Thanks to one of her special abilities, Erin had actually watched the entire battle Cheng Tian had fought in the bar, as well as his confrontation with Batman.
Under normal circumstances, it was practically impossible for a complete newcomer who had just passed the beginner trial to take on more than a dozen enemies almost unscathed in an E+ difficulty mission, much less nearly walk away unscathed from a confrontation with Batman, the absolute protagonist of the current instance.
But if he really was the kind of person who could claw his way out of a beginner cesspit like Demon Village with nothing but a fresh account, then it all made perfect sense.
This kid definitely had an incredibly powerful starting talent, rock-solid mental fortitude, at least adequate physical ability, and a considerable amount of luck on his side. None of those could be missing.
How should she put it? Cheng Tian's performance so far had left Erin with the frustrated feeling that she had wasted her entire life, but soon, light filled her lifeless eyes.
If he was already this impressive right after breaking through the beginner trial, then "a bright future" no longer came close to describing him. Her chances of accomplishing her goal would probably increase dramatically!
For a moment, Cheng was even a little unnerved by the way she was staring at him.
"Let's form a party! I'll pay! If any tank equipment drops, you get first pick!"
The immensely enthusiastic female archer sent a party invitation to Scallop Warrior.
In Chosen Evolution Space, players naturally tended to fill different roles based on their talents, chosen skills, and equipment.
This tendency became increasingly pronounced as instance difficulty rose and the situations within the instances grew more complicated.
Some exceptionally talented people could even clear low-difficulty instances solo in the early stages, but the farther they went, the more obvious the importance of teamwork became.
Some players could rely on their teammates to stand in front and draw aggro while they unleashed powerful damage through delayed energy buildup, but their own HP was likely pitifully low.
Likewise, players with powerful defensive abilities were usually not skilled at ranged attacks. If they were sniped from a distance and kited, they would have almost no effective means of counterattacking.
Erin was a typical example of a ranged archer whose build emphasized ranged combat over close combat.
As mentioned before, players themselves were the greatest variable in any instance. So even for the same bounty mission, no one should expect everyone to focus solely on completing the objective. Everyone had different ideas and goals.
Erin was one of those who had entered the instance before Cheng Tian. She was the sort of veteran player who had completely shed her beginner status and whose equipment and skills matched her talent quite well.
Bounty missions restricted weak players whose strength did not meet the requirements through conditions, power thresholds, and the like, but they never restricted the entry of high-level players.
Even if a max-level, level-100 character entered a level-one beginner instance, no one would stop them. However, every player had a fixed amount of time they could remain in the space during each month's designated trial period. Thus, high-level players rarely went to low-level instances to bully the weak, whether NPCs or players.
Some players could clear four or five low-level instances in a row and still earn less than they would from a single instance suited to their abilities, where risk and reward went hand in hand. Considering the time and energy involved, the better choice was obvious.
That said, the entry rules for these bounty missions would inevitably lead to veterans bringing along newcomers, or veterans sniping newcomers. Chosen Evolution Space had other rules restricting this, however. More on that later.
Erin's appearance in the E+ difficulty Batman instance was, in fact, highly suspicious of seal-clubbing. The bounty mission itself was merely her excuse for entering. Her true objective was to use the opportunity to attack the boss of the main quest here.
Just yesterday, she had obtained the coordinates of Moth Hole through a hostile gang. She had lurked nearby alone and ambushed Killer Moth as he returned to his hideout.
Naturally, she had failed, but she had still scared Killer Moth into a cold sweat. He might not have recovered yet.
Erin's arrows had actually pierced straight through Killer Moth's Mothmobile from the front, nearly pinning him to the driver's seat!
He remembered that the emerald-green magic arrow had passed less than a finger's width from Killer Moth's ear. It was easy to imagine how furious and shaken the head of the Moth Gang had been once he came to his senses.
After all, as a vehicle built entirely according to the Batmobile's specifications by the twisted Batman fanboy Killer Moth, it had maximum bulletproofing and external armor that could be activated in emergencies. Aside from high-yield explosives and Joker's specially modified long-barreled revolver, almost nothing could harm Killer Moth inside it.
Yet Killer Moth had been defeated at the very thing he took the most pride in, and he had nearly ended up with a hole in his head.
This wasn't merely a matter of becoming One-Ear. It was a matter of becoming Ken-X-ed!
From this perspective, it was perfectly understandable that even a law-abiding customer who was willing to pay, like Cheng Tian, would still be targeted. Killer Moth was furious enough to kick even a dog that happened to pass by, and Cheng Tian genuinely belonged to a hostile faction.
With her rare opportunity for a ranged assassination gone, Erin immediately chose to flee.
As an archer whose build emphasized agility and spirit, Erin possessed high attack power, high evasion, and high perception. Inevitably, her strength and HP were lacking.
Calling her a glass cannon would be a slight exaggeration. After all, Chosen Evolution Space wasn't one of those trashy other-world anime. A real archer's muscles and strength, when drawing a bow, were actually no less than those of an ordinary warrior. If Erin took off her clothes, she would reveal a body covered in well-trained muscle.
But at least at this stage, she was less durable than the inexperienced and absurdly one-sided Cheng. That, of course, was also the main reason she had lamented that she had wasted her life.
The instant the assassination failed, Moth Hole lit up from end to end. The Moth Gang's elite combat force, the Mobile Moths, deployed in large numbers and began a carpet search.
Knowing that her HP was low, Erin had naturally escaped long ago. She had no intention of facing the Moth Gang with its barrage firepower fully unleashed.
In fact, Erin had already completed her bounty mission along the way. The additional files would only increase the bounty reward somewhat. Killer Moth was merely one of her targets, and if the opponent proved too troublesome, she would decisively give up.
Afterward, however, she used her ability to observe the reaction she had provoked.
From the assassination yesterday until now, Killer Moth had never removed his Moth suit. At the same time, he had openly mobilized his gang members for a large-scale search and had even deliberately gone looking for trouble with other gangs in the same city.
It was hard to say whether this counted as throwing a tantrum or issuing a show of force.
Yet in the face of a Killer Moth who was extremely furious and brimming with defiance, an intense desire surged beneath Erin's seemingly calm expression—
The urge to drag the lofty Killer Moth down from the sky and trample him underfoot!
As the title says, this extra chapter is to make up for it. (I'm honestly surprised I had saved chapters left...)
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