The Transparent Arrow
He hurriedly pulled out his shield and covered his body.
Clang!
A considerable shock traveled up his wrist.
At that moment, someone shouted.
"Why the hell are you fighting at the entrance!"
The startled companion urgently tried to intervene.
"Hey, you'll die if you keep this up."
"What are you talking about?"
"Those guys over there are PK criminals. But they're way too strong—we'll just get crushed."
"What kind of nonsense is...!"
- [Over 50% HP]
In that instant, an invisible arrow shot toward the loudly shouting man.
With a thunk, the man's expression darkened into shadow. It was because his HP had been cut by more than half in just a single attack.
"Uh, uh...!"
He couldn't dodge the follow-up arrow and died on the spot.
The onlookers fell silent.
"If you don't want to die, shut your mouths and just watch."
Some users frowned at Rudolph's words but didn't step forward.
That's how the world worked, after all.
There was no reason to get involved in someone else's business and take the hit.
"Good, good."
Rudolph, satisfied with the users' reactions, once again aimed his bow at Mu-hyuk.
A smile crept across Mu-hyuk's lips as he continued to shield himself.
He had instantly identified the class of this user, Rudolph.
Clone.
And Invisible Arrows.
It was an Untro Archer.
A hidden class, just like Gangster Necromancer or Spirit Fighter.
The False Archer.
The invisible was a lie. It was merely an arrow so thin, fine, and transparent that it couldn't be seen.
The clone wasn't omnipotent either. Half the damage Mu-hyuk had dealt would have gone to the main body.
Of course, knowing that didn't give him any particular countermeasure, but knowing and not knowing were worlds apart.
Now, how should he deal with him?
There wasn't much to deliberate.
He already had overwhelming numbers at his command.
Armor Knight, Armor Cavalry, charge.
He would overwhelm him with skeletons.
Hydra, Skull Snakes.
The wriggling little Skull Snakes slithered toward the hostile users.
"Wh-what the hell is this?"
Rudolph tilted his head in confusion.
In that moment, a Skull Snake leaped up and latched onto his thigh. Sharp bones began tearing into the flesh.
-10 HP
-10 HP
Rudolph wore a ridiculous expression.
"Ah, get off."
He yanked the Skull Snake off with one hand.
Just 20 damage.
Negligible...
But in that instant, the Skull Snakes crawling on the ground suddenly swelled in size.
At least three times larger. They latched onto various parts of his body, exploiting gaps that items couldn't protect, and burrowed in.
-30 HP
-30 HP
-30 HP
-30 HP
His HP plummeted at an insane rate.
Already 180.
Only then did he feel alarm.
He leaped back, twisting his body sharply.
Several Skull Snakes fell off. He ripped out and crushed the rest by hand, then raised his bow.
Too many summons.
The way to deal with a Necromancer was simple.
Kill the summoner.
He swiftly approached Asrahan and whispered.
"Target only the summoner."
"Got it."
Rudolph, who had retreated further, drew his bowstring.
Power Up. Cutting Power Up. Cut.
After activating three skills at once, he waited patiently.
Asrahan, moving stealthily and swiftly, came into view.
He had already slipped out of the densely packed skeletons and was closing in on Mu-hyuk.
Asrahan circled behind Mu-hyuk, who was fully shielded, drew his dagger, and unleashed his signature flashy skill.
Mu-hyuk had no choice but to retract his shield and counter with his sword.
Clang, screeech!
Sparks flew in all directions.
Opportunity.
Rudolph aimed for the opening and released his bowstring.
Bang!
The moment the invisible arrow streaked out, Mu-hyuk's movement changed.
He had shifted from his position to behind Asrahan.
------!
As a result, the arrow targeted Asrahan instead. The startled Asrahan swung his dagger rapidly.
The invisible—no, minuscule and transparent arrow caught on the dagger and ricocheted aside, but that gave Mu-hyuk his chance.
Storm, Cross Slash.
Mu-hyuk's sword swung viciously.
"Kuh!"
Asrahan, reeling from the impact, rolled on the ground and scrambled up desperately.
Multi Shot.
Armor Knight 1, 2. Powerful Strike.
Mage, all magic.
Armor Cavalry 1, Accelerate Thrust.
Armor Cavalry 2, to the left.
Armor Knight 3, 4, defend.
Mu-hyuk orchestrated relentless commands and attacks simultaneously—he was a one-man army in himself.
Storm, Powerful Arrow Shot.
"Hup!"
Asrahan staggered as he blocked the arrow with his dagger. After firing a few plain arrows without Storm...
Storm, Storm, Storm.
He applied Storm again and used the skill.
Multi Shot.
In the meantime, the skeletons took out multiple PK users.
Mu-hyuk quickly looted the items they dropped, just in case.
Seven items.
A pretty decent haul.
Feeling the incoming wind, he urgently shielded his whole body.
Crack! The shock climbed up.
Mu-hyuk used Wind Step again to close in on Asrahan. No more arrows came flying.
This guy first.
Asrahan lifted his head.
His gaze burned hotly.
Hostility?
No, it felt a bit different...
For some reason, it was burdensome.
Weird guy.
Mu-hyuk circled him, steadily whittling down his remaining HP.
"Ah, this is so damn annoying!"
Then Rudolph shouted loudly and drew his bowstring.
Bang, baaang, baaaang!
An insane firing rate.
Bang, babababaang!
Dozens of arrows must have been loosed.
The arrows were invisible, but the air distortions they caused were visible, allowing him to gauge it.
It felt like space itself was closing in.
Some kind of area skill?
This was dangerous.
He knew it the moment he saw it.
Armor Knight 1, move.
He hurriedly sent Armor Knight 1 forward and activated a skill.
Damage Absorption. Defense Mode.
A barrier formed that absorbed up to 5,000 damage for 5 seconds. The invisible arrows flew but were blocked by the barrier.
Thud, thud thud!
But the 5,000 figure depleted faster than expected. It seemed to hold for a bit, then shattered.
In the end, Armor Knight 1 had to block the remaining attacks with its shield.
'Armor Knight 1' -150 HP
'Armor Knight 1' -149 HP
Even with high defense and the shield absorbing nearly 70% of the impact, a single attack shaved off 150 HP.
The problem was that the damage kept coming.
Mu-hyuk couldn't just watch anymore. He pulled back from Asrahan and transformed his sword into a bow.
Storm, Powerful Arrow Shot.
He aimed at the distant Rudolph and released.
Bang!
To block the incoming arrow, Rudolph would have to stop his attack.
Mu-hyuk closed in on Asrahan again to finish him off, unleashing a barrage.
"Kuh, heh heh!"
Even as he was pushed back repeatedly, Asrahan laughed.
"You're really something. Amazing."
Mu-hyuk had no desire to respond to the pointless chatter.
"Just remember this."
"......"
"I'll come find you again."
In the end, Mu-hyuk spat a line himself.
"Psycho."
As he smashed the sword into his head.
Asrahan logged out once more, and Mu-hyuk picked up the item he dropped.
A T-shirt?
He tossed it into his inventory without checking the options.
He turned to assess the battlefield.
The skeletons were being pushed back, albeit slightly.
Then someone jumped in.
"Hiyaap!"
It was Sung Min-woo.
He rampaged through the enemy lines with his 12 spirits, giving Mu-hyuk some breathing room in his command.
"Ah, we'll help too."
"We should!"
Even the Illusion's World staff joined in.
The battle had erupted too suddenly.
They had been momentarily stunned by Mu-hyuk's overwhelming skill.
Snapping to their senses late, they dove into the fray. The situation tilted further in their favor.
Not bad.
Fighting alongside others was a joy. It turned great hardships into something anyone could overcome by sharing the load.
"Min-woo, hold them off well."
"Of course!"
Mu-hyuk smiled faintly and stepped forward.
Wind Step.
He ignored the remaining users.
Just one.
Take out Rudolph, still drawing his bow there, and it was done.
Once the head was severed, the body would collapse on its own.
"Ha, seriously!"
Rudolph laughed in exasperation at the approaching Mu-hyuk.
"I won't be that easy!"
He released the bowstring.
Bababaang!
To dodge the incoming invisible arrows, Mu-hyuk zigzagged.
He circled rapidly, gradually—very gradually—closing the distance.
About now.
Mu-hyuk fired one arrow.
Rudolph, focused on his attack, flinched and rolled on the ground.
Stealth.
Seizing the moment, he activated the skill.
Mu-hyuk vanished.
"......"
Rudolph didn't hide his irritated expression as he scanned the surroundings.
He wouldn't move easily.
No telling where he'd appear.
Transform. Transform.
Having closed sufficient distance, Mu-hyuk changed his bow back to a sword.
With just two steps left, he stared at Rudolph. The man rolled his eyes, desperately assessing the situation.
Mu-hyuk tensed at his cautious demeanor.
Any hasty move, and Rudolph would sense his presence.
Tricky.
But he was confident.
One more step.
From here, he wouldn't miss.
Storm, Cross Slash.
He swung at the unprotected neck.
-1,660 Damage
-2,188 Damage
The critical exploded, ballooning the damage.
"Hup!"
The startled Rudolph desperately activated a skill.
Poof.
Smoke billowed, and he split into two.
A clone, huh.
Mu-hyuk smirked at the two Rudolphs rapidly putting distance between them and himself.
Attacking the clone still dealt 50% damage to the real body—no reason to hesitate.
He pursued the right one, the easier to maneuver toward. Catching up swiftly, he unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.
He glanced at the defending Rudolph in front of him, then turned his head toward the one fleeing in the opposite direction and extended his hand.
Blessing of the Dead.
Purple light enveloped Rudolph.
"Ah, damn...!"
With a curse, he froze in place.
"You're fucking strong, man."
"Hm."
"Uwaaaah, so annoying!"
He fussed noisily before fading away.
Dead.
Mu-hyuk shook his head and headed to where Rudolph had died, but no item was visible.
He tilted his head.
No drop?
His eyes had definitely been red. That meant a 100% item drop rate.
Then why?
It was then.
Twinkle.
Something was emitting light.
This is?
He scooped it up with the sand. Carefully brushing off the sand, he examined what remained.
It was a single, very small, thin, and transparent arrow.