Chapter 46: A One Hundred Percent Career Match

Wherever there are people, there will be disputes over interests. Even a tiny spot in the White Cloud Mine, only frequented by one or two Lizardmen Warriors, can provoke harsh words and hostile attitudes?

I stopped five meters away from the human warrior, switched to the hardwood bow Holz had given me, and glanced at him with disdain, paying no heed to his attempt to drive me away—after all, he was hardly the master of the White Cloud Mine.

Hardwood Bow: Attack 8–10, Strength requirement 10, Agility requirement 20, Durability 100%, Level requirement 10.

As soon as I took out the hardwood bow, my opponent hesitated, then gave me another once-over and suddenly laughed. “So you're here for a class change quest... An archer, eh? Fine, I’ll leave this place to you.” With a sly glint in his eye, he quickly ran off into the distance.

I was taken aback. Was this guy really being so considerate?

Just then, a cold shout rang out nearby: “Snow Wolf, I’m warning you—you can mess with newbies, but you’d better not let that damned gnome run wild this time, or you’ll have no place here in the future!” With that, the speaker exposed Snow Wolf’s malicious intent.

I looked toward the voice. The speaker was a burly Bearkin clad in bronze armor. The people beside him had stopped mining and were watching intently.

“Don’t worry, Tiger! It’s fine!” replied the human warrior—so his name was Snow Wolf…

As I frowned, a shadow suddenly appeared ahead—a Lizardmen Warrior materialized six meters away from me. My heart skipped a beat. Damn! I didn’t expect the respawn rate here to be so fast… (In truth, this wasn’t just a spot for one or two Lizardmen Warriors.)

With a burst of speed, I swiftly put distance between myself and the Lizardmen Warrior. At the same time, I flipped the hardwood bow into my hand and nocked an arrow!

Years of experience with composite bows surged into my memory. Almost as soon as I drew the hardwood bow, I aimed the arrowhead directly at the locking Lizardmen Warrior and released. The arrow whistled through the air.

The movement was seamless.

The arrow Holz had given me struck the Lizardmen Warrior’s throat with precision. Unfortunately, my strength attribute was only 13; even with the hardwood bow’s 8–10 attack, my total damage was only 12–15, which was limited against a level 12 beast:

“Hit! Dealt 4 points of damage to Lizardmen Warrior.” The arrow barely stuck before the Lizardmen Warrior yanked it out, green blood dripping to the ground where the arrow vanished…

“Gained ‘Quest Arrow’ +1!” The system’s feedback brought me some comfort.

However, the danger was far from over! The wounded Lizardmen Warrior gripped its spear and charged.

Without hesitation, I turned and ran. It seemed the Lizardmen Warrior wasn’t faster than me. As I ran, my speed advantage became obvious and the gap between us widened!

Seizing the chance, I halted, spun, and loosed another arrow! Without bothering to watch the result, I turned and ran again, nocking another arrow…

“Hit! Dealt 7 points of damage to Lizardmen Warrior.”

This shot struck the creature squarely in the face. The pain made the Lizardmen Warrior stumble, coming to a sudden halt.

A chorus of startled exclamations erupted around me. Only then did I realize that at some point, dozens of miners had stopped their work and were watching me, their faces filled with astonishment.

If my first arrow had merely piqued their curiosity, then the crisp, decisive sequence just now—stop, draw, and shoot, especially the final, almost casual shot that hit its mark with uncanny accuracy—left them visibly shaken, as if it was their own souls, not the Lizardmen Warrior, that had been pierced.

Not far away, Snow Wolf was already staring in shock. He had seen the Scavenger Kirin’s two shots most clearly.

That last arrow—no ordinary archer could have executed such a move…

Snow Wolf wiped the sweat from his brow, glanced warily at the Scavenger Kirin as he prepared his third shot, then at the crowd of miners now wholly engrossed in the performance. He quietly slipped away… and as a few players passed by and disappeared into the tunnel, he followed—offending a player with such potential would be folly.

…

“Gained ‘Quest Arrow’ +1!”

When the system reported this for the third time, the quest was complete.

Yet, at that moment, the Lizardmen Warrior suddenly changed tactics, freeing a hand to pull a dark, lumpy object from its belt.

At that instant, I remembered something. As the Lizardmen Warrior prepared its throwing motion, I dodged to the side. The iron lump whistled past, grazing the tip of my nose.

So, this was the ranged attack Holz had mentioned—throwing rocks? How contemptible! Damned little mule, you even keep a bag of ‘iron lumps’ hanging at your waist. Isn’t it heavy? No wonder you’re so short!

“Serves you right!” I muttered as another iron lump flew past…

I slipped aside to dodge, at the same moment drawing back the hardwood bow and firing!

The poor Lizardmen Warrior was painfully stupid. Though it knew it couldn’t catch up to me, it didn’t even try to dodge. After a few exchanges, it had failed to harm me in the slightest, while my arrows repeatedly found their mark in its head, heart, and other vital points.

At last, I exhausted all twenty arrows—every shot found its mark. The system notified me of having gained all twenty ‘Quest Arrows’…

The quest was perfectly completed, but to my dismay, the Lizardmen Warrior survived even after taking twenty arrows.

I felt a little ashamed. The hardwood bow let me hit every shot, but actually inflicting additional damage on already wounded spots wasn’t easy; after all, the arrowheads only did so much. Still…

Having come this far, there was no reason to let it live…

Clenching my teeth, I switched to the Silver Beast Dagger, evaded another flying iron lump, and sprinted at the Lizardmen Warrior in an S-pattern—it was so dumb it didn’t even switch weapons… Die!

After finishing off the Lizardmen Warrior, I realized that Snow Wolf, who had spoken rudely to me before, had vanished at some point. I didn’t bother looking for him; under countless astonished gazes, I left the cave.

…

“Hit rate 100%; solo kill of level 12 Lizardmen Warrior; quest completion 100%, archer class compatibility 100%!”