Thousand Man Battle (3)

“You’ve been hiding all this time, so I figured you must be a thief! Surviving to the end as a thief—talk about good luck! But if you’ve been sucking up all the honey so far, why not just settle for second place?”

You could feel the frustration of Bi Sang Gu, the rank 9 archer who’d just struggled to take down 0Fallen Warrior0 moments ago. His path to the final stretch of this Thousand Man Battle surely hadn’t been smooth sailing.

“Archers are naturally weak against thieves, so I get why you’d feel lingering regrets. But what’s the point? It’s just a waste of time. How do you plan to catch me up here in the air? Just give up already!”

Ssslruk.

From not far below the airborne archer, I released my stealth and addressed him.

“So you’re the one who shouted earlier? Glad you’re reasonable. Whisper me after the battle ends. You showed good sportsmanship at the end, so I’ll make sure to reward you generously.”

“No need. I didn’t reveal myself for a reward.”

“Pardon? So you’re saying you’ll just die for free?”

“As if. There’s only one reason, obviously. I have to take you down to end this Thousand Man Battle!”

“Hahaha!”

Bi Sang Gu burst into roaring laughter at my words. His over-the-top reaction shook the griffon he rode so hard it nearly bucked him off.

“You’ve made it this far, so you’ve got some skill... but your luck’s rotten. Just a few days ago, I finally tamed this beast. Now I’ve got no elemental weaknesses!”

There were only three known flying mounts available to players. Sure, using Taming Monster could expand that list, but these were the only ones publicly known so far. Among them, the griffon was somewhat familiar since it came from the special item “Griffon Egg.”

“A griffon... Sure, it’s great. But calling that ‘no weaknesses’? Aren’t you a ranker? That’s a bit naive, don’t you think?”

“Hah! If you knew how hard it was to get this thing, you wouldn’t call it ‘just that’ so lightly. People who haven’t tried it always talk big!”

“Anyone with the cash for the egg and time for a few quests can ride one... You’re bragging way too much. If that was hard for you, imagine what I went through.”

“Quit yapping nonsense. Enough pointless chit-chat—time to claim my achievement. An archer’s the toughest for this one, but after over ten tries, I finally get it today!”

With that, Bi Sang Gu dove from the sky toward me on the ground, unleashing a blue lightning bolt disguised as an arrow. It looked as deadly as it felt.

I stood still and took the lightning head-on. It vanished without a trace upon contact, as if my Mana Shield had swallowed it whole.

“M-Mana Shield? What kinda scrub build is that?”

“I always correct people who say that... This isn’t a scrub build. It’s a hybrid!”

“I thought you lasted longer than Fallen Warrior because you had some ace up your sleeve, but you’re just a generic controller? As a thief, you can’t even hit me anyway, so it’s meaningless.”

“Don’t sell yourself short—say I can’t attack?”

“Dagger throw? That reach me from there?”

“Ah, that’s why they call it a hidden skill. Who’d imagine a thief learning Mana Shield and Taming Monster?”

“Huh? You seriously learned Taming too? What a total trash thief build. Haha!”

“Wanna taste what this trash build can do? Summon Ferari!”

Bi Sang Gu boasted of his no-weakness mount. Now it was time to show him what true invincibility looked like.

Flap, flap—

Even in the vast colosseum center, those enormous leathery wings commanded awe. Calling it a mere “pet” felt downright dishonest given its majestic presence.

“No way... A Red Drake from Centura? You tamed a boss mob? Y-You! Who the hell are you? I’ve never seen that ID before...!”

“You’ll find out tomorrow naturally. Anyway, Bi Sang Gu?”

“Yes?”

“You’ve had it easy up there. Why not come down now?”

Kieeeek—!

I didn’t mount the summoned Ferari. Instead, I commanded it remotely to attack.

‘Let’s test how strong Ferari is against players.’

Boom!

Ferari fired a fireball first, then soared up to engage. Bi Sang Gu flew higher, raining arrows, but Ferari was a former boss mob. A few blue lightning bolts posed no real threat.

“Whoa! What kinda tamed mob has attack speed like that?!”

As Ferari latched on and tore into the griffon, Bi Sang Gu started flailing. Credit where due—he kept firing even while leaning back to dodge.

His skill tripled the arrow speed at least. Betting it all, Bi Sang Gu ignored Ferari’s attacks for a soul-trade barrage.

But his opponent was too overwhelming.

“Piiik!”

With a pitiful cry, the griffon dissolved into light. True to its Legendary bow, it had whittled Ferari’s HP fast—but the griffon’s gave out first, forcing a despawn.

Plummeting from the sky, Bi Sang Gu nullified fall damage with his archer class mobility skill right before hitting ground.

But I’d been waiting below. I buffed up and pounced as he landed.

“How’s my pet? Pretty fierce, huh?”

“Th-This! Double Shot!”

Caught by Shadow Step the moment he touched down, Bi Sang Gu spun and fired. But once a melee DPS closes on a ranged dealer, it’s over.

Even a ranker facing a hard counter—especially one wielding a divine sword—for the first time wouldn’t last.

Double aerial hits carved into the air. Canceling into a spinning slash after a basic, Bi Sang Gu panicked.

“Th-The damage is insane! It wasn’t this bad even against Dang Dang Geom!”

Comparing me to the top thief ranker was flattering, but bittersweet.

‘Level correction is scary. Normally, that’d be double the damage!’

The divine sword and 8-star Sword Mastery minimized misses, but damage reduction seemed around 50% due to level gap. His arrows still stung with their correction boost.

“Urk! When the hell does this Mana Shield break?!”

But no matter the level-corrected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damage, my full MP pool was even more absurd.

Bi Sang Gu backpedaled with a speed debuff skill, but my 8-star Nimble Movement shrugged it off like nothing.

Thud, thud! Boom!

True to ranker form, he held out decently—but limits hit fast. Even without Ferari rejoining, archers weren’t built for close-quarters trades.

“No way! I was this close to the achievement...!”

Stab.

My thrust finished him. Bi Sang Gu crumbled to ash.

“Whoa! Achievement on first try! And pocket change too? A ranker made it tricky, but success was expected, huh?”

Bi Sang Gu, being a ranker archer, lasted this long. Tomorrow’s mage squad? Not a single ranker among them. Unlucky for them.

‘Not a crazy plan at all! Even a ranker couldn’t hold out. Mages? Spire sweep strat... This’ll work!’

Fired up, I approached the NPC near the ticket booth. With gold far exceeding the entry fee and my new ‘Arena Achievement Points,’ the shop opened.

Various arena-exclusive gear on offer. Even top-tier stuff fell short of Legendary items.

Consumables, though? One-use nature made them surprisingly superior to current craftable gear.

‘Same as ever. Probably only me in Tayen buying consumables over gear with arena points.’

Overwhelmingly, players bought equipment. Some even complained about consumables existing—why make pricey one-offs when no sane person would blow hard-earned points on them?

‘Spirit Pills’ or ‘Elixirs’—versatile consumables for crafting or permanent stat boosts. Insanely potent, but character-limited to first use only.

Points started at six figures for these. But beyond stat-ups, another effect caught my eye.

Ridiculously pricey, no one used them this way—but perfect for me. The hidden gem: percent-based HP or MP recovery.

Long cooldowns noted, but World Tree Fruit alone restored 50% HP and MP instantly.

‘Not just for gear... Gotta farm arena for these heals later.’

A trump card for crises. Too busy now, but a secret weapon worth revisiting.

As I finished browsing and turned to leave, a whisper from Bi Sang Gu popped up.

Identical reaction to my first Phoenix guildmates. High-end talent was rare in Tayen; no guild would pass on a guildless me.

“Sheesh. Getting famous means my block list grows daily.”

After topping time attack, blocks piled up—but still manageable.

Wait till tomorrow’s siege revealed me and what I’d unleash.

But quitting whispers? No way. Tayen banned voice programs; whispers were like a lifeline—quitting them was like living without a phone IRL.

At least level-based filters helped minimally.

“Whoa! This is nuts? No wonder everyone chases achievements. A-grade makes a real difference!”

Thousand Man Battle win netted massive points and gold in one go—but paled next to this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single achievement.

Last-survivor perk boosted defenses. Arena-special: PvP-focused bonus.

“Perfect for tomorrow’s siege! Achievements are OP—spec boost in seconds!”

Arena gear was solid, especially PvP bonuses. Beyond pure arena fans, PK/siege grinders farmed duels there.

Full Unique arena sets gave ~10% PvP bonus after grind. I snagged half that from one achievement.

“One month... In just one month, I’ve forged a Tayen legend. Can’t wait to see tomorrow’s siege unfold...!”

Short for some, long for me. Finally, after a month, battle with Taeseong resumed—not just Titans, but my divine sword in hand!