Recruitment

At that moment, the monster suddenly arched its back and spat out several large mouthfuls of black clotted blood.

Its body began to twitch violently, and the tightening tentacles lost their strength, slipping limply from Stine's limbs.

Yet Knight Stine still held the monster's tentacles in a death grip. The white light of Life Energy constantly surged from his palms into the tentacles, sending up wisps of acrid, burnt smoke.

Corroded by the viper venom, the monster's strength was gradually draining. Even so, it continued to struggle, its tentacles twitching blindly.

Roger nocked a fourth arrow.

But his gaze drifted from the monster, landing on the white flames burning around Knight Stine. The Life Energy surged outward, outlining the knight's silhouette in the night.

Staring at the flickering light, a sudden thought flashed through Roger's mind:

Taking a deep breath, he tried to mobilize the rather meager amount of Life Energy inside his body.

Guided by his will, the Life Energy rose like a thin stream, flowing down his arm and into the arrow resting on the bowstring.

The shaft of the arrow trembled slightly, and the metal arrowhead gleamed with a faint white light. At first, it was as thin as mist, but it quickly condensed into a visible vortex.

Drawing the bowstring to its limit, Roger released his fingers.

The arrow flew, tearing a straight path through the air with a spiral of white light before slamming into the tumor on the monster's face.

The metal arrowhead pierced straight through the monster's head, protruding from the back of its skull.

The tentacles fell away limply, and the monster's body collapsed backward, hitting the muddy ground with a dull thud.

“Points +100.”

The system prompt arrived as expected, followed by two more in quick succession:

“【Bow and Crossbow Specialization】has increased to Lv5.”

“【Life Energy】has increased to Lv2.”

Roger's entire right arm was trembling slightly. That single arrow had nearly drained all the Life Energy in his body, leaving a lingering sensation of exhaustion in his muscles, as if he had just finished an entire morning of weighted cross-country running.

Yet he did not lower his guard.

Although the monster before him was dead, he couldn't rule out the possibility of a second one in these slums. Looking up at the burning buildings around them, he kept his fingers lightly resting on the bowstring, in no hurry to sheath his bow.

Knight Stine also let out a sigh of relief and trudged back to the unit, the dent from the fist on his breastplate exceptionally prominent under the firelight.

Seeing this, Roger naturally placed a hand on his shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

The Rune Ring emitted an imperceptible pale green light, which seeped into Knight Stine's body.

Stine suddenly felt a warm, steady current flow in from his shoulder and spread through his body. The pain eased slightly, and his wounds began to heal slowly.

Looking at Roger in astonishment, he asked, “You know Heal too? Are you a warrior or a spellcaster?!”

“I just happened to learn a spell or two,” Roger replied nonchalantly.

This world wasn't like an RPG where one was locked into a single class. In theory, as long as someone awakened both Life Energy and magical talent, they could pursue both magic and martial arts.

Of course, those with such talent were one in ten thousand.

The surrounding soldiers watched Roger's actions, marveling in amazement. One moment he had shot an arrow straight through a monster's head, and the next, he was healing a knight.

An archer who could also cast magic—you wouldn't find another person like this in the entire world.

“Don't just stand there. Leave the scene to the city guard and fall back,” Stine said, waving his hand to cut off the chatter.

The sounds of fighting still echoed faintly in the distance, but Roger glanced at his trembling arm, then at Knight Stine's dented breastplate and broken sword, knowing their part in this was over.

By the time they returned to the camp, a faint gray light was already breaking on the horizon.

When he woke up the next day, his arm was still slightly sore.

Roger stretched his arm a bit. After confirming that they wouldn't need to search the slums for cultists today, he grabbed a quick bite to eat and began his daily archery practice.

The maximum level for Bow and Crossbow Specialization was Lv10, and Lv5 seemed to be a watershed threshold, with experience gains slowing down significantly.

Still, a Lv5 level of proficiency was more than enough to hit whatever he aimed at.

Realizing that Bow and Crossbow Specialization wouldn't reach Lv6 anytime soon, Roger recalled the events of last night's battle and tried channeling Life Energy into his arrow once more.

This time, he slightly reduced the amount infused while easing his grip.

A moment later, the arrow, enveloped in a white vortex, shot forward. The front half sank deep into the target, and cracks began to spiderweb outward.

“Not bad, but you still seem a bit unrefined,” Stine said, walking over to Roger. He looked much better than he had last night.

“It was just a move I came up with on the fly,” Roger replied, stretching his sore arm.

“Don't force Life Energy into items. Objects with weaker structural integrity won't be able to handle it, and in severe cases, they might even burst,” Stine said as he drew a new sword. “It's like pouring wine into a cup; you have to control both the amount and the speed of the pour.”

As he spoke, a white aura surged from the blade, coating its surface evenly.

Roger nodded humbly and nocked a second arrow. Following Stine's advice, he slowly channeled a small amount of Life Energy into the shaft.

Aiming at the target, he released the bowstring.

With a sharp whistle, the arrow struck the target squarely. There were no dramatic cracks like the first shot, but the arrowhead had penetrated much deeper.

This time, there was no noticeable soreness in his arm.

Knight Stine nodded in approval.

Striking while the iron was hot, Roger fired a few more arrows. He could feel his control over Life Energy growing more precise with each shot. When the seventh arrow pinned itself directly into the bullseye, the system prompt suddenly rang in his mind:

“You have self-comprehended the skill 【Empowered Shot】.”

Upon hearing this, Roger immediately opened his status panel to check the skill's details:

【Name: Empowered Shot

Description: Infuse Life Energy into an arrow to condense it at the arrowhead, significantly increasing penetration power and damage radius.

The more energy infused, the greater the power. This skill can stack with effects like poison coating and magical enchantments without conflict.

Level Cap: Lv5

Prerequisite: Life Energy Lv1】

Roger stared at the words “self-comprehended,” gradually grasping their significance.

This seemed to imply that skills didn't necessarily have to be purchased with points. If he experimented and practiced repeatedly, as long as he had a bit of luck and the right direction, he could comprehend new skills on his own.

That meant this system was far more versatile than he had initially thought.

Just then, Knight Stine spoke again, his tone slightly more solemn than their casual chatter earlier:

“I have a question. Since you clearly have magical talent, why haven't you pursued further studies in that field to become a mage? Whether in terms of prospects or social standing, they are far above warriors.”

“My family was poor; I never had the opportunity,” Roger replied as he continued to shoot. “I recall that becoming a mage costs a fortune, and besides, there was no one to teach me. I could only just scrape by.”

This wasn't entirely true, nor was it entirely false.

Starting from scratch after transmigrating, with only the meager starting funds provided by the system in his pocket, his survival had relied entirely on careful budgeting.

The spells in the system shop cost hundreds or even thousands of points, which wasn't something he could squander right now.

Hearing this, Stine immediately said, “Lord Raymond has connections in the Mage Association of the royal capital, and one of the mages under his command is currently pursuing advanced studies there. As long as you are willing to pledge allegiance to him, he can use those connections to secure you an opportunity to study there as well.”

This was what he had actually wanted to say today.

When Knight Stine reported the battle last night, Baron Raymond immediately ordered him to win Roger over upon hearing that the youth knew healing magic.

Even if his level was low, a mage loyal to the family was far better than none at all.

The Raymond family couldn't compare to the great noble houses; they had no hereditary mage advisors, nor did they have the wealth to hire established, high-tier spellcasters. They could only nurture magic apprentices from scratch.

Snagging an unaffiliated spellcaster was a massive win.

Stine was telling the truth. The Baron did know a mage, a connection he had made in his youth. Though they weren't close friends, getting him to write a recommendation letter and show an initiate the ropes was well within his capabilities.

As long as Roger was willing to agree, the opportunity for further study was by no means empty talk.

Roger did not answer immediately, beginning to weigh the pros and cons.