Chapter 36: Clashing Arrows and New Alliances
Liam ignored Shadow-Slayer, his focus entirely on looting the corpse.
System Notification:
You have obtained: Skill Tome x3
You have obtained: Equipment x4
You have obtained: Gold Sovereigns x598
You have obtained: AP x50
You have obtained: Dragon Gall x1
You have obtained: Black-Water Lake Dungeon Key x1
A rapid-fire string of system alerts chimed in his ear.
Liam started by checking the Skill Tomes. His eyes lit up when he saw that an Unstoppable skill had actually dropped.
Unstoppable (1-Star Rank)
Effect: Grants immunity to all crowd control effects, including knock-ups, for the next 5 seconds.
Cost: 50 MP
Cooldown: 30 minutes
Mastery: 0/100
(Note: This skill is restricted to melee classes such as Warrior and Brawler.)
Liam arched an eyebrow. He wasn't particularly surprised by the restriction. Whether one was an Archer or a Mage, the only similar skills available were usually basic Purges. Obtaining a sustained CC-immunity skill like Unstoppable was notoriously difficult. Only certain Priests might possess a Blessing with a comparable effect.
The remaining two Skill Tomes were even less useful to him. One was Blood-Thirsty Dragon Scale, another skill meant for Warriors and Brawlers.
Blood-Thirsty Dragon Scale (1-Star Rank)
Effect: Converts 5% of all damage taken into healing to restore your HP.
Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Mastery: 0/1,000
This skill, along with Unstoppable, was a perfect fit for Barney. Liam realized with a wry smile that he was essentially doing all the heavy lifting just to gear up his friend.
As for the third Skill Tome, it was Black-Water Vortex, a Mage-exclusive spell that had nothing to do with him. The equipment was equally irrelevant—Level 45 tank gear that Liam couldn't even equip yet.
Once he had finished gathering the loot, Liam finally spared a glance for Fenrir Pagoda.
"Fenrir Pagoda? Don't tell me you're here to hunt me down like Misty Snow."
Fenrir Pagoda waved his hands frantically. "No, well... yes and no. I wanted to discuss a deal. I was wondering if we could pay you a sum of money in exchange for letting us kill you once."
"How much?" Liam asked.
"Say, five million?"
Liam looked at Fenrir Pagoda as if he were a complete moron. "Do you honestly think that if I wanted to make money right now, I’d be desperate for your five million?"
Fenrir Pagoda wasn't surprised by the rejection. In fact, he had expected it.
"Fair enough. Sorry to bother you," he said respectfully. "But if you ever have equipment or Skill Tomes you want to sell, please consider Pagoda Guild. Our prices are always negotiable."
"Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind."
Liam gave a dismissive wave and turned his gaze toward Shadow-Slayer, who was lingering nearby.
"Shadow-Slayer, if you're here for the same reason as Fenrir, you can leave too."
Shadow-Slayer shimmered out of stealth. "Fine. But I should warn you—someone has their sights on you. They’re strong, and they won't be easy to handle."
Liam offered a non-committal smile. "Doesn't matter."
Was he afraid of players ganking him? Not in the slightest. At this stage of the game, even players with Divine Grade Innate Talents stood almost no chance against him.
"Alright then. Watch your back."
Shadow-Slayer departed, and Fenrir Pagoda followed suit.
Once they were gone, Liam pulled out the dungeon key, preparing to open the Black-Water Lake instance. However, before he could activate it, his instincts flared. He threw himself into a lateral sidestep.
A feathered arrow whistled past his shoulder, grazing his clothes. It had missed him by a hair’s breadth.
He was stunned. At this stage, someone actually had the guts to attack him?
Even as the thought crossed his mind, more arrows hurtled through the air. His attacker was a Level 15 Archer clad in a complete set of gear. Their attack velocity was staggering—at least as fast as Liam’s own.
Liam’s eyes narrowed as he immediately launched a counter-attack.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Energy arrows tore through the sky. What happened next made Liam's pupils contract sharply.
His arrows were being intercepted.
The mysterious Archer was using their own energy arrows to strike Liam’s projectiles mid-flight. Both sets of arrows collided with pinpoint accuracy, neutralizing each other instantly.
Such precision strikes sounded simple in theory, but Liam knew better. Even during the height of the Cataclysm, people capable of this were as rare as phoenix feathers.
He was facing a true master.
Spiral-Draw Archery!
Liam didn't hesitate to employ the technique. Only the curving trajectory of Spiral-Draw Archery could bypass the opponent’s interceptions and ensure his attacks hit home.
Yet, the moment Liam released his shot, the enemy’s arrows curved as well.
It was also Spiral-Draw Archery. The level of skill was terrifying.
Quintuple Shot!
Liam shifted tactics again, but the opponent mirrored him perfectly. They fired five arrows of their own, each one colliding with Liam’s shots with uncanny precision.
Liam squinted at the figure. "Are you an Ancient Martial Artist? From the Fletcher Family?"
In his past life, a group of people had risen to prominence seemingly out of nowhere—the Ancient Martial Artists. During the Cataclysm, they had been the backbone of the resistance against the Alait System. Their combat techniques were so refined that they could easily snowball in-game; as long as their Innate Talents and classes weren't bottom-tier, they dealt devastating damage.
The Archer looked at Liam with visible surprise.
"Spiral-Draw Archery, Quintuple Shot, Rapid-Fire Volley... your mastery of the bow is incredible. And you even know about the Fletcher Family. Tell me, who are you exactly?"
"It's just a game," Liam replied. "Why ask for real-world identities? What, are you going to gank me in real life if you can't beat me here?"
The Archer shook his head. "The Fletcher Family wouldn't stoop to something as classless as an offline hit. I actually wanted to propose something. I’d like to register my people under your guild, The Solitary Snow."
"Oh?"
Liam was genuinely surprised. He had planned to recruit a group of Ancient Martial Artists when he first founded the guild, but he hadn't expected one to come knocking—especially someone from the renowned Fletcher Family.
"The Fletchers are all elites. I have no reason to refuse," Liam said. "But I have to ask: what’s in it for me?"
The Archer tossed a Skill Tome toward him.
"I’ve watched videos of your fights. Your Tenacity is high, but you don't have any CC-immunity or Purge skills. This tome should be exactly what you need."
Liam caught the book, and his eyes widened.
Lunar Purge (1-Star Rank)
Effect 1: Removes crowd control, slows, and debuffs. (Ineffective against knock-ups and Curses).
Effect 2: Grants a 5% Tenacity bonus for 10 seconds after use.
Cost: 50 MP
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Mastery: 0/1,000
(Note: Mastery only increases when the skill is used while under the effects of CC, slows, or debuffs.)
A Purge-type skill was indeed a massive boon. Unfortunately, Lunar Purge couldn't clear knock-ups or Curses, making it useful but not quite a game-changer for Liam.
"Fine."
Liam tucked the tome away. Truthfully, even without the skill, he wouldn't have turned them away. It wasn't just because they were an Ancient Martial Clan; it was because of what they did in his past life. When the Cataclysm descended, the Fletcher Family had selflessly released their secret Archer's Codex to the public, allowing every Archer to learn their techniques.
The pros at the Dream-Chaser Club hadn't been wrong—under normal circumstances, even someone dedicated to practicing Aerial Archery would take five years just to grasp the basics. Liam was exceptionally talented and had been tempered in life-or-death struggles, but that wasn't how he had mastered so many techniques so quickly. The core reason was the Archer's Codex, the accumulated wisdom of the Fletchers' thousand-year legacy.
Liam had no reason to reject such a clan.
The Archer revealed his ID, and Liam added him as a friend before sending a guild invite.
Sky-Piercer.
It was a name that bordered on edgy but carried a certain weight. Liam was stunned. Sky-Piercer had been a legendary figure in his previous life.
His Innate Talent wasn't flashy. It didn't add damage, movement speed, or attack velocity. In fact, it didn't boost any stats at all. Although it was a Saintly Grade talent, many had mocked it, claiming it was inferior to Heavenly or even Earth Grade talents.
Yet, with that single Saintly Grade talent, he had perfected the art of kiting to an almost divine level. Liam still remembered the description:
Absolute Sluggishness (1-Star Rank)
Effect 1: Your basic attacks reduce the target's Movement Speed by 5% for 5 seconds. Does not stack. This is an Absolute Effect, bypassing Tenacity, Unstoppable, Purge, and all other CC immunities.
Effect 2: Your basic attacks reduce the target's Attack Velocity by 5%. If the target is a magic-based entity, increases skill cooldowns and casting times by 5% for 5 seconds. Does not stack. This is an Absolute Effect.
Mastery: 0/1,000
When this talent was first revealed, it was the butt of many jokes. But in the right hands, it was a nightmare. In the hands of an average player, it was mediocre. In Sky-Piercer’s hands, it performed like a Divine Grade talent.
The critics had focused on the 5% value, ignoring the fact that the talent could be ranked up and that its effects were absolute. Once it reached 10-Star rank, a 50% reduction in speed and casting time that couldn't be blocked or purged was terrifying.
Tragically, a genius like Sky-Piercer had died alone, holding off ten Vanguard Generals of the Alait System to cover a human retreat. He had managed to kill three of them before finally falling—a massive loss for the Dragon Empire war zone.
Liam shook off the memories. Sky-Piercer was a man who deserved the utmost respect.
"I’m giving you Administrator permissions. You can invite the rest of the Fletcher Family yourself."
Sky-Piercer nodded absently, his attention fixed on the guild's attribute bonuses. The sheer scale of the buffs left him speechless. These stats were a godsend for the Fletcher Family. At this stage, where AP was scarce, most Archers had dangerously low HP. Some glass-cannon builds only had whatever health their gear provided.
But Liam's guild granted a flat 10,000 HP. On top of that, there were boosts to attack velocity, movement speed, crit rate, and overall damage. Every single stat was tailor-made for an Archer.
"Frost Monarch... I just wanted a small attribute boost. I never imagined your guild's bonuses would be this insane." Sky-Piercer looked at Liam with newfound gratitude. He wasn't a hardcore gamer, but as a martial artist, he understood exactly how much these stats would influence a fight.
"Don't worry about it."
Liam waved him off and produced the Black-Water Lake Dungeon Key.
"Use."
System Notification:
You have used the Black-Water Lake Dungeon Key. The Black-Water Lake instance is now open.
You have successfully opened the Black-Water Lake instance. A server-wide broadcast is about to commence. Would you like to hide your name?
"No."
Server-Wide Broadcast:
Congratulations to player Frost Monarch for successfully opening the [Black-Water Lake: Dragon Turtle] instance. Reward: AP +20, Gold Sovereigns +50.
(Repeat x3)
"See you around. I’ve got a dungeon to clear."
Liam stepped toward the shimmering portal of the Black-Water Lake. Upon entering the staging area, he immediately dumped his 70 accumulated AP into his Mana pool. His meager 100 MP jumped to 450. It was still a drop in the bucket, but it would suffice for now.
"Hell Difficulty."
Following his usual routine, Liam went straight for the highest challenge.
System Notification:
Warning: Your level is too low. Solo entry for Hell Difficulty is prohibited.
Liam stared at the prompt. What?
In his past life, he had never tried to solo a Level 45 Hell Difficulty dungeon while only at Level 20, so he was completely unaware of this restriction.
"Nightmare Difficulty."
System Notification:
Warning: Your level is too low. Solo entry for Nightmare Difficulty is prohibited.
Liam felt a surge of frustration. Was it impossible to solo dungeons with such a massive level gap? If he couldn't get into Hell Difficulty, his plan to farm massive amounts of HP through the difficulty multipliers would fall apart.
"Hard Difficulty!"
The result was the same.
"Easy Difficulty!"
Still nothing.
"Does this thing seriously require a party?"
Liam opened a private message to Barney.
Liam: Barney, finished your class change quest yet? Get over here and help me run a dungeon.
Barney: Not yet. Should I drop what I’m doing and head over?
Liam: Never mind.
Liam closed the chat and messaged Sky-Piercer instead. Liam: You still there? If you are, help me out with a dungeon.
Sky-Piercer: I’m standing right at the entrance.
Liam exited the instance, sent Sky-Piercer a party invite, and stepped back inside. This time, when he selected Hell Difficulty, the system allowed them through.
Sky-Piercer raised an eyebrow but didn't seem particularly shocked by the choice.
They emerged into a dim, damp cavern. The air was thick with moisture, and the rhythmic drip-drop of water echoed through the shadows...