Chapter 10 : The First Alt Character, Acute Archer

Chapter 10: The First Alt Character, Acute Archer

Gwoeooo!

Amid the eerie wailing sounds coming from all directions.

Suho, worried that zombies would come crashing in, screamed at the top of his lungs.

Something about how there was no time to be doing this.

‘Yeah, it’s true that there’s no time left to waste.’

He let out a deep breath and activated 【Giga Checkron–Manifestation】.

And then…….

Ziiiiing!

In an instant, the back of his head rang as a man’s battle scene unfolded before his eyes like a panorama.

……Pajijit!

A siege battlefield where the heat of a raging war surged violently.

And a single man standing alone atop a hill, overlooking the battlefield.

Blue energy burst forth centered around his blunt-featured figure, and a gigantic crossbow like a siege weapon was summoned.

At the same time the man, wearing a red goggle-shaped scope lowered over his eyes, skillfully adjusted the aim.

Tuhwaaaak!

An arrow as thick as a heavy pole was launched.

……Kwaaaang!

It pierced straight through the tightly shut castle gate far in the distance.

As the thunderous cheers of the besieging formation resounded.

He regained his sense of reality.

Ding!

「Giga Checkron (LV.47) manifests by borrowing the player’s body」

「……Due to an imperfect manifestation, a portion of the hero’s power is restricted」

「……Temporarily acquires part of Giga Checkron’s combat memories」

「Temporarily increases Strength +8 Agility +13 Vitality +3 Mana +7」

「Acquires Giga Checkron’s [Rapid Fire], [Iron Pick]」

System sounds rang out simultaneously, battering his ears chaotically.

Paaat!

Along with an intense light, an irresistible force began to surge up.

“……!”

For a moment, his heart pounded so violently that it felt as if something had gone wrong.

Thump thump!

Amid the fierce gust swirling around his body, he saw a blue aura blooming around his right arm.

Feeling the intense power coursing through his entire body, he searched for an item in his duffel bag.

[Kobold Hunter’s Lever Crossbow (Epic)]

Base Attack Power 8–102

Durability 22

= A lever-loading crossbow used by a kobold hunter.

The rate of fire and lethality vary greatly depending on the wielder’s proficiency.

Strength +1

Agility +2

Mana +2

A crossbow equipped with a lever utilizing the lever principle, obtained through the First Hunt Achievement bonus.

It was an item he had only now taken out for the first time since acquiring it…….

‘It feels incredibly familiar.’

Not just this, but even though it was his first time handling a weapon called a ‘crossbow,’ it fit snugly in his hands as if it were a tool he had used since childhood.

‘Is this what it means to acquire part of Giga Checkron’s combat memories?’

Just as one of the many system windows he had checked earlier came to mind.

Pasus!

“Kraaaa!”

A zombie burst out through the bushes ahead.

With its mouth stretched wide open, the creature aimed for Suho’s exposed nape.

At that moment, the scene began to look like slow motion.

And his hands moved automatically.

Kkirik!

He lightly pulled down the lever handle, drawing back the string.

Clack……!

Then he loaded a sharply honed arrow on top.

Movements far too natural to be considered a first time.

It felt as if his body remembered that this was how it was supposed to be done.

After that, he lightly raised his arm and pulled the trigger toward the zombie.

……Tung!

The sound of the string snapping tickled his ears.

At the same time, the arrow lodged itself squarely in the center of the zombie’s forehead, which had been gaping open.

“Kra……!”

All of this happened in less than a single breath.

Suho, who had been tightly squeezing his eyes shut, slowly opened them.

“Uh, what just happened?”

Instead of answering his muttering, he pulled the lever and reloaded once more.

There were more than three zombies visible right in front of him.

Tung! ……Tung, tung!

With quick hands, he reloaded and fired in rapid succession.

Each time, zombies tumbled to the ground.

Pyuk, thud!

Sensing that something was happening, Suho looked around at the unseen surroundings.

Even then, the number of zombies collapsing on the ground continued to increase.

Kkirik, clack, tung, tung!

The lever dropped mechanically, and almost simultaneously the string snapped forward.

That instinctive movement gave rise to a strange sensation, as if his thoughts could not keep up with his body.

Each time an arrow pierced dead center into a forehead without the slightest deviation, pleasure swept up his spine and struck the back of his head.

Tung, tung!

Just as he was firing the crossbow repeatedly, swept up in excitement to the point he could hardly breathe properly.

……A chill ran down his spine.

“!”

Basing his movement on his drastically increased physical stats, he swiftly turned his body.

Sure enough, there was a zombie less than 50 cm away.

“Kraaaa!”

He shoved the entire crossbow straight into the maw of the creature as it lunged with its mouth wide open.

……Crunch!

“Kraack!?”

Then he pulled the trigger just like that.

Kkirik, pushuk!

The arrow fired toward the roof of its mouth burst through the top of its head.

“Did reinforcements arrive?”

Once he cleared the front, the creatures began to reveal themselves from behind this time.

Pasus……! Tatat!

A horde that easily looked to be over ten charged in while roaring simultaneously, looking like a scene straight out of a zombie movie.

He aimed the crossbow at the creatures, their eyes flashing with hostility.

He had been wanting to properly test Giga Checkron’s power anyway.

‘Rapid Fire.’

Ding!

「Activates Giga Checkron’s [Rapid Fire]」

Piiiing!

The blue aura flickering around one arm emitted a brilliant light and condensed into the crossbow he was holding.

Papapapat!

Blue arrows shot forth at an unbelievable speed.

It was overwhelming firepower, reminiscent of a machine gun.

“Kraaa……!”

On top of that, he activated [Iron Pick], which could be called the identity of ‘Acute Archer’ Giga Checkron.

Kiiiing!

Along with a fierce mechanical sound.

The appearance of the crossbow in his hands began to change in an instant.

Viiing, clank, clank!

Its greatly enlarged form resembled a scaled-down version of a siege weapon ballista.

Just as he firmly fixed the crossbow with both hands to brace for the recoil of firing.

“…….”

The surroundings, which had been noisy with zombie howls, became quiet like a library.

Only then could he confirm that all the zombies with three or four arrows stuck in their heads had collapsed.

In the back, Suho could be seen sitting down with a dazed expression.

……The situation had ended in an instant, without even having the chance to use [Iron Pick].

He let out a small deep breath and lowered the massive crossbow that had been firmly shouldered.

‘This performance is insane.’

The fact that he could borrow and use the power of characters he had raised so far was truly incredible.

Although, for now, he could only use a portion of Giga Checkron’s power.

Even so, with firepower at this level, a satisfied smile formed on his lips.

Ding

「All mana has been consumed」

「[Giga Checkron–Manifestation] has been forcibly terminated. Mana exhaustion may occur. Rest is recommended.」

The only problem was that it came with extreme mana consumption.

“Phew.”

A regretful sigh escaped him along with the sensation of strength draining away.

Ding!

「Multiple achievements have been accomplished」

「You saved another player who was in a life-or-death crisis」

Achievement Points Acquired 100P

「You succeeded in consecutive precise attacks on the same area」

Achievement Points Acquired 80P

「You massacred zombies with overwhelming firepower」

Achievement Points Acquired 200P

「You single-handedly annihilated a horde of over 20 zombies」

Achievement Points Acquired 300P

He had achieved the feat of acquiring 680 achievement points from simple achievements alone.

On top of that, the total number of zombies dealt with was 27.

Which meant that in this single battle, he had gained over 700 achievement points in total.

‘At this rate, I might stack up even more points than when I raised Jin Aragon?’

When the thought that he might climb higher than a character he had played nearly flawlessly crossed his mind, his heart pounded hard.

“And…….”

He slowly swept his gaze over the spectacle created by his own hands and reaffirmed his conviction.

‘With this power, I should definitely be able to take down that thing sleeping in the tutorial temple.’

“Mister, thank you so much.”

Having recovered his eyesight after the status effect was lifted, Suho realized that the person who saved him was Dohyeong.

“Just like last time, thank you so much. I don’t know how I could ever repay this debt…….”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t a big deal.”

In truth, it really was a big deal.

Including his older sister, he had saved lives a total of three times in just one day.

From Suho’s perspective, Dohyeong was nothing less than a benefactor.

“No, in a situation like this, helping and saving someone isn’t something that can be taken for granted.”

Even when Dohyeong waved his hand and said it was fine, Suho repeatedly bowed his head, expressing his gratitude.

Seeing Suho looking at him with clear eyes, Dohyeong let out a small chuckle.

He had felt it earlier too, but indeed, he was a likable kid.

“Alright. Let’s stop with the thanks. We’ll probably keep seeing each other going forward. Don’t call me mister, call me hyung.”

At Dohyeong’s playful shoulder tap and words, Suho wore a blank expression for a moment before breaking into a wide smile.

“Yes! Mis—, no, hyung!”

The two walked through the forest together, exchanging conversation for quite some time.

Having decided to speak more casually, Dohyeong widened his eyes and asked back.

“Huh? Your party wasn’t your sister?”

“Yes, I definitely came in together with my sister. But when I opened my eyes, there were other people around me. So now I’m traveling with those people.”

Someone other than a talent born with the ‘Blessing of Mana’…….

“They’re people I haven’t known for long, but they’re probably not bad people. Uncle Jihwan does talk a bit too much, though…….”

Judging by how he awkwardly trailed off with a smile, it seemed that the person named Jihwan really was excessively talkative.

‘Hmm, his sister isn’t there either. I don’t really want to go out of my way to join that party.’

Aside from the convenience store siblings whose growth he looked forward to, he had no intention of unnecessarily taking care of other people as well.

Thinking that he would pull Suho out of that group if needed, Dohyeong followed behind him.

And so, they arrived at the place Suho had mentioned.

But…….

“That’s strange? Th-this should be the place.”

An empty clearing with no sign of anyone around.

Suho looked around repeatedly with a flustered expression, but.

In the end, he couldn’t find anyone.

He wondered if they might have been attacked by zombies.

But if that were the case, there should have been traces left behind, yet none were visible at all.

However, if there was one thing that stood out…….

“How many people did you say were in your party earlier?”

“Uh…, two people.”

Dohyeong’s gaze shifted toward the ground on one side of the clearing.

A considerable number of footprints.

Judging by their number, they could not have been made by just two people.

‘At least ten people, I’d say?’

Based on those footprints, Dohyeong deduced a single hypothesis.

That while Suho’s party was resting here, another group with a substantial number of people appeared and proposed traveling together.

And that those two left with the new group without waiting for Suho.

‘And it’s a hypothesis with very high plausibility.’

According to Suho, they were traveling companions.

But in reality, Suho and those two were complete strangers who had only met an hour or two earlier.

‘People naturally want to belong to a large group. Especially in an extreme situation like this.’

It seemed Suho had come to the same conclusion, as his expression stiffened upon seeing the many footprints.

“Hah, this is troublesome.”

It seemed he had realized that he had been treated like a lizard’s discarded tail.

Dohyeong looked at him for a moment before patting his shoulder.

“It’s okay.”

“Pardon? Ah…….”

Taking it as nothing more than words meant to comfort him, a bitter smile formed on Suho’s face.

But Dohyeong genuinely judged that this was actually the better situation.

‘Even if you move around in large groups here, you’ll just get tangled up with zombies more often.’

Zombies were set to track people by sensing their body scent.

Which meant that the larger the group of people, the more zombie groups would chase after them.

Not only that…….

‘It’s a bit faster than expected, but it feels like it’s about time for it to start.’

Just as Dohyeong was checking the achievement points he had accumulated so far.

Ding!

===========================

The combined total achievement points of all current players have reached the threshold.

From now on, zombies’ bodies will grow stronger and become more ferocious.

Additionally, ‘mutant’ variants possessing powers different from basic zombies will be generated, so beware of the danger.

============================

‘They really don’t cut you any slack.’

Suho, having seen the same message, stiffened his face.

“Wh-what do we do? It says the zombies are going to get stronger from now on?”

Normally, it would be natural to feel anxious like Suho upon hearing that the difficulty had increased.

But that didn’t really apply to Dohyeong.

Because as long as he had the power of ‘Giga Checkron’.

There wasn’t a single monster here that he feared.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll just take everything.’

Dohyeong smiled as if he welcomed it.