The Divine Archer's Counter
Meanwhile, by the time the plane carrying Lee Shin touched down at a French airport, Korea was already reeling from a colossal explosion.
The bomb in question was none other than the Divine Archer, Son Yul.
A canyon was no mere stretch of flat ground. It was riddled with dense thickets, shallow rivers flanking both sides of the mid lane, and a full-blown jungle crawling with wild monsters. Add all that together and the picture was complete.
Yet here was a global strike skill that encompassed the entire canyon?
Are you kidding? Does that even make sense?
It was a legendary highlight reel that could easily be crowned the best of the year. No wonder the previously deflated Kirin fans were rising like a wildfire.
It wasn't just about winning one game. No matter how much Kirin had been struggling, they were never a team that should lose to nobodies like that. The fans' real anxiety had been focused entirely on the finals.
Through the matches played in the first and second halves of the season, Kirin had been exposed as inferior in every aspect. If things continued this way, the outcome of the finals seemed all but certain.
To lift the championship cup, they desperately needed reinforcements. At that exact moment, the Divine Archer Son Yul had appeared like a comet streaking across the sky.
[MVP Divine Archer Son Yul Interview: "The reason wins and losses are fun is because I win when I play well and lose when I don't. The reason it's boring, however, is that there is no day when I play poorly."]
The opponent didn't matter. In the end, what decided the match was his bow and arrows.
It was arrogant wording, but the interview was delivered with the Divine Archer's trademark sincerity. How could Kirin fans not get fired up? Both the Yongbung-i and the Kirin faithful poured out in force.
While the Kirin fans were lighting signal fires of a grand counterattack, the Yongbung-i simply found it all rather cute.
The old Yongbung-i who used to tremble at every falling leaf were long dead. What remained were the Mark 2 Yongbung-i, injected with a lethal dose of Mountain King energy.
Of course, not everyone was without doubts...
They had achieved regular season first place and an undefeated championship run. If they couldn't believe in that, what could they believe in this world?
Even if their hearts lurched at the number one attached to the Divine Archer's name, even if anxiety peeked its head at that ultra-long-range pentakill, they absolutely refused to show it.
Infinite faith. Absolute worship. The hell of disbelief... wait, maybe not that last one. Anyway, the Yongbung-i no longer harbored any doubts.
But did the Yongbung-i know?
"You can't dodge those arrows. That arrow, that arrow, this arrow, that arrow—every single one is weird! I don't get it!!"
That their superstar was a little. No, quite a lot... scared.
"I think that oppa is just built different!"
* * *
Mir Guild Video Analysis Room.
In front of everyone, Yu Ri-ra was playing the footage.
"Look carefully at this scene! There, the Divine Archer oppa is drawing his bow, right? At the same time, look at Light Sword sunbae's gaze handling. He's clearly watching it, yes? This was something he had to dodge. It was an attack that should never have landed!"
Gaze handling, distance calculation, terrain features, surrounding situation.
Her looks-obsessed instinct had flared up for a brief moment, but she moved on naturally. Either way, Yu Ri-ra was displaying the judgment she had learned from the Guardian, explaining the situation with surprising coherence.
"This is the key point. Attack speed. Here, attack speed doesn't mean the loading speed. It's the speed of the arrow itself. The arrow is fired here, but it's already over here. Can an arrow even move at that velocity?!"
For ranged dealers, projectile speed was an extremely important factor. It was probably why modern ADCs preferred magic or guns over bows.
"Of course, an arrow held and released directly by hand has superior magic conductivity compared to a bullet. However, guns are superior in many ways when it comes to attack speed, loading convenience, accuracy, and the difficulty of maintaining distance while continuing to attack—'kiting.' Projectile speed is a prime example of that."
"But the Divine Archer oppa's arrows are faster than bullets and scarily accurate!"
Especially within his line of sight, the Divine Archer was awe-inspiring.
"The speed increases and decreases. It changes at will, and here the arrow alters its trajectory as if it's alive. It's defying the laws of physics!"
This was why Mir's happy virus, Yu Ri-ra, was practically vomiting blood in her excitement.
The Divine Archer was doing things that a hunter wielding a ranged weapon should never be able to do.
"...The way I see it, that Divine Archer oppa is more like a mage. A mage who manipulates space."
"!!"
The analysis room grew noisy at the unconventional opinion.
Calling the Divine Archer a mage who manipulates space...? Does that even make sense? Doubts erupted, but since the words came from Yu Ri-ra—the world-class ADC acknowledged by Lee Shin himself, and someone unrivaled in terms of speed—they couldn't simply be dismissed.
It was then that Park Su-bin, who had been listening, raised his hand.
"Just as Rira-noona said, any attack fired within a certain distance should be treated as a guaranteed hit. The Light Sword sunbae I faced wasn't someone who couldn't dodge projectiles in a one-on-one."
Park Su-bin lent weight to Yu Ri-ra's words.
Even to Park Su-bin, whose brain was currently undergoing a massive awakening, the Divine Archer had many bizarre aspects. Still, he wasn't simply worried.
"Fortunately, I don't think our matchup is bad. If the arrows are fast, I can just keep an orb of light around me at all times. If the trajectory is weird, I can create walls. If the attack power is strong, I can stack multiple layers."
It was true that the Divine Archer defied common sense, but Park Su-bin was confident he wouldn't lose in a one-on-one.
"I'd rather block than dodge anyway. I think I can block it somehow."
Calming the agitation.
That was the role of a man(?).
Are you watching, Chang-gwi sunbae?
Beyond Park Su-bin's gaze, he thought he could see the faint figure of Chang-gwi giving him a thumbs-up.
While he wore a proud expression, Lee Hye-jung, leader of the second team, and Hwarang Kim Yu-shin exchanged words.
"The strange thing is how both of them share this bizarre quality. What do you think, Yu-shin sunbae? You've experienced the Divine Archer before, haven't you?"
"From someone who knows him, it's a very accurate assessment. Yul has always been someone whose actions are impossible to predict. In a good way, he's free. In a bad way, he's eccentric?"
"If that's the case, I think it shows in his playstyle as well."
Here.
On the pad Lee Hye-jung held out, a scene played showing the Divine Archer spreading his influence across the jungle and surrounding areas.
"Whether it's vision-securing arrows that scatter like stardust or gray stun arrows like this one, he constantly harasses the surrounding jungle by changing arrow types. You can't pin him down."
"He stirs things up whether it works or not and secures territory that way."
This was significant.
The structure between the Divine Archer and Park Su-bin was already more or less decided. The Divine Archer on offense, Park Su-bin on defense. Naturally, it was a structure where the Divine Archer would seize the initiative.
Without a doubt, the Divine Archer would scatter his influence freely in his own style from that position. The representative scene of that was the arrow fired from mid that killed the bot lane ADC.
"Yeon-woo, didn't you say that? The damage itself was better than expected. You told me it was closer to a lucky punch, right?"
"Yes, noona."
As everyone's attention focused on her, Lee Hye-jung, who had stood up at some point, adjusted her glasses and continued.
"The pentakill was impressive, but that's not the important part. The key is whether his attacks can reach across that distance. Because if they can reach bot..."
"...they can reach top as well."
"What is our guild's main strategy? Top lane applies heavy pressure, while bot lane focuses on survival. Now imagine arrows that could arrive at any moment without warning."
Top and bot might have different battle situations, but they shared one thing: both were engaged in razor-thin, high-stakes duels.
In a knife-edge match where victory or defeat was decided by a hair's breadth, the Divine Archer's arrows would undoubtedly be a fatal factor.
And the repercussions naturally extended...
"...to our Mir's number one option. To the raid leader and Yu-shin sunbae."
Without a proper setup, the volcanic duo's roaming couldn't display its full power. Above all, the risk was simply too high.
The dives they performed were ultimately knife-edge battles as well.
There was no guarantee the Divine Archer's arrows wouldn't plant themselves in the back of the Mountain King's or Hwarang's heads.
Taking all these evaluations together, Lee Hye-jung's conclusion was this.
"Perhaps the Divine Archer is our team's counter?"
The room fell into a heavy silence. Everyone's mouths were clamped shut.
"......"
"......"
Her analysis and logic were simply too excellent to dismiss outright.
While everyone was deep in thought, Kim Jong-pil finally spoke for the first time.
"Yeon-woo."
"Yes."
"What does your 'eye' see?"
Kim Jong-pil didn't know the specifics of the Heavenly Eye, but he knew Baek Yeon-woo's eyes were special.
So he was curious.
How did the strongest disciple he had raised appear through those sky-blue eyes? As expected, Baek Yeon-woo spoke without holding back, raw and unfiltered.
"That sunbae. He's a crazy monster. Even more than Bokchi."
Pffft! Laughter burst out from several places.
But Baek Yeon-woo was two hundred percent serious right now.
"I don't know how to describe it. It's dizzying... When that sunbae draws his bow, the world stops? The distance folds? Every battle situation changes with the arrow he's holding at the center."
It was a very vague and ambiguous statement. A few people tilted their heads in confusion, but if Lee Shin had been there, he would have clapped.
Becoming the center of the world with an arrow.
There could be no more accurate description of the Divine Archer than that cryptic remark.
Fortunately, Kim Jong-pil was present—someone who shared Lee Shin's vision—and he nodded at Baek Yeon-woo's words.
"I've heard all your opinions. Let's end today's meeting here."
After everyone left, Kim Jong-pil remained alone in the room.
Yu Ri-ra who called him bizarre, Park Su-bin who said he could handle it, Lee Hye-jung who called him a counter, and Baek Yeon-woo who said he couldn't understand him.
Each had different thoughts, but in Kim Jong-pil's eyes, they all reached the same conclusion.
"As I thought, they're all trembling."
It was only natural.
The opponent was the number one ranker. The title of number one meant the absolute best, and when the modifier 'ranker' was attached, it signified the pinnacle of an entire nation.
Even their master, the Mountain King, felt more nervousness than joy. How could the young teammates possibly remain calm?
That was why one thing felt strange. The reason Lee Shin had suddenly left at a time like this, when he should have appeared dramatically to sweep away all doubts.
"Please keep this between us, sir. If that Divine Archer is the one I know, I can't guarantee the outcome of this finals."
If the children's talents had fully bloomed, it might be different. But in their current state, facing that monster was too much.
With those words, he had abruptly flown off to France.
"It's a bit early, but I need to complete the old man."
"You cheeky brat. What exactly are you planning to complete?"
Vita, who had manifested at some point, rubbed her face against Kim Jong-pil's cheek. He stroked her gently while recalling Lee Shin's face.
'Whatever it is, come back quickly.'
Everyone needs you.
* * *
"It's been approved, right, Alfred butler?"
"Yes, it has. The French government just gave the green light."
"Ah, let's talk about the details on the way. We don't have time."
"Understood. Please follow me."
Evelyn Rothschild's chief butler, Alfredo, moved quickly ahead while Lee Shin followed almost at a run.
The two men crossed an old-fashioned corridor.
Everywhere they passed displayed artworks and antiques. There were pieces from France, of course, but also from various European countries, Africa, the Middle East, and even Asia.
That's right.
This was the Louvre Museum in France, one of the world's top three museums.
And the two men were currently heading toward the vault containing the Louvre's 'genuine' artifacts.
"The rule is that you may only take one item. In exchange, they have accepted the deal you proposed, Representative."
"No contact, solo entry, and a ten-minute time limit in exchange for removing the grade restriction. Correct?"
"Yes. The door opens and you have six hundred seconds. There will be no grace period of even one second."
"Is the supervisor German by any chance? They're really strict."
"Haha, that was a decent joke."
"It wasn't a joke."
Magical characters floated along the permit.
Buildings transformed. Walls melted away and illusions vanished. A staircase that had been ascending now descended, and a door folded in the opposite direction to lead to another room.
Finally, they arrived before a massive gate. This was the deepest core of the Louvre Museum, known as the repository of world history.
"By the way, butler, since it's just the two of us, we could take it easy..."
"The German supervisor is watching."
"...Then I won't. I love Germany. I love Germany!"
Ten minutes.
The time Lee Shin had negotiated through Evelyn Rothschild's deal.
The moment this door opened, the race would begin.
Then...!
"Let's go!"
As soon as Alfredo opened the door, Lee Shin strode forward without hesitation.
◈ A jewel blessed by Helena, the rarest gem in the world. Due to the blessing of flame, it possesses fire attributes...
"Not this one."
◈ A mirror created through long years of worship. It reveals the history of objects. It does not apply to living targets...
"This one doesn't seem real either?"
◈ The one who holds the immortal smile. Mona Lisa's smile inspires new creative ideas. Although it is not Leonardo da Vinci's work, his inspiration lives on.
He passed by countless legendary treasures. He ignored artifacts steeped in history and fame.
They were assets of humanity too valuable for any individual to possess—treasures whose worth could not be measured in money.
But.
Lee Shin advanced without hesitation.
He kept moving forward.
Finally, he stopped before a single object.
"Found it."