'Now is not the right time to attack that last spot.'
I had that feeling.
'I have to find it.'
There was another spot that came before the last one, a hidden spot.
[Observing with Observer's Eye.]
It couldn't be seen with the naked eye. I sought the assistance of my innate ability, Eye of Perception, and took in all the information I was given.
'There's another spot.'
It wasn't me who found it, but Eye of Perception and Observer's Eye. It felt almost like I was zooming in on the Black Troll's knee.
'The folded skin of the knee.'
Hidden within that fold was a black spot. I had to take that down first. That was the correct order.
'I have to go between the folds.'
With an arrow, that is.
'Can I do it?' I asked myself.
Today was my first time shooting a bow.
'I can do it.'
I drew the bowstring. The Black Troll charged at me.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Arrows burning with black flames sticking out of its body, the enraged Black Troll ran at me in a straight line.
'Now.'
I released the bowstring.
'The trajectory is… perfect.'
The arrow whistled off, drawing a far more precise and clean line than I expected before plunging into the Black Troll's knee.
KUOOOO!
It swung its fists, but those fists didn't reach me.
Thud!
The Black Troll fell over with a great thump. It got up arduously, but its movements were very unnatural.
'Next is the belly button.'
The black spot around the belly button was the last one. Referring to the image engraved in my mind, I aimed for the spot.
'I'm not looking at the Black Troll's actual body.'
I was aiming for the spot inside the image in my head. That was the real final spot.
It almost felt as if I were pressing a spot on the screen of my smartphone with my finger. I unconsciously drew the bowstring and landed a proper hit.
[The Black Troll's regeneration ability has been completely extinguished.]
[The Black Troll roars in rage.]
KUOOOOOO!
The roar was full of Troll Fear.
[Eye of Perception detects a foreign energy.]
I responded with another ability of mine, Mirror Sight, the power to reflect external forces applied on me.
Kuoo—!
The Black Troll's roar died in its throat.
Having lost its regeneration power, the Black Troll was not much different from a regular Troll. Granted, the Troll race as a whole had amazing recovery speed, but even so, a regular Troll was no longer a match for me.
[Black Troll has been killed.]
[EXP acquired.]
[Regeneration Serum acquired.]
I wasn't able to focus on the notices. I sat down in the lotus position. After doing it a few times, I had some know-how. This was the best position for meditation.
'I have to visualize the situation earlier.'
And I had to do it more vividly than reality, make it more real than the experience itself. I had to discern how I had fought with the Black Troll, what kind of flow and fundamental threads had run through the battle. I went back to the very beginning of our fight and recalled the entire scene.
I fought another vivid battle with the Black Troll in my head. No, the battle in my head was actually more difficult.
'It's hot.'
I felt sweat beading down my forehead. My back was wet as well. The real battle hadn't been that hard, but the image training in my head consumed more mental power.
'But…'
That feeling I got when I struck the spot on the knee, that place hidden within folds of skin, that was the feeling I needed to grasp.
'Again.'
I played through the battle again.
'From the beginning.'
I read the flow again.
'Again.'
I attempted it another time.
'Again.'
I challenged it again and again, forgetting everything around me. I needed to focus. I didn't want to miss this chance that I had just barely grasped the tail of, a chance that would lead me to a new realm.
'Again.'
After going through several rounds of image training, I finally realized it.
'Observer's Eye…'
Observer's Eye captured something that could not be seen. It found the hidden spot for the 'real clear'. This flow, this feeling. A wave of refreshing coolness washed over me, my head clearing. It felt like something cold was wrapping over my steaming, hot back.
'I get it.'
I knew what this feeling was. It was like receiving a teaching from an amazing teacher. My vision seemed to clear, becoming crisp and sharp.
[Observer's Eye has pioneered a new realm.]
Me finding the Black Troll's hidden spot was something akin to a 'feeling'.
[Observer's Eye has succeeded in materializing a 'feeling'.]
[Congratulations.]
[A new power, Eye of Investigation, has been developed.]
That feeling descended on me as a new power.
'This sort of thing works too, huh.'
I concentrated in order to not lose that feeling, and ended up awakening a new ability.
[Eye of Investigation]
A power that searches for and finds obscured objects or phenomena. Through Eye of Investigation, one can find an opponent's hidden weak points.
'How much time has passed?'
Senia showed herself.
"42 minutes have passed," she said, as if reading my mind.
"I… was concentrating for 42 minutes?"
"Yes."
That was a little odd then.
'42 minutes… is more than enough time for Wings to have completely cleared the 2nd floor.'
It couldn't be that Wings failed to clear the 2nd floor, could it? I had hunted the hidden boss monster. As long as they could clear the 2nd floor scenario, this entire field would be cleared.
"I need to go down and see."
But just then, Senia spoke. "If you are doing so because you are concerned about the clear, I believe that it is unnecessary."
"How come?"
"The clear requisites have been fully met. However, the clear has been temporarily deferred."
"Temporarily deferred?"
The clear conditions were met, but the field wasn't cleared. It wasn't normal.
'The interference of a very strong Guardian.'
Could it be the [Night of Shooting Stars]? Was he still not pleased with my performance? That was surprising—I thought I did pretty well for someone who had picked up a bow for the first time today.
'Come to think of it…'
I hadn't heard any messages—either of satisfaction or disappointment—from the Night of Shooting Stars.
'And they haven't taken back the Blackfire Bow yet.'
They hadn't taken back the weapon they had temporarily lent out to me.
"There must be someone I must fight," I said.
There was an opponent even more capable of proving my qualifications than the Black Troll, and they were likely connected to a large number of Guardians.
The clear conditions were met, but the clear was deferred, a fairly significant act of interference. It didn't seem like just one Guardian was involved.
'Someone… is coming up.'
Someone came up the escalator.
[A new person is entering the 3rd Floor.]
The man who came up to the 3rd floor was someone I recognized.
* * *
The new arrivals were a sapling-shaped Intermediate Administrator with a few leaves on his head instead of hair and the Italian-looking man that Intermediate Administrator accompanied.
'He's tall and has a slender physique.'
The man was quite good-looking.
'A savage fighting spirit.'
I already knew the name of the man walking towards me. Vela. The man who would one day become the Fight King in the future I remembered.
'Vela was here at this point in time?'
Wasn't this the time when he should be tackling the Italian server's Rumanio Dungeon? I examined the man with Eye of Perception.
[Player]
Name: Vela
Age: 25
Level: 33
Class: Fighter of the Dawn
Guardian: White Hunter
Innate ability: [Indomitable Fighting Spirit] [Last Thread of Consciousness]
State: Having Fun / Excited / Boiling Fighting Spirit
Disposition: Belligerent / Carnivorous / Simple
Summary:
Battle Nut who Fears his Childhood Friend
Single-celled Organism who Detests Complicated Things
The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation.
Because Eye of Perception's proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible.
The man radiating fierce fighting spirit was chattering away, but I couldn't understand him. The tree Intermediate Administrator, Wilson, stepped forward.
"Kiddo. You'll have to indulge Vela and do a PVP with him."
That moment, a PVP zone was declared. I could see what was happening.
'This is a scenario linked to the White Hunter, the Night of Shooting Stars, and maybe even the Conductor of Sound.'
The Fight King Vela was famous for being a belligerent person, someone who liked the strong and enjoyed fighting them. His summary said it all.
Battle Nut who Fears his Childhood Friend
I also knew who that childhood friend was—an Italian Master, Pedro. They had grown up together, or something like that. However he treated other people, Vela tended to be more obedient to Pedro. According to the rumors, when they were kids, Vela grew up getting beaten up by Pedro, but whether that was true or not was never revealed.
'He's not a bad person by nature.'
He just liked to fight. Some might disparage such a disposition as barbaric and perverted, but as a third party, I had liked Vela's character.
'And he sometimes appeared on Master Pedro's Youtube channel.'
I remembered the comments blowing up everytime that happened. I had also occasionally watched Pedro's channel in the hopes of seeing Vela.
'When I was a third party, I liked that exciting personality, but now…'
Now that I was involved, there wasn't much to like about Vela's hotheadedness. It was clear as day that the Fight King would have pestered me for a fight even if he didn't have a 'scenario' to complete, like a hunting dog straining at the leash, chomping at the bit for a fight.
Wilson continued. "I don't think there's really a need to translate. You and Vela just have to fight."
The Fight King Vela pulled out an axe.
"...However, Vela has asked me to do it, so I'll handle the translation for a short while."
It was amusing. At this point in time, Intermediate Administrators wielded omnipotent power. It was the norm for Players to be at the mercy of Intermediate Administrators. But their relationship didn't look like that.
"Sure thing."
I thought Vela would immediately come at me, but to my surprise, the man wanted to talk.
"You're Kim Hyukjin?"
"And?"
"Good. I'll need you to have a round with me. I wanna check how strong the White Hunter's most cherished Player is."
Most cherished Player?
'The White Hunter's favorite wasn't Vela… but me?'
I didn't know whether that was true or not. It could be that the White Hunter sent Vela such a message to agitate him.
"What's your class? I'm a close-ranged combat class that can use axes, daggers, spears, everything."
To that, I answered, "Archer."
I would do my best to produce content that could satisfy the big investor, the Night of Shooting Stars. As an archer, that is.
Vela asked another question.
"You good at fighting?"
For an archer, I was probably… not half-bad.
____