You Call That Friendly Fire?

Healing restored 51 health points, instantly pulling his HP back up to 61.

The potion's effect would continuously restore health over ten seconds.

Combined with the passive recovery from Potential Activation and the 0.8 HP per second from Woodland Affinity,

Gan Ming's HP went from 10 to full in just a few seconds.

Gan Ming crouched by the tree roots, pressing his back against the rough bark. He lowered his breathing and watched the direction the arrow had come from.

There was no need to think about it. An Awakened had done this.

The security personnel's words echoed in his mind.

"Some people specifically lurk near newbie leveling areas. They wait until newcomers finish fighting monsters and run out of health and mana before making their move."

What the hell. He had actually run into one.

Gan Ming lowered his head and glanced at the arrow at his waist.

The shaft was dark gray, and its fletching had been neatly trimmed.

The arrowhead... was already buried in flesh.

But judging from how deeply it had penetrated, the shot had carried considerable force.

Without the 50 Defense provided by Bark Armor and Woodland Affinity stacked together,

he would already be dead.

The forest suddenly fell silent.

A few seconds later.

Footsteps sounded ahead once more.

They were neither hurried nor slow, rustling over the layer of fallen leaves.

Gan Ming poked half his head out, his brow tightening slightly.

Hm, two people?

Two Awakened emerged side by side from the thicket.

The one on the left wore a set of grayish-white standard-issue gear, similar to Gan Ming's own.

A steel longsword hung at his waist, its scabbard utterly ordinary.

The one on the right was different.

He held a short bow in his hand.

The bow limbs, the bowstring, and even the light armor on his body all gleamed with a faint green light.

Green-glowing equipment meant excellent quality.

Gan Ming had seen it on the equipment list at the Awakened Association's kiosks.

White was ordinary quality, while green was excellent quality.

Even the cheapest piece of excellent-quality equipment started at three or four thousand.

A whole set?

This guy was rich.

The Soul Seizing panel automatically popped up.

The bow-wielder on the right came first.

[Soul Seizing Target: Awakened]

[Rank: First Rank]

[Level: 13]

[Innate Talent (1): Eagle Eye]

[Specialized Skills (2): Precision Shooting, Piercing Arrow]

[Skills: Archery Mastery, Rapid Fire, Stealth, Tracking, Enhanced Arrow, Trap Setting, Rapid Retreat, ... (9 total)]

First Rank, Level 13.

His innate talent was Eagle Eye.

Two specialized skills and nine regular skills.

No wonder that arrow had been absurdly accurate.

He had been crouching on the ground, with the boar monster's corpse blocking most of his body.

Yet this man had managed to hit him in the waist with a single arrow from so far away.

Eagle Eye, Precision Shooting, and Piercing Arrow.

That shot had been meant to kill him instantly.

Gan Ming shifted his gaze to the person on the left.

[Soul Seizing Target: Awakened]

[Rank: First Rank]

[Level: 10]

[Innate Talent (1): Synergy]

[Specialized Skills (1): Rapid Strike]

[Skills: Heavy Strike, Block, Thrust, Physical Enhancement, Danger Sense (5 total)]

Level 10.

One specialization and five skills.

His strength was average. He was most likely a lackey.

Gan Ming withdrew his gaze and ran the information from both panels through his mind.

A Level 13 archer with nine skills, two specializations, and a full set of green equipment.

A Level 10 swordsman with five skills, one specialization, and ordinary equipment.

And himself: Level 8, a chipped iron blade, and three pieces of broken armor.

Counterkill?

He was getting ahead of himself.

Gan Ming suppressed the thought and shook his head.

Fanged Charge could burst down boars and treants, but instantly killing a Level 13 archer whose gear outclassed his by two whole tiers?

If he made a move, the archer would open the distance and kite him while the swordsman tangled with him up close.

One shooting from afar, one slashing at close range.

With the two of them working together, he could not handle it.

Besides, there were still two Second Rank security personnel at the outpost.

Gan Ming recalled the gesture the man had made when he entered, rubbing his fingers together.

That archer wore a full set of green equipment and clearly was not short of money. He would probably be generous with it too.

What if he had bribed the security personnel...

That possibility was not zero.

So if he really attacked these two,

but let the archer run back first and say a word to the security personnel, prompting two Second Rankers to act?

The words "life and death at your own risk" in the fallen zone had been made perfectly clear.

And the security personnel had never said he was not allowed to fight back.

They had only said that if they were in a good mood, they might shout for help. If they were in a bad mood, they would pretend not to see anything.

But what if they had taken money?

Whether they were in a good mood or bad was a matter of price.

Leaning against the tree trunk, Gan Ming considered all of this.

He could not fight.

Not being able to win was one thing.

The trouble after the fight was what could truly kill him.

Just as he made his decision, the archer on the other side spoke first.

"Hey! Friend!"

His voice was fairly bright, with a hint of urgency in his tone.

The archer quickly took two steps forward, stopping around fifteen meters from Gan Ming's tree.

He raised one hand in a calming gesture.

"Sorry! I'm really sorry!"

His face was full of embarrassment and guilt.

He first glanced at the boar monster's corpse on the ground, then lifted his head to peer behind the tree.

"Brother, are you okay?"

"I heard some movement over here from that side and thought it was a boar monster."

"So I instinctively fired an arrow. I really didn't expect it to be a person..."

He slapped his forehead.

"Fuck, I could slap myself! What a pig brain I have..."

"Brother, are you badly hurt? Do you need medicine? I've got medicine here—two bottles of intermediate recovery potion. Take them and use them!"

As he spoke, he gave the person beside him a meaningful look.

Gan Ming did not come out.

Leaning against the tree trunk, he looked down at the arrow in his waist.

An arrow like this cost at least a dozen bucks each.

Thought it was a boar monster?

From dozens of meters away, through gaps in the trees, you hit the waist of someone crouching on the ground with one arrow.

And you had even used the specialized skill Piercing Arrow.

You were telling him that you thought it was a boar monster?

Did boars crouch on the ground and use Soul Seizing on themselves?

Seeing that Gan Ming did not respond, the archer spoke again.

This time, his tone was even more sincere.

"Brother, I mean it. I really didn't do it on purpose."

"It's mainly because today isn't the weekend. I figured there wouldn't be many students leveling here, so... I let my guard down a little."

"Look, if you're seriously hurt..."

Gan Ming took a deep breath behind the tree and steadied his emotions.

He glanced at his panel.

His HP had already fully recovered.

Then he looked at the swordsman standing beside the archer.

That man had not circled around to flank him. Instead, he stood with the archer, facing him directly.

Interesting.

It seemed they were wary as well.

If the archer had been certain that he could crush Gan Ming, there would have been no need to stop and call out.

He could have simply chased after him and finished him with another arrow.

The reason he had stopped was because... that shot had failed to kill him.

An Awakened who could fight a boar monster for half the day, take a Piercing Arrow, and still not die.

That in itself was abnormal.

And abnormal meant uncertainty.

A target with uncertainty had only two options: give up, or test the waters first.