Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 445

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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 2 Episode 165
58. Swift (1)
Almond’s reason for choosing the Rune was simple.
It looked the best.
The reason it looked the best was because it sounded cool, and it was positioned at the top.
As always, he didn’t overthink his selections in games.
He believed that was natural gameplay.
This was also Balloon Gum’s philosophy.
“Everything works itself out anyway, folks. Don’t stress about it.”
These kinds of choices usually only differed in efficiency—they all got solved one way or another.
Some people might stress over the lower efficiency, but there’s no need to always play with maximum optimization.
Otherwise, everyone would just play identically.
You wouldn’t be able to tell if this was a college entrance exam or a game.
-Right
-He’s got a point lol
-1-star clear is fine, but didn’t you say you do 3-star clears?
-Almond’s basically right anyway
[Sergeant Elite Warrior donated 10,000 won!]
[Wow. I watch this stream for that refreshing vibe, you know?]
-??
-lol
-Just pick and go! It’s refreshing lol
-Sgt. Elite) Refreshing
[Fact Boxer donated 1,000 won!]
[Lololol if you overthink it, is it a nut or a mammal?]
-Lmao
-Living up to the username
-Fact) Almond is a drupe
-Nut fans^^7
“Thanks, Sergeant Elite and Fact Boxer.”
Almond bowed politely before
examining the ‘Rune’.
It was shaped like a small stone.
“There’s something written on this stone?”
The characters glowed softly with a blue light.
At first glance, these were no ordinary characters.
[Rune of Acceleration – Winferestin]
It seemed like they were giving me information, but why did I understand even less after seeing this?
‘What is this.’
In the end, I examined it from every angle.
“Ah. The explanation is here.”
I spot an ‘!’ mark appearing in the corner of my vision.
“This is the explanation you all love.”
-???
-That’s not it.
-You don’t have to read that one
“I’ll read it for you.”
==== ====
[Basic Information on Runes]
A Rune refers to the method of inscribing Logos, the primordial language that was the pinnacle of ancient magic. Originally, Logos is the speaker’s language—the manifestation of intent itself, the highest form of magic.
However, the ancient mages who wielded it could not know whether their descendants would endure the training methods they had undergone. Thus, they took the most fundamental aspects of Logos and, borrowing the form of characters—symbols—inscribed them upon massive stones. This method came to be called ‘Runes.’ In later generations, the stones and symbols themselves became known as Runes.
Runes were certainly a brilliant and wondrous method. Yet, regrettably, the most crucial aspect of Logos—the intent—could never be fully captured in symbols, as always. This was not a matter of technique, but a conceptual limitation of transmission.
Still, this alone was sufficient to exert tremendous influence on later generations. Even those with the most basic constitution of a mage could wield a portion of that power simply by reciting the primordial language embedded in these ‘Runes,’ the very shell of it. What could be more ‘convenient a miracle’ than this? Though the crude symbols left to posterity would oxidize and become ‘attuned’ after a single use.
==== ====
“…become ‘attuned’ after a single use.”
Almond finishes speaking.
That’s right.
I had read the entire explanation.
-Where am I. Who am I.
-This madman, this madman…
We lost ㅠㅠ Just stop ㅠㅠ
-Wow, those brutal Nut Fans…
-Explanation “100x”
-lol so much
It seems like a small act of revenge against the Viewers who had been spamming me to read the explanation.
“Wow. That was fun.”
I glance at the chat window and smirk.
“To summarize, if you recite the words inscribed on a Rune, you can use its power.”
-Phew… relief
-If you ask me, a 3-line summary is the true ancient magic
-Is this Logos? Is this Logos?
Winferestin.
If I recite the name this Rune possesses, it seems it would become an incantation, allowing me to use magic as well.
“It feels like a one-time use. Let me save it for now and head out.”
I think finding Swift in this dungeon is the priority. Just like in Reina and Ran’s story mode, I always had to find the story’s narrator for things to properly begin.
I finally step out of the cabin and look around.
It was a forest densely packed with tall trees.
As expected, it was quite dark.
Fortunately, what looked like fruits(?) hanging from the trees emitted a faint glow, providing minimal visibility.
Since I couldn’t see well, I decided to try a technique I learned from the Civil Empire.
“I need to listen carefully.”
Whoosh.
I pressed my ear to the ground and drew my senses upward.
“At least I’m not alone, it seems….”
I couldn’t tell how vast this space was, or how much of it I could actually perceive.
But I definitely felt the vibrations from footsteps.
Thump… Thump….
The distance didn’t seem that far away.
“It doesn’t sound like human footsteps though.”
The thought crossed my mind that this might not be human at all. This was a dungeon, after all. It was natural for monsters to exist here.
“Seems like a monster. Since this is a dungeon, I guess I’m supposed to hunt monsters and level up….”
It’s the basic format of RPG games.
Hunt and level up.
Ril wasn’t much different from this. The AOS genre was essentially just a condensed version of RPG anyway.
‘This will be different from Ran’s story mode.’
Instinctively, I felt this story mode resembled Reina’s far more than Ran’s. The structure was much more game-like.
Click.
I tossed the Rune I’d obtained once, caught it again, and adjusted my grip.
“Let me at least go see what it looks like.”
I carefully walked toward what seemed to be the monster’s footsteps.

* * *
Rustle.
In a dark forest.
My head popped out from between the waves of dark forest green.
I was hiding in the undergrowth.
‘Around here.’
I pressed my ear to the ground again, then repeated the process of scanning my surroundings.
Thump… Thud-thud-thud.
‘What is it. It’s getting closer.’
The sound grew steadily nearer. Yet I saw nothing.
Thud-thud-thud…!
Now I didn’t even need to press my ear down.
The ground itself was trembling.
And yet nothing was visible.
“Ah.”
I suddenly realized what phenomenon this was and instinctively hurled my body backward—
──CRASH!!
The soil and undergrowth exploded outward. And from it emerged a grotesque creature.
[Earth Fish]
[Lv. 1]
Flop!
The thug was a monster shaped like a fish. What was funny was that it swam around on solid ground instead of water.
It meant the creature possessed scales and strength hard enough to traverse solid earth as if it were an ocean, churning through it effortlessly.
Its size was only slightly larger than a forearm, but it possessed teeth and jaws that looked terrifyingly difficult to survive once bitten by.
However, that fearsome monster hadn’t come after me.
It hadn’t erupted from directly beneath my feet. It was about five meters away from there.
‘Huh?’
I watched from a distance as the monster thrashed about.
It was fighting a human.
‘There was a person here.’
Thunk!
A human who appeared from nowhere thrust a spear into the Earth Fish’s mouth.
The Earth Fish flailed a few times before dying surprisingly easily. Its scales looked quite sturdy, but the inside of its mouth seemed to have no special defense.
‘So that’s how you kill them.’
I took this as a gameplay hint and committed it to memory.
Boom!
Several more Earth Fish burst forth.
Whoosh!
And in response, several more humans burst from the brush.
Crack! Thwack!
The humans butchered the Earth Fish with their respective weapons. They looked experienced.
Splat! Splat!
‘They’re killing them fast.’
I paused to consider.
Whether to join them or not.
These were the first humans I’d encountered right after arriving. It couldn’t be coincidence. The creator must have intended this.
‘Let’s go.’
Deciding that approaching was the right call, I quietly emerged from the brush.
Whoosh.
“W-who are you!”
Naturally, they didn’t welcome me with open arms.
Clink. Clink.
They immediately raised their spears.
‘Were they children?’
Their faces looked young despite the tension in their grip on the spears.
Their bodies were adult-sized, but their faces seemed to belong to teenagers.
The one leading the group thrust his spear forward and asked.
“You. What were you doing over there?”
His frame wasn’t large, but he looked sturdy and well-built. His skin was dark and healthy.
‘Is that Swift?’
I considered the possibility that this thug might be Swift.
Reina and Ran had such distinctive appearances that I could tell them apart even from their childhood features.
But Swift had such an ordinary face that it was difficult to get a read on him.
“You. What were you doing?”
He asked again, this time more threateningly.
“I was just startled and watching for a moment.”
I spread both hands to show I had no weapons.
Of course, I kept the Rune hidden in my pocket.
“I’m Almond.”
I introduced myself first to learn the other’s name.
“I’m Swift.”
‘Found him!’
So that thug was Swift.
I struggled to control the corners of my mouth from rising and forced myself to maintain an expressionless face.
“Almond. Are you a participant too?”
“Participant?”
“Are you heading toward the Sanctuary?”
The Sanctuary?
That’s on the battlefield.
But it seemed best to agree for now.
If I wanted to join up with them.
“Yeah.”
After hearing my answer, Swift consulted briefly with the children behind him.
And shortly after.
He made me an offer.
“Then will you join us? We’re heading toward the Sanctuary too. Of course, I can’t give you a large share of the rewards. You joined late, after all.”
My expression hardened at the mention of reduced compensation.
These are just common thugs, aren’t they?
But what could I do?
This is Swift’s Story Mode.
He’s the center of this narrative.
“Well. It would be impossible alone. I’ll join.”
“But…”
Swift stroked his chin, examining me from different angles.
He’d noticed something odd.
“You don’t have a weapon?”
Ouch.
I hesitated in my response, caught off guard.
Hahahahaha
-Got caught lol
Lol I just picked number 1~~
“Ah… I, I was unlucky.”
“Unlucky?”
“I didn’t grab a weapon from the box.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That box over there. It was glowing….”
Wait, should I even be mentioning this?
Almond froze for a moment. He’d assumed it was something provided to everyone by default. But maybe it wasn’t.
Yet, was he just being paranoid?
Swift responded as if he found it ridiculous.
“You’re telling me there was a Rune box on this first floor?”
He knew what the box was.
“Ah. Yeah. That thing.”
“Well, I’ll be. You weren’t unlucky—you were lucky.”
It seemed Rune boxes rarely appeared on the first floor.
“This place is still outside the Sanctuary’s influence. Rune boxes can’t exist outside the Sanctuary’s domain for long. You.”
Slink.
Oh no, was it just his imagination?
Swift and his colleagues seemed to be closing the distance one by one.
With sharp spears and blades leading the way.
“You seem quite suspicious, don’t you?”
Gulp.
Almond didn’t know what to do here.
“No weapon, and you didn’t even pick one from the Rune box?”
The pressure kept mounting.
What happens if I’m suspected too much?
I haven’t lied about anything.
Will I end up fighting because of this misunderstanding?
But that turned out to be unnecessary worry.
“Get out of here. I can’t take along someone useless. No weapon and your judgment seems pathetic too.”
Swift decided Almond was just an idiot rather than suspicious.
-what’s extreme damage
-Swift was an incarnation of the mental realm
-true damage lol extreme damage
“Let’s go.”
Swift left those words about him being an idiot and simply walked away with his colleagues.
Ha. Almond was dumbfounded.
“Wait. Just because I made one wrong choice? You’re doing this?”
He tried to complain to the chat as if he’d been wronged.
-Hahahaha
-Lol
-You’re out haha
-Then do your best~~
-Hehehehe
-You’re teasing
Most of them were just mocking him.
Among them, Almond found this particular message.
-Swift gave you a hint anyway, you don’t need a weapon
Swift gave me a hint?
Almond paused to reconsider.
‘A hint? What are they talking about?’
I traced back through everything Swift had said.
Then one phrase suddenly struck me.
「I can’t drag around someone useless」
Usefulness.
That was it.
It was a matter of whether I was useful or not.
The weapon wasn’t what mattered.
‘If it’s this…’
Whoosh.
Almond fingered the ‘Rune of Acceleration’ in my pocket.
“Hey. Wait a second.”
I called out to Swift, who was already turning to leave.
-That’s the tone of voice I heard back in school
-PTSD triggered haha
-S-Sanghyeon, the school store isn’t open right now!

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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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