The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 61

As soon as it started, she immediately nocked an arrow to her bowstring and shot.

Piiing!

A sharp sound cutting through the air.

An U-ju’s arrow flew toward Choi Hyun.

‘I’ll finish this in one shot!’

An U-ju’s eyes gleamed.

There’s no way he can dodge this.

Following the principle of striking first to win, she deliberately shot an arrow infused with acceleration skill right from the start.

That’s when it happened.

Swish-

Choi Hyun lightly twisted his body and deflected An U-ju’s arrow.

Was it coincidence?

But the series of actions he had just performed were too naturally fluid for that.

“A surprise acceleration skill, nice. But is that it?”

She had expected it to end with the acceleration and wasn’t preparing a follow-up, but instead got mocked for that very reason.

An U-ju’s face reddened as she immediately nocked another arrow.

Choi Hyun still didn’t move.

No, he had no intention of moving.

More precisely, he had no intention of attacking.

What’s the easiest way to bring the greatest despair to an archer?

Simple.

Just don’t get hit by the arrows the archer shoots.

An U-ju’s arrows came flying again.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

This time she chose rapid fire.

He still showed only minimal movement while dodging the arrows.

The flying arrows grazed past his face, embedded near his feet, or flew toward his heart – they came from truly diverse directions, befitting her nickname as an archery prodigy.

And what about the speed?

Originally, Korean people have been known to enjoy archery since ancient times.

Why else would there be a movie called “War of the Arrows,” and which country swept the archery gold medals at the Olympics?

It was Korea.

Therefore, An U-ju’s archery skills were actually at nearly top-tier level not just domestically, but globally.

It’s just that player rankings are based on combat power that applies various miscellaneous stats, so she couldn’t become world number one.

That’s why Choi Hyun also thought:

‘She’s definitely among the better archers active at this point in time.’

However, that was only by current standards.

To prepare more flexibly for the 2nd Great Catastrophe, let alone the coming 3rd Great Catastrophe, this level of skill was nowhere near enough.

Frankly speaking, An U-ju’s current skill was inferior to that of elves.

After continuing to dodge while staying almost in place for quite some time.

The area around Choi Hyun’s feet had become like a porcupine.

“Huh…”

“What the…”

Kang Hwi-rak and Lee Yong-u were amazed.

Kim Ha-geom was also surprised, his mouth slightly agape with a dumbfounded expression.

An U-ju was one of the few hunters that Kim Ha-geom acknowledged domestically.

Yet this was the result?

Moreover, Kim Ha-geom had another reason for his surprise.

‘What the hell is that movement…!’

By chance, his turn had been pushed to second, giving him the opportunity to watch Choi Hyun’s fight first.

So he quietly observed as Choi Hyun had said.

But watching it, this didn’t make sense.

What kind of movement was this?

Footwork?

Could it be that he had learned a footwork skill?

But for footwork, his actions were too simple.

He was moving his body lightly as if doing stretches, so it didn’t feel like a skill at all.

Then was he dodging by sight?

Thinking that, he observed carefully, but that wasn’t it either.

As if predicting the incoming trajectory, he was always moving one or two steps ahead.

That’s what made it even more absurd.

If he had barely missed by a hair’s breadth, one might think it was desperate, but that wasn’t the case.

And at the same time, there was another person feeling the same emotion as Kim Ha-geom.

It was An U-ju.

‘Does this even make sense…?’

She had shot roughly over a hundred arrows.

But far from hitting, she hadn’t even seen them graze him once.

She even had the illusion that he was repelling arrows like a magnetized magnet.

At first, she didn’t believe it.

Then the more she shot, the more stubborn she became.

But as more time passed, she gradually lost her fighting spirit.

She denied reality and couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before her eyes.

But she had to pull herself together.

‘People are watching!’

She grabbed another arrow from her quiver.

Veins bulged on her forehead and her weakened arm muscles swelled again.

You’re so good at dodging?

Then try dodging this too.

An U-ju shot a new arrow.

More precisely, it was an arrow with an embedded skill.

It was a guided shot.

The official name was Chaser Arrow.

It consumed some mana, but once shot, it was a sure-hit arrow that would definitely strike its target.

The moment the Chaser Arrow was fired, Choi Hyun’s lips formed a round shape.

Oh.

Finally using a skill?

Right, it probably wasn’t working out trying to handle everything with just basic attacks.

I understand.

At first, you probably only used basic attacks to preserve your pride.

But when over a hundred shots didn’t hit, what then?

You have to borrow the power of abilities.

But you know what.

Crack!

The sound of breaking.

It was the sound of the arrow flying toward Choi Hyun being struck by a sledgehammer and shattering.

Grin-

Choi Hyun smiled.

Then, shouldering the sledgehammer he had summoned at some unknown point, he raised his eyebrows.

At that cheeky provocation, An U-ju’s reason snapped for a moment.

“You crazy bastard!”

[ Chaser Arrow is activated. ]

[ Chaser Arrow is activated. ]

[ Chaser Arrow is activated. ]

[ Chaser Arrow is activated. ]

[ Chaser Arrow is activated. ]

…

Yeah, let’s see how long you can keep blocking.

An U-ju began shooting arrows wildly.

Posture and accuracy didn’t matter.

After all, Chaser Arrow would correct everything.

What mattered was power and speed.

Only when those combined would each arrow strike with devastating force.

But.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Arrow after arrow shattered in succession.

Not a single arrow managed to reach Choi Hyun.

Choi Hyun calmly destroyed every arrow rushing toward him.

Like he was playing a game of whack-a-mole.

“This is insane….”

Lee Yong-u was shocked.

How was this even possible?

It was a sight he’d never seen before.

An U-ju’s Chaser Arrow… no, it seemed like the first time he’d ever seen her attacks miss or get blocked like this.

It wasn’t a dream.

Everything was reality unfolding before his eyes.

Choi Hyun still maintained his smile as he leisurely deflected the arrows.

The second way to drive an archer to despair.

That was to deflect all of the archer’s arrows.

Now it was time to end this.

Arrows still came rushing in.

But Choi Hyun boldly threw down his hammer.

He didn’t throw it at An U-ju.

He dropped it to the floor as if discarding it.

Confusion bloomed on the faces of those watching.

Did he drop it?

No.

He threw it away on purpose.

And what happened next was the most shocking sight they’d witnessed yet.

Whoosh- Thunk!

Because Choi Hyun began deflecting arrows with his bare hands.

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

The secret was Parrying 2.

Choi Hyun’s smile deepened.

‘As long as I have this, your arrows will never reach me.’

A realm more difficult than dodging or destroying.

That was changing the trajectory of incoming arrows to send them in completely different directions.

It was also the best move to cruelly cut the archer’s last thread of hope.

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

[ Parrying 2 is activated. ]

…

The parrying continued.

After deflecting all the Chaser Arrows for some time, she finally stopped shooting.

“….”

She fell silent.

She still had arrows left.

Yet she couldn’t shoot anymore.

She had realized it.

That her bow could never hit that man.

At the same time, she felt it for the first time.

The massive wall of an incredible talent gap she couldn’t even dare to look at.

Choi Hyun asked.

“Aren’t you going to shoot anymore?”

“…lost.”

“Pardon?”

“…I lost.”

“Are you forfeiting?”

“…Yes.”

“Understood. You did well.”

He finished with a polite bow.

This was a sparring match, not a duel after all.

She left the Cage with a vacant expression as if possessed by a ghost.

“A-are you okay?”

A startled Lee Yong-u went to check on her, but she passed by him without responding like a corpse and sat down on a chair in the corner of the Training Ground.

She was burned out.

No, she had turned pale.

That was the perfect expression for her current state.

Lee Yong-u went to her side and earnestly tried to comfort her.

But she stared blankly into space with an empty expression as if she couldn’t hear anything.

Gulp-

Kang Hwi-rak swallowed hard at the sight.

He wasn’t one to get nervous easily.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt nervous since his guild became the industry leader.

Yet that same man was currently nervous.

It probably wouldn’t happen.

But.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

It was anxiety that they might lose this bet.

Cold sweat broke out.

He rolled his eyes to look at Kim Ha-geom standing beside him.

Kim Ha-geom’s expression was also stiff.

He looked like a prisoner waiting his turn to be led to the execution ground.

His mouth was parched.

He wanted to say something to him, but words wouldn’t come out easily.

Then it was Choi Hyun who broke the silence.

“The inside of the Cage is a bit messy because of the arrows… How about it, if you’re okay with it, should we just go ahead? Or should I clean it up?”

He asked Kim Ha-geom.

At that question, Kim Ha-geom moistened his dry mouth with saliva once, then let out a deep breath.

Then he took out his sword from his inventory, still in its sheath, and stepped onto the Cage with a determined expression.

“Let’s do this.”

“You’re suddenly using formal speech?”

“…Just get on with it.”

“Understood. This time I have to face swordsmanship.”

He extends his hand.

Then a sword hammer was summoned and gripped in his grasp.

“I’ll match the TPO as well.”

“….”

Kim Ha-geom quietly draws his sword.

All kinds of thoughts fill his mind.

Soon Han Yu-won shouted.

“Begin!”

At the same time, Kim Ha-geom moved.

First, he planned to use quick-draw techniques to probe his opponent.

That was the plan he had made.

And just as he was about to draw his sword.

“…!”

At some point, a sharp blade had approached right before his eyes.

It was Choi Hyun’s sword hammer.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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