Leveling Up (2)

Chapter 5: Leveling Up (2)

The forest's periphery was dense and intricate.

The thick roots loomed up from the earth and intertwined with others beside them, forming the first line of defense against unwanted visitors. Roots alone were massive and tall enough to climb up, with the breaks wide enough for an adult human to shovel into the other side.

"From the cliff, those trees didn't appear this big," Jake said while cresting the roots with his fingers hooked in their tough form's crevices. He sometimes could have laid his forearms on the ribbons of the roots to haul himself, finally getting on the top of the first defense line.

He peeked into the hole and looked at the forest's interior. It was dark because of the dense canopy hanging above the entire forest, forming something akin to a maze to The Unconquerable Mountain.

In the darkest corners of the said labyrinth dwelled forest monsters and natural threats whose existences were here solely to teach newbie players a lesson.

Getting through the break in the roots and hopping down to the forest, Jake took out his arrow and nocked it on the bowstring, and he narrowed his eyes.

Richard's advice was to get used to the darkness and move as quietly as possible. He stressed patience as the key to this leveling ground and even mentioned how other players couldn't hold back their excitement and rushed in, only to lose against the monsters because of the environment.

Jake went forward shortly after getting familiar with the darkness, the advice in the back of his head.

He made no sound and kept an eye on the surroundings, mainly the things on his way. He carefully avoided stepping over small branches, kicking pebbles, or making any other sound—his breath bated but controlled.

A lot of players seeking adventures and fun would have already lost to patience, but for Jake, the fact of him being in such a magical and otherworldly forest with the bow and arrow in his hands pumped his adrenaline, stretching his eyes and making him feel like a hunter from old times.

His incitement surged after spotting a wolf curled up on the makeshift bed made from leaves.

Carefully and diligently, Jake raised his long bow and drew the arrow behind, his arm bent. He rooted himself in the ground and silently inhaled, putting himself in a meditation-like state.

Ever since Richard had told him about the importance of breathing, Jake connected it to the meditation he'd do before any stressful exam taught to him by his father. 

He was so good at it, and it had stretched to the game world so well that he could connect it with his archery form, dipping his mind in the immense focus in which he seemed to have blended with his environment.

Being like a hunter from Flesh and Blood, Jake imagined the trajectory of his arrow and its finish goal resting on the wolf's head.

Before long, he let the arrow go.

It whistled. It whistled so loud that the forest seemed to have swayed. Fortunately, the wolf hadn't been warned and got its head pierced by the wooden arrow. 

The arrow went through one side and protruded from the other, blood dripping onto the ground.

[-41 HP!]

While Jake's retinas flashed with the system message, the wolf uncurled and leaped onto his four. Though his head may have been pierced and wounded, it wasn't a fatal blow, let alone a critical strike famous in those games. 

The wolf was also a monster that could survive two to three such attacks.

It howled and spun around, looking out for the enemy, to no avail.

Jake had hidden behind the tree, aware that the monster wasn't intelligent enough to track him down. He kept smiling from ear to ear, feeling the excitement of hunting in every pore in his body. 

He covertly peeked at the wolf, who kept scanning the forest for enemies. It moved left and right.

It was so simple that Jake could have seen through its pattern.

Alas, it didn't mean Jake could repeat his first surprise attack. The wolf was on the move, and its line of sight went through his hiding spot from time to time. Just like mages were known to be on the backlines, so were archers, with their bows relentlessly sending down their skills on the enemies held back by the tanks.

Jake was alone.

His target had been notified of his presence and even walked around.

'It's much more difficult now,' Jake thought, his adrenaline driving him nearly insane. For a moment, he wondered if he was cut out to be an archer, as he wanted to come out and have a clear and square battle with this wolf.

He laughed and fixed that mindset with his stubbornness, 'It means I must make a close combat archery style then!'

Jake was clear-headed enough to understand that he couldn't go that style now. He glanced at the wolf whose health points had regenerated by a few numbers.

Now that he had attacked it, he could see its stats.

[The Forest Wolf Lv.1 HP: 64/100 MP: -]

'My second arrow will be much weaker and might not even hit where I want… it will expose my location, so instead of hiding, I should face this monster head-on and brace for one or two bites,' Jake thought.

It was quite a reasonable and much more credible scenario.

Once the wolf looked away, Jake left his hiding spot and entered his archery form. He didn't load much strength into his arm and bow and attacked before the monster could have spotted him.

That whistle, which Jake had forgotten about, notified the monster of his presence and location. Its torso had been struck by the arrow, scratching only fifteen health points off its stats.

It locked its red eyes on Jake.

Jake replied with a smile while nocking the third arrow.

He didn't get cold feet.

He didn't feel any fear or stress.

He knew what he had done at that moment and didn't think of anything else. In fact, Jake grasped his advantages that he hadn't had time to think about in his hiding spot.

The wolf was on the run. It ran toward him, giving him more precious seconds! Just that alone had cleared Jake's mind as he knew he had what it takes to deal a significant blow to the monster!

His left hand clenching the bow and keeping it in a rigid stance and his right arm bent, Jake loaded so much strength and focus into the arrow that he knew.

He knew that this third attack would be perfect and satisfying.

Jake let it go.

The arrow flew forth and quickly went through the monster's skull, lodging itself deep in its brain. Blood fountained in abundance and pooled below, now dead wolf lying on its side.

[You have done a critical strike!]

[-70 HP!]

[You have killed The Forest Wolf Lv.1]

[You have gained 10 EXP.]

[Your archery proficiency has increased.]

Content and satisfaction washed over Jake.

"Damn, this really feels so good!" Jake whispered and recalled his desire for close combat, "If I combine this feeling with that desire and make a close combat archery, I'll be able to satisfy my thrill to the extent… this is my path."

He looked down at the corpse, "What should- Ah, I know."

Richard's advice came in clutch!