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* * *

“Hey, you crazy idiot! If you’re holding a Great Bow, you should be careful… why are you charging in?”

“Seriously, you’re going around with that thing? LOL.”

“Uh, Sensei, this game isn’t an FPS.”

“Charging in with a Great Bow? Are you out of your mind?”

As expected, the hot comments came pouring in.

“This concept is an archer, so all the equipment is pretty light.”

It’s a medium armor character, yet only wearing a piece of cloth shows the peak of imbalance.

Well, it’s not just the armor. The weapon is also a total mismatch compared to the Hero’s Equipment that was customized.

The weapon I’m using now is the illustrious Ghost Hunter Great Bow.

This rusted scrap metal at the joint feels like it could crumble from the blood. It was a weapon far from any nobility.

‘The grip and weight are definitely different.’

Compared to the Broken Greatsword, this one is definitely heavier, both in appearance and in actual weight.

But thanks to the weapon’s buffs, my activated sight and hearing awaken information I couldn’t perceive up close in this tangled maze.

Just like right now…

“Tsk.”

I spot an approaching enemy from afar and nock an arrow.

Watching the expanding reticle and the enemy’s movements, I wait for the optimal timing.

Finally, the enemy, seeming aware of me, starts walking toward me with their shield raised.

They must’ve picked up on my presence after I charged in with the Great Bow.

Wielding a shield against any weapon leaves range combat tricky.

If they intentionally hide behind the shield, any projectile will be blocked, and no ranged weapon possesses the power to pierce through that shield.

So if I get close, it’s practically a death sentence.

Well, if I manage to land a hit and dodge…

‘The outcome would change, but.’

I don’t cling to the area mostly covered by the shield. I simply wait for the brief moment when a part becomes exposed.

That spot is…

‘The instep.’

Targeting the instep isn’t an easy shot.

If I can’t calculate the tempo of the feet that keep running, the arrow will uselessly embed itself into the ground.

‘At least it’s a large shield, I guess.’

Mobility is drastically reduced, but if they had a gigantic shield that completely covers them, that’d be hopeless.

Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to enter the maze carrying such a shield.

‘Now!’

When the enemy is about seven steps away, I release the drawn arrow.

The extremely spread bowstring, once freed from its only restraint, slices through the air with a whoosh.

The large arrow, pushed by the power of that bowstring, launches forward with a resounding boom.

—Boom!

The arrow, reminiscent of a ballista bolt, crashes into the ground with a deafening noise.

“Huh? Did I miss?”

“I was so careless with my aim, it must have gone off-course, tsk tsk.”

“Seriously, I shot right after counting to one. How could it possibly hit?”

“Even if she’s my sister, it’s impossible.”

“No way? Did it actually hit their instep?”

“That’s insane, no way!”

It wasn’t a miss; the arrow drilled straight through the enemy’s instep to the ground.

As the rising dust settles, the sight of the enemy, pierced by the enormous arrow, becomes starkly clear.

There is no easier target than an enemy immobilized as an archer.

I load my next arrow.

One by one, until they can no longer raise their shield to protect themselves.

—Hit!

As the last of three arrows punctures the nape of their neck, the notification of a kill point flashes.

Hmm, they’re definitely slow.

It’s a problem that comes with holding medium armor and a shield. I wonder if my tasting bitterness is just me getting used to this game.

“Seriously? They let that happen again… what tier are you guys in?”

“This is just sad.”

“Does that Grand Master look like trash?”

“Watch closely, rookie… Soul Warfare is a true FPS.”

“This kind of thing… a true FPS?”

“Just hit the target, right? LOL.”

Still in the middle of battle, I can’t help but check the chat to see when more enemies might flood in.

After all, why do you think I’m a streamer?

Ranged weapons are a peculiar army in Soul Warfare.

They probably don’t have a high pick rate and can’t be the main force of the game.

The supported types of weapons are broadly three.

Your standard ordinary bow with typical performance.

The extreme, advantageous large Great Bow.

The crossbow that can fire rapidly and uses minimal stamina.

Archers are to control enemies from a central line all around.

Thus, entering the maze for a full-frontal battle is a sort of taboo for Soul Warfare’s archers.

If one desires to enter the maze, at least bringing a front line to assist with covering fire would be a fair compromise.

The best tactic would be providing support from the central line.

As I near my destination, I switch to team voice and send a request for support to my allies.

“I’m entering the rear behind the enemy’s central line. Central and opposite maze teams, push hard!”

With no blockers, I can freely maneuver the maze until the re-spawn.

That means I can sneak into the enemy’s central line and strike from behind.

“The enemy’s archer is hiding behind the object with their Great Bow. They seem ready to snipe once exposed in the central line.”

“Got it. Once you take out their archer, please push hard.”

Listening to my ally’s briefing, I lean against the wall and survey outside the maze.

Exiting the maze, a pillar object is directly in front.

In many ways, it serves as cover for the defending side, or as a useful structure for the attacking side when pressured.

If they were hiding behind there, they would surely pop out from either the right or left.

Normally, it would turn into a waiting game of patient mind games here, but…

Switching back to streaming voice, I smile at the chat and say, “I’m going in.”

Without even needing to check the chat’s reactions, I launch myself out the door.

* * *

I thought about creating a new account and reaching Challenger tier; such was the thought when I started.

Many were watching the professional’s every move, but this account had never been presented on stream.

It was rewarding to have kept it hidden; no one recognized me, and while I was smoothly carrying my way up the tiers, I encountered a user named Friede.

They were supposedly quite famous… or so I heard.

A player so skilled that there were controversies about hacks.

At first, I felt indifferent when I heard that.

But encountering that player, I got caught up in a match in the Grand Master tier, and an inexplicable fatigue washed over me.

To regain my focus, I replay the duel in my head from just earlier.

* * *

The nature of the Great Bow makes it a one-shot conclusion.

Thus, if you hit your mark in a Great Bow fight, the first strike is more advantageous than anything.

In a mirror match amongst Great Bow snipers, it often evolves into a battle of patience.

Revealing yourself first is just asking to be the target.

So I waited. Even if one side of the maze was taken, on the flip side, I could funnel my remaining strength.

Yet, the enemy boldly revealed themselves.

Could they not sense my ambush? No, surely they were warned from the enemy’s central line.

Still, they made such a foolish decision, causing me to frown.

Indeed… perhaps the rumors were overblown?

With movements that seemed intent on ignoring my presence and just doing their own thing, the enemy moved with shocking calmness.

‘Not going to let you by.’

From behind the pillar wall, I watched as they quickly revealed themselves, drawing their bowstring.

As per usual, my familiar reticle accurately aimed at the upper body of the user, Friede.

After hundreds, perhaps thousands, of arrow shots, my instinct was honed.

When I thought, ‘If I shoot now, it will definitely hit’, the moment resonated in my head…

—Thwack!

A dull thud rang in my ears as the shot arrow flew toward its target.

I saw them first, I aimed first, I shot first.

Well, that should be that.

The aiming was precise; the shot was solid.

I was slightly relaxed, given the flawless move set that should ensure the hit.

Perhaps that was why.

“…huh?”

How should I interpret the act of that figure bending over backward to avoid the arrow, as if eyes were planted on their back?

As if witnessing an improbability that should never happen,

With no emotions or logic materializing, only the question why? consumed my thoughts.

What came into view before me was Friede, her figure drawing back in an unstable posture as she nocked another arrow.

—Hit!

Her large arrow pierced through my head in a fleeting second.

In an instant, sprawled out, I gazed up at the death mark appearing above me, an exhalation of disbelief surged through me.

This game is not an FPS.

It’s a bow with visible projectiles, but…

‘Is it really possible to avoid such a snipe?’

Only questions of why and how swirled in my mind.

I aimed first and shot, it was a perfect shot—so why did I lose?

Pushing aside those questions, the game flowed smoothly onward.

The rear was utterly exposed to the opponent’s sniping, and the center was helplessly pushed back.

Soon, the struggle for power in the maze resulted in our team’s nexus, extinguishing the flame.

* * *

It’s not that I couldn’t take out Friede in-between.

No matter how exceptional the control, it’s a game with undeniable limits. I managed to score a kill somehow…

But the defeat in a sniping duel was the shock that would linger long in my memory.

“Unbelievable.”

“Seriously, that’s insane.”

A voice replied to my mumbling.

Yunsoo, one of my teammates waiting in the lobby, approached, marveling with a click of his tongue.

He must have seen it all from the real-time spectating.

“That person is a streamer. What was their name again, the one that took down the Challenger gatekeeper…?”

“Friede.”

“Oh right, that one. I heard she’s among the best female players, but seeing it now, it’s clear she’s on another level.”

“Indeed.”

Perhaps it’s the lingering sensation of that massive arrow punching through me.

“She’s quite something, no doubt.”

Amidst acknowledgment, I couldn’t help but rub my forehead.

“Great skills and excellent concept as well. Her voice is very good too. Their first stream was today, huh? I gotta subscribe ASAP. At this level, she might even be better than our lotus who wears flowers on her head?”

“If she hears that, you’re in for it. Last time you almost ruined things by poking that bear.”

“Yeah, as long as she doesn’t hear it, we’re fine. Anyway, stop sulking and get up. We have a scrim coming up soon.”

“…I know.”

With a sigh at Yunsoo’s overly familiar banter, I switched accounts.

Above my head floated a dazzling mark blending sapphire and rainbow colors.

A symbol indicating that I had settled into the top 500 of the server.

And next to the tier mark, the nickname was one that anyone playing Soul Warfare would instinctively revere.

STK Warden.

His name is Kim Chan-hyuk.

The name of the man hailed as the world’s greatest professional gamer in Soul Warfare.

* * *

 

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