Repercussions (1)

The interview was being broadcast live. As tens of millions watched, questions poured in from the reporters.

“Ms. Seo Yerim! What exactly do you mean, you're an archer, not a swordsman?”

“I mean I changed classes.”

Seo Yerim promptly shared the class field of her status window.

“Holy shit...!”

“She really became an archer?”

“Her class changed?”

“How on earth...!”

The reporters were aghast, and with good reason. Once chosen, a class could never be changed.

At least, that had been true until a moment ago.

Yet hers really had changed. Information displayed through a status window was tied to the system and could not be falsified.

“Ms. Seo! H-how did you change classes?”

“I received a special reward from the gate.”

“But no reward like that has ever appeared, even in an S-rank gate!”

“Does the fact that it hasn't appeared before guarantee that it never will?”

“No, but... Then what happened to your existing swordsman skills and achievements?”

“Those changed as well.”

“Was there a reason you specifically switched from a sword to a bow?”

At that reporter's question, everyone stared intently at the Sword Phoenix, waiting for her answer.

She had trained with a sword since childhood. Nor was she bad at it. Her swordsmanship was good enough to put most high-ranking swordsmen to shame, yet she had changed classes overnight. How could they not wonder why?

Kim Minwoo took the microphone and answered for her.

“Ms. Seo is good with a bow. Good enough to generate a skill the moment she picked one up.”

“...!”

Surprise flickered across the reporters' faces.

She had generated a skill just by picking up a bow?

If true, that was an extraordinary talent, rare even on a global scale.

“You're saying the Sword Phoenix had that sort of hidden talent?”

“Yes. The gate reward happened to provide an opportunity, so she took it.”

“Then, Mr. Kim, how would you rate Ms. Seo's archery...?”

“She's on par with the world's top rankers.”

“... Top rankers?”

“The entire landscape of archery will be turned upside down soon. You're welcome to bet me on it.”

That was a complete reversal of his assessment during his last record attempt. He had dismissed her swordsmanship as lousy, but now he was saying her archery rivaled the world's top rankers.

'Are we supposed to believe this or not?'

Of course, Seo Yerim wasn't a fool. She wouldn't have changed classes for no reason. Surely her archery really was better than her swordsmanship.

It was the claim that she was on par with the world's top rankers that was hard to swallow.

“She'll be doing plenty more in the future, so you'll see how good she is in time.”

The reporters nodded.

“Mr. Kim! Dorim has issued a public apology. Are you willing to accept it?”

“Dorim? Who sent it?”

“It was simply an official statement from the company.”

Kim Minwoo smirked.

“They tried to bury someone, and you think that's enough?”

“Then...”

“I suspect Dorim may have deliberately orchestrated this whole affair.”

“Deliberately orchestrated it?”

“I hear Dorim's sales have dropped considerably lately because of my ads. Could they have intended to sacrifice one worthless son to bury another family's successful son?”

“Are you saying Chairman Jo of Dorim ordered his own son to carry out a sort of suicide attack?”

“Well, I'm saying it's possible. It would be a worthwhile trade for Dorim. Frankly, wouldn't getting rid of me in exchange for a complete piece of shit like Jo Piluk be a win for them?”

And if not, whatever.

Logically, it didn't quite add up. If Dorim were going to order a murder, they would use a third-party client with no apparent connection to them rather than Jo Piluk.

But so what?

That wasn't Kim Minwoo's problem.

First, he would sprinkle a few conspiracy theories around. The side forced to refute a rumor always had overwhelmingly more to prove than the side spreading it.

With public attention focused on him, those remarks would deal a considerable blow to Dorim's sales. After all, clearing an A+-rank gate had made him a national hero.

As the second-largest conglomerate, Dorim operated in quite a few of the same sectors as Ilseong. Dorim's decline was effectively Ilseong's gain.

Simply wrecking Dorim's sales would be fine.

'Or I could squeeze something big out of them while I'm at it.'

Making them cough up an entire business would work too.

Whatever happened, Dorim had thrown the first punch, and he had no intention of letting it slide. Besides, his backing was stronger anyway.

[(Breaking) Gate Clear Contributions Split 50–50! A D-Rank Awakener Ran Wild in an A+-Rank Gate?]

[(Breaking) Sword Phoenix Guarantees It! The 50–50 Contribution Split Is Undeniably True!]

[(Breaking) No Longer the Sword Phoenix, but the Bow Phoenix? Seo Yerim Changes Class to Archer!]

[(Breaking) World-Class Super Rookies Join Forces! Seo Yerim Joins the Money-Blowing Guild!]

[(Breaking) Did Dorim's Chairman Jo Order His Son to Murder Kim Minuk?]

[(Breaking) Dorim Dismisses Allegations as an Absurd Conspiracy Theory...]

* * *

After the interview, Kim Minwoo turned to Seo Yerim.

“Would you like me to come to Sword Sea Pavilion with you?”

“... No. On second thought, I think this is something I need to handle myself.”

“Will you be all right?”

“... All I'm doing is telling him I changed classes. And it's not as though things turned out badly. I'll be fine, so go do what you need to do, Minwoo.”

If that was what she wanted, then so be it. Kim Minwoo nodded.

Returning alone, Seo Yerim sought out the Sword Immortal.

“I heard the news. You changed your class to archer, Yerim?”

She nodded and shared her status window with him. His eyes widened in surprise at her skills.

Skills: Divine Bow Iperin (SSS), Ghost Step (A), Precision Snipe (A)...

“SSS-rank...”

Even he had never seen a skill of that rank before.

“Is this the skill you said you received as a gate reward?”

“Well, actually...”

Seo Yerim explained everything, from Kim Minwoo recognizing her talent for archery to entering a mysterious space and undergoing reassessment. Surprise showed in the Sword Immortal's eyes.

It was a talent that neither he nor any of Korea's other top awakeners had discovered. How had Kim Minwoo recognized it at a glance?

And on top of that, he had arranged for her to undergo a special process called reassessment.

'... He truly is a mysterious young man.'

The Sword Immortal's gaze deepened in thought.

Then Seo Yerim looked straight at him and spoke.

“Grandfather.”

“Speak.”

“I've always wanted your recognition. But I've never received it. Not once.”

The Sword Immortal nodded. He knew his granddaughter yearned for his recognition.

He had known ever since she was little, when his son and daughter-in-law died in an unexpected accident and he took her in.

But he hadn't given her what she wanted.

No, he couldn't.

Her talent fell far short of earning his recognition. What good would lying do in those circumstances? It would be meaningless.

At some point, he had even begun avoiding sparring with her. He didn't want to see his granddaughter despondent.

Seo Yerim's eyes grew earnest.

“I may wield a bow instead of a sword now, but my goal hasn't changed. So please spar with me.”

“... Get up.”

The Sword Immortal headed to the training ground with her. Instructors and disciples naturally began gathering around them.

“What's going on? Are those two actually going to spar?”

“They're heading to the training ground, so it looks like it...?”

“Wasn't their last match almost three years ago?”

The two took their places on the training ground, and Seo Yerim brought out her weapon.

[Activating Divine Bow Iperin (SSS)!]

With a flash of light, the divine bow appeared in her hand. It settled into her grip far more comfortably than the sword she had wielded for decades.

'Iperin. Help me.'

The bow trembled...!

Iperin quivered as though it had read her thoughts.

The Sword Immortal drew his sword as well. Tension stretched taut across the training ground.

Then he spoke.

“I'll begin.”

She nodded, and their match began.

Seo Yerim immediately activated the divine bow's skill.

[The divine bow declares a ‘Kill Zone’!]

[Duration: 20 minutes!]

[Agility increases by +50%.]

[Three times as many mana arrows are generated!]

Kill Zone was one of the divine bow's effects.

She drew the string, aiming at the charging Sword Immortal. Blue mana gathered and took the form of arrows.

Three arrows.

Holding her breath, she focused and released the string.

TWANG!

The three arrows flew unerringly toward the Sword Immortal. Initially traveling straight, they caught the wind and split into three separate trajectories.

His eyes gleamed as the arrows closed in as though surrounding him on three sides.

'Tricky.'

They approached with such precision that if he deflected one, another would strike him in the meantime. That meant she had calculated the wind currents and the relative speeds along each trajectory before firing.

She had drawn her bowstring only once, yet he had already glimpsed her talent.

Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't block them.

The moment he knocked all three arrows aside with a single stroke, another barrage came from above and directly ahead. Nine arrows in all hurtled toward his entire body, each precisely timed to arrive at a different instant.

WHOOSH.

Wind gathered in Seo Jincheol's sword. With one circular sweep, he sent the staggered volley tumbling to the ground.

This was the first time he had actively used Wind Swordsmanship in a match against her. In other words, her arrows posed that significant a threat.

The Sword Immortal swiftly closed the distance. In an instant, his sword thrust straight toward her.

[Using Ghost Step (A)!]

Seo Yerim activated her skill.

Her skill set had changed when she became an archer. Ghost Step, which had replaced Moon Step, was useful for putting distance between herself and an opponent.

Her figure blurred, and suddenly she was far behind her previous position.

The problem was that the Sword Immortal kept closing in as though he had anticipated it.

Firing her bow was useless. He knocked every arrow aside.

'Don't panic.'

Sparring with him had always been like this. Her grandfather would predict everything she did. Being hopelessly overwhelmed and defeated had been routine.

He had even proven to the world that he had grown stronger by clearing his last S-rank gate in record time.

The Sword Immortal had already been powerful enough. Even giving it her all, she doubted she could leave a single scratch on him.

'Still, I can do this.'

She had the divine bow. At the very least, she wouldn't repeat the helpless defeats of her past.

Seo Yerim's eyes gleamed. She had expected him to close the distance.

She raised the divine bow to block his sword.

CLANG!

An S-rank awakener and an A-rank awakener.

Sparks flew in every direction as the two exchanged blows at blinding speed.

Equipping the divine bow had granted her powerful enhancements. On top of that, she possessed an innate gift for archery.

Archery wasn't merely the art of shooting a bow well.

Her terrifying talent extended even to the realm of martial arts using bows and arrows.

The S-rank martial arts manual she had obtained in the gate.

[Seven-Kill Steps]

Unusually, this manual covered close combat: a martial art in which the user took seven steps and drove an arrow into the enemy's throat.

She had read the manual only once, yet her talent was allowing her to successfully execute the skill.

[Perfectly reproducing Seven-Kill Steps!]

With a mana arrow in one hand and the divine bow in the other, Seo Yerim parried the Sword Immortal's attacks. Her eyes narrowed.

The fifth step.

'I knew it. This isn't enough.'

The Sword Immortal's swordsmanship had advanced far beyond what it had been during their last match three years ago. Her grandfather would never fall to something as simple as this.

She needed a deadlier, more threatening attack. Only then would she have any chance of producing a result.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.

Seven-Kill Steps.

What if she combined it with three Precision Snipe arrows through Kill Zone?

Skills were a kind of standardized movement. Combining them was nearly impossible.

But Seo Yerim did it.

As she took her seventh step, her figure suddenly blurred. In an instant, she was right beside the Sword Immortal, drawing her bowstring.

[Perfectly linking Seven-Kill Steps and Precision Snipe!]

[Kill Zone supports the effect!]

[A new skill is being generated!]

[Seven-Step Strike (SS) has been generated!]

Three arrows fired at point-blank range.

At that very moment, all three shattered with a chilling crack.

Seo Yerim's eyes went blank with dismay. Her all-or-nothing attack had simply been blocked.

She hadn't even seen anything happen.

Yet every arrow lay shattered, and the Sword Immortal's blade rested against her throat.

Was she not good enough even with a bow?

Just then, the Sword Immortal spoke, looking impressed.

“... You gave your grandfather quite a surprise.”

“... What?”

“To think you'd make me use the Mind Sword. Goodness...”

“The Mind Sword...?”

She tilted her head. Was he referring to that enlightenment he had mentioned in passing before?

“Congratulations. You've found an excellent class that suits you perfectly. You have my recognition. You have talent.”

“... R-really?”

“Yes.”

A lifetime of training.

Though she now held a bow instead of a sword, that no longer mattered. At last, she had fulfilled the wish she had carried her entire life.

Seo Yerim's eyes trembled.

* * *

“... Huh?”

Kim Minwoo narrowed his eyes at the message that had suddenly appeared.

“What's going on? Why are my Achievement Points suddenly...”

Multiplying like crazy?