Tristan had chosen the Wild Boar Plains as his leveling spot, where the monsters started at level 5.
At this time of day, there were almost no players here.
With a glance, Tristan quickly locked onto a target.
[Wild Boar]
Level: 5
Health: 500
Attack: 50
Defense: 30
Skill: Charge
...
"My current attributes mean that if I use Shadow Dagger at 30 meters, I can only deal 185 points of true damage. I'll need three hits to take down the wild boar. That's too low," Tristan thought.
If other players heard this, they'd probably spit in his face.
What do you mean "only 185 damage"?
Just listen to that!
We're out here stabbing rabbits with small knives, and we're lucky if we deal five or six points of damage, but you're doing nearly 200 on a level 5 wild boar with 30 defense!
Most normal players can't even break the defense on these wild boars.
But Tristan wasn't a normal player. He had the SSS-level talent and a hidden class, so he aimed for greater extremes.
His focus was on the Beast Skull.
This item came with Evolution Points, and he wasn't going to waste them.
His damage output came not only from Sniper God's bonus but also heavily relied on Breaking Stealth Strike.
Unfortunately, the Beast Skull didn't affect the talent, or else Tristan would have evolved Sniper God.
Instead, the first evolution opportunity went to Shadow Stealth.
With the Beast Skull in hand, Tristan immediately used it.
"First Evolution consumes 1 Evolution Point, do you wish to evolve Shadow Stealth?"
"Yes!"
"Ding! Shadow Stealth has evolved! Quality upgraded: Common → Black Iron!"
In ExoGenesis, both equipment and skills followed the same tier system: Common, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Epic, and Legendary, from lowest to highest.
Tristan knew that above Legendary, there were even higher tiers, but players couldn't access them yet.
Actually, if possible, Tristan would have evolved the Beast Skull, but since it was a special item and not equipment, it couldn't be evolved.
"ExoGenesis really focuses on balance. It's designed to prevent players from exploiting bugs," Tristan thought with some regret.
He quickly checked the new stats of Shadow Stealth.
Shadow Stealth LV1 (Black Iron)
*Enter Stealth mode. Breaking Stealth Strike deals an additional (Attack * 120% + 50) damage. Consumes 5 Mana, cooldown time 18 seconds.
What does quality transformation mean?
This is it!
Just upgrading from Common to Black Iron made Shadow Stealth's attributes soar.
The attack multiplier increased by 20%. While this might not be immediately apparent in the early game, by the late game, when player attack stats reach tens of thousands or higher, this 20% boost will be substantial.
Of course, that's for the later stages. For now, what mattered was the fixed damage.
This evolution also doubled the fixed damage, dramatically increasing Tristan's damage potential.
It also reduced the cooldown by two seconds.
Perfect, absolutely perfect.
Tristan looked at the slightly dull Beast Skull in his hand, a smile spreading across his face.
No wonder that player in his past life managed to surpass others even after joining the game a month late.
The Beast Skull had been crucial to their success!
To be honest, if that player had better talent and a more specialized class, they could have reached even greater heights.
"I have an SSS-level talent, a unique hidden class, and with the help of the Beast Skull, surpassing my past self is no longer a problem. I'll reach even greater heights!"
Tristan's spirits soared.
He turned his gaze back to the wild boar in the distance. Without hesitation, he threw out Shadow Dagger.
Dark energy gathered in his hand, forming a blade that shot forward at lightning speed.
Tristan could clearly feel an invisible force correcting his posture the moment he threw it, making the throw faster and more accurate.
"It's Sniper God's hidden effect. Looks like 30 meters isn't my limit," Tristan thought.
He had initially set the 30-meter limit based on his past experience.
After all, a level 1 player's stats were low, and there were limitations.
But now, it seemed that Sniper God's effects weren't limited to what was written on the description.
As Tristan thought, Shadow Dagger crossed the 30-meter distance and hit the wild boar in its abdomen.
-329!
A huge damage number appeared, causing the wild boar's health to drop significantly.
Tristan was a little disappointed; it didn't crit, or else it would have been a one-shot.
"Maybe I should aim for vital spots like the eyes next time. With Sniper God's correction, I should have a high chance of hitting."
Tristan thought to himself.
The wild boar, confused by the sudden attack, immediately locked onto Tristan and lowered its head, preparing to charge.
But the next moment, it lost its target and stood still, bewildered.
What had just happened?
Wasn't there someone just now? Where did they go?
Had it misjudged?
Maybe there was no one there after all.
The wild boar hesitated, feeling unusually hungry as if something was draining its energy.
From the shadows, Tristan paused for a moment, then stood still to wait for the cooldown.
Ten seconds later, Shadow Dagger was ready to go again. Tristan immediately threw another dagger, this time aiming directly at the wild boar's eyes.
-494! (Weak Spot Attack)
The large damage number floated above the wild boar's head, and it collapsed silently as it fell to the ground, dead.
"Ding! You have killed a level 5 wild boar and gained 50 experience points. You also killed it at level 4, earning an additional 20 experience points."
A total of 70 experience points were awarded.
Tristan felt a bit embarrassed.
In his previous life, with his A-level talent and the heavy armor warrior class specializing in defense, it was still slow for him to kill monsters one or two levels higher.
That was considered good.
Most normal players needed a group to kill monsters, and even with their low experience gains, it took a lot of time to level up.
But compared to the high experience gain, Tristan was more focused on what he had just verified.
Emerging from the shadows, Tristan thought to himself.
"Indeed, Sniper God's talent corrects my movements, allowing me to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy. I'm not a top-tier throwing expert yet, but I'm at least a first-rate one now."
With this discovery, Tristan quickly revised his leveling plan.
At 30 meters, weak spot attacks weren't enough to instantly kill a level 5 wild boar—there was still a little bit of damage missing.
But that wasn't a problem.
After the two Shadow Dagger attacks, Tristan made a new discovery.
The 30-meter distance wasn't even close to his limit.
Tristan couldn't increase his attack power, but he could step back two steps and increase the distance to 35 meters or even 50 meters.
Without exaggerating, Tristan felt confident that he could accurately hit the wild boar even at 100 meters.
This was the confidence that Sniper God's talent gave him.
And at 100 meters, with a tenfold damage increase, combined with Breaking Stealth Strike's high base damage, the damage output was unimaginable.
Assassin + Sniper God—Even gods couldn't defend against this!