The Mad Movie Only Ha-wol Could See
The mad movie of Hyun Si-woon, visible only to Ha-wol, continued.
The farther he ran, the harsher the difficulty became.
"H-hey, you brat……! If you go that way……!"
Even though she had sworn inwardly not to interfere, the moments kept turning so precarious that she cried out on pure instinct.
Yet Hyun Si-woon instinctively hunted down the survival route he had etched into his body through dozens of past deaths.
A rotten veteran's play on a level utterly different from martial arts!
"Kheung! You're dodging it that way again?"
She spoke as if it were nothing, but Ha-wol was unconsciously holding her breath.
Exactly 0.3 seconds.
If he had not dropped his stance and slid at the precise instant the Crusher's twin maces crossed, Hyun Si-woon would not be standing here.
His whole body would have been pulverized, and he would have regressed.
How long did he run like that?
"Kieeeeek!"
The Tracker Demons' piercing shrieks from behind gradually faded into the distance.
The earth-shaking footfalls of the Crushers could no longer be heard either.
Hyun Si-woon wrung out the last of his strength and rolled as if hurling himself into a cleft between the rocks.
"Huff, huff, huuuff……!"
Back pressed to the stone, he dragged in ragged breaths.
His entire body was soaked through with sweat, and his heart hammered madly as though it would burst at any second.
Every muscle he possessed was screaming.
Definitely, smashing through head-on is rough.
Even for him, this was the first time he had run this particular route.
Back in the days of the Tower of Despair, he had tried the path a few times and failed because his stats had not been enough.
But looking at it now……
Even with high stats, he probably would have failed.
The reason he had succeeded this time?
It was entirely thanks to the Moon Spirit Steps.
"Huff, huff!"
This place was a safe zone.
He could rest here for hours if he wanted.
"Heheh, you brat. Among every human this lady has ever seen in her life, you are the first of your kind. How is something like that even possible? Are you truly a genius?"
It was the first time.
The first time Ha-wol had so openly clicked her tongue in pure astonishment and praised him.
Hyun Si-woon gave no answer and simply regulated his breathing.
Honestly, he did not even have the energy left to reply.
Swoosh.
He pulled a bottle of water from his inventory and gulped it down.
The cold water soaked his burning throat, and only then did his mind begin to clear a little.
"Haa. Let's rest here a bit before we move on."
There was no need to rush.
Compared to before, he had arrived far faster.
Hyun Si-woon fully intended to eat a meal right here as well.
Since I came for a one-try clear… let's try not to die.
He had made that promise long ago.
That if he could simply avoid dying, he would give everything he had to survive.
That was also why he had focused even harder.
"So just where is this place supposed to be?"
Ha-wol, who had been watching him catch his breath for some time, finally could not hold back the question.
"In this lady's memory, the 7th floor only required helping the proxy of Elf Queen Bilthana and taking out the Demon Legion Commander—whether it was Malaken or Malakar. That was the whole of it."
"That memory is correct."
"Then what is this place?"
"The place where the power Bilthana once wielded lies buried."
"What?"
"You know Bilthana was incredible with a bow, but her spirit power was also ridiculously abundant, right?"
"……How would this lady know that? This lady does not even know what spirits are."
"Among spirits there are Spirit Kings. They represent each attribute, and there are four of them in total. Ordinary elves who can summon even one are called geniuses among geniuses."
Trrk!
While tearing open the packaging of the bulgogi rice set he had pulled from his inventory, he continued speaking.
"And Bilthana was the only elf who could summon all four Spirit Kings at the same time."
"Spirit Kings appear on the 7th floor of the Tower of Despair?"
"Just listen for a second."
Ttak!
Hyun Si-woon snapped his chopsticks apart and piled a spoonful of steaming rice high with bulgogi.
"Anyway, there were demons who had their eyes on this forest. However they managed it, they drove the Four Great Spirit Kings berserk and killed Queen Bilthana. That's the setting. After that they completely sealed the Spirit Kings as well."
Wagu wagu.
Once Hyun Si-woon began eating, he continued the explanation in thought.
Because of that, the dimension of this forest itself started to warp, and a passage opened for demons to pour through the way they do now. The point when Climbers challenge it is probably about a thousand years after that.
"Hoo."
Ha-wol found it fascinating.
That there existed a Climber who understood the story of the 7th floor this precisely.
"So you intend to head to the end of this fissure and seal the passage."
I can't do it myself.
"Then?"
The sealed Spirit Kings are there. I just need to free them. Then they give me a bow out of gratitude.
That was the ?????? (???).
The bow that had been completely unidentified at the time.
If I just get that, it's a clean clear of the 7th floor.
Honestly, even Hyun Si-woon did not know the deeper story that followed.
The only thing that mattered to him was that one bow.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Ha-wol laughed as though the whole thing were absurd.
"I've watched you the entire way up to the 7th floor…… There is not a single normal route among them. While others cannot even find the paths that exist and wander lost, you create paths that do not exist and somehow dig up opportunities. That is truly an outstanding ability."
She was not teasing him.
She meant every word.
If Hyun Si-woon had lived in her world, he would probably have scoured the continent and unearthed hundreds of wild ginseng roots.
His talent for discovering opportunities was simply unmatched.
Wagu wagu.
Before long Hyun Si-woon had cleanly emptied the entire bulgogi rice set.
He tossed the empty lunchbox aside and rose to his feet.
His body was still sore, but his energy had fully recovered.
"Same route again this time."
Hyun Si-woon adjusted his grip on the Formless Sword.
His eyes sharpened once more with cold light.
It was time to dive back into hell.
The western gate of the elf city, Sylvanus.
"Kiaaaaaaa!"
"Kieeek!"
Beyond the walls a black demon legion surged forward like a tidal wave.
"Kill them!"
"Annihilate the demons!"
Elf archers on the battlements loosed arrows without pause, yet it was nowhere near enough.
Kuwaaaaang!
Every time an ogre-form demon swung its massive siege hammer against the gate, the once-sturdy walls screamed and shuddered.
"Hold the line! It must not fall!"
The captain of the guard shouted in desperation.
But the battle was already hopeless.
The defensive wall had been broken, and the gate's collapse was only a matter of time.
And finally—
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!
With a blast that tore at eardrums, the giant wooden gate that had stood for hundreds of years shattered into splinters and collapsed inward.
"……Ah."
"D-damn it."
Despairing sighs spilled from the elves' lips.
The gate was breached.
Everything was over now.
"Gwoooooor!"
The ogre demon roared and stepped through the gate first.
Hundreds, then thousands of demons prepared to pour in behind it like a pack of starving wolves—
"Hyaaaaaap!"
From the path leading into the city inside the gate a battle cry exploded, and a man carrying a shield burst into view.
It was Baek Yeon-ho.
At the same instant Hwang Dae-un and Jang Cha-yul appeared from either side……
Swhaaaaaaaa!
From atop the wall Baek Do-hee's prayer rang out.
The power that purified every trace of evil energy!
Pure white radiance cascaded down like a waterfall, transforming the battlefield before the breached gate into a domain of sacred light.
"Kieeeek!"
"Kiaaaaa!"
The demons flooding through the gate suddenly slowed as though they had fallen into boiling oil. Black smoke rose from every patch of skin the light touched, and flesh began to melt away.
"Now!"
Baek Yeon-ho's shout cut across the battlefield.
"Bear-tank! Smash that pig bastard first!"
"Leave it to me, Hyeong-nim!"
Hwang Dae-un gripped the mace of the rock giant and kicked off the ground.
The 7th-rank ogre spotted him too late and swung its blunt weapon, but the opening was already gone.
"You call that a blunt weapon, you bastard?"
Kwaaaaaang!
Hwang Dae-un's mace smashed into the ogre's knee joint.
With a hideous crack the giant body lost its balance and staggered.
Into the exposed neck, Jang Cha-yul's Flood Dragon Emerging from the Sea drove home.
"Gwoooork……!"
Kuung!
The massive corpse toppled and sealed the narrow path completely.
Perfect coordination.
"Whoa……"
"Th-those people……?"
The eyes of the elves on the walls, who had been drowning in despair, flew wide open.
Those who had been fighting on the front lines did not know the full situation.
But one thing was certain!
Because of these people, hope had appeared.
"Reinforcements!"
"Outsider reinforcements!"
"Waaaaaaa!"
"This is our chance! Hold them with everything you've got!"
Just as the elves were about to cheer, Kang Si-a stood on the wall stroking the Autumn Wind's Bow.
It fits perfectly in my hand.
She was thrilled.
How joyful it was to be able to use it in real combat the moment she obtained it—an unusually bright smile curved her lips.
Kkiik!
When she drew the string she felt its taut elasticity.
Everything she had used until now had not been a bow.
They had all been toys.
By her standards, this was a real bow.
Piiing!
The arrow that left her fingertips drew a clean arc.
"Kiek!"
Hundreds of meters away an ogre's head simply exploded.
Attack power 50, indeed.
Its power defied imagination.
"……!"
"D-did you see that just now?"
The elf archers stared in shock.
That distance was one their own arrows could not even reach.
But Kang Si-a did not stop.
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
Her bowstring sang without rest.
Thanks to the automatic arrow recovery option, she no longer needed to spare a thought for remaining shafts.
She aimed only at the enemies before her—and at their vital points.
She began methodically cutting down the demons with continuous rapid fire.
"L-look over there!"
"That's impossible…… How can she fire that fast……"
"The ones who came as support said she's an archer who cleared the fifth stage of the Forest Trial."
"What?!"
"Really?!"
Several elves reeled in disbelief.
The fifth stage was a realm that only appeared in legends!
What the elves were witnessing was truly archery that bordered on divine skill.
One arrow for a demon climbing the wall, the next for a demon shaman chanting spells in the rear, another piercing the wings of a flying demon.
She was controlling every variable on the battlefield by herself.
Wherever her arrows landed the demons' formation collapsed, and their offensive noticeably weakened.
The tide of battle was turning.
"Uooooooo!"
"We cannot lose either! Look upon the warrior chosen by Eldona Forest!"
"Fight! For Sylvanus!"
"For!"
Kang Si-a's performance rekindled the dying morale of the elves.
Drawing courage from her overwhelming presence, they roared and began loosing arrows once more.
……Good.
Amid the thrilling rush that burned through her, Kang Si-a felt a hunger for an even deeper realm.
The martial arts Oppa had taught her.
Let's use Eagle Claw Divine Archery.
First form.
Soul Chase.
Kiiiiiiiiik!
The bowstring was drawn incomparably tighter than before.
Every scrap of energy gathered in her dantian condensed into a single point at the arrow tip.
Her gaze fixed on one place only.
The red-armored demon commander who seemed to be directing the entire legion from the rear.
Kang Si-a held her breath.
She pushed every sense to its absolute limit.
The flow of the wind, the movements of the demons, even the distant heartbeat of that commander seemed to reach her ears.
I can see it.
All preparations were complete.
At the exact moment she was about to release the string—
"Huh? What is this."
Kang Si-a's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
A strange voice she was hearing for the first time in her life.
And it was resonating directly inside her head.
"Who are you. Who are you to know the martial arts of me, Chu Pung?"
"……?"
Kang Si-a's eyes widened.
Chu Pung?
A familiar name!
Was that not the name of the very bow she held?
The tautly drawn string slipped free of its own accord.
She raised her head and looked up into the empty air above her.
Normally there should have been no one there.
But.
"……!"
A faintly wavering, semi-transparent figure stood there.
An old man with long white hair streaming in the wind, arms folded across his chest.