The Whispering Woods were dark and shadowy.
By now, Li Qiuzhi had grasped the fundamentals of Hunter's Archery. According to Draff, all he needed next was time and practice. Once he became familiar with the various techniques, he would have mastered the basics.
The skills section of his Character Panel now displayed "Hunter's Archery Lv.1 (0/100)," which meant he could use experience points to improve it quickly.
Unfortunately, he only had 12 experience points, nowhere near enough.
Li Qiuzhi carried his backpack while Draff walked ahead. Suddenly, Draff crouched down halfway, examined some fresh tracks in the mud, and said:
"Boar tracks. Let's sneak up on it."
Draff moved with light steps, keeping low and using trees and bushes as cover. Whenever his body brushed against branches or leaves, he held them steady with his hands to keep them from making a sound and frightening the boar away.
Li Qiuzhi copied him. At this point, Draff could no longer instruct him aloud.
Even the slightest noise could alert their prey. To become a competent hunter, he had to observe carefully.
A few minutes later, Li Qiuzhi heard the contented grunts of a boar rooting around for food. The two of them hid behind a tree.
The boar was reddish-brown, just like the ones in the game. It brought back unpleasant memories of exploring the open world, running along only to be rammed by a boar out of nowhere.
Draff turned and gave him a meaningful look, then reached for an arrow in the quiver on his back and raised his hunting bow. His movements were slow and gentle, deliberately giving Li Qiuzhi a chance to watch and learn.
Li Qiuzhi understood and watched closely.
Draff nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring, his sharp gaze fixed on the foraging boar.
Like a passing breeze, the arrow shot out with a soft hiss. It struck the boar's front leg, making it squeal in agony.
"Qiuzhi, it can't get away now. I'll leave the rest to you for practice," Draff said.
Hunter's Archery had originally developed from insights gained while hunting. The hunt itself was the best teacher.
"Okay!"
Li Qiuzhi had wanted to do this for a while. He wondered how many experience points this boar would give him.
Recalling Draff's instructions, he nocked an arrow and aimed at the boar, which was charging around and squealing with its injured foreleg. His level 2 physique had impressed even Draff, and he drew the wooden bow with ease.
The moment he released the string, the arrow flew.
Thud!
The arrow sank into a tree. The boar had happened to twist out of its path. His technique was still lacking on his first shot.
The second arrow struck the boar's hind leg. Li Qiuzhi felt guilty for making it suffer even more.
His third arrow finally struck its forehead, ending its life of wreaking havoc.
[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 20 experience points.]
The familiar voice rang out. A boar was worth 20 experience points, two-thirds as much as a small Slime. That was fairly decent.
Slimes were monsters capable of wielding elemental power, after all, so they were somewhat stronger than boars.
"I've taught you the key points of Hunter's Archery. All you need now is practice to master the basics.
"The boar is too heavy to carry around. We'll leave it here and pick it up on our way back."
Having watched Li Qiuzhi shoot, Draff nodded and told him to hide the boar nearby for now. Then they continued onward.
For some unknown reason, the number of wild animals around the Whispering Woods and Windwail Highland had increased considerably, drawing plenty of hunters.
Most of them were Springvale residents, and they came to recognize this young man with a Liyue appearance.
They were all willing to offer a few hunting tips, and Li Qiuzhi benefited greatly from their advice.
"Whew." His forehead covered in sweat, Draff glanced at the sun and said, "It's dusk. That's enough for today. Let's come back tomorrow."
"All right, Mr. Draff." Li Qiuzhi nodded slightly.
They had done well today. Besides the boar they had encountered at the beginning, they had found two more later on. According to Draff, that was rare on an ordinary day.
They had also found a wild hare and two Red-Tailed Pheasants. Since Li Qiuzhi needed practical experience to improve his archery, Draff wounded the prey first, then let Li Qiuzhi finish them off for practice.
Each boar gave 20 experience points, while the hare and pheasants gave 10 apiece. Over the afternoon, Li Qiuzhi had earned a total of 90 experience points.
Two more days like this would be enough to level up. Meanwhile, thanks to Draff's teaching and his own practice, his Hunter's Archery had improved slightly even without investing experience points.
It was now "Hunter's Archery Lv.1 (12/100)."
If he invested those 90 experience points, he could level it up immediately, but he chose not to.
Li Qiuzhi felt that, for now, his precious experience points were better saved for raising his own level. He could still ask Draff for archery guidance in the coming days, so he wanted to save whatever he could.
There was too much game for Draff and Li Qiuzhi to transport by themselves, but fortunately, Springvale had its own transport team.
On the way back, several horse-drawn carts would collect all the hunters' game and transport it to Mondstadt, where established buyers would purchase it.
There was no need to worry much about that.
Li Qiuzhi stayed busy until the sun had set before finally returning to Mondstadt.
Since the hunt had gone well, Draff gave Li Qiuzhi a share of twenty thousand Mora, even though he had made it clear that he needed no payment for following Draff around and learning.
It was a normal day's wages, and Li Qiuzhi really did need money, so he accepted without much protest.
In any case, between fishing and hunting, Li Qiuzhi finally had a source of income. He no longer had to worry about starving to death in another world.
Both also provided experience points, so he was keeping up with his own growth. Overall, things were going fairly well.
The night passed, and in the early morning, Li Qiuzhi went to retrieve his net as he had the day before.
When he reached yesterday's spot, however, he suddenly noticed that the wooden stake marking the net's location and securing it was gone. His heart skipped a beat.
He went closer. Sure enough, the net was gone too. What happened?
Could some big fish have dragged the whole net away? Li Qiuzhi carefully examined the hole where the stake had been driven into the soil. It did not look as though the stake had been dragged out along with the net. Instead, it seemed someone had pulled it straight up.
Seriously? Someone would steal it for just a few fish?
With no clue what had happened, Li Qiuzhi grew irritated and let out a frustrated breath.
If there had been another dozen or so fish today, he had lost at least several dozen experience points.
And the fishing net he had bought with Mora had been stolen after just one use! I'd better not find out who did it, or they'll be sorry!
After searching several times along the shore of Cider Lake without finding any clues, Li Qiuzhi prepared to leave, dejected.
Having something like this happen out of nowhere made him hesitant to buy another net and keep fishing.
If it got stolen again, that would be utterly frustrating. He could not keep watch over the net all the time, after all.
Unfortunately, this spot was some distance from the city gate. The Knights of Favonius guarding it probably would not have noticed anything here.
Otherwise, he could have asked who had approached the spot. A few clues might have helped him track down the net thief.
For now, there was nothing he could do. He could only swallow the loss.
He started walking back, trying to think of a way to restore this source of Mora and experience points. Maybe I could work with the local fishermen, buy their fish with Mora, then sell them after getting the experience points?
No, the problem is whether to sell at cost or add a small markup. If I charge too much, people can find better deals elsewhere. If I sell cheaply, I won't make anything.
Just then, his right foot seemed to step on something hard.
Li Qiuzhi lifted his foot and looked down. He had stepped on an object with a coppery metallic sheen. Bending down, he picked it up and wiped the dirt from its surface.
Its full shape emerged. It was round, like a badge, with a raised design of a bird curling around something in the center.
A moment later, realization struck Li Qiuzhi. Isn't this the Treasure Hoarder Insignia I farmed all the time in the game?!
A treasure beneath a raven's wings, the identifying emblem of a member of the Treasure Hoarders-the Treasure Hoarder Insignia!
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