Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 544

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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 3 Episode 14
6. The Hodu Battle (1)
Jessi reached the second-floor railing but hesitated before stepping onto it.
“Someone’s there.”
“Really? On the second floor?”
“Yeah. And there are a lot of them.”
“…What do we do? We were planning to take the stairs from the second floor.”
Scaling the wall consumed an enormous amount of stamina, and with ordinary stats, reaching the rooftop would be impossible.
Jessi could make it as a combat-class player, but everyone else would be eliminated.
That’s why we were planning to take the stairs from the second floor.
“Change of plans. Third floor.”
“…Sigh. Understood.”
She withdrew her foot from the railing and continued climbing by gripping the pipes once more.

* * *
“Wow. Has the number of remaining participants been significantly reduced?”
“Yes. Let me show you.”
[Remaining Participants]
Class 1: 0
Class 2: 14
Class 3: 30
Class 4: 0
Class 5: Forfeited
“So it’s a showdown between Class 3 and Class 2… Which one do you predict will win?”
After all the other challenge teams were eliminated.
Now only Class 2 and Class 3 remained.
A clash between them was inevitable.
“Obviously Class 3 has the numerical advantage, so Class 3, but….”
“But?”
“Class 2 stands out in item farming.”
At the Caster’s words, the Observer zoomed in on the equipment Class 2 had gathered.
“Items?”
“Yes. Class 2, which established a position in the cafeteria, armed themselves with materials from the kitchen. To my eye, they look significantly better equipped.”
His point was valid.
The equipment was certainly made from sturdier materials.
“They’re using a large rice cooker lid from the kitchen as a shield.”
“Ah, is that so? Well, since it’s made of metal, it’s far superior to shields made from desks, wouldn’t you say?”
“Exactly. Most of their weapons are spears made by attaching kitchen knives to the ends of mop handles. Compared to that, Class 3’s broken burlap sacks are far too primitive.”
Compared to Class 2’s weapons, Class 3 was at a stone age level.
That wasn’t all.
Even the armor shows a difference.
“In fact, the gloves are even worse. You know those metal mesh gloves they use in the kitchen to avoid cutting your hands?”
“Ah. The ones used when cutting meat?”
“Yes. Class 2 is currently wearing all of those. With those on, zombie teeth absolutely cannot pierce through.”
Steel gloves.
A type of chainmail gauntlet designed to protect the hands even if someone were to strike down with a blade.
Naturally, they wouldn’t be pierced even by a heavy Chinese cleaver, so there’s no way zombie teeth could get through.
“Ah… There’s quite a difference in equipment? So what advantage does Class 3 have?”
“Well, the best condition created in a stable environment, unity and numbers.”
“Again… unity?”
-Unity lolol
-Mental fortitude, organization, perseverance!!lololol
-This is the Class 3 you chose~ Hold on with grit and determination~!
“This is like a battle between seasoned foreign mercenaries and Class 3’s unity, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Still, Class 3 maintains an overall advantage. You can’t ignore the numbers. And besides, there’s one more item they’re ahead on, isn’t there?”
“Ah! That’s right! The longsword Almond is holding!”
“Exactly. A good item in the hands of the right talent. That’s what matters.”

* * *
“We’re breaking through to the rooftop today.”
Taco said.
“There’s not much time left before the helicopter arrives. We need to go up early and prepare as if we’re spending the day there to avoid any variables.”
There’s no way to know what might happen or how much we’ll be delayed on the way up.
It’s best to arrive as early as possible.
“We’re heading to the second floor now. Get ready.”
Okay~
The children gathered their equipment without complaint.
But among themselves, they whispered like this.
“Hey. But we’re 30 people, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Let’s not talk about that for now. They’ll probably take five more.”
They all knew.
That not everyone could be rescued.
But discussing that topic further here wouldn’t change anything.
“Alright. No more talk. Let’s move!”
All 30 of them headed to the second floor together.
Since we’d already explored this place once, there weren’t any major issues. But we still went through one more verification.
“We’re going to clear each floor thoroughly as we go up. If we don’t, we’ll have no way back and get wiped out.”
We had to eliminate all the zombies on each floor and clean them up properly to secure our escape route.
If even one zombie remained behind, there’s no telling what kind of variable it could become.
“Clear.”
“Not here either.”
“Not in the bathroom.”
The search proceeded smoothly and swiftly to completion.
“Not here either… Kyaaahhh?!”
As expected.
Were there still Zombies remaining?
Class 3 rushed forward with their spears raised.
“….”
But what they found wasn’t something as threatening as a Zombie.
It was a student hanging from the ceiling. Dead.
“Looks like he was alive after all.”
Someone muttered bitterly.
This was the classroom where Class 1 had established their position. We thought everyone in Class 1 had either died or become Zombies.
But it seemed one student had managed to survive.
However, rather than become a Zombie, he had chosen to end his own life.
This was what happened when students’ despair reached its peak.
“How did he manage to hang himself?”
“The Zombies caused such chaos that all the ceiling fixtures were exposed.”
Normally, there wouldn’t be any corner of the ceiling where you could hang a necktie.
But this ceiling had collapsed severely. It was probably a creation of Kkakddugi’s rampage.
Thanks to that, the student was able to end his life easily.
And Class 3 was able to hear something else.
“Here… ah… wh?”
“Wh… so…?”
Unidentifiable voices leaking down from the ceiling.
“Shh!”
Balloon Gum ordered everyone to be quiet and crouched low.
Class 3 retreated toward the door in perfect unison, covering their mouths.
“Sounds like people?”
Taco whispered the question.
“Were there people on the third floor?”
“Well, the Challenge team has five members, so it’s possible.”
Taco had already finished calculating that only Class 3 had entered the main building.
Based on testimonies compiled from various classes, it was an almost certain hypothesis.
It was correct to assume they had just entered from outside.
“Hey, kids. Check if there are any ropes or anything hanging from the windows of classrooms around here.”
“Okay~”
The children nodded and scattered into different classrooms.

* * *
“…There isn’t one?”
There was no rope.
Taco tore at his hair.
‘Ah.’
Then the answer came to me.
“It’s the gas pipe. Where was that again.”
I pulled up the map and bolted into a classroom on my own.
I opened the window and examined the railing.
‘If someone climbed up using this, they would have definitely rested on this railing at least once.’
There would definitely be footprints.
“Hm?”
But there wasn’t a single shoe mark on the railing.
Did they not climb up using this route?
I leaned my body out to get a closer look at the gas pipe.
“A dead end.”
I wasn’t sure if looking would tell me anything, but I examined it anyway, hoping to find something.
[Observing the target.]
Huh?
My class’s skill activated.
The dust accumulated on the gas pipe appeared magnified, showing signs of being partially brushed away.
[There are traces of someone passing through.]
So it was here after all.
I craned my neck to look upward.
Only the blue sky was visible. There were no traces of the person anymore.
“What is it. Did you find something?”
The Class Representative asked from behind.
“Yeah. I’m certain the enemy is on the third floor.”
“…Hmm. So what do we do?”
“Let’s go check it out. Third floor.”

* * *
Clang!
Class 3 pushed open the fire door.
Now they were attempting to enter the third floor for the first time.
“Let’s move. Heading to the third floor.”
Creeping forward.
Every footstep was cautious.
Still uncharted territory.
After advancing some distance, as we rounded the stairwell corner and began climbing.
“Hold.”
Almond, leading the formation, raised his fist to signal a halt.
“Let me scout ahead.”
Almond craned his neck upward, peering into the upper level.
A portion of the third-floor corridor came into view.
Nothing there.
At least, nothing visible to the eye.
“Move out.”
Class 3 advanced once more.
From behind, Balloon Gum issued orders as planned.
“Shields to the front.”
Class 3’s formation shifted from a single-file line into a diamond shape.
A formation that positioned the shield-bearers on the outermost perimeter while maintaining breakthrough capability.
The moment shields were raised, it felt as though combat could erupt at any second.
“Haa… haa….”
“Phew. Haa.”
Tense breathing echoed from various directions.
“Advance together while checking each room.”
We proceeded forward, systematically clearing the restroom nearest the stairwell and the classrooms that followed.
“Restroom clear.”
“Class 1 not here.”
Classrooms were being confirmed one by one. So far, nothing had been found.
Where the hell were they? Those guys from before….
“What? They’re not here?”
We’ve searched everywhere. Nothing.
Taco furrowed his brow.
‘Something’s off.’
There was an unsettling feeling about this.
“They must have gone up to the next floor first.”
Balloon Gum spoke casually, but it was a reasonable deduction.
The Class Representative agreed with this assessment.
“Are they trying to secure the rooftop and monopolize the helicopter rescue?”
“Let’s head to the fourth floor too. We need to catch up before they reach the rooftop.”
Following Balloon Gum’s command, everyone rushed toward the stairwell, though Takoyaki kept tilting his head in confusion throughout.
‘Something’s off….’
Then.
“Huh?”
*Tug.*
He grabbed Balloon Gum’s arm.
“Sir. I figured it out.”
“Figured what…?”
“We can’t go. Not yet.”
What?
Balloon Gum’s expression turned bewildered as he turned to Almond for support.
As if asking him to take his side.
“Mond. Do you understand what he’s saying?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“We can’t go, he says.”
“….”
Haha, no way! / Fat chance! / Not a snowball’s chance in hell!
-That’s right~
I’m dying at Jagang Walnut Stream lol
-lol
“Bubble gum addict, of course I wouldn’t know, why are you even asking lol”
-So what is it then

* * *
About ten minutes earlier.
Jessi and the children from Class 2 practically crawled through the third-floor window to get inside.
“Haa… damn… this is killing me.”
“Thought I was dying.”
Everyone except Jessi, a combat-class player, looked exhausted.
“At least there don’t seem to be any zombies here.”
“Right?”
The third floor was originally a zombie-free zone. Fortunately for us.
“But Jessi. Didn’t it feel like we had fewer numbers than them?”
A player named Ut asks.
“Yeah. We’re outnumbered. Plus, they’re probably organized. I saw how they moved earlier.”
“…I see.”
A scholarly-looking man responds to Jessi’s words with a suggestion.
“More numbers? Then let’s just go up first. We can just close the door behind us.”
His nickname is Nerdking, but
he’s been called Nerdking since earlier.
“Yeah. Nerdking.”
Ut agrees.
“Go up first, close the door, buy time? Sounds good, right? We could even keep them from getting in at all.”
It sounds like a decent plan on the surface. But Jessi shakes her head.
“That won’t work.”
“Why?”
“Just closing and locking the door will get busted through with a sledgehammer.”
“Oh, they have a sledgehammer too?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn it. Then what about a barricade?”
“Sori. Don’t you hear that?”
!
The sound of dragging feet echoing through the fourth-floor corridor.
There were definitely zombies on the fourth floor.
Judging by the loud crashing sounds coming from various places, there’s a high probability that special zombies exist too.
“If we set up a barricade, we’ll get hit by the zombies on the fourth floor.”
“What if we take care of all of them?”
Class 2’s current combat capability is at an elite level.
I thought we could win even if special zombies were mixed in.
But the problem isn’t the zombies.
It’s the people.
“Take care of them? We could. But then those guys chasing us from behind will cut off our escape route, and we’ll just become meat shields doing their work instead of fighting zombies.”
“…Right. I see.”
Ut scratches his head and asks back.
“So what do we do?”
Jessi closes her eyes for a moment, lost in thought.
“They don’t know we’re here.”
“…That’s true.”
“So they’ll head up to the third floor. Obviously. They need to reach the rooftop.”
“Right.”
“Let’s go back down to the second floor using the pipes.”
“…!?”
We struggled to climb up here. And now we’re going back down?
But it’s actually a pretty solid strategy.
“We’ll catch them from behind. They’ll be our meat shields.”
“Oh…!”
Nerdking and Ut nod in agreement.
“It’s perfect, right? Since they don’t even know we exist, they’ll clear out all the zombies on their own.”
It was definitely a solid strategy.
“But will the timing work out?”
The only issue was if their paths overlapped—for example, if they were still on the second floor when we suddenly tried to enter it. Everything would fall apart.
“From now on, we’ll stay on the pipes between the second and third floors. Once we see them climbing through the second-floor window, we enter.”
A moment later.
Class 2 climbed back onto the gas pipes.
“Ugh… I, I have a fear of heights….”
A few students whimpered, but there was nothing to be done.
“Wait. Let me check.”
With remarkable balance, Jessi hung from the pipe and carefully poked her head out to the side.
‘They’re going up.’
Class 3, which had been on the second floor, gradually disappeared toward the third floor.
Jessi held up three fingers to signal she would count down.
On three, everyone should start coming down.
“One, two….”
Whoosh.
Jessi entered the second floor first, and the children followed one by one.
Class 2 was on the second floor, Class 3 on the third. Their positions had been reversed.
In other words, Jessi had successfully gotten behind Class 3, exactly as planned.
Nerdking couldn’t help but giggle.
“They really all went up, didn’t they? This is going exactly according to plan!”

* * *
[Beginner’s Tip: The biggest difference between humans and zombies is that humans use their brains. Yes. Some players might have trouble telling the difference. Hahahaha!]

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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
—————