Chapter 74: Trial of Strength (1)
‘Really? Is that how it is?’ Lee Gun grinned.
In contrast, the blood drained from Hugo’s face. It was to be expected.
“Saint-nim will have no problem killing it, but I think this monster isn’t too great for your temperament. That’s why I’ll kill it with this”
The weapon in Goat’s hands looked like a composite bow.
[Black Hawk made with processed Devil] S rank
– Use against Devils & large monsters.
– Specializes in destructive power.
The bow had a sleek body and was curved toward the heavens, like the horn of a black rhino. This weapon was a stylish bow made from a horn. It had a soft matte body, and the assembled parts looked artistic in their simplicity. The weapon’s appearance was tasteful in an artistic manner, yet it performed very well.
Traces of use could be seen on the bowstring, but everything shone with the luster of newness. Moreover, the bow was designed to add more destructive capabilities. It was perfect.
The bow reminded one of a jaguar with its claws sheathed. It was ideal in thickness, so it was perfect for swift combat. Its design also took the stability of the user in mind. This highlighted how much research the Maker had put into making this weapon.
Shweek!
Goat pointed the bow toward the sky, then instantly drew back the bow. Nothing was visible in the sky, yet…
Kwahng!
A scream came from the sky.
“Kee-ehhhk…!”
A black shape fell.
Boom!
It was none other than a flying-type monster. The monster looked like a crow, but it was as big as two people. Half of the crow had been blown away with blue blood flowing out of it.
The other two archer disciples screamed at the weapon’s incredible destructive capability. The fact that Goat was skilled enough to see his target was an afterthought.
“He didn’t imbue any magical energy into the weapon! What the hell is that destructive power!”
“That’s the Black Stream! Its defense is A+! That monster could withstand the skills of a general, yet…”
“Goat, you had such a bow? Where did you buy it?”
“Ah! Yeorin noona! Is that something that can be bought with money? I don’t think you can buy it with even hundreds of millions of dollars!”
“Did the Goat Saint make it in his <Genius Workshop>? I haven’t heard the news of this weapon!”
“If it were made in the Genius Workshop, I’m sure the news would’ve spread all over the world! This is a legendary-rank item! Legendary!”
Goat shrugged with a subtle smile on his lips. “Without this weapon, I don’t think I could face this enemy. It’s a troublesome weapon to use. After Saint-nim, I’m probably the best at handling it.”
Anyway, even an SS-rank disciple, who was the cream of the crop, was proud of this weapon. However, that didn’t matter much.
[Maker: Lee Gun]
Lee Gun let out a bright smile. Seeing his smile get larger and larger, Hugo started sweating more and more.
It had happened way before twenty years ago. Lee Gun had made this bow during his active service. He hadn’t carved his seal on it, but the item satisfied even him, a perfectionist.
This item was one of the items from the “Lee Gun series.” Lee Gun had categorized his weapons into bronze, silver, and gold ranks. This bow belonged to the silver series. Above all else, it was an item Lee Gun had gifted Hugo, a special present. Back then, Hugo had felt proud when the weapon had received praise from everyone.
However, right now, the Archer Saint looked nervous. For some reason, he had a guilty expression on his face as he looked at the bow. It was as if he knew a time bomb was about to go off.
“Goat! Where did you buy that weapon?”
“What? This? I got it from…”
Hugo screamed as Goat was about to answer. “Ahhhk!” He then shouted, “Ben! Are you sure you saw that monster?”
“Ah! Yes, it’s north of here…”
“Yes! Let’s talk as we head in that direction— Kuh-huhk!”
Lee Gun silently stepped on Hugo’s foot. After demolishing it, Lee Gun asked with a bright smile, “I would like to ask you a question, handsome subordinate.”
“Yes?”
“Where did you get that bow?”
Goat laughed. He appreciated that Lee Gun recognized that his weapon was outstanding. The laugh was a bit snobby as if he were saying Lee Gun could never get his hands on such a weapon.
The Archer Saint’s SS-rank disciple answered, “I got it from a pawnshop. Someone sold it, unaware of its true worth. Otherwise, why would a legendary-rank weapon be there?”
Hugo’s face became covered in sweat. He didn’t dare look at his side.
“Hu-go.”
“…!!!” The voice ruthlessly assaulted his ears. Hugo felt a chill run up his spine. He wanted to slip out of there, but Lee Gun grabbed his shoulder.
“Hugo Otis.”
Hugo shook. The man had a bright smile on his face, but it was clear that Lee Gun was furious. Whenever Lee Gun called Hugo by his real name, it meant his anger had reached the max.
Lee Gun asked, “Why did my present end up at a pawnshop? I wonder!”
“Huh-uhk…!”
The temperature of the voice fell to -273℃ as it hit Hugo’s ears. The Archer Saint could feel killing intent from the hand grabbing his shoulder.
“Hmm? Say something. Why was that at the pawnshop, and why is your cute subordinate acting high and mighty with it?”
“That is…” Hugo clenched his eyes shut. He whispered his words as if he were sorry. “I’m sorry! I had no choice at the time! My kids no longer had their mom. They kept crying because they were hungry. At the time, I didn’t even have money for living expenses!”
“What?”
“I’m serious! I planned on getting it back in short order. However, by the time I went back to get it, it had already been sold!”
“…” The hand grabbing Hugo’s shoulder relaxed a bit. Lee Gun was angry, but he also understood what kind of treatment Hugo had received from the world. Moreover, his item hadn’t been used for just anyone. It had been used to feed his cute niece and nephew.
Lee Gun was about to let the matter go when…
“I would think even someone ignorant would auction this item off. Why a pawnshop?”
Goat explained, “Ah! From what I heard, the person who sold it was heavily in debt from gambling. The weapon was probably confiscated.”
Hugo’s mouth fell open in guilt. Murderous intent appeared within Lee Gun’s hand.
“Hey!!!”
“I’m sorry! I was in a bind! I had no job! I gambled only once!”
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Hugo probably had his reasons at the time. In the end, the item has returned to the right hands.’ Despite those thoughts, Lee Gun knew he had to do something in return. “You shouldn’t expect me to fix your royal holy item in the near future.”
Hugo despaired.
Unaware of what they were talking about, Goat said to Lee Gun, “Anyway, we don’t need Lee Gun-nim. Please head back. I will be grateful if you can escort Saint-nim to his holy ground”
Frightened, Hugo looked at Lee Gun. ‘There is no way he’ll let it go with his temper!’
“Gun. I’m sor—” Hugo was about to apologize, but he soon tilted his head in puzzlement. “Gun?”
Lee Gun’s face was too peaceful. This confused Hugo. With the temperament he had, Lee Gun would’ve already been swinging his fist. However, the man had just snorted. Why?
[You have activated ‘Gaze of a God’!]
[Since your ‘Gaze of a God’ is E rank now, your observation range has been expanded.]
[F rank: Check Basic Info ▶ E Rank: Check Faith and Mental State]
<Benjamin Goat>
[Status: Anxious, Worried]
With ‘Gaze of a God’ increasing in level, Lee Gun could now see a person’s mental state. It was only the surface-level feelings, however.
‘He’s hiding something.’ That was right. Goat had high loyalty to Hugo, but for some reason, he had been purposefully baiting Lee Gun.
Therefore, Lee Gun laughed. “Alright. Have fun killing it. I’ll just watch.”
“…!?”
Goat was taken aback. The events weren’t turning out as he had expected.
“What? Is that a problem?”
“No? That is…” Goat looked like he wanted to stop Lee Gu, but Lee Gun nonchalantly walked away.
“Wow! I wonder how strong an SS-rank is~.”
Goat’s face crumpled.
* * *
[Caution! You are no longer in human territory.]
[Your life energy and divine status can be stolen by devil-like beasts]
The group was in a fallen city outside the dome. It was a creepy place with no people, and a thick purple fog had settled on the ground.
“Hey! Another one is flying in from there! What are you doing? Do you want to die?”
“No…!”
Kwang!
“Ah! Over there! I can’t believe an SS-rank is incapable of hitting that. I guess the Archer disciples aren’t that great.”
“That’s not—!”
Kwang!
“Hey! I feel threatened! Hurry up and kill that thing! Oh my! Archer disciples are trash.”
“Fuck!” Veins popped out on Goat’s face as he kept shooting his arrows. “Holy shit! Don’t you have any desire to fight them yourselves?”
His reaction was understandable. This land was under the unknown civilization. They had captured and made it one of their bases. Therefore, the number of monsters here couldn’t be compared to that in the dome, a human territory.
Goat had already killed several hundred monsters by himself. “Don’t just watch! Why don’t you take care of the nearby monsters?”
Lee Gun, who had been walking along in comfort, snorted. “Why would I? You said I’m weak, so I should stand back.”
“…!” The expression on Goat’s face was a sight to behold. He had dug his own grave.
Lee Gun didn’t care as he happily opened a bag of potato chips. ‘Idiot.’ His goal was to kill the SS-rank monster. There were thousands of monsters around them. Why would he drain his energy by killing those monsters one by one? That would be insane.
‘Also, my EXP doesn’t increase during the Trials.’ Doing that would be a loss for him. That was why Lee Gun hadn’t beaten Goat yet.
Of all the people in the world, Lee Gun knew better than anyone as to how it felt fighting the unknown civilization in their den. ‘Letting him take care of the small fries is just advantageous for me.’
That wasn’t all.
“Keee-ehhhk!”
[You have acquired high-rank data]
[You have acquired high-rank data]
Although his EXP didn’t rise, he kept stealing the final blow to steal the data from monsters.
‘He’s a great shuttle.’ Lee Gun laughed. At the end of the day, he had to admit that an SS-rank disciple was strong. This was his first time seeing an SS-rank fight, but even he had to acknowledge Goat’s fighting ability. It was understandable why Goat was confident of killing the monster by himself.
‘In truth, he’s already comparable to a Saint.’ Lee Gun knew that if he underestimated his opponent, he might be in trouble.
Due to all that, Lee Gun felt like he had missed out on a great candidate. He queried Goat. “Why do you not like me? Do you really think I did nothing while I hid behind Taeksoo?”
“No. I don’t. I accept Lee Gun-nim’s achievements,” Goat answered.
“You accept it, but…” Lee Gun asked him to continue.
“You beat up people at the drop of a hat.”
“!”
“If you don’t like something, you damage other people’s property.”
“…!”
“If someone disagrees with you, you beat them up. It makes people keep their mouths shut.”
“…!!”
“Doesn’t that mean you were a thug before you became a hero?”
“…!!”
It seemed Lee Gun felt wounded by Goat’s words. ‘This bastard is cheap. He’s attacking me with facts.’
Goat furrowed his brows as he looked at Lee Gun. “I can carry out this mission by myself if I have this weapon. That’s why the two of you should….”
Lee Gun clicked his tongue. “You can’t kill it with that alone.”
“What?”
Lee Gun continued, “In the first place, you can use only half of its power. Do you know that?”
“What??”
“If you want to die, you should continue to shoot my baby in such a half-assed manner.”
“What? Your baby?” Goat was confused.
“Just shut up and hand it over. This is how you use it.”
“What??” Goat was baffled. ‘Why the hell did he call it his baby? Also, I’m getting plenty of power out of the bow, yet he says that it’s only half?’
‘!’
Suddenly, a sound came from within the fog.
Gohhhhhhhhhhh!
It was an extremely terrifying roar.
[Warning! It’s the target of your Trial of Strength.]
Then, Lee Gun saw something familiar within the fog. It was the symbol engraved on the blade that had stabbed him.
* * *
At this moment, Hugo had arrived at a venue to meet the representatives from the European alliance. He was here in Lee Gun’s stead.
Hearing the odd sound, the Archer Saint turned his head. The sound was so faint that he wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him. However, he heard the sound again.
Gohhhhhhhhhh!
The roar had shocked everyone.
“What the hell? What kind of sound is that?”
“It’s a monster!”
The enemies were coming. Moreover, this monster was the target of Lee Gun’s Trial of Strength.
However, Hugo’s expression changed for an entirely different reason. ‘This sound…’
He was sure of it. This was the monster that had eaten his wife ten years ago.
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