Chapter 163
They had encountered Krellon while trying to escape Gishi.
During that time, Elder Song had thought everything was over. He felt sorry for Butler Hwang, who came to save him, and for the kids who were about to die young.
Then, the blue-haired girl in front of him blocked Krellon’s surprise attack. She’d brushed against death without hesitation, and the time she bought allowed Elder Song to use the dragon harpoon and open a path to survival.
Her talent must be extraordinary to respond to the ambush of an S-class player.
Since that day, Elder Song had been very interested in Jang Yeon-Ju.
That was how blacksmiths were—they took an interest in players and gained inspiration from them. And the more exceptional the player, the more they could break the blacksmith’s prejudices and expand their thinking.
In that sense, Elder Song’s greatest inspiration was the Yaksha.
He was a truly invaluable person who brought out the full potential and power of the weapons Elder Song made, allowing him to realize his ideals and inspiring him to have even greater dreams.
“The granddaughter of the Bow Saint?”
After Butler Hwang had explained about Jang Yeon-Ju, Elder Song had decided to take Jang Yeon-Ju as his new inspiration.
From mentality to skill, the more Elder Song researched Jang Yeon-Ju and her ancestry, the more impressed he was. Then, he’d remembered the records left by his ancestors.
-The second wife has a bird’s eye vision, like a hawk in the sky. She never needs to look for a point to aim for.Since there is no need to make a notch in the bow like a recurve bow, I should make a bow with a structure that focuses on maximizing the power.
Elder Song later found in other records that this “second wife” was the Bow Saint who’d lived during the same era as the founder of the Kang family.
The reason why the Bow Saint of the past was called Second Wife was never revealed, but that wasn’t an important issue. In all his reading, Elder Song had become convinced of one thing: this second wife’s talent was much better than the present-day Bow Saint’s. Multiple records compared her innate talent to that of a bird's or satellite’s view.
It was a tremendously useful talent for any ranged class.
At the same time, Elder Song had a vague suspicion. If Jang Yeon-Ju shared the same talent as the second wife, it explained why she was evaluated as having no talent in archery despite having trained with bows since childhood.
If Jang Yeon-Ju has the same vision as that old-era Bow Saint, normal archery would be like a poison to her...
It wasn’t much to go on, but Elder Song trusted his intuition when it came to players and made the crossbow based on his assumption.
The biggest advantage of his crossbow was that it was sensitive to mana and would fire immediately upon infusion. However, it was designed to be worn on the wrist, so aiming it was difficult. Yet as expected, Jang Yeon-Ju’s talent nullified that disadvantage.
Roh Jun-Yeop, who had been at a loss for words, finally spoke, “What was that just now? It was too exquisite to be considered a coincidence.”
He almost couldn’t believe what he’d just seen; the moment the target appeared, the arrow fired by Jang Yeon-Ju flew off in the wrong direction before rebounding off a shield that was mounted on the wall and accurately striking the steel target.
From start to finish, the arrow's path cleanly circumvented all the obstacles between Jang Yeon-Ju and the target.
The ability to reflect an arrow or bullet off an object to hit a target from an unexpected angle was an advanced technique. Roh Jun-Yeop had succeeded in doing it several times during practice sessions, but never in actual combat; too many calculations were required in the heat of the moment. Yet, where he needed time, Jang Yeon-Ju had actually fired an arrow as soon as the target appeared and struck true with a ricochet.
Roh Jun-Yeop’s eyelashes trembled as he demanded answers from Jang Yeon-Ju.
When he’d first joined the Shooting Club, Roh Jun-Yeop had been guarded against Jang Yeon-Ju. After all, he dreamed of becoming the next Bow Saint, and this was the Bow Saint’s granddaughter, who clearly shared the same ambition. At first, he’d felt nervous and competitive. Of course, that was until he’d seen with his own eyes how poor Jang Yeon-Ju’s archery was.
But now... old feelings came flooding back to Roh Jun-Yeop after witnessing Jang Yeon-Ju achieve a feat that was impossible for him.
“It can’t be your ability... Did you get an amazing artifact?”
Roh Jun-Yeop’s tone was as sharp as a thorn.
After all of his hard work, Roh Jun-Yeop couldn’t accept that Jang Yeon-Ju could so easily threaten his dream of becoming the Bow Saint.
Jang Yeon-Ju watched Roh Jun-Yeop without a word. Had it been in the past, she probably would’ve snapped back or gloated. But their relationship was different now. Since meeting Kang Jae-Hyeok, they had fought side by side and experienced numerous ups and downs. There was a camaraderie there... No, more than camaraderie; they’d even studied and read together. Roh Jun-Yeop was her friend.
Rather than anger, Jang Yeon-Ju studied the fear and frustration that chased across Roh Jun-Yeop’s face, a silent understanding in her eyes.
“You... ”
Her calm reaction made Roh Jun-Yeop feel ashamed.
Elder Song said, “Hers is just an ordinary crossbow. The great bow I gave you is the one that deserves to be called an artifact. It’s as I said; this young lady’s talent is real. She just proved it! She is definitely the one closest to becoming the next Bow Saint.”
Elder Song looked at Jang Yeon-Ju as if she were a legendary treasure and let out a hearty laugh, oblivious to the undercurrents between the two kids.
“That wasn’t just a lucky shot? Let me try! Gimme!”
Only Do-Jin seemed more excited than Elder Song.
The red-haired boy snatched the crossbow from Jang Yeon-Ju and aimed at a shield that was resting at an angle on a shelf.
Hmm. If I hit that, the arrow should go there, then there, and then fly over to the target...
In Do-Jin’s imagination, a series of random equations and a dotted line representing the arrow's flight path bounced around the room before terminating on the steel target.
“Go!”
Do-Jin fired. The arrow flew out, hit the shield, and—
Clattered to the floor...
For a moment, Do-Jin stared at the small scratch left on the shield. Then he blushed and stomped his feet.
"No way! Yeon-Ju, how did you do it?”
“Move.” Roh Jun-Yeop snatched the crossbow from Do-Jin’s hand.
Bang!
The arrow he shot produced the same result as the arrow shot by Jang Yeon-Ju. It hit the shield and changed its path, avoiding all obstacles and hitting the target.
“M-me too! Teach me!”
Roh Jun-Yeop pushed away Do-Jin’s face and glared at Jang Yeon-Ju.
“Let me get this straight: you actually have the talent to pull off this technique without training, and you only learned about this now. Is that right?”
“Yeah... ”
Jang Yeon-Ju smiled bitterly. She was the one most surprised. She’d always thought her perception of the surrounding terrain and obstacles was a curse rather than a gift. She’d thought her inability to focus only on the target reflected a weak mind with poor concentration.
“What a fool... ” Roh Jun-Yeop’s heart gradually calmed down as he looked at Jang Yeon-Ju. His feelings of embarrassment, fear, and frustration started to dissipate.
Come to think of it, this definitely isn’t a good ability.
A great archer wasn’t about flashy trick shots. It was about shooting a definite goal with a single arrow. Jang Yeon-Ju’s talent for taking in a large amount of information at once and making calculations in an instant seemed to be a strength, but it was actually a weakness in many ways.
She would get tired many times faster than others, which meant she wasn’t suitable for sniper missions or prolonged battles that required her to concentrate for a long time.
In other words, he still had a chance...
“Impressive, but don’t get cocky. I won’t easily give up the title of the next Bow Saint to you.”
“Yeah, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
Jang Yeon-Ju shrugged, looked away, and threw a new lollipop in her mouth. It was root-beer flavored, a nice distraction from her sensitive feelings.
“Also...” Elder Song looked at Jae-Hyeok. “I also prepared something for you.”
Jae-Hyeok had entrusted Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop with the commission to save him. Naturally, Elder Song was grateful. Moreover, he was the son of the Yaksha, the master of Iyarugt, and the one to whom Elder Song had made a vow.
-From now on, I will forge iron for you.
“Here it is.”
Elder Song pulled back a cloth to reveal a hwando.
The hwando was the symbol of the Kang family, but this one was different from the ordinary ones his family used.
The biggest difference was that the hilt was quite long.
“It is said you are one of the top students of Lion’s Castle, right? As the child chosen by Iyarugt, I think your swordsmanship talent must be quite outstanding. Just like Dae-Guk... Just like your father, you must have a deep understanding of your family’s techniques.”
Jae-Hyeok picked up the hwando and felt a thrill. The sword’s hilt fit perfectly in his hand and seemed to naturally guide him toward the realm of harmony between the sword and body.
It is as if the sword and my body have become one.
He smiled slightly as he swung his new sword.
The long hilt gave him a tremendous sense of freedom, and he had great fun adjusting his grip; high, middle, low, orthodox, reverse—his standard sword techniques took on different attributes and angles depending on the leverage of his grip.
Using this sword felt like having wings on his back. Jae-Hyeok felt like he could do anything.
I can’t wait to try it out in actual combat. Jae-Hyeok’s eyes flashed with killing intent. To him, actual combat meant killing monsters or enemies.
Isn’t this bloodthirst even greater than Dae-Guk’s?
Elder Song was startled by the pressure coming from Jae-Hyeok. He blinked his eyes into focus, but the aura around Jae-Hyeok was already gone, as if it had never been. Elder Song gulped. Then, he chuckled.
No, impossible. I must’ve seen it wrong.
How could someone with a greater bloodlust than the Yaksha’s have so many friends? Not to mention, Jae-Hyeok’s combat experience was far below the Yaksha’s, so there was no way his killing intent should compare.
Elder Song was pulled from his thoughts when a thunderous shout came from the gate beyond the gardens.
“Open the door! Kang family, come greet your guests!”
The person claimed to be a guest, but the ferocity in their voice made it clear that, whoever it was, they hadn’t come with good intentions.
“Guardian... ” Hae-Rin whispered.
Jae-Hyeok glanced questioningly at Hae-Rin. Hae-Rin had been silent all day like a cat basking in the sun, but now she looked anxious.
It seemed the Guardian Guild, one of the five major guilds in South Korea, was at his front door.