Well, well. What's this?
At Gort's words, Yi Geon smirked, while Hugo's face drained of all color.
That was only natural.
"Though the Lord would capture it without issue, the compatibility is far too poor. So, it seems I'll have to take care of this one myself."
It was because of the weapon Gort revealed.
At a glance, it was a mechanical bow.
[Demon-Infused Black Hawk] S-Rank
- For demonic beasts, large-type monsters
- Specialized in destructive power
A sleek body. The curve extending toward the sky resembled the horns of a black bull.
A longbow with an exceptionally handsome design. The assembled parts on the subtly matte body were artistic without a single unnecessary detail.
Not only in terms of artistry, but it was also excellent as a weapon.
The bowstring bore traces of use, yet always boasted a like-new sheen, and the design that amplified the bow's destructive power flaunted perfection.
Its appearance seemed to mimic a jaguar concealing its claws.
At the same time, it was crafted with an optimal thickness for swift speed, and safety measures for the user were not neglected either.
It showed just how much research the maker must have put into creating this.
At a glance, one could say it was a perfect weapon.
That was when.
Shwip!
Gort suddenly thrust the bow toward the sky. And in the blink of an eye, he drew the bowstring.
He didn't even look at the sky.
Boom!
At the same time, a scream was heard from the sky.
"Kieeek…!"
A black object fell from the sky.
Thud!
It was none other than a flying-type monster. Though it glanced as a crow, its size matched that of two full-grown adults.
It was unmistakably a monster.
Indeed, the blood streaming from the body of the crow—half of which had been blown away—was blue.
But at that absurd destructive power, the Sacred Archers Constellation members screamed.
The skill with which he struck down the target without even looking wasn't what mattered.
"He didn't even load mana! What kind of destructive force is that?!"
"That Black Bird! Its defense level is A+! It's a thing that endures even when squad-leader types drill skills into it…!"
"Gort. You had a bow like that? Where did you buy it?"
"Ah, Yerin noona! Is that quality something you can buy with money?! I couldn't get it even if I offered hundreds of millions!"
"My word, I never heard that even Ea of Capricornus made something like this…!"
"If it came out of the Genius Workshop, it would have spread worldwide long ago! It's Legend-grade, I say! Legend!"
Gort smiled subtly and shrugged his shoulders.
His expression said, 'Did you see that?'
"Without this weapon, we can't handle this enemy. And since this fellow is originally so tricky to handle, I'd be the next best at wielding it after our Lord."
In any case, it was worth boasting about for a world-renowned SS-rank.
But so what?
[Creator: Yi Geon]
Yi Geon beamed widely. And the more he smiled, the more sweat streamed down Hugo's face.
Indeed.
That bow was made by Yi Geon over twenty years ago, during his active days.
Though not imprinted, it was among the products that the perfectionist Yi Geon himself was satisfied with.
It was roughly one of the 'Yi Geon Series.'
Yi Geon had personally divided that tier into Bronze, Silver, and Gold grades, and that thing was astonishingly a Silver series.
Above all, it was something Yi Geon gave Hugo as a special present.
So, to hear the weapon praised from all sides, Hugo had reason enough to feel proud.
But for some reason, Hugo, seeing that bow, fidgeted like a guilty man.
Rather, his face looked as though he knew a time bomb was about to explode.
"Gort! I'm asking where you bought that weapon!"
"What? This? This is f…"
As Gort tried to open his mouth, Hugo screamed.
"Agh!"
Then, he hastily shouted.
"Ven! Are you sure you saw that monster?"
"Ah, yes. To the north from here…"
"Alright! Then let's head that way first and talk… Kuargh!"
Silently, Yi Geon stepped on Hugo's foot.
Having devastated Hugo's foot, Yi Geon asked with an innocent smile.
"My handsome subordinate. I have something to ask before that."
"Yes?"
"That bow. Where did you get it?"
At that, Gort smiled, as if acknowledging that Yi Geon could recognize something excellent.
But what does it matter?
As if saying you could never find it anywhere else, Gort smiled slightly obnoxiously.
"It was a pawnshop where I got it. Someone, I don't know who, must have sold it not realizing its value. How else could such a Legend-grade item end up in a place like…."
Hugo's face turned into a mess of sweat. He couldn't dare to think of looking to his side.
That was only natural.
"Hu-go."
"……!!!"
At the voice mercilessly piercing his ears, chills ran down Hugo's spine.
So he tried to scurry away, but Yi Geon grabbed Hugo's shoulder.
"Hugo Otters."
Hugo trembled.
Though Yi Geon smiled brightly, he was genuinely angry.
For Yi Geon to call him by his full name signified that the Rage Index had hit Max.
As expected.
"Why was a gift I gave you in some pawnshop of all places?"
"Huuk…!"
The temperature of the voice falling by his ear was exactly -273℃.
He could feel murderous intent in the hand grasping his shoulder.
"Huh? Say something. Why was that thing in a pawnshop, so your cute little underling is running around swinging it?"
"Ah, well, that is…"
Hugo squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, sounding deeply apologetic.
"Sorry! I had no choice back then either…! With no wife around and the kids crying hungry, I truly had not a single penny for living expenses at the time!"
"What?"
"No, really! I meant to recover it right away! But by the time I scraped together the money to get it back, it had already been sold during the interval, so I couldn't…!"
"……."
Yi Geon's hand holding the shoulder loosened slightly.
Well. Though angry, there's no way he wouldn't know what kind of treatment Hugo received after he(Yi Geon) was trapped in the Tower.
Especially, if it was none other than his own precious nephews being fed and clothed using his item, then… well.
But that was when.
"However, something of this level, even a layman would have put it up for auction, I'd think? Why a pawnshop…"
"Ah. From what I heard, the person who sold it first did so because a gambling debt. It was a seized item."
At this, Hugo's mouth gaped in shock, and killing intent surged in Yi Geon's hand.
"Hey!!!"
"I'm sorry! I was truly desperate back then, that's why! All my work had dried up! And gambling—I really did that just once back then, I swear!"
Well, whatever.
There must have been a proper reason at the time.
In the end, that item returned anyway, so that was fine.
Instead.
"Don't even think about fixing the Sacred Artifacts for a while."
Hugo despaired.
And Gort, who had no way of knowing their conversation, spoke to Yi Geon.
"Anyway, Mr. Yi Geon, you are not needed, so please return. I would be even more grateful if you escorted the Lord back to the Sanctuary."
At this, Hugo, horrified, looked urgently at Yi Geon.
'With his temper, there's no way he'll stay still!'
As expected.
"…Yi Geon, sorr…!"
But soon, Hugo tilted his head quizzically.
"Yi Geon?"
Yi Geon's face was too peaceful. So he was puzzled.
Why on earth wasn't he swinging his fists as his temper dictated?
But Yi Geon simply scoffed.
Why?
[The Eye of the Divine Observer is activating]
[The Eye of the Divine Observer level is E-Rank, increasing observation range]
[F-Rank Basic Info Check ▶ E-Rank: Faith Confirmation, Psychological State Confirmation]
[Status: Anxious, Worried]
Indeed.
As the level of his Eye of the Divine Observer rose, he could also see a person's status.
Though it was just a rough approximation.
And.
'That fellow, he's hiding something.'
Indeed.
Though his loyalty to Hugo was high, there was something that felt like he was deliberately provoking Yi Geon.
So Yi Geon smiled.
"Alright. You go ahead and catch it all you want. I'll just spectate."
"……!?"
At this, Gort seemed flustered.
It seemed he felt things were flowing differently from his expectations.
"Why? Can't I?"
"Yes? No, that's…!"
Gort tried to stop Yi Geon, but Yi Geon moved his feet nonchalantly.
"Wow, I'm so curious how good an SS-rank is~."
Gort's face contorted.
* * *
[Warning. This is not the domain of humans]
[You risk losing vitality and divine authority to demon-like beasts]
The ruined city outside the Dome.
In the desolate city devoid of people, a violet fog had settled thickly.
But.
"Hey hey, more are flying over there. What are you doing, want to die?!"
"No, I…!"
Boom!
"Ah! Over there too! Can an SS-rank not hit that? Ugh, Sacred Archers Constellation is so lame."
"No, I'm telling you…!"
Boom!
"Hey! I'm gonna die! Kill that thing, quickly! Oh my god. Sacred Archers Constellation is total garbage."
"Agh!"
In the end, Gort—who was loosing arrows—had veins popping on his face.
"Please! Do you not intend to fight at all yourself?!"
That was granted; this place was already the land of an unknown civilization.
It was their stronghold.
Naturally, the number of monsters was on a completely different dimension than the Dome, a human domain.
Right now, Gort was handling hundreds of monsters all by himself.
"Don't just stand there watching! Take care of the surroundings on your own…!"
At that, Yi Geon, who had been following along comfortably, laughed hollowly instead.
"Why would I? You said I'm weak and should stay out of it, didn't you?"
"……!"
Gort's expression was a sight to behold.
Wasn't it literally a case of digging his own grave?
But regardless, Yi Geon enjoyed opening a bag of potato chips.
'Idiot.'
His own goal this time was just that single SS-rank creature anyway.
But the trash mobs beside it numbered in the hundreds, thousands. Was he crazy enough to drain his strength catching them one by one?
'Right now, even experience points don't rise because of the trial.'
It was a loss. Honestly, that's why he didn't beat down that guy earlier either.
Because no one knows better than himself what the dens of unknown civilizations feel like.
'So right now, it's more beneficial to have someone else handle the trash mobs.'
Not only that.
"Kieeek!"
[Superior data acquired]
[Superior data acquired]
Experience points didn't rise, but by stealing the last hits, he could still obtain data.
'Indeed, he's a good shuttle.'
It was his first time seeing him fight, but honestly, even he had to acknowledge Gort's combat ability.
Indeed, Gort had reason to be confident he could resolve the monster that appeared this time by himself.
'Honestly, at that level, he's already Saint-class.'
So Yi Geon asked, feeling it was a real shame.
"Why do you dislike me? Do you think I really hid behind Taek-su and did nothing?"
"No. It's not that. Only."
"Only?"
"You often resort to beating people up at the drop of a hat."
"!"
"If you don't like something, you just break stuff."
"……!"
"If someone protests, you beat them silent."
"……!!"
"Before being a hero, at that point, aren't you already just a thug?"
"……!!!"
Yi Geon seemed freshly wounded.
The brat hit him with facts, playing dirty.
"And… because of you, Mr. Yi Geon, Mr. Hugo's position is also at the bott…."
"What?"
Startled, Gort—who had been mumbling without realizing—flinched at Yi Geon's voice.
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
But Yi Geon, as if catching onto something, looked at him with interest.
"I was curious anyway. You're someone he raised, and he originally had a high reputation, so why is the Sacred Archers Constellation treated like last place?"
Eventually, flustered by Yi Geon's gaze, Gort hesitated before speaking.
"There was actually an incident. It's connected to the incident where the Lady vanished… It's just that the monster in that incident was too strong, and Mr. Hugo lost both his honor and the Lady."
"Taek-su couldn't handle it?"
Hugo was a student he taught personally. No matter how bad, it shouldn't have been enough to lose honor.
"We don't know its identity. But I suspect it was the doing of the Western Saints here who were displeased with Mr. Hugo."
"So Taek-su's wife lost her life then?"
"No. But if we can just find that monster from back then, it might be possible to save her."
Yi Geon narrowed his brow.
He wondered what that meant, but Gort moved while frowning.
"Anyway, with this weapon, even this task I can handle alone. So both of you…."
Yi Geon clicked his tongue.
"Even with that, you can't catch it alone."
"Pardon?"
"First off, do you brat even know you're only using 50% of that thing?"
"Pardon??"
"If you want to die, keep awkwardly holding and shooting my baby."
"Pardon? Your… baby?"
"It's noisy, so hand it over. That's not how you use it."
"…Yes, yes??"
What did he mean 'my baby,' and how could it be only 50% when it was already displaying sufficient power?
That was the moment Gort was bewildered.
'!'
A sound came from within the fog.
Gooooooo-
It was a truly horrifying cry.
[Warning. This is the subject of the Trial of Power]
And Yi Geon saw something familiar within that fog.
It was the crest of the sword that had stabbed him.
And around that time, Hugo—who had come to meet the European Union government representatives in Yi Geon's stead—turned his head.
That was because he heard a strange sound.
But the sound was too faint to hear clearly.
So he thought it might just be his imagination.
But then.
The sound came again.
Gooooooo-
Everyone was astonished.
"What is this? What's that sound?"
"…It's that thing!"
Enemies were swarming in.
And this was undoubtedly the subject of the Trial of Power Yi Geon was targeting.
But Hugo's expression had changed.
'This sound is…!'
It was unmistakable.
It was the sound of the creature that had devoured his wife ten years ago.
(Continued in the next episode)