Chapter 2

Moving cautiously deeper into the island, Theo spotted monsters hidden between the trees and shrubs. They were called Resha—creatures that resembled dodos but with brilliant, colorful feathers. They even looked like a miniature version of Raia.

Each sanctuary had its own fixed monsters. Theo knew that Resha appeared in Raia’s Nest. But once a player passed through, the monsters’ unique attack patterns changed, and except for Eternal Items, all drop types became different. That meant strategies and guides were useless in sanctuaries.

Theo used an item drop scroll and drew his bowstring. Since the name floating above its head appeared in green, it didn’t seem to be aggressive by default.

He exhaled and released the arrow. It sliced through the air and struck the Resha. In an instant, its name turned red as it locked onto him.

Shrieking loudly, the Resha puffed out all its feathers in a threatening display and charged. Theo quickly used a movement Action to dash backward, loosing another arrow. He fired again and again at the monster barreling toward him.

Even after being riddled with arrows, the Resha didn’t fall. Keeping a hair’s breadth of distance, Theo realized normal attacks wouldn’t be enough and switched to an Action.

He spun half a turn, pulled his bowstring to its absolute limit, and sparks began crackling at the arrow’s tip. Mana drained rapidly as the sparks grew, swelling like a bolt of lightning ready to strike. The strain made his fingertips tremble.

Theo endured to the very limit, then, just before the Resha lunged, he released the arrow at point-blank range. With a violent crack, the lightning-infused arrow shot forward, pierced through the Resha, and left it stunned. Theo kept his distance and attacked repeatedly until the monster finally collapsed, motionless.

The fallen Resha dissolved into loot. Theo finally let out the breath he’d been holding. His palms were soaked in sweat. He wasn’t low-tier, but taking down just one Resha had been a struggle.

“Tough as hell…”

This was going to be brutal. Blowing his bangs out of his eyes, he gathered and checked the loot. Among the random junk, one item stood out.

Bladed weapons. Useless to an archer like Theo. Still, since it came from a sanctuary, it would be rare enough to fetch a good price later.

He looked around for more Resha, but the forest was strangely quiet. Maybe there weren’t many of them. Considering how much effort it took to kill one, having fewer might actually be a blessing.

He followed the forest path. The woods brimmed with vividly colored, mysterious plants, a salty breeze carrying through the air, and birdsong filling the silence. He almost started humming—until he spotted a whole group of Resha up ahead.

He retreated to maximum range and drew his bow. He planned to pull one from the edge and pick them off one at a time. But the moment his arrow hit a single Resha, every name in the group turned red at once.

“?!”

Before he could even process what was happening, the entire flock flared their feathers and rushed at him. Theo panicked and bolted. Then it hit him. Resha weren’t passive monsters at all. They were kin-recognition monsters—attack one, and the whole flock came.

From behind him came a chorus of eerie cries, layered one over another. As he ran, Theo glanced back and loosed arrows whenever he could. But his basic attacks weren’t enough to take down even a single Resha, and the flock kept closing the distance.

He needed more than a piercing skill like before—he needed something with area damage. Theo pulled three arrows, set them on his bowstring, and halted his steps. He activated an Action. Light swirled toward the arrowheads, and at the same time, his mana drained at high speed.

The cluster of light grew until it burst, scattering radiant motes that engulfed him completely. Just as the Resha lunged to overwhelm him, a wave of brilliance erupted.

The charging Resha were knocked back, tumbling with screams. Some even showed stun marks above their heads. While they struggled to rise, Theo quickly targeted the area, firing the three arrows skyward. Trails of light followed in their wake, streaking across the sky.

Moments later, the sound of rainfall echoed as an arrow storm poured down from above, showering the Resha with relentless strikes. The monsters shrieked sharply but none of them fell.

“Tch.”

Theo clicked his tongue. That wide-area move had been his highest-tier Action. He had expected at least a one-shot kill, but the Resha endured. So he used the Action again right where he stood.

Three arrows strung to the bow, the light building once more—by the time the dazed Resha staggered back to their feet, they were charging again. Theo unleashed another burst of radiance, followed by arrows shot into the sky. But this time the damage was weaker. To use a tier Action, the tier gauge had to be filled. Until then, the Action could still be fired, but without full tier damage.

Theo used a movement Action to dash away, glancing back at the pursuing horde. The Resha, unfazed, swarmed after him with feathers bristling. He kept his distance, launching area attacks over and over.

So focused was he on attacking that the edges of his vision began glowing blue. His eyes widened in alarm—his mana was running dry. He shot a panicked look back at the Resha.

He had poured out so many Actions he should have been running on fumes, yet the flock hardly seemed to thin at all. When he killed the first one, he hadn’t used nearly this much effort.

Then, with a soft ding, a notification sounded in his ear. A familiar voice followed.

『Theo, what are you doing?』

It was a whisper. Theo squinted one eye irritably and muttered the name of the caller.

“Aslan, I’m busy.”

『What are you even doing? Farming?』

Aslan’s voice echoed in Theo’s ear, mixed with the cries of the Resha. At the same time, his vision blurred for an instant and the impact of blows shook through him. He glanced back in a rush—Resha had closed the gap and were striking him. The damage was brutal.

Theo used movement Actions in quick succession to widen the distance. He stopped, drank a mana potion, and unleashed another area attack. Why weren’t they dying? he thought, as he aimed his range forward—and then he noticed something. Behind the flock chasing him, scattered here and there, were drops.

“?”

Firing arrows into the air, Theo realized the truth. They weren’t dying. The surrounding Resha kept replenishing each other through kin recognition, endlessly refilling. The rate at which they spawned was outpacing the rate he killed them—an accidental mob pull.

『Why aren’t you answering?』

Another whisper rang in his ears. If someone doesn’t answer, just take the hint, damn it. This clueless bastard.

『Are you listening to me?』

He had no time to reply, but Aslan clearly wasn’t about to be ignored. Finally, Theo snapped and shouted.

“Aslan, shut up already!”

He stopped running straight and instead broke into a diagonal, circling in loops at a steady distance. It was the only way to prevent the Resha from piling onto him at once. But circling one spot just funneled the monsters into the center, which also meant the gap closed more often and he got hit even more.

His health began plummeting at an alarming rate. He spammed potions to stay alive. He had stocked up plenty, but at this rate, his supply wouldn’t last long.

『Where are you hunting that you’re this tense? Want me to come help?』

Resha cries and Aslan’s chatter tangled together in his ears. Each hit blurred his vision further, making it harder to focus.

Staggering and nearly collapsing, Theo found the Resha tightening the distance and slamming attacks down harder. If this kept up, he would soon be incapacitated. He had a Resurrection Scroll, but whether it worked here was unknown. If not, he’d just respawn in his town bed. Wasteful, but for now the best plan seemed to be escape and regroup. He was about to activate a movement Action—when suddenly, the charging Resha slowed. Their movements stretched like slow motion.

He froze in shock. Deadly Time. Against all odds, that miracle had triggered.

He strung arrows and checked his tier gauge. Full. Skipping the radiant burst, he immediately summoned the Arrow Rain. Arrows cascaded from the heavens, each impact bursting with dazzling effects like fireworks and ringing with crisp, crushing hits. Massive damage rained over the Resha.

When it ended, the battlefield lay scorched. Only scattered loot remained, along with a handful of half-dead Resha clinging to life. Theo quickly finished them off, then stared blankly at the piles of drops littering the ground.

During hunting, there was a slim chance of Deadly Time occurring. Its main feature was that everything nearby, monsters included, seemed to fall into slow motion. Attacking during this state unleashed damage several times stronger than normal—higher even than critical hits, which usually capped a weapon’s maximum damage. Because of this, players nicknamed Deadly Time the Burst Window.

For such a thing to trigger at the brink of death—it was the kind of luck Theo thought he could never have. Today, for some strange reason, fortune seemed to favor him. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to stop calling himself unlucky. Maybe now… he could be called golden-handed instead of shit-handed.