The level 4 Elite had 350 HP, and his current attack power hovered right around 80. That meant five clean arrow hits would end the fight.
Jack glanced at his own status bar—his HP sat at a measly 55. If the Giant Lizard Chieftain got within striking distance even once, he'd be dead on the spot. In this brutally unforgiving datafied world, a zero HP bar left zero room for second chances. This was a lethal dance with no margin for error.
Whoosh—
Jack loosed the bowstring. The first crude wooden arrow sliced through the air and buried itself deep in a gap between the chieftain's thick, ridged scales.
-79!
A glaring red damage number popped above the Elite's head. The Giant Lizard Chieftain roared in agony and surged forward, the gap between them shrinking fast.
Jack kept his cool, backpedaling quickly as he nocked a second arrow from his quiver. Draw. Release.
-85!
Third arrow.
-78!
Three consecutive hits had shredded more than half the chieftain's HP. But it was now within ten meters of Jack, its fang-lined maw gaping so wide he could see viscous green venom dripping from its jaws.
Jack planted his feet and loosed the fourth arrow.
-82!
The Giant Lizard Chieftain let out a piercing, guttural shriek. Its HP was almost gone. The colossal beast launched itself into the air, intent on crushing its prey under its massive, scaled bulk.
Facing that mountain-heavy downward strike, Jack didn't dodge. He snapped his shortbow up, aiming straight for the chieftain's fully exposed, soft underbelly.
The fifth arrow flew true.
-80!
The last sliver of HP was wiped clean. The Giant Lizard Chieftain's enormous body froze mid-leap, then slammed down onto the stone slabs two meters in front of Jack, dissolving into a shower of glowing, sparkling light particles.
[Bloodthirst Giant Lizard Chieftain (Level 4 Elite) slain.]
[Substantial experience earned. Level-difference challenge bonus triggered. Total experience gained: 250 points.]
[SSS-rank talent Infinite Plunder activated: Slaying an Elite counts as slaying 10 ordinary mobs. Permanently increases Attack Power by 10 points!]
Jack scanned the system notifications and nodded in satisfaction. His base attack power had just taken another massive jump, now hitting a staggering 90+ points.
Where the chieftain had dissolved, an ancient-looking scroll glowing with faint purple light lay on the ground.
Jack walked over and picked it up.
[Skill Book: Rapid Fire · Mutated (Bind on Pickup)]
[Class Restriction: Archer]
[Skill Effect: Consumes 5 MP. Fires three arrows in rapid succession within 1 second, each dealing base physical attack damage.]
[Cooldown: 3 seconds.]
In this datafied world, skill books were incredibly rare, high-value strategic resources. Wild monster drop rates were absurdly low, so top guilds and wealthy players would drop astronomical sums for them on the trading market.
Jack crushed the scroll in his hand without a second thought. It was Bind on Pickup, meaning it couldn't be traded to anyone else—only the person who looted it could use it.
The scroll dissolved into a streak of purple light that surged up his arm and flowed directly into his mind. A brand-new icon immediately popped up in his skill bar.
Jack read through the skill description carefully, his pulse picking up.
This was a burst skill capable of dumping massive damage in a single second. The most broken part? Its cooldown was only three seconds. That meant in the thick of combat, Jack could practically use it as a regular attack, spamming it nonstop. By the time he finished off one monster and moved to the next, the cooldown would already be refreshed.
What Jack didn't realize in that moment was that this skill book was an extremely rare Mutated variant.
When the system generates loot drops, there's an infinitesimally small chance of data corruption, resulting in items with the Mutated suffix. A standard Rapid Fire skill also let you fire three arrows in one second, but its cooldown was a full 60 seconds. With that much downtime, it was only useful as a last-ditch lifesaving tool or a finisher for critical fights.
But the mutated version Jack just learned had its cooldown brutally compressed down to three seconds. If this skill book hadn't been force-bound by the system and instead hit a public auction house, it would have sparked an all-out frenzy among top-tier Archer players, selling for a price beyond imagination.
Jack didn't dwell on any of that. All he knew was he now had an insanely practical new offensive tool.
As the Elite was defeated, the surrounding invisible air walls gradually dissipated. With a flash of light, the system teleported Jack back to the rocky wilderness.
Now back in the level 4 zone, Jack spotted an ordinary Ironhide Giant Lizard spawn not far off. He decided to test out his new skill.
Jack triggered Rapid Fire with a single thought.
His arm muscles flooded with system-granted enhancement, and his draw speed became almost too fast to track.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three crude wooden arrows flew in quick succession, all hitting the Ironhide Giant Lizard within the span of a second.
-90!
The second and third damage numbers never appeared— the first arrow alone had already killed the creature outright.
But it was clear the skill's attack speed was genuinely terrifying, the entire motion smooth as butter with zero lag.
Jack stowed his shortbow and pressed deeper into the level 4 zone.
The terrain grew increasingly rugged here, dotted with the remains of ancient structures: crumbled stone walls, half-collapsed pillars, weathered foundations. Wandering among these ruins was a type of monster Jack had never seen before.
They had lean, elongated bodies covered in scales that shimmered an eerie ghostly blue, and a swirling mass of magical energy hovered above each of their heads.
Jack noticed every other player grinding near the ruins was deliberately veering wide around these blue lizards, refusing to get anywhere near their territory.
A shield-bearing Warrior sitting on a rock to rest spotted Jack and called out a genuine warning. "Hey, newbie with the bow! Don't head that way. Those are Mana Skinks. They're seriously dangerous."
Jack paused and looked over at the Warrior.
The Warrior pointed at the ruins monsters and explained gravely, "Those things don't just hit hard—they've got an extra layer of magic shield around them. The real nightmare? They cast ranged acid spells. If your damage can't shatter their shield in one go, they'll retaliate immediately. One glob of acid coming your way, and an unarmored Archer like you is toast."
In this world, shielded, spellcasting monsters were every newbie player's worst nightmare.
An ordinary level 4 player would never dare come here alone. Mana Skinks had 80 HP on their own, plus a thick 120-point magic shield—an absurd total effective HP pool of 200. Even level 5 players would only challenge them with a full balanced 5-man party, relying on a Warrior to tank up front while Mages and Rogues focused fire from the back.
As troublesome as Mana Skinks were, the system balanced their difficulty with extremely generous experience rewards. Killing one granted almost double the XP of a regular mob.
Jack nodded at the well-meaning Warrior, then kept walking straight toward the ruins.
The Warrior sighed and shook his head helplessly, as if already picturing the gruesome end waiting for this reckless newcomer.
To other players, this place was a forbidden death zone. But to Jack? These Mana Skinks were practically tailor-made, perfect farming targets.
If he'd been chasing even higher XP gains, Jack could have headed further out to the level 5 mob zone. But level 5 monsters had one fatal mechanic: an extremely wide aggro range. They had sharp senses—getting close to one could easily pull two or three at once. With only 55 HP, Jack would be dead the second a pack swarmed him.
These level 4 Mana Skinks, though, had the same aggro radius as regular level 4 mobs. No risk of accidentally pulling a whole train. And their 200-point effective HP pool was just enough to absorb Jack's burst damage without wasting any overkill.
Jack stopped 40 meters away from a lone Mana Skink.
The ghostly blue lizard sensed the intruder and snapped its head around immediately. The magical energy swirling above its head started pulsing violently— it was clearly channeling that lethal acid spell.
Jack didn't hesitate for a second. He triggered Rapid Fire decisively.
Draw. Loose. The entire sequence executed flawlessly in under a second.
The first arrow streaked through the air with a sharp whine and slammed dead-on into the Mana Skink's blue energy shield.
-92!
Violent ripples shuddered across the shield's surface, its glow dimming to near-nothing instantly.
The second arrow followed immediately, punching straight through the crumbling barrier.
Crack!
With a crisp shattering sound, the 120-point magic shield was completely destroyed. The remaining damage bit directly into the Mana Skink's flesh.
Before the creature could even let out a cry, the third arrow had already pierced through its skull.
Three massive damage numbers strung through the air in a perfect line. The Mana Skink, mid-cast with acid already gathering in its throat, had its spell interrupted forcibly. Its HP bar emptied instantly. Its body collapsed stiffly into the ruins and dissolved into light.
[Mana Skink (Level 4) slain.]
[Substantial experience earned. Level-difference challenge bonus triggered. Total experience gained: 85 points.]
[SSS-rank talent Infinite Plunder activated: Permanently increases Attack Power by 1 point.]
Watching his XP bar surge forward, a sharp glint flickered in Jack's eyes.
These high-HP, high-XP monsters with their small aggro radius, paired with Rapid Fire's three-second cooldown, had pushed his farming efficiency to an unprecedented, terrifying level.
He gripped his worn shortbow, steadied his breathing, and strode calmly into the ruins—a forbidden zone everyone else ran from on sight.