitality.
With that resolve, results began improving steadily.
On the day of the team scrim, he achieved his best performance.
Doughnutz was exhilarated.
“That’s it! I’m not dead yet!”
Just like in his youth.
His heart raced.
‘If I finish first this time, it’ll be overwhelming.’
The final set of five.
Finishing first would be the perfect punctuation mark.
But the world, as if it had been waiting, punished him.
Thwack!
“Wh… Rope?”
The rope hook caught on his head.
Crash!
[Foolish Youth Quadra Kill!]
[Foolish Youth → Doughnutz]
“…Wha?”
Before his aged eyes could even follow, he was already dead.
He died at a speed so fast it was embarrassing that he’d just said he wasn’t dead yet.
In truth, the entire sequence took about fifteen seconds, which was quite lengthy, but to Doughnutz’s perception speed, it felt like he died in a single second.
“What, what is this? Am I a Rune Spirit?”
Still unaware that he was a Rune Spirit, he continued sending cognitive-behavioral signals for the [Flight] skill, still thinking he was Valkyrie.
But instead of the magnificent cognitive-behavioral action of forming his hands into a triangle and lifting them upward, all that appeared was a Rune Spirit squeaking.
Squeak! Squeak!
“No, wait! I flew! I pressed it!!”
-…Kekekekeke
-He’s such an old man…
“ㅠㅠㅠ Second place again”
Hahahahaha (laughing)
-Kekekekekekekekekekeke
You pressed it, didn’t you? ㅋㅋㅋ << You're such a dad ㅋㅋ
-Where are you pressing?
Doughnutz, still speaking in the language of the old keyboard and mouse era.
He…
"Sigh… I don't want to get old."
Forty-three years old, a Streamer.

* * *
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!?"
"What!?"
The Coaches all gasped in unison.
"Wait, Almond is flying around!?"
"No, but more than that…."
They all couldn't bring themselves to say it.
'The Agricultural Cooperative guys' combat power is pathetic, isn't it?'
It stood out even more because the opponent was Almond.
Once the two Partners disappeared, watching the middle-aged men crumble helplessly was their final moment.
"Hmm…."
Wanducong, the Agricultural Cooperative's Coach, showed discomfort beside me.
"This is why we've never been able to stay first… but this time it's especially brutal."
I was at a loss for how to give feedback.
"You ran into a pure physical brute force team. Wanducong. Bad luck."
Taco offered consolation from beside me.
"Ugh. Damn. It's over."
The match wasn't technically over yet, but the Coaches had sharp eyes for the game.
In their eyes, the outcome was already decided.
Out of five, the Knight Order had two dead and the Agricultural Cooperative had four dead.
All from one person.
"Wow, Almond's sound is seriously terrifying."
Sardine shuddered.
"That Wind Awakening skill is insane. He's literally a silent hunter."
The wind arrows Almond used were extremely difficult to counter.
Not only were the projectiles invisible, but they were much faster and dealt more damage.
The downside was that it wasn't an area skill or a crowd control effect—just pure damage.
But when this combined with Almond's raw combat ability, most people couldn't even follow the battle with their eyes.
[Foolish Youth Penta Kill!]
A pentakill, in the end.
"Kyaa~!"
Smack!
Taco slapped his forehead in admiration.
"That was pure domination."
-Shocked
-Pentakill shocked
-Lololol no mercy
-Absolutely brutal
-"The Cheetah is laughing"
-Knight Order's score is insane lololol
Once the Knight Order displayed their true capabilities, the Agricultural Cooperative's combat power looked pathetically inadequate, despite being ranked first overall until now.
At this point, Sardine was puzzled.
"But why wasn't he this scary before?"
It wasn't the first time Almond had made Sori scream in a scrim.
But it hadn't been this terrifying before.
"Didn't I tell you? That's because Almond was on a three-person team back then."
Taco's response.
Sardine had already heard this, but still couldn't accept it.
"Is the difference really that big?"
I understood how the team's movements improved with a Split member swap.
But why had Almond's own performance changed so completely?
Did his mood improve or something?
"What is combat power? Isn't it the sum of instantaneous judgment and execution ability?"
"Right."
"Almond is at his peak in both areas. Do you know where his instantaneous judgment comes from?"
"…Why are you talking like that?"
-It's a concept kekekeke
-kekekekekekeke
-kkk Coach mode kk
-Taco's tone when he's trying to sound cool
-Just move on, Sardine
Taco completely ignored her question and spoke.
Tap—
Tapping his own head.
"It's 'autonomy.' Improvisation and wit can't come from a plan. It's instantaneous judgment. But what if he had to confirm every decision with someone else?"
He was referring to Danmuji's existence.
If he'd been with Danmuji Goguma, Almond couldn't have executed that absurd decision to block Reina's arrows.
There would have been no support.
No, forget support—if no objection came back, that would be fortunate.
Almond was human too; if objections were raised, his judgment wavered and slowed.
Danmuji would never raise frivolous objections, and they'd sound reasonable.
Either way would be the right answer.
"Almond has his own correct answer. Danmuji just doesn't understand that yet."
"…I see."
"Of course, if Danmuji were someone who could inject all commands faster than Almond's judgment, that would work. But does such a person exist?"
"Well… no."
Micro-managing with faster judgment than the player?
There are almost no orders capable of that.
"Then is Danmuji actually a hindrance to the Knight Order?"
"No. Essential. He handles the team's basic tactical foundation. Without him, the team would be all or nothing."
"…What?"
"That's why the Knight Order chose the path to save both Almond and Danmuji. It's a difficult path, but we decided to break through it. And… it looks like we actually pulled it off."
Sardine finally understood completely.
The entire concept of the Knight Order's Split.
"We created two heads."
"Exactly."
This was a distribution of leadership.
On the surface, it looked like only members were swapped.
"Just with that…."
Boom.
[1st Place]
The Knight Order claimed first place.
Just as the Coach had declared.
"Wow, wow, we're really first…."
"That's insane. That guy."
"Huh?"
All the other coaches clicked their tongues in disbelief.

* * *
"Waaaaaaaa!"
"Knight Order! Wiiiiin!!"
The Knight Order members rushed toward each other, erupting in cheers.
I'm crying / I'm so sad
-Finally
-Kyaa
-Killed it
-Perfect all the way to the last pentakill kkk
Everyone did well, and I'm so proud ㅠㅠ
-Daegam did it for us~
"We absolutely killed it! Did you see my Iron Ball!? Completely! My heart's pounding! He who dominates teamfights dominates the game!"
"Yeah, yeah~ I thought my heart would burst too."
Hong-cha jabs at Goguma's excitement, but her expression is absolutely delighted.
She's in a good mood.
"Tsk tsk. The ones who did nothing always have the most to say. They think if they don't talk, no one will notice. Just like Gobong!"
Thwack!
Danmuji smacked Goguma's rear as he jabbed back.
But then Danmuji walked over to Almond with a bright smile and gave him a thumbs up.
"Older sister. That last game. You completely carried us."
"Ah, the two of us grew up well anyway."
"That's what carrying means."
'Me, I—!?' Goguma cried out, trying to interject, but I ignored her.
Clap!
Our hands met.
We'd had our share of friction in-game, but ultimately, it felt like we'd found our rhythm.
"Let's keep going like this in the next round."
"Yeah."
The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
'It was like this back in the pro days too.'
I recalled my time as a professional gamer.
Gamers' moods shifted drastically depending on the outcome.
The locker room of the winning team and the losing team were completely different worlds.
'If only it could always be like this….'
Even if we lost, I hoped the winning team's locker room atmosphere would linger as long as possible.
For that to happen, bonds had to form when we won—then blame would diminish when we lost.
With that intention, I approached Lemon.
"Uh…."
Lemon seemed to be adjusting something for a moment.
Probably turning the chat back on.
But that wasn't it….
'What is this.'
Lemon wasn't happy.
But she wasn't angry either.
This was….
'I've seen this before.'
A face that occasionally appeared in the winning team's locker room.
'She's relieved.'
Lemon was relieved about placing first.
What was the difference between that and being happy?
I didn't understand it well at first either.
What kind of outcome it would eventually lead to.
Gulp.
I steeled myself and approached her.
"Gyu-ri."
"Oh, yeah?"
"You did great. You two completely carried that."
"Hehe~ Yes~ yes~ sir!"
Lemon gave a thumbs up with a wink.
She looked bright.
"…."
But I couldn't ignore the faint anxiety seeping from her.

* * *
Sseung!
After the game ended.
They all gathered in the lobby.
All the other teams were present as well.
Buzz, buzz.
The atmosphere was noisy with everyone discussing the previous match.
"Hey. But we didn't get to see our Coach?"
Hong-cha spoke with regret.
"We should've told him about our victory!"
"We should've told him about the legend of Iron Ball!"
Goguma chimed in as well.
-Haha kekekeke
-I really want to beat Goguma kekeke
-Iron Ball lol
-Did you have fun stealing Kkeom's pick!?
-Kekekekekeke It's so scary when he plays well once after losing 100 games…
"Right."
I didn't agree with Goguma's "legend of Iron Ball" at all, but I did regret not seeing the Coach.
"I wanted to get feedback on this split."
-Kekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
-That split again kekekeke
-Split youth
-But the split was pretty sick kekeke
-Kekekekekekeke
-Split youth…
"Oh."
I suddenly spoke as if I'd had a good idea.
"What if I split off with just Lemon and get feedback, while you guys listen to the explanation here?"
"…You're joking, right? Older brother?"
Danmuji's eyes trembled without anyone noticing.
-Lmao kekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
-Now he's trying to solve everything with splits kekeke
-This crazy guy kekeke
-Kekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
-He really is the split youth kekekeke
-Life Achievement: International Tournament Champion, Split
Boom!
That was when it happened.
"The Coach should be available to meet you once he finishes his orientation. Knights."
Camembert appeared.
After whispering that to the Knight Order,
he soared upward with a whoosh and made an announcement.
"Ber-ber-ber~! Greetings, Cheese's streamers. We've completed a total of five matches. How did you find them? I found the final match particularly impressive?"
His gaze drifted slightly toward the Knight Order.
Murmur, murmur.
Commotion erupted from the other teams.
They seemed to be discussing various details about the previous matches.
"I had proposed that Scrim would consist of five matches each. So please think of this as an interim announcement."
It seemed he was about to reveal the overall rankings.
"Ah, before that─"
Camembert changes his words as if he has an important announcement.
"You should understand why we're ranking these Scrim results. That way, you'll all be more motivated."
"…?"
There's a separate reason for ranking the Scrim standings?
-?
-??
-Huh?
-What is it?
-Eh?
-Just messing with us? Kekeke
-What's this about

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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