The Player Hides His Past

Chapter 11: The Limit of Patience (1)

Episode 11. The Limit of Patience (1)

Like a rock turned into a teacup.

The shape of the teacup changes.

It is like a shield made of rocks.

I changed the shape of the teacup and made it into a wall.

An arrow cannot pierce a rock wall.

Fududuk

Dozens and hundreds of arrows cant reach me.

I checked the magic power consumption.

Isnt this unusually efficient?

I wonder if its because its no longer a [Skill] but a [Magic].

It was definitely different from what the alchemist said on Netflix.

-Changing the form is relatively low in energy consumption, but thats only when its small, like a teacup. The bigger it gets, the bigger it gets.

the power consumption increases exponentially.

Surely, thats what you said.

I put up a barrier that must have been three metres, if not more, in terms of my magic power.

Even with [Natural Enmity] activated, it was surprisingly efficient.

Well, its one or the other.

Either Magic is overwhelmingly more efficient than [Skill].

The alchemist sold me a drug on Netflix.

Why, this is a common trope in games.

To avoid being accused of nerfing or character cheating.

You know, the ones where the player is being a bitch.

Ill have to get a demon hunter to see what its really like.

Sure, whatever.

At this point, what I do hasnt changed.

I left my defence to the barrier and prepared to counterattack.

I equipped my bow and arrows.

I nocked an arrow on my bowstring.

Crude arrows.

Low-level arrows used by gnoll archers.

Naturally, their damage was considerably lower.

But what if I changed its shape?

I had enough horsepower.

I quickly reshaped the arrowhead.

Lo and behold, it looked painful to look at.

Like a drill or a hook.

[Modified Arrow]

[Rank: Normal]

[Limitations: None]

[Effect : Attacks have a high chance to cause the status ailment Bleeding]

[Description : A modified arrowhead, maximising its lethality].

What is this?

Its more than I expected.

Not only does it have damage, but it also has a high chance of causing a status effect. Indeed, all those nights of scribbling have been worth it. Hard work doesnt always pay off.

Chirp

Regardless of my joy.

I calmly pulled the bowstring.

Yes, Ive changed a single arrowhead.

Its not even worth mentioning, let alone making a fuss over.

Shush.

Indeed, a gold medallist in archery has the composure to cry.

Maybe its because of him.

My arrow hit the bandit hiding in the bushes.

[Natural Enemy].

[Modified Arrow].

And [shooting mastery], which is better than nothing.

The result of those three factors.

Boom.

Hit.

[The bloodied bandit bleeds].

Youre bleeding.

Thud.

You duck under the rain of arrows once again.

[You have levelled up.].

The bleeding bandit is dead.

Once again, I gained four levels.

I opened the status window to check his stats.

[Level: 80]

[Stats]

strength: 25 / agility: 30 / hp: 18 / luck: 2

[Points: 13]

Arcanas system is such that every time you level up, the amount of experience you need to level up skyrockets.

Even the number one ranked player barely passed level 400.

It was an Arcana that had been in service for over a decade.

Definitely fast.

Considering the system.

My growth rate was ridiculous.

But it was too soon to celebrate.

Before I blame it on Grand Pells personality.

Its basic.

Now, if youll excuse the toast.

By the time the class quest was over, there was nothing left to celebrate.

I invested my reserve points without the slightest hesitation.

Strength and Dexterity can be increased by repeating class quests.

So Im going all in on the magic that will help me in battle right now.

[Hp: 31].

Lets take a look at the sudden increase in horsepower.

Naturally, the targets are bloodied bandits.

I transformed the arrow once again.

This time, Ill link it with Ignite.

It was much more expensive than a simple shape-shifting spell, but Id invested in the magic, and it would be worth testing its power once.

If it doesnt work, Ill just stop using it next time.

Besides, Im not in a position to cover it up, am I?

Its my heartbeat. Anyway, this was clearly a crisis situation.

I was surrounded by monsters that were well over 200 levels!

Sure, there were other players around.

I didnt expect them to care about my life.

My life, for my own protection.

To not sink under the weight of my pride.

I was told that I had to try everything.

Hwoaruk

Immediately, a flame burst forth from the tip of the arrowhead.

A homemade fire arrow, if you will.

I watched the flames stretch out and thought to myself.

What, it seems to be much faster than the original?

*]

That thing is fucking insane!

That was Leonie shouting.

His voice soon trailed off.

neeeeee, eh?!

Now, wait a minute.

What was that?!

The teacup had turned into a giant stone wall!

As it turned out, Leonie was a Ranker.

His knowledge and experience with the arcana was enough.

Yes, I could guess what kind of skill it was.

It didnt come out of the ground, but the teacup changed.

It was definitely an alchemical skill.

But something else didnt make sense.

Why would an alchemist be in a rift, and alone?

The alchemist was not a combat class.

Like a blacksmith or a cobbler.

Alchemists were classified as a production class.

But as if that wasnt enough.

How far does that stone wall go?

Crazy, boss. What is that?

It was at least three metres high.

Arrows breaking helplessly against the stone wall.

Leonie gaped.

That wasnt normal either.

The alchemy was rumoured to be extremely inefficient.

If such an alchemy could produce a stone wall the size of that.

how much absolute horsepower would that be?

But the surprises didnt stop there.

The strange man pulled out a bow.

Leonie looked at the situation with the eyes of a ranker.

Still, he must be drained.

He summoned a stone wall that big.

Common sense would dictate that.

Hes using his bow to buy time until his magic recovers.

But whats the point, I wondered.

If an alchemist can shoot arrows well, it makes sense.

Boom!

Ma, that doesnt make sense! Captain?!

One shot.

One of the bandits staggered and soon collapsed into a heap.

By now, the attention was more on the mysterious man than the bandits surrounding them.

Unable to contain his curiosity, one of the guilds activated Hawkeye and stuttered.

Wait, whats this again?

Why, what, again?

That looks like Fire Arrow. What the hell, man. Im scared.

An alchemist.

Archer wasnt enough.

Now a mage?

For a moment, the lore of the Arcana flashed through Leonies mind.

I dont recognise them.

But as far as he could remember, he hadnt seen or heard of such a class.

Sure, a player could use alchemy, a bow, and offensive magic.

But look.

Look at the trajectory of that Fire Arrow.

Its speed was beyond the reach of most mages.

The mages of the Berserker Guild whispered amongst themselves.

You, can you shoot like that?

No. Can you do it, that one?

But isnt he carrying a staff?

And all without hesitation.

It was more than confident, it was graceful.

Also.

The mans attire had a lot to do with it.

Leonie was beginning to understand why men wore suits.

It wasnt just crazy, it was a statement of confidence?

A suit and shoes were enough.

Youre not going to get monster blood on yourself.

What, like that?

This is not going to go well.

Just when you think youre warming up, a reclusive guru shows up.

My berserker instincts kicked in.

Leonie raised her twin swords.

Bam!

I dont intend to stand idly by either!

Lets go!

Buff, please.

Tadadat!

Okay, competition.

Leonie and her guildmates charged at the bandits.

The man, Ho Yeol, watched the falling bandits and thought.

Shouldnt I have given him a tea bag if I knew hed help?

*.

Outside the rift.

Countless filming drones hovered overhead.

Broadcasters from around the world.

Netubers.

Even guilds.

Though their affiliations varied.

They were all watching the rift for the same reason.

Which guild will get the title of first to clear the new rift?

A common sight after every update.

And rightfully so.

Guilds and players had a lot at stake.

Their performance could make or break the stock market, and by extension, the order of nations.

Especially since the stakes are so high for the capture of the Ascura Citadel, isnt the Count of Ascura the highest level monster since the Demon King update?

Yes, it is. Its a level 430 Demon Lord monster, and its currently rated as impregnable. Lets hope our players do their best.

Fortunately, were hearing reports of victories all over the place. Lets take a look at the reports.

Heres the report.

Sure enough, its off to a good start.

The outskirts of the estate.

With a cut-off level of mid-level 200, it wasnt much of a problem for famous guilds or high-level players.

Of course, there was the occasional video that revealed the viciousness of the demons.

Oh dear, some of the players are out of condition.

Oh, thats okay, Ive got a good healer behind me, so Im sure Ill be able to recover from that. Lets see.

Yes, the world number one! The Shining.

PD watched the monitor.

Hyun Yong-seok blew his nose.

After all, the Russian wind is fierce.

He hunkered down as much as he could into the padding.

Yuck. Well, those demons sure are tricky. The Shinings had one sulk since the beginning, hasnt it?

Ah, Director. I recovered right away thats a no-count.

Well, youre not wrong, but. But has that ever happened to you?

Todays Arcana.

A programme directed by Hyun Yong-seok, with an average viewership of 11 per cent.

Even when it wasnt broadcast on terrestrial television, the viewership was over 10 per cent.

There was no other programme, at least in South Korea, that provided as much information about cracks and players as Todays Arcana.

The viewership was a measure of the publics interest in the crack and the players.

I dont think there was either?

This is Hyun Yong-seok, who has directed Todays Arcana from episode 1 to now.

But even looking back at past episodes, there was no such thing.

What kind of guild is Shining?

It was practically the strongest guild in the world with four top 10 rankers.

The Shining was only a moderate level, a level 250 rift.

Its definitely a lot to start with.

Monsters surrounded the Shining Guild.

If they let their guard down for even a moment, theyll be attacked.

Hyun Yong-seok concluded.

Demons. Theres something about them that cant be expressed in levels.

In that sense, I was looking forward to the next chapter.

Round and round.

Hyun Yong-seok gestured to the cast.

It was a signal to raise the tension a little more.

Indeed. As difficult as it is, the first guild to clear the rift will inevitably attract the most attention. Itll be like making a mark on the world.

That was the moment Castor said it.

The assistant director who was monitoring the filming drone exclaimed.

Huh?! Senior, its up! First clear!

Wheres the crack? Get the crew out of here!

Lets see. Its somewhere around here. Firstly, its not warm.

Well, thats a shame, but its nothing.

Koreans cant help it.

I secretly hoped Gaon would get the first clear.

Apparently not.

Cho scratched his head.

Ha. Mother Russia, the trees are so dense.

Are you sure you zoomed in as far as you could?

Yeah. I zoomed, but I cant see it through the trees. Where the hell are you?

Just then, a radio call came in from the team running to the drones location.

-Senpai, is this really the first clear?

Yeah. Who am I kidding, where are they?

-Leoni, its Berserker Gilden.

What, what? Berserker?

-Wait, whos that guy in front of Leonie? I think hes Korean? Wait a minute, senpai, theres a bunch of other reporters coming in. Let me get this interview first!

Korean?

Was there a Korean in the European Union guild, Berserker?

Hyun Yong-seok fumbled with his memory.

Soon, the radio crackled again.

Hyun Yong-seok asked sharply.

What did they say? Korean? Whats the connection? Is it Berserker Guild?

-Yes, senior. I think hes Korean.

And?

A bemused voice came over the radio.

-Get out of the way, I said, so I could properly interview!

Whirring.

So you missed the interview?

-Ah, no, sir, its not that, its get out of the way and my patience is wearing thin. Its just that theres an irresistible force!

Oh, he has the Force. My words have no Force?

-.

Lets go after him and get him, Interview. Okay?

Cold radio.

Whirring.

An equally cold Siberian high pressure.

Hyun Yong-seok packed more padding.

As expected, its cold in Russia.