Later
"Seriously. Did you do that on purpose? Just to get me to kill her?"
"What's that? By the way, you really went all out, didn't you? I never imagined you'd go this far…"
"Disappointed? Hmm~. No way, right? I was just surprised to see a different side of you all of a sudden. I told you, didn't I? You laughed for the first time since you started this adventure."
"My honest feelings? Haha… Alright. To be honest, I'm kind of turned on. No, really turned on."
"As expected. You're not just some kind-hearted guy full of bravado, are you?"
"What are you gonna do about it? No way I'm sleeping tonight. You're the only one having all the fun."
"I told you I'm turned on. Are you gonna keep making a lady say embarrassing things?"
"If you don't believe me, why don't you feel my underwear? It's so wet it's practically soaked right now."
*
In front of me were two people: one mage player and one axe warrior player. Despite the sudden charge, the mage stepped back while the axe warrior moved to block the front, suggesting they weren't complete idiots.
"Shield."
At that moment, a husky voice chanted, and a translucent barrier formed around the warrior player's body. I had been confident I could reach them before the spell was cast, but this was unexpected. It seemed the mage had mastered rapid chanting, like Jung Ha-Yeong.
"Hraaah!"
If my sword had been enchanted with a Cutting Force spell, it could've been countered by the same magical effect of the shield. The axe warrior, trusting the mage's shield, completely ignored defense and raised the axe with full force. The problem was, my sword was just an ordinary iron blade, and instead of a Cutting Force spell, it was imbued with the Authority of a Sword Specialist.
Before the warrior could swing the axe, I used the Spatial Displacement technique to kick off the ground again. Seeing me close the distance rapidly, the axe warrior's eyes widened, but he seemed to respond by putting even more strength into the swing.
As I entered point-blank range, I felt the cold blade of the axe descending from above. At the same time, the tip of my sword touched the shield spell. The warrior let out a triumphant laugh as he brought the axe down. And then…
Crack! Shatter!
The sword I thrust tore through the shield spell and plunged forward. The warrior's eyes filled with shock, as if he couldn't believe the shield had been broken. That was the last expression he wore in life. The tip of my sword cleanly pierced through his throat.
"Gurgle. Gurgh."
Blood frothed from the axe warrior's mouth as his body convulsed. The axe, which had been swinging down as if to cleave me in two, lost its trajectory and buried itself uselessly into the ground.
"Holy Strike! You bastard, die!"
Before the axe warrior's body could even collapse, a heavy whoosh cut through the air from behind. I glanced back to see a mace glowing with white light and the snarling, rugged face of a battle priest.
These guys were definitely vagrants. Aside from Kim Seung-Beom initially, the other players showed no signs of distress when their comrade died. Instead, they focused solely on exploiting openings to take me down. But my Agility stat was something I specialized in, both in my first life and now in my second. Even if they struck first, Agility allowed me to turn the tables effortlessly. I swiftly raised my sword horizontally and spun my body with force.
Thud.
The vivid sensation of slicing through soft flesh and hard bone traveled up the blade. The upper half of the priest, his chest cleaved in two, fell to the ground with a look of disbelief. My Agility stat was nearly maxed out at 98. Unless a close-range fighter drastically boosted their speed, closed the distance, caught me off-guard, or attacked from multiple angles, no player could realistically steal the initiative from me.
With this, I had taken down five of them, including Choi Joo-Hyun. Only two vagrants remained: the mage with the sinister voice and the hooded female archer. Less than 30 seconds into the real fight, I had already eliminated over half their numbers. Deciding to deal with the nearby mage first, I turned my body.
"───. ───. ───."
The mage had already put more distance between us. He was sweating, both hands forming intricate seals, clearly preparing some powerful spell. I wasn't particularly afraid, but I had no interest in getting blindsided by playing it cocky. Just as I prepared to close the gap with another Spatial Displacement, the mage's eyes snapped open. This is why I hate mages who've mastered rapid chanting.
"Flame Spear! Rapid Fire!"
As the incantation was uttered, a blazing, spear-shaped flame spell surged toward me. One, two, three, four, five, six shots. Oh? So he's mastered magical circuit applications too. No wonder he looked like the leader. I let out a short sound of admiration, raised my sword to block—but then lowered it again. There was something I wanted to test.
Maybe he noticed I'd given up on defense, because I saw him burst into maniacal laughter.
"Bwahahaha! That's right, give up! Just die already!"
At the same time, a message appeared in the air.
『Blessing of the War (Rank: EX) has been activated.』
Boom! Boom!
The Flame Spears exploded against my body with a thunderous roar. Thick smoke burst out from all around, and sparks flying off the blasts scorched the nearby grass black. If I recall correctly from the Third Eye earlier, his magic stat was exactly 90? Or was it 89? Either way, I could feel the heavy shock rattling through my body.
"Kehehehe… finally got him. That hit dead-on. An So-Yeon! Go in and check for me, will you? Hahaha!"
How happy he sounded. I couldn't stand hearing that laugh anymore, so I stepped forward. As I emerged from the thick smoke, the mage's delighted laughter abruptly cut off. And then, multiple messages began to appear in the air.
『Luck stat: 88… triggers damage reduction. Blessing of the War confirmed as EX rank. Elevating to partial defense. Magic stat: 96 confirmed. Lack of anti-magic traits reduces negative effects. Fire-type magic detected. Fire element resonance within the body confirmed. Elevating to full defense.』
As expected. He was probably seeing the message "Full Defense Activated. No damage dealt." right about now. Just as I figured, the mage stood there blankly staring into the air, before he finally stammered out in disbelief:
"Wh-what the fuck? F-Full Defense? Bullshit! That's insane! How does a year 0 newbie have anti-magic power?! Even if you did have it—wh… whoa, no, don't come any closer! Aaaaaaah!"
"It's not anti-magic."
I replied calmly and began walking toward him at a steady pace. The mage staggered back like he'd seen a ghost, but he was still too shaken—he got caught in no time. As he stared at me with his mouth agape and eyes blank, I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up with ease.
"Uhh… bluh…"
"What was it again? Raping kids in front of people? Dismembering someone alive? Oh yeah. An So-Yeon, was it? Lower your bow. If you release even one arrow, I'll tear your arm off like I did to the last guy. Stay quiet and I'll make sure your death is quick."
I didn't even turn around as I said it, but I could feel the woman archer instinctively flinch and step back. I raised my sword to slice the bastard's neck clean off—but then a better idea flashed through my mind. Instead, I swung toward his both arms.
It was like cutting through a rotten log. His arms flew off in a spray of blood, flopping to the ground like chunks of meat.
"HAAAGH! HAAAAAAGH!!"
The mage let out a raspy scream, shaking his head frantically. Now that's better. Earlier, when he was acting all smug and cocky—he was really hard to look at. I cleanly sliced off his remaining legs, then let go of his collar. Amidst the limbs scattered across the ground, only his torso remained, his face twisted in agony.
"Aaaaagh! AAAAAAGH! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! AAAAAAGH!"
"'The whiny priestess? She's mine.' 'The foul-mouthed one? Also mine.' You were wondering what kind of screams they'd make?"
Of course, he wasn't the one who said those exact words. But he was the one who got that disgusting talk started. That alone was enough. It rubbed me the wrong way. I raised those girls with care, through blood and sweat. The thought of them being reduced to that kind of filth—yeah, it pissed me off. I lifted my foot and crushed his lips under my heel. Maybe I put too much emotion into it, because I could feel the crunch—teeth snapping like twigs.
"Gggguh! Ughhhh (kill me)! Ngghhh (I'm sorry)! Ughhhhhh (please kill meeee)!"
As he wailed like a child, some of the pressure in my chest finally started to ease.
Then it happened.
A sharp, deadly intent prickled at my back—like I was about to be stung. I sighed and spoke quietly.
"I told you not to shoot that bow, didn't I… huh?"
Whiiing!
"Kugh!"
The arrow she fired flew right past me and pierced the screaming mage's throat with perfect precision.
So, she hadn't been aiming at me from the start.
A bit disappointed—and honestly a little dumbfounded—I slowly turned my body around.
There she was.
At some point, she had pulled down her hood, revealing a cute girl, aiming her bow straight at me with fierce eyes.
She didn't look like an adult. Her face was still round with baby fat, and she gave off a distinctly youthful vibe. Then again, not everyone in the Hall Plain was an adult. But for someone that young to be running with a group of vagrants… that meant she had guts—and likely, serious skill.
My curiosity piqued, I spoke to her gently, my voice soft.
"Hey, kid. Put the bow down."
"..."
No response.
Instead, the only answer was the growing fury in her eyes as she pulled the bowstring tighter. I watched as a considerable amount of magic began to swirl around her, gathering into the arrow nocked in her bow. The shaft started to flicker with a yellow glow.
I let out a dry chuckle and instinctively raised my sword.
That power—no doubt about it.
"Fine Sight."
Her youthful voice rang in my ears just as the yellow light focused into a perfect sphere at the tip of the arrowhead.
And then, with a voice full of rage, An So-Yeon let the string fly.
"Collapse Arrow!"
I quickly summoned my mana and locked eyes on the incoming arrow, precisely calculating the point of contact between the arrowhead and my blade. I never imagined I'd come across Pasa (Arrow of Dispelling)—one of the unique nullification abilities of the archer class—here of all places. And she'd focused all that power into a single point using Fine Sight.
Back in my first life, if I had taken even a glancing hit from that arrow… my entire body would've been torn apart on the spot.
Crack. Craaaack.
"Hhng!"
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
The arrowhead collided with the tip of my sword, and the clash sent out an ear splitting screech of metal that echoed across the open field. The air itself felt like it was being shredded apart.
I was beginning to understand why she hadn't joined the fight until now. Regular arrows couldn't harm me—and using Collapse Arrow recklessly could've easily dragged her allies into the blast. Maybe she still felt guilty about accidentally (well, not really accidentally) getting the priest killed earlier. Either way, it wasn't behavior you'd expect from a typical vagrant.
The important thing was, this wasn't enough to actually threaten my life. Not unless I just stood there and let her shoot me in the back of the head. The arrow that had initially lunged at me like it would erase everything met the mana-infused edge of my sword, and little by little, its force was drained. Finally, with a sound like a firecracker popping, I sliced it clean in two.
As the broken arrow halves dropped harmlessly to the ground, I saw An So-Yeon collapse to her knees, her legs trembling. She probably couldn't believe what had just happened—especially since she'd clearly poured everything she had into that one shot.
Curious, I decided to take a closer look.
I activated the Third Eye.
Her stats were average overall, but this time, I intended to inspect her in far greater detail.
< Player Status >
Name: An So-Yeon (Year 3)
Class: Normal Archer Expert
Nation: Babara
Clan: Middle Path
True Name · Origin: Pasa – The One Granted the Fifth Wing · Republic of Korea
Sex: Female (18)
Height · Weight: 165.8 cm · 47.2 kg
Alignment: Neutral · Wander
[Strength 64] [Resistance 62] [Agility 88] [Vitality 70] [Magic 78] [Luck 82]
< Achievements (0) >
< Unique Ability (1/1) >
Collapse Arrow (Rank: B Zero)
< Special Ability (1/1) >
Fine Sight (Rank: A Zero)
< Potential Abilities (3/3) >
Insight (Rank: B +)
Tracking Technique (Rank: A Zero)
Clairvoyance (Rank: C Zero)
Her Strength and Resistance were a bit lacking, but as an archer, she could easily make up for it with her high Agility. More importantly, her class, special ability, and potential skills were in excellent harmony. The rank of her Collapse Arrow was a bit of a letdown—but still, the fact that she had a unique ability at all was significant.
In any case, if she was in her third year, that meant she entered the Hall Plain at just fifteen. A girl, surviving that long at such a young age… It meant she had her reasons. Her stats weren't anything mind-blowing on their own, but looking at the complete picture, she definitely wasn't some random common player—not by a long shot.
I whistled softly as I began to walk toward her.
Gone was the confident fire from earlier. Now, An So-Yeon was dragging herself backward, her face pale with fear, pressing her hands against the ground as if trying to escape.
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