Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: A Refreshing Barrage
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While the mercenaries were thrown into confusion, Yuseong felt the complete opposite.
‘That feels so refreshing!’
The bullets packed into his magazines felt incredibly reassuring.
Yuseong wielded his gun while putting on flashy close-quarters shows that drew attention and cheers, but that didn’t mean he preferred melee combat. One of the gun’s key advantages was the ability to unilaterally attack enemies from a distance—who in their right mind would choose to fight up close?
Yet he often ended up in close combat because circumstances forced his hand.
Situations like being unable to properly target foes unless they were close, or failing to block enemy approaches altogether.
If not for those reasons, Yuseong never would have needed to wrestle enemies at point-blank range with a gun in hand.
But now? Things were different.
First, the reinforced bullets.
The player charging at the front was obviously the toughest one, at a glance. On top of that, he’d activated a defense-boosting skill, with effects flashing all over his body. He even had his head covered by a shield, making critical hits impossible.
Yet even he had no choice but to abandon the fight and scramble back behind his comrades for regrouping after the barrage of reinforced bullets.
Then there were the freezing bullets.
This was the first time he’d used them in combat, and they suited Yuseong perfectly.
To think he could restrict an enemy’s mobility with just a few shots.
Of course, as the mercenary leader had said, the freeze effect didn’t last long. Those with thawing potions recovered right away.
But that alone made them excellent.
In battles where a single moment’s action could decide the outcome, having a way to restrict enemy movement—even briefly—was an enormous advantage.
But what thrilled Yuseong even more was something else.
‘And it’s all free!’
Yuseong had only just unlocked the ability to craft basic bullets and the lowest-grade potions. There was no way he could produce special rounds like these himself.
Sure, he could buy them, but if he had, he’d never dream of firing them off so carefree.
The special ammo had come courtesy of Cookingday.
Even as a top alchemist ranker, the in-game demand for bullets was so low that his bullet-crafting skill wasn’t all that high. But for Yuseong right now, it was more than enough.
And that wasn’t all. Cookingday had also supplied potions and extra silver fangs.
The potions were his own handmade ones. The silver fangs had been bought from a shop.
For someone at his level, this kind of expense was pocket change, he’d said with a hearty laugh—and damn, did he look cool doing it.
Yuseong, who’d always trembled at the thought of ammo and potion costs, could now unleash bullets with such abandon. Cookingday had warned that the fight might be tough, but Yuseong was actually looking forward to it.
And that anticipation had been perfectly fulfilled.
He’d already discarded four empty guns, and the fresh one he’d grabbed was loaded with reinforced bullets. Yuseong’s eyes swept over the two mercenaries lunging to attack him.
He picked his first target.
‘Not the leader.’
When facing multiple foes, you always hit the weak ones first to thin the numbers. Anyone could see the leader was the stronger of the two. His target had to be the other mercenary.
The leader swung his sword. Skill light shimmered along the blade.
But Yuseong had seen this kind of attack so many times it was starting to feel stale.
‘Brings back memories.’
The weapons from Hers Guild that had come flying at him from all sides back then, flaunting their various skill colors. Compared to that, the leader’s attack felt almost lackluster.
Yuseong twisted his body naturally. The sword grazed past his side. Another all-too-familiar situation.
Right behind the leader’s strike came the other mercenary’s sword.
‘Sloppy. Hers Guild really knew how to fight.’
No coordination whatsoever. Hell, the attacks weren’t even sharp. Pure reliance on stats and skills, with zero thought or technique.
As if Yuseong would fall for that.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Yuseong’s reinforced bullets hammered the mercenary. As always, his shots artistically struck the vulnerable gaps in the armor. The lighter gear made it even easier to land hits.
“W-What?!”
The struck mercenary screamed. It was his final cry.
His body tumbled to the ground. Then it vanished, leaving behind a few bundles.
The events unfolded in an instant.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The mercenaries’ jaws dropped. One of them had died far too easily.
Before the mercenaries—who’d taken dozens of freezing bullets and were frozen stiff—Yuseong calmly reloaded his magazine.
* * *
“Tch!”
Pattern clicked his tongue. He’d said he’d focus solely on Cookingday, but he hadn’t completely tuned out the battle beside him. He had a rough grasp of how it was going.
‘Idiot bastards.’
Trusting hastily hired mercenaries for cash had been a mistake, as expected.
‘Guess those scrubs were too low-level after all.’
He regretted not paying extra attention, given the guy had survived Hers Guild’s focused assault.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
‘If only I’d had more time…!’
Unable to drag things out, he’d only been able to hire local players. Even so, he’d cherry-picked the best, yet they were proving utterly useless.
‘Can’t even just hold him down….’
He recalled the mercenaries’ flippant giggles, saying to kill him if necessary. He’d suppressed the urge to shove a spear through their faces.
‘Shouldn’t have held back.’
Then he wouldn’t feel this wronged.
‘He won’t last much longer, that’s for sure.’
One had gone down in a flash. They’d been routed with seven—now with six, there was no chance.
Pattern wasn’t some fool optimistically chasing rosy futures with low odds.
That left one path.
Eliminate the Cookingday in front of him as fast as possible.
‘Nothing’s going right.’
He’d planned to toy with Cookingday slowly, heaping on insults and humiliation. But the mercenaries’ idiocy forced him to scrap that.
‘No more excuses.’
He was arrogant, but if that was all he was, C.O.T.S wouldn’t have pegged him as their next big thing. C.O.T.S wasn’t that easy a guild.
Even before the mercenaries exposed their incompetence, Pattern had been going all-out.
‘This guy’s stronger than expected.’
Far from dishing out humiliation, the best he could manage was a precarious stalemate. He’d underestimated him as a non-combat class, but Cookingday was tough.
‘A ranker’s a ranker, even if they’re rotten.’
“What’s wrong? Got a honey pot stashed over there or something?”
Cookingday sneered.
He’d naturally been keeping tabs on Yuseong’s fight too. To Pattern, the mercenaries were disposable tools, but to him, Yuseong was a proper guildmate now. The level of concern differed.
And his comrade was putting on a stunning show.
‘I figured I’d wrap this up quick and help if I could, but looks like I might be the one getting backup.’
In a flash, Cookingday and Pattern’s situations had reversed.
Pattern ignored Cookingday’s taunt. He simply moved. Time was running out for him now.
Whoosh!
A fierce whoosh of air hurtled toward Pattern. It was an arrow from Cookingday.
Pattern barely dodged. Unlike bullets—where blocking was the limit, or dodging meant predicting the barrel’s aim and launching yourself—arrows could be evaded or deflected if you spotted them coming, provided you had the reflexes.
But that only held when levels were comparable.
Naturally, the higher the archer’s stats, skills, and gear, the exponentially harder it got.
‘If his skill level was even a bit higher, I couldn’t have dodged.’
Honestly, this dodge was half luck. The arrows already embedded in his body proved it.
But he wasn’t the only one taking hits.
Clack!
Pattern pulled another weapon from his inventory. A javelin, meant for throwing. He hurled it at Cookingday.
Whoosh!
The javelin flew. Cookingday dodged in a hurry.
Pattern closed the gap in that opening. He kept chucking javelins the whole time.
Boom! Boom!
They didn’t pack the punch of his main spear throws, but they were plenty threatening. The arrows incoming from Cookingday noticeably thinned out.
But Cookingday wasn’t one to take lightly. He kept nocking and firing even while dodging javelins.
Thud! Thud!
Arrows lodged into Pattern’s body here and there. Yet he endured with melee’s sturdy defense and high stamina.
Now Cookingday started feeling the pressure.
Close range would inevitably favor the other guy. He couldn’t mimic Yuseong’s freakish combat style.
Thwack!
“Tch!”
A javelin hit his arm. HP plummeted in an instant. He hurriedly chugged a potion.
As a top ranker alchemist’s handmade brew, its effect was reliable.
HP surged back up. But in that brief moment without arrows, Pattern closed in further.
No matter how potent his potions, they didn’t instantly restore full HP. It took time to regen.
‘Keep taking hits like this, and I’m in danger.’
Worthy of C.O.T.S’s rising star.
‘Let him get close, and I’m screwed.’
He’d already let the guy close in several times, barely escaping each. The massive HP chunks lost in those melees sent chills down his spine.
He quickly nocked an arrow.
Homing Shot.
A skill applicable to all ranged weapons—guns, bows, other throws.
Cookingday fired three arrows haphazardly into the sky.
The arrows, which seemed headed far off, suddenly curved midair and rained down on Pattern.
This time, he nocked four arrows at once.
Multi-Shot.
Whoosh!
Four arrows shot toward Pattern simultaneously.
And that wasn’t the end.
Rapid Fire.
He drew arrows from the quiver at his waist, nocked, and fired. Ordinary motions, but insanely fast. Cookingday repeated it five times.
“Fuck!”
Pattern spat a curse and halted. He thrust his spear forward and spun it. The whirling spear looked like a circular shield.
Spinning Shield.
A hazy aura seeped into the spear, forming a thin barrier. Cookingday’s arrows poured onto it.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
“Urk!”
The Cookingday who’d made special bullets for Yuseong wouldn’t use plain arrows on himself. His arrow-crafting skill was maxed out, since he used them personally.
As the arrows battered the shaft and kept exploding, Pattern gritted his teeth.
Spinning Shield was handy for non-shield users like Pattern, creating an impromptu barrier by spinning a spear. But it couldn’t match a real shield’s defense.
Pop!
The spear’s spin finally stopped, and the remaining arrows smashed into Pattern.
“Fuck!”
Pattern ground his teeth, checking his dropped HP. Cookingday had already backed off again and was drawing his bow.
‘You’re not the only one with ranged skills!’
Enraged, Pattern immediately pulled out javelins.
Homing Shot.
Two javelins arced through the air, just like Cookingday’s arrows earlier. Then he gripped his main spear reverse and took throwing stance.
“Die!”
He bellowed and hurled the spear—
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out, knocking Pattern’s two javelins off course.
Pattern’s gaze snapped toward the source of the shots. There stood Yuseong, aiming a gun right at him.
“You bastard!”
Pattern’s howl filled the hunting grounds.