Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Archery Club Territory
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Dozens of targets, each just 0.5 centimeters in diameter, randomly appeared and vanished within a 500-meter range, repeating the cycle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
No Jun-yeop fired off twelve shots, hitting every single perfect-score target dead center. He grinned smugly.
"Not bad."
As No Jun-yeop ended the simulation, the shooting range fell deathly silent. The dozens of lanes stretching out on either side of him stood completely empty.
Who would dare interrupt the club leader during practice?
It would be a capital crime worthy of a bullet through the forehead.
"A shooting range should be quiet."
The night before.
Returning to school after a full week away, No Jun-yeop was seething with rage.
The place was packed with random nobodies.
Of course, any student at Lion's Castle could use the shooting range.
There was even a dedicated one just for the Archery Club.
But No Jun-yeop preferred lane 16 in the second shooting range.
It was perfectly centered in both the building and the lane layout.
The ideal spot for the man who would one day rule the world.
"You're monopolizing an entire shooting range just to practice alone?"
"Monopolizing?"
No Jun-yeop scoffed and glanced back over his shoulder.
A bound girl glared up at him.
Her short, practical bob haircut and makeup-free face.
Yet she was still strikingly beautiful.
No Jun-yeop flashed a sleazy grin. His heavy double eyelids and droopy eyes made it even more oily.
"Calling my personal practice time 'monopolizing' is inappropriate. As a clueless freshman, you wouldn't understand, but my value surpasses that of the entire student body combined."
Sweeping back his long hair, he spread his arms wide like an orator and bellowed.
"The incarnation of talent who turned the Mana Orb black! The youngest silver medalist in the association's shooting tournament! The invisible sniper who debuted straight out of school and struck terror into players from other countries! The silent reaper! The beautiful angel of death! Every drop of sweat from No Jun-yeop, the once-in-a-generation archery genius, directly serves the national interest!"
"Eek...."
No Jun-yeop's nauseating self-praise was enough to induce vomiting.
The girl's face paled as she barely managed to compose herself, then pressed him.
"Did you use Senior Baek Do-jin as a scapegoat just to clear out the shooting range?"
Cute in appearance but with sharp purple eyes gleaming fiercely.
The girl's identity was Chae Da-hee.
She had woken up that morning to news of Baek Do-jin and rushed to the shooting range to uncover the truth.
Though she had ended up captured herself, more than ten club members behind her were writhing in humiliation.
The freshman's skill—Chae Seok—had impressed No Jun-yeop just a little.
"That's right. I got lucky from my perspective. Yesterday, I was reminded once again that heroes are born with heavenly luck."
Nodding, No Jun-yeop readily confessed the truth.
A weakling with convictions who never backed down.
The moment he encountered Baek Do-jin—the rabid dog who had earned that name by always standing against something—in the shooting range, No Jun-yeop decided to exploit the kid's personality.
A few words were all it took to rile him up and give No Jun-yeop the perfect excuse to unleash violence.
"The rabid dog, the rabid dog—I'd only heard the rumors, but he truly lived up to the name. Even as he bled and screamed, he kept thrashing around, letting me grind him down for a good long while. The terrified riffraff fled in droves after seeing that, and as you can see, the range is spotless again."
"...You're a bad person."
How Baek Do-jin had caused a scene and gotten thoroughly beaten.
Da-hee's eyes grew even colder now that she knew the full story.
No Jun-yeop snorted.
"I'm the one who chased out the riffraff who came to play around and protected my practice environment—how am I bad? You barge in at the crack of dawn, assault our club members, and disrupt practice—are you the devil, then?"
"I-I wasn't trying to hit them! They attacked first, so I had no choice but to counter...!"
"I'm not blaming you. You did well."
"...?"
"The teachers who retired early like losers and now teach first-year rookies might spout different nonsense, but the top virtue society demands from players is force. You and I merely wielded force as needed—who dares to judge us?"
Setting down his practice rifle, No Jun-yeop drew a magic-engineering dueling pistol.
"But a insolent underclassman who fails to recognize her senior's greatness needs a little discipline."
His intent was clear as he leisurely loaded non-lethal rounds.
He planned to leave Chae Da-hee in the same state as Baek Do-jin.
"......"
Da-hee had already loosened her bonds slightly.
She prepared a surprise counterattack the moment he pulled the trigger.
But No Jun-yeop's gun barrel didn't point at her.
"Is friendship role-play trending among this year's freshmen? If you want to film a youth drama, you should've gone to a normal school instead of Lion's Castle."
Bang-!
"...!"
The instant the muzzle flashed, Da-hee truly grasped the prowess of a top second-year student.
The bullet curved mid-flight and slipped through a gap in the window with impossible precision.
KABOOOM!!
The shot flew outside the range and detonated in a blind spot from view.
Its power was terrifying.
'He's strong.'
Feeling the vibrations through the floor, Da-hee swallowed hard.
The leader of a club.
That was the basis for No Jun-yeop's bold self-praise: pure skill.
'...Feels totally different from Senior Do-jin?'
Da-hee had sparred with Baek Do-jin dozens of times.
She respected his skill, if not his personality.
But No Jun-yeop was on another level.
His level was overwhelmingly higher, by the looks of it.
Da-hee suddenly realized something.
'Senior Do-jin's level is low for his skill.'
Do-jin's first skill was Shunpo.
Uncontrollable. Using it recklessly would just dig his own grave.
He probably hardly used it in real combat.
Essentially skill-less, which slowed his hunting and let classmates steal EXP during labs.
"Hoh...? Still in one piece?"
No Jun-yeop looked intrigued.
His level was nearly 60.
And one of his two main stats was Insight.
His senses rivaled those of top-tier players.
So he clearly heard the approaching footsteps growing closer.
Thud, thud, thud...
By the time the heavy footfalls reached Da-hee's ears.
CRASH!!
The massive window shattered into pieces.
No Jun-yeop's face twisted in fury.
"That rude bastard. Does he think I can't break windows, so I curved the shot instead?"
Destroying equipment in the sacred shooting range?
"Grab that punk and make him kneel before me."
"Yes!"
Dozens of Archery Club members popped up from all over the range, drawing bows and guns in unison.
They seamlessly took cover and aimed.
Their coordinated fire poured toward the intruder beyond the broken window frame.
Even non-lethal rounds—dozens of them—should pulverize bones.
But...
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
The intruder took every shot and emerged unscathed.
He entered the range without so much as flinching.
"Bone Armor?"
The intruder was a green-haired boy.
He was clad head to toe in skeletal armor.
"...Necromancer."
Someone muttered in a tense voice.
The bloodline skill of Austria's strongest house.
Another name for Necromancer: One-Man Army.
The club members slowly lowered their weapons one by one.
No Jun-yeop was the only one here with the guts to shoot at a National Treasure Candidate.
"I'd heard House Baos's bloodline was here as an exchange student, but I didn't expect to meet like this."
No Jun-yeop dreamed of becoming a National Treasure.
He knew even candidates were leagues above average players.
Yet his ambition burned brighter than ever.
"Rumors said you're sworn enemies with Baek Do-jin, but looks like the opposite? Whatever, I don't care."
Grinning wide enough to bare his molars, No Jun-yeop aimed his pistol at the green-haired boy.
"Talk about heavenly luck. Beat you here, and boom—I'm a National Treasure Candidate starting today?"
Bang!
No Jun-yeop fired instantly.
No armor is flawless.
He had already spotted a tiny gap in the Bone Armor and aimed for it.
'I win...'
He shot first, before the gunner could close distance.
This was an unwinnable fight.
Elation surged through No Jun-yeop—until a chill ran down his spine.
His senses screamed danger.
Paling, he backstepped.
Four pale hands erupted from the ground, barely grazing his ankles.
'It hit dead on, though?'
Five bullets had struck Loren's joints precisely.
Amplified by skill power, enough to cause shock.
Yet he counterattacked without a hint of delay?
"Even Europe's powers fight tooth and nail. Kids fresh from awakening get thrown into Gates, charging into barrages."
No Jun-yeop faltered for the first time.
He recoiled at Loren casually extracting the bullets embedded in him.
Of course, they were non-lethal rounds.
They hadn't pierced Loren's skin—just bruised it.
That's right.
Loren's briefly exposed skin bore deep bruises.
So how was he not even twitching an eyebrow?
"Meanwhile, Korea's weaklings play with toys. What a contradiction."
Crack!
The skull Loren wore like a helmet slowly opened its mouth.
Not Loren's mouth—but some kind of muzzle.
"On what basis does Korea bask in peace? It's too dangerous for Do-jin."
Br-r-r-r-r-r!!
Sharp bone shards spewed endlessly from the skull's mouth.
Each one packed devastating power.
Everything in Loren's line of sight turned to Swiss cheese.
'That bastard!'
Trying to kill for real?
Exposed to raw killing intent, No Jun-yeop's eyes rolled back.
He irritably tossed the magic-engineering gun and drew his revolver from his hip.
An epic-grade weapon.
To survive, he resolved to kill Loren too.
"Die..."
"Die my ass."
"...Huh?"
No Jun-yeop's pupils shook wildly.
The gun was snatched the instant he drew it.
More shocking than Loren's bone machine gun barrage.
But he had no time to process.
His senses blared warnings.
Danger.
Flee now.
But Kang Family Iaido outpaced No Jun-yeop's feet.
Thwack!
"Urk."
Struck in the back of the head with the back of the blade, No Jun-yeop crumpled.
"Stop breaking stuff. The Archery Club's our team's colony from now on."
"...Kang Jae-hyeok."
Loren's golden eyes flickered with strange fervor toward the uninvited interloper who stole his prey.