NOVEL NEXT Chapter 436
[
Escape from Savia Artificial Forest]
An artificial forest the size of Seoul created by Saudi Arabia on desolate land.
The scenery of Savia Forest was filled with traces of death.
Dried and decomposing branches and leaves lay thick on the ground, remnants of rotting foliage.
Thin and gaunt trees stood like crumpled figures, and no matter which way one stepped, no spirit of life was felt.
The soil had become acidic, and flora and fauna had perished.
Thus, even if gunfire could be heard, there were no birds flying around, making noises like caw caw.
Bang-!
A steady shot.
Na-me exhaled into the air and relaxed the posture she had maintained.
“Nice shot, Asha!”
Arimura clapped her hands like a seal, celebrating her achievement.
Wachoo-pya~~~~
Our newb is amazing!
Adapting faster than I expected, huh?
That stance was pretty good.
Arimura-sensei’s one-on-one coaching, wow!
Are we playing golf here? Nice shot, lol.
They say even babies get praised for babbling.
And that’s precisely what Na-me was experiencing.
+1 point for holding her breath during the aim, +1 point for maintaining a straight posture, +1 point for pulling the trigger well, and +100 points for her enthusiasm.
“But I think I still need more practice. It’s harder than I thought.”
“Oh, no! If you have this level of skill without adjustments, you’re truly talented.”
Auto-correction is definitely useful for beginners, but it’s ambiguous when faced with moving opponents.
To get used to multiplayer later, she shouldn’t get accustomed to auto-correction.
So, Na-me took Arimura’s heartfelt advice.
Only after confirming the tightly grouped shots did the girl’s thinly stretched lips gently curve up.
The viewers, captivated by the newbie’s pure demeanor, began cheering even more wildly.
Seizing the moment, Arimura requested her to join her.
“I accidentally selected hardcore a moment ago, so it might be a little intense, but if you stick close behind me, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Is there a shorter weapon in front?”
“Wanna trade for my pistol? This is a sidearm anyway, so I’d have to swap it out later. No short barrels on this map… at least there’s a crossbow?”
“Huh? There’s a crossbow in this game?”
“It’s a tactical crossbow, so it auto-loads with a lever. But it’s pretty tricky to use.”
Arimura displayed a look of reluctance.
‘Indeed, a newbie is just a newbie.’
Without hesitation, she picks the fun and troll weapons.
“I’m really good with crossbows.”
With unfounded confidence.
But she couldn’t outright reject the girl’s earnest request.
A newbie’s heart is as fickle as a reed; you never know when they might quit the game for any reason.
“Alright then… let’s take a detour and do some farming first.”
Viewers who had been thoroughly wrecked by their ally’s crossbow trolling shouted in despair.
The terrain of Savia Artificial Forest was harsh indeed.
Crossing narrow log bridges and sometimes climbing small rocky hills with ropes.
Despite it being a long and tedious journey lasting over ten minutes, Na-me didn’t utter a single complaint.
Arimura and the viewers couldn’t hold back their amazement at her patience, which was uncharacteristic of a child.
“Do you often play other games, Asha? You seemed like you were totally new to Resonance earlier.”
“I used to play often. I actually started Resonance as part of a school project.”
“Wait, the school makes students play Resonance?”
“They told us to create our own games.”
“Oh, I see. But I can’t help but feel making a game sounds super tough! Even if they say Resonance is easy to make. Say, are you maybe a college student…?”
“No, I’m still attending the Academy.”
“Wow, the Academy gives out homework like that nowadays? That’s fascinating. Didn’t expect you to be such a model student, Asha.”
“Didn’t expect?”
Rustle-
“…!”
A sound of presence came from within the bushes.
Arimura knelt down, aiming her AK-44 straight ahead.
Her posture was flawless.
The moment something dark popped out above the bushes, the bullet was fired.
Tatadang-!
The shattered piece of scrap metal fell to the ground with a thud.
Arimura picked up the prey and showed it to Na-me.
“It’s a murder drone powered by magical stones. We’re in an electromagnetic disturbance area here, so there’s no worry about location being revealed, but these pests can be quite annoying throughout the campaign.”
Na-me quietly nodded, mentally recalling Arimura’s posture.
Not just her stance, but also her gaze, actions, and decision-making when encountering enemies.
She was simulating all of this in her mind.
“However, I think Asha needs to grow a bit taller.”
“…”
Suddenly, Na-me’s mouth twitched sharply.
It was obvious that she was feeling displeased.
“No, I mean your avatar…! I just thought 140 is a bit small.”
“This is comfortable.”
“I promise I won’t bring up height again…”
With a slightly soured mood, the two arrived at a secluded log cabin.
Ding-
[☆Bill Levy’s Secret Base Found +500]
A challenge-clear notification appeared above Na-me’s head.
Arimura kicked the firmly locked door open with her foot.
Just as Na-me was about to follow her into the house,
Vwooom—
Na-me’s cheek was pressed against something and was flung backward.
Thud-
“…?”
Na-me, having bumped her butt, rubbed her flushed cheek.
She was blocked by a transparent wall with rebound effects and couldn’t get in.
[
Only users who have cleared the Hardcore campaign can enter.]
Following this, Na-me stared rigidly at Arimura, who came out with the crossbow.
Asha went bang.
Lulz! 
Feeling a bit hurt, stack 2.
Asha’s butt hurts! 
Why is this newbie so clumsy, lol.
Quiet newbies are truly the cutest in the world.
For reals, way better than those loudmouths.
Kim Asha! Kim Asha! Kim Asha!
“Here’s a crossbow; do you want to try it out?”
“…”
“Why the long face…”
“Just give it to me.”
Na-me replied, gritting her teeth with an irritated expression.
[Silent Serpent X-5]
[The Silent Serpent X-5 crossbow is as stealthy and deadly as a desert viper. You can easily load it with the lower lever and fire 0.5 arrows per second with the integrated magazine. The accompanying pure metal red dot sight can be adjusted vertically and horizontally. Use various bolts strategically as needed.]
Na-me shouldered the stock and shortened it to the shortest length.
“Up to 40 meters will take down a body with a single shot; headshots are one shot at almost any distance, so stay calm and aim for the head-”
“I’ll handle it.”
Arimura was taken aback by Na-me’s annoyed response.
You’re on your own!!!
Hey! Don’t interrupt me.
What do you know about crossbows, Arimura?
If you’re gonna help, at least help till the end instead of rushing in alone, lol.
They totally look like uncle and nephew, huh, lol.
Arimura struggles with the heart of a young girlㅠㅠㅠ
Crackle-
As they continued through the forest, a response finally came from the long-silent walkie-talkie.
Seems they had left the electromagnetic disturbance area.
Arimura held the walkie-talkie to her ear.
[Please respond if any of the fallen troops hear this.]
“Husky 3-1 is alive!”
[Husky 3-1. At this point, communications will be taken over by the Allied Command Center. Please state your location.]
“Near Savia Artificial Forest.”
[Return swiftly via the southwestern coastline. There are guerrilla forces stationed in Savia Forest, so be especially cautious not to encounter them.]
The lackluster transmission ended, and knowing the game’s future, Arimura shrugged.
“Eh, in hardcore mode, we’re bound to run into them, so what’re they cautioning us for! They’re probably watching us right now.”
Rustle-
Scarcely had she spoken before the augmented reality hologram dimmed and combat mode was activated.
As soon as the presence was felt, Arimura instinctively lifted her weapon.
The AK-44’s sights aligned with a male enemy’s eyes.
Just as she was about to pierce his head.
Bang-!
A sound subtly different from typical gunfire.
Gaaack!
A large arrow was embedded in the chest of the writhing enemy.
“Huh?”
Arimura lowered her still-fuming barrel and rubbed her eyes.
Her brain buffered for a moment as something bewildering occurred.
“Oh, I missed it.”
Na-me, behind her, spoke in a nonchalant tone.
Click-
“I was aiming for the head, though.”
The refreshing sound of loading the crossbow followed.
*
Guns are selfish tools.
Especially in the first world I lived in, that selfishness was at its peak.
Even the strongest person in the world could kick the bucket with just a finger snap.
Do people long for a world where even the strong can’t remain strong forever?
Perhaps that’s why FPS games that exclude mana are so popular in this world.
Fwhoosh-
A crossbow fired from close range held considerable power.
Enemies sporting brown turbans dropped lifelessly.
Since they’re NPCs, kill logs do not trigger.
As Arimura pierced through the front, I spread out our coverage from the back.
No mana or aura emanated from the enemies.
If there were even one wizard among them, we would have been utterly hopeless in this situation.
But the enemy’s higher-ups wouldn’t hand out pricey magical stones to the foot soldiers.
Or perhaps that’s just how the setup goes.
“Waaaaah!”
Countless enemies charged recklessly, as though purged of the feeling of fear.
Within a second, dozens, if not hundreds, of bullets were fired, striking the dead trees.
“Asha, get down!”
Since we were bound by our team relationship, I placed absolute trust in her briefing.
If she’s a veteran gamer, she probably knows more than I do.
Using the advantage of a small target area, I dove for a nearby rock.
Drrrrt-!
The ear-piercing rain of gunfire.
Before long, the enemies needed to reload.
I was glad I took the risk.
I quickly crawled to the top of the rock to observe the enemies’ movements.
I’d loaded six of the explosive bolts into my stock out of ten.
[Silent Serpent X-5]
[10/10]
Ten arrows ready.
Fourteen enemies were rushing in Arimura’s direction; an absurdly high number.
That estimates I’d need to hit nine of them and take down at least five with the explosive bolt.
Without even a moment to think, I acted.
Bang-!
One arrow went straight into the enemy’s forehead.
The grand sixth explosive bolt.
I fixed my gaze in the opposite direction of where I aimed with intense focus.
My arrowhead met the enemies’ barrels.
There were probably six of them.
Boommmmm—!
“Cough!”
“Gaaah!”
Scarlet flames surged forth, igniting the surrounding trees, crackling with fire.
“Oh wow, Asha, you used an explosive bolt? That’ll cover our tracks with smoke…!”
Ignoring the briefing, I aimed again with four arrows aimed at the enemies’ heads.
Brown turbans fluttered as bodies piled on the ground.
‘Four, three, two.’
And I hunted down the last bolt.
As the dense smoke gradually cleared, the forest, littered with bullets, came into view.
“This is strange; why does hardcore seem easier?”
Arimura, having emerged, tilted her head.
At that moment, I pointed the crossbow into the air and aimed.
A small drone flew above us without making a sound.
[Twish- Arimura Yui]
But the difference was that it wasn’t a murder drone; it was a Twish streaming drone camera.
By the time I realized this myself, I had already pulled the trigger.
Bang-!