Chapter 7: Fire! Fire! Fire!

Mages have Spiderwalk, thieves have grappling hooks—their speed far surpassed Lu Kuan’s. In just ten minutes, an elven mage had arrived within a dozen meters of Lu Kuan, stood cautiously, then looked up at him and began to cast Fireball.

“Hey kid, stop running. Come down quietly now,” the elf mage boasted, but he suddenly realized that the human ranger above had turned around, his back against the cliff, bow drawn and an arrow aimed at him.

The mage sneered, thinking, “From this distance, pressed against the rock, he still wants to shoot me? These rangers must be out of their minds…”

“Thud!” The next second, a feathered arrow pierced his throat with pinpoint precision, disrupting his spell as a bold, red “-28!” floated above his head to signify a critical hit.

The elven mage’s body shuddered, barely regaining his balance as cold sweat broke out, but before he could recover, Lu Kuan’s Bonebreaker Arrow struck again.

With a soft “whirr,” the arrow slammed into the mage’s head. He stared in disbelief, his frail body knocked askew by the arrow’s force, and tumbled headfirst off the cliff, turning into a flash of white light before he hit the ground.

Bonebreaker Arrow was an energy-consuming skill that dealt extra damage with added penetration effects. In the game, hitting a vital spot carried a chance of instant death. Mages were naturally frail, and after two consecutive headshots, this one had died outright.

Lu Kuan put away his bow and resumed climbing, muttering to himself that the system’s beginner bow was too poor. Had he wielded a level 5 basic weapon, the first shot would have taken the mage’s life.

The watching players were collectively stunned, the same thought echoing in their minds: “Damn, how lucky is this ranger? Two critical hits in a row?”

“Hurry up, stop gawking! Surround him! He’s just lucky!” the squad leader from the Glory Guild shouted, grinding his teeth with frustration.

Next up was a gnome thief, who edged closer with a compact hand crossbow. But before he got within range, a powerful arrow struck his wrist, sending him screaming and tumbling down.

Now, the players aiming to intercept Lu Kuan hesitated, while spectators atop the cliff and on the ground began to cheer and jeer, their mocking shouts rising and falling, making the Glory Guild members’ faces turn alternately pale and green.

“A bunch of idiots… Get that guy down, kill the ranger, don’t let him climb up! Whoever brings him down gets ten guild points!”

At this moment, the highest climber among the Glory Guild was a human thief, pressed against a rock recess, barely daring to move for fear the ranger would blow his head off.

But at the squad leader’s words, the thief’s spirits lifted: he’d had enough of the newbie weapons, and ten points would be enough to exchange for a decent magical item!

He looked up at Lu Kuan not far away, gritted his teeth, swung his grappling hook with all his might, and with a “click,” it caught firmly in a crack between the rocks. He pushed off the wall and swung toward Lu Kuan like a pendulum.

“Wow!” The surrounding players gasped instinctively—partly at the thief’s skill, partly out of concern for the ranger. Agile thieves were the nemesis of rangers; if they got close, the ranger was as good as dead!

What would happen next? Would the ranger be stabbed to death, or would another miracle occur?

The answer came in a flash of white.

Lu Kuan fired an instant “Concussive Shot,” striking the thief squarely in the chest.

Concussive Shot immobilized and slowed for a short time; although it wouldn’t trigger immobilization midair, the sheer force of the arrow slowed the thief’s momentum, leaving him suspended some two meters from Lu Kuan.

What greeted him was a heavy Bonebreaker Arrow.

“Thud!” The thief reacted swiftly, letting go of the rope, but the lightning-fast arrow still pierced his shoulder, trailing a spray of crimson.

It all happened so quickly, neither the cliff nor the ground spectators could follow the exchange—the only certainty was that the thief had retreated.

Everyone thought, “This guy can’t be a ranger—must be a hidden class! The thief was practically a moving target; how did he hit him?”

Lu Kuan raised an eyebrow, seeing the thief cling to a rock fissure midair to stop himself. He gave an approving smile, raised a thumb, then drew his bow for a normal attack.

The timing was perfect; the thief’s old strength had faded and new strength hadn’t yet surged. He could only watch as the arrow shot toward his forehead like lightning, closed his eyes, but felt no expected pain.

“Ding!” The 15% accuracy penalty kicked in, and the arrow missed the thief’s head, striking the rock instead. Lu Kuan silently regretted it, but judging by the thief’s expression, he wouldn’t dare continue the chase, so Lu Kuan didn’t waste time and resumed climbing.

Soon after, Lu Kuan’s message manager began beeping incessantly. A glance showed Glory Guild members requesting to add him as a friend. Lu Kuan simply blocked all messages from strangers.

Before long, all the Glory Guild members had retreated to the ground. Several people stepped forward in the crowd, cupping their hands around their mouths to shout loudly.

“Friend, we’re willing to buy the treasure’s contents—ten gold coins! If you agree, stop and wave!”

“Brother Old Deer, it’s better to resolve feuds than deepen them. Do this deal today, and you’ll be a friend of the Glory Guild!”

Seeing Lu Kuan hadn’t stopped, they switched to threats.

“Don’t get cocky, or we’ll hunt you until you leave Lava Castle!”

“You may get the treasure, but you won’t live to use it…”

Lu Kuan scoffed, ignoring them, carefully climbing upward. When his stamina bar was nearly empty, he finally reached the summit without incident.

Under the moonlit sky, Meteor Night looked up at the ranger’s shrinking silhouette, his face dark and his eyes twitching. Those who knew him understood—the vice guild leader was in a foul mood.

“Don’t overthink it. He’s a professional player,” Meteor Night breathed out, withdrew his gaze, and forced a smile toward the human thief bandaging his shoulder. “Maybe a top expert from some guild.”

Those nearby nodded in agreement; everyone had heard the thief recount the encounter. Facing such a master marksman, anyone’s scalp would tingle.

“But… are we just going to let this go?” someone in the crowd said bitterly, full of resentment. “The first treasure from Twin Towers City was a high-quality shield! With that shield, tanks will have a huge advantage exploring Wild Desert! We’ve been secretly investigating this Courage Cliff treasure for so long…”