episode_0080

80. Spider-Man.

“Damn it! Pick up the speed!”

“Shut your mouth! This is the max! Just don’t move!”

The man who had been spewing curses at the driver turned around. In the man’s left hand was a longbow, and at his waist was a quiver. The arrows filling the quiver were as dense as thorns.

It was the man who had just rained down arrows. He roughly took off his long-brimmed hat and narrowed his eyes.

‘To block that with just a gesture?’

He hadn’t gone all out. It was a method he often used to gauge the opponent’s level. He also intended to reduce the enemy’s combat power at the same time.

If they couldn’t even block an attack of this level, it meant they were his prey. If the opponent blocked it easily? He’d be a little wary. But this time was a bit much.

The archer said to the magician next to him.

“Hey, can you do that? What kind of magic is that?”

“I, I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like that either. The beginning was definitely ‘Fire Arrow’. But what was that explosion just now…”

The archer was the team leader, and he wasn’t the Lone Wolf type. Rather, he was the type of leader who listened well to his team members’ opinions. The magician’s opinion played a part in his decision to flee.

He was a magician with considerable skill, and at the same time, one of the top five most capable magicians the archer had ever seen. That magician was frightened!

‘The way he blocked the arrow rain, and this wimp’s reaction… He’s not ordinary. There’s no need to take the risk.’

His motto was simple. ‘Strong against the weak.’

He bowed down to the strong and devoured the weak ravenously. He rejected the ambiguous ones. Eating junk food can give you indigestion.

That magician was at least strong. The archer decided to run away, as he had always done.

But the difference this time was that John had never let a player who made a preemptive strike live.

Instead of running away, he should have chosen to fight back.

Immediately afterward, a blue light flashed from the rear. The archer knew what it was. He shouted loudly.

“Keep driving! Never stop! Go straight! Straight!”

The archer raised his longbow above his head. Then, it slowly drew an arc and descended to the ground. The moment the center point of the longbow and his left arm were perpendicular, a long slash appeared in the air.

Peeeeeeng-

With a strange noise that tore through the wind, the arrow was fired. The size of the arrow gradually increased as it reached its destination. Soon, dozens of Magic Missiles and a giant arrow met at one point.

At the same time, the archer quietly chanted. Before he knew it, bizarre characters were engraved on his longbow. The letters, which seemed to be shaped like flames, glowed red.

“Explosion Arrow.”

Kwaaaaaang!

The arrow expanded in an instant. It created a huge explosion. The explosion ravenously devoured the blue light clusters. The archer was slightly relieved when something flew toward the rear of the car.

“Crazy!”

The archer fired his bow again. This time it was an arrow of normal size. The magic missile that had squeezed through the explosion collided with the arrow. The magic missile scattered into blue light particles in vain.

He got goosebumps. Wasn’t Magic Missile a basic spell? It survived the Explosion Arrow?

Furthermore, that was just the beginning. Countless spells began to pour in from the rear. The archer’s complexion hardened.

“I was going to let it go, but you insist on getting angry?”

The archer’s party started the fight first, but humans are inherently selfish. In his head, John was already the ultimate villain.

Crackle-!

Immediately afterward, something apricot-colored sprouted from both of his armpits. Then, they slowly took shape.

It was a disgusting sight. Fortunately, his party had seen this scene more than once or twice. They frowned slightly, but otherwise, their expressions changed very little.

The archer gritted his teeth.

“I’ll be living as an arm cripple for a while.”

Six new arms had sprouted. Now he had a total of eight arms, becoming a grotesque creature. The archer gave one longbow to each pair of arms. Four longbows aimed at the rear.

“You’re dead. You son of a bitch.”

***

Swoosh, John slowly retracted his finger. He didn’t think he could catch him with ‘just’ a few dozen Magic Missiles. It was just a warm-up.

‘I roughly know the distance now.’

Not having good eyesight is quite an inconvenient factor. I need to find a vision-related spell or artifact quickly.

The location where the Magic Missiles exploded, the location where the barely surviving blue bullets met the arrow, the time it took for the arrow and Magic Missiles to meet… etc.

Countless pieces came together to form a map. A map with the guy’s coordinates written on it.

John circulated his magical power. Fiercely but quietly, he adjusted the appropriate intensity and looked forward.

Strange words flowed from his mouth. It sounded like a snake whispering, or like the cry of some insect.

Drip-

The moment the movement of his lips stopped, John’s image had already appeared on reality.

He had been devouring magic books while speeding through the wilderness, and the results were by no means light.

Fire Laser.

Whirr-

Numerous red rays raced through the sky in a straight line. The sky rippled momentarily. It stretched like old tape due to the high temperature.

It was quite a beautiful sight. It was like shaping the pitch-black night sky with crimson crayons.

John watched it with his head slightly raised.

‘There’s no way the archery he showed earlier was his best. If that’s his best, then you’re going to die this time.’

He lowered his gaze. John’s party’s car was a little faster, but not by much. It would still take a while to close the distance significantly.

Duk-soo and Sarah’s roles are not that important in this battle.

Only ranged professions can directly influence the victory or defeat. John didn’t know what kind of companions the archer had, but he wasn’t afraid at all.

Close combat was one thing, but mid-range combat was his specialty. Suddenly, Sarah said from the side.

“His arms have increased to eight. Thanks to that, he has four longbows.”

“……Excuse me? What are you talking about? Are you saying arms sprouted from his armpits?”

“Yes.”

“I understand.”

In the next moment, the speed of the red rays slowed down. He could quickly understand what was going on.

Arrows fired from different angles completely penetrated the fire lasers. Arrows containing the power of transcendence dismantled the magical power inherent in the spell.

Soon the fire lasers slowly crumbled. John recalled what Sarah had just said. He naturally guessed the form of the archer. He let out a chuckle.

“Huh, he has all kinds of strange traits.”

It reminded him of the Pocket Monsters he used to watch when he was young. He seemed to remember there was a similar character in that cartoon too. There are a lot of people in the Tower with very strange traits.

Thanks to that, John always faces difficult variables. It’s the same this time. Eight arms? Isn’t that essentially one person becoming four people? It was a useful trait.

How will he overcome this variable again? John’s response to this was very simple. His calm hair swayed by an intangible force.

“I just need to pour in four times the magic power.”

Explosion.

A huge fireball coalesces above his head. It slowly inflated in size. As the shaping was nearing completion, John chanted a new spell.

Fire Laser.

There are far more of them than before. John gave a ferocious smile. The archer far away couldn’t see his smile, but somehow he felt a chill down his spine.

“I wonder if his arms can increase to 32? I’m curious.”

Soon, the red structures surged forward. John was curious. How long could he hold out?

At this point, John could look back on himself. Frankly, he was enjoying it.

Climbing the Tower and clashing the power he had built up with other players. A thrilling pleasure that he couldn’t feel in modern times rose up his spine.

It was dangerous. Excessive emotions slow down judgment and lead to irrational behavior.

“……”

John quickly operated the [Stillness of the Waterfall] mana operation method with all his might. His boiling heart calmed down a little. He’s been having stray thoughts often these days.

He shook his head once and looked ahead.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang-!

Unfortunately, the archer failed to intercept the two fire spells.

A thick cloud of dust obscured the forms of the enemies. No matter how much John strained his eyes, he couldn’t see anything at all.

Fortunately, John had Sarah. She subtly leaked information.

“They’re alive. They’re running away.”

“I’m sure they were hit properly, what happened?”

“There was a magician. It seems they deployed a shield.”

“Ah……”

Then he understood. A magician, the emotion of greed wriggled in John’s heart.

Since he’s running at the forefront, he must be a magician with useful spells. He was looking forward to it. What new spells will he show me?

The study of magic was endless. New knowledge always made him drawn to it. John’s eyes gleamed ominously.

I will extract that magician’s knowledge to the marrow.