Chapter 118: How a Veteran Shoots a Bow (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: How a Veteran Shoots a Bow (1)
A heavy silence settled over the air.
And for good reason.
Teslon, the fiercely proud captain of the rangers, was notoriously feared even among the elves.
Unlike those who were all talk and no action, his pride was backed by solid, undeniable skill.
Yet, someone had just gone and yanked this tiger's whiskers.
Gulp.
Gulp...
The sound of people swallowing hard echoed from all around.
But no one dared to utter a single word.
"Human. Do you dare challenge me to archery? Me?!"
"Haha. Teslon, Lord Kang Jinhyuk was only joking. Don't take it so seriously."
As the atmosphere threatened to turn ugly, Penheim quickly intervened.
He clearly knew that taking even one more step in this direction would lead to something irreversible.
But Jinhyuk, instead of backing down, poured gasoline on the fire.
"The only archery experience I have is shooting a toy suction-cup bow a few times back in kindergarten, but strangely enough, I don't feel like I'd lose to you. It feels like I could just casually notch an arrow, let it fly, and still win."
He had mixed gunpowder into the gasoline and topped it off with fireworks.
If anyone could hold back after that, they'd have to be a saint or a sage.
"Aaargh! Fine! I will make sure you regret those words! Speak! How do you want to settle this?!"
His face flushed red, Teslon roared like a madman.
The fuse was lit.
Elder or not, this was way past the point of anyone being able to stop him.
"Sigh... Dear me."
Penheim let out a soft sigh and shook his head.
"We need to gather swamp figs anyway, so let's head over there. There should be a suitable place to compete."
"Fine. I will make sure you never dare speak of archery to an elf ever again."
Teslon gnashed his teeth.
Indeed.
He was just a mere human.
With a single arrow, Teslon would show him a gap so vast he wouldn't even dare look up.
* * *
Ten kilometers away from the village.
A massive swampland stretched out here, seemingly endless.
Indeed. No wonder they were struggling.
Jinhyuk slowly scanned the surrounding swamp.
Deep, bottomless mud pits and swamp crocodiles scattered here and there.
Only by overcoming all these obstacles could one reach the fig trees in the middle of the swamp.
With the sudden influx of Players, the crocodiles from the upper reaches of the swamp have been driven downstream, making the area around the fig trees even more crowded.
The swamp crocodiles were incredibly ferocious, capable of stripping an elephant-sized prey to the bone in an instant. Moreover, they were deceptively fast, making them difficult even for elves to shake off.
Simply put, the difficulty had skyrocketed.
That was why, unlike usual, the elves hadn't been able to gather their quota for the festival.
However, no matter how many crocodiles gathered, once you understood their habits, numbers meant absolutely nothing.
Jinhyuk stepped forward.
"Are you sure you will be alright?"
Penheim asked with a worried expression.
He looked anxious, terrified that his invited guest would end up as crocodile food.
"Leave him be, Elder. Didn't he say so himself that he was confident? Let's just watch and see what kind of trick he has up his sleeve."
Teslon snorted.
The other watching elves chimed in, expecting an obvious conclusion.
Either he would die, or he would run away in terror.
They were certain they would witness one of the two.
However...
The sneers and mocking glares of the crowd completely shattered a moment later.
Hummmmm!
[Lv. 6 'Sword Demon Emperor Steps' has been activated!]
His figure vanished.
Jinhyuk began to glide across the swamp.
His movements were so light and swift that he seemed almost weightless.
Swish, swish, swish!
As he covered ten meters in the blink of an eye, stepping lightly on the floating logs and leaves, the swarming swamp crocodiles reacted.
"Kroooar!"
"Kaaah!"
With sharp screeches, their massive jaws snapped open.
The sight of hundreds of swamp crocodiles lunging to tear their prey apart was absolutely terrifying.
Yet, Jinhyuk didn't show a shred of fear or hesitation.
He already knew exactly how to break through.
Swamp crocodiles have degenerated eyesight, so they hunt by sensing vibrations in the water.
They identified the unique vibrations emitted by each prey, distinguishing enemies from their own kind based on the frequency and size.
Of course, even the elves knew this much.
But if one could finely adjust those vibrations using the Sword Demon Emperor Steps...
I can make them perceive me as one of their own, not as prey.
Indeed.
Jinhyuk had already mastered the exact vibration patterns that swamp crocodiles produced when they moved.
"Grrr..."
"Kieee..."
The thrashing swamp crocodiles fell silent as if by magic.
Only the gentle ripples left behind by Jinhyuk spread softly across the water's surface.
"M-My goodness..."
"How are those ferocious swamp crocodiles not attacking him?"
"He must know a method we don't."
"But swamp crocodiles are monsters native only to this area. How could an outsider possibly..."
"And look at his movements. It's like he's running on water. I don't think even Lord Teslon could do that..."
"Y-You idiot, shut up! Lord Teslon is standing right next to us!"
The elves muttered in disbelief, their jaws slack.
Their expressions, a mix of shock and awe, made it perfectly clear how they now viewed Jinhyuk.
Of course...
"Ugh..."
Teslon, who had been thirsting for Jinhyuk's failure, felt his throat go dry with anxiety.
Since the Elder was watching, he couldn't have let the human die anyway.
But he had fully intended to enjoy the sight of the human fleeing in panic from the crocodiles, begging for his life.
Yet, this was the result.
At this rate, the human might actually harvest every single fig and return safely.
No, it was already blindingly obvious that things were heading exactly in that direction.
Please fail! Please... just make a mistake!
Just as Teslon was screaming silently in his mind...
Thud!
Jinhyuk landed on the small island in the center of the swamp.
He had bypassed hundreds of crocodiles.
And without being attacked even once.
"Hmm. Maybe it's because I'm tired, but my body feels a bit heavy..."
Even so, he had beaten his personal best by about seven seconds.
It was a natural result, considering how much stronger and more solid his growth was compared to the past.
Not bad.
At this point, breaking records was a given; he had reached a level where the only question was by how much he would surpass them.
"By the way, I don't really get why this is so delicious. Is it as addictive to them as chicken or pizza is to humans?"
Jinhyuk looked up.
He saw clusters of plump, yellow fruits hanging from the branches.
[Swamp Fig]
Not only did they taste sweet and sour, but they also had the effect of purifying mana, making them an indispensable necessity for the elves.
They were also a favorite fruit of the spirits.
Jinhyuk approached the fig tree and began sweeping the fruits into his inventory.
Since he had plenty of space left in his subspace inventory, harvesting every single fruit here wouldn't be an issue.
"Whoaaaa!"
"The human did it! Now we can hold the festival!"
"I had my doubts, but he actually did it!"
Thunderous cheers erupted among the elves.
Their wariness toward the strange human had vanished, replaced by warm hospitality and praise.
A festival that had continued for hundreds of years, one that had been on the verge of failing for the first time...
Had been saved by a single human.
* * *
Thud-thud-thud!
An immense pile of fruit poured onto the ground.
These were the swamp figs Jinhyuk had stored in his subspace inventory.
"I believe this is enough proof that I wasn't bluffing."
To object at this point would make one less than human... or rather, less than an elf.
If they had even a shred of conscience left, they would shut their mouths and just nod.
Yet, miraculously...
"I admit you gathered the fruit. But that wasn't the only nonsense you spouted. You haven't forgotten what you babbled about archery, have you?"
There were always fools in the world who defied common sense.
Wow.
In a different sense, this guy possessed a level of shamelessness that was truly beyond imagination.
At this point, one had to assume that Teslon's conscience was as thick and hairy as a giant afro.
Jinhyuk stared at Teslon with genuine admiration.
"I haven't forgotten... but looking at how things are going, shouldn't you have a hunch by now? If I were you, I'd already know how this is going to end."
"Cut the crap. You might have tricked the crocodiles with some cheap trick, but I am different. A bastard like you couldn't beat me even if you died and came back a hundred times."
Teslon spat out, brimming with confidence.
Well, well.
When someone acted that tough... even if he wanted to let it slide, his veteran DNA naturally began to writhe.
The dark desire to crush and humiliate a cocky bastard, twisting his face in shame so he could never hold his head high again.
That very dark desire.
"Then, how about a bet between you and me on who wins?"
"A bet?"
"A simple pride match is boring, isn't it?"
A match where the loser could just claim a moral victory either way only made him yawn.
If you truly wanted to crush your opponent to the bone, there had to be a fitting penalty on the line.
"If I lose, I'll lick your boots, leave the village immediately, or do whatever you want. But if you lose, you have to do whatever I tell you to do. How about it?"
"Amusing. Fine, let's do it. Don't you dare go back on your word later."
"You're the one who should watch out. Don't just run your mouth. I'm not the type to go easy on someone just because they start crying."
"The noble race of the forest always keeps their word."
"Sure, sure. Of course you do."
Jinhyuk chuckled.
The corners of his mouth twitched as he already began imagining the penalty he would make the guy do.
Similarly, Teslon also wore a smug smirk, already drunk on his anticipated victory.
With both expecting entirely different outcomes, the bet carrying the pride of two races began.
"The event is archery. In other words, bow shooting."
Teslon pointed toward the island where the fig trees stood.
On the island, about 700 meters away, several trees stood in a row.
"Among the trees you see over there, the one at the very end is already dead."
"So it's fine to shoot it with an arrow?"
"Yes. That tree will be the target. The one who misses loses."
"What if we both miss?"
"There is absolutely no chance I will miss, but in that highly unlikely event, whoever shoots closer to the target will be considered the winner."
"Okay."
Nodding, Jinhyuk took a decent bow handed to him by Sylvia.
"Are you sure you'll be okay? Lord Teslon is the best archer among us."
"Yeah, I figured as much."
But...
"Being good at shooting a bow and winning a match are two entirely different things."
"What does that mean...?"
Sylvia asked again, but Jinhyuk merely gave a playful grin and turned around.
It was time to utterly shatter the smug face of that icy pointy-ear.