Season 2: Chapter 134: Veteran vs. Newbie (2)

Season 2: Chapter 134: Veteran vs. Newbie (2)

‘What's this? Almond?’

Brr initially felt pleased after realizing that the horseman was Almond.

‘Good, you're here,’ he thought.

Almond had disappeared from the battlefield after dying inside the walls.

‘You're dead,’ Brr conspired to kill Almond again and turned his attention to his veteran knight Salamanka.

[Veteran Knight - Salamanka]

Salamanka, a skilled player ranked within the top 200 from Spain, received a special command from Brr.

"Kill that black-haired guy," Brr ordered and pinpointed Almond as the target. He offered a hefty bounty of thirty gold for the task.

[Kill that black-haired guy]

[30 Gold]

"Ah... what's this?" Brr murmured as Salamanka moved to engage against Almond.

By the time Salamanka reached him, Almond had already inflicted tremendous damage.

"Almond is slaughtering our cavalry in a straight line..." Brr muttered after counting roughly a dozen losses.

Then, Salamanka finally arrived and disarmed Almond as they clashed.

"Done...!"

Brr's face brightened with triumph. Almond was weaponless and it seemed only his death remained.

"Kill him!" Brr commanded.

***

Almond sensed it the moment he crossed swords with the veteran knight.

‘This is disadvantageous.’

As expected, the clash of blades produced sparks like fireworks and a foreboding feeling washed over Almond.

[Durability Depleted]

With a bursting sound, the sword was rendered useless and flew out of Almond's hand.

‘Does this kind of thing also happen?’ Almond wondered as he became unarmed.

The enemy seized the opportunity and gracefully wielded their sword.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Even while dodging, Almond realized it.

‘This is disadvantageous. I have no weapon or tricks.’

Using his speed and tricks could win against opponents up to A-rank, but it didn't provide much advantage against players who had reached the level of predicting and preemptively reacting to sword movements.

Unlike in LIL where Almond could move at high speeds, his reactions and adjustments were within human limits here. Hence, such tricks didn't work here.

Thud...

Almond, now unarmed and outmaneuvered, faced his adversary. His helmet had also flown off.

‘Ah, that helmet was worth at least three silver,’ Almond noted.

— Damn

— That was close

— Isn’t there anything he can do?

Almond ultimately decided, ‘Let's escape for now.’

He realized that fighting sword to sword wouldn’t work, especially with his weapon gone and the huge difference in the quality of their weapons to begin with. He leaned as far to the right as possible and sharply turned the horse.

Almond evaded one last sword strike and sped away toward his own troops.

‘How do I win this...?’ Almond pondered deeply.

He thought he could beat the veteran knight after shopping at the store, but that idea was dismissed rather easily. Why did he think he could win in the first place?

— If only he was a mounted archer...

— BornToShit, why isn’t he upgrading?!

— Is this another loss...?

Almond recalled his original plan from the chat. He had initially planned to enter the battlefield again as a mounted archer on horseback.

‘Right, that was the plan. Originally...’

He thought he could handle even a veteran knight if he could keep shooting arrows while moving on horseback. Once he returned in the game though, he couldn't choose the mounted archer class and opted to be a cavalryman instead. He became too immersed in the game and momentarily forgot that fact.

“BornToB, is the upgrade still not ready?”

His first idea was to die again and switch to the mounted archer class. He would lose some money, but Almond wanted to prioritize his win streak and reach S+ rank as quickly as possible. It seemed like a viable option.

If BornToB completed the upgrade for mounted archers, he would switch to one. However...

“Should I... do that?”

The plan was immediately dismissed.

“No, don’t.”

— LOL

Almond thought a one in three chance was worth a shot. It seemed like the best option available.

He pointed precisely at Walnutty and could only rely on this gesture. Unfortunately, the commander couldn't see player IDs, which added another layer of uncertainty.

Would BornToB correctly interpret Almond's gesture? Or would he mistake the player for another archer further back? If BornToB was confused by this vague pointing, it wouldn't be fair to blame him.

‘Let’s trust in him.’

Almond decided to trust the experience they had gained from playing dozens of games together. He pointed more clearly at Walnutty and shouted, “That person!”

“Yes?!”

“That person! The one with black hair!”

Almond managed to give a minimal description, but before he could finish his sentence...

“The bow—”

Whoosh!

The pursuing veteran knight threw a javelin at him.

Fortunately, Almond ducked with his upper body and avoided it. However, not finishing his message to BornToB posed a bigger problem.

'It's over,' Almond thought.

He would pass by the archers without getting a chance to get a bow.

To his surprise, BornToB understood him immediately.

Ping!

BornToB promptly clicked.

[Archer - Walnutty]

He accurately picked out Walnutty and delivered the command.

[Hand over the bow and arrows to Almond.]

[50 Gold]

At that moment, Almond was about to pass by Walnutty. The distance seemed to be less than ten meters.

Almond extended his hand and shouted at Walnutty, "Here!!!"

Their eyes met. It was only a moment, but time seemingly stopped due to the tension.

— Oh.

— What if...

— If it's a troll, then what?

— Seriously?

— Uh...

Even though BornToB correctly delivered the command, it would be useless if that player was a troll. It would be futile if they also didn't recognize Almond. Only one scenario was desperately needed.

'What kind of person are you? Why is there no reaction...?'

Walnutty's response was delayed. Why was he standing still?

Just as Almond bit his lip, suddenly...

Tadadak!

Walnutty suddenly jumped onto the barrier in front of him and shouted, "Mommaaaa!"

He threw the bow and quiver of arrows.

"When I grow up!!"

The bow and quiver of arrows flew precisely in the path where Almond would pass.

"I wanna be Almond!"

Click!

Almond snatched up the equipment as if they were sucked into his hand. Fortunately, that player turned out to be a loyal supporter just waiting for the perfect timing.

— !

— Wow!

— Incredible!

— !!!

— Is this even possible!?

The commentators stood up and shouted excitedly. Almond immediately twisted his upper body and pulled the bowstring.

Giririk...!

‘Now...’

The arrow tip aimed at the neck of the veteran knight who relentlessly pursued him.

‘Let's finish this.’

Paang!

The arrow left the bowstring and flew toward the veteran knight.