Chapter 177
“Gasp, gasp... I’m alive thanks to you.”
Having been granted a small reprieve, many players called out and expressed their thanks to Jae-Hyeok’s group. But others had sour expressions—they were veteran players, after all. Who were these kids to think they needed help?
Jae-Hyeok glanced toward the guild members who remained silent and committed their faces to mind. Then he pulled an arrow from the ground. This one was unlike the others; it was three meters long and made of metal, likely steel. He tested the weight in his hand. It had to weigh at least sixty kilograms.
This isn’t an arrow but a great arrow. Only a ballista or something like it could shoot this so far... Jae-Hyeok considered. Wherever there were weapons of war, there were watchtowers or fortresses.
Another player laughed. “Definitely... If the kids hadn’t come forward to cover our asses, at least five of us would’ve died. I really didn’t expect such a powerful ranged attack.”
Those words caught Jae-Hyeok’s attention.
Right. They chose this route, yet no one—not even Elder Gu Suk—had countermeasures prepared for those explosive bolts. They must not have known.
A different player snorted in derision. “We can handle our own. In the first place, we were only in that situation because you guys were slow to react. Otherwise, we would’ve—”
“Quiet!” Elder Gu Suk barked. “I apologize for their rudeness, Young Master Kang. The situation was indeed dangerous. I didn’t expect we would be targeted by a Sky Bow in the outer area. According to the guildmaster’s notes, the Sky Bow only came into effect in the boss area.
“Elder, you’re saying that the dark elves moved this Sky Bow to the outer area?”
Elder Gu Suk nodded grimly. “The most likely explanation is that some being has decided that the old method isn’t enough to prevent invaders.”
Jae-Hyeok frowned. Guardian had cleared the World Tree Outskirts once before; that would have reset the entire dimension, thereby resurrecting the dead and returning all to an initial point in time. Only the most exceptional beings could retain memories from before the reset.
“A Named monster.”
“That’s right. And we don’t know the first thing about it. When the guildmaster cleared this gate, this Named monster didn’t appear.”
Jae-Hyeok nodded. Since they hadn’t encountered it last time, it wasn’t the boss; rather, it seemed more like Death Knight Theodore: a hidden Named monster that wasn’t tied to the gate’s clearance requirements.
Whispers broke out among the players.
“We’re being targeted by a Named monster, and we don’t know the first thing about it...”
“The guildmaster’s strategy guide is useless now... ”
The players grew paler by the moment.
“Um...!”
Elder Gu Suk coughed to quiet his subordinates, but that was all he could do. What else could he say? The situation was as serious as it seemed.
He massaged his throbbing temples, but the sudden motion put him off balance. His hands and feet tingled, and the ground slowly spun under his feet.
Something’s wrong. He thought of those hair-thin stingers. Had he been poisoned without realizing it?
“Young Master Kang, could it be that those stingers earlier—”
Just then, a thunderous explosion occurred in the distance.
Jae-Hyeok noticed it first, and Elder Gu Suk’s face changed a moment later.
“Darn!”
A great arrow that looked hardly different from a flying steel beam skimmed between the gaps in the trees, headed straight for them.
Elder Gu Suk paled. Of course, of course they were still within the Sky Bow’s range. They’d fought back the dark elves, but the dark elves only had to stall for another round from the Sky Bow. They should have escaped the moment they had the chance.
“Umbrella formation!” Elder Gu Suk ordered, but it was too late.
Guardian’s standard-issue shields were designed to fit together, overlapping at the edges and locking into the ridges that lined the inside of every second man’s shield. They also linked vertically. The umbrella formation leveraged these properties to create a complete defense, a veritable steel dome. However, the formation was proportionally complex and particular about the layering of shields, and therefore required time to construct.
Time the players did not have.
“Hurry, hurry!”
The players at the center of the formation urged their comrades, but it was too late. The steel great arrow’s tip had expanded from a distant dot to a fist-sized arrowhead in the blink of an eye, rotating so fast that it almost seemed still. In seconds, it would tear through the open center of their formation—it would tear through them.
"N-no!”
“It’s over...!”
The players raised their shields and confronted death with gritted teeth.
Just then, Kang Jae-Hyelok, that useless boy who’d only watched with arms crossed since the start, shoved past them.
“Bloom.”
Lifting his scabbard before his chest, Jae-Hyeok partially drew his crimson blade with a plain expression.
The great arrow arrived with a whipping wind and met the flat of Jae-Hyeok’s blade.
Boom.
The players stared with dumb faces.
They had expected to see Jae-Hyeok grow a new hole in his chest. Instead, Jae-Hyeok seemed anchored to the ground, as unshakable as the World Tree on the horizon.
The great arrow spun like a drill against Jae-Hyeok’s blade. Sparks flew, and grass bent under the twisting winds.
As it slowed, a shrill screech pierced the surrounding players' eardrums. They tensed. Was that the arrow, or was that Jae-Hyeok’s sword giving out? They couldn’t tell.
Finally, the great arrow slowed to a wobble, and with a shove, Jae-Hyeok deflected the arrowhead into the ground.
The two players nearest to Jae-Hyeok took several steps toward Jae-Hyeok before staggering with a groan.
The friction put out by the great arrow had heated the air around Jae-Hyeok. Even the grass had visibly browned.
He... stopped that by himself?
At the end, he slapped it aside like it was nothing!
Astonished gazes from all directions fell on Jae-Hyeok.
Some of them knew Jae-Hyeok, others had met Jae-Hyeok for the first time only recently, but none of them would forget that moment.
Ugh. I can’t do that twice, Jae-Hyeok thought as he endured the burning heat radiating from Iyarugt’s hilt.
“Do-Jin.”
“Uh? Ah! Yes!”
The half-dazed Do-Jin approached the great arrow and took off his outer layer, an obsidian trench coat emblazoned with the Kang family crest. It was part of the Kang family’s house uniform.
When Do-Jin stepped back from the great arrow, the trench coat fluttered from the arrow’s shaft like a flag.
It was a declaration that from now on, this land belonged to the Kang family.
“Ohhhh!”
The crowd trembled. Even Gu Suk-Jeong, who didn’t like Jae-Hyeok, felt goosebumps on his skin.
Only one person was unaffected by the mood.
What the heck is he doing?
Jae-Hyeok stared at Do-Jin in a bewildered manner, sweat dripping from his forehead.
I called him over to use Flash Steps.
“Did I make a mistake?” Do-Jin tilted his head.
“Eh, no. You did well.”
As soon as Do-Jin got the chance, he planted the flag of the Kang family. He did well, and in more than one way. Jae-Hyeok beckoned Do-Jin to come closer.
The setup is good.
The unidentified Named monster was firing great arrows at them, each as accurate as the last. They were clearly being watched, so the flag would serve well as a provocation.
Just as Jae-Hyeok thought this, the explosive sound of the Sky Bow firing reached his ears. The great arrow’s steel head briefly twinkled in the sun, and Jae-Hyeok caught its location.
“Do-Jin.”
“Raise another flag? I have no more clothes?”
“...I want to borrow Flash Steps.”
“Ahh, okay.” Do-Jin grabbed Jae-Hyeok’s wrist. “Where do you want to go. In the direction where the arrow came from?”
“No.”
Jae-Hyeok’s gaze turned in the opposite direction from where the Sky Bow was located. Not far from them, two short conifers stood side by side among the tall trees.
“Over there.”
Jaehyuk pointed, and Do-Jin immediately used Flash Steps.
Several moments later, a great arrow struck the land where Jae-Hyeok and Do-Jin had stood.
The ground shook, and the surrounding trees tilted and swayed. But thanks to Elder Gu Suk’s quick response, no one was hurt.
Under his orders, the players had scattered when Jae-Hyeok and Do-Jin disappeared.
But as if they had been waiting for it, the dark elves emerged from the bushes and attacked them.
“Passata Soto.”
“Link Sword Dance.”
“Get lost!”
Da-Hee, Hae-Rin, and Gu Suk-Jeong shouted in unison. They protected the injured and lightened Elder Gu Suk’s burden.
Meanwhile, Jae-Hyeok had already arrived in front of the two conifers. The conifers sensed the danger and bristled, their sharp needles standing up in a desperate attempt to protect themselves. However, it was useless.
Jae-Hyeok’s sword stopped outside the reach of the conifers' needles. Nonetheless, two scythe-like auras manifested on either side of his blade, flying forward and splitting both conifers in two.
Two Scythes Block a Cart.
“Ugh, how disgusting.”
Do-Jin grimaced and clicked his tongue.
The falling needles from the conifers were so thin that they looked like strands of human hair.
[You have destroyed a hidden mechanism of the World Tree Outskirts.]
[The hidden quest, Purification of the Forest, has been partially completed.]
[Your level has risen.]
Good.
The source of the curse was reduced with this. Jae-Hyeok looked satisfied and turned his attention to Do-Jin.
“Can you do it two more times?”
“Do you want me to die... Huh? Wait, what is this hidden quest? I leveled up.”
“If you can do it two more times, you’ll level up even more.”
“I-I will try it at least once.”
Do-Jin activated Flash Steps without pause.
This time, there were three conifers at the place where the boys arrived.
Alus’ dagger flew through the air and destroyed a conifer tree.
Jae-Hyeok armed himself with Heavy Moon and blocked the pouring needles while Do-Jin wielded his greatsword and managed to cut through the remaining two.
[You have destroyed a hidden mechanism of the World Tree Outskirts.]
[The hidden quest, Purification of the Forest, has been partially completed.]
[Your level has risen.]
“I... I feel like I’m really going to die... ”
Do-Jin groaned.
His mind was reaching its limit after moving two players with Flash Steps continuously.
Jae-Hyeok showed no sympathy and prodded Do-Jin like an old horse.
“Come on. One more. One more time!”
“Uhh... ”
Do-Jin struggled to his feet and grabbed Jae-Hyeok’s wrist.
Each time his level increased, his mana and health values were restored. He wouldn’t run out of mana, so now was his best chance to push his mind beyond its limits.
“I-I’m going... ”
That said, if he made a mistake with Flash Steps, it wasn’t just him but also his friends who would die. Under this heavy pressure, Do-Jin prepared to activate his Initial Skill once more.
“Enough!”
Suddenly, a white-haired man appeared, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind.
The proportions of his body were perfect, and his ears were pointed. Most striking were his grey skin and blue eyes that shone deep in his sockets.
It was a dark elf.
It was also Named.
“Worthless, milkless males who cannot even rear children, how dare you!”
“?”
A sharp storm tore through the area.