Slow Bird Flies First

There was no time to check the changes in the data panel.

Roger flipped over and leaped down, pouncing on another Gray Dwarf.

The previous assassination had been stealthy enough, but the latter's violent struggle immediately drew his companion's attention—showing that Gray Dwarves themselves possessed extremely high Fortitude.

The other Gray Dwarf was clutching a crossbow.

When it saw Roger pounce over, it raised its hand and fired without a word! But the distance between them was too close, and the shot hit nothing but air.

The Gray Dwarf hurriedly and clumsily tugged at the mechanism, apparently intending to load another bolt.

But Roger would not give it the chance.

He adjusted his angle in midair, then flung out his hand—

A bundle of Magic Rope flew from his palm, rapidly winding around the Gray Dwarf several times.

Accompanied by a simple incantation.

The Magic Rope wrapped around the Gray Dwarf like a constricting python, automatically binding it.

This bundle of Magic Rope was something Roger had obtained from the Blood Mage Apprentice.

The spell used also came from the Mystra's Popular Spellbook series.

The Magic Ring used the ninth spell, while the Magic Rope used the fourth.

Seeing that the Magic Rope's restraint was highly effective, Roger did not hesitate. He wrapped the end of the rope around a branch to one side, then immediately leaped toward the ground.

The Gray Dwarf let out a miserable howl and was promptly left hanging from the tree like a smoked duck.

The sound quickly alerted the Gray Dwarves on the shore.

Roger landed steadily and casually tied the Magic Rope to the locust tree.

Then he took out Little Finger.

He loaded it with a pebble, gently drew the bow, aimed at the Gray Dwarf's mouth, and released.

The entire series of movements flowed together seamlessly.

The next second, the faint sound of teeth shattering drifted over.

The Gray Dwarf's cries also became fragmented.

Having accomplished his goal, Roger climbed back up the old locust tree from the other side.

He chose a relatively concealed branch and activated the skill Concealment.

On the shore, the three Gray Dwarves were somewhat dumbfounded.

Their eyesight was poor, and from this position they could not see their companion's exact situation. They could only hear him shouting.

Unfortunately, the fellow's missing teeth made his words indistinct. Even from a short distance away, his cries were difficult to understand.

The three grew irritated by his shouting and decided to go over and see what was happening.

If they went by land and climbed the tree, they would have to take a long detour.

The irritable Gray Dwarves naturally prepared to swim across.

The Gray Dwarf hanging from the tree saw this in a daze and began shouting even more frantically!

Unfortunately, its companions could not understand its urgency. Instead, spurred on by its howls, they swam even harder.

Roger's figure quietly emerged on the old locust tree.

In his hand, he held the short crossbow he had taken from the dead Gray Dwarf.

The next second, he gently pressed the trigger.

With a whoosh, he successfully claimed the life of one of the Gray Dwarves.

The crossbow was slow to reload, but Roger was in no hurry.

He sat in the tree and leisurely loaded another bolt.

At that moment, the Gray Dwarves in the water realized that something was wrong.

But they had no way back! Continuing forward meant becoming living targets.

Turning around and swimming back to shore was no better.

As they struggled between these deadly choices,

Roger effortlessly killed every last Gray Dwarf.

Next came the wonderful time of collecting his spoils.

The most valuable things on the Gray Dwarves were their crossbows and bolts. Their attributes were as follows:...

"Gray Dwarf's Simple Crossbow"

"Rating: A"

"Material 3 Elasticity 7 Toughness 6 Balance 3"

"Simple Penetrating Arrow (Poisoned)"

"Rating: A"

"Material 3 Penetration 6 Durability 2 Balance 4"

Roger found a total of four crossbows and eighteen poisoned Penetrating Arrows.

If he took these to Tongma Town to sell, they would certainly fetch a huge sum.

These short crossbows had an extremely low barrier to entry.

Even a beginner could use one to kill an Adventurer many times stronger than themselves.

At close to medium range, a crossbow's killing power was terrifying, to say nothing of the poison.

The weapon's only flaw was that it was too cumbersome.

Unless one was experienced, firing an arrow took one second, while reloading the crossbow took half a minute.

"Rachel's luck wasn't bad. The ones who attacked her were refugees. They probably had just obtained the crossbows and Penetrating Arrows from the Gray Dwarves and hadn't had time to poison them."

Under the moonlight, Roger saw the faint green sheen on the arrowheads, and his caution rose another level.

Swamp Gray Dwarves were indeed formidable prey.

The fact that they could equip nearly every member with expensive short crossbows showed that their tribe possessed abundant mineral resources and highly developed smelting techniques.

Considering as well the mobilization and execution they had demonstrated by establishing sentry posts around Yellowstone Island,

they had already far surpassed the level of ordinary monsters.

Roger even began to hesitate over whether he should raise his level.

Aside from the crossbows and bolts, the most valuable things were the Gray Dwarves' tumors.

Roger patiently cut off each tumor.

These things were somewhat similar to the Magic Explosion Frog's parotid glands.

He planned to collect them and see whether he could make something similar to an Elemental Bottle.

After all, this was a protracted battle.

During this battle, some of the Elemental Bottles on him would certainly be consumed.

He could not keep living off his reserves forever, could he?

Only after looting the spoils did Roger have time to check the notification in the data panel.

After studying it, he discovered that the "Milestones" category had changed.

"What are Milestone Points used for?"

Roger was somewhat curious.

As far as he knew, Milestone Points could only be used to exchange for specific "titles."

Only after unlocking the corresponding milestone could one use Milestone Points to exchange for the associated title.

For example,

the title corresponding to the "Yuntai Mountain Frog Hunter" milestone was "Frog Nemesis."

The title's equipment effect was "Damage dealt to all frog creatures is doubled."

To obtain this title, he needed to spend one Milestone Point.

When Roger had first seen this effect, he had laughed and shaken his head.

If it doubled damage against all amphibious creatures, he might have considered it.

Frog creatures...

Who would ever crouch around killing frogs for no reason?! They would have to be bored out of their minds.

The other titles were similarly absurd.

"Small Test of Strength" corresponded to "Confident Novice," with the effect: "Your confidence increases by 5%."

"Crumble Bones and Scatter Ashes" corresponded to "Vicious Killer," with the effect: "Your body will smell of bone ash."

"Assassin's Creed" was somewhat better. It corresponded to "Cold-Blooded Assassin," with the effect: "Your body temperature cannot be detected by infrared vision or similar spells."

Aside from "Cold-Blooded Assassin," Roger did not want to exchange for a single one of them!

That was why he had saved his Milestone Points until now.

Perhaps accumulating a certain number of Milestone Points had triggered the notification.

Roger was now informed that he could use Milestone Points to exchange for other things! After he carefully read the description of that item, his eyes immediately lit up!...

"Slow Bird Flies First Coupon"

"Type: Consumable"

"Price: 10 Milestone Points"

"Use: After using this coupon, you may prematurely learn/master/obtain any one skill/Secret Technique/talent no more than 10 levels above your own level"

Although I always feel like I'm troubling everyone, this new author and new book truly need everyone's votes and support!

by, Humble Little Keyboard.