Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 271

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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 Side Story Episode 7
3. A Secret Within a Secret (1)
I should have ignited the torch and wielded it long ago, yet here I was, only now setting it ablaze and trying to show it off.
I felt my face flush with embarrassment.
“Well… my broadcast is a physical demonstration broadcast, after all.”
So I muttered out a pathetic excuse.
-Isn’t it a skill broadcast?
-Almond does talk broadcasts
-Isn’t it an advertisement broadcast?
While innocent opinions about my broadcast’s identity flooded in, Ran’s coughing grew louder again.
Cough! Cough!
‘Right. I need to save Ran.’
I approached Ran with the torch in hand.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Ran squeezed his eyes shut in pain. It seemed he hadn’t seen light in so long.
But Ran wasn’t the only one who had to squeeze his eyes shut.
-Wait, he was bound like that?
-That’s crazy
-He couldn’t move at all
-What;
-Isn’t that basically telling him to die?
Flesh bruised by iron chains, an unsanitary floor, a gaunt appearance…
Even I found it difficult to keep my eyes open.
But I couldn’t simply stand idle here.
“I’ll free you soon.”
I raised the torch high once more and examined every corner of the prison. There might be something else to gain in here.
Since the key I obtained earlier didn’t fit, there might be a clue here.
“Ugh… Ugh.”
Ran groaned in pain as the light brightened.
“Just wait a moment.”
I searched by moving the light around, but there was nothing in the prison.
Clang. Clang.
Every time Ran turned his head to avoid the moving light, a metallic sound rang out.
It was from the restraints.
Numbers were written on those restraints.
‘Numbers on the restraints? What’s this?’
I tilted my head in confusion, then picked up the key I had obtained earlier.
“Ah…!”
The key had numbers written on it as well.
‘2’
The number written on the key was 2.
There was also a place marked with 2 on the restraint device.
“So this was the key to unlock the restraint device…”
It was definitely the key to unlock restraint device number 2.
“Then…”
I held the torch high toward the back. I could see where the guards had collapsed. Dozens of fallen guards.
“I need to search through all of them and find 5… no, 6 keys.”
-ed
-That’s right
-Ding dong ding!
Including the iron gate key, there were 6 keys in total.
I had to find 6 keys from the guards. However, since I had already obtained one, I needed to find 5 more.
Of course, that didn’t make the situation any better.
‘With this many, how long would it take…”
Considering the number of fallen guards, it seemed like it would take considerable time.
Well… still, if I just invested the time, I could definitely solve it, so my mind felt a bit more at ease.
[Ran’s life is in critical condition.]
[Time remaining 00:04:59]
As if reading my complacent thoughts, a time limit appeared.
It seemed Ran would die in 5 minutes.
‘Die in 5 minutes…? Then finding the keys alone won’t take just 5 minutes?’
Even if I searched through all those guard corpses, found the keys, and freed Ran, could Ran actually survive? I’d need to give him water at least for his condition to improve.
So I had to get water into him within 5 minutes?
That’s impossible.
‘There must be another way.’
It didn’t seem like I was supposed to search through pockets one by one. There had to be a separate method.
Wasn’t killing the guards with fire the answer before?
Gasp, hurry and check your pockets!
What are you doing ㅠㅠ
-Hurry!
I’m dying laughing ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Urged by the viewers, I executed the first idea that came to mind.
I went to a corpse and tried setting it on fire.
Whoosh…
The fire caught well enough, but the corpse didn’t burn away dramatically or anything.
Burning all the corpses here to leave only the keys would take at least another 30 minutes or so. For all of them to burn completely.
‘This doesn’t seem right…”
I stood still and stroked my chin thoughtfully.
-Why are you just standing there???
-Giving up?
-Walnut overheating lol
People wanted me to do something, anything, quickly.
But in my judgment, it was more efficient to first understand the pattern and principles before acting.
That’s how this game works.
‘Let me think about this… Who has the keys? Who manages the keys?’
These guards were said to have mostly low intelligence.
Could you really entrust the keys to such dim-witted thugs?
No.
To entrust key management, they would need to be a special individual among them.
‘Only those with high rank would have them.’
I examined the weapons the fallen guards had been carrying first. If they had high rank, it would show in details like this.
‘But you threw them all over the place yourself.’
This method won’t work.
Because I myself had scattered the weapons everywhere, I couldn’t tell them apart.
‘Hmm…’
[Time Remaining 00:04:23]
Over thirty seconds had already passed.
I turned my head toward Ran.
“Ran. You said there are Ghostly Soldiers with high intelligence too. How did you tell them apart?”
“…uh…uh…”
“!?”
Ran was no longer in a state to speak.
Only weak wheezing sounds came from his throat.
‘I’ll have to figure this out myself.’
Getting an answer from Ran wasn’t going to work.
I looked around the dim surroundings and stroked my chin.
High-ranking individuals and low-ranking ones.
There must have been a command structure.
If there was a hierarchy, it would naturally be organized that way.
[Time Remaining 00:04:11]
About ten seconds had passed.
‘Wait. A command structure?’
Something flashed through my mind.
“What number are you? You shouldn’t be here right now. Did something break again?”
Those were the words the first guard I met had spoken.
‘Management duties…’
The high-intelligence individuals must have handled management.
Then what about the low-intelligence ones?
“Huh? How did you even answer…?”
The reaction the first guard showed when he heard my response.
As if asking how one could even speak.
‘Wait. Could it be…?’
Whoosh.
I shone the torch again to examine the Guards’ faces.
The faces of those who remained trapped in the prison even after becoming ghosts.
What expression would they have?
Why couldn’t some of the Guards even scream at the moment of death?
‘Their mouths were sealed. Even their vocal cords.’
Stitching marks ran from their mouths down to their throats.
A gruesome sight.
-Ghhh…
What’s wrong? ㅠ
-Kkeuk
It was certainly a disturbing scene, yet strangely, my expression brightened at that moment.
‘They can’t speak!’
I had discovered the difference from the Administrator.
‘The low-intelligence ones would only give away their location in the darkness if they spoke, so they’ve been sealed from speaking. Only the Administrator can speak…!’
The Administrator could speak.
All others had been sealed from speaking.
These two distinctions were the method to differentiate the Administrator from others, to distinguish high-intelligence entities from low-intelligence ones, and ultimately, the method to find the key.
[Time Remaining 00:03:15]
The remaining time was now dropping into the two-minute range.
From this point on, I moved. I bounded about frantically, kicking corpses over to examine their faces.
This was far faster than searching through every corner of the robes one by one.
‘…Not this one.’
I quickly skipped over the entities with sealed mouths, selecting only those with open ones.
‘This is it.’
I found one quickly.
A corpse with its mouth gaping open in agony.
Searching the body, I found a key.
‘5.’
The number inscribed on the key was 5.
It was the key to the fifth restraint cell.
-Waaaah!
-How did you find it so quickly?
-Ooooh! Insane
The chat erupted in cheers, but I had no time to read them.
I drew my sword and drove it through the Guard’s heart, leaving my mark.
Then I found the next Guard with an open mouth holding a key and searched his waist.
‘This one is number 3.’
The third key appeared, and shortly after, I found keys one and four in rapid succession.
-Wow! What?? Everything I look for is there!
-This is also a matter of physical ability….
-Looks like he figured something out
-Is it those ones with their mouths hanging open?
Since every object I touch yields a key, the viewers are startled.
“Just one more to find!”
A faint excitement colors Almond’s voice.
An almond admiring its own walnuts lol
-Almond is delighted. His wit has been proven.
-Wow, is this Asung’s wit?
But the joy is short-lived.
No matter how much I search, there are no more Guards with their mouths hanging open.
Tap. Tap.
I even kick at the Guards I’ve already flipped over, but their sewn-shut mouths don’t suddenly open.
‘…What’s this?’
[Time Remaining 00:01:03]
With only one minute left, I have no key to open the iron bars.
Walnut already overheating? ㅠㅠ
-What do we do
Why can’t I find it? ㅠㅠ
Almond, who had paused for a moment, suddenly smacks his own head.
“Ah!”
Then he starts running off into the distance.
Holding the torch high, I spot the corpse of a Guard lying alone far away.
[Time Remaining: 00:00:54]
I flip him over immediately and search his waist.
“Found it!”
Clang.
Even at a glance, this key feels heavier than the others.
“The iron bar key!”
That’s right.
The first one I encountered was the chief administrator of this place.
All those hints about how many times and whatnot—that was the clue.
-Yesssss!
-Nice!
Oh my god, it’s already that time ㅠㅠㅠ
Hurry up ㅠㅠ
-But what about the water???
-Won’t they die soon after opening it?
I sprinted toward the iron bars at breakneck speed, nearly colliding with them before jamming the key into the lock.
Clang!
The iron gate swung open in an instant.
[Time Remaining: 00:00:41]
Forty seconds left on the clock.
I hurled my shirt to the floor, then tossed the torch onto it.
Whoosh!
The prison blazed with light. Now I could use both hands freely.
I verified the five keys, then began rapidly unlocking the five shackles.
Click! Click! Click!
-This guy’s insanely fast;
-Wow lol
-Even this he’s pushing through with pure physical ability, what a king;
If only we had driven them out with fire from the beginning, we would have had enough time ㅠㅠ
Thud! Thud!
The shackles fell away one by one, and the last restraint clattered to the floor and rolled.
“Hiii…gasp!”
With a desperate wheeze, Ran was freed.
[Time Remaining: 00:00:21]
“Phew.”
I exhaled in relief.
-Yesss!
-Yes!
-He made it!
-Insane speed…!
But this wasn’t the end.
Time was still ticking, and Ran was gasping for breath.
“Hiii…gasp.”
Each breath sounded as though it might be his last.
“Ran. Just… hold on a moment.”
Time was running out.
And I still needed to find water…
My mind raced frantically.
‘Where on earth is the water…?’
How was I supposed to suddenly find water in this place?
[Time Remaining: 00:00:19]
Nineteen seconds remained.
We’d entered the final ten-second stretch.
“Ugh…”
I grabbed the torch and began frantically searching every corner of the prison.
Wasn’t there water supplied somewhere in the Prison?
“Sigh.”
It was absurd. Not a single drop of water in sight.
‘What about where the Soldiers are?’
There would certainly be water where the human Soldiers were stationed, but that place was far too distant. With time running short, it was impossible.
[Time Remaining: 00:00:12]
I’d already wasted seven seconds searching this place.
-No water lol
-What a waste…
-What do we do? There’s no water damn it
-Seriously what; are they telling him to piss???
My mind was just as chaotic as the chat window overflowing with ridiculous speculation.
I had no intention of restarting after coming this far. The broadcast momentum would completely collapse.
‘Is there a space that connects directly to the Soldiers’ room?’
Whoosh.
I picked up the torch again and wandered near the walls.
I was even considering secret passages.
Pressing various spots naturally triggered nothing. Even if I found something now, would there be time?
[00:00:05]
Only five seconds remained.
[00:00:04]
“The Soldiers drink water mixed with alcohol, but there’s not even a drop here. Really….”
I voiced my frustration. Hope was fading fast.
[00:00:03]
-Restart go
-Not as easy as Reina right? Outsider lol
-In a world where Mosol is the strongest, you can’t use your power huh
-gg
-Good try
The viewers were already acting like it was over, but I hated giving up before the end.
I hadn’t given up at all.
Was that why?
“Ah!”
Suddenly something occurred to me.
I abruptly began patting down my own body.
-What are you doing?
-Nut dance lol
-Lmao Zero Two?
-Did you get electrocuted??lol
My frantic searching looked somewhat ridiculous.
“Got it!”
I had found water.
From my own body, no less.
-???
-What is that?
-Water??
-Out of nowhere??
-Is this some kind of hidden camera prank? Why is it suddenly coming from your body?
-Ah~~ were you saving it for broadcast purposes lolol
To be precise, I had found it in the Senior Soldier’s back pants pocket, and it was likely alcohol rather than water.
Though it was probably more than half water anyway, so wouldn’t it help if he drank it? Either way, I had no other choice.
“Ran! Ran!”
I stumbled forward toward Ran, tilted his head back, and made him drink the rum.
“Hurry… drink it… it’s alcohol, but. There’s no other way.”
Glug glug glug!
I was literally pouring it down like water.
-Are you trying to suffocate him instead?
-???: I’ll kill him before you do!
-Already embalming the corpse with alcohol lolol
-Info) Drinking alcohol when dehydrated kills you.
-Lmaoooo that’s hilarious lol
Beeeep──
[00:00:00]
Time had run out.
“Ah….”
It was finally over.
As expected, the alcohol hadn’t been counted as water.
But then.
A twitch.
I felt the muscles in Ran’s back move.
Was this his final struggle before death?
“Ugh… urgh….”
Ran let out a pained groan.
“Hah… gah…!”
His fractured voice gradually began to come together as one.
“…Thank… you.”
At last, his voice flowed out properly.
He had survived.
‘What? It worked?!’
Even I was startled.
“Sigh…”
Ran pushed himself up on his own. For someone who had only drunk a single cup—or rather, a glass of liquor—his recovery was remarkably swift.
A sharp gleam returned to his eyes, and color flooded back into his complexion.
“You gave me a Potion. I owe my life to your kindness.”
“…Potion?”
A Potion, he said.
I examined what I held in my hand once more.
“It’s a bottle of liquor.”
A portable flask, the kind people typically filled with rum and sipped from.
This was supposed to be a Potion?
“It’s a Potion crafted by our sect. I would never mistake its taste.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Now that I thought about it, the Junior Soldier had cursed at the Senior Soldier for “even carrying liquor around.”
That soldier had clearly believed this was alcohol.
So why was it a Potion?
“Either way, success!”
Regardless, I proudly declared victory to the viewers.
Hahaha anyway, this Kim
No, why is it a potion and not alcohol lol
-This is the first time I’ve seen someone make this part this difficult
The difficulty level is rising on its own lol
That’s so funny lol
The story mode is so fun, tier 1 almond lol

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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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