Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 253

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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 253
89. We Were Not Wrong (2)
When Windslash appeared once more, the analysts erupted with excitement.
“Wait, they’re actually going with it?”
“And they’re locking in the first pick just like that!?”
The Caster’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to the analysts for explanation.
“I mean, we get to see Almond’s Windslash again, which is great, but… is this really okay? Storm Ninja is banned, you know? What are they going to counter with!”
Even if you tried to believe they were giving up Windslash intentionally to counter it, the primary hard counter—Storm Ninja—was already banned.
For the Caster and casual viewers unfamiliar with the game, it was a decision that made no sense at first glance.
-Why did they let Windslash through?
-Anyone can see they came prepared. Why open it up?
-They must have a plan.
-Not worth banning. Are they really going to ban someone just because they pulled off a great play? lol
-Do these guys think bans are just about removing whatever they don’t like? smh lol
The viewers were divided in their opinions as well.
Some questioned why they’d let it through, while others argued that banning something just because it succeeded once would destabilize the entire pick-and-ban system.
The analysts sided with the latter group.
“I think I know what Godanbaek is thinking! This is a common scenario in professional play!”
“What do you mean?”
“Windslash? No big deal. We just got caught off guard last time and lost! In other words, ‘We were not wrong!’ They’re saying the first set was just a mistake!”
That was true. The first match wasn’t a complete stomp.
There had been critical moments where victory could have swung the other way. They simply lost because they couldn’t stop Windslash, which had grown well into the late game. But was that really reason enough to ban Windslash?
From a professional standpoint, the answer was no.
“If you ban something right away just because someone pulled off a great play, the entire pick-and-ban phase gets thrown into chaos! Besides, one of the reasons they left it open is because they’re certain the opponent will pick Windslash!”
“Ah, is that so? Does that matter?”
“Of course! Usually, you can’t form a strategy because you don’t know what the opponent will pick, right? But if it’s obvious they’re going to pick Windslash? Do we really need to block it? Then we won’t know what else might pop up instead!”
“Wow! That makes sense! If you know, you can prepare! That’s the point, everyone! They lost the first set because they didn’t know!”
“Exactly!”
King Gul nodded, then suddenly slammed the table.
“And!”
He pointed toward Danmuji and launched into an impassioned speech.
“Danmuji is human too! As a former pro! As a Challenger! His pride must have been seriously wounded!”
There was a reason King Gul suddenly said this.
Godanbaek’s mid lane pick had just been finalized.
[Windslash – Seiko]
Boom!
Seiko lands with a brilliant gust of wind, her new form materializing.
“They want another shot at it! That’s what they’re thinking!!!”
Strict revenge ㄷㄷ
-Wow
That’s crazy lol, a revenge match?
I’m dying laughing ㅋㅋㅋ
-We weren’t wrong!
-We weren’t wrong! Let’s go!
“You can already feel the community heating up, right?”
“Do you think the other lanes will pick the same way?”
Then the picks from the other lanes appeared one by one.
-Wow, this is relentless, absolutely relentless
-They’re really doing it again!?
-For real?
That’s seriously ridiculous lol
-Is it pride?
“Wow~”
King Gul exclaimed.
“This is a completely identical rematch, isn’t it?”
Both teams’ picks were completely the same.
“Godanbaek probably thinks the first set was just bad luck! While Balloon Stars is saying it wasn’t luck—it was your skill!”
“Interesting, right? We’ve seen this kind of thing occasionally in Worlds or Rift Champs, haven’t we?”
“That’s right. Especially with strong teams, when they think there’s no problem with the bans and picks, but rather a mistake in their own play—this kind of thing happens.”
“And the actual results have been different many times, right?”
“Exactly. There have been many cases where the bans and picks were identical but the results were reversed.”
That’s true.
Bans and picks are merely the framework of the game.
What truly matters is how you play within that framework.
-But even so, that Windslash pick seems excessive
-Glad to see Windslash again, huge advantage
-But last time Windslash got first blood and snowballed hard, this time might be different
Both teams’ picks were now complete.
There wasn’t much for the analysts to comment on. It was just the same picks, after all.
“Alright~ the picks are all set! Can Danmuji’s ‘We weren’t wrong’ actually pull off a successful revenge? Let’s watch Game 2 together!”

* * *
The flow from the start was distinctly different from Game 1.
First, there was no early skirmish.
Danmuji simply didn’t provoke one.
“Just playing like this produces completely different results from Game 1, doesn’t it? The flow is already quite different!”
“Exactly. The main event of Game 1 was undoubtedly that mid-lane first blood. Without it, everything changes.”
A peaceful(?) period of farming ensued as both sides focused on killing enemy minions.
This was certainly favorable for Almond, who needed to reach level 6 safely.
Of course, Godanbaek had no intention of going smoothly.
“Wait? Goguma’s movements seem unusual?”
“Why is he there at this timing…”
Junglers typically have an ‘optimal route’ for clearing monsters.
Based on maximum efficiency, there are usually only three or four possible variations at most.
That’s why a jungler’s movements are often predictable.
Especially for the analysts watching from a third-person perspective, such predictions are even easier.
But Goguma was moving along a completely different route than they predicted.
“Is this the ‘forget optimization and just go kill Almond’ strategy?!”
Goguma began moving earnestly toward mid-lane.
“Goguma’s coming in!”
“Almond doesn’t see it!”
“Danmuji suddenly moves forward! He needs to notice here!”
[Windslash]
Whoosh!
Windslash’s gust shot forward.
Normally, I would have just tried to dodge by running.
But sensing something was wrong, Almond quickly threw his blade backward.
“Almond noticed! He’ll escape successfully…”
And then, a flash.
Crack!
But he landed in a completely wrong spot.
“…What?!”
“Whoa! Goguma! Sacrificial play!!!”
A beast, Goguma’s dagger lodged in his flank.
He blocked the flash dagger with his body.
“Ah. This is a trap, isn’t it?!”
“There’s no way to escape now!”
“Almond! All or nothing! Just attack!”
Almond judged it better to kill the beast and began his assault.
Screech!
Claws and daggers slashed and cut at each other.
In the midst of it all, I manage to deflect his attacks several times.
“Wait, but my power level in this situation…!?”
“You’re fighting like you’re trying to kill him!?”
[Goguma]
[Health 73%]
A strange situation where Goguma’s health, despite launching the ambush, drops even lower.
“But once Danmuji joins in!”
Windslash rushes in from behind and pierces my back.
Thunk!
My health plummets to below half.
I shift my position to the left, adjusting my grip on the blade to face both opponents simultaneously.
Clang!
I block the charging beast’s claws.
Clang!!
I deflect Windslash’s thrust.
The beast attempts to pounce, but I evade with simple footwork, and I parry Windslash’s slash with my blade once more.
Clang!
Danmuji begins executing a proper two-handed technique, clearly intent on cutting me down.
The blade strikes grow far faster.
Clang! Clang!
Clang-clang-clang!
Sparks burst forth like welding.
With the beast joining the assault, my health begins to dwindle steadily.
“The blink cooldown is almost back!?”
The 4-second blink cooldown now has less than 1 second remaining.
“If we don’t catch him, it’s a disaster! This one! Goguma’s had a lot of investment!”
“Nah. We’ll catch him anyway!”
[First Blood!]
[Goguma → Reckless Warrior]
I finally fall.
“Phew! Got him!”
“No. Did we really have to work that hard to catch him? This is making me nervous.”
-Wait, what… is this a raid?
-Blocking that much with a short sword?
-Hmm… so that’s all that happens when the blink misfires?
-Is it easier to block because the short sword is faster?
We had him completely cornered, and the level 2 gank ambush was flawless.
Yet in the actual fight, we nearly lost ground.
“Wait, that flash-blade technique from set one! It really wasn’t just luck, was it? How can he endure like this?”
“Exactly. His blade proficiency is insane! Of course, compared to Danmuji, his technique still lacks that refined elegance. But his reaction speed is absolutely crazy!”
“Anyway! To summarize—Danmuji’s revenge was a success. Results are what matter most, right?”
-Success either way lol
-He died in the end anyway lol
-The momentum is good though.
“And! This kill felt like it was intentionally handed over to Goguma, you know?”
King Gul’s suspicion was correct.
Danmuji’s strategy this game was to invest heavily in Goguma.
“Since he forced it at level 2, it seems like he gave a reward. But Goguma’s movement pattern is unusual, isn’t it!?”
Goguma must have received some instructions. He began engaging different lanes with completely different pathing than in the first set.
Reports came flooding in one after another.
[Our team has been defeated!]
[Dotorimuk → Balloon Gum]
[Our team has been defeated!]
[Baeksuk → Miho]
When he went top, top died. When he went bottom, bottom died.
Even Almond, who had already died once, had no way to do anything about it.
The situation was different from the first set.
“Ah. All lanes are starting at a disadvantage…?”
“That was the case in the first set too…”
“But Almond was thriving in the first set!”
“That’s right. That’s the big difference.”
Even that thriving Windslash’s best option in the first set was to hit level 6 quickly.
Windslash has nothing to do at levels 2 through 5.
Danmuji and Goguma are now maximizing that weakness, destroying the other lanes in the process.
[Our team has been defeated!]
[The enemy is running rampant!]
[Goguma! Master of the Battlefield!]
“Ah…! Another death!?”
“No, it’s almost the same composition, but how can the situation diverge like this!?”
“Balloon Gum is on his third death now! You can’t lose focus!”
-Wow does it really work like this lol
-If Balloon Stars loses with this, what happens to their draft now
Please, gum hyung, do something, anything ㅠㅠ
-This is their real skill after all…
Balloon Gum’s third death.
Naturally, if you die three times like this, there’s no way to defend the tower.
[Tower destroyed!]
“Ugh…! They’re even taking first tower! At this rate, the gap is…”
The early game flow was unfolding as if there was almost no hope.
If there was any hope left, it was still that.
“Still! We managed to keep the mid tower alive, didn’t we!?”
“Yes. No matter what! This is Taco’s resolve to get Almond to level 6 safely!”
That meant Windslash reaching level 6.
“If Windslash pulls off a superplay at level 6! Who knows what might happen!?”
Even so, Almond steadily accumulated experience and climbed toward the next level.
Without any additional deaths, level 6 was within reach.
“This situation? It’s not something a single Player can overcome alone, is it!?”
“That’s right! We just have to hope for the best!”
-lmao
-or not
-or not x2
-King Gul lol
No matter how powerful Windslash at level 6 might be, it couldn’t be the kind of universal trump card that could reverse this situation.
If it were possible, the professional scene would have a 100% ban rate on it.
“But miracles do happen sometimes, right!? That’s what we call a superplay!”
“Exactly. Of course, Balloon Stars must hold on and endure, hoping for just that!”
Just because something seemed impossible didn’t mean I could give up.
If this was the only path forward, whether success was possible or not hardly mattered.
What had to be done had to be done. Whether it was possible would be revealed by the results anyway.
‘I have to do this.’
I repeated this to myself while visualizing my plays after reaching level 6.
“Here we go! Level 6! Almost there! Can I pull off something spectacular!?”
“Oh! But all five of Godanbaek’s players are converging mid right now!? They’re going to kill you before you hit level 6!”
Danmuji quietly began moving forward again.
On the map, all four members of Godanbaek were rushing toward mid.
Almond knew it too.
‘This is the limit…!’
But if I just grabbed a few more minions here, I’d level up.
I thrust my blade forward in a sweeping arc.
[Blade Technique]
I carved through the minions in a straight line with my technique.
Slash!
It was far more efficient than striking them down one by one.
And because I’d carefully chosen the trajectory to target only the low-health minions…
[Level up!]
I leveled up.
“Ahhh! Almond! You leveled up before Godanbaek arrived!? Now escaping should be easier!”
Whoosh…!
A crimson light descended from the sky, and a blade slowly began to fall.
“Danmuji rushes in urgently! We confirmed Windslash now has two dashes! He’s trying to burn one flash early!”
It wasn’t just Danmuji.
Contractors erupted from every direction except behind me.
Whoosh!
“He won’t fall for it twice! That’s what Godanbaek is shouting!!”
Swish.
I rolled both blades in my hands like loosening my wrists.
Then, as my body spun like a top.
Whirr!
Two blades flew out simultaneously.
Toward the enemies.
“Almond!? Not running away! Instead counterattacking!?”
If I just ran here, there was no way to win the game.
‘I have to do it here.’
Crack—!
My form scattered along with the lightning.

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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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