Chapter 16: A New Weapon
Under conditions where the offers were fairly similar, HighlyCultured was willing to become somewhat familiar with Joo Joowon.
After all, a piece of equipment not produced by the game itself might become useless by Level 3 or Level 5.
Joo Joowon did not mind paying a slight premium for it, but he had also prepared himself for the possibility that the other side would think his offer was too low and refuse to sell.
Because of that, he had made multiple preparations and already had several backup options in mind.
After all, while a compound crossbow was excellent, weapons like spears, javelins, or steel bars could still be used if necessary.
Fortunately, the other party was also straightforward and did not continue bargaining back and forth with Joo Joowon.
They directly agreed to the trade, immediately removed the compound crossbow from the auction section, then relisted it as a designated trade item for him to purchase.
After obtaining the compound crossbow, Joo Joowon immediately closed the Marketplace and held the crossbow in his hands while admiring it carefully.
It was a compact modern compound crossbow.
The entire body was pitch black.
It was not made of wood, but entirely from steel materials.
It included a scope, and once loaded, all he needed to do was pull the trigger to fire the bolt.
The size was not large and even holding it with one hand did not feel especially heavy.
Its operation requirements were low while its accuracy was high.
After fiddling with it briefly, even a complete beginner like Joo Joowon quickly figured out how to use it properly.
The only drawback was that a compound crossbow reloaded more slowly than a bow.
However, that flaw was minor compared to its advantages.
For Joo Joowon, it was far easier to use than a bow and it was also somewhat more convenient to carry than a compound bow.
For beginner players, both compound crossbows and compound bows were excellent weapons.
They had both gone through modern improvements, making them easier to learn while greatly lowering the physical demands placed on the user.
The reason HighlyCultured chose to sell the compound crossbow was probably because they personally specialized in using bows and similar weapons.
For cold weapon enthusiasts who focused on archery type weapons, modernized cold weapons were often not their preferred choice.
The moment Joo Joowon saw the products listed by HighlyCultured, he immediately guessed that the other party probably only possessed two or three crossbows at most, while owning many bows and arrows instead.
The fact that the seller specifically requested Agility boosting equipment further confirmed this theory.
Unlike archers in games who mainly focused on Agility, real life archers were truly strength based fighters.
Without enough strength, it was impossible to even draw a bow properly.
Yet the other party specifically wanted Agility equipment, which clearly meant they believed their Strength was already sufficient.
What they lacked was firing speed.
Increasing Agility would allow them to better utilize the advantages provided by their Strength stat.
Joo Joowon opened his personal status panel and looked over it.
[ Joo Joowon ]
[ Level ]: 1 (9/10)
[ Strength ]: 4
[ Physique ]: 4 (+1)
[ Agility ]: 7
[ Mental Power ]: 8
[ Equipment ]: Beginner Shirt
[ Items ]: Modern Compound Crossbow ×1, Crossbow Bolts ×20
[ Money ]: 3 Copper Coins
What surprised him slightly, though not completely unexpectedly, was that the compound crossbow was not classified as equipment.
Instead, it had been categorized inside the item inventory.
Joo Joowon did not know whether this was because the game only recognized equipment produced by the game itself, or whether it simply looked down on compound crossbows entirely.
Joo Joowon did not pay much attention to it.
After loading a crossbow bolt, he immediately began practicing.
There was not much space inside the apartment suitable for target practice, so Joo Joowon chose one of the sofa cushions as his target.
Thwack!
The bolt shot forward and pierced straight through the cushion before embedding itself deeply into the sofa behind it.
The fletching at the end of the bolt trembled continuously.
A look of surprise immediately appeared on Joo Joowon’s face.
Although he had long heard that bows and crossbows were powerful long ranged killing weapons, he still had not expected the power to be this great.
Was this not far easier to use than a fire axe?
After practicing repeatedly several times, Joo Joowon roughly figured out that within a range of around thirty meters, his accuracy was fairly decent.
He could accurately hit objects around the size of an apple.
However, considering that zombies would not stand there obediently and allow themselves to be shot, once it came to real combat, he estimated that only within fifteen meters could he guarantee hitting a zombie’s head consistently.
For someone who had never used bows or crossbows before, this result was already very impressive.
It was enough for him to risk using it during critical moments.
Although Joo Joowon feared death, he also understood that in the apocalypse, there was no such thing as an absolutely safe way to kill monsters.
Joo Joowon continued practicing until the Marketplace closed.
Only when it reached seven in the evening did he leave the apartment right on schedule.
During spring and summer, the sky darkened late, so the surroundings were not completely dark yet.
Joo Joowon skillfully grabbed Byeol, carried it downstairs, and tossed it outside.
After spending an entire afternoon adapting, Byeol had already become so emotionally numb that it did not even bother meowing anymore.
Without even turning its head back, it immediately ran away from Joo Joowon.
As it passed by him, it even deliberately made a sharp turn to avoid getting caught again, clearly carrying deep resentment toward his shameless behavior.
Joo Joowon did not care at all.
He cautiously poked his head out to take a look before finally raising the hand crossbow and moving forward.
After the Marketplace opened, the combat strength of certain players had definitely increased.
Too many wolves and too little meat.
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