Chapter 119: How a Veteran Shoots an Arrow (Part 2)

“Let me confirm one last time.”

Jinhyuk spoke up.

“We take turns shooting arrows, and if we both fail, the one who shot closer wins the duel. And there are no other rules, right?”

“Right. That’s it, so stop asking and just shoot already.”

“Don’t rush me. Surely, you aren’t going to do something as petty as trying to disturb my concentration?”

“Damn elf, who do you take me for… I’ll be quiet, so focus as much as you’d like!”

Well, that’s what I was planning on doing.

Jinhyuk nocked an arrow onto the bowstring.

“Whew…!”

He took a short, sharp breath to create intra-abdominal pressure, stabilizing his body.

At that exact moment.

Woosh!

The arrow arched through the air.

For someone who had hardly handled a bow, the shot was pretty good, nearly hitting the fig tree that served as the target.

However, the arrow ultimately stuck near a small island in the center.

It was a miss.

“Pff! Hahaha! Ridiculous. You challenged me with such skill? This is a joke. You’re just pitiful!”

Teslaon burst into insane laughter.

He must’ve felt relieved.

Especially since he had been a bit nervous after witnessing the demonstration of the ‘Sword Devil Emperor’s Gaze’ just moments ago.

“Ugh. I’m really off my game today. Maybe I’m lacking support from the crowd?”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.

“Support from the crowd? Are you going to cling to such pitiful excuses until the very end?”

“No, seriously. The power of support is something else, isn’t it? It’s hard to perform in the unfamiliar environment surrounded by nothing but elves. Maybe I need to call someone on my side, too.”

The roar of an audience can tremendously influence athletes.

There’s a reason why they call it ‘home field advantage.’

“Damn. I’m tired of your endless excuses. Fine. Go ahead, bring your supporter and try again.”

Teslaon, annoyed, allowed another chance.

After all, with the skill Jinhyuk had just shown, it wouldn’t make a difference if he shot a thousand times.

“I won’t refuse.”

Jinhyuk smiled, and opened his subspace inventory.

What came out was an ancient creature with skin as black as obsidian – a sweet potato.

“White mosquito! Yellow mosquito! Tough and tasteless mosquito!”

The sweet potato looked around curiously.

Evidently captivated by the unfamiliar elves, it flicked its short tongue in and out.

But its interest lasted only a moment.

“Good mosquito!”

Soon, the sweet potato lost interest and snuggled into Jinhyuk’s arms.

“That’s right. Come here, my child.”

Indeed, the loyalty of ancient species was not unfounded.

Jinhyuk’s face glowed with pride as he gently scraped under the sweet potato’s chin.

As the sweet potato purred and closed its eyes, the stress from dealing with the annoying elf seemed to wash away.

“…You have a strange pet.”

Teslaon’s eyes narrowed.

Understandably so, since he probably had never seen an ancient creature on the 6th floor.

He probably thought it was some rare reptile at best.

But did he know?

Even the noble elves, who emphasize bloodline and nobility, are nothing but mongrels in front of an ancient species.

“Whew.”

Jinhyuk steadied his breath and took another shot with the arrow.

The arrow soared in an arc, quickly flying through the air.

But the result was the same.

The arrow fell closer to the target than before but still missed.

“Let’s dispense with the excuses this time.”

Teslaon clicked his tongue as if he knew this would happen, then drew his ornate longbow.

Silver, nearly 2 meters long.

Clearly no ordinary item.

Adding to it the unique ability ‘Sure Shot’…

The outcome of this duel seemed all but decided.

Yes.

That should have been correct.

Jinhyuk, however, was smiling.

As if he knew something was about to happen.

‘What’s with that unpleasant smile…?’ Teslaon tilted his head.

The unease clung to him with an unpleasant stickiness, but he quickly shook the feeling off.

Once he released the bowstring, it would be over.

There’d be no variable, no possibility of making a mistake.

But at that moment…

Crack!

Just as Teslaon was about to fire his arrow.

“Mooosquiitoo!”

[Sweet Potato uses Lv1 ‘Roar’!]

A terrible scream echoed and the ancient creature’s Roar resounded throughout the swamp.

The water churned, and the swamp crocodiles froze where they stood.

Even the clouds seemed to split before its overwhelming majesty, as if time itself had stopped.

And of course…

Splash!

Teslaon’s arrow went off course.

“Oh dear, how regrettable. Is our sweet potato hungry because it’s past mealtime? Its cry was quite sonorous, wasn’t it?”

Jinhyuk apologized full-faced, scratching his head.

He then pointed a finger at the sweet potato, which had round, wide eyes.

“Be careful. It’s an important duel. What if you draw the ire of that elf who looks as unpleasant as a parasite over there?”

“Mosquito…”

The sweet potato looked down ruefully. Its gently curled tail expressed its remorse.

It had to be forgiven.

Yes, this is truly pardonable.

“It’s alright. These things happen. Just be careful next time.”

As Jinhyuk nodded, Teslaon, who had been watching, yelled out,

“You, you… you damned coward! Did you bring out that thing to resort to such dirty tricks?”

“Support means there’s a purpose in bolstering one’s own team, but there’s also the purpose of overwhelming the opponent.”

“That’s… That’s not what I meant! I gave you another chance and you repay it like this? Is there no word such as honor or fairness in your vocabulary?”

“Nope, there isn’t.”

“What?”

“Sorry, but unlike the noble elves, I am indeed petty and cunning as a human.”

Sneaky. Slick. Despicable. I can’t work with you ever again, etc.

All those descriptors are, in fact, the highest praises for a veteran.

‘After all, the reason a vet is a vet is because they know how to infuriate their opponent until they just give up.’

In the same vein, exploiting loopholes in the rules and abandoning fairness are also virtues a vet must uphold.

Just like now.

Sure, it’s a bit of a stretch.

But if they wanted to prevent such a stretch beforehand, they should have made the rules more detailed, right?

“La-la-la-lu.”

Jinhyuk hummed a tune, looking into the air.

He had won, so the status window should appear shortly.

Just as he thought, the window appeared.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Sure Shot (AA)’!]

[Sure Shot]

Difficulty of acquisition: AA

Description: Increases understanding of arrows and thrown weapons by 80%. In the case of bows, concentrating for 5 seconds can increase the hit rate to 100%. However, the hit rate may decrease if the same or higher rank unique abilities or skills are involved.

The status window announcing the successful copying of the skill appeared.

No matter how much Teslaon could deny it, the system recognized it, and with that, all objectives were achieved.

‘No, not yet.’

The skill was acquired, but the sight of the elf throwing a tantrum had yet to be seen.

A real victory discussion would be premature with 2% still missing.

Then…

Jinhyuk spoke up.

“Thinking about it, it must feel unfair from your perspective. It wouldn’t be right to end a duel this way, right?”

“That means… Are you offering to duel again?”

A glimmer of hope passed through Teslaon’s eyes.

“However, if you lose again, you have to obey every word I say without a fuss.”

“Of course. I promise I won’t do anything sneaky this time.”

“Don’t worry. Sweet potato will be put back into the subspace inventory.”

“Then let’s proceed as you wish.”

Good.

You said that with your own lips, right?

Jinhyuk reached for the bow once again.

Watching him draw the bow, Teslaon’s heart fluttered.

‘As long as he doesn’t pull any more dirty tricks, I have no reason to lose.’

He thought himself to be a novice of novices when it came to archery.

A mere greenhorn who barely knew how to shoot straight.

But that outcome was too obvious.

There must be something wrong…

Teslaon’s gaze narrowed once more.

Jinhyuk’s form had changed as he held the bow. It was totally different from before.

His natural movements and breathing almost elicited an exclamation of admiration.

The action of drawing the string resonated with perfection in and of itself.

But the surprise didn’t end there.

[Combining the ‘Blood Devil Qi’ skill with the ‘Sure Shot’ skill.]

[The fusion is successful!]

[You have acquired the ‘Crimson Bullet’ skill!]

[Crimson Bullet]

Difficulty of acquisition: AAA

Description: This skill boasts tremendous destructive power and chilling accuracy using black flames. Concentration of 2.5 seconds increases accuracy to 100% and raises understanding of arrows and thrown weapons by 145%.

[The copied ability is stored in the ‘World’s Memory’.]

Only Jinhyuk could see this status window.

Yet, Teslaon somehow knew.

Right in front of him, his opponent had ascended another level.

And at that moment.

Shh.

With a smooth sound.

The arrow disappeared.

A red streak cut across the sky.

Simultaneously.

Boom!

The target, once a tree, shattered into splinters.

＊＊＊

Everyone watching was at a loss for words.

They simply had to be.

The swamp fig was known for its incredible toughness.

Even a weapon imbued with much magic would barely sink into its surface.

But it had been destroyed completely.

One could hardly fathom such a level of archery skill.

Flickering flames!

Around the stump of the tree, a crimson black flame surged.

“I can’t believe it…”

“How does a human have such skill?”

“At this rate, even High Elves of the 1st class couldn’t keep up with him…”

Having pride in their archery,

The high noses of those proud elves were utterly humbled at this moment.

Jinhyuk approached Teslaon with leisurely steps.

He himself must know better than anyone that there was no point in further contest.

The duel had been decided.

“I would’ve liked to preserve your pride a bit, but I thought I’d show you a bit of my power since you wouldn’t let up.”

“…”

“Don’t be too despondent. You just chose the wrong comparison. It wouldn’t have mattered who came; the result would’ve been the same.”

Jinhyuk rubbed it in.

Usually, the real sting of defeat comes from being unable to let go.

But of course.

The icing on the cake includes bringing up a penalty.

“Oh! Speaking of penalties.”

Jinhyuk mentioned the awaited penalty with a sly smile.