Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 468
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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 188
65. Icarus (2)
Icarus.
A foolish figure depicted in Greco-Roman mythology.
He is a tragic youth imprisoned in the labyrinth alongside his father for the father’s sins.
Ironically, the labyrinth was designed by his father himself, yet even the designer could not fathom a way to escape.
At a time when they faced the grim prospect of starving to death in the very maze he had created.
They observe the birds soaring above the sky and the candles illuminating the path, and a singular idea takes root.
“Let us gather the feathers of birds and harden them with wax to craft wings. Then we shall fly and escape this place.”
Daedalus, a master craftsman and his father, succeeded in gathering countless feathers and hardening them with wax to forge magnificent wings.
As he flapped the wings, his body truly took flight.
Icarus became consumed with exhilaration.
Father, I am soaring through the heavens. Now we can escape the labyrinth.
Yet Daedalus issued a warning.
Do not fly too high near the sun, for the wax will melt, nor too low near the sea, for the feathers will become drenched.
He counseled to maintain a steady course through the middle path.
But Icarus heeded not his father’s words.
Once he began to fly, euphoria consumed his entire being.
He flapped his wings ever higher, ascending further still.
He yearned to reach the gods themselves.
He sought to venture into realms no mortal had ever traversed.
In the end, the sun’s heat melted the wax entirely.
The feathers scattered like a lie, and Icarus, bereft of his wings, plummeted from the sky and perished.
* * *
Almond recalled the myth of Icarus and turned it over in his mind.
‘Wasn’t Icarus… Swift?’
The myth of Icarus’s wings was frequently used to depict the image of a human consumed by ambition.
Almond had believed it was a metaphor for Swift.
Swift would continue choosing only the third star for his ambitions, and one day he would crash—just like Icarus’s wings.
A perfect parallel.
But that wasn’t it.
Even after Swift’s death, the third star never appeared.
‘Then…’
Icarus wasn’t a story about Swift.
Then, who was Icarus here?
Who would make that reckless flight?
Almond’s bowstring snapped taut.
Twang!
“Luna. Ben. Let’s kill that bird and get out of here.”
Almond’s arrow was aimed at the bird—the administrator of this place.
Clang!
Though the bird easily deflected the attack.
The declaration of war had been made clear enough.
The bird stared at Almond, then muttered.
“An interesting choice.”
I would kill the bird, gather its feathers, and escape this labyrinth. Even if the end was a fall, it was the only way left.
* * *
Perhaps this was inevitable.
As long as this creature was the supreme administrator of the Abyss, I couldn’t avoid the fight.
But Luna and Ben are bewildered.
“Kill the bird, kill it and get us out of here…?”
“How are we supposed to….”
Almond spoke bluntly.
“Otherwise, we’d have to kill each other.”
At those words, Ben and Luna’s faces went pale.
That’s right. The bird had ordered the three of them to fight until one survived.
It’s still saying that now.
“I told you three to fight. Yet you attack me. But if the three of you fight now, you shall enjoy the promised riches and glory.”
The bird was sowing discord.
“But if you oppose me again, none of you will gain anything. You will repeat this ordeal without ever dying.”
At those words, Ben trembled violently. His blade tip shook severely. Meanwhile, Luna’s fury ignited.
“What? Repeat again? Why won’t we die?”
….
-? Yeah, seriously
-That’s weird
Wouldn’t that be recycling? lol
The bird didn’t answer.
Luna’s gaze turns toward the sanctuary.
“Could it be….”
I couldn’t know the details, but I could feel that the energy had accumulated more than before.
“Why… is it building up? You. Answer me.”
The bird smirks.
“If one dies here, naturally their experience flows into the sanctuary. Or should I simply discard it?”
The children who fell dead to Swift. Their experience had been stored in the sanctuary.
“…Swift hasn’t even chosen option 3 yet.”
Luna trembled violently.
“But why! How dare you store the children’s experience without permission!!”
Almond couldn’t actually understand why Luna was so furious.
But after hearing the next words, I understood.
“Wasn’t your goal from the start to fill this sanctuary’s power completely!?”
I cannot translate “-ㄴㅇㄱ” as it does not form a valid Korean word or meaningful sequence. These appear to be individual consonants without proper vowels or context.
Even the newbie seems to want to fill up their experience points???
-Creepy
-So Swift just let it happen like that
lol
‘So that’s what it was.’
It seemed Swift wasn’t the only one who desired to fill this sanctuary.
The Bird also wanted to fill this sanctuary. If that were the case, I naturally questioned the fairness of the competition unfolding in this Abyss.
And the reason Swift continued to win.
“So… that’s why Swift could keep winning!?”
Of course, the Bird didn’t provide a clear answer.
“The sanctuary makes the judgment.”
Instead, he threatened.
“I carry out the execution.”
Whoosh!
He spread his wings menacingly.
The Bird took flight.
“I’ll give you one final choice.”
The Bird’s silhouette burned pitch-black against the backlighting.
It was utterly threatening.
He spoke in a resonant voice.
“Kill each other. Then we can return to the original proceedings even now.”
If I submitted to him even now, I might survive.
Ben asked, trembling.
“Luna… w-we’re not good at fighting each other. Will it be okay?”
“Who said we’re not good at it! Stop saying that!?”
Luna shouted explosively and drew two blades.
Shing!
‘That’s….’
Luna had drawn Swift’s sword.
She spun the blade with practiced ease, then hurled it toward the Bird.
“Almond! I’ve made my decision!”
Whoosh!
The blade flew with a cutting sound.
The sword passed over the Bird’s shoulder.
It could be mistaken for a miss, but….
[Blink]
Crack!
Luna appears above the blade, burning with golden light.
[Blade Force]
She unleashes Blade Force and slashes toward the Bird.
Slash!
The Bird allows the attack to connect.
[Health 97%]
He spins backward and swings his blade-wings toward Luna, but.
[Blink]
Luna is already gone.
Crack!
She repositioned herself using the blade she’d left behind.
Right beside Ben.
“Lu… Luna.”
Ben mutters in surprise.
“You fight this well?”
“Haa… haa… How many rotting years have I spent here? This much is nothing.”
-What did she even do lol
-Hit once and run, suddenly she’s a skilled fighter lmao
-Ben’s too cute lol
-Luna’s confident face is killing me
“A rather poor choice.”
The Bird, having taken a hit from Luna, growled with obvious displeasure.
“Fine. I’ll judge you all.”
“Almond. I’m going back in. Cover me. If we fight like this, we can win.”
Luna asks Almond for cover fire.
Almond nods.
“I’ll shoot first.”
Twang!
Almond releases an arrow.
The Bird flaps its wings, deflecting the arrow.
The arrow is blocked, but there’s an opening. Luna’s form pierces through that gap.
Crack!
[Blink]
Simultaneously, Luna thrusts her blade.
Squelch…!
The blade sinks into the Bird’s abdomen.
The Bird grips the blade tightly instead.
Clench.
“Wha…? The blade won’t come free!”
It swings its fist.
A fist of such massive size that anyone struck would be in grave danger.
Boom…!
Then, Almond’s arrow strikes a vital point.
The Bird’s fist halts momentarily.
Luna throws her full weight into it, wrenching the blade free, and the fist misses.
-Wow, the coordination
-What kind of fantasy teamwork is this
-The determination of a repeat student and the skill of a med school student!
While the Bird threw empty punches.
Splat!
Almond’s arrow struck the weak point again, triggering a stun.
From the Bird’s perspective, the battle was frustratingly one-sided.
-Stun is totally broken
-How is this even fair lol (from the boss’s perspective)
-This is ridiculous lol is that a 5-star bow?
-It’s broken because Almond’s using it
-Phase 2 is gonna go smoothly
[Health 73%]
As the battle continued, the Bird’s health depleted far more easily than expected.
[Health 47%]
Before long, it had plummeted below half.
* * *
Moments later.
“Hah. Hah. This is easier than I thought? That bird-brained bastard. All flash, no substance.”
Luna’s confidence had surged, prompting such a remark.
-That statement though…
-Almost finished it lol
-Oh no
Like all bosses, this Bird had a Phase 2.
Boom!!!
The Bird’s body erupted in an explosion.
[Transcendence]
Its entire form blazed white.
A portion of its health recovered.
[Health 60%]
Moreover, the blade-like feathers that had been scattered regrew completely.
It soared upward, radiating a terrifying aura.
It climbed to a height where arrows couldn’t even reach.
“To push me this far at this hour.”
Despite the damage dealt, its voice remained eerily composed.
There was no sign of agitation whatsoever.
“Impressive.”
With those words, it activated a different skill.
[Memory]
It began summoning memories.
“It’s been ages since I’ve faced a human. My methods grow hazy, but….”
It began overlaying itself with the memories of the most formidable opponents it had ever faced.
Complex runes swirled around his head before fading away.
A brilliant white light blazed from his eyes.
His form began to transform.
Into human shape.
‘So this is it.’
Almond intuited it immediately.
Fighting against the data of all the Players he’d battled so far—that’s what this moment meant.
‘Jeon-ja-pa’s memories….’
Was that why?
A donation came through.
[King Gul has registered a mission.]
[Bring me the price of my tears, Almond!]
A mission under the name King Gul.
-??
-Huh?
Are you serious? lol
King penguin lol
-Out of nowhere?
Lol, tears are worth it
-Is he talking about the orange juice squeezing incident?
Though nicknames could overlap and anyone could use the same one, there was no way to verify if it was really him.
But such a mission had been registered.
[Mission]
[Final Boss Kill]
[200,000 Won]
That bird was essentially the final boss anyway.
Combined with the Nodes 3-Star Clear mission, there was a total of 400,000 Won on that creature’s head.
But they say donations follow the flow, don’t they?
[Shy Yeopo has added additional support to the mission!]
[Let me add my spoon to the pot.]
[+300,000 Won]
He’d added another 300,000 Won.
The total mission bounty from King Gul became 500,000 Won.
“King Gul, Supo—thank you for the missions. I’ll make sure to claim them.”
Hahaha, robbery declaration
The new generation will get hit within 2 minutes lol
-Supo-jwa’s really going all out huh
I can’t even get the salty spot light lol
Adding the 500,000 Won that just came in and the 200,000 Won from the Nodes 3-Star Clear mission from before, the total bounty on that bird’s head was 700,000 Won.
‘700, huh.’
Almond’s gaze shifted as he watched the bird soar high into the sky.
* * *
Juhyeok was taken aback.
“Wait. This is real?”
King Gul—the username that had casually issued a mission earlier.
It had been the real King Gul all along.
For someone watching on PC, distinguishing the genuine from the fake was remarkably simple.
All one had to do was click the information window beside his username to access his channel directly.
Naturally, the channel linked in the information window was King Gul’s authentic streaming channel.
King Gul wasn’t currently broadcasting. Of course he wouldn’t issue missions on someone else’s stream while his own was live.
‘This could work out nicely.’
That’s when a brilliant idea struck Juhyeok.
After all, weren’t King Gul and Almond currently in a cooperative relationship?
Besides, he still needed to broadcast the Civil Empire solo-ranked climb into S+ tier today anyway.
He sent a message to a number in his contacts.
[How about we start things a bit earlier today?]
Almond, battling Jeon-ja-pa’s data.
And King Gul, watching it unfold.
Juhyeok broke into a grin.
What a perfectly flawless combination for content.
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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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