Solo Clear Chapter 4

staff :
Jen (TL)
Pawelosek (PR)
Uptime (PR)

"First, the most important thing is aiding from a distance with a bow and arrow."

Currently, out of all the weapons available, a bow and arrow would be the ideal weapon to attack from a distance.
The only issue is whether one is able to use it properly.
50 arrows are provided.
It's definitely not enough for a beginner when they have to use it to practice.
On top of that, there's no target, so one would have to shoot at a wall.
What would happen if we shot an arrow at the wall, a.s.suming that it's an ordinary arrow?
If the arrowhead or the bow broke, it would be completely useless.

"What? No one wants to do it? It'll be a lot safer than dealing with the enemy up front."

The safety that Han Ji Suk is talking about only applies when the front line is able to hold off the enemy.
It's human nature to betray their comrades when they feel that their life is at stake.
If that's the case, is being a bit further back really safe?

"…I'll do it since I'm the one that mentioned it."

It seems like Goo Tae Myung made up his mind about using the bow and arrow.
Without any hesitation, he opened the inventory window and selected his weapon.
Soon, a bow and arrows appeared from thin air.

"…Try it."

After seeing the weapon, Han Ji Suk's had a disappointed look on his face.
He was probably expecting a grand weapon that comes out in fantasy games.

"Grr…"

Goo Tae Myung's stance and the way he was holding the bow looked clumsy.
If a professional stood next to him, they probably would have to teach him from the beginning while complaining.
Historically, Koreans are known to be the best in handling the bow and arrow, which is why there are so many skilled people.
The King of Joseon was known to be so skilled he was able to shoot 49 arrows right into the bullseye without any mistakes.
People also earned gold medals at the Olympics with this skill.
Of course that's only possible because of effort.
For Goo Tae Myung, who's a beginner, I wonder how long it would take for him to get used to it.

Even if he was provided with 50 arrows, it was an impossible task.
Goo Tae Myung tried his best to hold his stance and then let go of the arrow.
Fwoos.h.!.+
For his first time, the arrow fled in a straight line.
Goo Tae Myung had a satisfied smile on his face.

"Oh, good job. I'm sure you'll get used to it soon."
"…Yeah!!"

Since there was no target in the room, there was no way to tell his accuracy rate..
I'm sure Goo Tae Myung thought he shot it pretty well, but from a third person point of view, he was lacking in a lot places.
The time it took for him to shoot one arrow was his biggest issue.
At that pace, he won't be able to do anything when there's an emergency situation.

"Is the next weapon a wand?"

A wand? Seriously? Wake up.
Just from looking at the mana level from the status window and choosing a wand that a magician would use…
Isn't that too big of a risk?
But, if one could really learn spells by holding a wand, then that's a different story.

"How about Seul Ki or Hana wielding it?"
Being unfamiliar with games, the girls were picked.
From the girls' point of view, they had no choice but to follow what the guys suggested.
They can't even go against them because they know nothing about this.

"Okay…we'll do that."

The hesitant Oh Hana raised her hand.
Like she had learned earlier, she opened the inventory, picked the wand and grabbed it.

"How is it?"
"I'm not sure."

Seeing Oh Hana's awkward expression, it seemed like there weren't any changes just from holding the wand.
Then that means it's the worst weapon to choose.
The wand looked so weak that even with a light impact, it'll easily break.

"d.a.m.n. Is it not the right one?"

Han Ji Suk had a disappointed look on his face.

"Ji Suk, what do I do? It'll be hard to protect myself with this."
"Huh?… Do…don't worry. We'll protect you until you learn the spells."

If he was trying to comfort her, I wish he would say it without stuttering.
He's the type that would throw people away once he has no use for them.
Maybe Oh Hana noticed because the hand that was holding the wand was shaking out of anger.
Unlike Lee Seul Ki, Oh Hana looked like someone that tried not to defy or betray.
For the first time, she glared at him.
I heard that once a girl changes, they become more forceful than guys.
It would be great to resolve this nicely.

"Hey!! Choi Min Ki, Lee Seul Ki, what are you guys doing?!"

Han Ji Suk looked at them both and started yelling at them.
Seeing what was going on before, they already picked a weapon that they found useful.
Choi Min Ki wore knuckles on his hands.
To fit with her small figure, she picked the dagger, which was easy to wield.

"We can at least pick the weapon ourselves. Don't try to be in control of that too!!"

Lee Seul Ki finally said what was on her mind.
To think she had that side of her.

"Seul Ki's right. Hey, Han Ji Suk. I don't mind you trying to be the leader of the group, but don't try to be in control of every little thing. Got it?"
"What? Hey, Choi Min Ki. When was I trying to be the leader, huh?! Tell me. Can't you see that I'm doing all of this for the group?"

They say that watching two people fight is the most fun out of all the fights.
I don't know who said it, but it's definitely right.
However, the people who were the most frustrated in this situation weren't those three.
It was Goo Tae Myung and Oh Hana.
Because of Choi Min Ki and Lee Seul Ki changing their mind, they're the ones that's the most affected.
Once you choose a weapon, you can't change it.
In the end, until you find a weapon, you're stuck with the current one.
"Do-don't fight. Who cares? Min Ki and Seul Ki are right too."
"Hey, Goo Tae Myung. Who's side are you on?"
"…Huh?"

In Goo Tae Myung's perspective, if this group breaks up, he'll be in a pitiful state.
That's probably why he was trying to calm everyone down.
With Han Ji Suk's personality, I'm sure it's not easy to hold it in and acknowledge it.
Being the son of a rich family, I'm sure he's able to get away with anything.
He probably hasn't heard any rude comments said to him.

"Hey, be honest. Is the reason why you were trying to pick a weapon last was to see what the others would pick first?"

Choi Min Ki looked at Han Ji Suk and yelled.
……
He felt sweat rolling down his back.
Choi Min Ki was saying it to Han Ji Suk, but he ended up taking a step back, feeling that he said something he shouldn't have.

"Are you a politician or something? Hey, you're the one that probably wanted to be the leader, right?"

Choi Min Ki was feeling really agitated.
Was that the reason why he was badmouthing Han Ji Suk?
This method is used to make themselves look better by bringing the other down.
It's a skill that's used often in interviews and debates.

"Stop it!!!"

Oh Hana yelled at them.

"We don't know what's going to happen to us, so fighting amongst ourselves will only bring us down. Also, the person that's at a disadvantage is me!! Got it? What am I supposed to do with this stick?!"

She's been keeping it in.
It seems like she felt really disappointed by it.
The pretty face soon disappeared and was replaced with an angry expression.
Thanks to that, Han Ji Suk and Choi Min Ki's argument ended.

"…Sorry."
"…Yeah."

It was a fight that ended badly for the both of them.
It's a fight that happens often amongst our age group.
However, there's no way of telling what kind of b.u.t.terfly effect will take place because of this.
If they just hold that anger in and that's all they think about…
It can turn into a big accident.

"Am I the only one left?"

Han Ji Suk spoke with a calm tone.

"Him too."

Lee Seul Ki pointed at me.

"Oh…him."

Hey, hey. Is he trying to say that he forgot about me?
I've been standing here all this time and he hasn't noticed me?
Thanks.
For giving me another reason to leave the group.

"Just…pick the one that you want to use."

The aggressive general's started his unstoppable leaders.h.i.+p.
If he continued acting the way he's been acting, he'll end up losing that position.
Although there were people that wanted his position, there were others that were observing his every word.
The once confident Han Ji Suk now started observing the other's expression.

"Before we move on…Min Ki, why did you chose the knuckles? An edged weapon probably has a better effect."

It's every guy's dream to break everything with their fists, but when it comes to effectiveness, it's a different story.
When comparing a sword and fist, it's obvious which one is the better choice.

"I'm majoring in Physical Education and I was pretty popular because of my fists. And there's no guarantee that a sword will always win in a fight. On top of that, if used correctly, it can dominate the enemy that's wielding a sword."

He wasn't wrong.
There's a lot of situations where fists will be more effective than a sword.
The most important thing is that the user needs to be comfortable with it.
With his muscle, if someone got hit by him, it wouldn't be a surprise if they got seriously injured.
To add on, with the spikes on the knuckles, it'll increase the effectiveness.

'It does look like his hands will hurt more though.'
For people that used a punching bag before, they know that when you punch it, your hands do get shocked by it.
The harder you hit, the harder the shock will be.
Although the knuckle's support will lessen it, it's hard to tell how effective it'll be.
With that body of his, it's probably better for him to use a lance.

"Excuse me, but why aren't you asking me?"

Lee Seul Ki asked like a child.

"Because it's a good choice. In the current situation, a dagger is the best weapon for a girl to wield."

Even if they could improve later on, they had to use their own skills for now.
The heavier it is, the bigger the attacks will be, meaning their stance could be messed up.
Although there were cons, it fit Lee Seul Ki's height of 160cm.
When looking as a whole, the dagger was the best choice for her.

"Really? Th…that's a relief."

Placing a hand on her chest, she released a sigh of relief.
It seems like she was worried about choosing a weapon without consulting it.
It's natural for girls to feel worried about their choice when compared to guys.

"I've decided on this one."

Picking up the lance, he started twirling it in the air.
Swoosh.

"Hey!!"

Goo Tae Myung, who was standing near him, almost got hit.

"Hey, why were you just standing here? Are you alright?"
"…Yeah."

Sweat started forming on Goo Tae Myung's forehead.
Perhaps it was because he was really scared, but his heart was pounding really fast.

"d.a.m.n it."

Although he didn't say it out loud, Goo Tae Myung's lips said those words.
It was short, but violent.

"Hey, you still haven't picked?"
Even though Han Ji Suk was standing next to him, it seemed like he didn't hear what Goo Tae Myung said.
It included the others as well.

"I'm contemplating between a lance and a s.h.i.+eld."
"What the? Then isn't it obvious to pick the lace? What's the point of continuously defending?"
"Because we don't know what we're going up against. Also, once we leave this place, we don't know where it will lead us. If we end up in a small cave, a lance will be useless."

All I did was a.s.sume, but the members looked at me with a blank expression.
There were still a lot of things we didn't know about this place.
I thought this would be necessary when thinking about the future events.
It seemed like the other members struggled to find the best weapon for the current situation.

"Then why a s.h.i.+eld?"
"I can defend and attack the enemy by smas.h.i.+ng them."

Although there were cons to using a s.h.i.+eld, I was leaning towards it.
On the weapon selection page, why was there a s.h.i.+eld when all it can do is defend?
Perhaps the person in charge of this thought that the s.h.i.+eld can be used as a weapon as well.
Another reason was because the most of the hikers in the other group chose the lance.
I didn't really feel like using the same weapon as other people.

"It seems like you think about the weirdest thing because you're an outsider."
"I'll take that as a compliment."

I didn't care what Han Ji Suk thought of me.
I didn't want to meddle with them either.

"Anyways, it's late. It's already 6:30."

Choi Min Ki pointed out as he looked at his watch.
Now that he mentioned it, it's way past 6 o'clock.

"Did those guys lie to us?"
"I don't think so. They look like they're waiting for it too."

Oh Hana said this after observing the hiker's expressions.
In my opinion, there was nothing they would gain by lying to us about the time.

"We apologize for being late. There was something we needed to take care of."

The voice was the same one that I heard when I was in the tunnel.

"Why did you lock us in here? Who the h.e.l.l are you?! Let us out."

Lee Seul Ki suddenly started yelling at the ceiling.

"Please understand that this all for you guys."

As expected, they didn't have any intention of letting us out.
It can be a.s.sumed just from the way they ended the conversation.

"We will now begin the opening of the store that was scheduled at 6 o'clock!!"
—-

PR (Uptime): Hi, sorry for the long wait, Pawelosek is MIA, so I will be publis.h.i.+ng the chapters