Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 185

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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 185
63. Continental Shift (4)
“Hehehehe!”
“Ambush successful!”
“We got them! We got them! Yes!”
“This is going to be such good practice!”
Greentea’s team had successfully ambushed three enemies while all five of us hid in the brush.
Though we’d let one slip away, there was no helping it.
If we didn’t return to our positions soon, the gains we’d made from eliminating two enemies would be wasted.
If we got greedy here and wasted time, we’d end up missing out on minion experience and gold, putting us right back where we started.
‘Or worse, actually.’
As a Master, Greentea had seen this happen countless times. Five players wasting time trying to squeeze out more kills, and the whole team ends up starved for experience and gold.
‘That’s just stupid.’
Farming gold and experience from minions and jungle monsters is a safe asset.
Killing enemy Contractors is an unreliable asset.
One enemy Contractor is worth thirty to forty minions.
Minions come in waves of twenty. The interval between minion waves is about twenty seconds.
In other words, just by comfortably killing two waves of minions over forty seconds, you gain more than you would from killing an enemy Contractor—with zero risk.
‘Forty seconds = one Contractor kill’
This formula emerges.
‘Twenty seconds = half a Contractor kill’
Cut it down to twenty seconds, and it becomes this.
Why calculate down to half a kill?
Because five allies just rushed in.
If all five waste time equal to half a kill each? That’s two and a half kills worth of time.
For Greentea’s team, who only eliminated two enemies, anything over twenty seconds means a net loss.
There are far more complex loss factors involved, but this simplified breakdown covers the basics.
“Everyone, fall back!”
That’s why Greentea emphasized returning home again and again.
[Sanctuary Return]
[Maintain non-combat status for 8 seconds]
Whoooosh…!
He activated the return teleport that all Contractors possess by default and continued speaking.
“Now buy items and each return to your lane──”
──Crack!
The sound of mana piercing through the air cut off Greentea’s words.
“Ugh!”
The Giant Machine beside Greentea staggered.
Screeeech…!
As the massive robot wavered, all its components shrieked in protest.
The return teleport was naturally severed.
“What, what?!”
Greentea spun around in shock.
‘Is he insane?’
There was Ran, his brilliant golden hair streaming behind him as he rushed through the undergrowth.
It was Almond.
‘He’s chasing all five of us alone?!’
Five of them had turned their backs and fled, yet here he came, pursuing them as if he intended to throw away the lives he’d spared.
Had this been actual reality, it would have been an extraordinarily foolish decision.
However, this was a battlefield, and we were Contractors.
There was no need to be bound by our lives.
‘Making a judgment like this… Silver?’
Grit.
Greentea clenched his teeth.
“Damn it. Catch that bastard!”
“Okay!”
Boom!
All the teammates turned around.
A single golden-haired boy came to a halt, facing the massive Gigant, the monster, and Sana.
‘Once they turn back, he maintains distance….’
It was the moment Ran’s objective became crystal clear.
That bastard had no intention of catching us.
He was simply going to drag out time.
‘Now that it’s come to this….’
If Ran made up his mind, he could have prevented all five of them from returning.
‘We can’t just catch him—we have to drive him away.’
Either capture him, or threaten his life severely enough to send him far from here.

* * *
King Gul’s excited voice rang out across the arena.
“Ah! Right now Almond is! Almond is holding off five players by himself!?”
Five players had turned around and were now facing off against Almond alone.
Regardless of the actual situation, it was a visually dramatic scene.
Whoosh…!
The five players began to charge forward.
None of them possessed Ran’s range. Even Sana drew her bowstring while running.
“T-they’re all rushing in! Are they trying to catch him!?”
“I’m curious how Almond will respond to this….”
Even the Analyst nervously adjusted his red glasses.
The white light reflecting off his lenses.
Crackle.
Almond was gathering pure white mana on his index finger.
The Analyst’s eyes widened slightly.
“Almond has chosen not to flee?”
“It seems that way!!”
King Gul, trembling with excitement, sprayed saliva as he spoke.
“Is he about to show us something!?”
In a 5 versus 1 situation, showing something. And all of them were at level 1 with no growth differences.
The only difference was the players’ individual skill. That’s why King Gul’s heart was pounding even harder.
If he showed something here….
‘Could it be a continental shift?’
King Gul’s curiosity might finally be satisfied.

* * *
Crackle…!
Pure mana converging at the tips of Almond’s fingers.
A faint silhouette of a pistol materialized in his left hand.
Crackle….
Blurry like a hologram running low on battery.
It wasn’t like this when I manifested the bow.
A bow had appeared, shining so brilliantly it hurt to look at.
‘Definitely… this is harder.’
So Ran’s thought manifestation ability was this difficult.
-Is this even working?
-It’s not firing, is it?
-Ran needs every single shot to count…
The viewers were worried too, seeing Almond’s form that looked unstable at first glance.
But Almond organized his thoughts.
‘Breathing, aiming, release.’
I focus only on these three steps.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve paid closer attention to pistol shooting.’
When I was at the athletes’ village, archery competitors subtly felt competitive with the shooting athletes.
To be precise, it might’ve been inferiority. After all, guns are superior weapons compared to bows.
It was really petty, but some seniors even teased the archery competitors about it for fun.
So I never learned their methods.
‘But I’ve seen it plenty.’
I didn’t learn because I was conscious of the seniors’ gazes, but I watched from a distance many times.
Position my feet shoulder-width apart in a straight line, and angle my shoulders toward the target I need to shoot.
Shoulders, arms, gun, and line of sight must all align in a straight line.
Unlike archery where there’s a process of drawing the bow, there’s no particular strength needed besides supporting the gun, so it seemed they minimized trembling by releasing as much tension as possible from the upper body.
Then the other hand goes in a pocket or rests on the pants. Otherwise it sways and interferes with aiming. That’s how much they avoid using any muscles in the upper body.
‘Finally, breathing….’
Once I’ve set my stance, I steady my breathing.
The principle of breathing was the same.
After exhaling, leaving only adequate air. At the moment of release—the moment of pulling the trigger—I hold it.
His trembling index finger straightened.
Crack…!
The pistol manifested in light found a slightly brighter hue.
Now only the release remained.
‘Earlier when I deflected Taco’s attack with the greatsword….’
I adjust my aim point slightly depending on the target’s characteristics.
Lower left.
‘That’s it.’
The trigger caught on his left index finger moves, melting away smoothly.
[Release]
Crack!
Ran’s pure white mana shot forth.
The air filling the atmosphere tore apart, producing a sonic boom.
Boom──

* * *
King Gul shouted.
“He fired!”
Where was the pure white crystalline projectile headed?
‘Gigant?!’
It was the Giant Machine.
With a metallic clang, he drew his greatsword and prepared to deflect the mana bullet.
‘This won’t work….’
The Giant Machine could intercept long-range attacks.
Unlike rapid-fire avatars like Reina, for a ranged dealer like Ran where each shot counts, this was the worst matchup.
But──
‘The legs?’
The pure white crystalline projectile was heading toward the very bottom of the Giant Machine, specifically its far right side.
──Boom!!!
The Giant Machine’s shin.
The brilliant white mana oxidized into dazzling sparks.
[Crap!]
[What?!]
[He didn’t block it!??]
[Ah! Is he trolling!]
Creak, creak….
The massive impact sent the legs staggering.
“On voice chat, they’re blaming Gigant right now. But can you even block something like that?”
“Ah… if it comes from that angle, blocking is impossible. Unless he’d known beforehand and held his sword in reverse grip.”
The Analyst shook his head as if he’d become the Giant Machine himself, lamenting.
King Gul’s voice rose in contrast.
“In soccer terms, he just scored by shooting into the far corner of the goal! Incredible!”
The contrasting reactions of the two prompt viewers to flood the chat with laughing emoticons.
“But does Almond already know how to counter Gigant? That was quite precise.”
“He’s not a player with that kind of experience….”
“Could he have judged it after seeing it just once?! Either way, the Greentea Bagging team keeps jumping! So what about Almond?!”
Crackle!
White mana was once again burning in Almond’s hands.
“Ah, this isn’t a replay, you know!? Are you planning to shoot again? If there’s anything else, I’m currently backing away and charging right now.”
Almond was retreating as far back as possible while charging. Though the speed was slow, he was trying to create even more distance.
“…This is dangerous. Ran has a hard time shooting while moving. Unless he’s shooting with one hand.”
“I was already shooting with one hand! Analyst!”
“What?”
The Analyst jumped in surprise and adjusted his red glasses.
“Yes! Really! Today he wasn’t shooting with the bow! In the first place, isn’t his right hand in his pocket right now!?”
The Analyst’s expression went blank as if he’d been struck.
‘That’s right.’
It was something I hadn’t noticed in the urgent situation. One hand in his pocket. An unimaginable performance.
The effect was that violent and stimulating.
‘Insane bastard!’
He let out an exclamation mixed with curses internally.
“So you hit the very edge of the Gigant Machine’s leg hitbox with one hand?”
“That’s right!”
“…Wow.”
It’s a level of physicality that’s almost absurd.
Ran’s attacks have strong recoil and feel heavy.
To execute that with one hand.
The Analyst wasn’t the only one reacting this way.
-One hand in pocket is so cool
-Why is he shooting like that anyway? Is it a taunt?
-So sick lolol
-Like a competitive shooter
-Two different manifestations?
-The pistol doesn’t work well, looking at it now
-Almond… wait… does Walnut have two? How is he good at both?
The viewers were also surprised by Almond’s style change.
It was unavoidable to wonder why he had to do it that way, but the fact that he could pull off two different styles was definitely a remarkable achievement.
“Whether it’s one hand or two hands! That’s not what matters right now! The Gigant Machine’s remaining health is below 25%!? At this rate, Ran’s characteristics mean a one-shot kill is possible!”
“That’s why the Gigant Machine is hesitating. The Greentea team is in complete chaos right now. You can tell just from hearing the voice.”
The Analyst turned up the voice channel.
[Dude, I’m about to die?]
[Why is Gigant’s health like that!?]
[Damn it, can’t you block that!?]
[How do you block something coming from the edge!]
[Almond’s running away! Hey! Don’t fight!]
[Tch. If Gigant can’t handle ranged attacks, why even bother!]
[Just focus on killing Almond!]
[Almond’s escaping!]
[Just run! Damn it, we’re already late!]
[I’m dying here!]
[Then move out of the way, you bastard! We’re going!]
Hahahaha, what a total mess/disaster party
-No, they’re blaming Gigant for that
I can’t quite tell if it was hard for the giant to block it or what, but it’s hard to see lol
“Reel is a mind game. At this point, wouldn’t you say Almond is already carrying?”
King Gul probed as if asking whether he’d already won the bet.
“You have to watch Reel until the very end.”
“Sigh. You won’t acknowledge it again. You saw Almond’s judgment, didn’t you?”
“Ahem… Let’s watch for now. Greentea’s advantage hasn’t completely disappeared yet.”
“Really? If time drags on like this, usually… mid comes down!”
The moment those words left his mouth, Miho burst out from the brush.
Whoooosh!
She had selected Soleia, Mosol’s main pick.
Soleia has the ability to charge at enemies with tremendous firepower energy.
“Seeing that she learned her first skill as a charge, she’s already made up her mind!”
Boom boom boom!!
Scorching flames swept through, splitting the enemy formation in half. The enemies poured concentrated fire at Miho, but almost all of it missed.
Both Miho’s skills and their attacks missed each other.
But Miho’s flames, even when they missed, remained on the ground burning fiercely, and the Giant Machine was blocked by the flames, unable to rejoin the rest of the team.
‘I just have to push through even if I take damage.’
By the time he made the judgment that he had to join in despite taking damage, it was already too late.
This was the third hesitation. In Reel, such hesitation always comes with a price.
Boom!
[Enemy defeated!]
[Reckless Warrior → Pickle]
“Ah! P-Pickle?!”
Pickle was the player controlling the Giant Machine.
“G-Giant Machine is dead!”
“Ah…”
“In the end! Almond takes him down! This is incredible! He dragged out time against five opponents and ultimately killed one! What is this?!”

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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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