Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 42

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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 42
15. Standing Alone at First Place (4)
[The Blue Zone will shrink in 30 seconds.]
I check the minimap.
The area marked with a blue circle is the safe zone ahead.
“Unlucky.”
The Blue Zone had never favored me once. From the start of the game to the end, I had to constantly move to avoid the Blue Zone.
While I lamented this, the viewers found it entertaining.
-Unlucky lol
-Almond: Unlucky. Viewers: Lucky.
-lolol he’s really something else—Almond in a real broadcast lol
-???: Since your skills are good, you should be unlucky
Even though the Blue Zone kept moving to distant locations, a considerable number of viewers were enjoying it.
As long as I kept moving, they could watch spectacular action plays.
Moreover, those who had bet money on first place prizes were even more desperately wishing for bad luck.
-Please… Blue Zone deity…
-Jesus, Buddha, Allah! Please protect my 50,000 won!
-Oh, Sniper please blow off Almond’s head.
They were openly cursing for me to die.
‘Ah. That’s right. The Sniper…’
There’s one Sniper among the enemies.
It’s definitely concerning.
Even for someone like me who doesn’t know this game well, the Sniper’s presence was threatening.
It would be better once the Blue Zone keeps shrinking. But for now, the allowed space is still quite large.
They could probably shoot me from a place I can’t even see.
‘Could those three be on the same squad?’
If the remaining three were all from the same squad, honestly, I didn’t see any chance of winning.
What if the Sniper provides cover while the other two rush at me?
And then that actually happened.
“Hey, there’s only one left now.”
“You two go out first and scout, and I’ll provide cover!”
The enemies’ voices approaching loudly and openly.
“Ha…”
Even just listening roughly to their conversation, I could tell the three were on the same squad.
Of the four remaining players, three were on one squad, and I had to fight a lonely battle alone.
-lololol it’s over
-Wow, deity
-3 versus 1?
-3 versus 1 when there are only 4 left? This is seriously hell.
-It’s a nightmare lololol
Hell.
No other word could better describe my current situation.
‘I’m unlucky.’
That assessment wasn’t entirely accurate.
It wasn’t unusual for three squads to survive at this stage.
Rather, my survival alone was the anomaly.
If I wanted to blame my misfortune, I’d have to blame myself for queuing into squad matching in the first place.
Thump─ Thump─
I could hear the enemies gradually approaching.
With only a few locations left to search, they’d soon figure out where I was hiding.
Thump──
The enemies who had been steadily approaching suddenly stopped.
“This is far enough.”
One of them said so decisively and didn’t move any further.
“The Blue Zone is on our side. He’ll have no choice but to pass through this corridor anyway.”
“Right. Once he comes out, we just shoot.”
Misfortune piled upon misfortune.
The Blue Zone would shrink in a way disadvantageous to me, and these enemies knew how to exploit it.
[The Blue Zone is contracting.]
Boom──
I heard the Blue Zone shifting.
My heart began pounding violently.
‘First place is within reach….’
Depending on this next move, I’d either claim first place or finish as a forgettable fourth.
The outcome would be decided.
‘Solo squad victory in my first match’
That’s how this would end.
‘Pretty impressive for a first match.’
Or that’s how it would end.
There was a world of difference between the two.
Whether I’d be remembered as a superstar or just another skilled player—that was usually decided at moments like this.
Whether I could perform in this critical juncture or not.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth.
The competitor’s spirit sleeping within me began to blaze fiercely.
‘I’m taking first place with my bow.’
I steadied my resolve while glancing at the mission reward hanging beside me. My mindset was completely different from when I was shooting in the Kingdom.
This was competition.
Proof to others.
Of my archery skill.
‘First, those guys in front.’
Two people were waiting ahead, anticipating my arrival as the Blue Zone pushed me forward.
I had to eliminate them first.
Fortunately, they hadn’t spotted my position yet.
‘They’re careless. They think I’m being chased by the Blue Zone, and they have three people.’
Three opponents, and the Blue Zone closing in from behind. Their complacency was entirely justified given the situation.
In other words, their carelessness was my only chance.
Gulp.
I quietly retrieved a painkiller from my belt and consumed it.
“Isn’t he here? The Blue Zone’s almost reached us.”
“He’s got to be around here. Let’s wait.”
True to their words, the Blue Zone had drawn dangerously close. By now, even the fine hairs on my back were beginning to stand on end from its effects.
Still, I didn’t move.
[You are taking damage from the Blue Zone. Move!]
Zzzzzt──
My health began depleting at a rapid pace.
Thanks to the painkiller, the pain was minimal, and my health loss was reduced.
‘Just a little longer.’
I gritted my teeth and resolved to endure a bit more.
“What the…… Did we miss him on the way?”
“That’s impossible.”
I had no intention of holding out much longer.
Just enough to make the enemies suspicious. That’s all I needed.
“Damn it… He must be behind us.”
The moment those two turned their attention toward the rear.
“Behind? That can’t──”
──Twang!
An arrow pierced the neck of the one who had turned around, cutting through the air.
Thunk!
The sharp arrowhead protruded past his throat.
“Gaaaack!”
He sprayed blood, unable to form proper words.
“Insane, where──”
Another arrow flew in, piercing straight through his heart.
“──Ugh!”
[Almond → lmfao07]
[Eliminated!]
Every judgment and decision I made was far faster than theirs. And far more precise.
“Wh-where!?”
Thud thud thud thud thud──
My panicked colleague hastily located the direction the arrow had come from and unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
He was simply hoping to catch a ricochet by any means necessary.
Unfortunately, such luck never materialized. Almond was already gone from the direction he’d aimed.
Thunk!
The price of hoping for fortune was steep.
An arrow lodged itself in his skull.
The ballistic helmet, already damaged in the previous engagement, offered no protection whatsoever.
[Almond → Dekhyeon]
[Eliminated!]
[3/100]
He collapsed with anticlimactic simplicity.
Only then did Almond burst out of the Blue Zone and charge forward.
‘I barely made it…!’
My health was hovering at roughly 10% remaining.
I resisted the temptation to approach the corpse and loot it, instead concealing myself behind another piece of cover.
‘Someone’s watching.’
There’s definitely one more out there. Even while my colleagues were being taken down, they hadn’t fired a single shot. A composed one. Likely the sniper I’d seen frequently in the kill logs.
‘They must be positioned at an angle I can’t see.’
There’s no way they wouldn’t have shot if they could see me.
The current angle simply isn’t working for them.
‘I can roughly figure out where their blind spot is.’
I retraced the path I’d taken and mentally mapped out the sniper’s dead zone.
As long as I stay within that area, I won’t get sniped.
[The Blue Zone is shrinking.]
Looking at the map, I was indeed forced to move. It made sense—I was clinging to the very edge of the Blue Zone.
I used my last medical supply, restored my health to 100%, then cautiously crept forward.
‘Where could they be….’
Has the sniper repositioned? Or are they waiting?
Impossible to know.
There was no way to determine their current location.
“!”
But then.
I realized something.
‘They’re moving?’
The incapacitated enemy was crawling frantically toward somewhere.
‘Why? To get healed?’
Since the sniper couldn’t move directly, it seemed they were going to receive treatment themselves.
If that were the case, they would naturally reveal their ally’s location to me.
I lowered my posture and flattened myself against the ground.
Then I crept forward from a distance, crawling stealthily closer.
‘Wait a moment….’
The thought suddenly struck me.
‘The Sniper wouldn’t have time to heal him?’
In a 1v1 standoff, healing a Colleague?
In Battle Rage, reviving a Colleague takes considerable time.
That would be suicide.
Even at the lowest ratings, both players would know better than that.
‘There’s no reason to move and risk exposing my location like this.’
In team matches, it’s over the moment one Colleague wins anyway.
It’s 1v1, but the Sniper still has a massive advantage. Because of the Blue Zone’s direction.
So why would he take the risk and move?
There’s only one conclusion.
‘A trick!’
If I fall for it and follow him, everything becomes easy.
I just need to aim and shoot at Almond as he slowly follows.
Now I intended to turn his deception against him.
‘He’s hiding somewhere along a visible path.’
I stopped following and instead searched for vantage points where I could aim at the crawling opponent’s route.
The breakthrough came just as the Blue Zone tickled my back again.
“!”
I caught the faintest glimpse of my opponent.
Between the tall grass, the ballistic helmet reflected light just slightly.
‘Does he not know?’
He doesn’t know. At least not yet.
I had to act fast.
I had to draw the bowstring while lying prone.
‘How?’
It was impossible. The human arm structure doesn’t allow drawing a bow while lying face-down.
‘No choice then.’
I made a bold decision.
I rolled onto my back completely.
-Huh? Why suddenly showing your belly like that?
-That’s what cats do, isn’t it
-Almond is a baby… you have to pet that belly
What’s this? Just giving up?ㅋㅋㅋ
Naturally, the viewers didn’t understand my action.
Not until the next move.
I pushed the bow with my feet and began pulling the bowstring with both hands.
Creeeak──
The string pulled taut far more powerfully than when using just my hands.
-Hahaha!
-I’ve seen this in a Chinese movie before lol
-No, is this some kind of crazy circus?
-???: I could beat someone like you even with my feet!
-Real talk, I’d win even shooting with my feet lol
While it might seem somewhat provocative to an outside observer, for me it was the most rational choice available.
It was the only way to keep my position low enough that my enemy couldn’t see me while I fired.
However….
‘Will this actually work?’
There was genuine doubt about whether I could land the shot properly.
But I had no time to deliberate.
My options were limited to one.
‘I have to land it no matter what.’
Hit the target and eliminate my opponent.
I tensed my abdominal muscles and drew the bowstring taut in my holding position──
“Hngh!”
──then released.
Twang!
The sharp snap of the bowstring echoed loudly through the air.
“!”
My enemy noticed and quickly swiveled their gun barrel toward me.
Thunk!
But the arrow was faster.
The arrow pierced through their body armor and struck true.
“…Ugh!”
Still unable to determine where the shot came from, my enemy quickly ducked behind cover.
That was a mistake.
Whoosh─
Another shot fired while they felt safe enough to heal.
The arrow traced an arc through the air, easily clearing the cover to strike the top of their head once more.
Splurt!
“Ugh!”
My assumption that I’d survive as long as I didn’t give them a straight line of sight was my fatal error.
I’d forgotten that my opponent was facing a bow, not a gun.
[Almond → Torindoru]
[Eliminated!]
[1/100]
Thud….
My enemy’s corpse fell without mercy.
Boom…!
As the resonant beat of the drum echoed, the message I had been waiting for finally appeared.
[1st Place]

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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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