Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 236
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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 236
81. A Difficult Game (3)
“Almond! I shot it!?”
Regardless of how I managed to shoot, the fact remained that I did, so the Caster continued the broadcast.
“Did it hit!?”
As if answering his question.
Splash!
The pure white crystal scattered a refreshing stream of water in all directions, striking Mosol directly.
With so little health remaining, Mosol collapsed easily even from the pure white crystal that hadn’t fully charged.
[Enemy defeated!]
[Reckless Warrior → Mosol]
“Wow! He’s dead! Almond! The enemy came to gank, but Almond killed him instead!”
“Soloizebaek! Things were going well, but now the damage is severe! Nogari needs to catch Almond no matter what….”
“That’s right! If we just catch Almond, we can blow the game wide open! Soloizebaek has such a huge advantage after all!”
At that moment, the suppression duration of the [Pounce] skill that Nogari had been using expired.
[Released from suppression.]
Thud!
Almond immediately pushed off with his feet and escaped from Nogari’s grasp.
“Huh!? He’s getting away!”
“Can’t we catch him!? Chase him down! Just one more hit! One more…!”
Nogari chased after Almond with low health, trying to finish him off.
──Boom!
A sudden impact from the side sent him flying back, creating distance.
“Ah! Taco came in to cover from nowhere and pushed him back!?”
“The Hammer Warrior is coming out!?”
It was Takoyaki.
The Jungler from Balloon Stars had also joined in.
“Ugh…!”
“This…!?”
A flustered Nogari looked around to assess the situation.
[Takoyaki]
[Health 100%]
[Nogari]
[Health 90%]
Takoyaki’s health was at 100%, while mine was at 90%.
And Almond over there?
[Reckless Warrior]
[Health 4%]
Barely alive with just 4% health, fleeing for his life.
One more hit would finish him, but he’d already escaped near the tower.
“…I can’t get the angle right?”
“Almond survives!”
-He survived that?!
-Ah, that’s Nogari’s mistake lol
-Lol seriously
-Phew. The game didn’t crash. If Almond dies, the game crashes.
Eventually, Nogari shook his head and returned to his own lane.
“Almond! In a 2v1 situation, he killed Mosol and survived himself! That’s a superplay, right?!”
“Exactly! He pulled off something incredible while the team was losing!”
A superplay.
It’s a term for plays that can turn the game around. It’s not just about numerically killing more enemies or escaping against overwhelming odds.
Depending on the situation, even dying in a one-on-one fight can be a superplay.
While Balloon Stars’ entire game was struggling, Almond drew in the enemy Jungler and fought. The fact that he killed their Midlaner Mosol and survived was, in this sense, definitely a superplay.
He made the enemies waste time while gaining an advantage himself.
“But I think we need to see this in replay because there was something a bit odd about it?”
Meanwhile, King Gul raises a slight concern.
“Right. Beast definitely applied the stun. But Almond still fired. There are ways it could happen, but it might be a game issue. Beast is pretty famous for generating bugs….”
-Is this actually a bug?
-Bug generator lol
-Beast needs this avatar deleted lol
The broadcast team watched the replay while Almond briefly returned to base.
Then after Beast pounced, the scene of Almond aiming and shooting at Mosol plays again.
[Chiki-cha.]
Almond’s final line naturally plays as well.
-Wait lol what did he say? It was chiki-cha?!
-Lololol chiki-cha
-God chiki-cha
-The nut guy’s got some attitude
-Mosol must’ve been pretty annoying lol
Most viewers were so distracted by that, they didn’t even notice how Almond managed to shoot in the first place.
But King Gul caught it.
“Ah. He really did slip out, didn’t he?”
The other two didn’t notice at first, but after watching the slow-motion replay, they let out sighs.
-Wow, just his arm slipped right out
-While rolling around like that lol
-He had awareness in that state?!
-Impressive, the nut guy…
“Ah~ Can it work like this? Honestly, even watching it again, I have no idea what just happened.”
The Caster looked at King Gul and asked.
“Only one hand slipped out. Since even one hand escaping still registers as a stun, this happens occasionally. To do this intentionally requires a lot of practice.”
The Analyst nodded in agreement.
“Yes. There was a time when Beast was all the rage, and some pro teams practiced nothing but that, right?”
“That’s correct. That was precisely during the Taco era. I wonder if Taco taught them that?”
“Hmm… Either way, you can see signs that Almond has been practicing extensively lately. His reaction speed in anticipating ganks, for instance, and these technical skills as well.”
In truth, it was only half-correct analysis.
Almond had indeed practiced extensively and anticipated the gank, but extracting just one arm from the Beast’s pounce technique was purely improvisation.
He had never practiced it separately.
It was simply thanks to his blessed reaction speed in the virtual world.
* * *
About ten minutes had passed?
Hana Song, who had been cheering enthusiastically while wearing an Almond hat, wore a dejected expression.
She thought something would change after Almond’s kill earlier, but the game was just dragging on frustratingly.
“Sarang. What’s happening here? Why is it so frustrating?”
She asked as if the woman beside her were an absolute being who knew everything.
Choi Sa-rang finished exhaling the smoke she’d been holding and then answered.
“We’re losing. We’re frustrated because we’re supporting the losing team.”
One could call it a half-hearted answer, but truthfully, there was no more accurate response than this.
“We’re losing? But Almond got a kill and pulled off a superplay earlier….”
“Which is exactly why the game lasted a bit longer.”
“After that, no one from Balloon Stars died… Aren’t we in a better position?”
“Rift Siege is…”
Choi Sa-rang seemed to think better of explaining properly, so she pressed her cigar into the air to extinguish it and tossed it into her inventory. Virtual world items really don’t taste very good.
“Rift Siege is about sieging. Rift Escort is about escorting. Rift Survival is about surviving. Pretty intuitive names, but most people tend to think of them as kill-focused games.”
“Ah… So it’s not a game about getting kills, but a game about destroying buildings. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes.”
“But the buildings don’t have much difference right now either, do they? We’re only behind by one. Just the top lane tower.”
“That’s where it starts. Look at the map control situation overall.”
The map was filled with blue.
Currently, the blue represents Soloizebaek. The vision wards they’ve placed are lighting up the map everywhere.
“With the destroyed top tower as the reference point, all vision is revealed, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s no longer Balloon Stars’ territory—it’s Soloizebaek’s territory now. Balloon Gum, the top laner, can’t venture out more than half the map anymore, and as that continues, we lose more territory… it’s a vicious cycle.”
“Ah… Is not having vision really that significant?”
“Yes. If you can’t see, it’s dangerous, so you can’t go there. Then Balloon Stars has to take a much longer route. Meanwhile, Soloizebaek keeps taking shortcuts… naturally, our efficiency drops, and we lose the game.”
“Wow… I see. This game is more profound than I thought?”
Choi Sa-rang shook her head as if she’d said all she needed to say today and answered casually.
“Profound, even… You’ll understand it well enough as you keep watching.”
She seemed annoyed. Could it be because Balloon Stars is losing?
Just a guess. Her expression wasn’t one you could easily pin down. As always, you couldn’t tell if she was in a good mood or a bad one.
That expression that somehow makes the person beside her tense. Like she’s built a very complex wall.
Hana Song tapped on that wall and burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha! Isn’t this too ridiculous? I’ve been watching pro matches for 4 years! And this is what 4 years of watching gets me!”
Pfft.
Only then did Sarang’s lips curve slightly upward, and the Doctor felt relieved.
“But we could still win, right?”
Sarang answered this question without hesitation.
“Always. We can always win.”
It was a sentence I had spoken directly countless times before.
‘Always… we can always win…’
The Doctor didn’t notice her gaze briefly drift toward her own two legs.
Or rather, she chose not to notice.
* * *
Her instincts had not betrayed her.
The game was unfolding very difficultly for Balloon Stars.
“Ah. Balloon Stars! Their first tower is completely being pushed down!”
“Even the well-grown Ran can’t do anything in this situation!”
“The pressure is too intense! Soloizebaek’s teamwork is just too good?!”
“Could it be that forcing those awkward bans and picks is becoming a problem here?!”
[Our tower has been destroyed!]
This message echoed for the third time already.
Starting from the top lane, towers across the entire front line had crumbled.
[Ah, even mid…]
[Uh, what do we do?]
[Don’t panic! Slowly farm vision while securing jungle!]
The teammates couldn’t regain their composure against the wave of defeat crashing down upon them.
Especially Balloon Gum had become a person who had completely lost consciousness this game.
[Ah. Ah. I messed up again. Sorry.]
[Ah… what do we do? Ah… sorry.]
[Sorry. Sorry.]
The frequency of apologies kept increasing.
In the voice channel that should have been loud, silence stretched longer and longer.
“Ah… Balloon Stars’ atmosphere isn’t looking good.”
“Yes. Almond is the one performing the best, but Almond doesn’t talk much during games, you know?”
“Precisely, he doesn’t really care much about other people?!”
“Yes. As a Midlaner, this element is somewhat of a deduction. Unless he were an ADC.”
“Right. Mid is the lane that cares for and leads the entire team. Along with the Jungler!”
“Exactly!”
Their words were correct.
Almond didn’t know how to lead and comfort his teammates in situations like this.
He had never stood in such a position before.
At the company, I was always at the bottom, and during my archery club days, I was a self-righteous leader in name only.
Archery, fundamentally, is a solitary battle that requires no leader—a lonely struggle with oneself.
‘The atmosphere… isn’t good.’
Through years of corporate life, I’d long since sensed that the current mood was quite poor.
And through those same years of experience, I knew well that if someone thoughtless like me stepped forward to console them, it would only worsen the situation.
There were others meant for that role.
I’d learned to wait until they stepped up, understanding that silence too could be a virtue.
At the company, that person was Juhyeok, and now it was…
[Alright. No sighing. No apologies.]
Someone like Taco.
[Now gather mid and fight our final battle. Fight like you’re 300 warriors.]
He spoke with deliberately exaggerated theatricality, lifting the atmosphere.
[Understood, soldiers!]
Pfft.
Miho burst out laughing first and responded.
[Yes!!]
[Got it!]
[Let’s go die!]
Amusingly, responses followed in order of who talked the most.
Now it was my turn.
[We can win this.]
I spoke with the most confident tone I could muster, saying we could win.
[Anytime.]
In my own way, this was the maximum comfort I could offer my team.
Had my sincerity gotten through?
A brief silence fell over the voice channel.
[Let’s go, let’s go!]
Balloon Gum broke the silence first, transforming into a massive beach volleyball (originally an iron ball) and rolling quickly into position.
It was a spot perfect for ambushing the incoming enemies from behind.
He even remembered to rotate the scanner and remove the vision ward.
“Balloon Stars! We’re abandoning everything now and going full defense!”
“Ah! If we can’t hold here, it’s over! There’s nothing behind us!?”
“Soloizebaek is determined to lock down the game right here!? All five are advancing straight at us now!”
Soloizebaek led with the top laner’s Giant Machine, forming a typical siege formation and advancing slowly.
Behind them, a massive wave of minions spread out so densely that nothing beyond was visible.
Kuguguguguuu…!
A tremor as if the earth itself was shaking drew ever closer.
Hammer Warrior Takoyaki and Miho, along with Strawberry Shooter, stood before them to block the advance.
I hid in a position symmetrical to Balloon Gum, aiming at the enemies.
“Balloon Stars’ position right now is actually pretty good!?”
“But if we’re not careful, this formation will collapse! If all five of them suddenly force their way through, everything crumbles instead…!”
Soloizebaek’s ADC and Supporter. The Somac duo now pushed forward to the very front.
Boom!
Soloizebaek’s ADC, Terrorist, fired a rocket launcher.
Splat!
It all struck Taco directly.
That was the signal.
[Rolling rolling rolling rolling!]
Balloon Gum let out a scream-like shout, spun around, and began tumbling wildly backward.
“Balloon Gum coming out! Rolling rolling rolling!”
-Rolling rolling!
What’s with the rolling sound effect and the double chorus lol
-Info) Iron Ball doesn’t actually shout “rolling” like that.
As the enormous beach volleyball came rushing from behind, Soloizebaek’s formation instantly scattered.
If you look at it favorably, scattered. If you look at it poorly, split into two.
This was the opportunity.
[Charge forward!]
[Let’s go!]
All teammates activated their transcendence skills, unleashing crimson mana.
Almond also drew his hand, drawing blood.
〔The contract sealed in blood… let us fulfill it now.〕
Ran’s voice resonated alongside the crimson mana.
〔I will annihilate the enemies.〕
A voice different from usual.
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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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