I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

It took Li Wu and Hua Zitong nearly 10 minutes to collect all the dropped items from the entire battlefield.

Looking at the dozens of pieces of equipment packed full in his backpack, Li Wu's mouth almost watered.

"I can't take it anymore, I feel like I'm a nouveau riche now!"

Li Wu looked delighted. "Let's go, let's go back to the village! Let's get rid of all this equipment we don't need first."

Hua Zitong looked at Li Wu's pathetic appearance and was speechless.

However, I do feel it's time to go back to the village and rest.

The two days of continuous fighting, though fruitful, left him feeling mentally exhausted.

Moreover, there is a very important task to be completed.

[The Only Hidden Quest: The Village Chief's Sorrow!]

The rewards for this mission include a large amount of experience and silver coins, as well as that essential item!

"Let's go." Hua Zitong nodded.

However, they hadn't gone far when they discovered a serious problem.

On the only road leading to the village, several NPC guards dressed in standard armor and holding spears stood there with serious expressions.

When they saw Li Wu and Hua Zitong, they immediately raised their spears and assumed a defensive posture.

"Halt!" the head guard shouted sternly. "You two have reached the threshold for your sins by maliciously killing a large number of players and are now wanted criminals! Surrender immediately and come with us to the jail to receive your punishment!"

the wanted?

Li Wu and Hua Zitong were both stunned.

Li Wu subconsciously opened his status bar, and sure enough, there was a bright red skull mark next to his name, like a brand.

[Name: Seeing Through the Fog (Heinous Crimes)]

[Sin Value: 278 points]

There is a line of smaller print below.

The monsters here are mainly thick-skinned ogres and stone giants, with levels generally above 15, making it an absolute no-go zone for ordinary players at this stage.

Li Wu and Hua Zitong traveled along the rugged mountain path.

"How much longer until we get there?" Li Wu looked at the monotonous black rocks around him and felt like he was developing "megalophobia".

"Almost there," Hua Zitong said, leading the way. "We'll be there once we cross that next hill!"

Her tone was relaxed, but Li Wu could sense that she was highly focused.

The monsters here are slow-moving, but their attack power is extremely high.

Once they get close, even a well-equipped warrior like Hua Zitong can't withstand more than a few blows.

Roar!

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

A giant ogre, over three meters tall and wielding a massive stone club, suddenly burst out from behind a boulder, blocking their path.

Blackrock Ogre (Elite)

[Level: LV12]

Health Points: ???

"It's up to you." Hua Zitong didn't even lift her eyelids and walked right past it.

Li Wu didn't bother with any more words. He drew back the bowstring, and a burning arrow whistled out.

Whoosh!

-175!

The orange-red arrow struck the ogre's head precisely, dealing considerable damage.

The ogre, in pain, roared and charged towards Li Wu with heavy steps.

Li Wu remained calm and composed, retreating while maintaining his firing rhythm.

Burning Arrow!

Burning Arrow!

His technique has become increasingly skillful after these two days of practice.

With each arrow shot, the body would subconsciously shift positions, always maintaining an absolutely safe distance from the ogre.

Although ogres have high health and attack power, their bulky bodies and slow movement speed make them easy targets for Li Wu's top-notch "kiting" tactics.

It couldn't even touch the hem of Li Wu's clothes before it was worn out and died on the way.

boom!

The ogre's massive body crashed to the ground.

[You have defeated the LV12 elite monster "Blackrock Ogre" and gained 20 experience points!]

Your talent "Soul Devourer" has been triggered!

[You have successfully absorbed the life energy dissipated by the Blackrock Ogre. Luck +0.03! Intelligence +0.03!]

Li Wu glanced at the experience bar and frowned slightly.

A level 12 elite monster only gives this little bit of experience.

It seems that the higher the level, the more difficult it becomes to level up.

"Stop dawdling and hurry up!" Hua Zitong's voice came from ahead.

Li Wu responded and quickly followed.

After the two crossed the last mountain, the view suddenly opened up before them.

Nestled amidst the mountains, a vast, bottomless chasm appeared.

The rift valley is hundreds of meters wide and its length is endless.

A rickety suspension bridge, constructed of rough wooden planks and iron chains, connects the two sides of the rift valley.

"There's a cave ahead called Blood Bat Cave," Hua Zitong said. "It's teeming with level 10 vampire bats, in huge numbers, and they respawn incredibly fast. Most importantly, these bats appear in swarms."

"For other players, this is a nightmare. But for you, with your area-of-effect attack skills, this is paradise."

The two soon arrived at the Blood Bat Cave that Hua Zitong had mentioned.

Here, there is an inconspicuous cave.

A strong, pungent smell of blood permeated the cave entrance.

Looking at the dark cave entrance and listening to the rustling sounds coming from inside, Li Wu felt a chill run down his spine.

But he did not hesitate.

The two entered the Blood Bat Cave one after the other.

As soon as you enter, a wave of heat mixed with a fishy stench hits you.

Immediately afterwards, countless red eyes lit up in the darkness.

Squeak squeak squeak—!

Hundreds and thousands of palm-sized vampire bats, like a black tide, surged wildly towards the two from the depths of the cave.

"Are you ready?" Hua Zitong gripped the longsword in her hand tightly.

"Come on." Li Wu drew his bow.

A dark red [Explosive Burning Arrow] condensed and took shape on his bowstring.

boom!

Flames exploded in the narrow cave!

Swarms of vampire bats turned to ashes in the flames.

Experience points, like a screen-filling display, jumped wildly above their heads.

[You have killed a Level 10 vampire bat, gaining 17 experience points!]

[You have killed a Level 10 vampire bat, gaining 17 experience points!]

……

A smile appeared on Li Wu's lips.

He knew that Hua Zitong was right.

This is truly paradise.

The two of them blocked the cave entrance, one responsible for clearing the area with [Explosive Burning Arrow], and the other responsible for dealing with any survivors.

Their experience bars were rising rapidly at a visible speed.

Level 9, 10%...

Level 9, 30%...

Level 9, 70%...

Finally, after killing countless bats.

Two dazzling golden rays of light shot into the sky from their bodies at the same time!

[Congratulations! You have reached level 10! Your Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Constitution, and Spirit have all increased by 1! You have gained 5 free attribute points!]

"It's upgraded!!" he exclaimed excitedly.

However, when he saw the experience points required to reach level 11, the smile on his face instantly froze.

[Level: LV10 (0/10000)]

Ten thousand points?!

It only takes 900 experience points to level up from level 9 to level 10.

This time, it increased more than tenfold?

"What... what's going on?" Li Wu stared in disbelief.

"That's normal," Hua Zitong explained. "In the Realm of Origin, every 10 levels is a major hurdle. The experience gaps between these integer levels—10, 20, 30...—are enormous. Many people get stuck at these levels for a long time."

"However, this is not a problem for us."

She glanced into the depths of the cave at the vampire bats that had just spawned and were charging forward fearlessly.

"After all, we have the best 'experience babies'."