A long sigh came out of Lee as he relaxed his alert muscles. He stored the nunchuck in his Spatial ring and spoke-
"My name is Lee. I'm an adventurer. I'm 20 years old."
All that heard Lee speaking was confused as f**k. Even Ian was taken aback. A 20 years old? Ian couldn't digest this information and asked for his Guild ID.
Everyone saw Major Ian's eyes going wide as it traversed through the ID. The next moment, it became normal. Ian closed his eyes and a sense of satisfaction arose in his face.
"It is true that 'Time waits for none'. The world has progressed greatly."
The Major uttered as he returned the ID to Lee. Lee took it back and placed it in his Inventory. Ian looked around and shouted at bystanders-
"This man here is a 20 year old, rank 4 adventurer. He is at the Peak stage of Core Formation realm. Mess with him and even I won't be able to save him!"
The crowd was stunned. Everyone in red and blue standing around them were at least 24 years old. Adding the rank 4 category with the cultivation, this boy is a monster - everyone decided.
The crowd dispersed in a short moment after Ian's proclamation. Ian guided Lee to a desk where a man was standing and staring at a paper in his hand, next to it. Upon noticing Ian coming close, the man raised his head and said-
"Sir, the bodies have been inspected. They belong to a nameless tier-5 bandit group. No information could be obtained from them. But according to the reports, they were frequently plundering the passing by carriages. The total bounty is 18 copper coins."
Ian nodded and turned at Lee-
"Thank you for eliminating them. Even if they were a tier-5 group, it is always good to pluck the weed out before they grow further!"
The confusion on Lee's face was noticeable. Ian can tell that he's relatively new into bandit extermination.
"The bandit groups are divided into 5 tiers, considering their span of operation, number of members, strength of each individual and their commonly targeted merchandise. Tier-5 is the lowest. They are less in number and individual strength, and target individual travellers. They usually think high of themselves and end up in the hands of someone skilled, like you. Tier-4 is a little better opponent. Their individual strength is usually 2 times that of tier-5 individuals. They mostly don't contain cultivators or masters. From tier-3 and upwards, the group will become larger in number and stronger in strength. Talented people could be seen in these tiers. A systematic framework exists for these tiers. The more higher the tier, the more better their coordination and strength."
The confusion of Lee faded away. With an overall summary of the tiers, Lee took the coins and took his leave. Ian watched him disappearing into the street.
"If that weapon of his had touched me, I'd have been dead!!"
Ian muttered as he turned and walked away.
-------------------------------------------
=====
1 P.M.
450 Essence harvested.
=====
*nomnomnom*
Lee walked through the streets as he chewed a Honey Bread loaf. The scent of blood was already gone. With a keen eyesight, Lee can clearly see the details of people and things around him. His thoughts have merged with the surroundings. The burning twins above head were more than simple warmth!
*NEIGHH*
A loud whinny sound startled those in the streets. A luxurious carriage charged through the crowd with no concern on other's lives. The muscular horses shoved people to either side of the street. The carriage driver seems to be not concerned by this.
Lee was angered beyond control. He took out his blade and channeled the lightning law onto his blade from the EsGen. The carriage charged forward and closed near on him. Lee jumped up into the air, did a backflip as the carriage passed beneath him. The driver didn't spare a glance at him. Anger burst out and caused the lightning to accumulate at the tip of the blade.
*slash*
The blade flashed over the carriage and lightning flowed out of the blade. Some muffled screams came from the inside of the carriage. The intense lightning numbed the horses and they stumbled and fell. The driver was thrown out of the carriage and his body spasmed. The carriage abruptly came to a halt as Lee descended.
Lee landed like a hero. He reached ground in style, on a knee. The numbness made him uncomfortable, but he was satisfied doing so. Looking around, Lee noticed many faces looking at him with respect. The reality of the incident struck him and he quickly moved from the spotlight. He merged with the crowd and slipped towards the Guild office.
Unfortunately, he did not know whom he messed with!
----------------------------------------------
Guild building.
Changying was yawning wide when Lee entered the hall. The place was surprisingly deserted. Not a single insect was inside. Seeing this, Lee was confused.
Changying quickly put up a smile as she smiled sleepily. She saw his face and frowned.
"You didn't go to the city gate?!"
"No. Why should I? Is there anything special?!"
Changying remembered that Lee wasn't present at the time of announcement. She spoke-
"The guards on the northern wall found a mon-wave coming towards the city. All adventurers are invited to the extermination. If they are not wiped out, the city will suffer a huge loss."
From what she said, Lee found that the mon-wave or the monster-wave are due to unknown causes. These monsters will have black eyes and will be in an agitated state. They always target cities and trample villages. Once went into this state, they cannot be saved or reverted back to normal state. Any being can go into this state, including humans. The reason is not known to date. Many have gone to research and none have returned. This happens on every continent. The most noticeable feature of this state is increased strength, agility, defense and endurance.
Lee heard and ran towards the northern wall immediately. As he ran towards the wall, he noticed an increase in knights, warriors and wizards. A very few archers and archeresses stood here and there. A small group of cultivators can be seen at the ground. Fenfang was among them. Lee went straight to Fenfang. Seeing him coming close, she became delighted and walked towards him.
"Fenfang, what is happening?!"
"A mon-wave has appeared. They are about 3 miles away and are closing in. We have been ordered to eliminate them. Are you coming?!"
A smile appeared on his face as he replied-
"Isn't it my duty to be with you in chaos and order?!"
She grinned on his reply and pulled him towards the cultivator's group. Lee introduced as he came near them.
The 4 men and 5 women welcomed him. Before they interacted further, a guard shouted from on top the wall-
"THE HORDE HAS SLOWED DOWN. THERE ARE GOLEMS IN FRONT AND ORCS AND WEREBEASTS BEHIND THEM. A LOT OF WINGED DEMONS ARE ALSO APPROACHING. ARMY OF SKELETON SOLDIERS CONFIRM THE PRESENCE OF LICHES!!!!"
Everyone was thunderstruck. Even a well-organized army was no match for their coordination. The combination of Winged Demons and WEREBEASTS with Golems were a complete catastrophe!
The gate was opened at once and the soldiers ran out hesitantly. Their minds were shaken, but they know that they cannot back down. Their resolve even in front of certain death made Lee worry. Lee climbed the stairs and saw a large horde of beasts approaching.
'D, open the Shop and search for Bows!'
[Search found. Which one do you want to buy?!]
'How much does the most durable one cost?!'
[780 Essence.]
'Buy.'
=====
2 P.M.
450 Essence harvested.
=====
Lee took out the bow from his Inventory and held it horizontally. He inspected it as his mind was doing some preparations. What he said next was even beyond D's expectations.
'Open Re-Model. Object: Bow.'
A pale grey screen appeared and a black and white representation of the recurve bow came up. Lee inspected the structure and thought of some modifications.
D was awestruck as he saw innumerable calculations and numbers and figures flashing through his brain. As a part of Lee, he can tell what he was thinking, but this time the speed was too high to comprehend.
'Remove the original frame and make it with Vanadium-Titanium alloy. Make the bowstring as strong as the frame.'
When Lee unlocked the memories of nunchuck training and about Bruce Lee, he coincidentally remembered everything about the periodic table and the characteristics of elements. Lee wasn't a nerd, but a knowledge hoarder.
Lee glanced at a set of information that appeared at the bottom-left corner of the screen. For anything other than him, information would appear - he deduced. His eyes searched through the lines and found what he looked for. As he expected, the types and range of bows that can be used on the bow was written down. He emptied the ammunition info and wrote a new one after glancing at his Essence count with a grin-
'Essence arrows!'
A rotating hourglass appeared next to the two words and spinned for a second and disappeared. A set of new information appeared right beneath it.
===
Normal arrow - 8 Essence.
Homing arrow - 19 Essence.
Explosive arrow - 21 Essence.
Poison arrow - 13 Essence.
Lightning arrow - 17 Essence.
===
'New arrows appear with affinities. Good!!'
[Boy, that was insane! Never in my wildest dreams have I thought that would be possible.]
'D, how does the homing arrows work?!'
[Lock your sight on a target and release the homing arrow. The arrow will chase the target for mostly 15 minutes.]
'That is more than enough. Proceed to buy!'
Lee froze for a second as he saw the number '5750' in black. But for a greater good, he decided to sacrifice his essence.
The panel disappeared and a bow appeared in the Inventory.
He took it out in his left hand and inspected it. The handle was thick enough for him to grab with maximum grip. The limbs were square in the cross section. The tips narrowed down and from there, the bowstring originated. The whole bow was as if made in one single mould.
It's silvery-gray metallic color attracted the attention of those guards standing on top of the wall. They looked at it with an amazed expression. The archers and archeresses had already climbed the wall and were looking at him with hope and excitement. But their excitement died down as they saw that Lee only had a bow and not arrows or a quiver.
Lee noticed their gazes and slowly walked to the waist-high protective wall of the walking area. He held the bow vertically and pulled the bowstring with his right hand. He spoke inwardly as he pulled it-
'Lightning.'
A blob-like matter slowly materialised as he pulled the string. All that witnessed him were aghast. He pulled further and the blob materialised into a long, strong and thick arrow. Faint lightnings can be seen running on it.
With his keen eyesight, he locked on a Golem and fired it. It left the bow the very instant with a sizzling sound.
Those who saw the bow moved their eyes with the arrow. None could match its speed even when following it. The arrow headed towards the horde. They had already moved a mile forward and were only 2 miles away from the wall.
The arrow flew into the distance. A guard who had a telescope watched through it and was aghast.
"IT…...IT HIT!!! A GOLEM DOWN!!!!!"
His scream made everyone on the ground and on the wall turn their head at him. Those at the ground were confused as the sudden scream further scared them. But those on the wall did only know what was that scream about!
An amazed smile rose on each archer's face. They were witnessing the birth of a legendary archer.
Confirming that the hit was perfect with his own eyes, Lee fired a volley of arrows. They flew scattered and killed a portion of beasts before they came in range. He initially experimented with poison and lightning, but he saw that they were ineffective in large battles. So he switched to 'homing explosion' types.
Soldiers on the ground, outside the wall only saw a series of arrows flying away towards the horde. The next instant, they heard some muffled explosion sounds. They looked and saw dust and cries arising from the mon-wave. This uplifted their morale. They steeled their hearts and picked their weapon with enthusiasm.
About half an hour later, the bow stopped producing arrows. Lee can guess that the Essence had been emptied completely. But his effort bore fruit. Many golems and werebeasts fell by his arrows. The homing feature was exceptionally accurate. The horde was decreased to 70% of its original size.
Lee saw his results and sighed.
'Status.'
==========
Name: Lee
Age: 20
Title: Grim-reaper, Soul Liberator
Fame: 979
Essence: 453 (3 P.M.)
----------
Health: 280
Strength: 280
Vitality: 280
Agility: 280
Defense: 280
Endurance: 280
Sense: 280
Intelligence: 270
Resolve: 270
Immunity:-
• Greater Poison Immunity (1/1000000)
• Medium Lightning Immunity (2584/10000)
Affinity:-
• Lesser Poison Affinity (7/100)
• Medium Lightning Affinity (9/10000)
Combat Skills:-
• Absolute Blade Mastery
• Absolute Nunchuck Mastery
• Medium Bow Mastery (365/10000)
----------
Cultivation: Peak stage Core Formation realm
Qi: 0/1100
Mana: 0
----------
Innate Skills:-
• View
• Foresight
• EsGen
• EsConv
• Curse Remover
----------
INVENTORY:-
QUESTS:-
MAP:-
SHOP:-
RE-MODEL:-
==========
(A.N. I completely forgot to add the weapon mastery information to the status interface. Ugh...I'm such a stupid writer!)