Chapter 20: Harang

“What, weren’t they just going to give it to you?”

I looked at the man grumbling in front of me.

His basic appearance seemed to be modeled after his own, but overall, Harang’s features had become sharper.

He had also apparently made himself taller.

The way his gaze came from higher up than in reality annoyed me.

“Nothing’s more infuriating than someone joining through connections and not being able to deal damage.”

“Hey, no, wait…”

Harang—or rather, in this world, Harang—looked at me with a face full of dismay.

Dressed in leather armor to gain the archer’s characteristic bonus stats, he carried a massive longbow on his back.

It was a weapon that boasted devastating attack power with each shot but sacrificed attack speed in exchange.

Of course, if his aim was precise, it was a weapon capable of unleashing overwhelming firepower.

“Just pick up your weapon.”

Knowing my skill level, Harang gave me an uncertain look.

Ignoring his gaze, I adjusted the duel settings.

A large banner fell from the sky.

As the duel began, Harang’s expression changed.

The dull look in his eyes sharpened, and he pulled five arrows from his quiver and nocked them to his bowstring.

“You’re just going to stand there?”

I suppose it seemed odd to him that I wasn’t moving even after the duel started.

I shook my head and drew my sword.

Schwing—

The blade slid smoothly from its sheath, scattering a soft sunlight-like glow.

True to its status as a season-defining item, radiant effects wrapped around the blade.

“What the hell is that…?”

“None of your business. Just shoot your arrows.”

“Don’t tell me that’s the Sun God’s Sacred Sword…?”

“Just shoot already.”

As soon as I finished speaking, five streaks of light shot toward me.

The long, trailing gleams seemed slow, but that was just an illusion.

The five arrows had already grazed past me.

“Your aim’s pathetic.”

“I missed on purpose.”

Harang spoke as he nocked another set of arrows.

Once again, five arrows were drawn back.

This was the result of his choice to maximize the ranger’s rapid-fire trait using a longbow.

Though the longbow didn’t benefit from mastery bonuses, its damage output was off the charts.

Ping—!

The arrows flew again.

Their speed, imbued with light, was at least twice as fast as a mage’s ice arrows.

I calmly watched the arrows.

At that moment, my mind burned white-hot.

A manifestation of innate talent.

Focused to the extreme, my sharpened senses read the trajectory of the flying arrows.

In that instant, I swung my sword.

The sacred sword, cloaked in the sun’s radiance, deflected three arrows with a single motion.

Such skill was possible only because I was completely focused.

But if I had been moving, could I have blocked this speed of attack amidst the chaos of battle?

I wanted to test it out.

“Hey… that’s…”

After blocking the arrow, Harang looked at me with a shocked expression.

However, that expression quickly disappeared—because I had immediately charged at him.

My body dashed forward without any obstruction, reaching right in front of Harang.

At that moment, Harang’s body spun briefly, and a wind-laden [Spin Kick] flew toward me.

It was a basic survival skill for archers, with an effect that briefly stunned the target upon impact—a very useful ability.

I wouldn’t hold back.

I would give it my all.

This was meant to evaluate Harang’s skill, so there was no room for half-hearted efforts.

I used [Charge] immediately.

After a brief preparation time, my body shot forward and collided with Hwarang.

Although I had allowed the spin kick and taken the hit, thanks to the special trait of the [Charge] skill, I wasn’t stunned.

Harang’s panicked gaze turned toward my sword.

He had sharp eyes, carefully observing the attack aimed at him.

At that instant, a beam arrow was shot from extremely close range.

Thwack!

Being fired at such close proximity, it was impossible to dodge or counterattack.

The light arrow embedded deep into my abdomen, taking a significant chunk out of my health.

Momentarily staggered by the powerful impact, I saw Harang swiftly widen the distance using the archer’s innate agility.

The wind beneath his feet indicated he had purchased the [Wind’s Blessing] boots, which maximized movement speed.

Even as he increased the distance, arrows flew at me in succession.

Though the arrows, shot with a short preparation time, lacked devastating power, they had enough force to hinder my movement.

Ping! Ping! Pang!

My sword continuously deflected the arrows one after another.

Meanwhile, the distance between us grew wider.

He had talent.

Unlike my counterpart in this world, Harang possessed a natural aptitude for VR games.

Was it the shared bloodline?

The talent Hayeon had also seemed to have extended to Hwarang.

But I was getting used to it.

I began advancing as I deflected the rapidly flying arrows.

Harang’s expression grew increasingly tense as he observed my approach.

Then, the relentless barrage of attacks ceased.

It seemed he was entering a brief charge period to prepare a powerful attack.

I didn’t let the opportunity slip.

I immediately sprinted forward, lowering my sword behind me in a long, trailing motion.

Boom!

A massive explosion sounded, unlike before.

A deluge of radiant light quickly approached, engulfing my vision.

I calmly observed the attack.

Even in a different world, the fundamental game mechanics were the same.

I activated the [Counterattack] skill, which perfectly timed a counter against the opponent’s attack.

Pulling my sword back as I moved forward, I deflected the light-based attack.

At that instant, a successful effect triggered.

If I hadn’t activated the counter in time, I would have been stunned, left to endure a barrage of follow-up attacks that would have left me riddled like a pincushion.

Slash!

The signature red trail of the [Counterattack] skill tore through the air.

In that moment, the effect of the [Sacred Sword of Solara] activated.

A sunlit flame extended from the blade, starting at my neck and growing until it enveloped my body like a cloak.

Although the counter negated all incoming damage, it couldn’t completely dissipate the impact of the attack.

As my body naturally recoiled backward, Harang launched his next attack.

This time, unlike before, his arrow was aimed skyward.

The light arrow flew rapidly into the air, where it split apart and transformed into a rain of countless arrows cascading toward the ground.

Below it, of course, was me.

It was an excellent combination.

The accuracy was incredible, and his sense of using skills was innate.

If it weren’t me standing here, Harang would have undoubtedly won this duel.

His sense of measuring distance from the opponent was outstanding as well.

He had positioned himself beyond the effective range of my [Charge] skill.

However, there was one critical fact that Hwarang overlooked.

I possessed the [Berserk] ability granted by the [Warrior’s Heart].

Charge-type skills had an interesting trait attached to them.

The higher the user’s attack speed, the longer the movement distance.

Whether this was a coding error by the developers or an intentional design, I wasn’t sure.

But thanks to this trait, there had even been maniacs who increased only their attack speed to use charge skills for rapidly gathering resources.

[Berserk].

I activated the skill that shouldn’t have originally existed.

At that moment, my vision began to turn red, and the aura of an orc warrior settled into my heart.

It felt like scorching magma was being poured into my already blazing mind.

Beyond my reddened vision, I saw Harang preparing his next attack.

In sync with the thundering sound of my heartbeat, I stepped forward.

The sound of arrows raining down from the sky vanished.

It wasn’t just the sound; everything around me began to blur, as if watercolors were smudging and fading.

All that remained was a straight path, and at the end of it stood Harang.

As the sunlit cloak swayed in the wind, power surged from my ankles to my calves, thighs, and then my entire body.

[Charge] activated.

In that instant, blue mana burst forth, enveloping my entire body.

My stance became one focused purely on offense, disregarding defense entirely.

I lowered my body as much as possible, drawing back my sword in preparation to strike.

Within my red-tinted vision, a white light began to rise.

At that moment, my prepared body was bolstered by the system’s adjustments, and I launched forward with incredible speed.

It felt like flying through the air, as if my legs were barely touching the ground.

On the straight path ahead, I could see Harang’s face, now painted with shock.

At that moment, brilliant light condensed on his bow and shot forward rapidly.

But I ignored it.

I trusted my body’s defense.

Unlike before, I was now clad in full plate armor.

The significant defensive power and passive damage reduction effects would absorb the impact.

Boom!

As the blinding flash grazed my body, the tremendous blow caused my vision to waver.

However, my speed did not decrease.

Despite losing a significant amount of health in one hit, I didn’t fall.

Instead, the momentum of my charge only accelerated further.

Like an arrow, my body shot forward and reached Hwarang in an instant.

But the distance was slightly off.

I fell just short, leaving my charge’s attack range unable to hit.

My halted legs planted firmly on the ground with a heavy clunk.

As the weight of my armor shifted, a rotation began at my ankle.

The rotational force climbed through my calves and thighs, amplifying further at my waist.

I maintained my stance, fully prepared to swing my sword.

At this moment, I poured all my skills into enhancing my attack.

The soft sunlight on my blade erupted into a dazzling golden radiance.

The long-reaching sword swung in a wide arc, slicing through the air, and severed Hwarang’s neck.

Slash!

A critical blow to a vital point.

Hwarang’s body shook violently from the deadly strike and collapsed to the ground.

Lying there, he made no attempt to get up, staring blankly at the sky above.

I swung my sword to shake off the lingering effects of the skill.

The golden radiance faded, and with it, the duration of the [Cloak of the Sun] expired and dissipated.

“Did I pass?”

“Yeah, you passed.”

In that moment, my raid gained a new quiver-bearer.

Smiling in satisfaction, I extended a hand to Hwarang.

“Welcome aboard, quiver-bearer.”

“Crazy woman…”

Hwarang took my hand, stood up, and dusted himself off.

I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

It was only then that I noticed his guild tag was missing from beneath his nickname.

“You’re not in a guild?”

“No one would take me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m an archer…”

Harang began recounting his past grievances, clearly pent up over time.

As an archer, he said, the stigma around his class made it nearly impossible to join parties.

Not even guilds would take him.

No matter how much effort he put into finding a party, he was constantly ignored.

So, he had reached max level playing solo.

“What about your friends?”

“They don’t really play this game seriously. Gold is so expensive, they just spend their time gathering herbs in the mountains to buy fried chicken.”

Apparently, in this world, the perception of archers was worse than trash.