Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: He's Hooked!
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He's hooked!
Song Hye-rin, who had been serving as a throwing arts assistant instructor for three whole years already, was furious at the fact that no one wanted to learn throwing arts.
As someone who had once aspired to be a pro darts player, she would bet her entire fortune that the power and utility of throwing arts were no less than archery.
'Those who don't know the beauty of throwing are truly pitiful.'
Of course, it was true to some extent that weapons cost a lot. Throwing spears and throwing axes were quite expensive, and there were limits to how many you could carry due to their size and weight.
But among throwing weapons, there were types like darts or shuriken that were relatively cheap and allowed you to carry a lot.
"There are these prejudices that throwing arts are weaker than archery, but in my opinion, that's just a frame the Archery Association put on it to suppress throwing arts! In reality, throwing arts are more effective against enemies within 100 meters!"
"I-is that so?"
Song Hye-rin was venting about the Archery Association's misdeeds when she snapped back to reality upon seeing the trainee's bewildered expression.
'Ah! You idiot! I got lost in my own world again!'
She told herself not to, but once she got excited about the topic, she couldn't help but rant passionately. She must have spoken with such fervor that the trainee's face was splattered with her spit.
She had no grounds to complain if he got angry and left.
But the trainee's expression was a bit off. Instead of looking offended as he should, he was nodding with a satisfied look on his face.
'What? This guy... Ah! Could it be?'
Song Hye-rin was convinced.
'He's totally fallen for the charm of throwing arts!'
No, she was dead wrong.
'A rare trainee has finally shown up. I can't let him get away!'
Song Hye-rin thought she'd finally met someone she could talk to. At the same time, she wanted to properly show this man the beauty of throwing arts.
"From the moment I first saw you, I knew you weren't ordinary. My eyes didn't deceive me. You have the makings of a throwing arts master!"
"Huh? What do you...?"
"First off, your mindset! Your mindset is perfect. Don't worry about the rest. I'll guide you from A to Z perfectly."
Song Hye-rin closed her eyes briefly and nodded, then opened them sharply with a 'strict, solemn, serious' expression.
"First! Before learning throwing arts, you have to chant a spell to yourself."
"Huh? A spell?"
"It's like a bit of self-hypnosis. Once you do it, your throws get better. Trust me and try it once. Art is throwing!"
"Uh? Wasn't that explosion or...?"
"Throw-ing."
Song Hye-rin cut him off with a straight face, leaving no room for compromise.
"Come on, say it loud. Art is throwing."
"You said to chant it in your head earlier..."
"Art. Is. Throw-ing!"
Cha In-hyeok realized why none of the many trainees wanted to learn throwing arts from her.
'It was because of this person!'
* * *
"Art is... th-throwing."
"Your voice is too quiet! Louder!"
"Art is throwing!"
"Louder! With spirit! Again!"
"Art is! Throwing!"
"Again!"
I reflected on my old way of conversing. When my interests came up, I'd excitedly ramble on, pushing incomprehensible jargon relentlessly—an otaku-style communication that must have tormented my friends. I felt sorry for them anew.
"Haha! She's at it again."
"This one's holding out pretty well."
"Even so, it's less efficient than archery. Why's he so insistent on learning it?"
I could hear giggling from the archery range next door.
'To think I'd have to embarrass myself like this... Normal people would have given up ages ago.'
No one would want to learn from a throwing arts otaku who made you chant weird slogans out of the blue.
Except for a guy like me, who took the spit like holy water, chanted the slogans, and felt a strange thrill from it.
'It's exhilarating! Refreshing! Always feels new!'
I liked Assistant Instructor Song Hye-rin. Communication was a bit tough due to her bullheadedness, but people this obsessed with one thing were true otakus... no, experts.
And once I got past the initial hurdle by grasping some jargon, we actually clicked really well.
Honestly, talking with Instructor Song was easier to follow than with O Deok-hun. That guy was a true otaku who even I sometimes couldn't understand.
Compared to him, Instructor Song was closer to a normal person than an otaku.
"Chanting it loud really boosts my confidence."
"Right? Wow! You're the first person I've connected with like this! Actually, I don't think I've ever talked this long with anyone else... Sigh. It makes me feel drained. Why doesn't anyone else see the beauty of throwing arts?"
'If she skipped that weird chant, at least ten more people would have stuck around...'
I had a pretty good idea why, but I nodded along pretending ignorance.
"Yeah. It'd be great if the world respected everyone's tastes."
"I really hope that day comes."
Maybe because we clicked so well, Song Hye-rin started teaching me her personal know-how on throwing arts.
It was a stark contrast to the other instructors, who had zero passion. I could vaguely guess why.
'As expected... she's got thick otaku blood.'
We otakus are always frustrated because we can't share our passions with others.
So when someone shows interest in our field, we roll up our sleeves and dump every bit of info we have—it's this weird compulsion we suffer from.
That's why just nodding along got me this full-throttle help.
"We'll start with darts, then move to shuriken, axes in that order. I'll lend you a set of my darts for now. To get used to them, you need to roll them in your hands 24/7, so practice with these for a while..."
Instructor Song handed me a box of darts. It contained twelve in total—much larger and heavier than recreational darts. If anything, they resembled the chisels stone masons used.
"In the meantime, we'll order weapons. Since you're starting out, how about five sets of light darts? Too many? Nah~ You'll find yourself running short once you start throwing. Oh, worried about the price? No way. They're only about a million won. Normally 250,000 per set, but buy four and get one free right now. Super cheap, right? Tempted?"
"W-wait, hold on a sec."
If I let her go, she'd empty my bank account. I hurriedly calmed her down and got to the real reason I'd come.
"I didn't come for darts. I want to learn spear-throwing."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Spear-throwing, if you... "
"Wait, before that."
"Not darts?"
"Darts... like?"
Instructor Song's head tilted awkwardly to one side. The vibe felt like I'd touched a reverse scale.
Sure enough, she was glaring at me with flashing eyes.
"Did you just... diss darts?"
"Huh? No, I didn't mean to diss them. I just wanted spear-throwing..."
"Why? You think darts are toys too?"
Her speech suddenly turned curt. Instructor Song whipped out a dart from her pocket and thrust her arm forward like she was stabbing. The sharp tip stopped right in front of my nose.
"Gasp!"
"Tell me. Do darts look easy?"
"F-first, calm down."
"Darts are designed to be easy to throw and stick, making them great for beginners. But their power..."
The dart vanished from in front of my nose, followed by a sharp 'thwack!' from the side. Following the sound, I saw the dart embedded dead center in the target.
It had burrowed more than halfway into the wooden target.
"As you can see, you can't underestimate them. You keep going on about spears, but darts are just smaller—they're no different from spears. Here, hold it."
Instructor Song placed a dart in my hand. The cold iron chill spread across my palm. She jerked her chin toward the target.
"Give it a throw. Let's see how good you are."
The target was about 100 meters away. Pretty far, but with my superhuman strength now, it wasn't impossible.
Whoosh—thud!
"Ah!"
I missed. It was heavier than expected, dropping to the ground before reaching the target.
Instructor Song silently handed me another dart. I threw again. This one sailed just past the target. Distance control was trickier than I thought.
The third dart mercifully hit the target, but way off center.
"...See? Even the easiest-to-handle darts are like this, and you want me to teach you spears right away? How am I supposed to take that? Does throwing arts look easy to you? Or do I look like a joke?"
She clearly took great pride in throwing arts. Me jumping straight to spears must have felt like an insult.
I could kinda relate. I'd felt a similar humiliation when people dismissed masterpieces and trashed pure fan-service anime.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect throwing arts or you, Instructor."
I bowed politely. As a fellow otaku, I couldn't tolerate dismissing someone's passion.
Did my sincerity get through? Her face softened.
"Ahem. Fine. I accept your apology. But that doesn't mean I can just teach you spears. If you want to learn, we start from the basics step by step. Think you can handle it?"
"Yes! Please!"
My enthusiastic reply made one corner of Instructor Song's mouth twitch upward. Like she was shouting 'He's hooked!' It was oddly sexy.
* * *
'He actually has real talent?'
Instructor Song stuck out her tongue watching Cha In-hyeok mimic every instruction perfectly. Honestly, when she first had him throw a dart, she thought he'd flail around without getting the feel for it no matter how many tries.
A total beginner hitting a target 100 meters away with a combat dart on the first go? Absurd.
Even she, who had aspired to be a pro darts player, had taken over ten minutes to get the feel.
'But to think he'd get it in just three throws and hit the target.'
And purely by instinct, without even knowing how to hold it properly. He wasn't even high-level, yet this... It could only be explained as talent.
'Pure talent-wise, he's above even me.'
Her initial agility stat had been a whopping 15. Even then, she couldn't match what Cha In-hyeok was showing now.
Instructor Song cautiously guessed his agility was nearing 20. If true, it was insane talent.
If the archery instructor found out, he'd try to steal him by any means. That guy always sweet-talked promising trainees and badmouthed throwing arts to poach them.
'No way! I can't let this gem get snatched!'
Instructor Song had no idea. The 'talented' Cha In-hyeok was actually already level 10 on the cusp of 1-star, with agility at a whopping 28 stat. And that his instincts were actually a bit off compared to his agility...
'Perfect timing, no other trainees around. Great. I'll pour every trick I know into teaching this guy.'
Song Hye-rin thought that as she checked her status window.
[Song Hye-rin. Lv 15. (67.1%)] [Mana 15/15]
[Strength 28, Agility 37, Vitality 28, Intelligence 20]
[Skills: Quick Draw. Instant Throw. Continuous Throw. Moving Throw. Hundred Bulls. Eagle Eye.]
'I'll teach him skills first. Once he learns throwing-related skills, he'll stick with it just to not waste them.'
Instructor Song curled one corner of her mouth in a sly grin. Oblivious Cha In-hyeok just gazed at her with a 'Heh~'.