Troll

"Whew—"

After the battle, Li Wei didn't linger at the scene. He simply looted whatever spoils he could and left.

Yet one item caught his attention.

It was a bow he'd never seen before, with a distinctive design.

Half-Orc Bow
Ranged Damage +10%, Attack Range +10%.

"Huh?!"

A bow with special affixes.

The last time he'd seen special affixes was on the dagger he got from the Scrap Merchant.

Li Wei picked up the bow and examined it closely. Compared to the plain wooden bows he could craft himself, this one used clearly superior materials. The bow's body felt almost metallic to the touch—the materials were definitely good.

He had to admit, these half-orcs had some tricks up their sleeves.

He grabbed an arrow from the ground and took a shot. The feel was excellent; the arrow embedded itself cleanly into a tree trunk.

In truth, this was Li Wei's first time using a bow.

For one thing, he'd never found any bowstring, so he couldn't make one himself.

For another, he'd always favored close combat, overlooking the bow—a weapon of terrifying power in the age of cold steel.

Actually, the half-orc squad he'd encountered earlier had plenty of archers too. But after Li Wei's TNT bombardment, everything that could shatter had shattered. The scene was brutal—nothing intact remained.

Archery.

The moment Li Wei drew the bow for the first time, a familiar sensation surged through him.

Yeah, this was it.

With the system's assistance, the barrier to archery was lowered drastically. Li Wei nocked an arrow and fell into the most standard stance, no risk of fumbling like a greenhorn who couldn't even loose the shot.

After a few test shots, Li Wei got used to handling the bow.

Of course, that only meant no obstacles in basic operation. As for accuracy and the arrow's trajectory, he'd have to study those himself, slowly gaining insight.

As always, Li Wei could interrupt the system's assisted operation at any time and take over manually.

But he wouldn't do that until he'd truly mastered the skill.

This Orc archer hadn't carried many arrows. Even after retrieving all the ones he'd shot, the total came to just nine.

Ammunition was scarce.

By now, it was the dead of night.

Li Wei found a random cave, lit a campfire, and skewered a corn cob on a stick to roast.

Sure, he could fill his stomach with dried meat, but life needed a little ceremony.

The fire crackled. The corn gradually heated up, releasing a fragrant aroma.

Li Wei couldn't resist taking a bite. A sweet, soft, sticky burst of flavor exploded in his mouth.

Fragrant. Very fragrant.

Perfect heat!

Thump.

Li Wei suddenly felt a jolt beneath him.

He instinctively turned toward the source of the vibration.

In the firelight, a massive shadow slowly approached.

Li Wei put down his roasted corn.

Thump, thump...

The shadow drew closer to the campfire. The nearer it came, the more Li Wei felt its towering height.

Until it revealed its bloated head and body, and grunted in some crude language:

"Food. Eating food."

Only then did Li Wei get a clear look.

It was a Troll.

"Aha—look what I found, meat delivered right to my doorstep!"

The Troll hopped excitedly on the spot.

Li Wei hopped up just as cheerfully: "Aha, look what I found—a Troll!"

This left the Troll completely baffled.

Why was this food so happy when it was about to be eaten?

The next moment, as if his eyes had blurred, the human before him was suddenly clad in an irritating suit of hard armor.

The longsword grew steadily larger in the troll's dull pupils.

"Ah--!"

The troll covered one eye and stumbled back in pain, swatting a palm that sent a spray of rubble flying, forcing Li Wei to retreat and raise his shield in defense.

What a beast!

That strike just now let Li Wei see the troll's health bar.

[53/60]

This troll not only had a max health of 60 points, but its thick hide also granted it two points of natural armor!

All told, it had more health than a barrow-wight!

"Vermin, I'll kill you!"

The troll roared, slapping a palm that sent the campfire flying, hurling it straight at Li Wei.

Dodging by a hair's breadth, Li Wei lunged forward and struck again with his sword. The troll reacted, swinging a fist at his waist. With no room to maneuver, Li Wei had no choice but to raise his shield.

Clang!

The heavy blow was blocked, but the shield let out a strained, cracking sound.

Glancing down, he saw a cooldown bar appear on his off-hand shield.

One hit, and it was that devastating—it had shattered Li Wei's guard, leaving him unable to defend for a short time.

Realizing that going head-on was a losing game, Li Wei, now shield-broken, took one hit as the price to escape the cave.

[-3]

That packed more punch than a warg's bite.

Li Wei ran out of the cave, pulled out cobblestone, and turned to block the entrance, his arms moving so fast they blurred.

"Damn it!"

The thick-skinned troll pounded against the cobblestone with booming strikes. Under the sheer force, cracks began to spider across the stone—it wouldn't hold long.

Li Wei quietly pulled his bow from his pack, drew it, and aimed through a pre-left gap.

Swoosh--

"Ah!"

A scream rang out, and Li Wei knew the arrow had hit its mark. It struck cleanly into the troll's neck, draining 8 HP.

Sensing mortal danger, the troll abandoned its assault on the wall, using one hand to shield its head and eyes.

But from the moment Li Wei sealed the troll inside the cave with cobblestone, its death was already written.

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Block Wizard?"

The troll took seven or eight arrows inside the cave before crashing to the ground.

Until its dying breath, it never broke through that sudden stone wall.

"Whether you've heard it before or not, it doesn't matter now. You've seen it."

After confirming the troll's health was empty and it had gone still, Li Wei slowly approached the cave entrance.

He hadn't looked before, but when he did, he was startled.

Good grief—a meter-thick wall of cobblestone, and it had nearly broken through. This troll was a bit too strong.

Next time, he'd stack two layers.

The troll dropped nothing special. The corpse's main value was its bones, which could be used as fertilizer.

As for the meat... Li Wei's tolerance bottomed out at warg meat, and even that was awful.

A quick search revealed the troll had nothing on it—absolutely destitute.

But...

"It said this was its home?"

A troll's home.

Li Wei's interest piqued. This was exactly what he'd come for—the troll's treasure.

Earlier, he'd thought this was just an ordinary cave and hadn't explored deeper. Now that he knew it was a troll's dwelling, he grabbed a torch and crept inward.

But after just a short walk, Li Wei couldn't help frowning.

The cave was filled with bones, filth, and things that were, literally, dirty.

The hygiene was atrocious.

Just as Li Wei was about to turn and leave, the torchlight flickered and danced, reaching the deepest corner.

There, something caught the light, glinting as the flame swayed.