ACS 10

Episode 10

Creating a point of contact with the Cheongpung Guild was not difficult.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Beck Seo-yeon.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Si-woo.”

When I contacted the Cheongpung Guild, the third daughter, Beck Seo-yeon, came out. The Cheongpung Guild, founded by Beck Han-yeol. And under Beck Han-yeol, he has six children.

The eldest son, Baek I-Hyeon, unfortunately failed to awaken magic, so he serves as the deputy guild leader, handling administration and finances.

Baek Su-hyeon, the second child below him, is practically treated as the successor and holds the position of department head.

The person right below him is Beck  Seo-yeon,, who just shook hands with me.

‘They are paying attention to me as well.’

It shows they don’t consider me a nobody.

‘The spear technique… I must definitely learn it.’

Especially since the Cheongpung Guild has its own unique spear technique, it would undoubtedly be good to learn it.

‘The Golden Arrow Guild doesn’t have a special archery technique; their skill was registered as [Basic Archery Proficiency]…’

Here, wouldn’t it be registered as a skill like [Cheongpung Spear Technique] or something similar?

“Please follow me.”

“Yes.”

‘Well… they won’t teach me the Cheongpung Spear Technique, which is essentially their secret technique, from the start.’

But still, learning spear techniques from experts among experts is the best opportunity, isn’t it?

“Now, this is the pride of our Cheongpung Guild, the Martial Arts Hall.”

“Wow…”

“Contrary to the name… it’s quite modern, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

Contrary to the old-fashioned name “Martial Arts Hall,” it’s a place packed with the latest equipment.

“This room has motion detection sensors. You can train here and use 3D simulation to correct each of your movements.”

“Nice. This facility is much better than the one at Hanak Gong, isn’t it?”

“Haha, right? Next, here is…”

“Seo Ha-yeon is showing interest?”

“Yes, it seems the Golden Arrow Guild will actively try to recruit him.”

“Ugh… I couldn’t go to the scene myself last time, so I can’t assess him… Ugh…”

Last time, the appearance of an unregistered monster that shocked not only Korea but the whole world.

The incident that occurred at Yeong-deungpo Time Square was recorded as a disaster with as many as 400 fatalities.

Of course, due to the quick response, the damage didn’t escalate further, and experts even said the damage was relatively low compared to the monster’s danger level…

“The primary contributor to that incident was just a combatant from some Hanak Gong.”

Moreover, as if proving it wasn’t just luck, the Golden Arrow Guild’s active courtship continues.

“Is the information reliable?”

“Yes, I also heard from our informant within Hanak Gong. He is constantly breaking records at the training center.”

“It’s a 100% re-awakening.”

“Yes, the analysis team also speculates so. No, they are 99% certain.”

“What ability did he re-awaken?”

“That hasn’t been clearly identified yet… but my guess is that it’s probably an ability related to handling weapons.”

“Weapons? Regardless of the type?”

“Yes, Department Head.”

“Haha…”

“It appears he is learning archery from the Golden Arrow Guild.”

“They are really proactive.”

‘They said they would turn the three major guild system into a four major guild system… They personally pay attention to each talent.’

“Should we also make a move?”

“We should. Even though Seo Ha-yeon is annoying, his eye for people is certain.”

“Understood.”

“I heard he contacted our guild; what did he contact us for?”

“Well…”

“???”

At the secretary’s following words, Beck  Seo Ha-yeon was taken aback.

“He said he wants to learn spear techniques…”

“Huh?”

Spear techniques. Spear techniques. If he wants to learn, can’t he just register at a nearby spear technique dojo or something?

“Why on earth… Ah, that’s it.”

Perhaps Lee Si-woo is…

“Guild shopping.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

Guild shopping. The act of visiting guilds to find one to recruit him. More precisely…

‘The act of visiting guilds, believing in one’s own abilities, saying “recruit me, I’m an Awakened with such good abilities.”’

One cannot guild shop with just any ability.

“As expected, he awakened a good ability. No doubt.”

“Then what shall we do?”

“Let’s set a date. And… I’ll teach the spear techniques myself.”

‘Since Seo Ha-yeon personally taught archery… I should go personally.’

“You personally, Department Head?”

“Yes, me personally.”

“Great. Then, shall we warm up and start right away?”

“Yes, sounds good.”

After briefly warming up, the spear technique instruction began.

“Now, let’s start with this wooden pole first.”

Whoosh—

Thump—

“Your reflexes are good. I threw it to test your reflexes a bit.”

“Ahaha, the skill I awakened is [Agility].”

“Oh, is that so? Then, shall we see if you learn quickly too?”

Boom boom―.

Whoosh—

“Now, let’s start with the basics. Ran, Na, Char. You’ve heard of them, right?”

“Yes, I know they are the basics of spear techniques.”

Ran: Twirl the spear and push it outward.

Na: Pull the spear inward and press down.

Char: Thrust the spear to counterattack.

Twirl, push out, thrust.

The most basic forms of handling a spear.

And the Cheongpung Spear Technique adds various movements to that.

And those movements are…

“Techniques imbued with the flow of the wind.”

As expected, since the guild leader is someone who awakened wind magic, the spear technique naturally carries such characteristics…

[Basic Spear Proficiency Lv.2: You handle the spear more skillfully. Attack speed and damage increase further.]

‘It’s a pity, but since I didn’t awaken magic…’

Acquiring the Cheongpung Spear Technique failed.

Still, it’s a gain since the [Basic Spear Proficiency] skill level quickly rose to 2. And…

‘The Cheongpung Guild wants me too.’

I felt a strong conviction.

‘At the Cheongpung Guild, Beck Seo-yeon came out personally.’

Beck Seo-yeon is a promising next-generation contender fighting for the successor position.

‘They probably want to secure even one more talent to gain a favorable position in the fight for the successor position.’

“Shall we stop here for today?”

“Yes, thank you for coming out personally despite being busy.”

“Haha, this much is insufficient as repayment for what you did in Yeong-deungpo, Mr. Lee Si-woo. We thought the damage would be huge since we arrived late at the scene…”

“It was luck. Luck.”

“That luck is also skill. Anyway… thank you so much back then. If the damage had been greater, there was a high possibility that responsibility would fall on the guilds that arrived late…”

“Not at all. It’s not like you were late for no reason… similar situations occurred elsewhere, so you were delayed handling that. I understand.”

It was a time when abnormal phenomena occurred simultaneously nationwide, and everyone was overwhelmed. It’s no one’s fault.

“Well… then shall we meet again on the weekend?”

“Yes, I have to work on weekdays. Haha…”

Hanak Gong.

‘I should leave someday…’

Not yet.

Now is the time to increase my value, visit various guilds, gather information, and learn what I can.

‘[Basic Spear Proficiency]…’

A good idea came to mind.

“Ah, I have a question…”

“What is it?”

“Can bayonet techniques be considered closer to spear techniques than sword techniques?”

“Bayonet techniques… yes. Although the name is bayonet techniques, the actual movements are closer to spear techniques. It’s similar to handling a short spear.”

“Yes, thank you for the answer.”

“No problem.”

‘Since I plan to use guns for the foreseeable future, I can train spear techniques through bayonet practice, right?’

In my opinion, since [Basic Firearms Proficiency] is a skill that buffs all actions involving firearms…

‘Bayonet techniques also fall under firearms proficiency.’ Which means?

‘Practicing bayonet techniques allows me to level up both [Basic Firearms Proficiency] and [Basic Spear Proficiency] skills simultaneously.’

‘In the next request, I should deal with the small fry with shooting and the strong ones with bayonet techniques.’

Coincidentally, another request came in from Untied.

This request is to exterminate a group of Lizard men. Moreover, Lizard men are…

‘Humanoid monsters that specialize in using spears.’

They are monsters perfectly optimized for using bayonet techniques.

Different monsters use different weapons.

Goblins mainly use daggers. If they are slightly higher level, they use bows or magic.

Because their bodies are small, it’s difficult for them to wield large swords or spears.

Conversely, Orcs mainly use greats words. Because their bodies are large, it’s more effective for them.

Conversely, they don’t use daggers. Then…

“Lizard men, who have a physique similar to an adult male?”

They mainly use spears. Looking back at human history, the spear was the primary weapon.

Lizard men seem to have had a similar history, as they use spears as their primary weapon.

“The group size is 10…”

One elite warrior, acting as the leader, is visible in the center.

‘That is today’s target.’

I’ll fight the Lizard men elite warrior using bayonet techniques. The rest?

“The rest, I’ll kill first with the gun.”

Lizard men have hard scales, but not to the extent that bullets can’t penetrate them. You’d need skin as tough as an Orc’s for it to be difficult to penetrate.

Orcs have self-regeneration and tough hide layered on top, making them really hard to penetrate even with bullets. It would become easier if my [Basic Firearms Proficiency] skill level increased, but… The gun I’m holding now is the K14 sniper rifle.

“Kill all the remaining small fry except the target from the furthest distance possible.”

At close range, the Lizard men’s unique keen sense might expose my position, leading to close combat quickly. So I positioned myself at a very far distance.

“By the way, to come to the north…”

Although unification has occurred, many areas in the former North Korea are still restricted zones.

To prevent haphazard development, many places are blocked as development prohibition zones, being released sequentially…

Moreover, there are former North Korean residents who couldn’t adapt and formed criminal groups.

The place I came to perform this request is  Ham-gyong-do. A place near the Gaema Plateau.

“Since monsters keep popping out from the  Ham-gyong Plateau, it seems public authority has its limits.”

The client this time is a public institution, no less. Moreover, the  Ham-gyong-do Temporary Provincial Office.

It seems each public institution has allocated performance quotas, so they entrust requests to the underworld to erase traces?

‘The group appears to be a systematic organization… Is that a wild boar? Leopard skin? Despite monsters overflowing, wild leopards still survived.’

Actually, a group of 10 is relatively easy to handle…

The problem is that an elite warrior is among them.

“It’s my first time seeing an elite warrior in a small group.”

Saying that, I adjusted my breathing.

Phew―.—

Inhale—

Then, I looked at the target through the scope, measured the distance, and aimed at the appropriate spot.

Click—

Bang—!!!

A loud sound was heard, and after a moment…

Crunch—!!!

“Kishishishit—?”

“Kishishit—!”

One lizard man’s head shattered.

‘Got it.’

Click—

Without hesitation, I fired at the second target.

Bang—!

‘Good, just keep going like this.’