Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 234

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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 234
81. A Difficult Game (1)
Mosol cried out with a bewildered expression.
“Ran in the midlane!?”
It was Ran coming down the midlane.
“No, this is insane. What’s going on? You guys? What?”
Since I streamed so frequently,
I unconsciously searched for the chat window, thinking my broadcast was still on.
But the viewers who could explain what had happened were nowhere to be seen.
According to tournament regulations, only the official channel could be watched, and individual players couldn’t see the chat.
So I had to figure it out myself—how had things come to this?
“…Come to think of it, all the picks could have been changed from the start anyway.”
First, there was Miho’s Aqua. Aqua could be used as a supporter thanks to her unique control abilities, making her quite useful.
Taco’s Hammer Warrior could go jungle. In fact, Taco himself frequently played that champion in the jungle.
Strawberry Shooter’s Poison Dart Bunny could obviously go ADC. Come to think of it, that person was originally an ADC.
‘How did I get completely fooled like this?’
It was almost surprising that I had dismissed all these possibilities entirely.
‘Was it because of Ran?’
Unlike all the other champions mentioned above, Ran in the midlane was rare.
But it wasn’t unheard of. There were times when Ran was ranked tier 1-2 in Reel Pro statistics. Though it fell out of favor after several patches, anyone who’d played Reel for a long time knew that trends cycle.
‘Because I didn’t think of Ran midlane, I couldn’t see anything else… and on top of that, that distracting pool party skin.’
After losing so helplessly to Miho, how much shame and humiliation had I endured?
Now just seeing the pool party skin made me sick.
“Damn pool party! I guess I won’t be going to the beach this summer!”
Yes. It was because of the pool party skin.
…Or so I thought, but in reality, it was because Taco had meticulously manipulated the practice data from the start.
Balloon Stars had been planning to use Almond as the main midlaner starting from the playoffs.
Since almost every champion they’d practiced could play multiple positions, other teams couldn’t tell what they were really planning.
That’s why I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Almond would bring Ran to midlane.
“Ah. This is a big problem.”
Around the time the minions began to arrive,
I began to feel the true gravity of the situation.
First, all the research I’d done on Miho’s matchups had become completely useless.
Second, the Blaster I’d picked to counter Aqua had become worthless.
In fact, it felt like I was the one being countered.
Blaster’s advantage was her long range, but as the game progressed into late game, Ran had even longer range.
‘I need to win the game by levels 1-3.’
Blaster was definitely strong up to level 3.
After that, Ran would gradually gain the advantage.
I had to end the fight before that happened. I made up my mind.
* * *
‘That’s the look of someone who genuinely had no idea.’
Almond found it fascinating how perfectly Taco’s strategy was working.
When Taco mentioned they’d even need to manipulate practice data, I thought he was being overly cautious.
But seeing Mosol’s shocked expression made it all worthwhile.
〔Why this outfit all of a sudden…〕
‘That’s exactly what I’m thinking.’
Of course, there was one thing bothering me—this getup.
I’d managed to barely cover myself by choosing a skin with an aloha shirt from the pool party collection.
But it was practically the same as going shirtless.
Moreover, tournaments were only conducted with one’s original avatar, but I’d selected this skin to distract the enemy—only to realize it might distract me more instead.
‘At least everyone else is wearing it too.’
Still, wasn’t it better that the entire team had matched the pool party theme?
Organizing my thoughts this way, Almond decided to focus on the opponent before me.
The minions were closing in.
I closed my eyes and began visualization.
Whoooosh…
Unlike usual, blue water droplets gathered in my hands instead of white mana.
Because of that, it looked more like a water gun than a pistol.
“…It looks pretty weak, honestly.”
Regardless, the power should be similar.
The minion was now nearly within range.
Aiming at it, Almond fired the charged pure white crystal.
Whoooosh!
With a refreshing gust of wind, water droplets gathered above the water gun.
And then…
Pop!
“?”
With that sound, a massive water droplet was fired.
The sound was faint, but the impact was real.
The water gun recoiled upward, and my hair and shirt fluttered in the wind.
Splash!
With the sound of a wave crashing, the minion fell to the water current.
-Wooooow!
-Kyaaaa!
-Almond! Almond! Almond!
But why were they already cheering so loudly?
* * *
“The atmosphere here is absolutely incredible!”
“Absolutely! Every time Almond fires a shot, the crowd erupts!”
“I think it’s because his shirt flutters every time he shoots, you know?”
King Gul added with a hint of envy.
“Man, back when I was playing, I would’ve needed at least a pentakill to get that kind of cheering.”
“Yes. There are definitely a lot of differences between you and King Gul!”
The Caster brushed past it as if it were obvious.
Haha, there are quite a few other differences~
-Like, every single facial feature is different….
I’m dying laughing hahahahaha
Are oranges and almonds the same thing?
“Ahem… Anyway! I want to point out that Balloon Stars won the psychological warfare going in.”
“That’s right. We didn’t catch that either. We didn’t expect them to send Ran to the midlane. Does that kind of thing work on Mosol…?”
The Analyst’s unusually serious question drew laughter from the audience.
He’s talking nonsense without changing his expression at all lol
I’m dying laughing
There’s no way that’s true lol
“Huh? That’s probably not it. I’ve watched Mosol’s stream a few times. He’s just a healthy young man! What do you think of Mosol!?”
-Info: King Gul teased Mosol the most.
-???: I’m the one who decides the meta
-Are you asking yourself?
“No, I’m just wondering why Miho didn’t go to the pool party if she was going to avoid facing Mosol.”
“Well, maybe they really believed that Mosol has overcome it now? Or, I think they might be preparing for the next match.”
“The next match?”
“Yes. They have a match against Godanbaek coming up. When we faced them in the league before, the gap in the midlane was too large.”
“Ah~”
“So they’re practicing switching Almond to the main midlaner from now on. Instead, it seems they put Ran in the midlane as a surprise at first.”
-Wow, King Gul’s analysis for the first time in a while
-Rapper King Gul
That guy talks so fast, it’s crazy.
“Ah, that could really be it. So they’re facing Mosol first to sharpen their skills? Then it makes sense that they’d send Ran, their usual avatar, to the midlane first!”
“But Almond has never actually faced a player of Mosol’s caliber in the midlane before… Will it be okay?”
* * *
The early midlane laning phase proceeded without any major incidents.
Even Almond, who usually prefers engagements, is playing cautiously this time.
‘Early on, Ran can’t manage alone without a supporter.’
Ran itself isn’t an avatar that can solo-kill anyone from the early game without a supporter.
There’s a reason he’s not used in the midlane these days. Because of his unique attack method of charging and releasing, his early DPS is far too low.
His attack speed is so pathetic early on that he can only pour attacks into minions.
Whoosh… Boom!
Whoooosh… Bang!
Whoooosh….
I resumed the tedious task of gathering mana at my fingertips, aiming, and firing.
“Chikichaa!”
Mosol made a strange sound from ahead.
Whoosh.
A dark shadow fell across my face. Mosol had thrown a bomb.
‘Has it started?’
I leaped to the side.
Boom!
Black smoke erupted from where I had been standing.
[Health 96%]
I had clearly dodged, yet damage still reached me.
Since it was explosive damage, I took splash damage unless I moved far enough away.
Mosol’s harassment didn’t end there.
“Chikichaa!”
Mosol made that strange sound again.
I quickly scanned for the incoming bomb. But he threw it in an entirely different direction.
Toward the minions.
Boom!
Three of my minions died simultaneously.
‘…I fell for it.’
I felt foolish for flinching unnecessarily.
‘He’s using mind games.’
Mosol’s laning… was troublesome.
He was certainly very different from the midlaners I faced in solo queue.
Beyond the psychological warfare, his skill-throwing technique was considerable. He threw in a way that ensured I’d take some damage no matter where I dodged.
This seemed like something worth learning from.
“Chikichaa!”
Mosol made that strange sound again with exaggerated movements.
This time he actually threw it.
Boom!
I dodged the attack this time as well, but my expression darkened.
‘This is really annoying.’
He seemed intent on making me flinch every time he made that chikichaa sound.
In situations like this, I’d prefer if we could just trade blows.
[Charge 32% in progress….]
Early game with Ran’s slow attack pattern was impossible. The damage output was too poor.
‘Just wait until level 4.’
I waited for level 4. Then I could overwhelm with damage.
While enduring this, I fired arrows at the minions.
But the enemy team wasn’t about to let me wait.
* * *
“Wow. A fierce battle is unfolding in the bottom lane right now!”
“The top lane is trading blows too! Balloon Gum’s momentum with Iron Ball has been excellent since last time!?”
The observer’s camera moved busily back and forth.
True to their evenly matched teams, quite a few skirmishes broke out even in levels 1 through 3.
“Ah! Miho is down!”
[First Blood!]
[Maekju → Miho]
“The Maekju-Soju duo has better synergy, doesn’t it?”
“Yes! They’ve been coordinating all along!”
“Oh. Taco is making an impact in the top lane!”
[Balloon Stars has eliminated an enemy!]
[Taco → Nogari]
Taco caught Nogari, the enemy jungler, in a 2v2 fight between the junglers and top laners in the top lane.
However, Balloon Gum died right after.
[Soloizebaek has eliminated an enemy!]
[Makgeolli → Balloon Gum]
“Blood is spilling from the very start!”
“That’s an immediate revenge!”
“But the mid lane is surprisingly quiet, isn’t it?”
“Aside from Almond falling slightly behind in minion kills, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy.”
[Reckless Hero]
[Minion Kills: 89]
[Mosol]
[Minion Kills: 97]
“Actually, this level of deficit is hard to call a real deficit. Ran naturally lets quite a few minions slip by. With the charge-and-shoot playstyle… since last year’s patch, the supporter has to help a lot.”
“Ah, I see! So the lack of major skirmishes is due to that characteristic?”
“Yes. Up to levels 4 or 5, Ran plays defensively, and Mosol is actually in a position where he needs to play aggressively and push through. Right now, he’s not breaking through.”
“Oh really?! Ran is playing defensively? Didn’t they say it was rather good against Explosion Addict?”
“That’s only from level 4 onwards. That’s when Ran’s Pure Crystal damage explodes. The farther away the shot lands, the stronger it becomes—that’s the mechanic!”
Charging and releasing.
Ran fights with only these two skills.
Because of that, these two skills automatically upgrade with each level.
At level 2, the release range increases. At level 4, damage scales up to 250% maximum based on the distance shot.
In other words, he can shoot from far away, and the farther he shoots, the greater the damage dealt.
“So level 4 onwards is when Ran truly shines as a midlaner.”
As the caster summarized, from this point on, Ran becomes more self-sufficient as a midlaner.
Even a single shot from maximum range can shave off nearly 30% of the opponent’s health.
But the moment those words were spoken.
[An enemy has been eliminated!]
[Maekju → Miho]
“Ah! Balloon Gum!?”
Another solo kill erupted in the top lane.
“Balloon Gum! Have you regained your memory!?”
That wasn’t all.
[Maekju → Miho]
Miho fell once more.
“Ah… Balloon Stars is starting to creak!?”
“If this continues, the game will be difficult…!”
“Soloizebaek is monopolizing all the cost-effective monsters spawning in the jungle! This widens the equipment gap! Balloon Stars! You need to do something!?”
“Right now, Almond is the only one barely holding on… and he’s almost level 4. Can he do anything?”
Was it because of the playoffs? Had they not warmed up properly? Balloon Stars found themselves in a difficult game from the start.
Then, Almond finally reached level 4.
“Almond level 4! Is he doing something!?”
“Uh… he’s reshaping again?”
Whoooosh—
Did he have a plan? He abandoned the pistol he’d been firing so well and began a manifestation slightly different from his usual approach.
Water streams coalesced around both his hands, forming something: a bow.
“The bow appears after so long!?”
He no longer aimed at minions.

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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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