Chapter 10

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Ferio stood in a corner of the Ferior Forest, holding a broken bow and muttered, "When an archer of level 5 shoots an arrow, it doesn't always bounce at a right angle when it reflects, does it?"

He had just realized a slightly troublesome fact. While the angle could be fine-tuned and wasn't much of a hassle, the real issue was the skill level-up. Normally, a benefit, but if it suddenly grew, it could change the reflection angle. With single-digit reflections, the error might be negligible, but with double digits, the impact would be significant. What to do?

After a moment of thought, he turned to Raijin, who was fighting a goblin alone.

"Hey, Raijin, can you stop the skill level-up or something?"

"Of course not, that's the rule of RPGs. Just accept it."

As he said this, Raijin swung his dual swords at the goblin, turning it into a polygon.

Hmm, guess it's not possible. I need to max out the archer skill level before mastering ricochet. But to do that, I need to hit enemies with my bow. And using weapons costs money... what a vicious cycle.

Right, my skill level is now 3. How many ricochets can I get?

"Raijin, can you be a target for a bit to test this?"

"Huh? Didn't you see the goblin here just now? Your timing is off."

But if I don't test it when I think of it, it's pointless.

"No, I just want to know how many ricochets I can get."

"Do I really need to be the target? Are you still holding a grudge from earlier?"

"Since when did I start thinking I wasn't holding a grudge...?"

Raijin, you're mistaken. I hold grudges, you know!

Without further ado, he aimed his bow at a tree.

"Wait, wait! Even if we're a party, this will raise our karma value! Calm down! I'm not a bad player!"

"No, it's not a good sign if there's no trembling."

With a "Pish!" the arrow was released, and Raijin shouted, "Stop it!" and tried to move away. Raijin, unfortunately, I missed. It was a bluff.

In the end, the arrow ricocheted nine times. It seems the ricochet skill increases the maximum ricochet count by three with each level-up.

"Don't scare me like that..."

"I told you I wanted to test the ricochet limit."

"Did you already forget asking me to be the target?"

"Maybe I did..."

He casually turned away, pretending to be indifferent. I live in the present, I don't look back! (Determined)

"Let's leave the bow testing here. Next, I want to test the respawn locations of monsters."

"What do you plan to do with that? You're not going to respec like in an FPS, are you?"

"Kind of, I want to do something similar."

I've been checking the respawn locations, and it seems they follow a pattern. If I can predict them, I think I can hunt from a distance.

"You always come up with wild ideas, or rather, you're not bound by common sense..."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

There's no rule that you have to fight in a certain way. The game is about enjoying it the way you want.

"Most of the enemies around here respawn about every 30 seconds after being defeated. If I can figure out the pattern, I think I can hunt from the town entrance using ricochet."

"You really check things thoroughly... Impressive, tester. But is it fun as a game?"

"Testing is fun, but I might get bored after a few hours..."

"I think it's better to have the energy to play for hours."

No way.

As he thought this, he confirmed that 30 seconds had passed since Raijin defeated the goblin and noted the respawn location.

"Alright, I think I have a general idea of the location. Next, I want to test if they respawn if I'm not nearby."

"Got it. How will you test it?"

"Defeat the goblin and move away within 30 seconds. Then I'll shoot an arrow from a distance to see if I get experience points."

"Wow, primitive."

What else can I do for testing?

"Let's go for the goblin. You can tell me where to run."

"Okay, Raijin, go for it."

As he said this, Raijin narrowly avoided the goblin's attack, struck it on the head with the hilt of his dual swords, and the goblin staggered. Whistling in admiration, Raijin then precisely struck the goblin's ribs, sliced it open, and with a spinning motion, cut it again, turning it into a polygon.

"Good job, Raijin. Let's move away from here."

"Got it. How far?"

"Nine ricochets, so about 400 meters. But 200 meters should be enough."

"Let's run, villager!"

"Run, run, run!!"

They ran from their previous position, mentally mapping out the ricochet route. During the run, he noticed that Raijin was faster.

"Is movement speed a job characteristic?"

"No, it's because I've put points into AGI. Maybe the villager's movement speed is still at the default?"

"Damn, I thought it would increase automatically with level-ups!"

"That's why FPS addicts are..."

In my mind, RPGs have fixed values that increase with level-ups.

"Anyway, teach me how to allocate stats after the test, Raijin."

"Not me... but okay!"

He pretended to rely on Shadow as usual but then turned to Raijin, who suddenly changed his usual response. Hmm, this could be fun.

"Raijin, stop! This is good enough!"

Unlike Aims, this world feels more realistic, and his body felt heavy. Panting slightly, he shouldered his bow and aimed at the previous position.

"Hmm, the reflection from the tree on the right might be the best option."

"Give it a try."

With a casual nod, he released the arrow. After some practice, the arrow's behavior was more controlled, reflecting back to the original position and piercing the goblin... or so he thought.

"Missed it."

"Well, with that much precision, a few more shots should do it."

He loaded another arrow and fired. After a moment, he heard the goblin's scream. It seemed to have hit. The window displayed the results.

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【Battle Result】

【Enemy】 【Goblin】

【Battle Time】 0:28

【EXP Gained】 8 EXP

【Money Gained】 10 money

Level up due to gained experience.

【Hunter (Archer) Lv8 → 9】

Skill Points +2 Stat Points +5

Gained a new skill with the level-up.

【Eagle Eye Lv1】

Able to clearly see distant objects.

Gained a new skill due to reaching a certain proficiency.

【Archer Lv5 → 6】

Improved bow handling. Increased range.

【Ricochet Lv3 → 4】

Arrows and other ranged weapons can bounce off walls and the ground.

Gained a new title for special combat.

【Sniper】

Gained a new skill with the title.

【Long-range Accuracy Lv1】

Improves the accuracy of thrown items and ranged weapons.

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This is amazing! He couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, getting experience points means I defeated it. The test was a success."

"I thought the enemy wouldn't respawn for a moment, but it seems they do from a distance. But I don't understand the principle. Do they respawn in a fixed pattern near the location where the enemy was defeated, or are the respawn locations fixed? The former seems more likely, but we need more tests."

He grinned, and Raijin chuckled.

"Villagers really push the limits of effort in the wrong direction."

"Call it a practical simulation."

Oops, 30 seconds have passed. Let's shoot another arrow.

"First, practice hitting from a distance. It's more relaxing to hunt from a safe spot."

The next arrow also missed. He still hadn't mastered using ricochet in this game.

"Okay, okay... Hey, villager, haven't you allocated your stats?"

"I got carried away with the testing and forgot."

A bad habit. Once he starts testing, he forgets what he needs to do and ends up regretting it. He even missed entering a mini-tournament in Aims and couldn't participate.

"Open the menu and allocate your stat points."

Following Raijin's advice, he opened the menu and the status window.

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PN: Villager A

Main Job: Hunter (Archer) Lv.9

Remaining Skill Points: 63

Skill Creation Rights: 3

Stat Points: 145

Money: 5940 money

HP: 30/30

MP: 10/10

STR: 10

DEF: 10

INT: 10

MGR: 10

AGI: 10

DEX: 10

VIT: 10

LUC: 10

Skills: 【Archer Lv6】【Close Combat Lv1】【Ricochet Lv4】【Eagle Eye Lv1】【Long-range Accuracy Lv1】

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What's this? Did the tutorial senior not do his job?

"I haven't allocated any points, so I have 145 points left."

"How did you manage to fight monsters with that?"

Raijin looked at him with pity. Well, in Aims, there were stats, but they were almost useless. During the AGI-focused build era, he thought stats were really important, but in the end, maxing out STR was the way to go!

"According to RPG rules, how should I allocate my points?"

"For an archer who also does solo play, I think a balanced STR/AGI/DEX allocation is good, but do what you like."

"Okay, I'll allocate more points to the ones you mentioned."

He adjusted the stats and allocated the points.

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PN: Villager A

Main Job: Hunter (Archer) Lv.9

Remaining Skill Points: 63

Skill Creation Rights: 3

Stat Points: 0

Money: 5940 money

HP: 30/30

MP: 10/10

STR: 55

DEF: 10

INT: 10

MGR: 10

AGI: 50

DEX: 50

VIT: 20

LUC: 20

Skills: 【Archer Lv6】【Close Combat Lv1】【Ricochet Lv4】【Eagle Eye Lv1】【Long-range Accuracy Lv1】

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"Wow, you went all out again."

"The otaku said that attack is useless if it doesn't hit."

"His movements are really abnormal..."

In Aims, the otaku had an AGI-focused build, wearing light armor and dodging bullets acrobatically. He wanted to use that playstyle as a reference.

"Maybe the mercenary's reaction speed can replicate it?"

"No way. Trying to fully replicate his movements would dislocate my joints and break my bones."

He had the flexibility of a gymnast. Who knows what he really is.

"Anyway, I'll finish editing the SBO review video and log out for now."

"Okay. I'll keep testing for a while. Thanks, Raijin."

After watching Raijin head towards the town, he went to retrieve the arrow from the previous position and resumed his testing.

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What a high-spec guy, that otaku.

Finally, the stats appear in chapter seven.