Chapter 96: Staggering the Whole Hall

“Watch closely!”

The mage shouted a warning. With a twitch of his wrist, the little whirlwind began to shake violently at once, wrapping the disc in his hand so tightly that not even a sliver was visible. One second later, the black disc seemed to be slapped hard by an invisible hand and suddenly shot up toward the upper right!

“Whoa!”
“It flew, it flew!”
“Damn, that’s fast!”
“Shoot already, damn it! It’s gone too far!”

The onlookers cried out instinctively. Some of them clutched their chests nervously, looking even more anxious than Lu Kuan himself, as if they could not wait for him to draw and loose an arrow and knock the disc down at once.

But Lu Kuan merely drew his hunting bow to full draw, the feathered arrow still resting in his fingers.

One second, two seconds...

As the crowd nearly strained their eyes in anticipation, the disc soon climbed to a height of more than thirty meters. The wind seemed to ease slightly at that moment, and its flight path steadied a little.

Right then, Lu Kuan narrowed his eyes. The two fingers holding the arrow shaft loosened ever so slightly, and the feathered arrow shot into the sky in a streak of white light!

“Concussive Shot!”

Someone shouted the name of the skill. The next instant, a faint thud sounded in the air. The arrow struck the disc with perfect accuracy, and the two of them spun together as they fell back to the field below.

Cheers erupted once more. The rangers of Magma Fortress were in an uproar.

“At last someone’s cleared the Golden Trial. Now those other classes have nothing to say, huh~”
“Not just that. Our trial is way harder than the warriors’ or thieves’ or whatever. It’s not even comparable~”
“Does this guy look familiar to you? Kind of like the one in that video...”
...

Burning with excitement, everyone turned their eager eyes toward Lu Kuan and began talking at once. Behind the crowd, Moonlit Meteor’s figure flashed by and quickly left the training grounds.

At that moment, a golden system notification appeared before Lu Kuan’s eyes.

“Congratulations. You have obtained the rare title ‘Ranger Warrior of Magma Fortress.’”

Lu Kuan curled his lip. So that was it? After such a difficult trial, all he got was a useless title.

With that thought, he had already hurried over to Leila’s side. By now, the female commander’s gaze toward him was no longer mere astonishment.

“If you can maintain even seventy percent of that accuracy in real combat, you’ll be more than worthy of the title of Magma Fortress’s finest archer.” Leila stared at him intently, her gaze sharp and concentrated.

Lu Kuan bowed modestly. “You flatter me. I’ve only practiced a little longer than others.”

“Skill is skill. Endless modesty only makes people think you’re weak,” Leila said with a dissatisfied snort.

Lu Kuan smiled faintly. He naturally had his own way of dealing with people, but there was no need to argue that point with the female commander.

Seeing that he still wore that light smile, Leila grew even more displeased.

“I can’t stand people like you—always smiling on the surface, but stubborn as a mule inside... Come join the army. I’ll find you a good archery instructor. With your talent, fighting for the Empire on the battlefield and making a name for yourself is only a matter of time. There’s no need to waste such precious years.”

The moment Leila finished speaking, a prompt box appeared in Lu Kuan’s field of vision.

“System Notification: Do you accept Leila’s invitation to join the Northern Empire Army?”

It was the first time Lu Kuan had encountered something like this, and he was rather surprised.

The army in the game was its own self-contained system. If a player could complete military quests and rise in rank, not only would they receive a generous salary commensurate with their post, but they could also trigger special high-level quests tied to military rank. It was, in a sense, an alternative form of reputation progression.

But Lu Kuan had no time to run around with Leila right now. The matters before him were already headache enough... Besides, if he wanted to enter the army in the future, he had plenty of ways to do it. There was no need to rush.

“I truly appreciate your regard for me, but I’ve long been used to being carefree and unrestrained. I still prefer to travel and adventure across the world,” Lu Kuan said very politely, refusing Leila’s invitation. Then he added, “However, I do have another matter that I need your help with, Deputy Commander.”

To Leila, this lack of cooperation was simply a sign of having no ambition, and she could not help feeling a little irritated. Yet Lu Kuan’s performance just now had been too astonishing, and in the end she could not resist her own appreciation for talent.

“Go on,” she said after suppressing her temper for a moment, her face stern.

Seeing that he had her attention, Lu Kuan quickly explained the Clearwater Stockade quest, focusing on the key points.

“Old Blind-Eye? I do know him... Helping you is not impossible, but I won’t force Old Blind-Eye. At most, I can act as a go-between,” Leila said after thinking it over. Then her tone changed. “And if I help you, you’ll have to agree to one condition.”

“Please, name it,” Lu Kuan said at once, thinking that for this quest, let alone one condition—he would agree to ten if need be.

“When I have time in the future, I’ll come find you to spar in archery,” Leila said, staring at him word by word. “If you dare pretend to be foolish again then, I won’t be polite.”

Lu Kuan felt instantly relieved. So that was all? He nodded at once in agreement.

Unfortunately, the moment he finished speaking, Lu Kuan keenly noticed a sly glint flash in the eyes of the lady commander, who was usually known for her straightforwardness, and he suddenly had the unsettling feeling that he had been tricked.

He obviously could not back out on the spot, so he could only follow Leila out of the class hall and hurry over to the appraisal office first.

The appraisal office was as busy as ever. Lu Kuan entered the room ahead of the others.

Old Blind-Eye was sitting directly opposite the door. The moment he saw Lu Kuan, his entire fishy face changed at once. He threw down what he was holding, flapped his bare little legs, and turned to run.

“Wait.”

Leila, who had followed right behind, called out. Old Blind-Eye froze, then turned around. Seeing Leila, his bulging fish eyes went wide.

“What are you staring at? Don’t you recognize me anymore?” Leila strode up to the counter, bracing one hand on the wooden table as she looked at Old Blind-Eye without ceremony.

Old Blind-Eye’s catfish mouth twitched. In the end, he sighed, and even the dorsal fin on his back sagged with him. “Miss Leila, what brings you to this shabby little place of mine?”

Leila gave a soft snort. “Of course I’ve got business here. Or do you want us to speak right here?”

Old Blind-Eye forced out a smile, bowing and scraping as he gestured her inside. Then, when he saw Lu Kuan following along, he immediately put on a dead-fish expression again and gave Lu Kuan the back of his head.

Lu Kuan laughed under his breath and did not mind, following them into the inner room of the appraisal office.

Once the three of them were seated, Leila did not beat around the bush. Pointing at Lu Kuan, she said to Old Blind-Eye, “This fellow needs your help. If you can help, then help him. If there’s any trouble, tell me. And I won’t let you work for nothing—you can also set conditions with Old Deer.”

“Yes, I can offer generous compensation,” Lu Kuan added quickly, seizing the chance to speak.