Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 885

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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 4 Episode 016
6. Ace in the Hole (1)
They say that when people lack breathing room, their generosity withers away.
This saying fit the Ghost Busters development company perfectly right now.
This newly signed advertising contract was decidedly one-sided.
Overwhelmingly favorable to the developers.
Manager Kim and Kim Gwajang, who had orchestrated this deal—this Kim-Kim duo—were well aware of it themselves.
“This is bothering my conscience a bit, you know.”
“Forget it. That person agreed to everything and signed off on it.”
“Right….”
Almond and Balloon Gum.
Only when they actually fulfilled this contract would they truly understand what they’d signed.
That’s why they felt a twinge of guilt.
“Ah, it’s starting soon. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Who knows? But at least two weeks, right? Since seeing the ending is a condition.”
According to the contract, the advertisement only ends once they reach the game’s ending.
In cases like this, if the game was difficult, the advertising period could stretch indefinitely.
That’s why they’d approached Balloon Gum.
To run a long advertisement for minimal cost.
“They knew about that before signing, right?”
Manager Kim asked Kim Gwajang with some concern.
“Geez, how many times do I have to say it? Even if they didn’t know, they signed anyway. So we consider them as knowing. Besides, Balloon Gum probably tested it out.”
“Ah… it’s surprising though. That they’d do this for us.”
“The payment was pretty substantial, wasn’t it? We’re going all-in on this too.”
There was the burden of it potentially dragging on, but a considerable sum had been proposed in exchange.
“But didn’t that change to a running guarantee system?”
“Yeah. It suddenly changed at the last minute. For us, it reduced the immediate outflow… the higher-ups were happy about it.”
From the company’s perspective, the immediate cash outflow matters more than the total amount.
Because it affects cash flow.
But then word came that Almond would be doing a collaboration stream, the manager came by and adjusted various conditions, and it changed to a payment method proportional to sales.
“So what’s the break-even point?”
“Compared to the previous contract? Um… it’s calculated through Q2. So… 200,000 copies?”
“What!?”
This game selling 200,000 copies within six months?
That would be a massive hit from the start.
They were only spending the marketing budget they’d planned to pay out before, assuming a hit would happen.
“200,000 copies? That’s insane. You got incredibly favorable terms!? With two major streamers doing a two-week advertisement, if we don’t even lose money, isn’t this a complete win for us!?”
“The probability of that is high.”
Tap.
Kim Gwajang placed a hand on Manager Kim’s shoulder and raised his chin proudly.
“No. I’m the one who signed the contract. What, you think I’d do it carelessly?”
“Wow~ Boss!”
With things going smoothly, the relationship between superior and subordinate looked genuinely good.
“Man. Two hundred thousand copies in Korea alone… that’s really… wow…”
Manager Kim muttered as if he still couldn’t believe it.
“It’s a massive hit.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Kim Gwajang’s face grew contemplative.
“What’s wrong?”
Kim Gwajang quickly opened the contract file and muttered to himself.
“It’s not two hundred thousand copies in Korea alone… it’s just two hundred thousand copies total.”
“What?”
Once uploaded to the game distribution platform, purchases are naturally possible worldwide.
Though it’s a homegrown Korean game, it’s already fully localized in English, and truthfully, the target market is the English-speaking region.
Considering that, two hundred thousand copies isn’t quite the blockbuster sales figure I initially thought.
“W-well then… it’s not exactly a massive hit. Haha…”
Manager Kim still laughed.
“It’s still a hit, sir. A real hit.”
Two hundred thousand copies in worldwide sales far exceeded the company’s break-even point on development costs.
“Right? That’s right. It’s definitely a hit.”
Kim Gwajang said so while examining the contract once more.
‘Something feels off.’
Since this was his first time handling this type of deal, he had a nagging feeling he might have missed something else.
Swish. Swish.
He scrolled through the document.
There was no way anything he’d missed before would suddenly appear now.
The terms were still remarkably favorable.
The manager relaxed.
“Good. Very good. Alright, let’s get started. Come on, bring some beer, will you?”
“Woohoo~”
However, they didn’t know.
Back when Juhyeok Kim was the contract manager for Aseng.
Those who signed contracts with him had all raised their glasses not to refreshing beer, but to soju tinged with the melancholy of street tent vendors.

* * *
The game had begun.
[Ghost Busters]
Whoosh.
The world blazed with brilliant light, and terrain materialized all around me.
Mountains loomed in the distance, and a river flowed. The roads were packed bumper-to-bumper with automobiles.
And─
Clatter. Clatter.
The familiar noise and vibration assaulted my ears.
I turned my head to look ahead and saw nothing but the lower halves of people standing about carelessly.
Clatter. Clatter.
They swayed helplessly left and right in rhythm with the vibrations, yet stubbornly buried their noses in their phones, intently absorbed in something.
An announcement broadcast echoed through the space.
[Next stop: Yeongdeungpo. Yeongdeungpo Station. The doors opening are….]
That’s right.
This was the Republic of Korea—a Line 1 train cutting through the capital region.
“Ah, so this is Line 1?”
-Oh, this kind of game?
Oh, so it’s a game from our country??
-The graphics are well done lol
-Ugh, even here I’m commuting!?
-The legendary Line 1 lolololol
After that, Almond checked his appearance. In games like this, sometimes it was important to figure out what your identity was.
‘A necktie… a shirt….’
A white shirt and necktie.
A black nylon briefcase rested atop his crisp trousers.
It was the very picture of a conservative salaryman—reminiscent of his days working at Aseng.
“Wow, it’s really exactly the same─”
It was the moment Sanghyeon was marveling at the scenery.
“──KYAAAAAAHHH!”
A strange cry echoed from somewhere.
-What’s that
Damn, seriously? ㅋㅋㅋ
-Oh lol
-Huh?
-Is it a Line 1 villain?
Just as the incarnations of Ril each possessed their own legends,
Korea’s subway system also had legends of its own.
Line 1 probably held the most legends among them all.
It seemed the game had implemented them as well.
“No! You possessed thug! What are you doing here!”
A confident, booming voice.
People murmur and glance over.
Lol seriously such a villain ㅋ
Hahahahahaha
A serial killer has appeared ㄷㄷ
Almond rises to his feet and peers in that direction.
‘Is something happening over there? By the way, where’s Balloon Gum?’
Back in my Aseng days, I would’ve just ignored it and walked past.
But since this is a game, I figured something of an event must be unfolding.
“Who’s possessed!? You charlatan fortune teller!”
An argument is underway.
Almond steps closer.
“Huh? Is that a Monk?”
-Haha, oh my god!
-For real?
Are the monks fighting? That’s legendary lol
One of the people arguing is a Monk. And the other one is….
Ding!
Striking the Monk’s bald head with a bell.
Dressed as a Shaman.
The legendary improved hanbok is insane.
Are you a shaman? lol
What is this, lol
Line 1 is insane
Ding.
[Villainexpert donated 10,000 won!]
[When I was young, my Father told me… beware of bald heads and modified hanboks…]
A donation narrated in a Grandfather’s voice.
A true father is amazing.
-Kuboji-class Father
lol
“Ah. I see….”
Almond barely had time to respond to the donation.
“Right next to you! Don’t you see this woman!? This overwhelming yin energy is pressing down on her relentlessly!”
“Goodness, even Buddha would give up on you! What possession on a perfectly fine woman!”
“Sigh. Frustrating….”
The Shaman and Monk were arguing over whether some woman had a spirit attached to her.
“The woman doesn’t seem to be reacting much though.”
The woman in question simply sat there blankly, showing no response.
-Real talk
-Pretty intense, huh?
Haha, did you lose your mind?
-Wow, seriously
-That’s why it’s Line 1.
“Has a pork belly party slacker Monk ever even seen a ghost? What would you know! Huh!?”
“What? I’m a Shaman who exorcises demons too! You’re the one who just runs your mouth like some fortune teller!”
Pork belly party in the middle of the day lol
Haha, that’s so funny!
-k psychology counseling is so funny lol
What is this lol
Just as their personal attacks were reaching an extreme.
Screeeech.
The doors of another train car opened, and the real deal appeared.
“You must believe! Someday He will return!”
Wearing a massive red box and wielding an enormous cross staff, he shouted loudly.
“Jesus Heaven! Disbelief Hell!”
hahahahahaha
Look at them avoiding it lol
-He’s actually here lolololol
The only god has arrived lol
I’m dying laughing ㅋㅋㅋ
“…”
“Ugh.”
The Shaman and Monk instantly stepped back, and all the other passengers suddenly split to both sides.
Ding.
[Moses donated 5,000 won.]
Moses’s miracles were actually real, wow.
Hahaha, for real
-Moses’s miracle that even he was shocked by
I can’t translate this as it appears to be random Korean characters that don’t form coherent words or meaningful text.
-Fact) Done.
Haha, that’s hilarious.
“I’m not really sure what this game is? I only heard it was a cooperative game.”
Almond stepped aside first while searching with his eyes for Balloon Gum.
“Let me try to find where Balloon Gum is first.”
“Mo, Mond!”
Then, a hand shot up from among the crowd.
“You there?”
“Yeah, hyung?”
It was because he was too short to be seen.
“I, I… uh…”
Balloon Gum popped out like mochi that had been compressed between people and suddenly released.
“Wow. Finally found him. The crowd suddenly split both ways. I thought he’d been flattened.”
-Balloon Gum’s a salaryman too lol
-Why’s he so short lol
-What kind of person has a square ratio
That’s when it happened.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAH!”
A scream that sounded like it belonged in a horror film pierced the air, and the crowd retreated backward once more.
“I, insane!”
“What!?”
CRASH!
A deafening boom echoed through the space.
Thick, dark smoke spread across the floor.
‘What’s happening?’
[Passengers, due to an unexpected accident in the cabin, the train will make an emergency stop shortly.]
An oddly calm mechanical voice announced the situation.
Everything suddenly spiraled into chaos.
SCREEEEEECH!
The train made an emergency stop.
Sparks flew as metal ground against metal, visible even through the windows.
Below was the Hangang River, beyond it were mountains.
The train was running on a bridge far higher than any ordinary road.
Then it tilted.
Could it actually fall?
“G, grab on!”
Balloon Gum reached out his hand to Almond.
“AHHHHHHH!”
Countless people began to tumble like spilled water.
Almond grabbed the pole, and Balloon Gum grabbed Almond’s hand.
‘Huh?’
Almond felt it.
This wasn’t something he had chosen to do.
‘It’s a cutscene.’
It was implemented to happen automatically.
SCREEEEEECH…!
The train tilted to a 45-degree angle.
-Is it gonna fall?
-Oh no
-Creepy…
-Lmao so scary
The train car hangs halfway beneath the bridge.
Looking out the window is dizzying.
The Shaman stretches out and bellows at the top of his lungs.
“Damn it! What did I say! I told you I sensed a proper ghost!”
True to his words, there was indeed something that could be called a ghost.
Something shrouded in black clouds was taking shape.
“Ah… no! I’m supposed to see yokai! I don’t know about things like this!”
Just as the Monk tried to play innocent and save face.
“You spawn of Satan!”
The figure in the red box sprints up the slope with tremendous force.
Crash!
Then he approaches the black cloud and plunges his cross staff into it.
“No, wait!”
The Shaman screams, but it’s too late.
The black cloud with the cross embedded in it twitches like an enraged muscle, then explodes.
Kaboom!
!
Almond’s eyes widen in shock.
‘What? Are they dead?’
The forms of the Red Box figure, the Shaman, and the Monk all vanished without a trace.
“Ugh…”
Meanwhile, the monster(?) had fully taken shape.
It crawled out from the black cloud, supporting itself on the ground with a bent arm.
It was a grotesque humanoid form with arms as long as its body.
-This is how terrifying Line 1 is, everyone.
-Creepy…
-Lol the Shaman wasn’t a fraud after all lmao
-When did Line 1 villains get this strong
-Wow lol
The viewers were right—this wasn’t just an ordinary Line 1 villain.
[Grade 1 Thought Entity]
It was a Grade 1 Thought Entity.
-Line 1 Thought Entity creepy
-What is this
-Wow…
-This is actually scary
It seemed the objective of this game was to defeat this thing.
‘How?’
Almond was just an ordinary office worker.
Even the sturdy briefcase that might have served as a weapon slid down the slanted subway floor and disappeared below.
But when something goes down, something else comes from above.
Ding!
‘A bell?’
The Shaman’s bell that had burst and vanished.
It rolled toward Almond.
That wasn’t all.
The Monk’s prayer beads and the Priest’s staff were also slowly sliding down.
Ting.
[Choose your weapon]
That’s right.
I had to pick one of three options.
1. Shaman’s Bell
2. Monk’s Prayer Beads
3. Priest’s Staff
-Short flute option?
-Priest’s staff lol
-Nothing worth choosing
“Oh. So I’m choosing. What should I do.”
Ting.
[Almondo donated 10,000 won]
[4. Shoot]
-hahahahahaha
-lmao
-that’s the one
-the developer has no sense lol
Since option 4 didn’t exist, I chose option 1, the first available choice.
Whoosh—
Then Almond’s outfit changed into the Shaman’s traditional hanbok.
Even the gat that Shamans wear was placed on his head.
-Almond lol
-Damn
-What? The clothes changed too? lol
-Is this a magical girl anime? lol
-This is K-magical girl fiction lol
“Huh? Wait, Mond picked option 1?”
Balloon Gum hesitated for a moment, then chose option 2.
Sparkle!
His head became bald.
-Lmaooooooo
-He’s literally become Iron Ball himself;
-Nah that’s not it lol
-The Zealot couldn’t bring himself to pick it lol
-Why’d he hesitate like that lol
As the two of us selected our weapons, a message came to mind.
[You cannot defeat the monster alone! Defeat it through cooperation!]

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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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