Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Bow Saint
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Bow Saint.
It refers to an archer who has reached the pinnacle of archery. A figure worthy of emulation even among humans, hence a saint.
In modern society rife with schemes and intrigue, such a being was exceedingly rare.
Just like America's Sword Saint, he commanded the respect of people worldwide.
"These damn fools actually forced the Bow Saint himself to step in...!"
There were several snipers capable of destroying a C-rank Gate's core nucleus with a single shot, beyond just the Bow Saint.
But the arrow that had just obliterated the core wasn't merely "bolt-like"—it was a bolt of lightning incarnate.
Who else but the Bow Saint could imbue such a slender arrow with power that immense?
Determined to cut costs by shunning the Association, Gu Gwang-seon had now gone so far as to disturb the Bow Saint's seclusion. Jang Baek-san was furious.
He was already itching to slaughter every last one of those insolent Gu Gwang bastards.
"S-Sir, please calm down!"
His subordinates threw themselves at Jang Baek-san, who was about to leap from the window frame, desperately holding him back.
How could they not understand Jang Baek-san's feelings?
Whenever the Korean Player Association managed to save face on the international stage, it was always thanks to the Bow Saint.
The mere fact that Korea had a Bow Saint made powerhouses like China and Japan pretend to treat the Korean Association with respect.
To the Association, he was more than just a grateful figure—he was an object of fervent admiration and love.
"Damn it! Goddamn it!!"
Boom, boom, boom!
Stomping the floor to barely contain his rage, Jang Baek-san issued a command.
"We can't show such an unsightly display before the Bow Saint. We'll withdraw for today."
Ironically, the Association was an uninvited guest here.
Intervening now would only lead to a clash with Gu Gwang's people and a high chance of making fools of themselves in front of the Bow Saint.
Judging coldly, Jang Baek-san turned on his heel, and the Association members hurriedly followed.
At the same time, in a nearby building.
"Th-the Bow Saint? The real Bow Saint came? Ha! Ahahaha! Worth pulling in the Archery Club!"
Gu Gwang-seon, president of Gu Gwang Hotel, cheered excitedly.
Yeon Ho-ryeong grabbed him by the collar.
"What the hell... Bro, you crazy? Let go!"
"We agreed not to drag the Bow Saint into this, didn't we?"
"Naive fool, what agreement? What we made was a 'contract.'"
Yeon Ho-ryeong gnashed his teeth as if to devour him, but Gu Gwang-seon didn't even twitch an eyebrow.
"And I kept the contract. I trusted you and didn't even contact the Bow Saint."
Gu Gwang's creed was to honor a contract even if the heavens split in two.
Seeing Gu Gwang-seon's upright attitude, Yeon Ho-ryeong let go of his suspicions and released the collar.
'Damn it, was the Bow Saint even more of a doting grandpa than the rumors say?'
Even in seclusion, he'd been watching his granddaughter in real-time and rushed to her aid?
Thanks to that, things had gotten messy.
He'd planned to thoroughly school those snot-nosed brats today and ensure they never set foot in Daeyang's shadow again...
Rumble rumble rumble!!
Just then, the remaining auxiliary nuclei were being destroyed as well.
The mana flow, which had rapidly taken on the Gate's form after the core split, halted all at once, swirling back before repeating in explosions.
The renowned snipers—even among top B-rank players—lived up to their fame.
'Something's off.'
Watching with a face full of dissatisfaction, Yeon Ho-ryeong tilted his head.
Because the Archery Club's assigned southern auxiliary nucleus was intact.
'The Bow Saint's arrow came from the south.'
So why was the southern nucleus still standing?
Someone of the Bow Saint's caliber could surely destroy both the core and the southern nucleus without a time gap, right?
'Wait.'
Yeon Ho-ryeong recalled the boy who was the Archery Club's representative.
No Jun-yeop.
The kid who'd gained fame by winning silver at an Association-sponsored archery tournament.
His interview dream of becoming the next Bow Saint had gone viral.
Could it be that he'd destroyed the core?
'This isn't妄想.'
It was more likely than the Bow Saint being a hardcore doting grandpa.
Geniuses overflowed in every era, after all.
Picturing his younger brother's face, Yeon Ho-ryeong spat on the ground and spoke to the subordinate monitoring the CCTV.
"Current status on the south?"
"...Unconfirmed. All nearby CCTV feeds are down."
Meaning the lightning in the arrow that shattered the core had been strong enough to fry every electronic device.
'Damn, is it really the Bow Saint?'
When in doubt, check it yourself—that was best.
Backing off meekly now would render his personal intervention pointless.
'Even if it is the Bow Saint, fine.'
It'd bruise his pride, but he could pivot to 'asking' the Archery Club students for help.
Yeon Ho-ryeong had a duty to save Daeyang Shipping's directly operated stores.
If the franchise business racked up even bigger losses, his standing in the guild would become far more precarious.
Taking a deep breath to loosen up, he launched himself toward the south.
***
Southern sniper point.
"Whoa, whoa..."
The Archery Club members could only gasp in awe, speechless.
They had vaguely seen it.
As Jae-hyeok unleashed Quick Draw, a flash of lightning rode along the bowstring No Jun-yeop had drawn, surging forth even stronger.
A feat so miraculous it could rightly be called divine.
"Wh-what? What the hell just happened?"
No Jun-yeop himself couldn't grasp the situation.
He'd drawn the string with all his might, felt something heavy snag it, released—and a lightning bolt flew out...
Recounting it from his perspective, it was bound to be confusing.
"Just threw a sword."
Jae-hyeok kindly explained.
Time was tight.
Destroying the most dangerous core had eased his mind, but the original target—the southern nucleus—was still intact.
Jae-hyeok hoped No Jun-yeop would calm down soon.
"Ah! You threw the sword so I could shoot it like an arrow?"
Finally getting it, No Jun-yeop clapped his hands.
"Does that even make sense!!"
Yet his bellow showed he was still bewildered.
"We need one more shot. Calm down and draw the string again."
Sighing, Jae-hyeok gave up explaining and urged him on.
Unlike his usual nonchalant demeanor, inside he was burning up.
'Low chance it'll proc again.'
[Thunderbolt Blade] was a skill with a low activation probability on attacks.
Truth be told, Jae-hyeok hadn't expected it to one-shot the core.
Uncertain because Byeon Seok-gu was quite cautious, he'd thrown in a bit of extra damage—just in case—and luckily, it procced for a perfect result.
But this time was different.
The odds of Thunderbolt Blade triggering twice in a row were like winning the lottery.
To destroy the southern nucleus within the time limit, they were cutting it close.
"We'll support you too."
Reading the mood, the Archery Club members hurriedly pulled out guns and bows.
But their faces lacked confidence.
Nuclei generated mana storms.
Requiring at least 2km distance for sniping.
Even at this southern point, the target was quite far.
Moreover, the mana storm swirling around the nucleus was fiercely violent and powerful.
'We won't help much.'
Even if ordinary students unleashed hundreds or thousands of bullets and arrows, they'd fail to pierce the storm and get swept away into dust.
But maybe just a little?
If the mana storm expended even a speck of energy blocking their attacks, it might create an opening for Jae-hyeok and Jun-yeop's arrow(?) to exploit...
As the club members tried to think positively.
"That's ridiculous."
No Jun-yeop shot it down.
He knew his members' levels well.
These kids were picked for support roles like observation and point scouting from the start.
Stepping up would just lead to embarrassment.
"Forget it. You guys won't help at—"
About to refuse their help, No Jun-yeop shut his mouth mid-sentence.
He couldn't bring himself to dismiss the determined glint in their eyes.
'Since when do I care about others' feelings?'
Damn, that experience of achieving the impossible 'together' with Kang Jae-hyeok had warped him.
He felt grateful toward these guys who still followed him without mocking his lost club president seat...
Feeling awkwardly sheepish, No Jun-yeop glanced at Jae-hyeok.
Meaning, you decide.
"Of course you should help too."
Jae-hyeok, freshly buckling a spare wakizashi borrowed—no, taken—from Kim Jin-myeong at his waist, grinned mischievously.
"You came to fight together from the start, right? No slacking in the back."
Jae-hyeok knew too.
That they wouldn't help much.
But he admired these kids for wanting to fight alongside him despite knowing their limits.
And it made him happy and grateful that they wanted to help him.
"Yeah!"
"Leave it to us!"
Hearing his comrades' spirited replies.
Jae-hyeok placed his hand on the sword hilt and slowly leaned forward.
Fighting together with those who wished to aid him.
A situation he'd never even imagined before enrolling at Lion's Castle exhilarated him.
He felt a surge of strength.
Just that fact made the Archery Club a huge help to Jae-hyeok.
[You establish the fourth Knightly Virtue.]
[Noble Knightly Virtue: Reverence and Trust, Hand in Hand]
Respected on the battlefield, sharing trust with them.
*When forming a party with those who trust you, all stats increase by up to 10%.
Teaming up with the entire Archery Club to smash the C-rank Gate's core nucleus and building mutual trust had triggered [Noble Knightly Virtue].
Knight.
One who performs honorable deeds and deserves respect.
The system acknowledged Jae-hyeok's actions as befitting a knight.
[Requesting party with 'No Jun-yeop.']
['No Jun-yeop' accepts.]
['The target trusts you a little. All stats increase by 1%.']
"......"
"What? Why the sudden glare?"
"Going."
Chucking wryly, Jae-hyeok drew his sword.
No lightning flashed this time.
But it was strong enough.
Having added more party members beyond No Jun-yeop to boost his stats, the wakizashi he threw was far faster and more powerful than before.
"Urk...!"
No Jun-yeop's body tilted backward sharply as he nocked the wakizashi like an arrow and loosed it.
Unable to withstand the force, he fell flat on his butt—and witnessed dozens of bullets and arrows blotting out the night sky.
A scene created by 29 club members and 1 outsider.
Each infused with different mana, it was beautiful.
Bwoom bwoom bwoom bwoom bwoom bwoom boom!!
Most bullets and arrows vanished without a trace upon clashing with the mana storm.
As expected, but hardly a pleasant sight.
'Damn, hurry up and fire another...'
As No Jun-yeop sighed and struggled to rise.
"Hey, you little punks! Told you you can't do it alone!"
A red-faced middle-aged man barged in, yelling as he activated a skill.
An incredibly swift wide-area skill.
It enchanted and empowered every projectile already colliding with the mana storm.
"Good thing there's still a chance to step in."
Byeon Seok-gu had arrived too. He and the B-rank players opened fire in unison.
Shots chasing the trajectory of Jae-hyeok and Jun-yeop's wakizashi.
The weakened mana storm couldn't withstand the onslaught and scattered into dust,
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!!
As the storm cleared, the exposed nucleus screamed and shattered.
Splash...
Even with the bright moon out, the unusually thick night darkness began to fade.
Proof that the dense mana concentrated for Gate formation had dissipated.
"W-We did it...! We really did it!!"
"Woooooo!!"
The players watched the overjoyed, cheering Archery Club members with warm smiles.
Perhaps mellowed by how smoothly things had gone.
They now recognized the kids' passion.
Byeon Seok-gu scanned the surroundings.
Searching for traces of the Bow Saint.
But none could be found.
'As expected.'
Hard to believe, but...
Byeon Seok-gu's trembling gaze locked onto No Jun-yeop, who looked a decade younger.
"You said you dreamed of becoming the Bow Saint—it wasn't empty talk, huh?"
Yeon Ho-ryeong, arriving on scene, also focused on No Jun-yeop.
"...Why? Why's everyone staring at me like that?"
No Jun-yeop had felt an ominous vibe ever since Kang Jae-hyeok requested the party and glared. Now, cold sweat dripped down his back.
And of all places, Jae-hyeok was hiding right behind him.
"As expected of the vice president."
Clap clap clap. Jae-hyeok applauded loudly, showering him with praise.
"Huh?"
"Amazing, Archery Club Vice President No Jun-yeop."
"W-Wooo...."
The Archery Club members astutely chimed in with Jae-hyeok.
A moment that starkly revealed who truly held power in the club.