Hyun-soo thinks that everything around him slows down by ten times, and he becomes ten times faster each time he activates the ghost step.
“Ah!” The scream of a lady has not yet ended.
During the time the scream spreads, Hyun-soo moves.
Like a flash of lightning, he slashes the wrist of an assassin who is about to stab a noble’s neck.
1st time.
He then slices through another assassin who is stabbing towards a noble’s side.
2nd time.
And kicks an assassin who is behind Pan’s wife, attempting to break her neck.
3rd time.
Swoosh-
Pan looks shocked at his wife as he slides backward after kicking the wall, then Hyun-soo stabs the sword into the belly of an assassin behind Pan and pulls it out forcefully.
4th time.
He puts strength into both legs, leaps high, and quickly slices through two assassins attacking from above.
5th and 6th times.
Hyun-soo always tangled his path after the 6th time.
The tangling of paths means the movements he envisioned in his mind got tangled.
He calms his mind.
A man who looks very much like Frak, presumed to be his father, already has a dagger partially buried in his abdomen.
He moves.
Not thinking of the complicated path, he empties his mind and moves to slash the wrist.
7th time.
Lastly.
Hyun-soo’s head snaps around.
There he was, in the center, swinging a dagger.
It was the man he had just warned.
He was swinging the dagger in a big arc to kill three of Pan’s children in front of him.
Whoosh-
A ghost walks.
Silently, faster than any being.
And his posture to slash the wrist.
8th time.
Soon, Hyun-soo’s face distorts.
In a moment, the man changes the trajectory of his wrist.
Yet, even with the change in trajectory, he still aims for the children.
This man is their leader.
As the dagger swings towards the three children, Hyun-soo clenches his teeth and moves.
Swoosh-
He swings his sword up once more, slicing through the man’s chest.
Whoosh-!
9th time.
The slow-moving time returns to normal.
***
The vice-captain of the Crimson Dragon Squad, Lek.
He and his members disguised as knights snuck into the banquet hall.
First, he checked the distance between them and Ben.
Then, he estimated the distance between the assassins and their targets.
In just a few seconds, everything was supposed to happen.
After it all ended, the plan was to throw a smoke bomb and escape.
But, “If you draw, you die.”
Lek was startled by the voice that came from behind.
However, he soon smirked.
Everything was perfectly planned, and he believed that the man couldn’t stop what was about to happen in a flash.
Peace is non-existent!
Vice-captain Lek shouted and moved towards Pan’s beloved family, swinging his dagger.
“Aaah!”
A woman screamed.
While moving, Lek heard an incomprehensible voice.
“Ghost Step.”
Along with that low voice, a ghost moved.
As he moved, or rather, with each action he took, afterimages were left behind.
Events unfolding in just 1 second.
Swoosh
Zap
Crackle
Fizz
Boom
Woosh-!
And the mysterious ghost was coming towards him.
About 0.8 seconds had passed.
Lek quickly reacted to the ghost suddenly appearing in front of him.
‘The mission must be completed…!’
Any victims would lead to the king’s despair, and it would mean the completion of the Crimson Dragon Squad’s mission.
The moment he changed the trajectory of the dagger to dodge the unknown ghost’s sword.
Swoosh-
This time, from below upwards, he struck.
Lek, whose chest was sliced open, flew backwards.
‘What, what is this…?’
Could the trajectory change in such a fleeting moment?
No, this is due to the mysterious power he possesses.
Flying backward, Lek saw the man who had slashed upwards, standing with his coat fluttering.
“Ah!”
The woman’s scream ended.
Simultaneously, blood spurted from the bodies of Lek and his subordinates.
Whoosh-
“Ah, ah!”
“What, what is this?”
“What just happened?”
It seemed as if a ghost had passed through, an eerie event.
Lek, with a bewildered expression, hurried to attack his target again.
But it was already too late.
Ben, having assessed the whole situation, gripped his spear and activated the real ghost step.
Puff puff puff puff-!
All the Crimson Dragon Squad members except Lek were fatally pierced through the neck.
Lek too received a strong blow to the back of his neck and lost consciousness.
Thud-
After everything was settled, Ben looked at Hyun-soo, who was sheathing his sword.
‘9 times, huh…?’
It wasn’t a stable posture.
He thought he could perform about 6 to 7 times on average.
But the fact that he managed to activate it 9 times, even just once, surpassed Ben’s understanding.
Ben recalled the conversation with Hyun-soo in the training room.
He had told Hyun-soo that it wasn’t something he could do.
He was wrong.
Whether it was overcome through effort or skill,
Hyun-soo was someone who shouldn’t be underestimated or judged by him.
***
9 times.
Hyun-soo’s heart thrilled at the narrow success of 9 times.
If asked whether he could succeed in doing it 9 times again, he would say no.
Hyun-soo felt a rush of adrenaline just moments before.
But even if it was a brief moment of luck, it was still an achievement of his own.
And Hyun-soo had not forgotten one thing.
‘I am a negotiator.’
Ultimately, Hyun-soo had to return to the Goyard Kingdom.
The more he could raise his negotiation skill before returning, the more the rewards would change.
One of his current goals was ascending to the next title.
And, as far as he knew, no user had achieved the next title in such a short period.
To achieve this, he needed a lot of negotiation skill.
And the reward for this sudden quest was precisely that negotiation skill.
‘How much will it increase?’
Soon, a notification arrived.
[Pop-up Quest: The Rebellion of the Crimson Dragon Squad Completed]
[You have completed it with a miraculous achievement.]
[You gain 17% negotiation skill.]
Hyun-soo’s existing negotiation skill was at 62%.
With a 17% increase, it reached 79%.
Ben approached and said,
“Your skill was excellent. And well done, you’ve saved many here today.”
Ben had become more astute for his friend.
A small apology for having doubted him, announcing once again that Hyun-soo had saved many from an enemy land.
[Quest: Ben’s Trial Completed]
[Ghost Step duration increases by 0.5 seconds.]
Hyun-soo was thrilled.
His efforts had produced a complete result.
‘Now I can reliably perform up to 8 times.’
An increase in time meant he could plan and move his path more feasibly.
This made Hyun-soo even stronger.
And Ben quickly sorted out the situation.
“Tell all knights to strengthen their guard, today’s banquet is canceled.”
Then, Ben looked at Lek, whom he had knocked unconscious.
“Take him away.”
The banquet hall was swiftly cleared.
***
After logging out and taking a break, Hyun-soo logged back in.
Immediately, he headed to the forge.
‘Why did the Crimson Dragon Squad suddenly go rogue?’
Despite his curiosity, there was no way for Hyun-soo to know.
With Lek captured, the details would soon emerge.
And now, Hyun-soo had secured the best materials to make bows and spears.
Top-grade materials from the minor World Tree.
What to make had already been decided: a bow.
How it’s used in creation is very important.
This, too, Hyun-soo had decided.
Shortly after Hyun-soo arrived at the royal forge, Nel came.
“It’s amazing, being a friend of the king.”
Nel was genuinely impressed.
After telling the guards at the castle gate that she was a member of Hyun’s guild, and upon receiving Hyun-soo’s approval, she was allowed in.
Nel said upon her visit,
“The guild, Bright Future, except for me, everyone will be undertaking missions to become knights of Goyard.”
Lisel, Bark, Beliard.
The reason they are undertaking missions to become knights is simple.
“To secure territory under the guild master, at least five knights are needed, so we will proceed quickly.”
Territorial acquisition.
When that dream will be realized is unknown, but there are minimum conditions.
One of them is a title of at least a baron, and another is securing five knights.
“Soon all guild members will enter a dungeon together, so I might not be able to contact you.”
Nel asked a question that intrigued her.
“You accepted a crafting request, is there a reason for that?”
Hyun’s forge.
The once quiet forge of Hyun had decided to take a commission this time.
At this, Hyun-soo smiled.
“Bright Future only secured four knights: Luke, Bark, Lisel, and Beliar. But that person is already a knight.”
“That’s true, but I wonder, will that person really become our knight?”
Hyun-soo was confident in his response.
“Maybe?”
Nel was curious why Hyun-soo thought so.
“He has been posting about crafting requests every day for about 100 days without fail. He must be desperate for that bow, and I recognize desperation.”
Hyun-soo knew desperation better than anyone.
“If we can relieve his desperation, it will return as a tremendous result. And while a great bow would be good for my use, we are a guild. A great bow used by him will yield many times stronger power than if I were to use it.”
Nel agreed.
She too thought it would be great if they could successfully recruit him.
Imagine it.
A marksman hitting every target, protecting us in battle.
“Did you send the note?”
“Of course.”
Especially since he was the archer ranked number one until recently.
***
Ho-beom sighed.
“Ah, I quit being an editor a long time ago.”
Several messages awaited him as he sat in front of the computer.
[Hello, Mr. Jin, the video editor. I am a BJ for game broadcasting…]
[Hello, our company owns about 20 famous BJs… We are interested in recruiting Mr. Jin, the video editor…]
Ho-beom chuckled.
“I understand the sentiment. But now, I’m doing something else, what can I do?”
Ho-beom was once a well-known video editor.
In 2040, when internet broadcasts were as watched as terrestrial broadcasts, skilled editors were worth their weight in gold.
He made a lot of money using his skills and based on that, Ho-beom invested in a game.
Ares was the game, and Ho-beom was shining in the archer rankings of Ares. Now, he found himself the subject of ridicule.
Hyun’s forge.
[You’re back again?]
[Doesn’t he ever get tired?]
[I thought it was possible at first, but now it’s just sad LOL.]
[So pitiful LOL.]
And these comments were on the posts he made.
[Hello, Mr. Hyun. Until recently, I was the top-ranked archer, now ranked 6th, Ian. I would like to request the crafting of a bow.]
Ho-beom was Ian.
Users mocked him as the “Three Visits Ian” due to his persistence.
A journey of more than 100 days.
[Hundred Visits Ian. Pushed down to rank 6. Will Hyun accept the request?]
Soon, people were teasing Ian with the nickname “Hundred Visits.”
Another blacksmith?
He couldn’t request it.
There was a reason for this.
Ho-beom was a user specializing in compound bows.
And compound bows are as rare as 1 in 1,000 in Ares.
Furthermore.
‘My top-level 5 mastery in compound bows… Using a different bow would apply a beginner bow mastery, making me 30% weaker…!’
The bow he used was rare.
That rarity was due to the scarcity of compound bows.
And the hope that Hyun could make a compound bow in lieu with Dragonlight Sword, an artifact following the traditional Korean crafting method.
[Wake up, Ian.]
[Hundred Visits, Ian LOL.]
To Ian, it seemed there was no other way but Hyun. That’s when a message arrived.
[Hello, this is Hyun’s Forge. We accept Mr. Ian’s request.]
“……Wow!”
A hundred days of effort.
Literally, a hundred visits.
At the end of that effort, Ian let out a cheer.
And Ian showed his dedication by stating exactly what he wanted and sending his skill and stat windows.
Soon, a reply came.
[After reviewing everything, we’ve found the perfect bow for Mr. Ian.]
Ian was curious.
He could only use traditional Korean bows. He was astonished as he read the reply.
‘Is this possible…?’
[We will craft you the Compound Bow of Jumong.]
Cliche Novel 
Archer about to be acquired??
LikeLike