Chapter 129: Hidden Agendas

Three minutes, eight bursts of ‘Sprint,’ and I had already left the two Dragon Wolf Knights far behind!

With those two Dragon Wolf Knights gone, I immediately relaxed, feeling much lighter and freer.

It was only then that I suddenly realized: a third-tier class, at my current level of 28, no longer held the same awe and invincibility as before.

Take those two Dragon Wolf Knights, for example—Du couldn’t keep up, and even a head-on confrontation would mean certain death for him!

If it weren’t for the archer behind me, I might have even considered turning back to deal with the two knights...

But this archer was surprisingly persistent. Clearly a magic archer, he had been using ‘Sprint’ continuously for a long time, yet his MP was still not depleted!

Unfortunately, an archer who invests in intelligence must also invest enough strength to wield third-tier weapons and equipment. Even at level 39, his agility would still be considerably lower than mine...

Moreover, the enemy’s Sprint skill was evidently not highly leveled, whereas I was already benefiting from a top-tier Sprint.

Just these two factors alone created a significant gap in speed between us—something that couldn’t be bridged by simply casting Sprint repeatedly.

...

Though when I wasn’t sprinting and just running at full speed, the archer behind could slowly close the gap due to his slight edge in Sprint. But the moment I activated Sprint, I could essentially negate the results of three rounds of his Sprint.

And so far, I had consumed less than five MP...

As for the archer behind me... he hadn’t stopped sprinting since the start, but now he was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

With a light chuckle, I glanced back at him. This guy seemed unwilling to be left behind by a second-tier bow warrior and was still biting his teeth, stubbornly chasing after me.

“Very good!”

I sneered inwardly:

“This is exactly what I want to see!”

Having led him this far, and with the ‘territory’ just ahead... it would be disappointing if he managed to escape me! Heh heh.

...

‘Leopard Man’s’ expression was growing worse by the moment!

For the first time, he felt such intense humiliation and embarrassment.

It was the first time he had seen someone move at a speed close to that of a Dragon Wolf beast in normal running mode—and that someone was only a second-tier class...

What was even more terrifying!

He had previously assumed that the scavenger Kirin had already activated Sprint...

...

Until the other suddenly pulled away by more than twenty meters at a shocking speed, he realized how ridiculous his assumption was. From that moment, his expression grew more serious as he stared at the widening gap.

He fully believed the words of his teammates: this second-tier bow warrior’s speed was truly exceptional! No...

It was downright terrifying!

He even suspected the other had put all points into agility, equipped with a full set of +6 agility gear... but that was contradictory—

To wear such top-tier equipment, strength was indispensable, at least 30 points, and intelligence was also necessary.

From that, the remaining attributes could be deduced.

But those attributes alone could not explain such speed, for his own stats were not low!

He himself wore four pieces of +6 agility gear, two pieces of +3 agility, and his boots increased agility by 10%.

Yet Leopard Man never considered another possibility...

That was the level of Sprint!

Because he knew all too well how tedious it was to increase skill proficiency, requiring a great deal of sustained effort—and he doubted that someone leveling so quickly would spend extra time training skills.

What he didn’t know was that this very point—the one he overlooked—was the biggest difference between him and the scavenger Kirin!

...

Unable to find a reasonable explanation, Leopard Man grew increasingly frustrated and anxious!

All because the other seemed utterly indifferent to his pursuit, still leisurely activating Sprint intermittently, maintaining the distance between them while charging straight across the open wilderness.

Minutes passed, and the gap remained. His MP was depleted... he needed to wait 30 seconds before his next Sprint.

By now, he had completely lost confidence in catching the scavenger Kirin.

He even felt that as soon as Kirin activated Sprint, he could easily leave him far behind!

But why didn’t Kirin just run away? Why did he insist on keeping him hanging on behind...?

Soon, he recalled what the archer who had lost two pieces of gear said:

“This guy is the most terrifying I’ve ever seen. The Dragon Flame team was already ready to leave, but this second-tier warrior wouldn’t let us go and even made the Dragon Flame team turn back! And he caught up instantly even while I was sprinting...”

Thinking of this, Leopard Man shuddered involuntarily.

“Could the other have some kind of scheme?”

Just as this thought arose, dozens of his teammates simultaneously shouted in the channel like a wildfire, desperately asking if Leopard Man had eliminated the scavenger Kirin.

He flushed, too embarrassed to reply.

As one of the fastest archers in the Dark Legion, admitting he couldn’t catch a second-tier archer was something he would never say!

...

He immediately closed the voice channel and began pondering whether to find an excuse to end this endless chase... lest he really fall to the scavenger Kirin’s hand—it would be utterly humiliating.

But at that moment, Leopard Man suddenly saw Kirin activate Sprint, and some magical beasts appeared on a small hill ahead. Instantly, a gleam of insight lit up in his eyes!

“...So he’s playing that old trick on me? Hmph...” A smile appeared on Leopard Man’s face.

He had used this tactic—using speed to attract monsters, then suddenly leaving the pursuer behind—on countless newcomers... It was effective against slower players chasing behind.

He just hadn’t expected someone to use it against him, and a second-tier class at that...

Anger mixed with amusement, Leopard Man couldn’t help but smile: This guy... maybe a bit too confident, too cocky? Just relying on his speed, acting so arrogant...

“Today, I’ll make you regret it!”

Leopard Man smiled coldly, activated Sprint, and bit down to continue the chase...

...

Once Sprint was activated, I glanced back and saw the archer didn’t hesitate, chasing right up to the hill. A smile spread across my face.

“Third-tier classes... always so confident when facing lower-level players... so self-assured...”

Smiling inwardly, I glanced at the distance between the archer and myself, slightly reducing my speed to keep a controlled gap.

...

Roar!!

As I reached the hill, several ‘Furious Bears’ over four meters tall suddenly burst into the area, roaring thunderously as they stood upright.

They stomped the ground, causing strong tremors as they charged from multiple directions... their speed terrifyingly fast!

I dared not slack off. Among the level 31 Armored Bears, I quickly found the widest gap and sprinted at full speed, charging head-on!

At the same time, I silently prayed that Dr. Ye’s information about the Armored Bears was accurate! Because if even one detail was wrong, my plan wouldn’t just fail—it might cost me my life...

That would be utterly tragic!

Thankfully, as I sprinted within twenty meters of the Armored Bears, a pale yellow glow appeared on their bodies. Like heavy tanks, they charged forward with an overwhelming destructive force!

No ranged magical attacks! Phew, Dr. Ye’s data was correct! Now I just had to see if the other characteristic he mentioned was true.

I dashed at incredible speed through a five-meter-wide gap between two Armored Bears. Glancing back, I saw the archer had indeed reached the foot of the hill as I expected, and a smile crept onto my lips.

Then I dodged an attack from one Armored Bear, drew my bow, and shot an arrow!