episode_0021

I knocked out the guy who seemed to be their leader and then signaled my companions.

Though calling it a “signal” was a stretch—I just shot an arrow into a safe spot and attached a note.

……

“……That’s one hell of a delivery method.”

“But it wasn’t bad. Who knows what might’ve happened if Yuseong-ssi had left this place.”

“What kind of situation?”

“Like, say, the hobgoblins feeding us to an arachne?”

“Ah.”

Theresa nodded in agreement and handed me an arrow.

I noticed the arrowhead was worn down.

‘This is getting dangerous.’

The bow and arrows the dwarf craftsman had given me were sturdy, but maybe there had been too many battles lately.

It felt a little worn.

‘This is why I don’t like being an archer.’

In a game, it wouldn’t matter, but in reality, there were all sorts of problems.

You had to use expensive arrows, and if you missed, you’d team-kill.

Still, the advantage of thinning enemy numbers with arrows made it worth using most of the time.

“By the way, what are you gonna do with them?”

“There are about three left alive.”

Aside from the one who looked like the leader, I’d spared two others.

No particular reason.

Just in case the leader was fiercely loyal to some underworld organization—then I’d kill him and interrogate the others instead.

‘Ideally, they’d just give up and spill everything willingly.’

But if necessary, silencing them permanently would be safer.

When I glanced at them coldly, one of them flinched.

Heh.

Seeing one of them twitch, Erme flashed a vicious grin.

“Yuseong-ssi, you did really well.”

She deliberately made her footsteps loud—click, click—and the man’s body trembled violently.

“Thanks to you, we can interrogate them now. What should we make them babble about? I’m quite interested in this field—not as much as the Execution Princess, but I’m fairly confident.”

Her cheerful smile didn’t look even remotely innocent.

Theresa and Glasses had already backed away.

“I’m pretty good at interrogating scum like this.”

Erme smiled brightly while saying something utterly blood-chilling.

‘Do Sword Hero candidates learn things like that too?’

It was terrifying.

I reaffirmed my decision to never become a hero candidate.

“Then, everyone, keep an eye out. Even if they beg for death, don’t kill them unless absolutely necessary.”

After that, thankfully, we didn’t run into anyone else.

—

I stepped away from Erme and the others for a moment and thought.

Sub-quest reward.

What could it be this time?

I hoped it was something good. So far, everything I’d gotten had been useful.

‘No, not just useful.’

Compared to others’ reactions, some of the things I’d received seemed too good for me.

‘More importantly…’

-S-rank is rare even on the continent. Even A or B-rank is enough to be called elite.

That was what that guy—who took settings very seriously—had said.

It wasn’t much different from Erme’s words. Lixiel had also called me a promising candidate with S-rank.

‘But there are a few things bothering me.’

The main quests and encounter quests felt like preparations for future events.

Some of them even gave rewards based on my actions.

So then, most likely—

‘The reward I’ll get this time is…’

With eager eyes, I completed the sub-quest.

[Sub-quest completed.] [Sub-quest reward: Gift, Sharpshooter (B), and Skill, Charging Shot (B), acquired.] [Skill, Archery, unlocked.]

[Gift] Sharpshooter (B) ◇When it comes to archery, you can wield it like an expert. ◇Enhanced vision and hearing, agility correction. ◇Skill, Archery (Lv. 3) correction.

[Skill] Charging Shot (B) ◇Gather mana to unleash a single powerful strike.

Closing my eyes, information began surfacing in my mind.

Just like when I learned swordsmanship, the gaps in my archery skills were being filled.

-You?

Lixiel called out to me.

But my mind was too elevated to hear her.

I melted into the darkness.

No—it was more like the darkness embraced me warmly.

‘Let’s try…’

Hiding in the shadows, I quietly drew my bow.

Unlike before, the bow was eerily silent.

Not much had changed.

I was just applying the dexterity from Thief’s Pinnacle (S) to my accuracy.

But this time—

‘Stealthily.’

I silenced my presence.

I silenced the sound of my bow drawing. My presence vanished as the darkness swallowed it whole.

The method was slightly different.

But the sound was drowned in darkness.

Even if I knew the theory, I doubted I could replicate this without Thief’s Pinnacle.

I could only understand that reaching the pinnacle of dexterity through knowledge alone might make it possible.

‘……This is insane.’

My eyes gleamed as I focused on a distant point.

A distance I shouldn’t have been able to see.

A group of hobgoblins 500 meters away came into view.

‘Huu.’

I steadied my breath and concentrated.

Charging Shot.

As I activated the skill, I felt power condensing at the tip of the arrow.

At the same time—

I sensed something draining from within me.

What I felt was stillness.

Extreme focus and dexterity suppressed recoil and improved accuracy.

I gathered the power of Charging Shot to its limit—

Snap.

I released.

The arrow vanished. No—it moved so fast that even my enhanced vision as a sharpshooter couldn’t track it.

A blue streak shot forward at a speed I could barely perceive—

KABOOOOOM!!

An earth-shattering explosion obliterated the hobgoblin group.

‘Wow.’

This was like firing a bomb from long range.

And yet, the effective range was over 500 meters.

‘But the cost is steep.’

My mana was drained even more than when I used Dark Moon.

And I couldn’t retrieve the arrow.

‘Well, considering the destructive power…’

That wasn’t even a real loss.

But there was one problem.

Theresa, Glasses, and Erme were running toward me with panicked expressions.

They’d gotten the wrong idea.

‘What excuse should I make?’

Should I say I got a new gift and skill and was just testing them out, and this happened?

-Y-You, that, what was—?

‘Tried something new. How was it?’

-What.

Lixiel stared at me, speechless.

-T-This destructive power is abnormal. It’s on par with a Level 3 mage’s magic…

‘A Level 3 mage’s power?’

A Level 3 mage.

I was a Level 1 thief, yet I could do this much?

‘I know it’s impressive, but…’

I couldn’t quite grasp how impressive it really was.

“Yuseong-ssi! Yuseong-ssi!”

Erme called out to me frantically.

Even though I was right in front of her, she didn’t seem to notice.

‘Is she too flustered?’

I pulled myself out of the darkness.

It felt weird—like I was literally emerging from it.

“Yuseong-ssi, where are you—KYAAAAH!”

“Why are you so panicked?”

I caught Erme by the waist as she stumbled in shock.

Our faces were now level.

Erme blushed and stared at me.

“T-This… W-We’re not at that stage yet, so let’s take it slow…”

“……?”

What was she talking about?

I helped her up and dusted myself off.

“Eh? Huh?”

“So, did you finish interrogating them?”

“Huh? Y-Yes, it’s done. B-But that thing just now…”

“I caught you so you wouldn’t fall.”

“……I wouldn’t have fallen that easily.”

If anything, my interference had made her lose balance.

I’d tried to stabilize her mid-fall.

‘I wanted to reinforce her authority as the leader.’

Instead, it felt like I’d made things worse.

Meanwhile, Theresa and Glasses arrived.

“Are you okay?”

Theresa asked with a blank expression.

No—her slightly furrowed brows meant she was worried.

“Step back, Han Yuseong.”

“Don’t talk behind my back, Glasses.”

“Protect me diligently. I’ll protect you in return. With the power of this shield I obtained yesterday…!”

“That’s more dangerous. An explosion of that scale suggests a high-tier elementalist.”

“……About that explosion earlier—I did that.”

“Right! Even for Yuseong-ssi, that was an overwhelming explosion that would require caution… Eh?”

Erme stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Yuseong, is that true?”

“……Yeah.”

“……I see. It must’ve been a [Flash of Insight].”

Glasses spoke.

Flash of Insight? What was that?

“Sometimes, people spontaneously develop new skills or elevate existing techniques into skills. That’s called a [Flash of Insight].”

Erme answered my unspoken question.

So that’s what it was.

“Well, that’s reassuring. The only thing our party lacked was burst firepower.”

Glasses sounded genuinely pleased.

Normally, people would look at someone with mage-level firepower with suspicion.

‘Ah, right. Glasses is a support caster.’

A support caster who could elevate the entire party’s strength by several levels wouldn’t be too desperate for an elementalist.

Thinking that way, it wasn’t so bad.

“Shall we head out now? Normally, we’d hunt for a few more days, but… Yuseong-ssi’s catch gave us quite a haul.”

“Really?”

“Yes, this should be worth several gold coins each.”

She chuckled, looking thoroughly satisfied.

And so, we left the labyrinth.

—

Thankfully, nothing happened on the way out.

Before I knew it, we were outside.

We’d only been inside for two days, yet it felt exhausting.

“Well, our schedule was pretty tight. Most clans go in 2-3 times a week.”

“We went twice in three days. Can’t do more.”

Theresa puffed her cheeks and slumped.

I felt the same.

Pulling my robe over my head, I thought.

‘Still, I made decent money.’

Damon, was it?

We looted everything from him and his lackeys.

On top of that, we’d killed a lot of hobgoblins.

‘Seems like we’ll get a good payout.’

Unfortunately, the hobgoblin champion’s loot was split among the party, so I wouldn’t get much from that.

‘But I got Whisper of the Wind, so I’ll let it slide.’

Surprisingly, I wasn’t too upset.

Maybe because I’d gained a lot from this labyrinth.

Looking at the crowd exiting the labyrinth, my stomach churned.

‘I really don’t like crowded places.’

Scanning the area, I spotted Erme near the guild counter, standing in line.

I walked over to her.

“……W-What is it!?”

Why did she look so flustered?

Confused, I stated my business.

“Can I go ahead and wait inside?”

“……I’ve been wondering since last time—what would you do if I lied about the amount?”

Glasses and Theresa nodded in agreement.

Theresa lectured me like it was a serious matter.

“Yuseong, I’ve noticed this before, but even family should be careful with money.”

“It’s fine. I trust Erme more than that.”

“Eh?”

Erme froze, looking like she’d been slapped awake.

If Erme was determined to deceive me, there was nothing I could do.

She didn’t seem the type, but if she did—

‘Then that’s that.’

Simple as that.

—

Theresa thought about Han Yuseong.

Someone with no trust in parental figures.

They hadn’t known each other long.

Yet, they seemed to hold each other in special regard.

‘……I see.’

Theresa watched Yuseong’s retreating back with sad eyes.

His usual robe-clad figure looked unusually small today.

‘Yuseong’s an orphan.’

She gazed at him with pity.