Second World Online

The air in Murkwater Swamp felt increasingly suffocating as my steps carried me deeper into the heart of the marsh. The grayish-green fog no longer merely hung in the air; it moved wildly like ghostly tentacles creeping between the rotting tree trunks. The smell of methane, rotten eggs, and decomposing damp vegetation created a combination of aromas that should have made anyone nauseous. Yet for me, this was an ideal hunting ground. The canopy of giant dead willow trees blocked most of the sunlight, a condition that greatly benefited my character with the Albinism Trait. Without the direct sting of the sun, my stamina was not drained in vain.

I glanced at the glowing spicy icon in the corner of my interface. The remaining time of the buff from the Super Spicy Inferno Wings still showed 20 minutes. Not as long as I had previously estimated; time felt like it moved faster when I had to carefully avoid mud traps. This 10% increase in INT and DEX was my lifeline right now, and I had to make the best use of it before the duration ran out.

Squelch... Squelch... Tap!

Thanks to the passively active Slow Walking skill, my steps across roots and shallow puddles were nearly silent. The Stealth sub-skill embedded within it helped me blend with the swamp fog, deceiving the aggro detection radius of the ferocious monsters around me.

In the distance, about fifty meters ahead, I saw three [Sludge Croc – Level 19] basking on a clay mound. They clustered close together. Facing three monsters at once with my character’s extraordinarily thin HP was a reckless action if done without a plan.

But this was the perfect distance. From afar, it was time to use my signature combo.

I crouched on a stably curved willow branch. The string of the Whispering Ash Recurve Bow in my hand began to creak as I drew a wooden arrow. I closed my eyes for a moment, activating Eagle Eye to enlarge my vision through the fog, locking onto the most lethal point at the base of the neck of the crocodile in the middle.

Then the casting process began. I channeled my mana to summon magical elements, combining them with advanced archery techniques. First, the tip of the arrow glowed deep blue as Power Shot activated. Second, I overlaid that glow with the deadly red aura of Vital Shot, a skill that guaranteed critical damage if it hit a weak point. Finally, I wrapped the arrow with a fierce spinning wind vortex from Piercing Gale Arrow.

This deadly combination could only be performed from a long distance. It required a full two to three seconds to focus Mana and synchronize the three skills simultaneously without canceling one another.

"Die," I whispered softly.

WUSSSHHH! BOOM!

The arrow shot through the fog not like an ordinary projectile, but resembling a miniature tornado drill. Its speed could not be followed by the naked eye.

JLEB! CRAAASH!

[Lethal Hit! Weakness Exploited!]

[-1850 Physical/Wind Damage!]

The three-layered combination slammed into the unfortunate crocodile’s neck and instantly beheaded it in a high-pressure wind explosion. The HP bar of the Level 19 monster emptied at once, shattering into data dust before it even realized what had killed it.

The two remaining crocodiles jolted in shock. They roared in anger; their yellow eyes quickly traced the trail of the wind vortex and immediately locked onto my position on the branch. With terrifying zigzag speed, both charged through the mud, closing the fifty-meter distance in a matter of seconds.

Twenty meters. Ten meters. They were now within close range.

This was where my weakness as a Glass Cannon became clear. If they were in close range, I did not have enough time to cast the Piercing Gale combo again. Casting advanced skills when the enemy was right in front of me would only interrupt my attack and leave me to be torn apart.

I was forced to change my fighting style. I leaped backward onto a higher branch, relying on the Wild Boar Leather Armor Set and the Glade Walker’s Bracer to absorb the impact of my landing. With lightning-fast movements, without using any skills at all, I drew three ordinary arrows from my quiver in succession.

Jleb! Jleb! Jleb!

My rough shots embedded in the back and shoulder of the first crocodile. These skill-less attacks were not particularly lethal, but thanks to my high DEX status, the accuracy remained perfect. When the crocodile leaped toward me with jaws open, I drew one more arrow and activated only Power Shot.

BAM!

The blue-glowing shot struck its snout in mid-air, dealing damage while also providing a knockback effect. The monster was flung into the mud. In that short time, I continued raining it with a rapid series of ordinary attacks, slowly chipping away at its HP until it finally shattered into blue light. The last crocodile that tried to climb the tree roots received the same fate; I rained it with ordinary arrows and occasional Power Shot to maintain distance.

After the battle ended, I exhaled a long breath, wiping virtual sweat from my forehead.

For the next fifteen minutes, I repeated this pattern throughout the swamp. If I spotted a poisonous frog or a python from a distance, I would immediately erase their existence with the Power Shot + Vital Shot + Piercing Gale Arrow combo. However, if they ambushed me from the mud or at close range, I had to perform insane evasive maneuvers, relying on Wind Walk to accelerate my running, and only firing single Power Shot or ordinary shots.

Until finally, the virtual choir sound I had been waiting for most echoed in my ears.

Ding!

[System: Congratulations! You have reached Level 20!]

[Your HP and Mana have been fully restored.]

A pillar of golden light enveloped my avatar’s body, providing extraordinary warmth. I immediately called up my character interface panel that floated in the form of a blue holographic projection in front of me.

========== STATUS ==========

Name : Syl

Gender : Female

Race : Elf

Trait : Albinism

Level : 20

EXP : 30 / 2200

Health : 90 / 90

MP : 300 / 300

Stamina : 100 / 100

========== ATTRIBUTES ==========

STR : 2 (+1.5)

INT : 37 (+6)

DEX : 36 (+10) (+6)

AGI : 3

VIT : 2

Attribute Points : 45

========== SKILLS ==========

Slow Walking Lv29

Stamina Regeneration Lv19, Stealth Lv10

Bow Mastery Lv29

Power Shot Lv19, Vital Shot Lv10

Eagle Eye Lv1

Wind Element Lv15

Piercing Gale Arrow Lv5, Wind Walk Lv3

Water Element Lv3

Water Ball Lv3

Carpenter Lv11

Blacksmith Lv1

Alchemy Lv11

Skill Points : 60

========== Equipment ==========

Whispering Ash Recurve Bow (Rare), Glade Walker’s Bracer (Epic), Wild Boar Leather Armor Set (Common)

Accessories: Oak Ring of Strength (Common), Pine Beaded Bracelet (Common), Carved Wooden Earrings (Common)

I smiled wryly looking at the HP number displayed there. 90/90. For a player who had already reached Level 20, having less than one hundred points of health was a tragic joke. This was the price I had to pay because of my Elf race, combined with the hidden penalty from the Albinism Trait, and my decision to never raise VIT points at all. One crocodile bite or one mid-tier poison spray would be enough to send me straight back to the Temple of Resurrection. My physical strength was also extremely pitiful with a base of 2; fortunately it was slightly helped by the addition from the Oak Ring of Strength accessory. Likewise my pure Agility that was only at 3, forcing me to rely on Stealth and the Wind Walk skill to escape.

However, as compensation, my Intelligence and Dexterity numbers had skyrocketed far beyond the average standard of players at this level. That was the secret why my wind magic combo could produce such terrifying destructive power from a distance.

I glanced at the Attribute Points piled up at 45. For several levels I had held myself back from allocating them. I planned to save them.

"The remaining buff time is 5 minutes," I muttered after closing the status screen.

It was time to return. Without the additional +10% from those chicken wings, my movement in this swamp would once again feel like pulling a stone cart. However, exactly when I turned my body to retrace my path home, the atmosphere of the swamp changed drastically.

The sound of insects suddenly fell silent. The gray fog began to thicken and changed color into a deep green that smelled of sulfur. The Aggro system inside the game detected a massive threat.

BUM. BUM.

From the depths of the fog about seventy meters to the north, a giant silhouette three and a half meters tall appeared. The creature was a nightmare hybrid of rotting wood, writhing roots, and clumps of swamp mud, dragging an entire willow tree as a club. On its chest was a gap that radiated bright green light from its magical heart core.

[Rotten Bog Troll – Elite Mini-Boss]

Level: 21

HP: 8500 / 8500

An Elite Monster. My body tensed. 8500 HP against 90 HP. If it touched me even slightly with the tip of its finger, my avatar would be completely shattered.

But the distance was seventy meters. This was my domain.

The buff time remaining was three minutes. Instead of fleeing, the gamer instinct inside me took over. My hand immediately reached into the special storage box and drew a different arrow: a Blood Oak Arrow of my own making that had been coated with Epic-tier Corrosive Wyvern Toxin.

I nocked it onto the Whispering Ash. Taking a deep breath, I focused all my remaining Mana and concentration.

A distance this far was the perfect stage for my signature combo. The blue glow of Power Shot ignited, overlaid by the blackish-red aura of Vital Shot, and finally, the fierce wind vortex of Piercing Gale Arrow enveloped the poisoned arrow. The tip of the arrow trembled violently, containing the energy of magic, wind, and mass-destruction poison within a single vessel.

The Bog Troll sniffed out my presence. It roared, raised its giant tree trunk, and began charging toward me.

WUSSSHHH!

I released my main shot. The projectile shot across the swamp fog, leaving a trail of fiercely spinning green wind.

JLEB!

Bullseye. The Blood Oak arrow wrapped in the deadly combo pierced the thick mud armor on the monster’s chest, boring through its hard roots thanks to the penetration power of Piercing Gale, ensuring accurate placement on the heart core thanks to Vital Shot, and triggering the initial explosion thanks to Power Shot.

But the real damage had only just begun.

PSSSHHHHT!

The Corrosive Wyvern Toxin liquid reacted. A loud hissing sound erupted as the monster’s armor melted and rotted in a matter of seconds.

[Corrosion Effect Active: Target’s Physical Defense reduced by 100%.]

[-500 Toxic Damage!]

[-500 Toxic Damage!]

The giant boss screamed in pain; its HP bar plummeted insanely. However, the effect of my attack triggered the Troll’s enrage mode. Instead of dying, it discarded its club and ran at double speed using all four limbs like a severely wounded beast. The seventy-meter distance was closed to fifteen meters in the blink of an eye.

The combo could no longer be used. It was too close!

I did not panic. Its physical armor was already completely destroyed. Its green heart was exposed without protection. I drew ordinary wooden arrows from the quiver at extraordinary speed.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Without time to cast high-level skills, I bombarded its open heart core with ordinary attacks accelerated by the remnants of my DEX buff. Every ordinary arrow now dealt maximum damage because its physical defense was 0%. When the monster was only two meters away and preparing to swing its giant claws to crush my 90 HP into dust, I fired my last arrow with pure Power Shot without any additional effects.

The blue explosion struck precisely on its pulsing heart.

The green light on the creature’s chest flickered wildly, then exploded from within. Its final scream was muffled as the giant body collapsed, shattering into pieces a mere span in front of my face, and dissolving into a swirl of golden light particles.

[You have defeated Rotten Bog Troll (Level 21 Elite Mini-Boss). Gained 12,500 EXP.]

I sat weakly on the tree root, staring at the scattering light particles. A second later, the spicy chicken wing icon in the corner of my screen blinked and disappeared. The buff time had expired, leaving a heavy sensation that immediately spread into my avatar’s legs.

I laughed softly, looking at the pile of glowing gold and purple loot in front of me. Dancing with death, weaving a storm from afar, and surviving by a single thin thread. This was how Syl played.