Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 887

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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 18
6. Ace in the Hole (3)
“Everyone, I’ve come up with a strategy.”
Thump. Thump.
I engage with my viewers while bouncing lightly in place to test my footing.
-Strategy lol
-Here we go again, “I’ll just brute force it and call it strategy” lmaooo
-Strategy on lololol
-This guy’s hilarious already
My viewers hurled all manner of criticism at my intellect (?), but I paid them no mind.
“Cookie said it himself. Ordinary people can’t understand.”
-Didn’t you listen to Cookie during that mystery game and just become a murderer?
-Always “Cookie said” lol
-At this point we need to verify if Cookie actually said any of this lmaooo
-This guy’s a Cookie fanboy fr fr
Thump. Thump.
This time I bounce with a slightly different stance.
‘Hmm.’
I’m gauging the character’s stats right now.
Physical limits vary completely from game to game.
To use classic games as an example, Mario can stomp all monsters to death with his feet and possesses leg muscles that allow him to jump several times his own height—a true physical monster.
Yet the moment his body touches a monster, he dies.
This is a physical ability that defies conventional logic.
However, no gamer complains that this doesn’t make sense.
It’s a kind of ‘play rule’ established to enjoy the game as a game should be enjoyed.
These game rules apply even in full-dive games.
In Ril, there was a restriction that only ‘weapons sanctioned by the sanctuary’ could affect opponents, but otherwise, the body’s abilities were fundamentally at the level of a superhero.
In Zombie School, it was truly the physical ability of an ordinary high school student, but there were no restrictions whatsoever.
Through game progression, I could eventually use physical abilities comparable to an elite athlete.
Physical stats and their corresponding restrictions.
This is the game’s ‘play rule.’
Understanding this rule was quite important to gameplay.
So what about this game?
Thump… Thump…
I bounced around roughly and got a feel for it.
‘This should work.’
From what I could sense, these were definitely not ordinary human abilities.
Since this is fundamentally a game where you fight against yokai-type enemies called thought entities, the physical ability ceiling is set quite high.
First, the jumping power I’m currently gauging, and the grip strength I felt when holding the staff.
Monstrous abilities several times greater than an ordinary person’s.
Of course, from a gamer’s perspective, this might still be frustrating.
But considering I went from being a salaryman commuting by subway to suddenly becoming a Shaman, I’m practically superhuman.
Of course… even with these stats, the real issue was who was piloting this body.
Imagine Balloon Gum at the controls of an F-16 fighter jet.
It would be nothing more than a missile with poor accuracy and too many useless options.
But my pilot is Almond.
And not just any Almond—one in hyper-focus while carrying the sandbag known as Balloon Gum.
‘It’s coming.’
His eyes gleamed.
Whoooosh!
The Thought Entity’s arm stretched out.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash!
Crimson sparks erupted chaotically, leaving countless scratches across the train car.
Even sitting in a seat would mean getting hit; standing in the aisle would be like being ground in a blender.
‘But the pattern is just one.’
Perhaps because it was a tutorial, the attack was terrifying, but the pattern itself was singular.
If I hid behind the seats in front of the subway doors, that attack wouldn’t connect.
Crash-crash-crash!
Even against the relentless assault, Almond took no damage.
But getting close was another matter.
‘If I only move through the subway doors while approaching, I just need to run in a zigzag.’
The problem was that this wasn’t flat ground.
The train car was tilted at a ninety-degree angle.
I couldn’t just run; I had to jump and cling while moving forward.
‘Now—’
The moment the blade’s assault paused briefly.
—Thud!
Almond kicked off and leaped toward the opposite seat.
-Whoa
-What’s with that jump
-Nice nice
-Finally making a move
Just as I thought, my jumping power was far better than expected.
‘I’ve got it.’
Almond had found his rhythm.
The route was already mapped out in his vision.
The moment his feet touched the opposite seat, he immediately kicked off again.
Thud!
His body immediately leaped toward the opposite seat.
And he was climbing higher.
At an incredibly rapid pace.
Again, crack!
He moves to the next square once more.
“!?”
Balloon Gum’s mouth falls open in shock.
He couldn’t help it.
After bouncing off the wall a few times back and forth for a moment.
Almond was suddenly right in front of the Thought Entity’s nose.
“Uh… Ah, Almond!”
From his experience, this first-class Thought Entity that appeared in the tutorial was never meant to be engaged up close.
It was designed to help players develop a sense for aiming when throwing weapons.
“The pattern changes!”
While its attack pattern was quite simple when at a distance, it became far more varied and incredibly faster when approached up close.
Sure enough, the blade’s trajectory instantly engulfed Almond like a net.
However─
“Oh.”
Almond’s eyes gleamed as he swiftly lowered his upper body.
──Clang!
The billboard behind his back erupts in sparks and splits.
Next comes the left side.
Almond presses forward once more, gently raising his left shoulder.
Whoosh!
The blade passes through uselessly.
“Since its arms are long, it’s actually at a disadvantage right now. That’s the strategy.”
-?
-??
Hahaha?
He even had the composure to add an explanation about infinitely generating hooks.
The Civil Empire International Tournament.
There, the world’s finest masters wielded dozens and hundreds of different weapons depending on their civilization and came at him.
Moreover, the physical abilities permitted in Civil Empire were at most those of a well-trained special operative.
It was a remarkably realistic ability for a game-allowed stat.
Almond had already overcome countless obstacles with just that.
For him, such an AI’s attack pattern posed no problem.
Clang!
Clang!
After that, all the slashing blade attacks were evaded.
Almond darted about, drawing ever closer.
A trajectory as natural as a coastline drawn by an artist’s brush flowing freely.
So naturally did he reach the crown of the Thought Entity’s head.
-This?
-Gasp
-The Young Master’s using magic~
-Chills
Haha, that’s hilarious!
-Chills chills
-Wow
-What is this?
-Damn, this is peak gaming skill!
-Insane
Whoosh.
‘Done.’
At that moment, Almond drew out a talisman.
Then—
“KRAAAAAAAGH!”
The Thought Entity reacted to the talisman, flinching its arm.
“Oh.”
Almond’s eyes snapped wide as I noticed something.
It was the only moment my composure had cracked.

* * *
“Wow! Damn! This?!”
They were so startled that both their backsides bounced in their seats.
After all, before their eyes, Almond had closed the distance to the tutorial mob in mere seconds.
Not only would this ruin the game’s intended design, but the advertisement duration would shorten too.
A crisis from every angle.
“Wait, it’s fine! When, when he pulls out the talisman! That’s it!!”
But there was one last safeguard.
That being….

* * *
Almond’s eyes widened in realization.
‘It’s unconditional reflection.’
When I threw the talisman, hadn’t it torn the talisman apart with strange movements that defied the laws of physics?
The unconditional reflection was being applied to the talisman I held in my hand as well.
Almond furrowed his brow for a moment, concentrating with all his might.
Whoooosh….
The angle at which the arm was flying toward me.
The moment I needed to deploy the talisman.
It began to fit together like puzzle pieces, one by one.
‘This is it.’
Whoosh!
Almond threw the talisman to a completely different location.
It was actually a place that posed no threat to the Thought Entity whatsoever.
Yet the Thought Entity, sensing only that a talisman had come near, stretched its arm in that direction and slashed wildly.
‘Because it’s unconditional reflection.’
That was all it took.
Another talisman I quickly drew stuck to its crown.
──Boom!
-Wow dude
-Ooooooh
-Whoa
-This actually works??
Crackle crackle crackle…!
Blue lightning erupted from the talisman.
Thud.
Almond dropped far below and barely managed to grab the horizontal bar to hold on.
In that moment, the blue lightning expanded and consumed the Thought Entity.
“Screeeeeeeeeeech!”
With a cry of agony, it vanished as if being sucked into the talisman.
Ding.
[Beginner Tip donated 5,000 won.]
[You cannot defeat yokai alone! Defeat them through cooperation!]
-Lmaooooo
-Why did they put that message in lolol
-Almond is worth 5 people anyway so it’s 5-person cooperation lol
-Wait lol where’s Balloon Gum lololol
-Balloon Gum is cooperating in the observer position~
-Developer:???

* * *
“Ugh….”
“M… Manager….”
Our eyes met.
It felt like one of us was blaming the other.
Yet in this obvious hierarchical relationship, there was one emotion we both shared.
“Did you cheat?”
Fear.
“I… no… why did that just….”
That movement just now—slapping a talisman directly on the crown of my head, completely disregarding the coding that mandated reflexive defense.
Anyone watching would think the game was originally designed to be broken this way.
“No. You said it didn’t matter as long as Balloon Gum was on top.”
“That’s….”
“It’s bigger than four Aces! You said the hole was bigger!”
“B, but on Ril’s side….”
“No, the hole is even bigger than four Aces! Right now it’s one Ace with one hole!”
“Ah….”
The Manager finally understood.
Almond, brought here by Balloon Gum.
Wasn’t this guy the type who carries games even when 200 people are fighting?
This one person wasn’t just worth four Aces—he was worth bringing ten people to the table.
Ten Aces and one hole.
That was the balance of this duo right now.
“L, let’s just watch for now?”
But this was still just the tutorial.
That movement just now was almost terrifying to those whose interests didn’t align with it.
There was still much game left, and cooperation would become increasingly necessary.
There was no need to panic yet.
“There’s still a lot left, right? And just now… it wasn’t like incredibly fast or anything, was it?”
It was just slightly faster than average.
Of course, doing it alone was remarkable.
But let’s just overlook such inconvenient details with clouded eyes.
That’s what working life is!
“Sigh. Fine.”
The Manager checked the time and his expression eased slightly.
‘That was genuinely world-class just now.’
But anxiety continued to creep up inside me.
Hadn’t I just witnessed it with my own two eyes?
He was on a completely different level from those streamers I’d seen who were decent at games.
‘Was he always this good?’
Especially after returning from the national tournament, my condition was at an all-time peak.
It was only natural that I’d be displaying gameplay no one had ever witnessed before.

* * *
As the tutorial ended, the cutscene began.
Screeeeeech…!
The train let out a sound of crumbling metal before plummeting beneath the bridge.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
“Ugh, uwaaaaah!”
Amid countless screams, it plunged into the Hangang River.
Splash…!
White spray erupted across the tranquil river’s surface as the title appeared.
[Ghost Busters]
Now the game truly begins.
-Hype
-So it’s starting now?
-Let’s go
-Been a while since an exorcism game, looking forward to this lol
-Gort and Matt let’s goooo~
-Love how the setting hits different since it’s a Korean game lolol
.
.
.
[Current Viewers: 139,000]
Was it thanks to the collaboration stream? Or simply because it had been so long since I’d played a game?
Despite this being an ad-sponsored broadcast, viewership remained near peak levels, and sponsorship donations were already rolling in.
Ding!
[Client donated 100,000 won.]
[Exorcist! At this price, could you even banish the Interview Demon?]

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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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