Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 227

—————
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 1 Episode 227
78. Capsule Adaptation (1)
Summoned into the castle, I tested my body’s lightness by moving around casually.
‘Good.’
It was definitely lighter.
After checking my physical condition, I recalled the key points Taco had emphasized before the game started.
「The focus of this game is the top lane.」
Top lane was the focus. It was the first time I’d heard this during a Nant match.
「Mid can be won without much intervention, and Bottom is hard to break through since our pick is Sana. The top lane is the only variable.」
Top lane was the only line with variables. So we provide support to the top lane to maximize that variable.
This was Taco’s strategy.
In theory, it was a strategy I could fully agree with.
‘Will it work… with Balloon Gum…?’
However, my deep-rooted faith (?) as a devoted fan of Balloon Gum kept interfering with that thought.
No matter how well he played his main pick Iron Ball, it was only around Gold level.
Even though it was a champion he picked openly every day, the enemy team had never once tried to counter it.
That’s how minimal his impact on the game was.
Despite this faith in Balloon Gum…
「Above all, Sana works best when the tank grows well.」
This final remark moved my heart.
No matter what anyone says, the tank has the best healing efficiency.
In this game, the tank needs to grow to a certain degree.
For that to happen, we need to provide support.
To provide support, we need to eliminate minions quickly and push the line into enemy territory.
Moreover, the top lane is quite far away from the bottom.
During that time, to safely protect the bottom tower, we need to push the line all the way in.
Of course, pushing isn’t easy just because we want to.
First, Hong-cha and Lemon will likely predict that tactic.
“Hahahaha! It’s been a while! Almonduuu!”
Lemon, standing next to Hong-cha, jokes around as usual. She’s picked ‘Necromancer – Kuipan’ again this time.
Hong-cha waves her hand from beside her. However, she doesn’t act as frivolously as her friend. Her eyes are serious.
[Twin Pistol Pirate – Olivia]
The avatar she chose was Olivia, a pirate character who wielded dual pistols.
Her bright red hair and the scar drawn across her eyes suited Hong-cha’s image well.
It’s not for nothing that she’s one of the most-played.
Moreover, she clears minions quickly.
First, since she uses dual pistols, she can hit two targets at once.
Furthermore, when she uses the skill ‘Explosive Round,’ explosive bullets fire from the gun barrel, and this splash damage is considerable. It’s easy to clear many minions at once.
On the other hand, Sana had no splash damage. She had restraint skills like shadow trap arrows, but those don’t help at all with minion clearing.
Regarding this, I had a tactic in mind during the ban-pick phase.
“Almond. You’re going in front?”
“Yes.”
“If you mess up, I’m dead.”
Almond tilts his head. As if such a thing could ever happen.
Pfft.
Takoyaki laughs at Almond’s expression and steps forward.
“Nice confidence.”
Rumble rumble…
The sound of minions rushing forward reaches my ears.
Just before the minions from both sides collide.
Taco slips between them.
Crash!
The enemy minion’s axe swing is blocked by his shield.
“!?”
“Huh!?”
It was an incredibly bold move from level one.
He blocked it with his shield this time, but from the next attack onward, all sorts of minions would be targeting him.
No matter how much of a Contractor he was, being surrounded by enemy minions from level one could be dangerous.
Moreover, the opposing Contractor wasn’t idle.
“Hey, unnie! Let’s kill that guy!”
“Got it!”
Lemon and Hong-cha immediately aimed at Taco.

* * *
The broadcast team had been discussing the key points of this match for quite some time.
“So you’re saying Almond’s Bottom needs to kill minions as quickly as possible, right?”
“Yes. More precisely, he needs to maintain a much larger number of minions. Our minions need to outnumber theirs… that way, even when we roam to other lanes, our towers take less damage. We lose less experience too…. But….”
“But there’s a problem?”
“The thing is, the Dual-Pistol Pirate’s minion-killing technique is an art form. I mean, he has two guns, right?”
“Right. Yes. But the moment he says that… Takoyaki takes an unusual position!”
“What!?”
King Gul’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Is he planning to draw aggro and tank with heals…?’
King Gul’s thought was correct.
Takoyaki was deliberately drawing aggro from the minions and taking the hits instead.
He was planning to recover with heals afterward.
“No, the Contractor is taking hits meant for our minions! Isn’t this turning the hierarchy upside down!?”
The Caster asks King Gul in surprise.
“No matter how much of a support he is, he can’t possibly rank lower than minions! He’s simply trying to interfere with the Dual-Pistol’s excellent minion kills!”
“By burning his own body!?”
“Yes. Though I doubt he’s planning to die. He’s probably banking on tanking with heals… but if Sana misses even once, this is far too dangerous!”
“Right. Sana’s heals, if they miss, they’re just wasted. This is too extreme! Ah! Right now! Hong-cha and Lemon are unleashing attacks on Takoyaki!”
“This is a strategy that can’t be used without trusting Almond!”
Hong-cha unleashed basic attacks first, while Lemon summoned a Toad and sent it at Takoyaki.
Both the Toad’s attack and Hong-cha’s bullets hit Takoyaki squarely.
[Health 87%]
Takoyaki’s health dropped noticeably.
As if waiting for this moment, Almond’s arrow struck the target floating above an enemy minion. It was a shadow arrow.
Thwack.
The green-marked target burst as the arrow pierced through it.
As a reward, a light arrow appeared in Almond’s quiver.
Whoosh…!
The light arrow was immediately drawn to Almond’s hand and nocked on the bowstring.
Twang!
It flew fast enough to be called nearly simultaneous, embedding itself in Takoyaki’s head.
Ping!
〔The sacred domain shall protect!〕
A green barrier of light unfurled, and Takoyaki’s health recovered slightly.
[Health 95%]
This entire sequence unfolded in less than a second.
“Wow. Just from that movement alone, you can see Almond’s condition today, right? This is serious. His edge is sharp!”
Admittedly, it was simple gameplay. The kind of basic play that should be executed if one picked Sana.
Yet from just that fundamental motion alone, you could tell how sharp his condition was today.
It was fast and clean, without any wasted motion.
The Analyst nodded in agreement.
“The footwork seems even smoother somehow.”
“Ah! Is that so? To my eyes, it just looks incredibly fast! And look! Hong-cha and Lemon are about to deal even greater damage to Taco.”
Just as the Caster said, Hong-cha and Lemon struck Taco’s Hammer Warrior in succession.
Boom-crash!
A tremendous sound erupted, and Taco’s position was pushed back slightly.
[Health 82%]
His health had dropped even further than before.
“His health is plummeting! Taco is sandwiched in there—what’s going to happen!? The momentum battle from the early game is no joke!?”
As if answering that, I released shadow arrows.
But this time, there were two arrows.
Two arrows flew simultaneously, and naturally, they both struck their targets.
Pop-pop!
Two targets burst apart.
In exchange, two light arrows materialized, and I instantly drew them and nocked them on the bowstring.
Creak—
Two arrows simultaneously on the string. Before the commentators could even react.
I released immediately. Without even giving them time to shudder, the arrows flew and struck Taco perfectly.
—Whoosh!
A double shot.
〔The Holy Domain will protect you!〕
〔Creating the Holy Domain!〕
Taco’s health plummeted, then surged back up with a ripple.
[Health 98%]
The healing came in double.
Almost all the damage dealt by Lemon and Hong-cha was covered.
“The healing just came in double, didn’t it!?”
“Double shot! I did the double shot twice! Once with shadow arrows and once with light arrows!”
“And both of those hit perfectly. The healing amount doubles! This is the kind of healing output you’d only see in mid-game teamfights, but it’s happening from the early game!?”
“Is this even allowed!? King Gul!”
Most healers don’t get double healing just because they cast twice.
Most skills have cooldowns, after all.
But Sana’s light arrows have no such thing.
“Right. Sana’s healing has no cooldown! The player’s physical skill is the cooldown. How long would it take to hit a target with shadow arrows, then draw light arrows, aim at whoever you want to heal, and land the shot? If you miss even once, it’s all for nothing! But right now, Almond has no cooldown!”
“Ah! So it’s a divine avatar where the cooldown adjusts based on skill!? It’s an avatar that should never be given to Almond!”
“Hong-cha! The minions are pushing in more and more! Now you have to choose whether to hit the minions or Taco!”
Hong-cha didn’t choose one or the other.
Bang! Pop!
With one gun I shot at Taco, while with the other I eliminated the minions.
“Wow! It’s like Hong-cha Player is saying, ‘I’ll do both!'”
With one gun suppressing Taco, Hong-cha meticulously secured last hits on incoming minions with the other.
Though she could have stumbled at any moment, her bullets found their marks with such precision it seemed she possessed two brains.
“Impressive! Both players executing their double shots flawlessly!”
“Well, it’s certainly impressive, but… the dual-pistol Avatar was balanced with the assumption of shooting like that, whereas Sana’s Avatar was balanced without the assumption of firing two arrows simultaneously!? If this continues, Hong-cha Player will be at a disadvantage!”
King Gul was right.
The front line began gradually pushing toward Hong-cha’s side.
Balloon Stars’ minions were nearly twice as numerous.
As the lane battle dragged on, Hong-cha’s expression hardened noticeably.
I sense something going wrong.
‘Why is it different from last time…’
Something was different about Almond compared to before.
‘Has he improved?’
Unbelievably, his skill had grown considerably in the interim. The two gun barrels aimed at my opponent trembled slightly side to side.
“Oh! Hong-cha Player’s minions are steadily decreasing! You can’t let the lane push like this!?”
“A decision must be made! If the lane continues to push back like this, it’s far too advantageous for Sana!”
“Even when trying to hit minions, Taco Player is disrupting so effectively. It seems all skills must be poured into Taco!?”
When I reached level 3.
As if hearing their words, Hong-cha makes her decision.
Click.
She aimed both gun barrels directly at Taco.
[Lemon. Dump everything on Taco.]
[Huh? That works? He won’t die anyway.]
[They keep disrupting the minions. We’ll get pushed back at this rate. Just dump it all. Then we’ll have an opening.]
[Okay!]
Hong-cha’s dual pistols began alternating bursts of fire.
Pow!
Bang!
Sparks erupted across Taco’s shield.
Crack!
Scratches gradually appeared on the shield.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Taco’s feet slide backward.
“Aaaah! Hong-cha Player! Openly unloading everything into Taco!”
“Never mind the minions—I’m killing you first!?”
“Lemon Player is also unleashing all attacks with Toad and poison spray!”
Screech!
Whoosh!
The Necromancer’s relentless assault pours down upon the struggling Taco.
“Oh no! What’s happening to Taco Player!”
“They’re taking massive hits from both sides! I think they’re getting hit with everything they’ll take in a lifetime today!?”
When the commentators said “both sides,” they weren’t referring to the Necromancer and the dual-gunner.
〔Holy Domain will protect you!〕
〔Generating Holy Domain!〕
〔Holy Domain shall shield you!〕
〔Holy Domain will….〕
They were talking about the pure white arrows being relentlessly embedded behind Taco.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
“It’s like some martial arts novel where a Chinese doctor is forcibly inserting needles to keep them alive!?”
“Ah, Taco! Your health is dancing all over the place!”
“P-please… end this…!”
Crimson bullets and filth bombs were hammering into Taco from the front while white arrows relentlessly pierced from behind.
“This is a battle of pride now!?”
“What’s going to happen!?”
It was a contest of who could shoot faster with greater focus.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
White light and dark bullet curtains converged on Taco from both sides in a furious barrage.
‘I absolutely cannot fall behind.’
‘I’m breaking through here…!’
Neither side showed any intention of stopping until one of them was finished.
But then….
[First Blood!]
[Balloon Gum → Jam]
A victory announcement rang out from a completely unexpected place.

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