Is This Really a Newbie?

The archer chose to test him.

He tested Gan Ming by apologizing.

Having thought it through, Gan Ming relaxed instead.

He adjusted his breathing and chuckled from behind the tree.

"Hey, it's fine."

His tone was steady, without the slightest hint of anger at having been ambushed.

"It's a Fallen Zone. I get it. When you're fighting monsters, your nerves are wound tight. You hear the slightest rustle and fire an arrow—it's a normal reaction."

The archer raised an eyebrow.

He had not expected the other man to be so agreeable.

"Yeah, yeah, exactly! That's what I meant!"

The archer hurriedly agreed, his smile growing brighter as he gave Gan Ming a thumbs-up.

"You're a real stand-up guy, brother! Really generous! If you're hurt, I've got potions here, look..."

"No need, no need." Gan Ming cut him off first, his tone still light. "It's just a small wound. I have Healing myself, so I don't need a potion."

The archer's eyes flickered for an instant.

Healing.

An innate means of recovery.

He filed that information away.

The scene fell silent again.

The two sides faced off from more than ten meters apart.

Five seconds later, the archer broke the silence first.

He took two steps forward, putting on the expression of someone making friends.

"Perfect! Brother, we've gotten acquainted now. How about... we team up?"

"There are still plenty of Pig Monsters and Tree Spirits in these woods. Three people can kill faster than one. We'll split the drops evenly. What do you think?"

Seeing this, Gan Ming stepped out from behind the tree as well.

The moment the archer saw him, his gaze involuntarily swept over him from head to toe.

An iron helmet, a dull gray piece of common gear.

Leather armor, its edges already worn into frays.

Leg guards without even a patch, their wear plainly exposed.

And at his waist, an iron shortsword with a chipped blade.

As well as the arrow still lodged in the right side of his waist.

His entire appearance could be summed up in one word.

Poor.

The archer kept his expression unchanged, but he had already formed an impression of Gan Ming.

This was a pauper with no backing, no guild, and nothing but the lowest-grade issued equipment.

Yet he had taken an arrow head-on and could still laugh and chat.

This man was no simple character.

Gan Ming smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks for the invitation, maybe next time. I've already fought enough today, and I was just about to head back for dinner."

As he spoke, he bent down and crouched beside the Pig Monster's corpse.

The archer's gaze followed his movements.

Gan Ming reached out and touched the Pig Monster's corpse, storing it in his ring.

The movement was completely natural.

As if nothing had happened just now.

He straightened, gripped the arrow shaft at his waist with one hand, and pulled it out in one steady motion.

Pfft!

The arrowhead came free from his flesh with streaks of blood.

Gan Ming did not even furrow his brow.

He wiped the bloodied arrow against the hem of his clothes twice, then raised it toward the archer.

"Your arrow. Want it back?"

The archer's mouth twitched.

"Um... no need. Just... just consider it compensation."

Gan Ming put the arrow into his ring and smiled at the two of them.

"Alright, I'll be going then. See you around."

With that, he turned and headed toward the Woodland entrance.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, his footsteps making an even rustling sound over the fallen leaves.

The archer stood where he was, watching Gan Ming's back disappear step by step into the depths of the forest.

Once that gray figure had completely vanished behind the trees,

The archer's genial smile vanished completely.

A dark gloom rose in his eyes.

"What a pity."

His voice was very soft.

The swordsman beside him leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"How about... notifying those two security guards at the entrance and having them stop him?"

The archer turned to look at him, glaring as though he were an idiot.

"Are you stupid? If I let those two stop him, how much hush money would I have to pay?"

"And if you get someone else to do your dirty work, it becomes leverage they can hold over you. How much is one poor bastard worth today? Get caught by the balls afterward, and they'll own you for life."

The swordsman shrank his neck and said no more.

The archer put away his bow, his fingers stroking his chin.

"And did you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"That kid took one of my arrows and didn't die."

"Yeah, that's true."

The archer's gaze fell on the patch of mud at his feet, blackened by Pig Monster blood.

"My Piercing Arrow deals at least 120 damage to an unprotected target."

"Any Awakened below level ten with poor equipment is basically one arrow, one kill."

"But look at what he's wearing. Three pieces of standard-issued basic gray gear, not even a pair of bracers. By all rights, he shouldn't still be standing after that shot."

The swordsman nodded repeatedly. "Then how did he take it?"

"I don't know." The archer shook his head. "Either he has some defensive measure I can't see, or his talent comes with damage reduction. In any case, someone who can take an arrow without dying isn't as simple as he looks."

He fell silent for several seconds, then waved his hand.

"Forget it. If I didn't one-shot him, then it's a minor matter. Chase him down and fight? If something goes wrong, that would be a major matter."

The archer stored his bow in his ring and tilted his head toward the Woodland entrance.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"The entrance." The archer's tone turned cold. "We're going to get an explanation from those two security guards."

"I fucking paid them to provide information on the people entering."

"How many people came in today, what equipment they had, what level they were—I paid for all that."

"And what happened? They couldn't even get accurate information on someone dressed like that?"

He spat at the clearing.

"I didn't spend that money for nothing. They need to give me an explanation."

The two of them headed toward the Woodland entrance, one after the other.

Meanwhile.

Gan Ming walked quickly along the road back.

By now, his health had fully recovered.

But the arrow wound from earlier had left a hole in his leather armor.

He looked at that hole and continued onward in silence.

His mind was filled with the information from the archer's Soul-Stealing Panel.

What was someone like that doing in a newbie leveling zone meant for levels one through fifteen?

Leveling?

No way.

The monsters here gave him practically no experience.

He had come here to hunt newly Awakened people.

He struck when low-level rookie newcomers had finished fighting monsters and exhausted their resources.

One arrow to kill them, then take the equipment and supplies from their corpses.

A newcomer's three standard-issued pieces of gear and shortsword were not worth much, but the quantity made up for it.

If he camped out and caught several a day, it would still amount to a sizable income over a month.

Besides...

Who would investigate for guildless Awakened who died in the Fallen Zone?

The two security guards at the entrance would not care.

The association would care even less.

Gan Ming pieced together this entire chain of business in his mind from beginning to end.

The ones providing information had to be those two security guards.

The ones carrying it out were capable Awakened like the archer.

The victims were unaffiliated rookie players with no backing and no guild.

What a perfect food chain!

The reason he had walked out alive today was not just luck.

It was also because of the defensive skill he had stolen from the Tree Spirit.

Without Bark Armor and Woodland Affinity,

He would have died!

Thinking of this, Gan Ming touched the arrow hole at his waist again and quickened his pace.