Mid Lane Sniper Duel

My heart leaped with joy, it really was the first kill!!

"You guys too..."

Zhang Ruolin looked at me and Xiao Bai excitedly.

"Mhm!"

I nodded, "First kill, 3 achievement points, same for both of you, right?"

"Same!"

"Excellent!"

I smiled slightly and took out a fist-sized Ability Crystal from my Dimensional Storage Space. This was a BOSS-grade Ability Crystal, and the chance of getting a top-tier item was far greater than with ordinary Ability Crystal treasure chests!

With a thought, I opened the treasure chest!

"Zzzt~~~"

With a light sound, the BOSS Ability Crystal in my palm trembled and began to crack. It quickly shattered completely, and a brilliant pattern appeared before my eyes.

[Congratulations, you have successfully opened your 〖BOSS Ability Crystal〗 and obtained: 〖Ring of Swarm Will〗 (Quality: Blue)!]

"Buzz~~~"

My mind went blank for a moment. I actually got a blue ring? Blue equipment was almost top-tier for version 1.0, and rings were rare equipment with extremely low drop rates. I never expected this Ability Crystal from the Armored Ground Worm to yield such an item!

In my palm, a sapphire ring glowed faintly. After a brief glance, its attributes appeared--

[Ring of Swarm Will] (Quality: Blue)

Tier: Tier 1

Strength: +20

Specialization: Attack Damage +5%

Blessing: Critical Hit +2%

Blessing: Lifesteal +2%

Required Strength: 120

"Holy crap..."

Looking at the attributes of this blue ring, my heart pounded faster. I was uncontrollably excited. At this stage, this thing was definitely a "divine artifact" for players to equip.

Four attribute lines, not only adding 20 points of Strength but also increasing damage by 5%. This damage increase was a general, comprehensive boost, meaning even my gun and grenade damage would increase by 5%. It seemed like a simple attribute, but the benefits were extraordinarily high.

Furthermore, ring equipment had two special blessings: one for critical hits and one for lifesteal. In Star Abyss, the critical hit and lifesteal values for blue equipment fluctuated between 1%-2%. Therefore, both attributes of the Ring of Swarm Will were maxed out, reaching the peak of perfection!

The only drawback was the high usage requirement, needing 120 Strength. Most players might not be able to reach it. Fortunately, my Essence Furnace had a high grade and my skills were at a high level, so equipping this top-tier ring was more than enough!

"Clink!"

With a light sound, the treasure was equipped.

At this moment, my experience points were enough to reach level 20, so I leveled up casually. Looking at my Essence Furnace level, it had also reached level 18. Coupled with equipping the Ring of Swarm Will, my character panel attributes and overall combat power surged significantly once again!

[Shadow Chaser] (Starry Sky Super Weapon · Sword Specialization · Tier 1)

Level: 20

Attack: 110-238

Defense: 80

Health: 7900

Critical Hit: 3%

Lifesteal: 2%

Damage Increase: 5%

Charm: 0

Essence: 100/100

Overall Combat Power: 554

Potential Point Allocation: Strength 203 / Agility 96 / Spirit 68.2 / Stamina 54

Achievements: 6

My combat power instantly increased to 554 points, which was undoubtedly top-tier at the moment. The reason for such a significant increase was likely due to the blue ring's 2% critical hit and lifesteal, along with the 5% damage increase. These core attributes had a huge impact on the overall combat power!

Just then, a ding sound echoed in my ears.

[Congratulations, you have triggered the quest 〖Proof of Courage〗 (Tier 2 Breakthrough Quest)! Quest Content: Enter the breakthrough quest map, complete the NPC's entrustment. Quest Reward: Profession Advancement to Tier 2!]

Finally, I could break through the tier!

In Star Abyss, there were strict hierarchies. Players between levels 1-19 belonged to Tier 1. Tier 1 players could only equip Tier 1 equipment and learn Tier 1 skills. To obtain stronger equipment and skills, one had to advance their professional tier.

Levels 20-29 are Tier 2, levels 30-39 are Tier 3, and so on. As long as players are diligent enough, the game system will naturally keep them busy.

No rush on this. Let's return to Stream City for a brief rest and resupply before considering the breakthrough quest.

I turned around and looked at Ruolin and Xiao Bai. "What did your BOSS Ability Crystals yield? They shouldn't be bad, right?"

"Not bad."

Xiao Bai chuckled. "I got a pair of blue armguards with pretty good stats."

Ruolin said, "My luck was average. I got a green sniper rifle, but it's not bad. I didn't have a sniper rifle yet, so it fills a gap. Later, when leveling up, I can fire seven or eight shots from a distance before switching to an assault rifle, making leveling much more efficient."

"Mm."

I nodded. "It looks like everyone had a good haul."

"Ding Han."

Xiao Bai looked up at me. "What did you get?"

"Me..."

Just as I was about to show off my blue ring, there was a sudden soft pop. Immediately after, a bullet drilled into Xiao Bai's chest and then burst out of his back with a spray of blood!

"344!"

With a loud sound, Xiao Bai's health bar dropped by nearly half. He staggered backward, and then the enemy's second shot rang out!

"Dodge!"

The instant the gunshots sounded, I shoved Xiao Bai to the ground and then back-rolled over the hill, pulling Ruolin with me to take cover behind a protruding rock. In that split second, I had already determined the enemy's location.

"Damn it!"

After letting go of Xiao Bai, I quickly switched my main hand weapon to the Wind Whisperer, flipped over, and changed positions to set up my aim. The scope easily found the enemy's position – hiding in the woods about 500 meters away!

Through the scope, I could even see the person's health bar and ID!

[Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar] (Psionicist · Tier 1)

Level: 18

"It's people from Ragnarok," I stated calmly.

Xiao Bai looked nervous and injected himself with a hemostatic drug, his face slightly pale. "Is Ragnarok really going to make a move on us?"

"They already have."

I frowned, directly opened the system, injected 1% of my experience, and smiled. "Friends from Ragnarok, why must you do this? We're all players. In this Star Abyss world, we're all alone. If we players don't stick together, are we just waiting for the natives to wipe us out one by one?"

As expected, several more stars lit up on the Star Chart. Two of them belonged to Ruolin and Xiao Bai, and the other five were from Ragnarok. Besides the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar, there was another acquaintance – the Shadow Assassin who had followed me and Ruolin in the alley in Stream City last time, named Mid Lane Killing God!

"Shadow Chaser, we don't want to either..."

The Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar chuckled. "But who told you guys to just finish off a level 20 blue BOSS? To be honest, we from Ragnarok have been eyeing this Armored Ground Worm for days. We just gathered enough ammo today to come and reap the rewards, but we didn't expect you guys to get there first."

"Shadow Chaser!"

Mid Lane Killing God laughed. "My buddies and I are just out here getting gear. Like you said, we're all players. Maybe in our original world, we could have been brothers. So, we only seek wealth, not lives. You three, leave the items dropped from the BOSS Ability Crystal, along with the BOSS's corpse, and we'll pretend nothing happened. How about it?"

"You're robbing us!" Ruolin said indignantly.

"You can't call it robbing, it's just taking back what originally belonged to us," the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar said with a smile. "Shadow Chaser, there are only three of you. Although you're high level, already level 20, I'm sure you leveled up in the wilderness. There's no way you could have advanced to Tier 2 in a short time, so it's no different from Tier 1. We have five people here. A smart person would know how to choose, right?"

"I understand."

I smiled slightly. "Ragnarok intends to bully us with numbers, right?"

"That's right!"

Another player chimed in. "So what if we're bullying you? Stop wasting experience points talking on the Star Chart. If you don't leave the gear, you die. If the three of you die, the gear will drop anyway."

"Fine."

I nodded. "Since we can't talk it out, let's just fight."

"Fight if you want, scared of you?!"

Two of the opponents consecutively exited the Star Chart.

I also quickly exited the Star Chart. The moment I exited the Star Chart chat, I directly pulled the bolt, aimed at the head exposed by the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar, and fired fiercely!

Pop!

"448!"

A large damage number flew up from the scope. Before the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar could even look up, I fired three more shots, all hitting the head!

"443!"

"409!"

"428!"

Four shots fired in quick succession, all hitting their mark. I quickly rolled, changing my shooting position while holding the Wind Whisperer. As I re-aimed with the scope, I saw a bandage icon appear above the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar's head – the mark of being lightly injured!

Once a player is injured, their health is locked. For example, if the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar's health bar drops below 30%, using bandages or hemostatic drugs won't raise their HP above 30%. They must receive treatment or use advanced medical items like first-aid kits, medical chests, or even medical nanobots.

While injured, a player's overall stats are significantly reduced, and their skills are greatly weakened. Therefore, the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar was no longer a threat!

Next, the next one!

I quickly aimed. With a "bang," a shot rang out, and the Mid Lane Killing God's head exploded in a spray of blood, taking over 400 damage. He was utterly shocked and hastily leaped forward, his body disappearing into a shadowy, sand-like silhouette. He intended to use the Shadow Veil skill to go stealth and evade!

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Without hesitation, I aimed at three points – front, middle, and back – around the Mid Lane Killing God and fired three shots instantly. Level 10 Basic Shooting, ignoring recoil, that's how powerful it is!

A stream of blood spurted out. The Mid Lane Killing God stumbled out of the shadow, blood gushing from his abdomen, his face looking extremely grim.

After I fired another three shots, a "lightly injured" warning icon, indicating less than 30% Blood Essence, flew above the Mid Lane Killing God's head.

Another one down!

"Holy crap..."

Xiao Bai stared, dumbfounded. "Ding Han, how is your Basic Shooting so amazing? At that distance, every shot is a headshot... What level are your skills?"

"Not high, it's all talent!"

I lied with one eye open while aiming.

At this moment, the opposing players began to return fire. However, most of their Basic Shooting skills were only between level 3 and 4. At a distance of 500 meters, the hit rate of their sniper rifles was extremely low, barely reaching 20%.

For a time, rocks and dirt around us were constantly being hit with dull thuds, and bullets kicked up clouds of dust.

From the Star Chart, the Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar's voice came through.

"Shadow Chaser big shot, forget it, forget it. We brothers admit defeat..."