Season 2: Chapter 134: Veteran vs. Newbie (2)
‘What's this? Almond?’
Brr initially felt pleased after realizing that the horseman was Almond.
‘Good, you're here,’ he thought.
Almond had disappeared from the battlefield after dying inside the walls.
‘You're dead,’ Brr conspired to kill Almond again and turned his attention to his veteran knight Salamanka.
[Veteran Knight - Salamanka]
Salamanka, a skilled player ranked within the top 200 from Spain, received a special command from Brr.
"Kill that black-haired guy," Brr ordered and pinpointed Almond as the target. He offered a hefty bounty of thirty gold for the task.
[Kill that black-haired guy]
[30 Gold]
"Ah... what's this?" Brr murmured as Salamanka moved to engage against Almond.
By the time Salamanka reached him, Almond had already inflicted tremendous damage.
"Almond is slaughtering our cavalry in a straight line..." Brr muttered after counting roughly a dozen losses.
Then, Salamanka finally arrived and disarmed Almond as they clashed.
"Done...!"
Brr's face brightened with triumph. Almond was weaponless and it seemed only his death remained.
"Kill him!" Brr commanded.
***
Almond sensed it the moment he crossed swords with the veteran knight.
‘This is disadvantageous.’
As expected, the clash of blades produced sparks like fireworks and a foreboding feeling washed over Almond.
[Durability Depleted]
With a bursting sound, the sword was rendered useless and flew out of Almond's hand.
‘Does this kind of thing also happen?’ Almond wondered as he became unarmed.
The enemy seized the opportunity and gracefully wielded their sword.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Even while dodging, Almond realized it.
‘This is disadvantageous. I have no weapon or tricks.’
Using his speed and tricks could win against opponents up to A-rank, but it didn't provide much advantage against players who had reached the level of predicting and preemptively reacting to sword movements.
Unlike in LIL where Almond could move at high speeds, his reactions and adjustments were within human limits here. Hence, such tricks didn't work here.
Thud...
Almond, now unarmed and outmaneuvered, faced his adversary. His helmet had also flown off.
‘Ah, that helmet was worth at least three silver,’ Almond noted.
— Damn
— That was close
— Isn’t there anything he can do?
Almond ultimately decided, ‘Let's escape for now.’
He realized that fighting sword to sword wouldn’t work, especially with his weapon gone and the huge difference in the quality of their weapons to begin with. He leaned as far to the right as possible and sharply turned the horse.
Almond evaded one last sword strike and sped away toward his own troops.
‘How do I win this…?’ Almond pondered deeply.
He thought he could beat the veteran knight after shopping at the store, but that idea was dismissed rather easily. Why did he think he could win in the first place?
— If only he was a mounted archer…
— BornToShit, why isn’t he upgrading?!
— Is this another loss…?
Almond recalled his original plan from the chat. He had initially planned to enter the battlefield again as a mounted archer on horseback.
‘Right, that was the plan. Originally…’
He thought he could handle even a veteran knight if he could keep shooting arrows while moving on horseback. Once he returned in the game though, he couldn't choose the mounted archer class and opted to be a cavalryman instead. He became too immersed in the game and momentarily forgot that fact.
“BornToB, is the upgrade still not ready?”
His first idea was to die again and switch to the mounted archer class. He would lose some money, but Almond wanted to prioritize his win streak and reach S+ rank as quickly as possible. It seemed like a viable option.
If BornToB completed the upgrade for mounted archers, he would switch to one. However...
“Should I… do that?”
The plan was immediately dismissed.
“No, don’t.”
— LOL
— What the frick is he saying?!
— Oh man
— I wanna smack him
‘What should I do now?’
Almond needed to devise another plan to become a mounted archer right away. As he rode, Almond saw his own archer troops. Then, his eyes slightly widened.
‘That's it.’
He recalled picking up a bow when he first spawned as a spearman. Thanks to that experience, Almond quickly thought of a solution.
‘What if I just pick up a bow?’
It would be great if bows dropped where archers died, but that wasn’t always the case. Moreover, Almond was on horseback and couldn't simply dismount to pick up a bow.
‘No, if I dismount…’
For some reason, the veteran knight continued to relentlessly pursue him since a while ago. When their eyes met, the knight sneered and shouted something poorly translated. Apparently, he was following some command from Brr.
"Hey, coward! If you're just gonna run, leave your stuff between your legs! You don't seem to need it! I'll take it for you!"
Given the awkward taunt, it seemed he was definitely under some order from Brr. Their interactions continued like this with the atmosphere between Almond and the pursuing knight growing more intense as Almond searched for a way to turn the tables.
— LOL
— What an odd taunt
— An American style joke
“...”
Almond ignored the taunts and kept focusing forward.
He finally turned back and shouted when it seemed like there was no other option, "You're too heavy to lift!"
— ???
— Almond can’t resist taunts
— Chikicha!
— LOLOL
— Can’t resist that
“...!?”
The enemy's expression was quite interesting to see upon hearing Almond's words. Satisfied, Almond comfortably faced forward again and continued riding.
I see bows,’ he noticed them on the ground.
However, dismounting to pick one up right now would be suicidal. The pursuing knight, driven by personal vendetta, would not let Almond dismount so easily.
Almond eventually concluded, ‘I need to get it from someone.’
He didn't have time to pick it up himself. The best scenario would be if someone threw him a bow and some arrows.
He closely watched the allied archers in the distance, wondering who would willingly hand over their bow. It would leave them defenseless, a sacrifice few would make without a commander's order.
“BornToB!”
“Yes!?”
“I need you to command one of the archers.”
“What do you mean!?”
“Tell them to give me their bow and arrows.”
“What? Who would do that? That kind of absurd command could get me an earful later!”
BornToB protested, knowing that commands that were too irrational could negatively impact his commander rating.
As the archers drew closer, Almond realized he wouldn't get another chance at getting a bow if he passed them.
‘He's catching up,’ Almond could hear the veteran knight's horse audibly breathing as they drew closer.
The knight taunted him again, "You coward! If you're gonna run, leave your belongings behind! You don't seem to need them! I'll take them for you!"
Despite the knight's mockery, Almond kept his focus forward.
Suddenly, a few archers stood up and shot their arrows.
Phew! Phew!
They aimed at the veteran knight pursuing Almond. The knight shielded himself perfectly with his shield and continued chasing without a moment's delay.
‘Huh?’
Almond's eyes caught the ID of one of the archers.
[Archer - Walnutty]
He could be mistaken for a Korean player with a quirky naming sense, but the coincidence seemed too much.
'Stream sniping?'
Yes, it was stream sniping. Sometimes, players would snipe as enemies. Other times, they would snipe as allies to troll or harass the streamer. They could also just genuinely like the streamer and wanted to help.
Was this person a loyal supporter, a troll, or was this just a mere coincidence? Only one of these three options could save Almond in his current predicament.
'Let's do it.'
Almond thought a one in three chance was worth a shot. It seemed like the best option available.
He pointed precisely at Walnutty and could only rely on this gesture. Unfortunately, the commander couldn't see player IDs, which added another layer of uncertainty.
Would BornToB correctly interpret Almond's gesture? Or would he mistake the player for another archer further back? If BornToB was confused by this vague pointing, it wouldn't be fair to blame him.
‘Let’s trust in him.’
Almond decided to trust the experience they had gained from playing dozens of games together. He pointed more clearly at Walnutty and shouted, “That person!”
“Yes?!”
“That person! The one with black hair!”
Almond managed to give a minimal description, but before he could finish his sentence…
“The bow—”
Whoosh!
The pursuing veteran knight threw a javelin at him.
Fortunately, Almond ducked with his upper body and avoided it. However, not finishing his message to BornToB posed a bigger problem.
'It's over,' Almond thought.
He would pass by the archers without getting a chance to get a bow.
To his surprise, BornToB understood him immediately.
Ping!
BornToB promptly clicked.
[Archer - Walnutty]
He accurately picked out Walnutty and delivered the command.
[Hand over the bow and arrows to Almond.]
[50 Gold]
At that moment, Almond was about to pass by Walnutty. The distance seemed to be less than ten meters.
Almond extended his hand and shouted at Walnutty, "Here!!!"
Their eyes met. It was only a moment, but time seemingly stopped due to the tension.
— Oh.
— What if...
— If it's a troll, then what?
— Seriously?
— Uh...
Even though BornToB correctly delivered the command, it would be useless if that player was a troll. It would be futile if they also didn't recognize Almond. Only one scenario was desperately needed.
'What kind of person are you? Why is there no reaction...?'
Walnutty's response was delayed. Why was he standing still?
Just as Almond bit his lip, suddenly...
Tadadak!
Walnutty suddenly jumped onto the barrier in front of him and shouted, "Mommaaaa!"
He threw the bow and quiver of arrows.
"When I grow up!!"
The bow and quiver of arrows flew precisely in the path where Almond would pass.
"I wanna be Almond!"
Click!
Almond snatched up the equipment as if they were sucked into his hand. Fortunately, that player turned out to be a loyal supporter just waiting for the perfect timing.
— !
— Wow!
— Incredible!
— !!!
— Is this even possible!?
The commentators stood up and shouted excitedly. Almond immediately twisted his upper body and pulled the bowstring.
Giririk...!
‘Now…’
The arrow tip aimed at the neck of the veteran knight who relentlessly pursued him.
‘Let's finish this.’
Paang!
The arrow left the bowstring and flew toward the veteran knight.