Season 2: Chapter 79. This is the Bow of Joseon (1)
The observer watched the match with his legs propped on the desk.
"Whoa, what just happened?"
He was so startled that he quickly sat up straight.
"How did he do that?"
He couldn't understand why the opposing knight's horse suddenly collapsed.
"Did he slide under the horse and stab its belly?"
He finally understood what Almond did after rewinding the footage.
Almond had slid under the horse and stabbed its belly with his broken spear. Most horses threw off their riders when they received significant damage, which caused the knight to fall off. He had used a smart tactic that exploited the opponent's blind spot.
"Whoa. They say he plays well, and he really does. I can’t say it’s on the level of a hacker just yet."
No one would claim that Almond used a hack for this play. He was currently in a situation where he needed to demonstrate god-like abilities. Perhaps that was why?
Almond and the knight were about to engage in a one-on-one duel live on the screen.
"Whoa, are they going to fight?"
The observer thought Almond was in a rather concerning situation.
"His judgment is... he should’ve tried something else."
A huge power gap already existed between them due to their equipment. It was like a kid challenging an adult fitness trainer.
Almond was probably thinking of fighting with any weapon he could find on the ground, but whatever he picked up wouldn’t be able to beat the knight.
"Having poor judgment is also a trait of hack users... Geez..."
Frequent use of hacks typically diminished a player’s ability to read the game. Such players didn’t need to understand the game when hacks could resolve everything for them.
"Haha, the more I watch, the more he seems like a hack user~."
***
Almond and some of his viewers didn’t know, but equipment made an absolute difference in Civil Empire. He hadn't felt this difference much because he kept coincidentally picking up various weapons on the battlefield.
However, he had witnessed this difference on one occasion.
'Jessie’s sword broke the swords of other knights...'
This occurred when Jessie reappeared using her real equipment in the game. Her wave-patterned sword easily snapped the swords of the other knights. That scene surprised Almond because he knew the other swords weren’t bad.
'I wonder if there’s such a difference between me and that knight?'
Almond now faced the knight with a weapon he picked up from the ground that was probably worth a few gold. The knight’s weapon seemed to be worth around fifty gold.
The difference wasn't just in their weapons. The knight also wore chainmail that covered his entire body, sturdy plate armor, and gauntlets that could be used as weapons in emergencies. Every piece of equipment contributed more to the power gap between them.
Almond was possibly ahead in only one area.
'My...'
His speed.
'I’m faster!'
Thud!
With that, he immediately kicked off the ground and charged.
— Really, is he going to fight?
— Can he do it?
— Overcoming the difference in equipment is quite tough.
The viewers expressed their worries in the chat.
Kaang!
Almond slashed at the knight's flank and instantly passed by.
— Woah..
— He hit him!
— But the damage seems...
However, Almond couldn't bring down the knight's health. Only a scratch appeared on the armor.
The knight smirked.
"Huh. You weirdo. You’re not using proper swordsmanship, but it’s oddly effective."
'Swordsmanship?'
Almond frowned at this new feedback.
— Just a scratch to his pride, haha.
— Oh, finally, a proper opponent?
— Almond does just swing wildly.
It wasn't about pride. Almond didn't have much pride in anything other than his archery skills.
'What does he mean?'
However, he grew curious about the opponent's feedback.
'Is that really important?'
Like most modern people, he didn't know anything about swordsmanship. He had been handling swords and other weapons based on his natural fighting senses and reaction speed. After all, it was just a game so he never took it too seriously.
'Let's try again.'
Tadak!
With that thought, Almond decided to charge at him once more.
Kaang...!
He couldn’t land a blow on the seams of the armor this time. The opponent seemed almost unguarded, yet blocked only the necessary parts effectively.
'Let’s try a bit more.'
Almond charged again.
"If you come again the same way, you’ll only end up dead."
Whoosh─
The opponent read his path this time and swung a proper counter. Almond barely managed to tilt his head back to avoid it.
— Holy shitt..
— That was so close.
— Wow.
— Arrogant Nut, please teach him a lesson!
— That guy is the real deal.
"Watch closely."
It was the opponent's turn now.
Whish!
A sword strike flew out.
Thud!
Almond blocked exactly against the sword. Sparks flew and he could feel the heavy impact.
Then─
“!”
Sssssk.
The swords slid and their paths changed. Almond's eyes widened.
‘What's this...?’
It felt like the opponent's sword strike was snaking toward his neck.
‘I need to dodge.’
He could still react even though he was slower this time compared to when he avoided the last strike.
Chik!
A red scratch appeared on his neck.
"Oh? Nice job dodging it."
Almond managed to survive.
[HP: 72%]
His health was still good, yet it was hard to shake off the feeling that he almost died.
Gulp.
Almond pondered while dryly swallowing.
‘What's this?’
It was definitely still the same sword, but he was at a disadvantage now.
Chuk!
The opponent readied his stance again without any hesitation. His swordsmanship had a solid foundation.
— Just when we needed a worthy opponent!
— Now's the time! Bet on the mission!!
— Ah, so satisfying! Is this Almond?!
The viewers laughed at Almond's struggle.
"The act of slashing comes from transitioning one stance into another, not just wildly swinging the sword."
The opponent offered to teach Almond a lesson.
"That's the basics of the Lichtenauer longsword technique. I'm telling you because the game’s over anyway. You're a rare newbie in this game, but you seem to have talent... Huh?!"
Almond surprised him by rushing in again and thrusting his sword without hesitation.
Whissh─
Almond's sword closely swung past the knight.
"This crazy guy...!"
— Crazy, lol.
— Arrogant Almond, hahaha.
— This “nut” is relentless!
— Kagang!
The flustered opponent executed the necessary stance while dodging.
Kiiing!
The swords slid against each other and Almond almost lost his balance from exerting too much force.
Swish!
Eventually, one of Almond's arms flew off.
‘Done.’
However, his expression didn’t turn sour.
Thud!
A dagger pierced the opponent's elbow after sneaking through the armor's seam. Then, Almond forcefully dragged the dagger.
Swish!
The opponent's arm didn't fall off, but it lost all its strength and hung limply. His sword slipped out of his limp arm.
Thud!
Almond seized this moment and snatched the sword.
‘Got it.’
He had intended to steal this sword all along and deliberately sacrificed his arm to snatch it. He had successfully disrupted the opponent with his speed, which he was confident in.
— Holy shit...
— Wow!
— Crazy.
— Nooo, his arm...
— Absolutely insane.
“... This, this is unbelievable.”
The opponent became dumbfounded with his sword stolen.
Sleek!
He drew his emergency dagger and immediately charged at Almond.
“Give it back! Even if you steal it, it’ll disappear if I surrender!”
The opponent charged with a desperate cry because he didn’t want to lose fifty gold. However, Almond didn't confront him and ran toward his allies instead. He had no intention of fighting anymore.
The opponent still had his arms attached while Almond was now at a disadvantage with an arm entirely missing.
"Why! Why are you running away!? Now of all times!? Who are you!? Did Ronderman send you!?"
Feeling utterly wronged, the knight screamed out an unknown name or ID while chasing after him.
Almond didn’t hear any of it and had no intention of stopping.
— LOL, he’s running away.
— Lol.
— He’s so mean, hahaha.
Shortly afterward...
Beeeeep─
[The opponent has surrendered!]
All the fighting finally ceased.
When Almond turned back, the knight looked at him with a defeated and angry expression. A look of determined revenge could be seen in his eyes.
Almond scratched his head.
"Why is he so angry?"
Only after glancing at the chat did he understand the situation. He had essentially stolen fifty gold from the knight.
"Wasn't it supposed to drop anyway?"
Contrary to what Almond thought, it wouldn’t have. Even if the knight was defeated, his equipment would be kept as long as the commander surrendered without dying once.
"Ah... I get it now. I didn't mean for this to happen. I feel a bit guilty now. I just wanted to show off by stealing his sword."
— LMAO.
— Ahahaha, hilarious!
— Poor knight guy...
Papabam!
[Victory!]
Regardless, Almond won the game.
***
[16 gold acquired!]
[Rank Score: +19]
Jingle!
Almond received sixteen gold and a rank boost as his rewards.
"Wow, another victory!?"
Peeeeanuuut flew in to congratulate him, but Almond's expression didn’t look good.
"This isn't right."
He was dissatisfied with something. Was this performance really good enough to prove he wasn’t a hack user? Could such a victory convince the observer?
"Why? You won though..."
Almond left the puzzled Peeeeanuuut behind and asked, "Will this... be enough to be approved?"
— LOL, he’s asking if this will be enough.
— Nope!
— Only your poor sword skills have been approved, lol.
The observer's response came in.
[Observer: You're good... but it's ambiguous. There are still two more matches left. We’ll see after that. For now, it's confirmed you're not using other programs. You need to show performance on par with the complaints in this state.]
— LMAO.
— Nut-like disapproval!
— Shoot.
— But really, this approving method is so dumb, lol.
— Why so analog?
Almond accepted the response without much reaction. After all, it had only been one game.
"Alright. Let's play the next game then."
***
[Defeat!]
— LMAO.
— Nut-like defeat, lol.
— Wow, crazy luck.
The viewers were laughing and Almond wore a dumbfounded expression because the exact opposite situation from before had occurred.
“Are you serious...?”
Almond won the previous game in similar fashion, but was defeated this time before he could even do anything.
— The LEGEND!
— LOL!
— Is he serious, lol.
Jingle!
[2 Gold Acquired!]
[Rank Score: -15]
He only managed to earn two gold and his rank decreased this time.
"It’s this kind of game, huh," Almond bitterly murmured and the viewers laughed even more.
— LOL.
— Hilarious!
— We're witnessing the cosmic dust of the universe at its finest in this game.
— This is a god-tier game!
Almond forced a smile because the viewers were having a great time, but he began to worry inside.
'This isn’t good.'
He couldn't help but be concerned.
'I only have one more match left.'
Having two matches left compared to one made a huge difference. If he got banned this time, it would be different from the mindless ban he went through in Battle Large.
'Should I go back to LIL for a while?'
He didn't know how long the suspension for using hacks would last, but it would probably be quite long.
As Almond pondered whether to return to LIL, Peeeeanuuut approached him.
"It's unfortunate, Aalmmond! But you can do better in the next round! Maybe you should consider buying a better weapon? Playing too much like Scrooge can make it hard to win!"
— Perfect timing for a sales pitch.
— Scrooge, lol.
— Is she a salesperson or a fairy?
— Almond is serious right now~~ Stop bothering him~~
— Isn't this also verbal abuse?
The viewers called it a sales pitch and verbal abuse, but it sounded somewhat convincing to Almond.
'After all, I only have one chance left.'
Right? If he couldn't prove himself this round, he wouldn't be able to play this game for a while. It wasn’t the time to weigh the pros and cons.
"Let's go."
"Eh?"
"To the weapons shop."
***
Ding-dong!
The door to the shop opened and a black-haired customer entered.
"Welcome! What can I get for you!?"
The shopkeeper greeted him warmly, but the customer walked straight to one place.
Click!
He pointed at something.
"That one, please."
"That one... It's expensive, you know?"
"Just give it to me."
[Joseon Horn Bow]
[50G]
Almond pointed at the most expensive bow currently available for purchase.