Chapter 119: How a Veteran Shoots a Bow (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: How a Veteran Shoots a Bow (2)
"Let me confirm one last thing."
Jinhyuk spoke.
"We take turns shooting. If we both miss, whoever gets closer to the target wins. And other than that, there are absolutely no rules. Correct?"
"Yes, that's correct, so stop asking and just shoot already."
"Don't rush me. Surely you aren't planning to do something petty to break my concentration, are you?"
"Damn you, what do you take an elf for? I'll stay quiet, so go ahead and concentrate all you want!"
Well, I was planning to do that anyway, even if he hadn't said so.
Jinhyuk nocked an arrow.
"Huuup...!"
Taking a short, sharp breath to build core tension, his body locked firmly into place.
At that exact moment.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew, drawing an arc through the air.
It was a decent first shot, having gauged the wind direction and distance fairly well. For someone who had barely ever handled a bow, he had almost hit the target—the fig tree.
However, the arrow ultimately landed near the small island in the center.
It was a miss.
"Pfft! Puhahaha! Ridiculous. Did you really challenge me with that pathetic level of skill? Even as a joke, this is downright pitiful!"
Teslon burst into wild laughter.
He was probably feeling relieved.
After all, he must have been at least a little tense after seeing the 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss' earlier.
"Hmm. My condition is really off today. Maybe it's because I don't have anyone cheering for me?"
Jinhyuk smacked his lips in disappointment.
"Cheering...? Are you going to make pathetic excuses until the very end?"
"No, seriously. Do you have any idea how powerful the power of cheering is? This is an unfamiliar environment, and with nothing but elves around, I can't show my true skills. I need to call at least one ally to my side."
Even just the cheers of a crowd have a massive impact on athletes.
There was a reason the term "home advantage" existed.
"Damn it. Listening to your nonsense is exhausting. Fine. Go ahead, bring out this 'ally' of yours and try shooting again."
Teslon, sounding thoroughly annoyed, granted him another chance.
After all, with the skill Jinhyuk had just displayed, the result would be the same whether he shot once or a thousand times.
"I won't refuse."
Smiling brightly, Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory.
Emerging from it was Goguma, the ancient species with skin as black as obsidian.
"White mosquito! Yellow mosquito! Tough, tasteless mosquito!"
Goguma looked around in wonder.
The unfamiliar elves seemed to catch his attention, as he repeatedly flicked his short tongue.
But only for a brief moment.
"Good mosquito!"
Quickly losing interest, Goguma snuggled deep into Jinhyuk's arms.
"There, there. Come here, my baby."
As expected, the saying that ancient species possessed high loyalty was absolutely true.
With a proud look on his face, Jinhyuk gently scratched Goguma under the chin.
Watching Goguma purr and close his eyes, the stress built up from dealing with that obnoxious point-eared bastard seemed to wash away completely.
"...You carry a peculiar pet around."
Teslon's eyes narrowed.
Of course, there was no way those on the 6th floor had ever seen an ancient species.
At most, they would think of it as some rare reptile.
But did he know?
That even elves, who constantly boasted of their bloodline and nobility, were nothing more than mutts in front of an ancient species.
"Huu."
Steadying his breath, Jinhyuk shot another arrow.
The arrow flew swiftly, tracing another arc.
But the result was the same this time as well.
Although the arrow landed slightly closer to the target than before, it was still a miss.
"I assume there will be no more excuses."
Teslon clicked his tongue, as if he had expected nothing less.
At the same time, he drew the ornate longbow slung over his shoulder.
It was a silver bow, nearly two meters long.
Even at a glance, it was clearly an extraordinary item.
Combined with his innate ability, 'Hundred Shots Hundred Hits'...
It was safe to say the outcome of this match was already decided.
Yes.
That should have been the case...
But Jinhyuk was smiling.
As if he already knew exactly what would happen next.
'What is it? That creepy smile...'
Teslon tilted his head in confusion.
An unsettling feeling clung to him like slime, but Teslon quickly shook off his doubts.
Once he released the bowstring, it would be over.
There were no variables.
Because there was no way he would make a mistake.
However.
Creaaak!
Just as Teslon was about to release the arrow.
"Mooosquitoooo!"
[Goguma uses Lv.1 'Fear'!]
With a monstrous roar, the ancient species' Fear reverberated across the entire swamp.
Rumble!
The water churned violently, and the swamp crocodiles froze solid on the spot.
Before this overwhelming majesty, powerful enough to part the very clouds, it felt as though time itself had stopped.
Naturally.
Splash!
The arrow shot by Teslon had no choice but to miss.
"Oops. My deepest apologies. I guess our Goguma is past his feeding time, his voice is incredibly loud, isn't it?"
Jinhyuk scratched his head, a look of mock apology plastered all over his face.
He then pointed his index finger at Goguma, who was looking up with wide, round eyes.
"You have to be careful. This is an important match. What are you doing? Because of you, that obnoxious, gigolo-looking elf over there is glaring at us."
"Mosquito..."
Goguma hung his head low. With his tail tucked slightly between his legs, his remorse was practically dripping off him.
This had to be forgiven.
Of course. With a face like that, he was absolutely innocent.
"It's okay. It happens. Just be careful next time."
As Jinhyuk nodded, Teslon, who had been watching the whole display, roared in fury.
"Y-You... you bastard! Did you bring that thing out just to pull a cowardly stunt like this?!"
"Well, cheering is meant to encourage your own team, but it's also meant to overwhelm the opponent."
"Y-You call that an excuse?! I gave you another chance, and you repay me like this? Do words like honor or fair play even exist in your vocabulary?!"
"Nope, they don't."
"What?"
"Sorry, but unlike you noble elves, I am indeed a petty, sly human."
Evil. Underhanded. Dirty. "I'm never playing with him again." And so on.
To a veteran, all of those were the ultimate compliments.
'After all, making your opponent scream in rage until they eventually rage-quit is exactly what makes a veteran a veteran.'
In the same vein, exploiting loopholes in the rules and throwing fair play out the window were virtues a veteran had to uphold.
Just like right now.
Of course, I admit this is a bit of a stretch.
But if he wanted to prevent such loopholes, he should have made the rules more specific, shouldn't he?
"Lulu-lala~"
Jinhyuk hummed a tune as he looked up at the air.
Since he had won the match anyway, the status window would appear any second now.
The moment he thought that.
[You have acquired the skill 'Hundred Shots Hundred Hits (AA)'!]
[Hundred Shots Hundred Hits]
Acquisition Difficulty: AA
Description: Increases understanding of arrows and throwing weapons by 80%. Specifically, when using a bow, concentrating for 5 seconds can increase accuracy to 100%. However, accuracy may decrease if an innate ability or skill of the same rank or higher interferes.
The status window announcing the successful copy condition appeared.
No matter how much Teslon stubbornly denied it, as long as the system recognized it, his goal was fully accomplished.
'Actually, no.'
Not quite yet.
He had obtained the skill, but he hadn't seen that elf bastard beat the ground in despair yet.
It was still 2% short of being a true victory.
In that case...
Jinhyuk spoke.
"Now that I think about it, it must feel pretty unfair from your perspective. How could you even sleep at night if the match ended like this?"
"Does that mean... you'll agree to a rematch?"
A gleam of hope flashed in Teslon's eyes.
"In exchange, if you lose this time as well, you must obey my every word without a single complaint."
"Of course. As long as you promise not to pull any dirty tricks this time."
"Don't worry. I'll put Goguma back in my subspace inventory."
"Then, I agree to your terms."
Good.
You definitely said that with your own mouth, right?
Jinhyuk gripped the bow once more.
Watching him, Teslon let out a sigh of relief.
'As long as he doesn't pull another dirty trick, there's no way I can lose.'
In archery, his opponent was a complete novice among novices.
A greenhorn who couldn't even manage precise control, only capable of shooting forward.
Yes.
The outcome was painfully obvious.
That was how it should have been...
'Something... is off.'
Teslon's eyes narrowed.
Jinhyuk's stance as he held the bow had changed. It was completely different from before.
The natural flow of his movements and breathing almost made an exclamation of admiration slip from Teslon's lips.
The act of drawing the bowstring was, in itself, the definition of perfection.
But the surprises didn't end there.
[Fusing the skill 'Blood Demon Qi' and the skill 'Hundred Shots Hundred Hits'!]
[Fusion successful!]
[You have acquired the skill 'Crimson Magic Bullet (AAA)'!]
[Crimson Magic Bullet]
Acquisition Difficulty: AAA
Description: A skill boasting extreme destructive power utilizing Black Flame and a chilling accuracy rate. When concentrating for 2.5 seconds, accuracy can be increased to 100%, and understanding of arrows and throwing weapons increases by 145%.
[The copied ability is stored in the 'Memory of the World'.]
A status window that absolutely no one but Jinhyuk could see.
Yet, Teslon instinctively sensed it.
That just now, right before his eyes, his opponent's realm of power had ascended to yet another level.
And at that exact moment.
Sliiiip.
With a smooth, soft sound.
The arrow vanished.
A crimson flash sliced through the air.
Simultaneously.
BOOM!
The target tree was completely blown to smithereens.
* * *
Everyone watching was left speechless.
They had no choice but to be.
The swamp fig tree was a wood of immense density and strength.
Because of this, even a blade heavily infused with mana could barely chip its surface.
Yet, he had completely obliterated it.
They couldn't even begin to fathom what level of archery could achieve such a feat.
Whoosh!
Dark red Black Flames surged around the remaining stump of the tree.
"I-I can't believe it..."
"How can a human possess such skill?"
"At this rate, even first-class High Elves wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him..."
They had taken immense pride in being the absolute best when it came to archery, but their high-and-mighty pride was thoroughly shattered starting from this very moment.
Jinhyuk strolled leisurely toward Teslon.
Teslon, more than anyone, surely knew that any further confrontation was utterly meaningless.
With this, the match was decided.
"I wanted to let you keep some of your pride if possible, but since you kept pushing your luck, I had to show you a fraction of my skills."
"..."
"Don't be too discouraged. You just picked the wrong person to compare yourself to in the first place. No matter who stood here instead of you, the result would have been exactly the same."
Jinhyuk needled him.
After all, the pain is sharpest when one is still reeling from the shock of defeat.
And of course.
The crowning stroke was bringing up the penalty on top of that.
"Ah! And about that penalty."
Jinhyuk brought up the long-awaited penalty with a sly smirk.