Subtle Influence

The scorching sun, combined with the scorching desert, made the entire air look hazy and distorted. Yet this external heat, coupled with the surging effects of the Blood Qi Potion within their bodies, meant that even though each of them was in excellent shape, they felt far hotter than an ordinary person wrapped in a cotton quilt roasting by a fire in summer.

After taking the Blood Qi Potion, Luo Luoji led the few of them to separate from the employers, wandering nearby seemingly aimlessly, putting on an act of being lost.

The distortion of the air around their bodies was even more severe than that above the desert surface, the boiling of their blood and qi almost visible to the naked eye!

Thin white mist, like steam, rose from the tops of their heads.

If this phenomenon fell into the eyes of ordinary Magic Beasts, horse bandits, or robbers, they would naturally recognize them as formidable figures and steer clear.

However, this kind of vibrant, blood-qi-filled flesh, in the eyes of most Undead that lacked fear and thought, was like a bright lamp in the darkness. The Undead, knowing no fear or dread, would swarm in like moths to a flame, even the low-level ones!

But this place was still a considerable distance from the actual influence range of the Necrotic Tower. Aside from encountering a few stray Wanderers here and there, they hadn't even run into two at once, let alone the advanced Undead or the Wraiths the employers had mentioned.

Wraiths, a type of ethereal soul Undead, possessed a rare trait among the Undead: simple thinking ability!

Unlike ordinary Undead, Wraiths were a type of Undead that had an instinct to avoid danger. Coupled with their intangible form, physical evasion, Mind Scream, and other traits, they were a fairly rare and difficult-to-hunt type of Undead.

Of course, for a mage known for his breadth of knowledge, Dean still managed to find a feasible solution at this critical juncture.

No matter how special a Wraith was, it couldn't change its nature as an Undead. Although it knew how to avoid danger, it didn't possess true wisdom.

In theory, with enough fresh meat, it could still be lured out, especially since in this tempting bait team, the strongest was only a one-star late-stage 'Guardian', posing little threat to it.

Yet in reality, Xuan Ye and the others had spent an entire day wandering around in vain, encountering only a few low-level Wanderers whose materials weren't worth anything, with no results at all.

Seeing that the red sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon, and the silver moon, which appeared even larger in the sky than the sun, had risen, Xuan Ye could no longer hold back.

"I say, Uncle Luo Luoji, could the employers have miscalculated? It's been a whole day, and we haven't seen a single hair of a Wraith. I've been on edge all day guarding against sneak attacks, and I can't take it anymore. If we keep going like this, hot and tired, we'll really run into danger."

To ensure his personality remained intact, Xuan Ye had sealed his Database deep within his soul while retaining his own humanity. Even though he had started to focus on training, in terms of spirit and will, coming from a peaceful era, he still lagged far behind warriors who had survived in a chaotic world.

Being able to stay mentally alert without rest for an entire day in such harsh conditions was already an extraordinary feat for him, thanks to his improved Basic Breathing Technique and the enhanced effects of the Blood Qi Potion.

"The Mage Lord's guess should be correct. That thing has probably already set its sights on us. It's just that Undead hate the scorching sun, so it's likely planning to make a move at night. Let's take this opportunity to rest and recover our energy."

Luo Luoji and the others, having long been accustomed to this kind of high-intensity work, were in much better shape than Xuan Ye, even though they had also expended energy. It was like an ordinary person fresh out of college suddenly thrown into a factory assembly line with rotating shifts—they simply couldn't keep up, unlike the seasoned workers.

"Phew~"

Hearing that he could rest, Xuan Ye, without any regard for appearances, tossed his sun-shading bamboo hat to the ground and plopped down on it, revealing his completely bald head.

Then, too lazy to even speak, he forcibly suppressed the urge to rest and sleep, and began practicing his improved Basic Meditation.

In truth, given his current physique as a Level 7 Knight Attendant, his body could still handle the journey. The main issue was the constant mental strain, which his mind couldn't bear. At times like this, meditation was undoubtedly the best way to recover.

For a Knight Attendant, a slightly stronger ordinary person might, after simple training, directly reach the level of a second or third-grade attendant. But a Mage Apprentice was completely different.

Although an ordinary person's Spiritual Power was equivalent to that of a first-level Mage Apprentice, without the talent for active Spiritual Power required to become a mage, their solidified Spiritual Power couldn't be improved through meditation. They could only strengthen their will by advancing through physical profession ranks.

Fortunately, Xuan Ye had no such concerns. The original Xuan Ye already possessed low-level active Spiritual Power due to his bloodline, and now, with his soul, which was so active it could drift through the cosmos, injected into this body, combined with the improved Basic Meditation, he was like a fish in water.

After a full day of mental strain, using this fatigue to forcibly enter a state of emptiness through meditation, Xuan Ye's Spiritual Power recovered remarkably quickly. Not only did it replenish fully, but it also rapidly overflowed and increased, far more effective than his nighttime meditation sessions from a few days ago!

This was definitely not the kind of training aid provided by the Blood Qi Potion, which focused on the physical body. It was likely a characteristic of improvement following significant mental depletion.

Crack. Without any obstruction, his Spiritual Power, which had been at the level of a second-level Mage Apprentice due to the fusion of two souls, successfully broke through to the level of a third-level apprentice tonight.

This made Xuan Ye's thoughts incredibly clear. Compared to the Level 6 Knight Attendant body he had stumbled upon when he first arrived, this Mage Apprentice rank, which he had achieved step by step on his own, gave him a much greater sense of accomplishment.

The emotional fluctuation even caused him to automatically exit his meditative state after advancing. For a moment, he felt that his entire perception of the world had undergone a subtle change. Unlike the enhanced five senses gained through communicating with the Perception Inner Mansion, this was an enhancement of the sixth sense. Moreover, there seemed to be an intricate interplay between the Perception Inner Mansion and Spiritual Power.

"Oh? Another Wanderer is coming over. Tch, what a pain. Its materials aren't worth anything, and it's disgustingly stinky."

Coming back to his senses, thanks to the further improvement of his Spiritual Power and perception, Xuan Ye easily detected a Wanderer slowly approaching from afar, climbing over a sand dune.

After encountering these zombie-like creatures a few times, Xuan Ye finally understood the meaning behind the disgusted expression Luo Luoji had shown when they first met one.

Even low-level Magic Beasts weaker than Wanderers, or even ordinary wild beasts, could at least be killed for some fresh meat, even if they weren't worth much. But a Wanderer... ugh~

"It's all yours. Practice your night shooting."

The others, having also noticed this nuisance, had no interest in it. The first few Wanderers they had encountered during the day had been killed by them in turns, leaving their weapons covered in foul-smelling pus, which disgusted them to no end.

Moreover, Wanderers were at most at the level of a Level 4 Attendant, most being only second or third grade. The essence released after killing them was pitifully small for the several high-level attendants. On top of that, the aura released by killing Undead wasn't as suitable for human absorption as that of Magic Beasts. Absorbing too much of it was harmful to the body. After learning this the hard way, they had left the subsequent Wanderers to Xuan Ye, since he had the longest range.

Xuan Ye grumbled a bit about this arrangement but still stood up. The original owner of this body knew the most basic techniques for luring monsters and archery. Over the few days of practice with the group, using his own traits, he had absorbed the original owner's archery skills like a sponge, even surpassing them thanks to his passive ability to read parameters.

Even so, he understood that he had only achieved his current shooting ability through his cheat-like advantages. If he wanted to further improve his technique, there was still considerable potential for growth.

Faced with this rare combat target, he was happy to use it for practice.

The bow was a weapon that was difficult to master and even harder to perfect. With his physical prowess and passive ability, Xuan Ye had achieved some results relatively quickly. Otherwise, even veteran archers in the military relied on volley fire with teammates to improve their accuracy.

At such times, using parabolic shots from a city wall with the wind at their backs could cover several hundred meters. But when using a bow alone, the accuracy of parabolic shots was quite dismal.

On Earth, the Olympics used advanced compound bows with a range of seventy meters. However, that was only for hitting the bullseye. The lethality and destructive power were useless in Reizel's combat.

Typically, ordinary Apprentice Rangers and hunters could only engage in direct fire. Under normal circumstances, without entering a profession rank, their combat range was around thirty meters to ensure accuracy and power.

Even for a profession rank Ranger, without using any techniques, the optimal sustained shooting range was within a hundred meters for direct fire. Being able to hit a moving target with predictable patterns within a hundred meters without fail, piercing three layers of leather armor, and firing thirty consecutive arrows without rest were the basic requirements for a qualified one-star Ranger (this distance could double if targeting a dummy without considering armor thresholds or ordinary people).

Of course, this was just basic attacks. If arrow techniques were used at the cost of sustained fire, a profession rank Ranger could achieve range and power comparable to a sniper!

The heavy bow in Xuan Ye's hands was already good enough for an ordinary profession rank Ranger, worth at least seven or eight hundred silver coins. It was the bow Luo Luoji used for luring monsters. Now, as soon as the Wanderer entered the hundred-meter range, Xuan Ye had already drawn his bow and nocked an arrow.

His basic drawing posture was steady and unremarkable, standard as a textbook, earning approving nods from the others. Of course, if they knew that this was the only posture Xuan Ye knew, they might not be so impressed...

The force he used to draw the bow, the expected speed of the arrow's release, the Wanderer's movement speed and change patterns, wind direction and speed, air resistance, the effects of temperature changes on the air, and various other parameters all passively appeared in Xuan Ye's mind.

Because he hadn't activated his Bloodline Power, these parameters surfaced relatively gently and smoothly, giving him ample time to absorb them. Although it would slow his reactions by half a beat, under this kind of long-range attack, no openings or danger would appear.

"Take that!"

The fingers drawing the bowstring loosened against his cheek, and the arrow instantly tore through the air. The next moment, it appeared above the Wanderer's eye socket. The powerful impact even sent it flying backward a meter or two, pus and brain matter spraying out.

Shooting distance: ninety-three meters!

"Don't bother seeing me off!"

Rubbing his slightly sore shoulder, a hint of joy crept onto Xuan Ye's face.

The others, who had been watching Xuan Ye shoot with an attitude of just waiting to see a show, all showed flashes of surprise when they saw him dispatch the target so cleanly.

What surprised them wasn't that Xuan Ye could handle such a simple target, but that in the desert environment at night with a desert wind blowing, he could actually hit the target at this distance with a single fatal shot!

This was already extremely close to a casual shot from a Professional Rank Ranger!

It was also a strike strong enough to injure a Professional Rank Expert!

Although Xuan Ye's strength and stamina wouldn't allow him to sustain this intensity of shooting, and the target was only a slow-moving Wanderer, this was still an impressive achievement!

At the very least, aside from Luo Luoji, the other Senior Knight Attendants present felt a chill in their hearts—if they were at a distance, they had no way to close in!

At a hundred meters, factoring in evasive zigzagging to dodge shots, unless they withdrew entirely from the firing range or focused solely on dodging without trying to close in, even Jack, the strongest among them, was only confident in evading one or two arrows. At night, being unable to judge the arrow's trajectory made it even more dangerous!

When had...

this kid...

already reached the point where he could defeat me with archery alone...

Thinking back to the steel blade that had been knocked away in their close-quarters fight, a trace of bewilderment appeared on Jack's face.

But just then, Xuan Ye, who had just finished hunting his target and was still hesitating over whether to abandon that foul-smelling arrow, suddenly changed expression.

"Not good! That Wanderer is off—something hidden inside it is coming toward me!"