Chapter 48
“Damn... I'm really pressed for time. When is it getting here?”
Han Tae-gyeong nervously shook his leg, glaring alternately at his smartphone screen and the access road.
This was the entrance to the road leading to the isolation zone deep in Jirisan.
The spirits that had begun multiplying had formed a massive horde, and the Bureau had commissioned a large-scale exorcism operation here.
Among the many teams deployed for that purge was an exorcism team considered elite among unaffiliated sorcerers.
「Yuseong Unit」 was among them.
A powerful team led by a first-rank sorcerer serving as its captain, with second-rank aces stationed throughout its ranks.
Everyone was preparing for the full-scale deployment, tending to their ritual implements and talismans.
And Han Tae-gyeong was in one corner of that team.
“Hey, Han Tae-gyeong. What are you doing?”
Tick, ting―!
A man called out to Tae-gyeong as he irritably flicked open and shut the lid of a Zippo lighter.
Kang Hyeon-seok.
He was one of the more successful second-rank sorcerers on the team.
“Phew….”
He exhaled a long plume of smoke, then tossed the cigarette on the ground and ground it out irritably.
"Hyung, let's just go in without him. He's only going to be a burden. How long are we supposed to wait?"
At that, the captain of the Yuseong Unit pinched the bridge of his nose, looking troubled.
"Tae-gyeong. We have to go in soon. Aren't you ready yet?"
"Ah…… yes. I heard the quick delivery is almost here. Sorry."
Han Tae-gyeong kept bowing his head.
He heard the team members whispering.
“…Why? Isn't it about time we went in?”
"Tae-gyeong says he's waiting for something."
"Ah…."
"What's an archer got so much to bring?"
“Let's wait for him. Maybe he ordered some arrows.”
“…….”
*
Originally, Tae-gyeong had dreamed of becoming an Olympic archer like his younger brother Si-woo.
But he only found out after entering that world.
That talent came in different levels, and this was a place where anything short of being the best had no meaning.
When he realized that even his much younger little brother had surpassed him.
'Ah. This isn't going to work.'
Just as he was about to put down his bow, his spiritual sight awakened.
'Well, I didn't have the nerve to study anyway. So this worked out. They pay a ton, too, right?'
After entering the world of sorcery, he naturally chose a bow as his weapon for fighting spirits.
He was confident in one thing, at least: the bow.
Perhaps he had a talent for sorcery after all, because he shot up the popularity rankings in a flash.
At first, he felt as though he had the whole world in his hands.
Ah, this is easy. So easy.
‘Is this my talent? Even I scare myself~’
If he kept going like this, it seemed he could achieve here the dream he had failed to achieve in archery.
But reality was not so easy.
When people thought of archers, they generally pictured key damage dealers raining down spectacular burst damage from the rear.
But that was only possible in games.
In real life, arrows did not endlessly appear out of nowhere.
Nor did they automatically fly around allies.
And as he rose higher, Tae-gyeong had to feel it painfully.
That he was gradually becoming useless.
Although he moved to increasingly larger agencies and eventually joined the Yuseong Unit, composed only of top sorcerers, before he knew it he was becoming an outsider among his teammates.
It went like this.
A chaotic melee with dozens of them tangled together, making it impossible to see even a step ahead.
Even amid that pandemonium, Tae-gyeong watched for an opening and drove one arrow in with perfect accuracy.
Ping― Thunk!
[Kieeek!]
The spirit's head was pierced in one shot.
"Hey, fuck! You did that on purpose, didn't you? I almost got hit just now."
"……That's not what happened."
It seemed the arrow had narrowly grazed the ear of a teammate who had hurriedly cut across its path.
‘If I hadn't shot, he would've been hit.’
…That was always how it went when a melee broke out.
He couldn't shoot freely for fear of hitting an ally with an arrow.
And when a spirit got close, someone had to stick beside him and guard him.
Because reloading was slow, and he was at a disadvantage in close combat.
"Hey... just stay in the back and shoot the ones trying to run away."
The bow itself had always been an unconventional weapon in the world of sorcery.
You had to carry arrows around, and the bow itself was bulky, which hurt mobility.
Ordinary arrows couldn't hit spirits, so he had to use special arrows designed to hold spiritual power, and they were damn expensive.
Because every one of them was a ritual implement made by a master craftsman.
Money poured out in chunks every time he fired a shot.
So he gradually became reduced to hitting the ones fleeing far away.
[Wow, did you see the Yuseong Unit's commission payout this time? I heard it was 3 billion won.]
└ Damn... that's insane.
[The person most enviable right now: Han Tae-gyeong]
└ He joined the Yuseong Unit right at his ranking peak, then didn't do anything.
└ Why? He's cool. An archer. Isn't that romantic?
└ Romantic, my ass. I saw him from a distance last time, and he didn't do a thing.
└ For real, all he does is pick up arrows lol
"……."
…Yeah.
It was all true, so he couldn't refute it.
The popularity ranking he'd reached when he first became a second-rank sorcerer was now steadily falling.
As his contribution to the team dwindled, he was constantly watching everyone else's reactions.
……But.
‘Today will be different.’
*
When Do-hyeon's ritual implements were put up for auction.
At first, Tae-gyeong wasn't sure what to make of it.
An E-rank... and it was a bow?
‘Tsk, is there ever going to be another E-rank ritual implement bow released?’
Honestly, he had felt tempted to buy it.
But.
"Fuck……."
The price had already risen beyond his entire life savings.
“Damn…… how can one bow cost…….”
Just as he was about to give up, clicking his tongue, the Manbogak auction was canceled and the item was put up on Gyeongseong Auction, a general auction site.
Then the top-class sorcerer No Jin-hyeok uploaded a video certifying the necklace's performance.
And the moment he heard that even the clan was moving to buy the item, he made up his mind.
‘I have to buy this, no matter what.’
This was his chance.
His entire fortune? Throw it all in.
His house? He could sell it.
“What? You want an advance?”
A massive agency that had organized the Yuseong Unit, and wielded considerable clout in the sorcery world.
Its president looked at Tae-gyeong with an unenthusiastic expression.
“Have you been gambling lately?”
“No.”
“You know... you have the lowest contribution on the team right now, right?”
“I know. Please trust me just this once. I’ll take every job that comes in personally, too. That advertisement you mentioned? I’ll do that as well.”
‘Well, this is a surprise. The bastard president is actually giving me an advance…’
He needed to put down a deposit of that size to participate in the bidding.
Then next...
Dokkaebi Bank.
It called itself a bank, but it was practically half loan shark.
In the world of sorcery, limits on loan interest rates?
There was no such thing.
“Oh my~ Mr. Han Tae-gyeong of the Yuseong Unit! A big name like you coming here in person!”
And so, he loaded up every last bit of ammunition he could scrape together.
[Gyeongseong Auction]
We have confirmed receipt of your deposit.
You may participate in the bidding from this moment onward.
“Shala shala.”
At the time, Tae-gyeong was overseas, working through the awful foreign schedule the president had promised him.
"It's so hot I could die. I said the air conditioner in the room isn't working—what are you talking about?"
The muggy air made his shirt cling damply to his back.
"Please…… please, don't crash on me, Internet……."
Still, the good thing was that the Internet here was fast.
Please, please…….
“Yes!”
It let him in.
He had been unable to access the site no matter how many times he tried because of the flood of users, but after countless attempts, he finally managed to connect.
Fuck...
His heart pounded.
He checked the price.
It had already shot up to a crazy level.
'How much should I bid……?'
The clans were throwing money at it with everything they had; if he just sat here testing the waters, he would definitely lose it.
And there was no guarantee he'd be able to access the site again.
It had taken him weeks just to break through the access surge.
Then.
Beside the bid price, one button caught his eye.
[Buy It Now]
The button that ended the competition and everything else right there the moment you pressed it.
In exchange, it was absurdly more expensive than the current price.
As he didn't know how high the price had risen, the money he'd scraped together and deposited was just about the right amount.
His legs trembled.
“Damn it, whatever!”
Click.
Ding.
[You have won the bid.]
“…….”
He bought it.
He had bought it, but.
How many years was he going to spend paying off this debt?
*
Buried under debt, his return home was delayed as he worked through the schedules the president threw at him.
And as soon as he returned, he tried to receive the item, but.
Oh no.
“What? You’re saying it didn’t come to the agency?!”
…What?
He had definitely arranged to receive it at the agency—
Ah.
Only then did he remember.
At first, because he had sold his house and had nowhere suitable to receive it, he had entered his family home’s address.
And he had meant to change it to the agency address later.
…But the overseas schedule had been so hectic that he had completely forgotten.
On top of that, Tae-gyeong had been sent straight from the airport into this Jirisan operation, so he hadn't even had time to stop by home.
So he had asked his younger brother Si-woo to send it over by quick delivery.
"Ha…… that bastard. That thing really……."
Kang Hyeon-seok grumbled irritably.
The captain received a radio call.
The Bureau had ordered them to stop waiting and enter now.
Damn... what should he do?
It was right then.
Vrrrroooom.
A motorcycle broke through the entrance road to Jirisan, kicking up clouds of dust.
Tae-gyeong came running over breathlessly and accepted the package from the delivery driver.
A long, black leather case.
"We waited all this time because of that one thing?"
Kang Hyeon-seok looked at him incredulously.
"A bow is a bow. Sigh, forget it. Let's go now."
…Yeah. Go ahead and underestimate it to your heart's content.
Once we go in, you'll see.
.
.
*
Inside the Jirisan isolation zone.
Beneath a gray sky hanging low.
Black spirits were pouring endlessly from between the trees.
[Kieeeeeeek―!]
"Hyeon-seok! How much spiritual power do you have left!"
"…I'm almost out!"
Kang Hyeon-seok drew up spiritual power until his cheeks looked ready to burst.
Snap―
When he snapped his fingers, a small dokkaebi fire rose above them.
Soon, he violently expelled the spiritual power it had absorbed.
Fwoosh―
The flames spewed from his mouth swallowed the entire horde of spirits charging at them.
When they were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, Kang Hyeon-seok usually handled the brunt of it.
But today there were simply too many, no matter how much he did.
"……Hey, use those Hellfire Talismans sparingly! We'll run out at this rate!"
The other team members kept hurling Hellfire Talismans, but there was no end in sight.
"Graaagh!"
"Don't retreat! Maintain formation!"
The front line was gradually being pushed back.
Kang Hyeon-seok, who had fallen back briefly to replenish his spiritual power, chewed a spirit pill and looked back at Tae-gyeong.
“Hey, Han Tae-gyeong. Save your arrows on a day like today. Got it?”
"……."
"This is a battle of attrition. Don't waste them on anything pointless. Only shoot when it's genuinely dangerous."
Normally, he would have been lurking in the back and aiming only at the ones trying to flee.
But.
Click.
Tae-gyeong opened the case strapped to his back.
And took out a bow.
'…Light.'
A sleek black bow with a yellow spirit stone set in the center of its grip.
Swish.
The instant Tae-gyeong adjusted his grip, the bow snugly wrapped itself around his palm.
Is this E-rank...?
'…The grip feels insane. Seriously.'
Tae-gyeong slowly walked forward.
"Hey, how many arrows did you bring?"
Tae-gyeong did not answer.
"Hey, Han Tae-gyeong, can't you hear me? Where are you going!"
But his back was bare.
“What the hell! Why didn't you bring any arrows?”
Tae-gyeong moved toward the side of the team members standing ahead of him.
"Please step aside for a moment."
"……?"
Here goes.
He drew the bow.
Crack―
He loved the way it snugly fit his hand.
It took almost no strength.
Tae-gyeong infused the spirit stone in the grip with spiritual power.
Spiritual power was sucked in at a maddening rate.
The spirit stone emitted a yellow light.
Cracklecrackle―
Blue flames crackled and bloomed along the drawn bowstring.
And they gradually coalesced into the shape of an arrow.
"You bastard. Are you crazy? You're not falling back…… huh?"
"……!"
Tae-gyeong already knew, in fact.
He had memorized the manual and handling precautions the auction house had emailed him.
Even so, seeing it with his own eyes.
It's real. It's really real.
‘…This is insane. Seriously.’
A bow that didn't need arrows.
And it shot lightning?
‘This is fucking cool….’
An arrow had appeared before his eyes. Then, as an archer, there was only one thing he had to do.
‘Yeah, fuck! This is what makes taking out a loan shark loan and throwing in my entire fortune worth it!!!’
Tae-gyeong released the bowstring without hesitation.
Whoooosh―
A vivid blue bolt of lightning shot straight forward.
Crackle― Boom.
[Kieeeeeeek―]
It pierced straight through the center of the charging horde of spirits.
Dozens of spirits turned to ash and vanished at once.
“W-What is that?!”
“Was that Han Tae-gyeong who just fired it?”
Tae-gyeong did not stop.
Now he didn't need to take out arrows.
They loaded the moment he drew.
Tatatatak―
Draw, release.
Draw, release.
Boom! Bang! Kwoooang―!
Cracklecrackle.
The more he shot.
This was insane.
Insane...!
It was beyond anything he had imagined.
When he gathered spiritual power and drew, lightning coalesced at his fingertips.
Every time he fired, spirits turned to ash and scattered.
No need to carry a quiver on his back.
No time spent reloading.
No need to count how many arrows remained.
…None of the reasons that had made bows so outdated remained in the face of this bow.
.
.
*
Shrrr―
The barrier began descending from far away.
The exorcism mission in the isolation zone, initially expected to take a week, had ended far ahead of schedule.
‘It was worth going into debt…. It really was……!’
This is seriously insane.
Wow, this thing is fucking amazing.
The craftsman who made this is a fucking madman.
I've never seen a weapon like this.
‘Why did you only come now? Oh, you're so damn adorable.’
No matter how much he had paid, it would not have felt wasteful.
Because with this guy, he felt he could earn as much as he wanted.
Only now did it truly sink in.
‘The fact that I’m the owner of an E-rank ritual implement.’
‘Wahaha….… Fuck.’
It was then, as Tae-gyeong grinned foolishly and carefully stroked the bow.
Bzzzing― Bzzzing―
His phone rang in his pocket.
It was an unknown number.
“Hello?”
―Ah, hello! Are you perhaps the person who won the ‘Bow of Lightning’ at Gyeongseong Auction this time?
“Uh…… yes, that's me. Who is this?”
―Ah! I’m Seo Ji-an, Master Craftsman Do of the Cheonsan Sect’s exclusive broker!
“What?! Do-hwang! No… you mean Master Craftsman Do?”
―Yes! I’m calling about after-sales service for the item you won this time! Master Craftsman Do would like to meet you sometime. Would that be possible?
Could he meet the person who had personally created this insane item?
"I-I can go! Of course I can! I have to!"