Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 174

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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 1 Episode 174
61. Practice Match (1)
“Let’s rate Almond’s performance.”
King Gul held up his cards and shook them as he asked, but in truth, he had already decided on a score in his mind.
However, he opened his mouth last.
If the most credible person among them spoke first, the others would be influenced by his opinion.
The Analyst was the first to speak.
“Hmm… I’d say around B? I see the potential as A, but currently B is appropriate.”
“That’s quite harsh. He beat a Master in a one-on-one match?”
“One-on-one is actually… almost irrelevant to real siege mode. As for physical ability, the VNS numbers already proved that, so winning one-on-one wasn’t really that surprising.”
“Then what tier do you think his actual level is? He’s Silver now, but many people say he’s clearly not Silver level.”
“Since I gave him B, I’d say somewhere around Platinum or low Diamond. I believe he has enough potential to reach Master in the future. If he were older, there could be even greater possibilities.”
The Analyst had given a B rating, but his verbal assessment was quite favorable.
-Honestly, I think he’s Master level even now
Haha, almond B is perfect.
Nuts are seriously delicious lolol What’s up with Silvershake
-The Analyst really sees it well honestly what does one-on-one have to do with anything. I could beat Jeon-ja-pa one-on-one if I got lucky too.
King Gul, who had been glancing at the chat for a moment, asked another question.
“If Almond’s skill level is around B, why did Takoyaki designate him as the main ADC? He could have been a sub.”
“Hmm…”
The Analyst and another commentator, Song Gi-hun, looked at each other and fell silent for a moment.
King Gul’s questions always had substance to them, so they couldn’t answer carelessly—this thought contributed to the silence.
“We’re on broadcast. Please answer more comfortably.”
When King Gul said that, the two of them stammered and blurted something out.
“Ah, right. Haha. We can’t let the energy drop. In my opinion…”
Though he said comfortably, how could any analyst say such things easily?
“…It was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes. From my perspective, it seems like a clear mistake.”
The Analyst hesitated, but once he spoke, he finished with conviction.
“Takoyaki made a mistake. One-on-one has almost nothing to do with the qualities an ADC should possess.”
“Takoyaki… could Oh Jin-sung not have known that?”
“Of course, since Oh Jin-sung was an excellent player, he would have known. I think he trusted the potential bursting forth from overwhelmingly powerful VNS numbers.”
At the Analyst’s words, the chat flooded with messages cursing Takoyaki.
It wasn’t particularly because his statement was truly credible, or because they deeply trusted the Analyst’s opinion.
Those who already disliked Taco were simply borrowing the Analyst’s words as an effective weapon to jab at him.
Whether being jabbed or being used as a weapon, neither felt good.
This was part of what being an Analyst entailed.
He continued speaking regardless.
“The ADC is the team’s last bastion. They must survive until the end and bear responsibility for the team’s damage. The existence of an ADC who performs well in the late game is always a variable against the enemy team. Taco pursued the ‘result’ of being a variable rather than the ‘premise’ that he must survive until the end.”
“You chose Almond as a variable over Strawberry’s stability?”
“Yes. That’s how it appears to me.”
“That seems rather reckless?”
“Well… yes. But given that their team’s overall strength lags so far behind others, they may have judged that they need to take this reckless gamble and execute a high-risk play.”
King Gul nodded. It was a reasonable point.
He turned his gaze toward his junior commentator, Song Gi-hun.
“So what about you, Gi-hun?”
“Ah, yes… I think Almond is simply playing better. A+ rating.”
“Simply playing better?”
At Song Gi-hun’s decisive statement, Almond’s fans began flooding the chat.
-Nuts faction, let’s go!
-Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond!
-Wow! A Silver who surpasses a Master!
-Call him Silmaster from now on!
“People seem to have a bias, judging him as a newcomer with a low current rank. To be frank, I believe Almond is the superior ADC. You mentioned stability, right?”
Song Gi-hun fumbled with his phone and pulled up a data screen.
“Look at Almond’s average death count.”
“…Interesting.”
Even King Gul had never seen this data before.
Who would bother collecting statistics like average deaths for a Silver rank player? Such data would inevitably be undervalued since opponents playing against him are also Silver rank.
But still…
‘If it’s this extreme, that changes things.’
[Average Deaths: 0.1]
A statistic meaning he died once every ten matches.
It was certainly a remarkable record.
“No matter how casual the matches, no matter how low the Silver rank, could even professionals play without dying once while taking aggressive positioning like Almond does?”
“Hmm… even so, the range of Incarnations he can deploy…”
The Analyst interjected with a counterargument.
Song Gi-hun didn’t back down.
“Almond has mastered approximately three Incarnations in a short time. Ran, Reina, and Sana. The time period given ahead is longer than the time Almond spent playing Reel until now.”
“We can’t guarantee that. With intensive team practice underway, learning more Incarnations…”
The debate had become heated.
Song Gi-hun was more passionate than expected. King Gul stepped in to mediate.
“Now, now. We have more than one or two players to evaluate. We can’t do this.”
“Ah… my apologies.”
“So what do you think, King Gul?”
The Analyst asked while adjusting his glasses.
He was trying to shift some of this heavy burden.
“S.”
King Gul answered without hesitation.
“…?”
“????”
-What are you talking about?
-Not S, but ASS!!!?
What nonsense are you about to spout now lol
-King Gul mode: ON!
“I was uncertain at first. But after seeing the data Gi-hun brought, I became convinced.”
“Even so, he’s Silver rank….”
“Current rank is irrelevant. He just finished his placement matches, and as you know, Reel’s ranking system is extremely conservative—it shows no mercy to new players without stored MMR data from the previous season. Even if he wins all his placements, he’d still be Silver.”
“Isn’t that why you’re giving him a B rating? The jump is too large. If it were S, that would be a Grandmaster-level score, wouldn’t it?”
“I believe he’ll grow to that level during the tournament. Since this is a power ranking for the tournament anyway, I’ll raise him to S ahead of time. It adds to the entertainment value as well.”
True to form, it was the composure of a veteran. Usually, analysts fear their predictions being wrong and avoid opinions that diverge from public sentiment.
But he was doing the opposite, claiming it heightened the entertainment. This was likely what separated tier-one commentators from the rest—their boldness.
“However, let me clarify this point. I’m not overrating Almond as an ADC. As an ADC, Almond is precisely an A-tier player in my assessment.”
“…Excuse me!?”
The analyst and Song Gi-hun were even more startled this time.
‘He’s only played ADC?’
‘There’s no gameplay record for other positions?’
Well, that was because Almond had never played any position other than ADC until now.
“Then, which position are you referring to?”
“Hmm… I think I understand why Taco put Almond as the main ADC.”
“?”
“First, Taco can cover his lacking stability as the support. That’s why the main position was set as ADC, and the position that will awaken his explosive power is the sub-position.”
“…Pardon?”
He was saying increasingly outrageous things.
No matter how much of a half-joking character he was on personal streams, King Gul was a credible commentator.
‘What is he trying to say? Could it be….’
Song Gi-hun, who usually admired him, grew worried.
“I believe Almond is S-tier when he plays mid lane.”
He finally said it.
You’re crazy lol, who do you think you are
-But Miho plays mid!?!?
-Miho is mid? Miho is mid? Miho is mid? Miho is mid?
-Almond has never played mid. How would you even know that?
-Wait what!?
-Mid Almond??? Awakening isn’t even a mid champion….
-If anything, support would make more sense.
“Since we’re on the topic of Almond… let’s go ahead and evaluate the team as well. It was Balloon Stars, right?”
But King Gul himself simply shifted the topic to team evaluation as if nothing had happened.
“Balloon Gum, Strawberry Shooter, Miho, Almond, Takoyaki… that’s the lineup….”

* * *
“Sigh….”
After watching all the evaluation broadcasts, Taco’s expression became hollow.
‘They predicted a mid lane joker pick.’
I hadn’t pinpointed the flash sword exactly, but I’d recognized that the roster considered the destructive power of the sub-position.
‘Their skills are no joke.’
King Gul and I had been bickering since our professional days, so I knew his abilities well.
His eye for talent was truly exceptional.
‘But….’
My eyes turned toward the power ranking chart.
“This bastard praised Almond and my roster so much, so why is the score like this?”
[15th Place] [Balloon Stars]
Out of 16 teams, we were ranked 15th.
Hahaha, so that’s why they praised them at first—to give them a low score afterwards, lol.
-You fell for it again, Taco!!
-15th place lol
I knew our team had no Grandmasters and no Challengers—we were weak.
But I never expected to receive a 15th place ranking out of 16 teams.
Were the other teams just that strong?
“That’s too much.”
Miho pouted in complaint.
“If it weren’t for Almond, we might have gone to 16th.”
She was an Almond fanatic, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. This time, she was correct.
If King Gul hadn’t given Almond such high praise, we could have received last place.
At her words, Almond’s lips curved up slightly.
Look at Almond and Shek laughing haha
-Almond: I’m good
Haha, the way they’re quietly laughing is so annoying lol
Haha, that’s so ridiculous/funny
-Leave Miho alone, Almond. This is getting serious.
I quickly boosted the team’s morale.
“Ahem…. The power ranking doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just the commentators giggling among themselves and assigning scores. That’s what the power ranking is.”
I spoke as if it were nothing, but irritation was already evident in my tone.
Taco Shack is seriously pissed lol
-???: I’m not mad(while smashing the desk)
I’m the angriest person in the world lol
“I’m not mad, you bastards!”
Boom.
Without realizing it, my face flushed red as I shouted at the chat.
Only the innocent teammates were startled.
“Ah, well… I mentioned that on my broadcast.”
Puhahaha.
A burst of laughter swept through the waiting room.
“Ahem. Anyway, we have team-based practice today. It continues from now on. We’ll be doing friendly matches against other teams. Like preparing for the World Cup.”
Taco approached the Power Ranking chart as he spoke.
“The team we’re facing today is….”
His hand passed over the top 10 of the chart and climbed a bit higher.
“…Well, they’re a team worth trying against.”
That was only Taco’s opinion.
Our first practice match opponent was ranked 11th in the Power Rankings.
[Solo Is Back]
A team called Solo Is Back.
What particularly caught my eye was the Challenger mark.
An ID called ‘Mosol’.
‘So they have a Challenger.’
It was an uncommon team with a Challenger, yet ranked 11th in Power Rankings. It must be because the other teammates’ strength was lacking.
I then checked the ADC’s rank.
‘Platinum….’
A Platinum ADC and Bronze support.
Our side had a Diamond support and Silver ADC.
Our balance was roughly even.
[A practice match request has arrived!]
Beep!
Massive text floated about in all directions, making a loud commotion.
It was one of DisWorld’s features.
It was time for the first practice match.
“Alright. Let’s do our best. Let’s change that Power Ranking nonsense through this practice match.”
As Taco, the captain, placed his hand on the text, the entire team was summoned to the Rift’s waiting room.
‘…Wow.’
I, experiencing team ranked matches for the first time, couldn’t help but marvel.
It was because of the waiting room’s presentation.
As if preparing for war, five Contractors stood facing each other in perfect formation, and behind them, Minion soldiers were spread out densely.
[Please select the Avatar to ban.]
Dun-dung──
Grand background music announced that the game was now truly beginning.
This was the time to select which Avatars the opposing team couldn’t use.
From this point on, it was already a kind of card game.
“For now, they get to ban first, not us.”
Taco informed his teammates of the current situation while racking his brain over what to ban first.
“Should we ban their main character, oppa?”
“No. It’s a practice match, so I want to see what it feels like to go all out against them.”
The moment I said that, the ban went through.
[Ban #1]
[Cold-Blooded Arcane Archer – Reina]
The opponent had banned Reina.
Taco’s mouth curved into a smirk.
“Looks like they’re trying to do this properly?”
The opponent clearly wasn’t planning to take this practice match lightly.

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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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